TIW(DDE) card now $75

[patsal]

Can the card be used for counter meals also?

Thanks, Kate

Only at resorts with no TS location and at AK.

 

[patsal]

I'm figuring $75 buys almost a weeks worth of groceries for home, $375 would be a months worth and for a 2 week vacation I can cook a lot of easy to prepare meals in my villa for well under that amount. I eat at WDW for the convenience, lets face it not the quality ro creativity anymore, I'll plan on that for 2010. My current card will be good for 2009.
Besides between the DVC perks and AP perks I can get 10% off at a lot of places anyway.

 

[ead79]

Well, that's a bummer. But for DH and I the TIW card is still worth it. We are typically able to use it for 2 trips, and we usually eat at table service restaurants. The DDP just isn't a good fit for our eating habits. So despite the price increase, the TIW card will still save us a bundle!

 

[LIFERBABE]

I'm figuring $75 buys almost a weeks worth of groceries for home, $375 would be a months worth and for a 2 week vacation I can cook a lot of easy to prepare meals in my villa for well under that amount. I eat at WDW for the convenience, lets face it not the quality ro creativity anymore, I'll plan on that for 2010. My current card will be good for 2009.
Besides between the DVC perks and AP perks I can get 10% off at a lot of places anyway.

I agree. If the food were worth it, it would be more enticing, but the variety has definitely suffered and dining out is not always that convenient. I let my card expire, plus with free dining more available, I'd rather just do that for 3 days and hit our favorites. The food is barely worth it when it's free imo.
Also with the TIW dont you automatically pay 18% gratuity?

I think the 2nd card increase is pretty out there.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We'll go with just one card next year. I think $50 is too much to pay for a second one.

Bobbi

 

[granmanh603]

The CM did mention the fee if you lose it is $50 for a replacement....now that is because I think people did abuse that, saying they lost a card and then getting a new one...now they have 2 without paying for the second card....so I can understand that....I just sure hope I don't lose it...oh they are back to a junkie looking paper cards too and they have no AP holders so you could keep them together in that .
Oh and I just got an email from TGIFridays and they have 10 9.99 entrees, theyare not raising prices and there is one in the Crossroads Shopping plaza right down from DTD.
You can use the card for counter service in AK, and at Port Orleans food court too and AP at SSR.

 

[allshookup]

Just as a side note, the card was marketed to apply to up to 10 people and the discount was specifically stated to include alcohol. If someone used the discount for a table of 10 people who had drinks, they were using the card the way it was intended, they were not abusing the discount in anyway or trying to get more than was intended with the card.

Thank you I was just about to post the same thing, that the card is meant for a table full of people. It always amazes me that when Disney does something like increase prices directed at their most loyal customers during a very difficult economic time, that their is always someone defending Disney & blaming the consumer for abusing the system. Sorry but I don't feel bad for Disney execs who have been raking in millions of dollars over the years. According to an article from the Washington Post dated February 9, 2009: "Ask the Securities and Exchange Commission what Walt Disney Co. chief executive Robert A. Iger made last year, and you get $30.6 million. Now ask Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate for the Corporate Library, and you get a different answer: $21.4 million. Want another opinion? It's not hard to find one. Here's what Graef Crystal, an expert on executive compensation, came up with: $51.1 million." Either way, suffice it to say it was a LOT of money! Why don't they try cutting out some of their own "perks" instead of directing their cost savings at their devoted employees & their most loyal consumers!

IMHO, they should be rewarding their repeat customers, many of which are less about being park commando & more likely to spend more leisure time & therefore more money at restaurants, bars, cirque du soliel, etc. instead of spending most of their resources on marketing to new consumers (and quite a few of them might make that once in a lifetime trek never to return)! Do they need to increase prices now & then...yes but that should go along with a growing economy. Do they need to bring in more customers every year...sure they do, but if they keep ignoring us (the ever faithful patrons) they might turn around one day & wonder why we stopped coming! It could happen!

 

[Brian Noble]

Discounts are never offered solely to reward loyalty. They are offered in the hopes of generating more business. That's not defending Disney, by the way---it's just the way business works.

The "ever-faithful patrons" have demonstrated that they'll come back more or less no matter what. Until and unless people really do stop coming to the restaurants in the face of price increases there's no reason for Disney to be more generous.

As Don Corleone so eloquently put it: "It's not personal. It's strictly business."

