UPDATE - ALL restaurants from 2008 back on for the 2009 DDP!

[PaulaSB12]

Any word on the non disney resteraunts? I am sure most of them will be back on board (I mean a resteraunt that doesn't want 6 months of reservations!) as disney really has the upper hand on this and they are really plugging the ddp.

 

[NMW]

This happens every year with the non-Disney owned restautrants. I wouldn't worry about it, they always end up on the list in December. As another poster mentioned, Disney really, really pushes the dining plans/wine plans on people. When I booked our May trip, the CM told me in great detail about all the plans and how now, there is a plan for absolutely everyone that comes to WDW.

I would doubt that T-Rex is going to come on though, since they have stated that they are not. If anything, it's probabaly on premium and platinum plans, like Rainforest cafe.

 

[TDC Nala]

the CM told me in great detail about all the plans and how now, there is a plan for absolutely everyone that comes to WDW.

Where's mine?

I think someday when I am able to stay a week or longer, I could try the premium plan and do all the tours.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Where's mine?

I think someday when I am able to stay a week or longer, I could try the premium plan and do all the tours.

Terrible idea!

 

[TDC Nala]

Terrible idea!

OK, never mind

Actually the cost doesn't seem that it would be that bad for one person.

 

[wifey]

This is the link we have for 2009 dining plan:http://adisneycruise.disney.go.com/...dia/reserve/packages/2009DisneyDiningPlan.pdf

 

[Sharron379]

ARGH!!!! That is a very upsetting list. Some of restaurant that I have ADR's at for our trip Feb. 4-12 is not included. Do you think they will update the list? I hope so. I am so type A that this list has put a wrench in my planning and spreadsheets. Let's hope for a list change and update soon.

Sharron

 

[disneymom1980]

Sharron~That's exactly what I'm hoping for......two of the restaurants we were really looking forward to eating at are not on the list

 

[NMW]

Where's mine?

I think someday when I am able to stay a week or longer, I could try the premium plan and do all the tours.

Well, I have admit the CM I spoke to was gushing a little too much about the plans. I just thought she was excited about the plans and loves her job.

Just because I'm curious, what kind of plan would you like? For what it's worth, our family didn't like the basic plan because we dislike CS every day (2-3 times per trip is my limit). When using that plan, we always paid OOP for TS breakfasts and some lunches. We did use the premium plan in 2003 (when it was called dreammaker gold plan) and never used all the extras that came with the food-babysitting, tours, boat rentals, etc. Those things still hold no interest for us. The deluxe plan however, is a perfect fit. We do several signatures, our character/resort breakfasts, and a couple lunches. We have not changed the way we eat at Disney. We still eat exactly the same, it's just now we have a plan that "fits" the way we do Disney.

It seems Disney with the quick service plan, the basic and the deluxe has a lot of people covered. Is there another plan you would like Disney to offer? I know I emailed them about 20 times asking for a deluxe-type plan after using the basic plan and finding it lacking. Just curious!

 

[allisonswonderland]

I would like more flexibility we do mostly ts but we did deluxe and every day that was just too much food for us. The appetizers and dessert was what made it so much for like I said I wish there was something well like deluxe but a little less.

 

[ryan840]

This is the link we have for 2009 dining plan:http://adisneycruise.disney.go.com/...dia/reserve/packages/2009DisneyDiningPlan.pdf

Thanks for the link. I'm new to this area, is this the final version or should we still hope for those missing restaraunts to be added back?

 

[Sharron379]

I am hoping for some major pixie dust. Goofy's Candy in DTD, the Pastry shop in France, Yak and Yeti, Earl's sandwhich (DTD) and some other's are not included. This is very upsetting!

Sharron

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

What restaurant has y'all so upset?

Do you think maybe they are eliminating some of the places available due to the complaints from non-DDP users?
Wondering what some of your thoughts are....
TIA

 

[wifey]

I am hoping for some major pixie dust. Goofy's Candy in DTD, the Pastry shop in France, Yak and Yeti, Earl's sandwhich (DTD) and some other's are not included. This is very upsetting!

Sharron

We understand completely those are some of the places we were thinking abut too. As far as I can gather sometimes it takes longer for Disney to negotiate a deal with the restaurants not owned by Disney at both the parks and at DTD. So I'm not giving up hope just yet, it may take until the New Year to get the details hashed out and then finally added *or not* to the DDP. I just hope the drastic drop in bookings does not affect things too adversely. We don't want to have to pay OOP for meals when we've already purchased the plan for our whole stay. The point of using the plan is to eliminate further spending on our budget for food.
So we are keeping our finger crossed this is sorted out soon

 

[NMW]

I would like more flexibility we do mostly ts but we did deluxe and every day that was just too much food for us. The appetizers and dessert was what made it so much for like I said I wish there was something well like deluxe but a little less.

