Tell me about Disney Dinning Plan?

[NMW]

I'm glad you asked.

I've never used the DDP or the free dining promotion. NEVER will.

I have seen changes with WDW dining and I can tell you it is not for the better. The food is generic and scaled down to accomodate the masses. We've seen to go orders eliminated at many places including Olivias, ESPN and Beaches and Cream.

I attribute all of these changes to DDP and the free dining promotions.

In the past WDW restaurants had competition. They had to provide a good product and varied menus or people would simply go elsewhere. Now with so many people using these plans the guests are trapped on property making sure they get their moneys worth. WDW doesn't have to maintain high standards anymore. They have a captive audience.

Another side effect of DDP and free dining is the restaurants are packed. In the past we never made ADR's. We would get to WDW and make a few ADR's for our stay then. If you do that now you'll be lucky to get in anywhere. I do not want to plan my whole trip 180 days in advance to get a seat at these crummy restaurants. Bad enough you have to book DVC so far in advance. I don't find all that planning relaxing in the least.

I will not support this plan out of principle and I hope others follow up with complaints. Just because you saved money does not mean it is good in the long run.

The part of your post about not carrying money????? We don't carry money at WDW, we charge to the room. DDP would be more work IMO. We've seen numerous reports of how god they are with tracking that.

If this slide continues I'll be out. A good meal with a bottle of wine is an important element of our DVC trips and will get even more important as our son ages. Force me to go off site to get that and I might as well stay there.

I agree that there have been some not so great changes in restaurants at WDW in the past 2 years. I don't know if they ALL are directly related to the dining plan though. WDW has always had dining plans. We used the old dreammaker plans for 4 years in a row 2000-2003 . They were much more expensive though, and I gather from people on the restaurant board, not that popular because of the price. We eat at least 2 TS meals a day though, and they were great for our family.

This new plan is radically different than the old ones. The first is the price. Lets face it, it is really cheap. I'm sure that has a great deal to do with its popularity. Also, they give it away for free 2 months of the year. I just read that WDW will again (for the 3rd year in a row) be doing free dining in 2007. All those people who said the DDP would never last and free dining would be a one time thing were wrong. Disney must make money on this plan and they heavily promote it. I couldn't call to make an ADR without having a dining CM launch into praise of the plan.

Three big things I noticed since the plans inception are the crowds at the restaurants-not a big deal for me as I'm a serious planner. I can see how others who don't like to mico-plan their days might not like this. Also, portion size is way down. I'm talking appetizers that you used to be able to share between 4 people are now really, really sized for one. Even DH noticed this during our October trip. They are tiny now. The third thing is the removal of some items from the menu, including more expensive items like lobster at Coral Reef. I guess all of these things could be related to the DDP or they could all be part of a larger cost-cutting plan. Either way, I doubt the plan is going anywhere. Although Disney may make the plan bigger and better for a price-kind of like "magic your way" but with dining, not tickets. Recent Disney surveys suggest they may offer different plans in the future.

I do believe your comment about a "captive audience" is true. I mean, if you use magical express and stay onsite, where are you going to eat? Throw in a fairly inexpensive dining plan and Disneys got you for every meal. Dining has always been a huge part of our Disney vacations and I am dissapointed by some of these changes.

Also, my comment about not carrying cash was made by my neighbors who went to Mexico. I do use my room key to charge things while at Disney.

 

[dumbo71]

I agree that there have been some not so great changes in restaurants at WDW in the past 2 years. I don't know if they ALL are directly related to the dining plan though. WDW has always had dining plans. We used the old dreammaker plans for 4 years in a row 2000-2003 . They were much more expensive though, and I gather from people on the restaurant board, not that popular because of the price. We eat at least 2 TS meals a day though, and they were great for our family.

This new plan is radically different than the old ones. The first is the price. Lets face it, it is really cheap. I'm sure that has a great deal to do with its popularity. Also, they give it away for free 2 months of the year. I just read that WDW will again (for the 3rd year in a row) be doing free dining in 2007. All those people who said the DDP would never last and free dining would be a one time thing were wrong. Disney must make money on this plan and they heavily promote it. I couldn't call to make an ADR without having a dining CM launch into praise of the plan.

Three big things I noticed since the plans inception are the crowds at the restaurants-not a big deal for me as I'm a serious planner. I can see how others who don't like to mico-plan their days might not like this. Also, portion size is way down. I'm talking appetizers that you used to be able to share between 4 people are now really, really sized for one. Even DH noticed this during our October trip. They are tiny now. The third thing is the removal of some items from the menu, including more expensive items like lobster at Coral Reef. I guess all of these things could be related to the DDP or they could all be part of a larger cost-cutting plan. Either way, I doubt the plan is going anywhere. Although Disney may make the plan bigger and better for a price-kind of like "magic your way" but with dining, not tickets. Recent Disney surveys suggest they may offer different plans in the future.

I do believe your comment about a "captive audience" is true. I mean, if you use magical express and stay onsite, where are you going to eat? Throw in a fairly inexpensive dining plan and Disneys got you for every meal. Dining has always been a huge part of our Disney vacations and I am dissapointed by some of these changes.

Also, my comment about not carrying cash was made by my neighbors who went to Mexico. I do use my room key to charge things while at Disney.

Thanks for not just reflexively defending the DDP and free dining. Nice post and many good thoughts and views.

 

[Starr W.]

I just find it amusing that we have the healthy kids menu(a whole topic on it's own). While the DDP leads to people possibly eating too much(healthy food or not). I have read many threads that people don't want to waste money so they order app & dessert every night. One person said she gained 15 lbs in a week on the DDP(it was a message posted on these boards).