 

[allshookup]

I agree. If the food were worth it, it would be more enticing, but the variety has definitely suffered and dining out is not always that convenient. I let my card expire, plus with free dining more available, I'd rather just do that for 3 days and hit our favorites. The food is barely worth it when it's free imo.
Also with the TIW dont you automatically pay 18% gratuity?

I think the 2nd card increase is pretty out there.

Since you're having to pay rack rate to get the free dining, it's not really "free" but it can be a nice savings if staying at a value resort.

Also yes they do include 18% gratuity, but since I normally pay 20%, I'm saving even more money with the TIW card. I do agree that many of the selections have gone down hill along with a recent price increase on not only the TIW card but also at the restaurants. Just one more way that Disney is "cutting costs".

I've seen the cutting of menu items & quality on the DCL Magic too, so they are doing it across the board, & they are not the only corporation to do so. If you go to any cruise chat board, you will see a LOT of complaints about how RCCL is cutting corners, right down to no more chocolates on the pillows & you will see the staunch defenders of how they have to do that to make money.

 

[Brian Noble]

I think you may be mis-characterizing the "defenders". I'm often accused of it, and I'm not defending anything.

Rather, I just understand that I am necessarily in an adversarial relationship with anyone who wants to sell me something. They want to get as much of my money as they can. I want to give them as little as possible. If we can find a number that both of us can agree to, we do business. If we can't, well, someone else will have to buy it, rather than me.

I don't think it's "right" or "wrong" for companies to try to do this. It just is. The question isn't whether or not it's "right" or "wrong". The question is: do I still want that card at this price?

For me, the $15 doesn't make much of a difference. If I already need an AP (because I'm coming two or more times in the same year), it still pays to have the card for my family. In a year when I'm only coming once, I didn't need it before, and still don't.

 

[Anal Annie]

I agree, but at least the TIW card is still a great way to save on food for the trip! It doesn't take long to spend $375 at Disney World, and we have our card good through February of next year. Unfortunately, we are traveling in March next year! LOL, oh well, we already have our price back and then some!

DARN it!!!

No, it certainly doesn't take long to spend that much on food at WDW but it has to be spent at a restaurant that takes the card which takes a bit of planning and leaves several places out. THAT is what's hard for us to do. I WAS planning to go ahead & get the card on our trip in May so we could use it through 3 trips. But as a family of 3 who doesn't always, always do TS it took us about 8-9 days to recover the old $60 fee. Now we would be hard pressed to ever get the $75 back. For our May trip which is a quick 4 nights, I have only booked 2 TS meals - and neither place takes the TIW card (T-Rex and Wolfgang Puck Cafe, both in DTD). I don't know if Artist Palette at SSR takes it (probably not, right) but so that means the only time we may get a chance to use it would be for a CS meal at AK for this trip. So we would be looking at like a whopping $5-10 savings over the entire 4 days. We would use it more for our 10 n trip to BCV & VB in August...but it's not looking like such a hot idea for us any more. We may just try to be sure to eat at more places where we can get the DVC or AP discount like the 2 ressies we have in May.

(I wish Allears would update their comparison chart for the 3 diff. plans.)

(PS) Anybody know if VB offers a DVC discount for meals??

 

[famsen]

It would be nice and simple of Disney just came out and said Annual Pass holders and DVC members get a straight 10% off all meals across the board by showing their cards.
I live by a simple principal: I do not pay for discount "priviledges".
I used to be asked at my local video store if I wanted to purchase a special rewards membership for $10 where I would get a free movie after every 3rd rental. My response was always the same: Why charge me $10? Why not just "reward" me with the free rental? What is the $10 fee for?
I feel the same way with a certain large chain bookstore. They charge $25 for a "membership" to get a discount on future purchases.
What is the fee going towards?
Either give me a discount or don't. Don't ask me to pay for getting it.

 

[nunzia]

Just as a side note, the card was marketed to apply to up to 10 people and the discount was specifically stated to include alcohol. If someone used the discount for a table of 10 people who had drinks, they were using the card the way it was intended, they were not abusing the discount in anyway or trying to get more than was intended with the card.

nono, I wasn't even suggesting that..but pointing out that if you buy for a table of 10 you are making that cost up pretty quickly. I'm sorry if my wording implied I thought people were abusing the card.

 

[allshookup]

I think you may be mis-characterizing the "defenders". I'm often accused of it, and I'm not defending anything.

