... and we may not eat on property as much in the future. We returned last week from a much anticipated WDW trip. Our last full WDW trip was in Jan. 2007, with a short visit in December of that year in which we only visited the Magic Kingdom. We've used the dining plan several times and have enjoyed it, not only for the cost savings but for the element of "order whatever you like" that we might not always follow through with if we're paying out of pocket. This was our first time on the plan since they removed the appetizer and gratuity, though I have to say, that didn't make much of a difference to me. It was always too much food and I prefer to choose my own tip.
The biggest differences this time were the cuts made to food quality for cost savings, the increased difficulty of making dining reservations (though obviously skipping the dining plan won't make a difference there unless we'd choose to not eat at table service locations...), the cutbacks in snack options (particularly at the resorts), and the poor kids' menu options. There also continues to be a great deal of variation in acceptance of dining credits- though I think the places not accepting dining credits (or room charge) were all identified better than in the past.
With the above said, most of the reasons we'd choose to forego the DDP in the future are personal. The biggest issue was that the kids' meal choices were a bust....too simplistic at the counter service establishments and a bit beyond the palates of my kids at the table service restaurants. The selections were insufficient and inconsistent. At one time there were a few standard items you could get anywhere....they've branched out and offered some more interesting options for kids at the table service restaurants, but have eliminated "tried and true" options in the process. Why not offer kids' portions of anything on the menu and keep a small selection of kid friendly options also? They've also switched the counter service kids' chicken nuggets from the chicken breast nuggets to the cheaper chopped and formed nuggets again (the adult meals still get the good nuggets). My kids won't eat them because they're pretty awful. I had some success with asking for the adult nuggets to be substituted in the kids' meal, though I got the impression the CM's weren't really supposed to do it. The kids' meal options at most counter service locations were limited to 2 things- usually pb&j and chicken nuggets. Given the current state of the kids' chicken nuggets, neither one was an option. Honestly, if my kids wanted pb&j at the parks, I'd pack them myself....but my kids' aren't fans.
We definitely feel as if the food quality, particularly at the buffets, has slipped. It seems as if they are using cheaper ingredients and some of the food was not any better than what you can get in a frozen dinner. Even at the restaurants with a menu from which to select it seemed like the more interesting items with higher quality ingredients were primarily on the appetizer menu. That's probably the main reason I won't use DDP again- there are times when I'd prefer to get an appetizer over any of the entree selections, which at most places are less than imaginative (there's steak, chicken, fish and something veggie...maybe a pork too). It's not to say we didn't have any enjoyable meals, though often they were so late in the evening it was more of a challenge to enjoy them. Be warned- make your reservations at 90 days! 60 days out and there were only very late dining times available....we did almost just as well when we made some changes during our visit.
I haven't even mentioned the snack differences. If you manage to use your credits in the park at snack stands rather than in shops you'll get your best options....though we found that certain items that could be purchased with snack credits in one location weren't necessarily eligible in another location. This cost us quite a bit out of pocket when something we got one day on dining credits couldn't be purchased that way at a different location another day- like you're going to tell the kids to put back their candy!
In the past we found the DDP to be both a savings and a convenience. Based on our plans before leaving home the plan was still a savings, but we found it far from convenient this time. There seemed to be more limitations than in the past and having to pull out cash when you're not expecting it takes away from the convenience factor...as well as leaving you with credits unused. We had better dining experiences during the first week of our trip when we ate mostly offsite and bought snacks in the parks.
Just wanted to put this out there for anyone making their decision about the DDP...we really used to love it, but I think I would have preferred to use our kitchen at Kidani this time!
The biggest differences this time were the cuts made to food quality for cost savings, the increased difficulty of making dining reservations (though obviously skipping the dining plan won't make a difference there unless we'd choose to not eat at table service locations...), the cutbacks in snack options (particularly at the resorts), and the poor kids' menu options. There also continues to be a great deal of variation in acceptance of dining credits- though I think the places not accepting dining credits (or room charge) were all identified better than in the past.
With the above said, most of the reasons we'd choose to forego the DDP in the future are personal. The biggest issue was that the kids' meal choices were a bust....too simplistic at the counter service establishments and a bit beyond the palates of my kids at the table service restaurants. The selections were insufficient and inconsistent. At one time there were a few standard items you could get anywhere....they've branched out and offered some more interesting options for kids at the table service restaurants, but have eliminated "tried and true" options in the process. Why not offer kids' portions of anything on the menu and keep a small selection of kid friendly options also? They've also switched the counter service kids' chicken nuggets from the chicken breast nuggets to the cheaper chopped and formed nuggets again (the adult meals still get the good nuggets). My kids won't eat them because they're pretty awful. I had some success with asking for the adult nuggets to be substituted in the kids' meal, though I got the impression the CM's weren't really supposed to do it. The kids' meal options at most counter service locations were limited to 2 things- usually pb&j and chicken nuggets. Given the current state of the kids' chicken nuggets, neither one was an option. Honestly, if my kids wanted pb&j at the parks, I'd pack them myself....but my kids' aren't fans.
We definitely feel as if the food quality, particularly at the buffets, has slipped. It seems as if they are using cheaper ingredients and some of the food was not any better than what you can get in a frozen dinner. Even at the restaurants with a menu from which to select it seemed like the more interesting items with higher quality ingredients were primarily on the appetizer menu. That's probably the main reason I won't use DDP again- there are times when I'd prefer to get an appetizer over any of the entree selections, which at most places are less than imaginative (there's steak, chicken, fish and something veggie...maybe a pork too). It's not to say we didn't have any enjoyable meals, though often they were so late in the evening it was more of a challenge to enjoy them. Be warned- make your reservations at 90 days! 60 days out and there were only very late dining times available....we did almost just as well when we made some changes during our visit.
I haven't even mentioned the snack differences. If you manage to use your credits in the park at snack stands rather than in shops you'll get your best options....though we found that certain items that could be purchased with snack credits in one location weren't necessarily eligible in another location. This cost us quite a bit out of pocket when something we got one day on dining credits couldn't be purchased that way at a different location another day- like you're going to tell the kids to put back their candy!
In the past we found the DDP to be both a savings and a convenience. Based on our plans before leaving home the plan was still a savings, but we found it far from convenient this time. There seemed to be more limitations than in the past and having to pull out cash when you're not expecting it takes away from the convenience factor...as well as leaving you with credits unused. We had better dining experiences during the first week of our trip when we ate mostly offsite and bought snacks in the parks.
Just wanted to put this out there for anyone making their decision about the DDP...we really used to love it, but I think I would have preferred to use our kitchen at Kidani this time!
. Is allears up to date? Also what snacks were not allowed, if you can think of some. So that HUGE list on here is not valid anymore?