Also the effects of it, in people being rather rude to hosts/hostesses at TS resturants who being on the DDP didn't realize they need ADR's(worst was Monday 11/20 at LTT).

 

[magerzoo]

We just got back from a trip and we LOVED using the DD plan! For sure its tons of food, but it beats having to worry about the cost! The best trick I found (I am sure other people know about this too!) is that you can get a box of donuts and it is only 1 snack option! (also a large bottle of soda or 1/2 gallon of milk was 1 snack at SSR!) This was great for a quick breakfast!!

 

[dumbo71]

We just got back from a trip and we LOVED using the DD plan! For sure its tons of food, but it beats having to worry about the cost! The best trick I found (I am sure other people know about this too!) is that you can get a box of donuts and it is only 1 snack option! (also a large bottle of soda or 1/2 gallon of milk was 1 snack at SSR!) This was great for a quick breakfast!!

Is this post a pot stirring or are you serious?

This, if true, really gets under my skin. Giving others tip to save even more money with the plan???

Haven't we seen enough cutbacks. Oh yeah, I forgot, all that matters is that YOU saved money and took advantage of a generous program.

 

[Tinker74]

We love the dining plan. ...I don't think DH would go to DW without it.
It was so easy and convienient knowing all our meals were taken care of. Plus as we were going in August it was FREE!!
We live in the UK and have booked again to go in August again with free dining.

 

[jodifla]

We love the dining plan. ...I don't think DH would go to DW without it.
It was so easy and convienient knowing all our meals were taken care of. Plus as we were going in August it was FREE!!
We live in the UK and have booked again to go in August again with free dining.

This is too bad. Attitudes like this are ruining Disney dining.

 

[3DisneyKids]

First, there is an sticky about the DDP over on the Dining board. Not trying to pass the buck, just mentioning it in case you don't know. There are TONS of opinions and discussions...in favor and against...there that will be helpful to you, IMO.

I like the plan. DH loves the plan. For us, we like it because (1) I plan everything anyway. If you like to "play it by EAR" then you would not like the plan. (2) Like to know that it has already been budgeted/paid for. It has allowed us to try many restaurants that we never would have tried before (due to sticker shock). (3) Our appetizer portions and entree portions have been HUGE. We went in May 2006 and again in Oct. 2006 and had very generous portions everywhere. We have ONLY received excellent service. We have never once encountered the "my tip is already paid for" attitude from any server.

On the downside...yes, the TS restaurants can be packed. We don't go during peak travel times (and actually, we tend not to eat during peak meal times either), so we have always been able to get what we want, when we want it. I have even changed some ADR's the day before and had no problem. However, yes, I would expect full restaurants and perhaps even a wait even with an ADR (we have never waited for more than 5 minutes, but again, we are off-peak).

The only thing that really bothers me is the gentrification, if you will, of the menus. True, we are seeing less of the signature and unique dishes. This is only tangentially related to the DDP, though, I think. The items that are gone from the menus are the ones that were not selling. Supply and demand, plain and simple. Possibly related to the DDP because now more people are eating at TS and thus there is more of a majority by which to set the "rule" of what is a popular dish and what is not.

All that being said, I think the DDP COULD be absolutely outstanding. Like most things in life, Disney is trying it out (there have been other dining plans, as we know) and hopefully they will be able to keep what is good about the plan, modify it to make it stronger, and so on.

 

[jodifla]

First, there is an sticky about the DDP over on the Dining board. Not trying to pass the buck, just mentioning it in case you don't know. There are TONS of opinions and discussions...in favor and against...there that will be helpful to you, IMO.

I like the plan. DH loves the plan. For us, we like it because (1) I plan everything anyway. If you like to "play it by EAR" then you would not like the plan. (2) Like to know that it has already been budgeted/paid for. It has allowed us to try many restaurants that we never would have tried before (due to sticker shock). (3) Our appetizer portions and entree portions have been HUGE. We went in May 2006 and again in Oct. 2006 and had very generous portions everywhere. We have ONLY received excellent service. We have never once encountered the "my tip is already paid for" attitude from any server.

On the downside...yes, the TS restaurants can be packed. We don't go during peak travel times (and actually, we tend not to eat during peak meal times either), so we have always been able to get what we want, when we want it. I have even changed some ADR's the day before and had no problem. However, yes, I would expect full restaurants and perhaps even a wait even with an ADR (we have never waited for more than 5 minutes, but again, we are off-peak).

The only thing that really bothers me is the gentrification, if you will, of the menus. True, we are seeing less of the signature and unique dishes. This is only tangentially related to the DDP, though, I think. The items that are gone from the menus are the ones that were not selling. Supply and demand, plain and simple. Possibly related to the DDP because now more people are eating at TS and thus there is more of a majority by which to set the "rule" of what is a popular dish and what is not.

All that being said, I think the DDP COULD be absolutely outstanding. Like most things in life, Disney is trying it out (there have been other dining plans, as we know) and hopefully they will be able to keep what is good about the plan, modify it to make it stronger, and so on.

They aren't likely dropping things because they don't sell. They are dropping menu items because they are TOO GOOD and TOO EXPENSIVE.

I find it shocking that people say they didn't go to TS restaurants before because they were "too expensive." They weren't that much more than any upscale restaurant. But not, the masses are dragging down the experience for the rest of us.

 

[rinkwide]

...the masses are dragging down the experience for the rest of us.

You forgot the word 'unwashed'.

 

[CarolMN]

Since the OP's original questions have been answered and the subsequent "discussion" is not DVC related, I'm closing this thread.

Those who want to discuss further (may do so on the Dining Plan Forum.