Who else hates the Dining Plan

[gpuckett]

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!

I think is a wonderful idea and we will be sure to do that on our upcoming visit.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

I do miss the spontaneity of the "old days," but I've noticed the must-have ADRs for a few years now, not since the free DDP.

I remember back in '99 booking five days on site, and the CM wanting to know where I'd like to eat, and I told her, "I have no idea! It's months away." Well, we made no ADRs and ate counter service all week since it was so hard to get in anywhere. This was not peak season (mid May). This has also happened to us on our September trips, as well...although I learned to make an ADR for any must-dos now.

That trip in '99 where there were no reservations to be had was our first time over to CityWalk, too, in an effort to find a nice sit-down place we could eat but still feel like a theme park vacation.

It's definitely had an impact on how we plan our vacations now. I love WDW, always will, but we tend to stay off site more now and factored this in to our decision to buy a timeshare off site since we could prepare a few meals in a full kitchen and still have a little of that spontaneity. We also go to USO more now, too, because there you can decide at noon on a Tuesday where you feel like eating for dinner that night and if we've ever had a wait, it was only a few minutes (Emeril's is the exception).

I can see and understand how the free DDP has attracted some guests, but I can also see and personally attest to how it's pushed some away...at least when it comes to dining

 

[jrasmom]

From a first timer here (with 3 kids who will be waiting along with me).

Do you HAVE to have reservations?

Are we going to get in no where if we don't have reservations?

Is this only at dinner time or at breakfast too if we want a sit down meal like Chef Mickey's or somewhere?

 

[Ames]

I have not used the DDR and I don't think I ever will.

1. No offense but I can't not for the life of me imagine eating at a TS EVERYDAY. Way way WAY too much food.

2. We plan our trips about a month-2 months out. ADR's are hard to come by and I don't like to plan that far in advance on what I will be eating.

3. I don't want to spend all my time at Disney eating.

4. I still can't get over the amount of food. lol. My mom and I often split CS meals. Disney's portions are huge, I just don't see why anyone needs to eat that much that often. And trust me I like to eat, but not that much.

Sorry.

 

[ZerasPride]

jrasmom - While I have not been to Disney since the free dining has started, I have seen cases where people were given long long wait periods if they were walk ups and restaurants. A co-worker friend of mine was at Disney in December and I gently suggested that they might want to make a few advanced dining reservations. She said that they never did that and probably would just eat on the fly. When she got back I asked her how that worked out for her family and she said that actually ended up eating off site just about every night because all the restaurants had long waits or they were turned away.

It can't hurt to have the dining resevations in place but you might be in for a long wait or be turned away if you don't have them in place. I just made some adjustments to my ADR's this morning with DVC member services and I was able to get in to the places I wanted at the times I wanted but I wasn't trying to make ADR's for the Castle or any other really really popular restaurant.

 

[kddlm]

I can't say whether I like the DDP or not, since I have not used it. I am a little annoyed though that it seems that I can't get it for my trip in August. I won a trip from a radio station for 4 nights/5 days and I'm going Aug. 24-28 and staying at AKL for the prize portion of the trip. I realize that meals were not included as part of the prize package, but I inquired with my rep from the Disney promo dept about purchasing the dining plan for the 4 nights. She said that they weren't able to do that since it wasn't part of the prize package. I fully do not understand why this should matter. I offered to pay for it!! I'm going to call DVC member services (since we are staying at OKW for 3 nights after the AKL). I doubt there is anything they could do, but it's worth a shot! Any suggestions? Also, does this not make sense to others as well??????

 

[rigs32]

A few comments.

Someone questioned whether you would eat out every day at home. I'm not sure how a CS meal is not considered "eating out". If I'm staying in a hotel room with no kitchen, I can have only so many meals made with my coffee pot! If I'm on vacation I kinda have to eat out every day.

