News Disney Dining Plan Returns in 2024

LuvtheGoof

LuvtheGoof

Grill Master
Premium Member
JD80 said:
There is no "rest of us" everyone is paying for a meal. It's just a matter of when they are paying for it and how much. The us vs. them is not a healthy way of looking at it.
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I wasn't making it an us vs. them comparison for who pays and when. I merely stated the fact that when there were dining plans in the past, the ADRs at certain restaurants filled up a lot faster.

JD80 said:
I'd be careful when you start assuming how most people eat when vacationing.
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I don't assume anything. People vacation differently and that's OK. What works for one family may or may not work for another.
 
kong1802

kong1802

Well-Known Member
I have a dumb question about the DDP.

We have never used it as for me it was too much work scheduling ADR's in the first place with our fam of 5 that far in advance given how we like to pivot constantly during our touring days. To get the value, we would have had to schedule enough character meals and do other research to make sure we were getting our $'s worth. No shade to those who use it and enjoy this aspect of WDW.

How does tipping work? You get the receipt showing the cost without the dining plan and then add a tip and scan your MB?
 
JD80

JD80

Well-Known Member
kong1802 said:
I have a dumb question about the DDP.

We have never used it as for me it was too much work scheduling ADR's in the first place with our fam of 5 that far in advance given how we like to pivot constantly during our touring days. To get the value, we would have had to schedule enough character meals and do other research to make sure we were getting our $'s worth. No shade to those who use it and enjoy this aspect of WDW.

How does tipping work? You get the receipt showing the cost without the dining plan and then add a tip and scan your MB?
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DDP is more trouble than it's worth if you don't like or do proper planning. However Disney can surprise us all by making it affordable and easy to use! (lol fat chance).

However the credits just get put towards your food and you would tip out of pocket. You get the check - they scan your MB - your dining credit are spent and then you are given the option to leave a tip via the CC on your MB, use another CC or leave cash like any other interaction.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Weather_Lady said:
Yes, exactly. You can also use Disney gift cards, cash, etc. to pay the gratuity.

I believe if you are a party of 6 or more, an 18% gratuity is automatically charged.
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If they pay it.

We don’t really want to go down this well, do we?

And the 18% matters not for a ticket charge cause they don’t run then concurrently when they close the bill. But they really should.
 
Ayla

Ayla

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
Free dining was a low occ/recession era tactic. We have a real slow time if it comes back but I don’t doubt it one bit.

And as has been - again for the amnesiacs - been discussed forever…they adjusted the fees and increase the costs year to blunt the “discount” and make it a controlled coupon plan.

And that’s ok…many liked it…but it’s not the same as paying for DDP out of pocket
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It was rolled out during the height of hurricane season.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
When people blindly buy into all of Bob's price hikes and wallet-pilfering schemes because "they have value to me", their effects and impacts become the norm and now what I used to enjoy while on vacation is irrevocably altered. So yes, some of YOUR vacation decisions DO have an impact on MY vacation, and I WILL judge those decisions thusly.

We thoroughly enjoyed the first 2-3 years of the Disney Dining Plan, before the sharp pencil people took over and neutered the plans and forced changes at restaurants, as mentioned by @LuvtheGoof. And I can say with certainty that the iterations since roughly 2013-14 don't hold a candle (I could be off by a year or two), which is roughly when we stopped using dining plans because the value was gone. Prices went up across the board to make the dining plan look like "a good deal". Quality was reduced. Portions were reduced. Then some meals became 2 credit meals. Wanna bet even more meals will be 2 credits in 2024? Meal prices are higher, so a price hike is all but guaranteed. 2024 also brings the two snack credits down to one.

I literally cannot wait to read all of the complaints about ADR's becoming scare again once the dining plan is again available. Be careful what you wish you, because you just may get it.
 
Ayla

Ayla

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
When people blindly buy into all of Bob's price hikes and wallet-pilfering schemes because "they have value to me", their effects and impacts become the norm and now what I used to enjoy while on vacation is irrevocably altered. So yes, some of YOUR vacation decisions DO have an impact on MY vacation, and I WILL judge those decisions thusly.

We thoroughly enjoyed the first 2-3 years of the Disney Dining Plan, before the sharp pencil people took over and neutered the plans and forced changes at restaurants, as mentioned by @LuvtheGoof. And I can say with certainty that the iterations since roughly 2013-14 don't hold a candle (I could be off by a year or two), which is roughly when we stopped using dining plans because the value was gone. Prices went up across the board to make the dining plan look like "a good deal". Quality was reduced. Portions were reduced. Then some meals became 2 credit meals. Wanna bet even more meals will be 2 credits in 2024? Meal prices are higher, so a price hike is all but guaranteed. 2024 also brings the two snack credits down to one.

I literally cannot wait to read all of the complaints about ADR's becoming scare again once the dining plan is again available. Be careful what you wish you, because you just may get it.
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Don't forget when app, entree, dessert, and tip used to be included.

Now, you get an entree and a dessert (and alcohol, which has zero value to me).
 
D

dreday3

Well-Known Member
Judge my vacation all you want, I don't have to care unless you are paying for it.

Signed someone who won't do dining plans but loooves a good Halloween party!!!
 
Ayla

Ayla

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
Define "the height of hurricane season". Because there's a fair chunk of hurricane season that is/was a low spot for WDW attendance.
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Why does everyone want to argue today? The DDP was rolled out during the height of hurricane season to entice people to come to WDW.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
Ayla said:
Why does everyone want to argue today? The DDP was rolled out during the height of hurricane season to entice people to come to WDW.
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It was a genuine question, I swear. :)

But I realized I was conflating that with "free" dining, which is rolled out to prop up the bottom line when they need a boost.
 
MickeyLuv'r

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
Dining plans are never worth the money unless you are selecting the most expensive menu items for every meal included - I tracked receipts over years and multiple trips and ran the numbers myself. But they have fooled a ton of people into thinking it's a great deal. Many here have pointed that same reality out, but the pixie dust is stronger than logic for so many.
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For the most part, yes.

But when it was FIRST rolled out, in the context of touring WDW at that time, the plan offered a considerable discount.

WDW changed it a few months later. I want to say about 6 months after the initial roll out.
When it was first offered though, DDP users got: appetizer, entree, beverage, and dessert (or full buffet) AND the plan covered the gratuity all for 1 TS credit.

Early on, there was also a generous allowance when it came to using up leftover QS credits.

WDW was a different company back then.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
MickeyLuv'r said:
For the most part, yes.

But when it was FIRST rolled out, in the context of touring WDW at that time, the plan offered a considerable discount.

WDW changed it a few months later. I want to say about 6 months after the initial roll out.
When it was first offered though, DDP users got: appetizer, entree, beverage, and dessert (or full buffet) AND the plan covered the gratuity all for 1 TS credit.

Early on, there was also a generous allowance when it came to using up leftover QS credits.

WDW was a different company back then.
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I remember dining at Italy, whatever the sit-down restaurant was called back then, and leaving so full that I thought I would never make it back to our room. And also using our KttW card to pay for some people's QS meals because we hadn't used ours up and we were leaving later that day. That was when DDP had real value. Even the next couple of years had the see-saw tilted in the guests' favor, even without the gratuity included.
 
D

dreday3

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
I remember dining at Italy, whatever the sit-down restaurant was called back then, and leaving so full that I thought I would never make it back to our room. And also using our KttW card to pay for some people's QS meals because we hadn't used ours up and we were leaving later that day. That was when DDP had real value. Even the next couple of years had the see-saw tilted in the guests' favor, even without the gratuity included.
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Alfredo's!
 

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