Tusker House is now 2 dining credits!

[Tom P.]

See I think it's much more that they were testing their systems behind the scenes and preparing for the changes and something happened where it went live as opposed to staying offline. Then they had to figure out where that was coming from, how to take it down and put the old info up without disturbing the website bookings, make sure doing so was not going to impact reservations in the system, etc. I can see it taking a day or two to fix. Without being IT guy, my guess is something as large as the Disney site with as much going on as there is, it's not quite as simple as just rolling back to a previous version.

Well, and let's just be totally honest here... Disney's IT department has a history of being pretty darn incompetent. I'm the IT Director for a much smaller organization. I'm not going to claim that I could walk in and make the IT department work for a company the size of Disney. But I do know enough to be able to identify when something is not working as well as it should. And their IT definitely does not work as well as it should for a company of their size. The number of "glitches," bugs, and downright crashes that occur is really just staggering.

 

[AnnaKat]

I don't know. Breakfast is already like $10-15 cheaper than lunch/dinner, so if they increase by the exact same amount, that could put lunch/dinner over the 2 credit mark but not move breakfast over it.

Another thing just came to mind. As I stated before, since raising prices 6 months or so ago, Hollywood and Vine was completely dead when we were there (never seen it half of what it was). Can that place really afford a large increase? Are they going to just increase some dining and not others (another one, 1900 you can usually get reservations for. Same with Cape May). H&V is on par or even more expensive than Tusker already. So many questions about this and so much frustration.

It is hard to believe that ressies won't drop with probable early Oct. price increases!

The Dis Character Meal/Buffet/AYCTE pricing thread on top of the rest of the Dis restaurant threads
is showing a huge increase for Hollywood & Vine for lunch, effective Oct. 2nd, 2016-- to $40.47!!
H & V dinner shows a jump to $51.12, the same as Oct. 2016 dinner price for Chef Mickey's!

The 10/2/2016 breakfast price shown for H & V is $31.95, a much smaller increase by comparison.

ALSO, the 10/2/2016 Character Buffet price for breakfast of $31.95 is also showing for Garden Grill,
Cape May, Tusker House & I think it was also for 1900 Park Fare.

 

[AnnaKat]

Well if we are suddenly charged 2 credits for our already planned out and booked week in mid-October, our lunchtime Tusker House reservation will be opening up. We'll be cancelling and eating elsewhere. We won't have the credits left for it in our plan and paying out of pocket in addition to paying for the dining plan means the DDP was officially a scam and lost us money in the end.

EDIT - Honestly, it just makes me angry. We did our due diligence on this thing. Before booking anything, we figured out where we were going, where we'd prefer to eat, we looked at menus and figured out what we would like to eat there. I calculated price and included tip. I compared the dining plans vs. OOP costs and came up with the best solution. We booked the best solution. And luckily we were able to get ADRs for that plan at 180 days. And now the rules may be changing. I understand there are disclaimers and things can change at any point. But after putting in the time and effort, it will really leave a bad taste in my mouth. Just the suggestion that is MAY be happening does to be honest.

It's not just bad news for families using the DDP for their character meals.
The Dis Character Meal/Buffet/AYCTE thread on top of the rest of the Dis restaurant threads
shows CRT as $75.83 , effective 10/2/2016
for lunch , dinner,
AND breakfast!

Makes the $31.95 breakfast price for CP , TH, Cape May , Garden Grill & 1900 P F , effective 10/2/2016 seem like a
" bargain " by comparison for OOP!!

 

[JohnDaleswife]

We no longer do the character buffets. They are just not worth the price to us now. And we don't even do the characters in the parks. But a good point was made earlier, if Disney does raise the prices significantly and sees a drop in reservations, will they cut down on the meet and greets in the parks?

 

[Missyrose]

Does the same hold true for via DVC? Would it go back to the same gift card? Hopefully I still have it.

This actually is probably the best answer as it gives me some flexibility and prevents being bullied. Regardless this will be a major dissatisfier if it comes to pass. I hope we get at least 30 days notice. I would assume there gets to be some legality concerns if they change the price while you are eating. Best answer is still make change for 2017 and publish changes ASAP so people know the TS credit cost as they book.

Yes, same principle applies to a DVC reservation. Having the gift card is Disney's preferred method of refunding. But if you don't have it, Disney can figure out another option, it just might take a bit longer.

 

[manning]

Wow, that's unbelievable. They've turned the dining plan from a bargain to a total rip-off. So if you figure the DDP is $64 per person per day, and say you get $25 worth of food from a QS meal (a stretch), and $5 for your snack, that means Tusker House, Akershus and Chef Mickey's will now cost you $68 to eat at on the dining plan - and "only" $40 - 45 if you pay cash.

It's time for people to stop accepting these screw jobs from Disney - be aware of costs and STOP purchasing the dining plan!

What people are willing to pay for these things is becoming embarrassing.

