Who else hates the Dining Plan

[CanadianGuy]

Ok.. the 90 days bit is just plain wrong.

I called 28 days before my visit to the parks and was able to get ADR's at all three of my choice restaurants (including Le Cellier) for the date and I time I requested without any difficulty. (I will be at Disney May 29 to June 03)

It *can* be done. And I didn't have to be flexible on my dates or times.

I'm still confused about some Disney Dining stuff tho. They just assign the appropriate credits to your room and you all just use them however you wish?

How does tipping work on DD?

J

 

[Christine]

The only aspect about the DP that I 'hate' is, I find unless you make a ADR well in advance (along with all the planning around that) We NO longer get into any of the better restaurants! Sometimes I just dont know what I want till I want it!

This was kind of my problem last June.

We had made an ADR for every night of the week, plus some breakfast. On our first morning there, we had an ADR at the Cape May character breakfast. This is one of our favorite character meals. Well, when we went something had gone wrong with the actual buffet and it was closed down. They had to do some temporary set up in the middle of the restaurant and the food was in one lone line through the walking area of the restaurant and it was a real PITA. I asked one of the CMs when it would be fixed as we had a dinner reservation there later in the week. He said that he had no idea. They thought it would be soon, but the the "part" still hadn't come in yet.

I made up my mind that I didn't want to go through that for dinner. That same evening I had a Boma dinner and it we all loved it. So I called Disney dining to change my Cape May ADR to Boma (this was 3 days before my selected day). Well, they couldn't get me in. I tried every day up until that day to get into Boma and couldn't do it. Finally, on the day I needed dinner, I asked a CM "well, where CAN I get in." Marrakesh was the only place.

In all my trips to WDW, I've never had such a problem and it really bummed me out.

Again, in January, my mom was in Florida (another vacation, not Disney) and on her way out she thought she'd stop at Disney and have dinner at Boma. Nope, couldn't get her in. I find that odd in January.

 

[Luv'sTink]

A suggestion, for those of you with credits left over at the end of your trip -- treat a family to a snack with your leftover snack credits, or offer to 'pay' for the people behind you in line at a counterservice, or some such. It's a great way to spread the Disney magic I think we really made one family's day last year when we 'paid' for their lunch!

This is a GREAT idea!

What I dont understand is if you dont normally eat apps or desert why do you order them? or eat them? If you are on the FREE DP then you didn't pay for it anyway, just say no! to apps and deserts!

 

[mikymouse]

I liked the dinning plan as it allowed me to set a budget and the prepaying allowed me to enjoy rather than manage money once we got there. There is not a whole lot of planning since you only need to book one TS per day and some days not if you are using the plan for 2TS dinning. I planned our TS to include either an experience (Akerhus, CRT, Chef Mickey) or a rest period (Crystal Palace, Coral Reef). I thought it was awesome to have character meals to avoid lines for characters and for our family it was great to have a planned "sit down" meal as we really needed a stop for food and rest. We did have long waits at Chef Mickeys 7:10PM and Akerhus at 1:20PM but got seated right away at the rest.

We did have a slight problem with the counter service at Pinochio Haus as my kids wanted Pizza not Mac N Cheese and we "had to order two children's menus items for our two kids", guess I should have planned a little more because my kids will pick pizza over mac-n-cheese any day of the week. We did have 4 left over counter service meals because we ate at Rainforest Cafe OOP but I used these for our to go lunch at the airport. We had way too many snack credits but we took fruit to go on the planes also.

My friend just got back and she was surprized at the need to make ADR as it was not like this the last time she went 4 years ago.

We saved about $300 on our 6 day plan but this is only because the food at Disney is overpriced for the quality you actually receive. I thought the food was nothing great but the atmosphere/location made up for it. For me the only wow that was great meal was at Boma's.

I would sign up for the dinning plan next time but only if I was able to book some higher end TS meals to make it worth it. Maybe I will be more impressed with the food if we go to some better places.