On gluttony. I do see the premium plan as encouraging gluttony; you almost need to have three TS meals a day to make it worth the cost. To me, that's too much food. The DDP, on the other hand, is different. You only get TWO meals a day. Yes, the TS meal comes with three courses, but I chose restaurants with healthful appetizers options and fruit based desserts. Yummy goodness without as many calories. If you see the plan as a challenge to get your money's worth, then I can see the stress of eating too much. If, instead, you view it as a way to prepay meals, there won't be such stress. Snack credits can also be used for fruit.

 

[crisi]

So here is how I see the dining plan.

Being a family that eats a table service meal every day....it can be a great deal for ME!!! And since we can say no to dessert and don't need to get "the most" value for it and don't care if we have snack credits left over - whoohoo! (Truthfully, for us the DDE seems to work a little better...but stay with me.....)

But all the rest of you, you are taking away MY sponteniety, changing MY menus, encouraging the servers to do a slipshop job on MY service with your guarenteed tips, overcrowding MY restaurants, and life has really changed for the worst for Disney Dining - at least dining is cheaper now.

 

[Disneyenthusiast]

I would like to see some re-working of the plan so that people can order anything off the menu and have the "extra" paid out-of-pocket. I think that his would help to stop what appears to be the downward spiral in terms of quality and variety (ie:lobster). I am also concerned that the tips are automatically included. It seems that they might be ahead to slightly reduce the cost of the package and have the tips not be part of it. I believe in rewarding good service, and am generous, but it seems like service has taken a nosedive along with the dining plan. Perhaps even more restaurants need to be 2 TS. I know that people won't like it, but it would help to reduce overcrowding. When restaurants are booked 180 days out, I can't think of a good reason for free dining! We will probably not do the dining plan and are looking for the restaurants and bars that do not honor it or are 2TS so we can, hopefully, have a less harried, hurried environment for our meals.

I wonder how this dining plan is penciling out for Disney...

 

[marcyinPA]

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!

We actually tried doing this on our last trip (we had the free DP) but everyone around us was also on the dining plan! Oh, well! It's the thought that counts!

 

[buzzrelly]

We just got back and I have to agree...I hated the dining plan. I am sure we saved money overall but I would prefer to just pay the extra money and get exactly what I want without all the limits imposed by the dining plan. I especially had a hard time with the children's choices. My DS is 4 and pretty much only eats chicken strips. We went to one CS in MK and the only choices for kids were "Turkey pinwheels or Chilled chicken." First of all, I don't know how many kids like chilled chicken but my DS certainly doesn't. However, chicken strips were on the regular menu so I asked the cast member if I could get those for DS in a smaller portion, and she was pretty rude and said "No. You have to order from the kids menu." So I ended up ordering chicken strips for my son and not having any lunch myself that day. Another example was at OKW Good's, the kids sandpail meal comes with carrot sticks and applesauce. I asked if I could substitute chips or fries and was refused so I paid OOP for those. Also at Goods, the dessert with CS (which I could do without) was chocolate cake but they had the rick krispie treats behing the counter but would not substitute. And yet we had gotten those rice krispie treats for dessert at pizza planet CS. Very inconsistent.

One final warning...in Epcot, at McDonalds, I ordered one 3-pc mcnugget, 2 small fries and 2 waters and the guy behind the counter charged for 5 CS meals!! I went ballistic when I noticed and brought all the food back and said I don't want it and wanted him to credit my CS meals back, so he called the manager and she very nicely explained that he had made a mistake so mcnuggets count as 1 CS and the fries and water should have been 4 snacks because apparently the CS "Meal" there is just mcnuggets, no sides, drinks or dessert.

Sorry this is so long but all my frustration is coming back to me now!! I would never get the DP again, nor would I reccomend it to my friends.

