Why I Hate the DDP

[marivaid]

Not true, if you are a AAA member. If you are a AAA member, you can get the plan PLUS the room discount as long as its not during free dinning.

True. But you do need to find a resort with rooms at AAA rates available and from what I understand they only have a limited number of rooms for that.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Some might save money but I DEFINEATELY don't, but like I said I wanted to try it and someone suggested splitting my ressie so that is what I did!

We weren't convinced we saved money, even when we saved the receipts because, as I mentioned earlier, we would never have gotten an appetizer, entree and dessert for everyone at one meal so it was impossible to compare.

 

[Disney8704]

Book early enough and you have no problems. Generally people book when the new packages comes out so there usually isnt any problems.

True. But you do need to find a resort with rooms at AAA rates available and from what I understand they only have a limited number of rooms for that.

 

[Disney8704]

Read this story if u dont believe me then http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15294531/

Yes but WGP is not a Disney-owned restaurant. In fact the only Disney restaurant that has restrictions (for adult meals) is Pepper Market, and it's only for desserts.



I don't believe that for a second. If they are truly concerned about our health then why close down one of the very few CS that offers healthy food (I'm talking about Tusker House) and turn it into yet another buffet?



Yeah those posts crack me up. "The food was gross and there wasn't enough of it!" is a good one too

 

[marivaid]

Read this story if u dont believe me then http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15294531/

It's not you I don't believe, it's the Disney representative.

 

[5boyz]

I did use CAA (Canada) and got the CAA rate for my room for the first 6 nights with the dining plan and the last 8 nights room only!!! So I was pleased.

 

[Disney8704]

Have you been to Disney since the changes or at least looked at the food pics for kids meals? Everyone on here knows that Disney is serious about this. They have already changed the kids meals to include milk and fruit for CS meals in place of soda and fries.

It's not you I don't believe, it's the Disney representative.

 

[marivaid]

Have you been to Disney since the changes or at least looked at the food pics for kids meals? Everyone on here knows that Disney is serious about this. They have already changed the kids meals to include milk and fruit for CS meals in place of soda and fries.

You always had the option of requesting carrots instead of french fries (for adult meals too). And the unhealthy options are still available if anyone wants to buy them - burgers, chicken strips, fries, soda, cake...

It's nothing but a publicity stunt and a way to stop adults from ordering kids' meals. Not to mention the price has almost doubled since.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

but I would sure as heck be making phone and writing letters of complaint if I purchased meals I was unable to redeem.

I know we came home with unused snacks.

You don't purchase meals, you purchase entitlements. It's up to you to use them. Pretty much all they can do is strongly encourage ADRs. I've yet to read (someone will correct me if this is not the case) where people were unable to dine at all, not just at their restaurant of choice. It's a non-refundable component... plan accordingly.

This makes me curious..

are guests free to use TS credits at CS locations now?

has anyone pushed the 'if you are traveling in the next 7 days' option to get last minute ADRs?

 

[LizinSTL]

I did the DDP and it was too much food in one seating. We never order appetizer's entree's and desserts for everyone.

Plus we do TS twice a day and had to use our CS for breakfast which was very limited.

My DD's favorite snack is a soft pretzel which I know was not covered and I never get a snack so we came home with extra snack credits and having paid OOP for many TS meals. Hence, too much food (snacks) and not enough (TS's).

The DDP isn't for everyone. If it doesn't work for your family's style of dining, then don't get it.

There's not a lot of variety for breakfast at CS, I'll give you that, but there is a ton of flexibility in the plan. Had you been willing to do a table service breakfast and a CS lunch, you may have enjoyed it more.

BTW, a soft pretzel IS a covered snack on the dining plan. We enjoyed them several times last year.

Disney extended the definition of "snack" last May (06) and it really did seem to enhance the plan, IMO.

 

[marivaid]

are guests free to use TS credits at CS locations now?

We used 2 at the ASMO food court. It got us a regular CS meal plus 2 extra snacks. We were told we could only do it at the food court though.

 

[LizinSTL]

We weren't convinced we saved money, even when we saved the receipts because, as I mentioned earlier, we would never have gotten an appetizer, entree and dessert for everyone at one meal so it was impossible to compare.

If you go to a TS restaurant for dinner and have a $20 entree and a $2 soft drink ONLY, your bill would be more than $27 after tax and tip. If you had a CS meal with a $9 value (totally easy to do! when you figure a chicken wrap is over $7 and a soft drink is over $2) and then a snack with a value of about $2-4. You've broken even for the day on the DDP. Did you save money? No. But you broke even. If you get a dessert or an appetizer or a more expensive entree or you max out the value on the CS credit and snack, etc....then it's a huge savings, but unless people do not redeem their TS entitlements or only use them at breakfast meals, there's not way they are not, at least, breaking even.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

If you go to a TS restaurant for dinner and have a $20 entree and a $2 soft drink ONLY, your bill would be more than $27 after tax and tip. If you had a CS meal with a $9 value (totally easy to do! when you figure a chicken wrap is over $7 and a soft drink is over $2) and then a snack with a value of about $2-4. You've broken even for the day on the DDP. Did you save money? No. But you broke even. If you get a dessert or an appetizer or a more expensive entree or you max out the value on the CS credit and snack, etc....then it's a huge savings, but unless people do not redeem their TS entitlements or only use them at breakfast meals, there's not way they are not, at least, breaking even.