By the way we almost always skipped most apps and dessert and used our snack credits for a treat a little while after our meal. I felt that the apps/dessert were free and I could take it or leave it.

 

[my4kids]

I hate it because I think it really encourages gluttony. I am not a health nut, excersize fiend etc... Just an average mom with average kids and I can't tell you the number of times during our last trip I saw families struggling through dessert "becasue they paid for it already" - its crazy. How many posts do we see with people figuring out ways to stock up on rice krispy treats becasue they
have snack credits!!

I hate it for the exact same reason.......I also hated saying "no honey, it's not on the plan" 150000 times during our vacation. It got to the point that as the kids would be getting on a ride my sarcastic DH would turn around and say "Is it OK with the DDP if the kids ride this?"

 

[my4kids]

Yep, this is my biggest gripe. You can't get a ressie anymore at the 90 day mark.

Now I am a planner, big time. I go to WDW with my spreadsheet--my days planned out and timed. But, even for me, 180 days out is just too much.

This is my other big problem.....it also takes away from planning a last minute quick trip. I was thinking of taking a quick vacation at the end of the school year, but then I figured, it would be too much trouble trying to get ADR's etc.

 

[santonucci]

DDP is a few things, and isn't a few others... so here's my experience:

1.) DDP is a way to "fix cost" meals which commits revenue to the parks concessionaires (good for Disney) and allows guests to eat more food that the money they spend (My family of 4 saved ~$40/day last trip).

2.) CM's will tell you that you can have an extra desert, an appetizer... BUT YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO TAKE IT. Gluttony is eventually your decision.

3.) Dining reservations are always recommended. Period. DDP has nothing to do with this. Unless you want to eat in England at EPCOT, making your reservations in advance is a very good idea. A reservation guarantees you will be seated (eventually). A walk up is a crapshoot.

4.) Spontaneity at DisneyWorld (relative to dining) is a very bad idea. Especially with kids, who will whine and moan about being hungry. Being prepared to wait an hour for table service is a fact of life, and being turned away by sold out restaurants happens every day.

5.) The best restaurants at Disney are at the hotels. Use them. DDP also works at these restaurants, and reservations are still a VERY GOOD IDEA.

6.) Any time Disney offers free DDP, TAKE IT. Don't view it as "I have to do this or that...", but think of it as coupons for everything. Want to eat at the finest restaurant? Use 2 table service coupons, and you are there. Even though we had free DDP on our last trip, we still spent money on food, but much less than if we had to buy food for the entire trip. The money we saved went to other souveniers, boat rentals...


steve

 

[Squidrific]

I hate it because I think it really encourages gluttony. I am not a health nut, excersize fiend etc... Just an average mom with average kids and I can't tell you the number of times during our last trip I saw families struggling through dessert "becasue they paid for it already" - its crazy. How many posts do we see with people figuring out ways to stock up on rice krispy treats becasue they
have snack credits!!

I disagree with this. Forcing a dessert down is a personal choice. As many have posted here, it is simple to ask for your dessert to be boxed so that you can eat it later, or if full, simply decline. I have never felt like I had to stuff my face because it was already paid for, because honestly when I see what the bill for my TS would have cost vs. the $37.99 per day that I pay, I see the value in that. Also, I see a lot more people who stock up on bottled water with their snack credits. How each person behaves or eats I don't think changes too much because of the plan. Sure, it gives more opportunity to eat a greater amount of food, but in the end people are people and gluttons are gluttons whether there is opportunity or not.

 

[Christine]

23.) Dining reservations are always recommended. Period. DDP has nothing to do with this. Unless you want to eat in England at EPCOT, making your reservations in advance is a very good idea. A reservation guarantees you will be seated (eventually). A walk up is a crapshoot.


steve

This has always been true, yes, but as a WDW "oldtimer" I can remember it not being so critical. ADRs (or PS's as I still call them) were strongly recommended for your "must-dos". Now it is an absolute necessity for EVERYTHING. I think that is what most of us oldtimers are missing. That there were still days where you could make a change on a whim. I know that it is still possible, but not likely. And THAT is directly attributable to the DDP.

