why so many complaints about 2008 ddp

[valandemmy]

up until the 2008 dp came out lots of people were complaining that the dp was too much food, and that the average person couldn't eat appetizer, entree, and dessert for dinner. there were also continual complaints about servers getting tips even if they did a crappy job. since disney changed it, now everyone is complaining that the dp is no longer a good deal. you can't have your cake and eat it too. i'm sure disney employees read this board and they changed the dp partly because of the feedback they had received. in the end, in my opinion, the dp is still a great deal, if nothing else, because you can prepay your meals, and not have to carry alot of cash in the parks. even if i have to do a little more exercise when i get home lol

 

[Laura]

I don't get the complaints either. Just don't get the DDP if you don't like it. I won't.

 

[lustergirl]

up until the 2008 dp came out lots of people were complaining that the dp was too much food, and that the average person couldn't eat appetizer, entree, and dessert for dinner. there were also continual complaints about servers getting tips even if they did a crappy job. since disney changed it, now everyone is complaining that the dp is no longer a good deal. you can't have your cake and eat it too. i'm sure disney employees read this board and they changed the dp partly because of the feedback they had received. in the end, in my opinion, the dp is still a great deal, if nothing else, because you can prepay your meals, and not have to carry alot of cash in the parks. even if i have to do a little more exercise when i get home lol

some people need something to complain and this makes them happy. I have to agree with you- I think the dining plan is still a great deal. I like having my food already paid for in my vacation package and won't have to worry about spending alot of money once I get there.
Some people complain about the appetizer being omitted from the dining plan in 2008- who cares. Lets be realistic people- how many of you think that the entrees that disney offers are quite enough food with out the appetizer? I much would rather have dessert than an appetizer before my main course. And if I want an appetizer I will just buy it- no big deal, I have already spent thousands of dollars on my vacation so another few bucks is no big deal to me. With the 2008 dining plan you are now in control of your tip as well- if you don't like the service then don't tip well. Before with the old dining plan that they are exercising now the tip was always included which I believe infuriated some people or gave them another reason to complain because of the poor service that they received and the waiter was still going to receive that 18% tip no matter what- but now the diner will be in control of this.

I just don't understand people but that is the key- we should never try to!! Maybe some of the disney vacationers think they are getting ripped off and if I was that upset about something I would stop going there- but people will never stop going to disney and will just complain about it instead of realizing that they do have such a splendid time at disney world.

 

[melomouse]

See other thread - lol - ...

I just posted on how all the complaints made me second guess myself as to whether the new DDP still was a good deal for my family in January!

I think folks just don't think it through, or haven't enough experience to know their family appetites, touring style yet, and so they panic.

For us, even with gratuities and no appys, I pay less per person per day for a CS and a TS on DDp than I would OOP. And that's it!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

There are some people who are never happy. This will be my first time using the DDP, and I'm sure I won't be able to clean my plate every night, that being said the appetizer is sometimes my favorite part of the meal, so I'm glad that my trip is before the changes take place. For those who are concerned about the appetizer no longer being included, they can book with the deluxe dining plan, which is what I'll be booking for in 2008.

I like the fact that the 18% was included. If a server was ever truly horrible I would speak to a manager about having the included tip removed. It would take a lot to upset me enough to have an included tip removed. (There's only one instance I would have tried to get the tip removed, and that is when a server was rude, gave smart a** remarks, and almost made me cry, but I was paying OOP, so was able to leave a measly $1 tip, which was only equal to about 3% of the bill.) I don't really like that it's not included, since it was one less thing to worry about, but I do like knowing that the servers won't be able to "slack off" because they know a tip's already included.

 

[lustergirl]

There are some people who are never happy. This will be my first time using the DDP, and I'm sure I won't be able to clean my plate every night, that being said the appetizer is sometimes my favorite part of the meal, so I'm glad that my trip is before the changes take place. For those who are concerned about the appetizer no longer being included, they can book with the deluxe dining plan, which is what I'll be booking for in 2008.