I'm always baffled by the "too much food" argument. You don't have to eat everything they give you. If we didn't want dessert one night, we just didn't get it. Or maybe we would take it to go. We also did not use snack credits for food. We used them mostly for bottles of water and soda. Two snack credits per person, per day seems like a lot, but it was hot in May and we got a lot of drinks. I know some people think using a snack credit for water is a "waste" when you could get a food item, but we didn't want the food items, we wanted the water.

We had a character breakfast every day. We like protein in the AM. On previous trips when we tried the pastery/doughnut thing, my kids were starving by 11 AM. We just don't do that anymore. So, we used a breakfast credit every day.

We did 4 signature dinners, so there were 3 days we had no lunch plans for credits. One day we paid cash for Brown Derby lunch and the others we used snack credits for fries and bought the kids CS stuff they wanted. We also do late dinners, 7:30 was our earliest, most were after 8 PM. So, we were always hungry by then.

Personally, we would have been unhappy if there was "less" food. We like appetizers and with early breakfasts and late dinners, we had no problem eating 3 meals a day. I am not a huge eater by the way. So, if I could eat like this, anyone could!

 

[Tricia1972]

I see good points for the plan, but can also see the point of those that feel it's too much food.

When we did the math, we figured out what we would eat, not what we could eat. Because everyone who says you don't need to eat all the food offered is 100% correct!

If we have an appetizer, we share one between the 5 adults.

If we order dessert, we may order one or two desserts and share.

We don't always necessarily order 5 adult entrees, depending on how hungry everyone is feeling.

We think Disney TS is ok, but prefer signatures.

For us, we saved money by not doing the plan and using our DDE (now TiW) card in March 2008. I think it's important to remember that some use the dining plans to save money, some use it for convenience. Neither way of using the plan is wrong.

We also felt a freedom when we could call and cancel our TS reservation for the night because nobody was in the mood to sit down, but rather wanted to snack around Epcot.

Our way is not the best way for everyone, but I think it's dismissive for those that say that they're baffled because some people feel it's too much food for them.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

subscribing...keep fingers crossed for CSR restaurants or we will be changing resorts!!

 

[Colleen27]

What restaurant has y'all so upset?

Do you think maybe they are eliminating some of the places available due to the complaints from non-DDP users?
Wondering what some of your thoughts are....
TIA

For me, it is the loss of the World Showcase options that would be the deal-breaker. We love ethnic food but live in a small town with no nice restaurants, so good food is a big part of our vacation style. Tutto Italia, Restaurant Marrakesh and both Japanese restaurants are on our "must do" list for our next trip.

The loss of usefulness at DTD isn't as troubling to us because we really don't spend much time there, but I can see how the lack of a counter service option (other than Food Quest, which requires Disney Quest admission) would be a problem for those who do head over there to shop.

I really don't think Disney is eliminating the restaurants at all. I suspect they're doing just about everything they can to keep as many restaurants as possible on the plan, because people who would otherwise stay offsite (like us - I like the Swolphin, but I like the DxDDP more!) choose Disney resorts for the ability to buy their dining plans.

It is the restaurants who may choose not to participate, and it isn't because of the complaints of a fairly small percentage of guests IMO. It is about costs - Disney reimbursement for DDP meals is pretty low, and food costs have gone up a LOT since the 2008 contracts were signed. They may not be able to be profitable if DDP guests are filling most of their tables.

 

[Marc A.]

subbing for info

 

[TDC Nala]

Just because I'm curious, what kind of plan would you like?

Deluxe plan is too much food (and yes if I paid for the food I feel like I need to eat it - ALL of it) and too much time scheduling restaurants and very little flexibility (I want the opportunity to meet friends without having to tell them "I have to go to this restaurant because if I don't use my credit it expires." Basic plan limits what you can order too much. If the appetizers look better than the entrees, I want to be able to get one appetizer, or two, or however many I want, and skip dessert without having already paid for the dessert. I don't really eat three meals a day. I can get by with one big one and some snacks. I don't really want any prepaid plan, I want to order what I want when I want it - which of course I can do - so no, WDW does not have a plan for everyone. I want my freedom, including the ability to eat in restaurants that don't accept the dining plan. But I did use the basic a couple of times back when it included the appetizer because it was way too good a deal not to use it. Now, not so much.

For me, I think it could be a good thing to remove a few restaurants from the plan since that may mean more space for those who don't use it, and possibly the return of better ingredients (but I wouldn't count on that one)

Do you think maybe they are eliminating some of the places available due to the complaints from non-DDP users?

No. Disney doesn't care about the non-DDP users. We have given ourselves the freedom to eat elsewhere, which could possibly mean outside of Disney - and Disney is far more concerned about in effect preventing guests from leaving property as much as possible. I think this is exactly what it's been in the past - contract renegotiations. If any restaurants drop out, it will be because that restaurant's owners and operators don't think they can operate the restaurants for profit on the amount Disney pays them for dining plan guests.

Thanks for the link. I'm new to this area, is this the final version or should we still hope for those missing restaraunts to be added back?

Whatever list is in effect on January 1, 2009, is the final list.