-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Disney No Longer Including Appetizers for Deluxe Dining Plan
- Thread starter andysol
- Start date
OneDNP
Active Member
Yep. Playing "oopsies" with a typo avoids the bad press of a formal survey (tiered tickets), and the data is better because they can look at the comparative stats with 2016 packages/reservations that have been booked with money, not opinions.
Amy Sallee
New Member
After removing the appetizer there is not enough benefit to the Deluxe plan to justify the cost vs the regular plan. A lot of people will probably down grade if they don't see the value in the Deluxe. I'm sure all of the restaurant servers will be thrilled about this appetizer removal too. Considering their tips are generally based on the ticket total which will now be roughly $40-$60 less per table, resulting in approximately $10 less per tip.
SYRIK2000
Well-Known Member
For me it will have a snow ball effect.
We stay online to get Deluxe Dining Plan. So I'll go back to hotels on Hotel BLVD and save a ton.
And not being tied to Disney parks I will venture out to Universal and SeaWorld. So Disney will lose a lot of my vacation dollars with this change.
I was going to say small change but for my family it's huge. We do 9 nights of Dining Plan usually. So 2 appetizers / day / person (5 of us) equates to 2*8*5=80 appetizers at an average of $7 per appetizer. This is an upcharge of $560. Not counting they raised the price of the plan by $2 / person / day.
asianway
Well-Known Member
I know spirit speaks highly of Benihana - any other dining gems on the blvd?
SYRIK2000
Well-Known Member
Right outside the East gate is all kind of dining, from fast food up to sit down, there is a supermarket, Dunkins, and even a Disney Outlet right around the corner. Plus you are walking distance to DTD.
DisneyDebRob
Well-Known Member
Three words people-Tables in Wonderland. Probably the best way ever you know your getting a good deal. I'm still surprised it hasn't been hit with some sort of cut over the years except for a small increase in the price for it. I'm guessing soon something may happen to it.
ABQ
Well-Known Member
Not a cut, but wasn't it hit with more and more blackout dates each year?
I'm not familiar enough, but someone else will have to confirm how these dates differ from previous years.
I know it's only a few restaurants and not the largest blackout window, but indicative of change they aren't afraid to make.
*Beginning August 1st 2014, 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey’s, ‘Ohana (Dinner Only), Cinderella’s Royal Table, LeChefs de France, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, and Le Cellier Steakhouse will be subject to the additional blockout weeks of: March 8-April 4, 2015; May 31-June 20, 2015; November 22-28, 2015 and December 20-26, 2015.
Blockout dates for Tables in Wonderland are Mother’s Day, Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Tables in Wonderland is valid for one year from date of purchase.
Last edited:
DisneyDebRob
Well-Known Member
You are correct. I guess I forget about the black out dates because I'm never there during peak times. The cost has also gone up to a hundred dollars which is still worth it. I guess I was wondering when the 20% off everything will be reduced to 10% or it won't include alcohol or the amount of people covered at your table.. Etc. amazing how we now sit back and wonder what will be cut instead of, look what we have coming. Or is it just me?
Tuvalu
Premium Member
And remember, only AP holders, FL residents and DVC members are eligible for Tables in Wonderland. The majority of guests won't qualify.
SYRIK2000
Well-Known Member
They will keeping cutting off things until it affects attendance then they will back off for a while. The problem with cutting the appetizer is if people no longer get the dining plan they are not tied to WDW. They make you cover the whole trip so people stay on property to use the dining credits. I think this may hurt attendance and thus they will take notice. I also believe some stay on property to get the DDP. They will no longer stay on property if they aren't going to get the plan.
Plus they also just reduced the benefits of staying on property, all the minor little things they gave you. You don't even get points for the arcades anymore.
SherlockWayne
Active Member
Looks like the typo has been fixed. I'm seeing the appetizers are back on the deluxe plan brochure.
SYRIK2000
Well-Known Member
Last edited:
ABQ
Well-Known Member
Are you sure you're looking at 2016 @SherlockWayne ?
SherlockWayne
Active Member
Yep, pretty sure. It was showing differently in one of my browsers, so at first I thought I had a different brochure. But then I noticed that the brochure I was used to seeing kept coming up really quick, so I figured it was bringing up the same one saved in my history every time. Just for fun, I deleted my internet history to try to get it to reload. When it reloaded, it was the fixed one.
Last edited:
DougK
Well-Known Member
I find it interesting that so many people think Disney hasn't thought this through, but when it comes to $$ they know what they are doing as a company. I think they could have easily kept the appetizer on the Deluxe DDP and simply raised the price more than the $2 they raised it. It seems to me what Disney is doing is reducing the TIME it takes to dine so they can turn over the tables more quickly. Remember many of their restaurants are in effect "sold out" many days of the year during prime dining times. If nobody on the regular or deluxe dining plans gets an appetizer that will cut off a good 10-15 minutes per table. I think this is why they removed the appetizers from the regular dining plan a few years ago also. After they made that cut many people said they wish Disney would give them a choice of appetizer or dessert but Disney stood firm. Believe me it is not the difference in cost between an appetizer and dessert, they make plenty of markup on both, it is to reduce the time you and your family are at the table. If one person in the party gets an appetizer and three get dessert it still would take about the same amount of time as it would if everyone got both. But eliminate the appetizer and they save 15 minutes. Now of course people can still get an appetizer and pay extra for it, but most people on a dining plan do not stray from what is provided. The DDP is a cash cow for Disney, and I haven't even factored in how much they must make on unused credits.
Of course it will not mean anything to us if it turns out this is not actually the new policy!
Of course it will not mean anything to us if it turns out this is not actually the new policy!
SYRIK2000
Well-Known Member
Yes I see it now on a different browser. Great News
ABQ
Well-Known Member
Weird, I've tried 3 different browsers, 2 that have never been to disneyworld.disney.go.com and pages 4 and 5 of the 2016 Deluxe Dining PDF doc still just show Entree, Dessert and non-alcoholic beverage, only the in room dining references, as it always had, a appetizer as well.
Edit, I see it now after a 3rd history wipe of chrome.
OneDNP
Active Member
If it made any sense for me to buy an AP to qualify for the card, I would. But that would entail taking an extra trip or staying longer, which kind of defeats the purpose of saving money!