Rant: The DDP is ruining everything!

[deltachi8]

2 Menus would not be cost effective.

While some feel there is a realtionship betwen the DDP and food choice, quality and portions (personally, they could cut a bunch of portions nearly in half and be fine, but thats beside the point) the changes made have been geared to improving the total dollars spend per guest on a Disney visit. By introducing the DDP and Magical Express, it is keeping you on site, not just fo you meals but for your entertainment, shopping and snacks. This is increasing the total dollars spent per guest while visiting WDW.

Of course total dollars is only part of the story, there needs to be an increase in profit as well for the programs to work from a business stand point. To increase profits you can increase price or decrease cost or both. It looks as though Disney has done a bit of both.

The only way it changes - two menus or going back to old menus or elliminating the DDP is if profitability falls, over time due to these plans. Disney is betting on the appeal of not needing to rent a car, not needing to travel to eat and the ease of their vacation packages outweighing the menu concerns some have voiced.

Are they right? Time will tell.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Anyone want to take bets on how long before this thread is locked?

These threads always escalate quickly . There are 2 distinct camps on this issue. The "Oh no, the DDP (short for WDW food stamp program) is ruining Disney world" camp and the "We love the DDP because we like to eat and it saves us money" camp. Both sides of this issue are very passionate, so this makes for an interesting (though redundent) debate.

I am going to be hopeful and say 6 pages.

 

[rie'smom]

I love the DDP, its the only reason I have stayed on site the last two visits.

Exactly-this is why WDW is willing to sacrifice food quality and service. This also applies to Magical Express too. Disney doesn't want you to leave the property cha-ching. Someone posted WDW is interested in portion control for health reasons- yea,right. I don't blame them for wanting to make money - that's business.
I love WDW as you can see in my siggy,we're DVC owners.I do wish that there were 2 levels-one for those who choose to use DDP and one for those who don't. Why should everyone get the same mediocre quality of food and service if one group is paying more?
No flames please as I stated those who pay for deluxe accomodations have nicer amenities and I think it should apply to the restaurants as well. This is in no way a put down of those who do use the DDP rather it's a statement
that WDW needs to meet the needs of all their patrons.

 

[OKWAnneMarie]

I agree that the DDP is ruining the dining experience at WDW. It has certainly been greatly homogenized since the incept of DDP. It is not as exciting as before at all. We notice this easily because we are frequent guests & food has always been a big part of our vacation. Newbies or less frequent visitors may not notice it the way we do. OogieBoogie summed this up perfectly.

Is it the DDP users fault? No, no one is saying that. It is Disney trying to maximize their profit margin.

Unfortunately, at this point in our WDW lives, Dining, fine dining, is a major part of our vacation. If things continue to decline the way they have been the past year, we may completely rethink WDW as our #1 vacation destination. We are already doing a majority of our meals at the Swan/Dolphin restaurants where the DDP hasn't impacted the menus because DDP is not accepted there. Soon we will have to go farther afeild in search of culinary creativity & satisfaction.

I agree with you. At this point in our lives fine dining is also a major part of our vacation. Our children are grown and we all still LOVE to go to WDW, but we've also began seeking out other destinations. We just returned from our 25th anniversary trip in Vegas. Talk about a dining destination!!!! Wow, the food and service was outstanding. I just think Disney doesn't care anymore, because they still make money. Oh, well.

 

[otownguy]

As a local I would have to agree with the original poster, the DDP sucks for us. Not only that but the restaurants hate it too. I know someone who is the business manager for one the the high end restaurants and they can verify that the menu's have been dumbed down, portions are smaller, use cheaper ingredients. It is the only way that they can make money. Many posters have said that without DDP they would not be able to afford TS. Well, someone has to make up the lost revenue or the restaurants could not stay in business. And yes, contrary to what someone said in another post, the restaurants do have to participate in the DDP. The ONLY viable option is to have separate limited menus for DDP. Also, as the DDP gets more popular fewer and fewer people will be paying OOP which means even more cutbacks(anyone see a trend here). I know that I for one have stopped going out there just to eat because of this. But, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

 

[deltachi8]

it's a statement
that WDW needs to meet the needs of all their patrons.

i appreciate your thoughts, but WDW will do what maximizes profits and shareholder value for the long term. Meeting th eneeds of all patrons rarely accomplishes those goals.

