Rumor is REAL I eat crow!!!

[DebbieB]

i think that voicing one's opinion is certainly a valid way to approach this. but as in most bottom line matters, and this is certainly a bottom line matter to disney, the real way to affect change is pocketbook voting. if enough people decide that it is just not worth it and don't buy ddp, then they will lose money and reassess their decision.

I think part of their goal is to reduce the number of people on the plan. The restaurants are overcrowded, you need to book reservations months in advance, people stuff themselves with the most expensive items to get the most out of the plan. They had to cutback on the more expensive items on the menus. People who enjoy going to a Disney restaurant and pay out of pocket are being driven away.

It's better business to have a smaller number of people paying a higher price that makes a profit than having larger numbers paying a price that does not make a profit.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I think part of their goal is to reduce the number of people on the plan. The restaurants are overcrowded, you need to book reservations months in advance, people stuff themselves with the most expensive items to get the most out of the plan. They had to cutback on the more expensive items on the menus. People who enjoy going to a Disney restaurant and pay out of pocket are being driven away.

It's better business to have a smaller number of people paying a higher price that makes a profit than having larger numbers paying a price that does not make a profit.

Exactly correct.
And might I say, I'm happy for the changes..

MG

 

[jodifla]

Me too!!! HEre's hoping sanity and quality will return to the WDW experience now that they've effectively put the stake in the heart of the DDP.


I pretty much knew that WDW would do something like this, based on how the DDP was playing out. It was WAY too good a deal financially for the DDPers, and even then, people were going out of their way to make it an even better deal for themselves, to the point where it was downright ridiculous. (The low point for me was reading that people SHARED AN ENTREE and even had them split the steak in the back!)

Those of us who enjoyed the heyday of the restaurants in the 90s would love to see a return to the quality that the DDP sucked out of all the good WDW restaurants.

For us DVCers, I NEVER understood why the DDP was so important to them. Even at the former prices, I could eat cheaper and better by doing some meals in the villa, and some select meals at WDW.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Time to do some number crunching...

We have 3 kids under 10, so it still may work in our favor. DH and I are wine enthusiasts, to this may interest us as well.

 

[Sammie]

For us DVCers, I NEVER understood why the DDP was so important to them. Even at the former prices, I could eat cheaper and better by doing some meals in the villa, and some select meals at WDW.

Because some DVCers, myself included, have no desire to do any meals in the villa. Except for snacks we eat out all our meals while on vacation.

 

[Lucky 11]

We like to eat inside the world. My wife says, I'm on vacation and I don't want to spend my vacation cooking. We use the DDP. We have had a lot of fun with it until this trip. I have had a heck of a time trying to get reservations anywhere. We are about 1 1/2 months from our trip and I just finished my last reservation. I have had to accept ressies for 9pm or eat at lunch time. Could not get anywhere we wanted to eat either. The CMs tell me that everything is sold out because they had given free DDP to everyone who has paid for a vacation package. Gee, I think we have paid plenty upfront and in dues. Also paid for Premium APs and tickets for our guest and we don't get crapola. Did I spell that right
Crap-O-La. We have to pay for our DDP and then can't get a decent reservation anywhere.

 

[NMW]

Me too!!! HEre's hoping sanity and quality will return to the WDW experience now that they've effectively put the stake in the heart of the DDP.


I pretty much knew that WDW would do something like this, based on how the DDP was playing out. It was WAY too good a deal financially for the DDPers, and even then, people were going out of their way to make it an even better deal for themselves, to the point where it was downright ridiculous. (The low point for me was reading that people SHARED AN ENTREE and even had them split the steak in the back!)

Those of us who enjoyed the heyday of the restaurants in the 90s would love to see a return to the quality that the DDP sucked out of all the good WDW restaurants.

For us DVCers, I NEVER understood why the DDP was so important to them. Even at the former prices, I could eat cheaper and better by doing some meals in the villa, and some select meals at WDW.

Some DVC members don't WANT to eat in their villas. As in, not ever.

I agree with you about the "getting the most out of the DDP" people. I always thought it was cheap and tacky that so many people shared meals to eat at more restaurants on the DDP. I've read posts about families of 5 claiming that they only used 3 credits and split all the food, so they could do more TS meals. Then there were the people for almost 2 years who paid cash for their kids meals so they could save the credits to treat Uncle Stan and Aunt Joan visiting from Tampa, to Le Cellier. Those were the "they are my credits, I can use them however I want people." Disney finally closed that loophole by seperating the credits into adult/child.

I purchased the Deluxe plan for our May trip at the BC (non-DVC) and I am happy with the plan. It's exactly what I have been begging Disney for the past few years. I like the all-inclusive aspect of it and we eat a lot of TS meals at Disney. If fewer people buy the plan now and that makes it easier to get ADR's, great. I don't know if it will have a direct effect on the food quality/offerings though. A lot of things at Disney have been changed that can't possibly have to do with the DDP. For instance, bar drinks. There use to be completely different bar menus at Disney. Now, they all have the same drinks/prices/menus. At the POLY you can still get some tropical "themed" drinks but the rest seem the same everywhere.

