I admit with the old gold plan (which we did Dec 03) we did not always get the dessert. We did always get appetizers, including our kids, and then we just sampled each others. This was a great way to try lots of things. The servers really, really pushed things on us like adding a lobster tail (at Flying Fish, Yachtsman, Portobello yacht club, this happened and maybe a couple others). They also practicaly begged you to get the desserts to go if you didn't want to eat them there. We always added the lobster tails-who doesn't have extra room for that? We didn't always do the dessert. Then we realized that since the CM's tip was included, the higher our bill, the bigger their tip. So, we started taking the desserts to go.
After that trip we swore the gold plan (3 sit-downs) was serious overkill. We planned to stick with the silver (2 sit downs). The MYW dining plan is really not overkill for a lot of people. But I can understand how it may not be a good deal for every family. A family from my son's baseball team used it last month and they took the desserts to go and ate them for breakfast the next morning. Then, they had their counter service lunch and sit down dinner. While I admit this is not healthy long term, they were only there a week.
They did a lot of character dinners and some in Epcot and the only thing they paid cash for was a few beers. They raved about the plan. I would just like DVC members to have the option of getting it. Then each family can decide what's best for them. If it never happens, it never happens. We are still thrilled with DVC!