Rant: The DDP is ruining everything!

[Amyrlin]

There are different types of resturants, some are meant to be upper class with better ingedients, other are more suited to deal with main stream dining. For the few, and it is onlky a few, of the more exclusive resturants, if they want to retian the good reputatiosn then at least have items that have a surcharge so we can have the good quality food.

The menus are cost cutting, no doubt about it. In the past, had the items cost gone up Disney had no qualms about rising the prices, look at V&A. AT CG the menu has changed, I can understand the movemnt of the Suchi to entrees, but look at the ingedients used in the new dishes, they are cheaper. Thsi cannot be good for the reputation of the resturant that proudly displays its awards.

I do not accept that speed is the thing either, for example, it will not take any shorter period to eat filet with teriaki sauce as it wil with tamarind, but with teriaki sauce used in several other locations it looks to be cpost cuttin measure (maybe labour costs as well). Same with the salmon, it won't take me any longer to eat the Salmon with the corn souffle then it will to eat Salmon with flava beans. If I am having an appitiser. However, in both cases the menu has got chaeper, with cheaper ingedietns and more than can be preprepared, and the price of the entrees has also been reduced.

According to the laws of supply and demand, where a restrusant is so popualr then it can afford to increase prices, to say we are giving everyone a chance is an excuse. If DDP is allocating a set amout to pay for the meals then this places a strong eonomic pressure in the resturant to decrease the prices on the menus to meet the budgets, and this is what I believe is happening.

Hopefully a few food critics will go there soon and that may have an impact if they are not impressed.

There was talk a while ago about one resturant pulling out, if this is true I hpe it is CG and maybe the quality ingredients will return. In the mean time I will look at eating at Emerils, Tchoup Tchoup and Arthurs 27.

 

[Lewisc]

Arthurs 27 has been closed for over a year, maybe 2.

There was talk a while ago about one resturant pulling out, if this is true I hpe it is CG and maybe the quality ingredients will return. In the mean time I will look at eating at Emerils, Tchoup Tchoup and Arthurs 27.

 

[Amyrlin]

Shows I haven't been there for a few years OH well, need to find some more then. Hmm, Pebbles and Texas de Brazil maybe.


I actually do like the DDP, but feel that maybe they have extended it to a few too many restruants.

 

[thatduffgirl]

It's always interesting to read these. I won't get DDP again because it's simply too much food and the whole trip centers around eating.

I have done the dining plan last December and although we saved money, it was too much food. I am a real foodie, but even I felt like it was over the edge worrying about how best to use our credits, and my thrify Scottish nature kept me from just NOT ordering the desserts and then I had to eat them...


I won't be doing it again and told Disney that this spring when they sent me an email survey regarding the DDP and my experience.

 

[dvc at last !]

We were at WDW the beginning of October and did NOT take the DDP. We did decide it was too much to eat, and we knew we would be spending time/cash at the Epcot Food and Wine Fest. We do have the DDE and love it !

 

[S.Poppins]

I agree with EVERYTHING you said. We are just back from 8 nights in Disney on the DDP, and the dining was horrendous. We used to LOVE going out to eat in Disney. Not anymore. We're DVC members, so we'll be bringing our own groceries and cooking in our unit from now on. Disney has lost our dining dollars completely. We're not booking any weekend trips in non-DVC resorts anymore, either. We'll go to Universal instead. They have good food there still.

Are you saying the food in Universal parks is better? Can you give some examples!? They have a dining plan too, it's cheaper and you can eat as many meals as you want. Of course it is all burgers and pizza.

 

[chrissyk]

Are you saying the food in Universal parks is better? Can you give some examples!? They have a dining plan too, it's cheaper and you can eat as many meals as you want. Of course it is all burgers and pizza.

Emerils

 

[chrissyk]

There was talk a while ago about one resturant pulling out, if this is true I hpe it is CG and maybe the quality ingredients will return. In the mean time I will look at eating at Emerils, Tchoup Tchoup and Arthurs 27.

Has CG gone way downhill? I haven't eaten there in many years myself, but I did book my parents for this restaurant during their XMas vacation. I will book them for another if this restaurant is really poor quality now due to the dining plan.