Rather, I just understand that I am necessarily in an adversarial relationship with anyone who wants to sell me something. They want to get as much of my money as they can. I want to give them as little as possible. If we can find a number that both of us can agree to, we do business. If we can't, well, someone else will have to buy it, rather than me.

I don't think it's "right" or "wrong" for companies to try to do this. It just is. The question isn't whether or not it's "right" or "wrong". The question is: do I still want that card at this price?

For me, the $15 doesn't make much of a difference. If I already need an AP (because I'm coming two or more times in the same year), it still pays to have the card for my family. In a year when I'm only coming once, I didn't need it before, and still don't.

There are those that defend Disney regardless of what they do, not saying you are in that category. I realize that it's just business & Disney isn't going to offer us rewards just because we're loyal customers, but I still think it makes better business sense to try and keep us coming & not just assume we will. I think a lot of businesses cut corners & increase prices till they are no longer the entity they started out being & then they wonder why they lose customers.

Case in point, Portabello Yacht Club in DTD used to have a parmesan encrusted tenderloin & a jumbo shrimp pasta dish on their menu. We were loyal customers & raved about Portabello to anybody going to WDW. Then they took those items off the menu, offered a baby shrimp pasta dish instead, stopped giving generous & free samples of their sangria & increased their prices all at the same time! I know they are not owned by Disney, but we stopped going & recommending it. Don't know if they lost a lot of business, but I did see some threads on the restaurant board about how disappointed people were. I also know that it never seemed busy when we went by & now they've changed their name to just Portabello & they have a whole new menu maybe in hopes of winning some customers back?

Obviously Disney isn't going to lose their loyal customers over a $15 dollar increase, and we'll still purchase the card, but this is just the first of many I've seen recently & like I said during tough economic times for many people. With quality slipping, perks being taken & prices increasing, I imagine there IS a breaking point depending on the person. Their cruise line lost our business, but we still love going to WDW...for now!

 

[Golden Rose]

As long as V & A takes the TiW card, we'll keep buying it. It more than paid for itself with only one night of use. (We both had the wine flight... and it seemed like a bargain with the TiW card.)

I'm a little annoyed at the price increase, but it won't matter to us for almost a year. It's not that big a deal, it's just $15.

 

[disneynutz]

WDW averages about 18 million Guests per year. If only 200,000 of those Guests buy the TIW card, that's a 3 million dollar profit for just changing the price and not giving their Guests any additional benefits. Looks like greed to me.

 

[Brian Noble]

I imagine there IS a breaking point depending on the person.

That would be true even if nothing changed for the worse---familiarity breeds contempt. But, history has shown that such "boil-the-frog" increases (a few dollars here, a few dollars there) do not negatively impact attendance, etc.---those who are turned away are replaced by even more new faces.

 

[JUFAL]

Lucked out and bought my TIW renewal two months before trip at old price.
However, it's bothering me that as you call to make reservations they always ask first if you have DDP or TIW and then you always seem to find the only availability is very early (5:00_ 5:30 ) or in the case of O'HANA (9:30-10:00 PM)
At O'HANA, I was seven weeks early, with a window of 14 days
Wonder what would happen if I answered NO to the question of a discount plan ? I know its popular but 50 days early and a two week window ? Are they really that booked ?
Feedback appreciated

 

[doconeill]

Lucked out and bought my TIW renewal two months before trip at old price.
However, it's bothering me that as you call to make reservations they always ask first if you have DDP or TIW and then you always seem to find the only availability is very early (5:00_ 5:30 ) or in the case of O'HANA (9:30-10:00 PM)
At O'HANA, I was seven weeks early, with a window of 14 days
Wonder what would happen if I answered NO to the question of a discount plan ? I know its popular but 50 days early and a two week window ? Are they really that booked ?
Feedback appreciated

Are they asking if you have the TIW card? I thought they only asked if you had the DDP. DW is pretty certain that they did not ask about the TIW card when she last called. If you call for a prepaid meal like CRT, I've said that I will have the TIW card so they do not charge me full in advance. Instead they treated it like I was was planning on having the DDP so they didn't charge in advance (they do still take the credit card for a cancellation charge), but I was able to pay at the table.

I need to call tomorrow, I'll to remember to report back here.

'Ohana is getting to be pretty popular. 50 days is well within the 90 day calling window. I don't think having TIW had anything to do with it.

 

[Muushka]

We are just 2 adults. We bought it when it was $50 and it was barely a deal. $75, no thanks, no brainer for us!