imamouse
Well-Known Member
Although it seems like a done deal, free dining in Sept hasn't been officially announced yet.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
People Angry Over Disney Dinning Plan
- Thread starter Disney MDACK
- Start date
Although it seems like a done deal, free dining in Sept hasn't been officially announced yet.
Vernonpush
Well-Known Member
There is also an "Edit" button to add to a post you've submitted.
(Next to the "Quote' button)
Disneycoog
Member
Well to me that aint right! Like I said if that tip is going to some of the characters that are making my kids happy then i am Ok with it, but for someone to get 32 dollars for filling up a glass of water is on the same line as a 5000 dolar toilet seat on the space shuttle. Dont get me wrong I am not going to stiff someone that is a good waiter. I guess I just do not like being told I have to tip when I am the one getting my own food. Does that make me a bad person?:shrug:
DisneyChik17
Well-Known Member
I don't think it does because I feel the same way. You are the one getting your own food and often times, it is someone else clearing the plates off the table. I have been at buffets (not Disney ones) and they simply bring a pitcher of what we are drinking or an iceless glass of it. But whatever floats someone's boat.
lol no i dont think its right either. but the thing is, theres not much they can do in my eyes to earn that kind of tip at a buffet. we went to cape may cafe a couple trips ago and the waitress was at our table like every 5 minutes wanting to know if she could help us with anything. its a buffet, unless she knows what i want to eat she cant help me other than with a few drinks. if she really wanted to be that attentive she belonged in a regular sit down restaurant, she would have made great tips. and i could see what you were saying about the characters getting some of the tip, and maybe even the photopass people, but quite a few buffets dont have characters, like boma or maya grill.
PirateTreasure2
New Member
What's going on with the dining plan? Why is everyone so angry about it?
As of 2008 gratuities are no longer included and the appetizer was removed from the TS meal.
PirateTreasure2
New Member
Oh. That doesn't really tick me off that much.
The initial displeasure was caused not by changes to the plan but by a lack of disclosure as to those changes, according to users. Guests complained that they were not aware of the changes and discovered on site that they had to fork over tip money. That's what prompted Jim Hill's article.
As for changes to the plan itself, I don't see how people can be angry over something they are not forced to buy. However, I can understand people sitting in the restaurant with a false sense of what the plan entails, and getting angry when confronted with the changes and being forced to pay out of pocket.
To break it down to a very rough dollars and cents comparison and using Le Cellier as an example there is plenty to be upset about. Under the old dinning plan you could get a dinner that was worth approximately $67 (including tax and tip). Under the current plan the most you will get is $43 worth of food and be responsible for a $8 +/- tip. Using that example the plan lost $32 per day per person of value.
It is a pretty legitimate reason to be mad.
PirateTreasure2
New Member
Now that I think about it, It is a load of crap.
Ausdaddy
Active Member
Agreed. Not too mention that it's a bit insulting to remove that much value and only discount the plan $1 from previous years. It was just too much of a value reduction in a year.
I am almost glad that I was never able to use the dinning plan. Had it become a regular part of my trips I would have been mad beyond words.
Ausdaddy
Active Member
Yeah, it was part of our trips and I was pretty disappointed. Previous to last year, we had paid for it and enjoyed it. We did free dining last year for the first time and are doing it again this year. I'll take it on the free dining promotion (family of 4), but I won't pay for it with these changes. I think they are relying on new customers who don't know what they've lost...and I'm sure that they will get them.
Even at free it does not work out all that well for us. To get it for free we have to give up our AP room discounts which is around $50-$75 per day plus we have to go through the hassle of buying 1 day tickets for each member of out family only to have to get them to credit that amount later in the year to our AP renewals. The DDE card is much simpler and much more flexible.
spaceghost
Well-Known Member
Of course you're paying $38 a day for $43 worth of food...for one meal. Plus tack on another $15 for a quick service meal and a snack and the dining plan is still, financially, a deal. I say financially because there are other considerations with the plan. Does it stink that it is less than a deal than it was? Sure. But there's only so long the company is going to take a bath with offering the plan...especially with the number of people going to the restaurants now.
At most I guess. It depends on what you have. If we're using Le Cellier as an example, then for dinner I would probably have the salmon ($22) and a dessert, which costs about $7. I usually just drink water. So that's $29. At Chefs de France scallops and shrimp is $29 plus $7 for dessert - or $36. I'd still have to pay for my Perrier, flatbread appetizer and tip.
The strange part is that many DDP users say they couldn't otherwise afford to eat in the these places, but their food budget of at least $40 per day (I'm assuming they pay out of pocket for breakfast or for some additional food since they seem to be big eaters) is more than we average a day (that assumes $80 for two people) and we eat in nice places, including two-credit resort restaurants, just not every night. Now throw in appetizer and tip and the budget goes way up. So guests on a budget end up spending more than those of us whose budget is limited simply by the fact that we can't eat that much food. We didn't spend $800 on food on our last 10-day trip. We usually split meals at CS because of the overly-huge portions, which really cuts down on the budget.