 

[castleri]

I don't know if it will have a direct effect on the food quality/offerings though. A lot of things at Disney have been changed that can't possibly have to do with the DDP. For instance, bar drinks. There use to be completely different bar menus at Disney. Now, they all have the same drinks/prices/menus. At the POLY you can still get some tropical "themed" drinks but the rest seem the same everywhere.

This has been my thought and while we are doing the DDP this trip in September it will probably be the last time except possibly for a 2 or3 night stay. We didn't eat at TS restaurants on a regular basis before we tried the plan last year and while there was a lot of food I did not find most meals to be of the quality that would warrant the prices charged on the menu. We will just go back to 1 or 2 TS meals during a trip, breakfast in the villa most days lunch at CS places and supper the same or off site.

 

[global_mom]

I agree with you about the "getting the most out of the DDP" people. I always thought it was cheap and tacky that so many people shared meals to eat at more restaurants on the DDP. I've read posts about families of 5 claiming that they only used 3 credits and split all the food, so they could do more TS meals.

It never would have even ocurred to us to split a meal credit! Never knew it could be done. We are also a family of 5 and the DDP has always been more food than we could eat but asking to share to save a credit is soooo tacky! At the least, that defeated Disney's pupose of the DDP. At the most, it is obnoxious and cheap.

We always ordered the appetizers b/c our under 10 DDs would eat those to supplement the icky kids meals. Never ever would we thought to "save" the credits by only feeding our girls with our appetizers. How do people have all this free time to think up ways to cheat the system?!

We do love the Deluxe PLan and will giving that a try. I will map it all out so that I can do a cost breakdown afterwards to see what and if it saved us any money. Just having all our food pre-paid is a great idea for our family. But on another trip we will try utilizing the kitchen in our villa and see which way works best. Some trips are extravagant and some trips must be budget minded!

 

[Chuck S]

We like to eat inside the world. My wife says, I'm on vacation and I don't want to spend my vacation cooking. We use the DDP. We have had a lot of fun with it until this trip. I have had a heck of a time trying to get reservations anywhere. We are about 1 1/2 months from our trip and I just finished my last reservation. I have had to accept ressies for 9pm or eat at lunch time. Could not get anywhere we wanted to eat either. The CMs tell me that everything is sold out because they had given free DDP to everyone who has paid for a vacation package. Gee, I think we have paid plenty upfront and in dues. Also paid for Premium APs and tickets for our guest and we don't get crapola. Did I spell that right
Crap-O-La. We have to pay for our DDP and then can't get a decent reservation anywhere.

You can get free dining. Simply book a full price room package. DVC rooms are not full price, if they were, there would be absolutely no advantage to owning the timeshare. The sole purpose of the free dining promo is for the hotel division to book full price rooms.

 

[JimMIA]

I think part of their goal is to reduce the number of people on the plan. The restaurants are overcrowded, you need to book reservations months in advance, people stuff themselves with the most expensive items to get the most out of the plan. They had to cutback on the more expensive items on the menus. People who enjoy going to a Disney restaurant and pay out of pocket are being driven away.

I disagree. I think there are several reasons for the changes.

The elimination of the gratuity puts about $10 extra in Disney's pocket for each adult diner, each day. That's a lot of free money with no costs whatsoever.

The elimination of the appetizer does two things for them. Most importantly, it cuts out an entire course of the dinner and thereby speeds up turnover times. Quicker turnover times = MORE people eating during the same time period, not less. More people eating = mo' money!

Also, the elimination of the appetizer will cut down greatly on the sharing of meal credits. People will be forced to only eat the number of meals Disney intended them to eat on the plan, and that will both enhance revenue and create more ADR availability.

It's better business to have a smaller number of people paying a higher price that makes a profit than having larger numbers paying a price that does not make a profit.

Disney will never do anything to make their restaurants less crowded. They like them packed; they make more money that way. If the elimination of the appetizer yields faster turnovers, they will compress ADR times to put more people in seats during the same timeframes.

Nor will they ratchet up the quality; they make more money providing good food for high prices than they do serving great food for high prices.

They will have MORE people than ever in the restaurants, paying a higher price, and making bigger profits.

 

[psu4glory]

Just a point on the whole appetizer/dessert thing - I read this on another thread, but it makes a lot of sense - part of the reasoning could be the time factor. It takes a lot longer for a dining party to eat app, entree and dessert - than just entree and dessert. And to give a choice to each individual between app and dessert wouldn't solve a time problem - because some would order app and some dessert. Perhaps Disney Dining is looking to try to turn tables over faster in light of the incredible demand for reservations.

great point....when reasoning that this decision is strictly a 'bottom line' decision for disney (which clearly it is), this makes a lot of sense. get the most people in and out as quickly as possible.

and when you add preparation time to that argument - meaning that many / most appetizers are 'made-to-order', while many / most desserts are pre-made and just waiting to be served....it also makes disney's decision to nix the appetizer rather than the dessert seem more logical...