 

[rie'smom]

i appreciate your thoughts, but WDW will do what maximizes profits and shareholder value for the long term. Meeting th eneeds of all patrons rarely accomplishes those goals.

I should have stated-I wish WDW would cater to the needs of all their patrons- It would be nice if WDW listened to me.

 

[Took]

I disagree with DDP being cost effective. In many cases yes but i for one rarely pay rack rate for a room! DDP is basically a way of forcing people to pay rack rate for a room and to buy a package with Disney tickets at Disney prices! This time for example ive got a 30% discount approx meaning im saving $100 per day. There are only 2 of us so therefore i work it out as the DDP would actually be costing us $90 per day! Now a CS meal is not more that $15pp, meaning i would need to be spending $75 on an evening meal! maybe ok for 1 or 2 days but certainly not for many more.

As for DDP ruining the dining experience i do in part agree. The menus are far less varied than they used to be and apparently more changes are in store. The portion sizes have been reduced and its far far harder to get ADR's for the date, time and location of your choice!

I do however see the business sense in it, as from Disney's perspective they are filling up more restaurant seats therefore more people that are likely to buy extra drinks ie alcohol! and if they reduce the cost of the meals to fall better inline with how much DDP is really costing.

I have to agree with you here. The DDP would not save us any money, given our eating habits and we'd lose some of the AP advantages (30-35% room discount, 10% TS lunches in many places or DDE discount) that make our trip more affordable than any package deal. If many on the plan would actually price out their costs separately and see how much this is all costing them, I think they'd find that the DDP is a "luxury" that just isn't worth the expense.

The menus and service at restaurants have declined, though often in subtle ways that many don't notice. BUT, I believe many of the DDP WILL notice these changes if they go often enough. Perhaps, then, enough folks will complain that WDW will change its dining system back. Until then, we're cancelling most of our TS reservations and just doing CS. The over-crowding and lower food quality just aren't worth it for us.

took

 

[jodifla]

i appreciate your thoughts, but WDW will do what maximizes profits and shareholder value for the long term. Meeting th eneeds of all patrons rarely accomplishes those goals.

Disney is an expensive proposition. Once folks realize there's not much value in the DDP anymore when they start getting Jell-O for dessert, they won't want to spend the money for it.

We have a car, and our DVC kitchen, so we can work around what Disney dishes out.

But quality begets money. Cut enough, and people just stop eating out there.

 

[deltachi8]

I should have stated-I wish WDW would cater to the needs of all their patrons- It would be nice if WDW listened to me.

agreed!

 

[saschab]

Disney is an expensive proposition. Once folks realize there's not much value in the DDP anymore when they start getting Jell-O for dessert, they won't want to spend the money for it.

Yeppers.

Wild speculation on my part: How come the DDP got so much action, when the other dining programs in the past hadn't? I think it's the way it was marketed. Now Disney has more folk's attention as to dining plans.

I speculate that in the future, folks who find DDP a value regardless of what they serve will continue to utilize it. It has become familiar to them, and this time marketing was such that they saw their value for $38.99. Meals budgeted; which isn't something new, just in a better package.

When the amount of folks purchasing DDP lessens for whatever reasons: not enough choice, not enough "fine dining", etc., then maybe Disney will go back to two-tier choices. Whether it is non-DDP vs DDP with 2 seperate menus or DDPBasic vs. DDPPlatinum...who knows. You get what you pay for, and the choice would be commiserate with the price. No different than the choices folks used to make in dining. Do I want to pay $25 for a steak dinner, or would I rather spend $10 a burger platter! That way they'll keep folks on the property and still expand choice.

And it will be quite aways out if this were to happen. Takes time to come full circle after solidifying their base.....