 

[JuneDisney]

The reason I have gotten the DDP is because it makes the Disney vacation feel more like an all-inclusive vacation. We love to cruise and have been spoiled with the amount and variety of food. Now my kids on the other hand are picky eaters so at $10.99 a day I feel that I will be saving a ton on them.

 

[hollyb]

I'm so glad to see this post! I thought me and DH were all alone in not thinking the dining plan was so great. Between us both, we have lost over 150 pounds and with our current style of eating, we would never eat an appetizer, meal and dessert at any restaurant here at home so I know we would not on vacation. We voted down the dining plan for our upcoming trip for the potential gluttony factor. I know if I "paid" for an appy, entree and dessert, I would be tempted to order all that food and then feel bad if I didn't eat it all. I could just see myself coming back from vacation either heavier than before I left or at the very least I fear I could be setting myself up for some bad habits when I get back home.

I also have figured out our food budget to come out about even with the dining plan considering we are DVCers and can utilize the kitchen some (but not too much) while on vacation.

We are also traveling with another family and I was thinking it might be a bit of a hassle to have to deal with the dining plan, all those credits, six people and two families. I could just see a problem if we do things separate and the other family didn't quite understand the plan and used some of our credits. Yikes. They are good friends of ours and I would hate to see a tiff over "you used some of our TS credits", "no you used some of our TS credits". It might not happen but being the annal person that I am, I just as soon not have the headache. I have several days planned with no TS ADRs at all. We don't mind counter service for dinner a couple of nights to save a bit of money. I think this program is great if it fits your family's needs. This trip, I just don't think it will fit ours.

Edited to add: pumba - I totally agree with your comment below. I am pretty concerned that all the TS restaurants will be booked up with people using the plan so I made sure to get us TS ADR's when and where I knew we would probably need them. I'm not much of an "on the fly" type of person and don't want to be disappointed that we have no where to eat if it came down to it.

YOU ROCK

 

[NeverlandClub23]

We will save about $200 without the plan.

We save a lot of money without the plan too. Most of our meals My parents split something and I get an appetizer for a dinner. We did the dining plan back in '93 and '96 (when it was expensive and included 3 meals a day appetizer/entree/dessert at ANY restaurant whether it was TS or not) and we ate the entire trip. We went in July and we all felt like we were going to pass out when we left the restaurants so stuffed into the Florida heat.

The current plan wouldn't work for us as the only CS place we like is Flame Tree BBQ and we love our TS meals (we do 2 a day as 3 would probably kill us now ).

It has become a noticeable problem with restaurant availabilty and having to wait long waits even with ADR's.

And yes, we miss the days of calling day of for a restaurant and it being available or being able to make last minute changes. But unfortunately, it is no longer this way and I don't see it going back to this way anytime in the near future.

 

[Pedler]

I do not see any positives with the dining plan. I think it may work against Disney in the future. The reasons I feel this way:
1. Have to plan too far out in advance. I think character meals should be planned and the most elegant TS, such as Artist Point, but for TS's like Whispering Canyon, Beirgarten, etc. it would be nice to have the ability to chose on that day.
2. It encourages unhealthy eating - who eats out everyday at a TS at home.
3. Tipping is regulated, thus discouraging excellent service.
4. Lack of just being able to walk into a restaurant
5. Overbooking and thus long waits will discourage people

I think that the some of the reasons you cite is why Disney has the plan. Most restuarants would rather have the placed filled with resservations and be turning people away than have empty seats. And the dinning plan is one of the key componets to keeping people on site and not spending money at other Orlando attractions.

Disney appears to have accepted a "watering down" of the TS places in exchange for larger crowds and increased per capita spending. It seems that the primary complaint is that too many people are now eating at the TS places because of the dinning plan making walk up or same day ressies difficult or impossible. I don't think that Disney would view that as a problem but instead a measure of success of the overall marketing program.