 

[psu4glory]

In reality:

DVC members don't OWN an interest in Disney. They own an interest in a timeshare located on leased property OWNED by Disney.

Stockholders OWN an interest in Disney, and they don't receive ANY perks or discounts whatsoever. And there are a lot more stockholders than there are DVC members.

another great point...america is the greatest land on earth - but the feelings of entitlement that it fosters creeps in everywhere...even the DIS boards!!

 

[Inkmahm]

We like to eat inside the world. My wife says, I'm on vacation and I don't want to spend my vacation cooking. We use the DDP. We have had a lot of fun with it until this trip. I have had a heck of a time trying to get reservations anywhere. We are about 1 1/2 months from our trip and I just finished my last reservation. I have had to accept ressies for 9pm or eat at lunch time. Could not get anywhere we wanted to eat either. The CMs tell me that everything is sold out because they had given free DDP to everyone who has paid for a vacation package. Gee, I think we have paid plenty upfront and in dues. Also paid for Premium APs and tickets for our guest and we don't get crapola. Did I spell that right
Crap-O-La. We have to pay for our DDP and then can't get a decent reservation anywhere.

Wow, you waited WAY too long if you're first makng ADRs now for a trip that's less than 2 months away. I make mine at 180 days out like many people and I have no problem getting the restaurants or times that I want. Even for the group of 12 that I have going in early December. Those ADRs were all done in June!

 

[abeyst]

So I wonder how many posts we're going to see in February/March saying "What the heck is going on? How come I can't get a reservation at California Grill/Yachtsman Steakhouse/(Insert favorite 2TS restaurant name here)?"

I still don't see how this will free up many TS restaurants. Maybe a little, but the Deluxe price for 3 TS credits a day is still a great deal. Now you're going to have full restaurants for breakfast, too, now that this plan has 3TS per night.

 

[Anthony1971]

america is the greatest land on earth - but the feelings of entitlement that it fosters creeps in everywhere

All who live here are entitled to one thing.. Pay Taxes

As far as the DDP not a big fan because you are stuck having to eat a TS every night even if you do not want to although most we do when and where we want to that day not 180 days in advance. It caused everyone to have to make reservations a long time in advance. I do believe it played a role in the lesser service found at some places and the lesser quality and higher prices of food at all. I got tired of the same OK steak with different sauce for 2?.99 depending on the price of the sauce and how many crab cakes can one eat in a week
People would just order the most expensive thing weather they truly wanted it or not and that was a problem as well.

 

[DebbieB]

I disagree. I think there are several reasons for the changes.

The elimination of the gratuity puts about $10 extra in Disney's pocket for each adult diner, each day. That's a lot of free money with no costs whatsoever.

The elimination of the appetizer does two things for them. Most importantly, it cuts out an entire course of the dinner and thereby speeds up turnover times. Quicker turnover times = MORE people eating during the same time period, not less. More people eating = mo' money!

Also, the elimination of the appetizer will cut down greatly on the sharing of meal credits. People will be forced to only eat the number of meals Disney intended them to eat on the plan, and that will both enhance revenue and create more ADR availability.Disney will never do anything to make their restaurants less crowded. They like them packed; they make more money that way. If the elimination of the appetizer yields faster turnovers, they will compress ADR times to put more people in seats during the same timeframes.

Nor will they ratchet up the quality; they make more money providing good food for high prices than they do serving great food for high prices.

They will have MORE people than ever in the restaurants, paying a higher price, and making bigger profits.

They don't want the restaurants to be less crowded, but they want them filled up with people who are making money for them. Having them filled up with people mostly on the current dining plan wasn't making enough money or they would not have changed it. It was driving away people who want to go into a restaurant and spend alot money for a nice meal (for example, locals having a birthday or anniversary). You could not get a reservation for a nice restaurant unless you booked months in advance. So increasing the price will reduce the number of dining plan people but those still on it will be paying a higher price, plus it will make room for people who want to make more last minute reservations.

 

[Coach Rick]

Agree with most here. While the dinning plan is ok, it's not great. Personally, I really liked it when they sold vouchers. Then, we, the paying public were in control of where we ate, how much we ate, and when we ate. I usually bought all Q&C vouchers, and were always happy with that. I used DDE one year, and looking at the figures found we saved about $250 in the course of a week, but not really, because I probably wouldn't have eaten in the TS establishments anyhow. Last year we did DDP, and although IF we would have bought the meals we ate we would have saved somewhere around the same, bottom line is, for us we do mostly CS, so I am not sure Disney has a plan for us. I do know it hurts my brain trying to figure out the most cost effective way to treat my family to a trip or two a year at my favorite place.

Bottom line on this change, they took away a $6 or $7 item, the appetizer, plus a $4 or $5 tip, and reduced the cost by $1, so if you are keeping score Disney $11, Suckers -$11. Now that's fair. Add to that the recent increase in tickets, makes me go, hmmmmm....