And to @disneydad1000 that hopes they were grandfathered in - sorry, you aren't. Time to use those dining credits elsewhere.

But it's Disney. Got to spend no matter what. What is a budget?

 

[Mac30188]

Yes, same principle applies to a DVC reservation. Having the gift card is Disney's preferred method of refunding. But if you don't have it, Disney can figure out another option, it just might take a bit longer.

Thank you very much for info. I will keep this in my back pocket. I am still hopeful they will not be so underhanded to those with reservations, but it is nice to know I have recourse if they do stoop to that level. Regardless on their intentions, Disney's communications or lack thereof is frustrating. It would be such a simple, inexpensive, and incredibly satisfying change if they were decisive and communicated early enough so people could plan effectively on Disney's prescribed timeline.

 

[Eoghann]

It's one thing to say we're not going to pay for early morning entry. The kids don't miss out on anything other than a less crowded park for an hour. But to take a Disney vacation and then decide not to give the kids one of their favorite experiences at all because of price increases? I don't see us doing that. Perhaps Disney's increases will get to the point where we decide we can't afford to go at all. But if we're going, we'll probably grin and bear it because those experiences are important to us. And you know what? I suspect a lot of parents will feel the same way, and I'm sure that's what Disney is banking on. And even if their bookings for those restaurants drop by, say, 25%... if they've jacked the prices up by 40%, they're still coming out ahead.

You can be certain this is what Disney are banking on.

For me, the buffets were already on the verge of poor value. There was no way I or my kids would eat enough food to justify the price, the additional character interactions were the only thing that made it worthwhile. If the price increase happens, I'll happily walk away from buffets and table service. I'll happily eat chicken nuggets and burgers for a few days rather than be ripped off.

 

[glvsav37]

Seeing all the character buffets now at a $59.99 price for adults and $35 for kids.

crazy

 

[mom2rtk]

Seeing all the character buffets now at a $59.99 price for adults and $35 for kids.

crazy

And don't forget, "adult" starts at age 10.

 

[glvsav37]

And don't forget, "adult" starts at age 10.

^^^^ this...no way my 10 year old eats $60 of food in a week, let alone 1 meal!!!

 

[GreatLakes]

Tusker House lunch/dinner is the one character meal we find worth the price. Most of the character meals we've done seem to think the food is an afterthought and all that matters are the characters. We always really liked the food at Tusker House and while it isn't a price we would pay normally for a buffet it's cost when you factor in the characters and "Disney tax" isn't too high for us. We would much rather pay that for the quality food we get there than the swill we've had at some other meals (I'm talking about you Chef Mickey and CRT).

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Seeing all the character buffets now at a $59.99 price for adults and $35 for kids.

crazy

Anyone think about how much your tip will be going up? I bet the waiters and waitresses will be loving this uptick in price.

 

[jknc]

As a stockholder I absolutely love the price increases.

 

[CaliTex]

There is no way I would pay this for a character buffet, and I don't care if Mickey Mouse was personally waiting on us and Minnie was dabbing at our mouths with the napkin.

I grew up going to Disneyland every year and our family never stood in line for characters. We never dined with them, either. And I promise you we all had fun and experienced the magic. We are going in December (perhaps the last on site visit at this rate) and it appears we will not be partaking of character meals. I also promise you it will not impact the DGC's enjoyment of Disney whatsoever. Just us, I know--but kids are unique in their ability to adapt and enjoy many, many things--I don't think costumed characters are a make or break for most of them.

Enough is enough, Disney.

 

[zebsterama]

This is first trip that we're going minus the dining plan - and after reading about these changes, I say, thank goodness!

Let me see ... California Grill or Tusker House??? .... Hmmmm????

 

[zebsterama]

People buy the plan so their dining expenses are somewhat capped at Disney. Disney has everyone plan 180 days in advance and people have budgeted x amount for their trip. When you think you are using your plan for specific meals and the terms change it alters your plans and budget.

Aside from the argument of 'it's within their right to do whatever they want, just read the fine print' I find it incomprehensible how anyone can defend Disney with some of these moves.

I'm not impacted by this change in the slightest ... but more and more I'm starting to regret this upcoming trip. I'm used to gladly paying through the nose for my Magical Experience , but jeeeez, come on already.

Before someone states the obvious --- yes I know, no one is forcing me to go / I can cancel my trip. It just saddens me - how much Disney has changed: very little to the better IMO.

 

[ChipnDale79]

As a stockholder I absolutely love the price increases.

So you're living in a short term view point as well huh?

At some point, these increases are going to hurt your holdings.

 

[OldsDr]

As a stockholder I absolutely love the price increases.

As a shareholder this scares me. I don't have enough shares for these price increases to be made up for in share price increases or dividend increases. Plus these price increase may have a long term negative pull on the stock price when people start refusing to pay.

 

[twebber55]

it didnt take them long to figure out that people are gonna use DDP for tusker house to see The nighttime show. which was my plan as well.