Again, total fabrication of thought on my part....just an interesting idea.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

oogies post is so true
i got the shrimp this august and i was there last dec and the box was gone it wasnt as nice special
it was still good but not as good

 

[handicap18]

The DDP is ruining the dining experience.
Scooters and strollers are ruining the parks.
The bus system is ruining the ride back to the hotel.
The hot weather is ruining the summah vacation.

Thats it I'm not going to Disney any more. Its ruined.

 

[saschab]

Thats it I'm not going to Disney any more. Its ruined.

Bet you're fibbing!

 

[helenm29]

We just got back from DW and we used the DDP too. We had made of our reservations before we got onto the Dining Plan so we didn't have a problem there. We did however have several other problems! First of all, it's a little confusing in the beginning knowing what is a "snack" or "Counter Service" etc., next...you have ENTIRELY TOO MUCH FOOD! there are 5 of us, none of which are "light" eaters...and we simply COULD NOT eat all of that food! we ended up with several meals left on our plan when we left DW which was a waste in itself. We did eat a bunch of goodies at the Food and Wine festival which used up a good amount of credits. I still miss spontaneaty (SP?)though! Helen

 

[oogieboogie]

The menus and service at restaurants has declined, though often in subtle ways that many don't notice. BUT, I believe many of the DDP WILL notice these changes if they go often enough.

This is the key right here: Many don't notice - because they have no comparisons to go by. Only people who go enough times and dine at these places multiple times start to notice the differences.

Unfortunately I think many of the people on DDP are first timers, every other year visitors, and people who generally wouldn't notice there was a difference.

What they'll see is that the price of the meal proportionate to DDP cost is a great savings to them. They'll think that the size of the meal is what is the norm from year to year and what a great deal they're getting on the DDP. Unfortunately, they don't see what it used to be.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I disagree with DDP being cost effective. In many cases yes but i for one rarely pay rack rate for a room! DDP is basically a way of forcing people to pay rack rate for a room and to buy a package with Disney tickets at Disney prices! This time for example ive got a 30% discount approx meaning im saving $100 per day. There are only 2 of us so therefore i work it out as the DDP would actually be costing us $90 per day! Now a CS meal is not more that $15pp, meaning i would need to be spending $75 on an evening meal! maybe ok for 1 or 2 days but certainly not for many more.

You don't have to pay rack rate in order to book the dining plan.(I'm not speaking about the free dining plan)

You can use a AAA discount or a code rate in order to book the dining plan. During our April 2005 trip, I used a code that was only $5.00 more than the AP rate. The DP was added onto our discounted package.

There's a code out now for Canada residents, that can be used for room only or with the DP.

 

[deltachi8]

The DDP is ruining the dining experience.
Scooters and strollers are ruining the parks.
The bus system is ruining the ride back to the hotel.
The hot weather is ruining the summah vacation.

Thats it I'm not going to Disney any more. Its ruined.

hehe

 

[deltachi8]

What they'll see is that the price of the meal proportionate to DDP cost is a great savings to them. They'll think that the size of the meal is what is the norm from year to year and what a great deal they're getting on the DDP. Unfortunately, they don't see what it used to be.

Isn't that enough of a selling point though??

 

[Dopey420]

i know for a fact that the dining plan saved us a lot of money and it is easy for children to use. we had 1 child plan and we never bought a single child's menu item. we just used the children's credits for adult food. if they have cut back on food portion size, then that is fine with me because there was plenty of food at all the meals I had.

however, it requires lots of eating. it is a lot of food. you have to plan out your meals carefully. a good plan is to eat lunch EARLY. then you can use another counter service credit for 4th meal, late at night.

the menu choices are very good. i honestly did not have anything that I was disappointed in. you can get almost anything under $4.99 for a snack credit.

you must have PS for any table service meal.

service has gone down the tubes. the server VERY quickly takes your order (all items at once) and then runs to the next table. your food is brought in quick succession. if you want to eat quickly and get back to the parks, this is great. if you want to linger at your table and eat leisurely, not so much.

we really maxed out the plan. for example, dinner for 4 at Coral Reef: we used 3 credits, split it between four of us and the total was $175. another example, lunch at Tangerine Cafe; combo platter, baklava and drink, total $18.75.