Not doing fastpass or a dining plan doesn't make you a better person.

I've noticed that when discussions about fastpass or the disney dining plan come up, there seems to be a type of people who think that they are better people for not participating in them. I don't understand that.

I remember reading a post about someone who was at a restaurant, and when asked if he/she was on a dining plan, said no, and the waiter said "oh thank you so much for that."

Almost as if she was so proud to say that she wasn't participating in such a terrible thing.

Similar posts about people not using fastpass, like they are so proud of it.

Why is that?

I dont know different strokes for different folks, some may dislike the dinning paln because they find no financial benefit or resent the impact it has had on dining experience overall, those that dislike fastpass do so on the grounds of genetics which has resulted in reduced brain function. But having said that its almost like folk starting threads purely to cause a rammy, or folk making posts looking to get a reaction.
. :shrug:

IDK what the problem with fastpass is (other than some attractions that have it, shouldn't), but the dining plan is the devil in disguise.

It's a pain for servers, and has destroyed dining across WDW (but there's already a thread going on about that now, I won't get into it here.:lol

I think they are both great, dont see a issue with either of them.

I like them both because each one of them make my trip a little easier. I like fast pass because we don't have to stand in a huge line, we can come back later & I like the DP because everything is paid upfront and I don't have to hear my DH gripe about the cost of our meals. (That's really priceless to me:lol As crazy at it can be down there, anything that can take a little stress off of my trip, I am for.

Pumbas Nakasak said:

I dont know different strokes for different folks, some may dislike the dinning paln because they find no financial benefit or resent the impact it has had on dining experience overall, those that dislike fastpass do so on the grounds of genetics which has resulted in reduced brain function. But having said that its almost like folk starting threads purely to cause a rammy, or folk making posts looking to get a reaction.
. :shrug:

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Well spoken, oh great bard.
I agree.

I never found the dining plan to be much of a pain when I was a server in Disney World.. maybe I was just an odd one.

LOL!


Point out someone, anyone who does not take advantage of Fastpass so I can laugh at them.

I have not done the dining plan, nor intend too. I have come across disscusions for and against, but from what little I have learned, you really have to do high end eateries to get the FULL benefit. That is ok, but I really want to go where I or my family will like at that moment. I will do some reservations, not many. I like fastpass...it works to a degree, but I like the fact that I can keep it as a souvenir, got a bonus with a fastpass one time and put that back!

Fastpass is ok. No huge gripe with that.
The dining plan is the problem, not that I think I am better than anyone else for not using it.

Dining plan is contributing to two of the worst problems relating to eating at WDW:
1- It has helped make it almost impossible for someone to just make a day visit and eat at a good restaurant.
2- It has caused many restaurants to simplify and/or reduce their menu selections.

The old way was better (Make a priority seating reservation a day out. Keep the menus the way they were. Etc.)
Character meals are horrible, too.....but that is a whole other topic.

Thats the only way we could eat at the restaurants. The dining plan is great and we get to try new places we would have never been able to try otherwise. I don't get how its a pain for the servers? There is nothing wrong with using it at all. The fastpasses are great also.

FP- Only bothers me on certain rides...Like Omnimovers.


DDP? What Lee said. However, VERY easy to do a walk up and get lucky at most places, even when the parks are pretty busy.

Lets see, on our trip in October we ate $2200.00 worth of food over 11 days...absolutely free. Yeah, a real ripoff!:shrug: :hammer:

I'd never pay for the dining plan, can't beat it when it's free though.

Fast Pass is awesome.

Jimmy Thick said:

LOL!


Point out someone, anyone who does not take advantage of Fastpass so I can laugh at them.

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I absolutely agree. The fastpass system has only made my visits better.

When people do drugs, poach endangered species, buy stolen property, or use the Disney Dining Plan they don't really see the related, long term damage that it causes behind the scenes.

Our next trip will be the first one where we will be there a length of time where the DDP could be used. I laid out in a spreadsheet each restaurant we would be going to, what we would eat, factored in tax/etc, and compared it to what the DDP would cost. It just the two of us, and we are pretty set on what we wanted to eat, and the menus/prices are easily available and fairly up to date. Saved us about 80 dollars on the trip, compared to paying out of pocket.

Now, we have yet to go (February 7, can't wait) so I can't comment on the amount of food, but at least for us, for this trip, it made money sense.

I think a lot of the negatives that get lumped with DDP in discussions are due to the free DDP that gets offered each year. This I can understand, as I can see the negatives in the increased crowd, decline in food quality, etc.

While I will forego complete comments on the DDP until I return from my trip, right now, it seems like a great idea. I think it really works. However, I don't think it should ever be free. That causes most of the negatives we see today.

I also see a lot of complaints about the DDP from people that live locally/frequent WDW often. This I can understand too, but because I only go 1-2 times a year, asking me to make reservations 180 days isn't too much of a hassle (part of the fun). Not sure how to help these folk. There always seems to be some reservation for a restaurant in the near term, if you don't be picky about location or time.

Fastpass, I enjoy it. I don't think some attractions need it (Pan, Test Track, TSMM, omnimovers in general) but generally I think the parks are better with it. :wave:

SirGoofy said:

IDK what the problem with fastpass is (other than some attractions that have it, shouldn't), but the dining plan is the devil in disguise.

It's a pain for servers, and has destroyed dining across WDW (but there's already a thread going on about that now, I won't get into it here.:lol

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It's a pain for servers??? Are you serious?
I waited tables for 6 years and wish I had a suggested ( and more times than not accepted) 18% to 20% gratuity.
You can't blame DDP on cheap people because you are going to have them even without the plan.

Why would ANYONE have a problem with fastpass? It helps the flow of the line. Even people who don't use it benefit from the fact that the people who do aren't in the line the same time as you.

For anyone who uses Fastpass do you have the same reaction to people who use coupons??
If the company puts out things that will make your stay more pleasant and easier why would you not cash in on that? Don't get mad at people because they take a bone when it's thrown.

To those that say it's imposible to make same day reservations that is not true. It's more difficult than it was before but not imposible. For example my family took trips this year in July, August and October. We were always able to obtain same day reservations on nights we had not made advance dining plans. We were also able to obtain same day reservations to a restaurant in the park on the day of visit. Sometimes dining times were not our first choice but hey we got in. :wave:

riversidebunny said:

when people do drugs, poach endangered species, buy stolen property, or use the disney dining plan they don't really see the related, long term damage that it causes behind the scenes.

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lol!!