We didn't use the CS meal for lunch, we bought it at TS OOP and used most of the CS's for breakfast which wasn't over $5. As I said earlier I never have a snack and my DD prefers soft pretzels so we went home with unused snack credits - yes that was a waste.

 

[LizinSTL]

We didn't use the CS meal for lunch, we bought it at TS OOP and used most of the CS's for breakfast which wasn't over $5. As I said earlier I never have a snack and my DD prefers soft pretzels so we went home with unused snack credits - yes that was a waste.

You made a choice to not use the plan effectively. Even a breakfast CS meal of $5 and a bottle of water (another $2-3) for later and a beverage as a snack at some point in the day would have been less "wasteful." And, as I said, NOW the soft pretzel is a covered snack on the plan. When did you visit and use the DDP. It's been allowed for the last 12+ months.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Tavern on the Green and V&A on the same level. Not! V&A is one of the best restaurants in the nation. Tavern on the Green is a tourist trap with some of the highest priced, yet most mediocre, food on the planet. No comparison between the two.

Agree 100%!
Anyone that eats in Tavern on the Green ...... YUCK!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

The idea of the comment was that you need to compare apples to apples are you saying that Tavern of the Green is equal to Applebee's instead? people i was simply using Tavern on the Green for its national name value. would anyone outside of Boston know of Top of the Hub or The White Barn Inn? probably not but I am guessing that most people in the country know of Tavern on the Green sorry if you couldnt guess that I was naming a place known by many across the country. The idea was to compare it to a place that has the same level of dining but instead I guess I will simply have to say that you have to comapre V&A to another five star resturant and if you can find any other rated resturants at Disney to compare them to the same rated stars resturants near you. ok did that settle everyones confusion about something that I thought made sense.

Top of the Hub is another restaurant that is great for a view & cocktail ONLY!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I would say that the people who purchase the DDP actually spend on average more money on food, then the average person who is attending the parks without. An average family of 4 is spending at least $100 a day on the DDP. I would say most people while at the parks spend their money at CS, and often times eat breakfast in the rooms, and split meals whenever possible. This board is for Disney fanatics, who want to experience everything, and to them dining is a big part of that. The average WDW guest is not like that.

I'd hardly classify a Disney vacation as cheap, value or deluxe. Just varying degrees of pricey. I could have easily gone to Europe with the amount I've spent on two WDW vacations this year, and I stay at values

I think changes in food also have a lot to do with the price of food going up. A friend owns a meal prep franchise, and because the cost of ethenol has gone up, anything that eats grain, i.e. most meat, has dramatically increased in cost. Since January, a case of chicken has gone from $19.99 to $27.00. He flank steak has increased $14 a case.

So maybe your smaller filet has less to do with the "value crowd" and more to do with the cost of food. JMO.

Couldn't disagree with this more. We do not & never will use the DDP. On average when it is DH & I dinner alone at Chefs De France is almost $400, V&A another $400.....so for 2 nights alone for only 2 people we are taking $800.
This entire thread is about the changes in WDW dining & the impact of the dining plan. Our experience makes us believe there are very few places to truly have a dining experience and IMO the cause is the DDP.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Couldn't disagree with this more. We do not & never will use the DDP. On average when it is DH & I dinner alone at Chefs De France is almost $400, V&A another $400.....so for 2 nights alone for only 2 people we are taking $800.
This entire thread is about the changes in WDW dining & the impact of the dining plan. Our experience makes us believe there are very few places to truly have a dining experience and IMO the cause is the DDP.

Are you implying you're the average guest? That was her point. From what I've read (including the post I've quoted) you seem to need to make certain no one mistakes you for such.

As for dining experience, I guess it depends on your definition. It's Disney. I don't want or expect a $400 meal when we visit. It's too bad that your frequent conversations with Disney Chefs haven't prompted them to serve you special dishes to please your discriminating palates. I will expect you to counter that they, indeed, do. I don't necessarily believe that's the case, but I expect it nonetheless. If they do... then why the complaint?

Although we've visited a handful of occasions, they've all been since the inception of the dining plan. All companies have cut costs, to imply that those cost cutting measures are based on an incredibly succesful guest-luring business model rather than operations costs is without factual support. Anecdotal and circumstantial, perhaps. Factual, no.

 

[musicmom3]

I guess what bothers me about the DDP is that you have to pay rack rate to get it. Typically, we have had the luck to book our trips on a room-only code, and then we all go on the "Disney Diet" (with all the walking, and a concentration on healthful and economical eating, we each drop a few pounds, which is cool), so we don't stress the budget. Probably being local to New York City, and its great restaurants, makes Disney dining not all that enticing to us--counter service is never a problem, and it is really easy to pass most of the TS restaurants by. The food is definitely not a major attraction to us, since we have found that with the advent of DDP the food has, in general, gone downhill, and choices have become rather limited. For all of you who pay rack rate and enjoy the TS restaurants and DDP, mazel-tov! We don't care for it, so do our own thing. Room for everybody at Disney!

 

[amykathleen2005]

For what it is worth I think the plan is pretty good, and we left with one unused couter service credit. Did we save money? Yes. But even if that were not the case, we didn't have to worry about carrying around money to the parks, etc.

I think that with anything one buys, you should do research. If it is good for you, go for it, if not than don't buy. If you bought a park hopper pass and only did one park per day than if was your own choice and your responsibilty for the waste of money. Same with the DDP, if you want to and can use if effectively than great, if not, no harm no foul.