 

[Squidrific]

There's one huge advantage to the DDP that I have not seen mentioned here. For those people who have teenage children or travel in family groups - it is so nice to not have to deal with money. The kids have their cards and can go to a different park and eat and get snacks without me having to dish out additional money and without the fear of them losing it. This is one of my favorite features of the plan.

Also, we always go in October and other times that are a bit slower and have never ever had a problem getting ADR's. Last year I booked my ADR's 30 days in advance and got every meal I wanted (Le Cellier, CRT, Chef Mickey, etc.) For those of you having trouble getting last minute ADR's I think the problem is that you are going during peak times. Honestly, I remember going during spring break way back in the good old days, and reservations were just as hard back then and the waits and lines were long. But then also, as I get older I enjoy having things planned out instead of the spontaneous, commando style touring. It is so much more relaxing and less stressful if I personally know what I am doing and when. Also, with older kids, I can guarantee that there is one set-in-stone meal where I will actually see their faces and spend some time with them.

 

[ZerasPride]

I have really appreciated all the pros and cons of this discussion. If Disney continues to offer the dining plan, it might fit into our schedule or budget better on a future visit.

I appreciate the comments about not "having" to eat the food just because it's offered or there in front of you. We do all have free choice so you don't have to overeat indulge unless you just want to do so. I just don't like the temptation of knowing all that food is "included". Call me a recovering food addict if you will. It's so much better if I set limitations for myself. Of course YMMV.

In my family's particular case, as DVC members, the dining plan is not free. It is $37.99 per day per person. I think with eating breakfasts in the room, having a full kitchen and having some supplies for snacks delivered to the vill at check in and our schedule of several TS meals not on the plan (House of Blues and Gulliver's at the Swan to name just 2), it doesn't make sense for us at this time but I will revisit the DP if it is offered on a future visit.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your views!

 

[MyGoofy26]

*haven't made it through this whole thread so ignore if someone said this already and I should just be adding an "ITA!" to it, LOL*

I love the dining plan - it really allows me to try things and places that I wouldn't otherwise try because I don't want to lay down the cash. Paying in advance (or free with the promo) sorta affords me the ability to dissassociate what I've paid already and just signing my name to a reciept. I get braver with the dining plan, LOL! We usually stick to the restaurants we know we like, and maybe throw in one or two new ones here and there. Our trip on the DP, only one CS was a repeat - EVERYTHING we did was new.

I get the OPs point about lack of spontanaety. I don't know what I'm going to be hungry for in 6 months and WHEN I'll be hungry for it! I know some people have to have a set schedule, but I imagine that those people are a minority - most guests have some more give in their schedule. I've noticed over the past couple years BEFORE this plan that it was increasingly more difficult to get a table service meal - especially as a walk-up. I think there's a trend here that Disney hasn't yet figured out how to deal with. I remember an old Disneyland Paris special where they said one of their problems was that they had a lot of CS and weren't prepared for the "culture" of Europe where most people want to sit down and have a long meal and they had to add more table service meals quickly to adapt. I think that WDW guests are moving towards that trend - more people want to sit down and relax and enjoy a meal than they did in the earlier days. And yet, you look at MK where they have to have a sign to tell guests when they enter the park that ALL restaurants are full. All Disney did with this plan was to create more demand for something that's already in limited supply. They really need to sit down, find some empty space in the parks and add a few more table service meals in the parks.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

I would give up the money saving feature of the DP, in a minute, to regain the spontaneity we used to love so much.

ITA!

Those were the days!

AND we don't even use the DP, DDE works better for us for now.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

They really need to sit down, find some empty space in the parks and add a few more table service meals in the parks.

I completely agree.

 

[cseca]

sorry

 

[cseca]

I hate it because I think it really encourages gluttony.

I agree with swimmom too. I am a foodie but I've worked hard to lose the extra 60lbs I carried around. Plus I've been raised to never waste food.
So with all the combinations, I almost didn't go for DDP. But I caved in and I've worked out a sharing plan with my DBF to stretch 3 days DDP into 4 days.
Hopefully this will help me avoid eating 3 days worth of food in 1 sitting...