 

[golden1]

I am another one that doesn't really like the idea of a dining plan. It just doesn't fit my eating style. I am a grazer and I like to eat small snacks or meals throughout the day. Once in awhile a big meal is nice but not every day. And even when I get a big meal I generally can't eat a whole appetizer, dinner and dessert. Also, with two small children I don't think I will be having a lot of sit down meals anyway. I need to remain flexible so planning a lot of leisurely sit down meals is not for us. I could see doing the DDP if we were going alone or when the children are older and able to sit for longer than 30 minutes.

 

[LuckyJC]

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.

DDP is not the same as a cruise. On a cruise, you have a reserved table every night, everything is arranged for you, you don't have to decided which park, which hotel, and which restaurants. You don't have to fight to get there on time for your reservation. Cruise is truly relaxing. DDP is not, you have to make decisions and stress yourself out making those ADR's.

I am amazed at how complicated Disney has made things. Instead of building more restaurants to meet demand, they have increased demand. Has anyone realized how complicated this has made things? I am going in Christmas, I have not been there since 1998, and I am feeling lucky that I came across this forum, and now I know I MUST make reservation 180 days out or risks not having decent meals. In order to do so, I have to decide which park I will be to make lunch reservation, and whether I want to be in the park or off the park at night to make dinner reservation.

For those of you who don't realize it, THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!! And luckily I am styaing off-property at a beautiful timeshare, a 5-star 2 bdrm 1500 sq. ft resort. I don't have to make ADR for all our meals, I have the choice of making our own lunch/dinner or eat somewhere off-Disney!!! And the more Disney is selling DDP the more I think I will stay away from Disney's restaurants. It is just RIDICULOUS!!!

 

[Shana]

I went ballistic when I noticed and brought all the food back and said I don't want it and wanted him to credit my CS meals back, so he called the manager and she very nicely explained that he had made a mistake so mcnuggets count as 1 CS and the fries and water should have been 4 snacks because apparently the CS "Meal" there is just mcnuggets, no sides, drinks or dessert.
QUOTE]

Hmmm, that is weird. I was under the impression that even CS meals included at least a drink?

 

[Laura]

We were just in WDW 4/29-5/6. Not being on the dining plan was good for us. We ate 3 TS breakfasts at Boatwrights (we were staying at POFQ), and 4 TS dinners (twice at Boma, once at Biergarten and once at Raglan Road). The TS breakfasts were only a little more expensive than the food court, so using a TS credit for that would have seemed a waste to me. The buffet dinners were really good and worth the money, IMO (DH said one of his plates from the Boma buffet was worth $25.99). All other meals were either CS or a snack.

The only ADR I made before we left was our first Boma dinner. We made most of the rest of our ADRs just a little while before we ate, and we weren't told that there was nothing available. It worked better for us this way, as we didn't feel like a big meal every day and were able to choose what we wanted to eat without restrictions. I don't know if it would have been cheaper to be on the DDP, but I doubt it. We might have broken even, especially with me being a vegetarian; non-buffet entrees are usually much cheaper for me. I don't think I would have been able to remember which things were part of the plan and so forth, and I know we wouldn't have eaten appetizers and desserts every day. Besides, my DH is a diabetic and sometimes he needs to eat NOW, not in an hour, so waiting for an ADR isn't always the best option. He would have gotten a snack that would basically spoil his dinner in those situations.

 

[u2bapeacock]

for my family the dining plan is great yes it is alot of food but its great leaving the house for vacation knowing that your food is already paid for and any money you bring is just for extras for the kids or you. we will always get the dining plan when ever we go for as long as disney offers it.

 

[Yellow_Stitch]

As far as hating the Dining plan because it cuts down on being able to spontaneously walk into restaurants and get a table, you may as well say, "What are YOU people doing in MY restaurant?" I'd like to decide around noon that a ride on Expedition Everest might suit my fancy, but I'm guessing that other folks might have had that idea earlier than me and would be sitting in my seat! (Hope I'm not laying on too much sarcasm, but this is what the spontaneity argument boils down to, in my opinion.)

Concerning the other complaints, I think santonucci closed the book on them.

