xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
I nailed it too.
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Disney No Longer Including Appetizers for Deluxe Dining Plan
- Thread starter andysol
- Start date
I nailed it too.
Yep. Aside from an occasional visit to WCC, we have sworn off buffets all together in WDW. I can spend the same or less, get better quality food, and still leave just as full from the regular TS locations.
Funny, I avoid the buffets too. However, if they had a buffet that featured tonga toast along with my defunct faves - figaro fries, strawberry swirl, and Prime Time's tuna casserole, I'm afraid all this talk about WDW meal prices would go out the window.....Yes, this is a hint to the WDW person in charge of food things.
She's just trying to describe why she likes to use the DDP. Life is too short and this discussion isn't about some earth shattering topic. Besides, I've gone back and edited posts to prove that I'm Bob Iger.
polynesiangirl
Well-Known Member
Doesn't surprise me that they're cutting back on the plans, only because they seem to be doing it with everything. I know a lot of people love the dining plan.
We have never used the DDP. I have crunched the numbers nearly every time we go -- once I even took the itemized receipts from a previous trip to determine down to the penny how much we spent on food without the plan -- and I have never been able to see a way where we wouldn't end up spending more. (Keep in mind that for years, we bought no expiration passes so we virtually never booked a package, just the room.)
We have never used the DDP. I have crunched the numbers nearly every time we go -- once I even took the itemized receipts from a previous trip to determine down to the penny how much we spent on food without the plan -- and I have never been able to see a way where we wouldn't end up spending more. (Keep in mind that for years, we bought no expiration passes so we virtually never booked a package, just the room.)
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Have you ever tried Trails End back in Campground? Inexpensive for a buffet, great selection of traditional faire and Apple cobbler.
AEfx
Well-Known Member
Overall I pretty much agree - "a fool and their money" and all that jazz - personally, I think eating out pretty much anywhere is overpriced, which is why I don't eat out often in general (I can make better food at home much cheaper). Being from the north east, prices at WDW don't really seem that overpriced to me considering captive - we pay a lot more for food up here on a normal basis than they do in FL outside of WDW, or a lot of the rest of the country - which is why they have never been so shocking to me (though they certainly have increased a lot).
That said, maybe an expert can weigh in - or someone who works at a WDW restaurant - because I'm pretty sure that there are signifgantly more Dining Plan guests in sit-downs than those that pay cash price. That's why the restaurants are so packed and the you see the servers come to your table and pretty much assume you are on the dining plan (you see them relieved when you aren't, because a) they don't have to explain and b) they might actually get a real tip since so many people don't tip on the DP).
I forgot about that one. We have eaten there several times and it is still on our list.
BuddyThomas
Well-Known Member
Errr, I give up. What the heck is a TiW?
AEfx
Well-Known Member
Tables In Wonderland, it's a discount card you can get if you are a local or an AP holder. Use to have another name I can't recall. Been too long since I had one. Basically you get 20% off of food/beverages at most sit-downs (including alcohol). You pay a fee and you get the card. It used to be like $50 or $60, not sure now.
I'm sure I have something there wrong - someone that still carries one can probably give more info.
sxeensweet
Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
To add you can also get TIW if someone is a DVC member.
OneDNP
Active Member
Only did the DxDDP once (2012) and we saved 25% over OOP taking into account we would not have bought the mugs and we only ordered about 3/4 of the desserts. However, it was only a 5-day trip and had we been eligible for TiW, we would have went with that. Our wine and cocktail budget is .....staggering. Without apps, I would never consider DxDDP again. We are doing the regular DDP this year since the "buy room and tickets and we throw in the dining plan for free" promotion winds up being a bit less expensive than the room only discount. We usually stay Swolphin anyway so I rarely pay attention to the Dining Plan hoopla.
BrerJon
Well-Known Member
The only way DDP is ever a saving is if it's for "free", and it can still be good for some people. It's useless if there's just one or two of you as the extra you pay in hotel costs, whether by not using a discount or not staying off-site, is way more than the average food spend, but for a family, or a party with three or four adults, because everyone in the room gets free dining but you only pay one price for the room, it can be a real deal.
But people who stay in Disney hotels *and* pay money for the Dining Plan... that I just can't begin to understand how it could ever be a saving when you factor in tips, no matter how much food people eat.
BrerJon
Well-Known Member
Actually I think Dining Plan guests are probably only about 25%, as it's so expensive for people not on free dining, and you only get it when staying in a Disney hotel, which is still a minority of guests. It does explain why they are so packed though, as it's the Dining Plan that has created the paranoia that if you don't reserve, you don't eat, so that has led to way more people eating at table service restaurants, even if they aren't on the plan.
Do servers hate it? Most definitely. I've heard some horror stories about Dining Plan guests, so I'm sure the servers are thrilled when people aren't on the plan.
More often than not they don't tip because because the last time they visited in 2004 or whenever the tips were included, other times they think they can just order what they like and walk off without giving the card in as soon as they're done. Im pretty sure there's not a Cast Member in the land who would be sad to see the back of the Dining Plan!
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Free Dining has run its course. It no longer drives attendance.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
They raised it to $125 the last year I was part of the program. Used to be the Disney Dining Experience.
$125 a year for restaurants you cant get into? Only thing I ended up using it for was free valet at the resort bars.
OneDNP
Active Member
Points of contention: we took free DDP over room discount for two people staying at a mod this Fall because it is less expensive. I was shocked when I did the math. We actually do out-eat the daily cost of the plan, including when we did DxDDP using a room discount at AKL CL, so it can be a savings for 2 people if that's how they eat. And tips are a wash for us. We usually tip 20% and since we order what we actually want (not what is the most expensive thing to get "value") that tip calculation is what it would be if paying OOP. We would upgrade to DxDDP for one last hurrah, but I don't want to test my toddler patience with daily 2-hour dinners - he made it through 3 foodie-filled days in NOLA this month, but 8 days of that would be pushing it.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
It's now $125 and has blackouts and V&A and a few others have been removed from program
asianway
Well-Known Member
It's a business man
ABQ
Well-Known Member
Just wanted to say thank you for pretty much all the posts you've made in this thread as they echo exactly how we handle the dining plan. I travel with 3 other adults and for the most part, we break even, we tip very well, we do not over eat, none of us are gluttons, the stereotypes brought up near the beginning of this thread do not at all apply to us. For the most part, our use of the dining plan is based on convenience. Frankly, I don't mind paying for it well in advance of our trips as it makes the post trip bill easier to handle. If they take away the appetizers, so be it, it's not the end of the world Only once or twice a trip would all four of us dining every get 4 apps and 4 desserts. Normally, at most, 2 and 2, so we'd either go without the app or pay out of pocket. I'd miss the Taste of Africa at Jiko.Agree on that to a point but for us, in our case like I mentioned prior we usually break even or very close to even. Every trip when I come home I figure out what our total costs were and compare. We also do not always do the deluxe in fact we mostly do regular plan. The last 2 trips we did Dlx due to all the signatures/2 credit places etc we enjoy eating at.
We make reservations at only places we would want to eat at even if not on the plan and get items we would want at said restaurants and QS locations that we really want. We never try to squeeze things in just because we are on the plan etc. Hope this makes sense and you get what I'm trying to explain. I even have done the math If we would buy a TIW card (we are DVC and current AP holders) too and it does not end up much better either being we only go once a year or every other year. Yes I did include our alcoholic beverages etc in figuring that out as well.
Some do get the plan and eat wayyyy more than they would without or eat at places they don't truly enjoy etc. Those yes I agree it may not be the best for them. Being it is just me and DH that also helps and keeps costs reasonable buying the plans.