Return of Dining Plan

Dan Deesnee

Well-Known Member
Dining plan looks unlikely to return any time soon. Disney holidays booked for 2022 have "dining credit" of a certain amount.

I'm not sure that means the plan won't return any time soon. It's highly profitable for WDW in particular during slower times. I could see it coming back in January 2022 (maybe you meant any time soon as in this year?).

I imagine we'll get an update before Oct 1.
 

Santa Raccoon 77

Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
Soon? No.
happen schitts creek GIF by CBC
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Look. We get it. You don’t like the dining plan. You have made it abundantly clear. Some of us still do. And no we are not stupid. we understand that it probably costs us more money. But I look at that extra cost as a convenience charge. So u do u, and I’ll do me.
I don’t understand.

is it not 2021? You have to pay for the meals with a checkbook or a bag of pennies or something?

Gotta be honest…dining plan has hurt everyone…particularly the wallets and stomachs of everyone.

but here’s what’s actually going on: The demand isn’t there…attendance is down and it appears significantly. Couple that with Slaphead trying to increase prices across the board and they have (possibly) the first price pushback movement in wdw history?

plus the labor issues and a for fee line scheme that hasn’t even started and is already questioned.

to answer your question…dining plan would roll out probably after the fastpass payments are established. Just a guess
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
The dining plan is intended to pack restaurants and fill hotel rooms. Disney doesn't currently have adequate staffing to open all of its restaurants or hotels (or to operate already-open restaurants and hotels at full capacity), so bringing back the DDP would needlessly increase demand for dining experiences and on-site stays that are already pretty well maxed-out at present.

I wouldn't expect the DDP to become widely available again (although Disney might still offer it to a limited few, such as overseas guests) unless or until all onsite restaurants and hotels are open and fully staffed -- my own, totally spitballin' guess, would be fall 2022.
 
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CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
But I look at that extra cost as a convenience charge.
It's not more convenient tho. It's decidedly less convenient.

If you're sitting at a table looking at a menu and you feel like you're only hungry for an appetizer and a salad, TOO BAD, bucko. You're going to gorge yourself on a full entrée and desert all to yourself whether you like it or not. And psychologically, you're going to pick the most expensive entrée on the menu so you really feel like you're sticking it to the Mouse. Oh and your sixth grader is paying for the price of an alcoholic beverage at every single meal.
 

Dan Deesnee

Well-Known Member
US jobless claims continue to plunge. The workers are going to be back within one to two months.

I would expect to see restaurants operating at normal hours nearly fully staffed around the country soon and I would expect that would go for Disney World too.

This may help accelerate the reintroduction of the dining plan. And I hope they do. We only ever buy it when we plan on hitting mostly things like Ohana and other things that would be very expensive for us to do with our kids.

And for some people yes, it is very convenient. I can get my kids tons of snacks without having to pay any attention to how much each snack costs. I can also have them get whatever they want on the menu without having to get my calculator out. That is peace of mind for my pocketbook that lasts throughout the entire trip. Every time we've ever done the dining plan we've added up how much it would have cost without it and it was very much worth doing.

And no, we don't eat until we feel like we're going to die simply because we paid for the dining plan. We typically go 30+ thousand steps per day while we're in Disney so we're usually pretty hungry!
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
The dining plan is intended to pack restaurants and fill hotel rooms. Disney doesn't currently have adequate staffing to open all of its restaurants or hotels (or to operate already-open restaurants and hotels at full capacity), so bringing back the DDP would needlessly increase demand for dining experiences and on-site stays that are already pretty well maxed-out at present.

I wouldn't expect the DDP to become widely available again (although Disney might still offer it to a limited few, such as overseas guests) unless or until all onsite restaurants and hotels are open and fully staffed -- my own, totally spitballin' guess, would be fall 2022.
The dining plan is intended to get the expense of that food “out of the way” before people arrive so they’re more susceptible to more out of pocket impulse…like boo bash.

it’s worked.

it’s also meant to predict down to the penny the staffing needs.

it worked.

it also was fo meant to increase the prices across the board for both those on it and those not using it.

It worked.

It also was meant to allow for lowering standards/variety across the board to save money…because expectations aren’t high on “pre-paid” plans.

it worked.


I know…people roll their eyes and are tired of sages like me stating this over and over again…
I get that.
I’m tired of it being true and yet “debated” all the time.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
US jobless claims continue to plunge. The workers are going to be back within one to two months.

And for some people yes, it is very convenient. I can get my kids tons of snacks without having to pay any attention to how much each snack costs. I can also have them get whatever they want on the menu without having to get my calculator out. That is peace of mind for my pocketbook that lasts throughout the entire trip. Every time we've ever done the dining plan we've added up how much it would have cost without it and it was very much worth doing.

And no, we don't eat until we feel like we're going to die simply because we paid for the dining plan. We typically go 30+ thousand steps per day while we're in Disney so we're usually pretty hungry!
$40-$55 buffets tend to do that.

I also would not bank on the restaurants being fully staffed any time soon as restaurant and hotel workers are currently quitting their jobs at a rate that's more than twice the record national average.

 

Chi84

Premium Member
It's not more convenient tho. It's decidedly less convenient.

If you're sitting at a table looking at a menu and you feel like you're only hungry for an appetizer and a salad, TOO BAD, bucko. You're going to gorge yourself on a full entrée and desert all to yourself whether you like it or not. And psychologically, you're going to pick the most expensive entrée on the menu so you really feel like you're sticking it to the Mouse. Oh and your sixth grader is paying for the price of an alcoholic beverage at every single meal.
We never get the dining plan because it's too much food for us and I'm bothered by waste. But I suspect the people who use it probably aren't all that price conscious in the first place and may not equate whatever value they perceive with the quantity or type of food they choose. Just my guess.

The only time in recent memory that we bought the dining plan was when my two kids brought their significant others (now spouses) to WDW for the first time. I know they would have been horrified by the prices and would have chosen the least expensive items on each menu. (They've since gotten over that lol.) They relaxed when we told them everything had been paid for in advance and they could choose anything on the menu. So value comes with many definitions.

People on these boards know better, but I wonder how many people buy the plan with the assumption that it will save them money. I sat next to a couple at a wedding a few years ago who had recently visited WDW for the first time, and the husband absolutely insisted that the dining plan was the best thing ever because it saved them 40%. I gave it some thought, but ultimately decided I had no obligation to correct that nonsense.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
We never get the dining plan because it's too much food for us and I'm bothered by waste. But I suspect the people who use it probably aren't all that price conscious in the first place and may not equate whatever value they perceive with the quantity or type of food they choose. Just my guess.

The only time in recent memory that we bought the dining plan was when my two kids brought their significant others (now spouses) to WDW for the first time. I know they would have been horrified by the prices and would have chosen the least expensive items on each menu. (They've since gotten over that lol.) They relaxed when we told them everything had been paid for in advance and they could choose anything on the menu. So value comes with many definitions.

People on these boards know better, but I wonder how many people buy the plan with the assumption that it will save them money. I sat next to a couple at a wedding a few years ago who had recently visited WDW for the first time, and the husband absolutely insisted that the dining plan was the best thing ever because it saved them 40%. I gave it some thought, but ultimately decided I had no obligation to correct that nonsense.
I don’t really disagree with you here at all…

but you know what I’m gonna say…

those that can’t control themselves and pay any price for everything because of the “D”…are hurting everyone. We’re all “fish” in this sea and you can’t have some accept polluting the water.

good news? There may finally be some reckoning signs…it’s overdue and beneficial.

but not to vanguard or blackrock. Because we should not care.
 

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