We've done the current DDP, the Dream Maker Silver Plan, and a Gold plan in 1996, and I think the Silver Plan was our favorite. It cost more than the DDP, but that was because you could use the "wishes" for any restaurant, table or counter. The Signature restaurant rule (2 wishes each) was the same as the DDP, but having 2 relaxing meals per day was great. The Gold plan in 1996 was too much, we made the trip with our in laws and they scheduled 3 TS meals per day! Talk about stuffed! One day was Tony's Town Square for breakfast "Strawberries and cream? Yes, please! Hot cinnamon rolls? Yes, please! Carafe of OJ and a cup of coffee? Yes, please!", "And now what would you like for breakfast? I think the breakfast fritatta might do." Lunch was prime rib at King Stefan's in the castle, followed by (ribs/crab legs) dinner at the Fireworks Factory at Downtown Disney! All 3 meals between 9 am and 7 pm! Talk about (over) indulging.

hmmm.... 10 years later none of these meals could be repeated- no breakfast at Tony's, Stefan's is Cindy's now and Fireworks Factory is gone!

 

[Christine]

Instead of building more restaurants to meet demand, they have increased demand. Has anyone realized how complicated this has made things?

Disney came up with the DDP because of LACK of demand. Their park and resort table service restaurants were being under utilized because of the expense. They created the dining plan to get people to stop staying and eating off site.

So far it appears to have worked out VERY well for Disney and I would assume that as long as it is profitable for them, they will continue with the DDP. It will be a long time before the "shift" happens where people like myself who loved dining at Disney because of the uniqueness of some of it, will start to look at dining off-site. I do predict this will happen, but it will happen fairly slowly.

Let's face it--most people are interested in the most food for the least money. *Most* people don't care about quality, hence, the ever popular Chinese buffets that have popped up all over the U.S.

I think the whole DDP has been wildly successful for Disney; however, the people who consider themselves in the fine dining group will slowly go off-site. Especially, if there is a downgrade in quality of signature dining.

 

[mikymouse]

Has anyone fiqured the cost of money into the whole value equation, since I believe you have to pay in full 45 days out for on-site the only way to get the dinning plan. Can you imagine the amount of interest these folks are earning on that type of prepayment arrangement. My "could be earning scenario" is pretty small but put us all together and that some Jack and for that we should get a lot of free Mickey Bars and my kids should be able to order off the adult menu if they want.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

"As far as hating the Dining plan because it cuts down on being able to spontaneously walk into restaurants and get a table, you may as well say, "What are YOU people doing in MY restaurant?" I'd like to decide around noon that a ride on Expedition Everest might suit my fancy, but I'm guessing that other folks might have had that idea earlier than me and would be sitting in my seat! (Hope I'm not laying on too much sarcasm, but this is what the spontaneity argument boils down to, in my opinion.)"

I got your point and did not think you were too sarcastic but will say that since the beginning of the dining plan, I still feel that if you were planning a trip to WDW, you better make sure you set up your dining before you go as I think you will be locked out of your favorite restaurants at peak times. If you plan on being totally flexible, eating lunch earlier or later, rather than at noon, you may still get into your restaurants of choice, for another day or another time, but may wait longer than usual when you arrive at the restaurant for your meal.

I am one who remembers the day when you could go into Epcot and stand across from a screen and make a ps with a person you were talking to on a screen for that day, no more. I always stay on property and have done so since my first trip when I stayed off, I said then, 20 years ago, never again will I stay off property. I know why Disney put the dining plan into effect, it was to get the people who stay off property to consider staying on with the added dining... purely a marketing strategy that seems to be working for Disney.

It just makes things a little more crowded at dining time and those of us who like to fly by the seat of our pants during our trips have to plan now... I do notice the menu changes and personally think that is sad too. I know we have to change with the times, this is like the airlines, people wanted no frill flying, that is what we have now. Keep the cost down, and give the people what they want. I liked watching a movie and having a meal while flying to WDW, made the time go by...no more.