I like the fact that the 18% was included. If a server was ever truly horrible I would speak to a manager about having the included tip removed. It would take a lot to upset me enough to have an included tip removed. (There's only one instance I would have tried to get the tip removed, and that is when a server was rude, gave smart a** remarks, and almost made me cry, but I was paying OOP, so was able to leave a measly $1 tip, which was only equal to about 3% of the bill.) I don't really like that it's not included, since it was one less thing to worry about, but I do like knowing that the servers won't be able to "slack off" because they know a tip's already included.

Good Point!!

 

[Muushka]

I, for one, did not spend a lot of time complaining about the DDP changes. I simply won't buy it any more.

I wasn't that thrilled with the current DDP. I surely won't be getting the 2008 DDP. But we always have a car and we can cook in the room, so eating off-site or in the room is much easier for us.

 

[JimMIA]

For us, even with gratuities and no appys, I pay less per person per day for a CS and a TS on DDp than I would OOP. And that's it!

If that's the comparison you make, you will always come out ahead. But that assumes you would always eat one TS each day ONSITE and one CS ONSITE each day. If that is your normal pattern, your comparison is correct.

If you are not a captive onsite audience, you have many other options that may cost you much less than DDP. If you have a car and have the option of going elsewhere, the math may change a great deal.

Or, if you don't eat two full meals at WDW every day, the math will change. The math will also change if you have a couple of kids who are >10, but eat like birds.

There is no one cookie-cutter equation that fits every family. For us, we were doing a little better with DDP than without it in '05, '06, and '07. In '08, we will lose a little money with it...so we opt out, and go offsite. We're actually looking forward to that, because the standardization and downgrading of the menus is starting to wear on us anyway. Plus there are a number of restaurants offsite that are better than just about anything onsite. So we'll still eat well -- just somewhere else.

Many other families will look at their options and will decide they still find DDP advantageous. There's no one answer.

 

[septbaby]

If you have a car and have the option of going elsewhere, the math may change a great deal.

But you have to factor in the price of having the car, gas, etc. and I doubt many do this. Not renting a car probably pays for 2 adult plan days or more.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Well I'm not happy with the new DDP, though I would have happily purchased the old one (went on one trip on which we didn't purchase it and regretted it). I personally wouldn't have had any complaints about the tip being included either--we had similar service when we were on the free DDP as compared to when we were paying OOP.

I've done the math for the 2008 and it would not work out for us cost wise (though we would do 1 TS a day whether or not we were on the plan)--probably because I am a vegetarian so my entrees are always the cheapest on the menu. I think I figured that we might save a few dollars a day compared to OOP food costs, but when you figure in rack rate for the room we would lose money by buying the plan.

I also figure I'd better be getting substantial savings if I'm going to prepay for something and I carry small amounts of cash and credit cards with me regardless of whether I'm on the DDP or not. What if we get too tired to actually go to all of the meals we planned (That happened to us when on free dining and we forced ourselves to go to a meal we couldn't enjoy because it was so late and we were so tired. We really shouldn't have gone at all, and losing two credits would have been no problem since it was free--but what if we'd already paid for it?)? What if someone gets a stomach virus and can't eat for a day or two, or we somehow don't use up all our CS credits? I wouldn't want to put up money up front when the savings is so small that just a few missed CS meals or a stomachache can make the difference between saving a bit/breaking even and losing money.

In any case, of course you're right that complaining about it now won't change anything. We just won't buy the plan and will hope that there are other good discounts or that eventually a better version of the DDP comes along since so many people are unhappy with this one. (And of course, since most people aren't vegetarians, they probably do better money wise than I do on the plan.)

But I can't say I'm surprised that there is so much complaining--I mean, by my calculations the price went up by about 12% (you are now paying about an extra $4.5 per person per day in tip) and the value went down by 17% --not exactly small potatoes!

 

[Snow_White]

But you have to factor in the price of having the car, gas, etc. and I doubt many do this. Not renting a car probably pays for 2 adult plan days or more.

Yeah but a lot of us already rent the car, so there is no additional expense. I personally hate being at the mercy of the Disney bus and possibly losing an hour in transit sometimes. I much prefer to hop in my car and go from my room to the park in under 10 minutes.

 

[Muushka]

And some of actually drive to WDW, so we already have our escape vehicle....oops, I mean car.