 

[phyllis1966]

I agree with EVERYTHING you said. We are just back from 8 nights in Disney on the DDP, and the dining was horrendous. We used to LOVE going out to eat in Disney. Not anymore. We're DVC members, so we'll be bringing our own groceries and cooking in our unit from now on. Disney has lost our dining dollars completely. We're not booking any weekend trips in non-DVC resorts anymore, either. We'll go to Universal instead. They have good food there still.

chrissyk, this is very disheartening news...I really hope you decide to tell this to someone from Guest Relations - the only way we can make a difference is if everyone who is unhappy writes a letter/email that clearly states why these changes are convincing many of us to spend our money offsite.

 

[doodle]

Has CG gone way downhill? I haven't eaten there in many years myself, but I did book my parents for this restaurant during their XMas vacation. I will book them for another if this restaurant is really poor quality now due to the dining plan.

I'm wondering the same thing. We have CG booked for Jan. but haven't eaten there in 3 years. It has always been wonderful so if you have been there recently, would you not recommend it now?

Thanks!

 

[lillygator]

We got back yesterday and I do think the dining plan is ruining the dining experience all around. We ate at Coral Reef, Le Cellier twice, Spoodles to name a few and my husband even commented on it.

The menus have changed, not for the better and the restaurants are more crowded, more noisey and the service is slipping.

I am not sure what if any changes would help, but I would definitely like to see seperate menus.

 

[deltachi8]

...

The menus have changed, not for the better and the restaurants are more crowded, more noisey and the service is slipping.

...

If the restaurants are more crowded, then the changes are working for Disney - more business. Yes, some may not like it and some may leave, but the gamble Disney is placing is that those that leave will be replaced in greater numbers by new guests. You may not like it, you may not think it's fair, but if it works (more customer, more revenue, more profits), then its good business.

 

[kaytieeldr]

To-Go food USED to be STANDARD at Olivia's. To-GO was advertised from Olivia's even when you checked-in, and it was listed in your paperwork.

And gasoline use to be thirty-five cents a gallon. Things change; rules change; prices change.

Many of these aren't Disney restaurants...Blue Zoo, Shula's Rainforset, Fulton....and the others are old menus.

Please excuse me for not flying back to Florida to obtain THE most up-to-date menus available for each restaurant. The issue was somebody not being able to find lobster anywhere at Walt Disney World. Disney-owned or not, on the most recent menus available online, the restaurants listed DO serve lobster.

AT CG the menu has changed, ... Same with the salmon, it won't take me any longer to eat the Salmon with the corn souffle then it will to eat Salmon with flava beans. If I am having an appitiser. However, in both cases the menu has got chaeper, with cheaper ingedietns and more than can be preprepared, and the price of the entrees has also been reduced.

Once again, with the exception of the removal of prime rib, one nearly-duplicate dessert, and one other dessert, and the ADDITION of two sushi-type items, all menu ITEM changes at California Grill are merely seasonal. Yes, the salmon entree is different. Wild salmon is not currently available. THE PRICE WENT DOWN DRASTICALLY to reflect the change. $38 to $28 is a pretty big drop

Are you saying the food in Universal parks is better? Can you give some examples!? They have a dining plan too, it's cheaper and you can eat as many meals as you want. Of course it is all burgers and pizza.

You forgot the part where the restaurants on Universal's dining special are only open limited hours, and the deal is restricted to only a few counter service restaurants in each park. Yes, Islands of Adventure has Mythos; but for the most part, ALL the Universal Florida restaurants are independently owned. Not on any dining plan, not subject to management by Universal....

Emerils

Not owned or controlled by Universal. Next?

We got back yesterday and I do think the dining plan is ruining the dining experience all around. We ate at Coral Reef, Le Cellier twice, Spoodles to name a few and my husband even commented on it.

The menus have changed, not for the better and the restaurants are more crowded, more noisey and the service is slipping.

I am not sure what if any changes would help, but I would definitely like to see seperate menus.

I don't know if you can tell, but I'm against separate menus (and, by the way, I'm not planning to use the Disney Dining Plan in the future, it's WAY too much food). But even if Disney did that, it wouldn't change the crowds, the noise, or the service. So it wouldn't resolve your issues.

 

[LoraJ]

So, we had Le Cellier last night, and I am relieved that it wasn't much different from our last visit. The soup seemed smaller than what I remember though. Honestly, if they want to cut down on portion sizes for health reasons, that is fine. But then they should also trim down the prices to match.

I had the musroom filet. Which was good, although the grade of meat didn't seem to be as good as what I had at Fulton's the night before. I ordered the $3 side of creamed spinach and had to laugh when it came out because it was in a skillet that aws larger than my plate.

