Question for those of you in the "like" category. What happens if you want to do more than one TS per day? Or at least one TS per day and one or more them involves double credits? To achieve your goal you would need to spend more above the initial cost of the DP. Where is the monetary savings at that point?
If I am staying for 6 nights and want to do 7 table service meals then I will just pay cash for the least expensive one. The cost is no different if I was not on the dining plan - the more table service meals you have during your vacation, the higher your food budget needs to be.
Maybe a challenge to see if anyone can take a family of 4 or 5, NOT do the DP, still do at least one day of multiple TS meals, go for multiple days and see if you can beat the total cost of DP (versus what was actually spent)? Backed up by receipts of course.
For last May, I costed out the trip for my mother and I, budgeting only what I thought we would order in a couple of TS restaurants (i.e. a light lunch, no desserts, sharing, etc). We did the DDP for the 6 days at OKW but not for the 3 nights we were at the BWI - we spent more than I had budgeted during the cash portion of our dining and had worse service. When we switched to the dining plan it was a relief.
And I'd really like to see the larger groups (4+) who get an appetizer, entree, and dessert each and everyone eats everything. That's a LOT of food for every TS. Shoot - unless much has changed in the last year, most of us could easily make a meal of the average appetizer and dessert. I get the impression from past threads that there is a lot of food being left on the tables with the DP. While I am by no means a Socialist, just on a personal level it seems inefficient.
Why does everyone have to get their own appetizer, entree and dessert? If you don't want to waste food, in most cases (combined with a reasonable counter service meal and snack) your break even point on the table service meal is your entree and drink with tax and tip. No one is holding a gun to your head to order everything, nor do you need to do so to break even on the plan. And at some restaurants, for instance, Coral Reef, our group of 4 adults easily enjoyed our appetizers, entrees and desserts, leaving behind only a few bites. It depends on where you eat and what you order.
And I have to agree about the quality/menu choice issues - anyone who has gone year over year for the last few years can definitely see a degradation in those areas. More of something does not make up for the lack of quality of said thing.
While some choice has been lost (i.e. at each individual restaurant there are now only 6-7 choices of entree) I have not found a great down turn in quality. In we have eaten at Le Cellier each trip - Feb 05, Dec 05, May 06 (twice) and Oct 06. I have not seen a decline in quality. I did not book the Coral Reef for our first few trips because the reviews were mostly horrible with reviewers stating that the food was not worth the price (this was pre DDP popularity when CR was still 2 credits). I have seen a great increase in the number of positive reviews of this restaurant - mine included. The crab claws were great, the Ahi Tuna out of this world and of course, the chocolate wave.
And I have to say, I think a great many Disney vacationers are thankful that Disney has aligned their menus so that the "average" person can go into any restaurant and find something they like.
I mean it's only a week or two of pigging out.