 

[letthewookiewin]

I have always wanted to get the DDP, because I like the idea of having our meals pre-payed. We thought about getting it on our last trip, but the amount of food on the plan was just too much food. My DH and I hate having food go to waste, so we didn't get the plan. This next year we are getting the Deluxe DDP. We always eat all our meals on property. In fact the only time we are off property is when we are in the MCO airport. Disney World is the only reason we go to Florida. However, that will change when the Wizarding World is open at Universal. Harry Potter is the only thing that would be able to pull me away from the Mouse.

 

[Mr. Pig]

A perfect example of be careful what you wish for because you may get it. People thought that there was too much food and didn't like not having control of the tip so Disney listened to them and made the changes. But Disney did not lower the price (well, they did $1). In my opinion the current dining plan was a really good deal. The new plan is closer to break even depending on your meals. I know we would not spend as much on meals if we were not on the plan but we wouldn't eat at a Disney TS every day either. We like to do split stays so we can do half with the dining plan and half without. I didn't complain about the old plan and I won't complain about the new one - just take if for what it is and decide each trip if I really want it.

 

[Forevryoung]

I agree- I was going to post something similar but was afraid of the responses

I liked the sound of the 2007 DDP- everything included and we could omit dessert and still come out ahead (I prefer Mickey Bars after digesting a bit)

Now I won't even consider the 2008 DDP.

People who complained that there was too much food were missing a big piece of the plan- who said you HAD to order all the food???? It was just offered to you with the ability not to order it. You could easily still come out ahead on the old plan without ordering dessert or an appetizer

 

[problemchild718]

I feel the same as the poster-if it doesn't fit your family just don't get it. Why waste time complaining about it.
I also keep in mind-most places we vacation don't offer a dining plan-its a geat option to have when making vacation plans.

 

[Praying Colonel]

But you have to factor in the price of having the car, gas, etc. and I doubt many do this. Not renting a car probably pays for 2 adult plan days or more.

We always rent a car. So Jim's point is spot-on for us.

People wrongly assume that the same people who complained that it was too much food are the same ones complaining about the changes in the 08 DDP. We didn't think it was too much food. And we're not happy because the cost to us to have the same thing we have now will increase significantly.

For our family, we'll now compare the cost of staying onsite and doing DDP and paying OOP for apps/tip against the cost of staying offsite in a condo and paying OOP for our meals, then do what works best for us. My guess is it's going to be the latter.

 

[sjaakie]

I read about the complains and if you don’t like don’t buy it.
Nobody puts a gun against your head saying you must take the DDP.

We will take the DDLP if Disney allows us and I know there will be tons of left- overs .
Last year we were stunned about the huge portions of food they serve and not in Disney alone.
We could easily eat with 2 persons from one meal.

I love the DDP because everything is paid for in advance and no worries about that.

It’s a great plan and I wish they had it in Paris to.
There the complaints are the would like to have a dining plan.

 

[n2mm]

Not a complainer here. I think the major issue is that the DDP is a wonderful deal and has been since 2005 when we started using it. The problem that most folks have is that in 2008 you are paying ALOT more and getting less. So the savings we've seen in the past 3 years are not as good. I'll be using it again for my trip next month, but that will be my last time (unless I ever get back down for free dining again). I caculate the cost would be $100 a day for the 2 of us now (on the regular DDP) that we have to pay the tip and buy an appetizer (to share) and we just don't find that a savings anymore. Yes, some days our meals come to over $100, but some days barely $60 a day and since most of our trips are between 7 to 13 days, the $60 days out number the $100 days. Since we're DVC and have a kitchenette and are DDE card holders, those will work better for us. We love the DDP and thought it was great, it just won't work for us anymore in 2008. Too bad.

 

[caroline1851]

up until the 2008 dp came out lots of people were complaining that the dp was too much food, and that the average person couldn't eat appetizer, entree, and dessert for dinner. there were also continual complaints about servers getting tips even if they did a crappy job. since disney changed it, now everyone is complaining that the dp is no longer a good deal. you can't have your cake and eat it too. i'm sure disney employees read this board and they changed the dp partly because of the feedback they had received. in the end, in my opinion, the dp is still a great deal, if nothing else, because you can prepay your meals, and not have to carry alot of cash in the parks. even if i have to do a little more exercise when i get home lol

that's exactly what i've been thinking....thanks for posting that.