 

[ElizabethB]

We just returned from 10 days a WDW. We were not on DDP. Most of our dinners were F&W Festival events. Beyond that, we ate dinner at CG, Jiko and Narcoosee's. We went late to try to avoid all the families and noisy kids -- worked some places but not others. At Jiko, we were near a family with a miserable 2-year-old and it was past 10 p.m. Not fun. But, the food was quite nice -- as good as ever. We had excellent service as well. I did notice, however, that two appetizers -- the duck firecrackers and the appetizer sampler -- are still not back on the menu, even though I was told in August that they would be back after free dining.

CG we also went quite late and after the fireworks to try to avoid the crowds and noise. We were successful this time around. The meal was exceptional. We had the cheese plate after our main courses and it was phenomenal! Ryan was our server and he was extraordinary.

Finally, we dined at Narcoosee's. It didn't reach the quality level of the other two, but was nice. As usual, I had the incredibly overpriced lobster ($54!). Nonetheless, it was tender and good.

We used DDE discount, which was nice. Overall, we were pleased with our signature restaurant meals. We've, however, pretty much written off the 1TS places these days and didn't dine at any of them, except for breakfast, which we took out (which, as other posters have indicated, used to be easily accommodated and now seems to be viewed as some kind of crime. Nevertheless, the place we like to take out from accommodated us, but only if I sat down at a table, which was not a problem. What can I say, we're on vacation -- we like breakfast in the quiet of our villa, but don't want to cook it. So, unless we want donuts every morning or are willing to wait an hour or more for room service, take out from a TS restaurant is our only option.)

WDW seems to be creating a very real two-tier restaurant system. I think they are trying to compete with cruise lines for the family and family group business. In order to do that, they need to offer an all-inclusive option. But, once they do that, quality will undoubtedly decline for all -- just as on mass market cruise lines. I think we're already seeing that at some of the 1TS restaurants. Sometimes, I wonder how much business WDW really is losing to the cruise lines. I know my teenage nephew would pick a cruise over WDW every time. And, a good friend just returned from a cruise with her 9-year-olds. They've also been to WDW and Disneyland several times. They are adamant that they want to go on a cruise for their next vacation. So, perhaps WDW really does have to become more like a cruise in order to avoid losing families to the cruise lines (and all-inclusive resorts)???

 

[dizfanz]

Interesting post Elizabethb. I never really thought that Disney was competing that heavily with a cruiseline. I did both Disney and a cruise when I was young. I never thought the cruise was anywhere near as good as Disney. But I guess cruises have changed and are gearing them more towards families. I just can't imagine being 9 and enjoying a cruise over WDW. But maybe that has something to do with why I am a DVC member, huh?

 

[lillygator]

I didn't think about competing with the cruise line either. I do hope they aren't going to go the way of DCL food. With the exception of Palo, I think most table service restaurants at the world are much better (and obviously aren't made in the masses, sitting around waiting to be served).

I think many families would enjoy the all inclusive option. It is definitely one less thing on the vacation list to think about. It is just a shame that the entire TS experience is changing rather drastically.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

deltachi8, if this is your criteria for how Disney handles their restaurants you'll be thrilled when they all become cheap chains I guess.

Profit and loss cannot be the sole criteria for Disney dining. That goes against the Disney credo to "exceed a guests expectations" in so many ways...

 

[chrissyk]

As far as I can tell, Emeril's is still at Universal. Why would I care who owns it Disney doesn't own Wolfgang Puck Cafe and I still liked that place until it got ruined by the DDP. I said that we'd be going to Universal instead because they still had good food there. I don't get where I said that that good food had to be in a Universal-owned restaurant

 

[deltachi8]

deltachi8, if this is your criteria for how Disney handles their restaurants you'll be thrilled when they all become cheap chains I guess.

Profit and loss cannot be the sole criteria for Disney dining. That goes against the Disney credo to "exceed a guests expectations" in so many ways...

Do you meet exceed YOUR expectations or guests in general? Maybee because I only make one or two trips a year my opinion wont be considered valid, but Disney always exceeds my expectations.

Furthermore, Disney is a business and its management has shareholders to answer to. If the changes are bad, then the outcomes desired (sales, profits) will not be achieved and you will see things "go back" or change again.

I think those who have pointed to "all inclusive" resort for Disney may be on to something. Slowly, Disney has responded to the growning number of attractions outside it's borders by taking measures to keep a captive audience. The Dining Plan and Magical Express are examples. I would expect more movemnet in this area as Dinsey positions itself as an afforable, on stop vacation destination for families.