The Dining Plan WAS a good deal but not anymore

[Phonedave]

I understand what you are saying but this comparison doesn't fly. Sure if you are paying cash, you can break it out by item. However, you can't compare this to what you get with the meal plan because it's one flat fee (for multiple meals) per day.

Based on your math above, your example has you getting $24 worth of food. Let's assume this is your counter service meal. Does that automatically mean that the meal plan is going to give you an exact value of $22.99 (what you have left) for your table service and snack? (going by the peak meal plan $46.99 price) Who knows? The only way to do the math is take all your expenditures on food for the entire trip and then compare it to what would be the total cost of the meal plan. Or at the very least, do a comparison based on one full day of meals.

This is how I prove my point. If you (for example) spent $235 on the meal plan for 5 days, kept all your receipts, and then after adding everything up you find you would have spent $280 if you had paid cash... where does this whole concept of "losing money for getting desserts you don't want" come into play???

Lets try this again.

You spent $235 on the meal plan for 5 days.

Your receipts totaled $280

How much of that $280 would you have bought if you were paying cash? Many people have unused snacks at the end of the trip, so they run off and buy a whole bunch of snacks. Would that happen if they were paying cash? Would you get a dessert with every meal? I personally enjoy a beer or wine with dinner, I don't drink a soft drink when I do. If I am paying for a glass of wine, getting a free soft drink with dinner is useless to me.

Add up all of those little things that if you were REALLY paying cash you would have never bought.

If they total $45 or more over the five days (or $7 a day, or about one dessert per day) then you have LOST money. Paying cash and ordering what you really wanted would have cost less than $235

If you would have bought all those items (and in the meal plan quantities of snack / QSBF / Sit-down) then yes you would save money, and thats a great thing. But very often it does not happen that way.



-dave

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Um, no offense, but your server did NOT cook your food. Also, your server makes SQUAT for hourly wages. Not tipping because of the quality of food is completely out of the question and repulsive to me. Take your problem up with the manager, even Disney management, but do not take it out of an innocent worker just doing their job.

No offence but why is the wait staffs pay rate any issue for a restaurant user.

 

[lebeau]

No offence but why is the wait staffs pay rate any issue for a restaurant user.

You know before you sit down that you are expected to tip your wait staff. That's part of the arrangement. If you aren't willing to tip the wait staff, eat at a counter service restaurant.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I always thought it was discretionary, now it sounds like its mandatory, surely if it was mandatory it would form a service charge?

 

[lebeau]

I always thought it was discretionary, now it sounds like its mandatory, surely if it was mandatory it would form a service charge?

It's not mandatory in the sense that you aren't breaking any kind of laws by not tipping. But it is part of an unwritten agreement.

Culturally, we all know it's expected. You can choose not to do so, but you are breaking a social contract if you do. Frankly, it's rude. So no, tipping isn't enforced (except in situations where it is actually added to your bill.) But if you don't uphold your half of that unwritten social contract, people may think less of you.

Like I said before, if you're uncomfortable with the arrangement, just don't eat at places where you will be expected to tip. In day to day life, I frequently make this choice because I don't want the additional expense of tipping added to my meal. I also pick up my own pizzas.

 

[TwoTigersMom]

I think the Dining Plan has impacted on the quality of the food also, last year we had the Dining Plan for the first time ever, we were staying for three weeks at The Poly so we saved a fortune eating out. However we were very disappointed with the meals. We ate at The Yachtsman Steakhouse, Artist Point, California Grill, Le Cellier, Bistro de Paris and Victoria & Alberts and the food was extremely disappointing, so bad that we did not leave a tip at any of these restaurants. On each occasion the manager asked why we were not happy to leave a tip and each time I showed him the bill, they were all in the region of about $200 for the four of us as we had appetizers wine etc. For that amount of money I expect almost perfection on the plate but it was far from that. Steaks were tough, overcooked, food was cold, presentation was poor. We have eaten at all of these restaurants over the years and it was the only disappointment of the holiday.

WOW, just WOW. First, I'd like to point out that V&A's is not on the any dining plan except the Platinum. You say your steaks were tough and overcooked, I'm curious how you order your steaks to be prepared (med rare, med, med well, well). I have never been to Bistro de Paris, but for the others, ordering apps, wine, entrees and desserts for my family of 4, we've never been able to leave with a check less that $250+. Two of our four are only 9 & 5 years old to boot. I've always based the amount of my tip on the service, not the food quality. If food quality is an issue, I take that up with management. As a matter of fact, while using the Platinum plan a few years back, I did have issues with the food quality at Fulton's. We had issues with our service as well. The manager came over and didn't satisfy my complaint, so I called his manager in Chicago. The gentleman in Chicago, after listening to my complaint, asked me what he could do for me to remedy this. I explained, I didn't call him to get anything from him, I called him to ensure he would take care of the issues that happened and make sure they didn't continue to happen to other guests. He said he knew I wasn't asking for anything because if I was I would have asked in the first few minutes of our conversation.

We went back about 6 months later and ate there again, since Fuulton's has always been one of our favorite restaurants. This time we were paying out of pocket and had my inlaws with us. They had our table waiting, the service and food were excellent. When I asked for our check, I told our waiter we had TIW. He said that "10% of nothing is nothing". Our entire meal had been comped! Our check should have easily been over $500 not including tip. Our waiter got tipped a couple hundred that night. Two other waiters that took time from their tables to entertain my children with some magic tricks. They had an orginization that did magic tricks for underpriviliged children in Orlando and purchased Christmas presents for them as well. We donated some to their group as well.

 

[Now Is The Time]

Really? You didn't get Phone Dave's explanation? I thought it was painfully clear.

Let me take another approach. We'll strip away any ambiguities. We'll talk about "widgets."

Since we're approximating food, these widgets expire. No saving unused widgets for later!

Let's say you want to buy five widgets. Widgets typically cost $10. So, you can expect to pay $50 for five witdgets.

Now lets say the Disney Widget Co offers you 6 widgets for $58. If you want or can make use of that extra widget, this is a good deal. But if you have no use for that extra widget, You just spent an extra $8 for no added benefit.

My experience with the Disney Widget Plan is that the sixth widget always goes to waste. And I usually could have made due with only 3 or 4 widgets if I really wanted to.

Does that make things any clearer?

Wasn't even gonna respond to this but your condescension couldn't be overlooked.

Your widget analogy is fine and dandy, but has nothing to do with the conversation. Let me sum up my point... yet again...

Let's say you are paying cash for all food on a given trip. Total the receipts for all the food you purchased and deduct the price of any snacks/desserts that you wouldn't have purchased that the meal plan includes, then compare it to what the cost of the meal plan would be for the same number of days. If the total cost of the meal plan is lower than what you paid in cash, even with unwanted snacks or desserts, you would have saved money with the meal plan, period.
:brick:

And to reiterate, yet again, I'm not even trying to prove that the meal plan is worth it because it's not. :brick:

 

[RiversideBunny]

Do you guys work for Goldman Sachs?

 

[lebeau]

Wasn't even gonna respond to this but your condescension couldn't be overlooked.

Yeah, that was bad of me. I was being silly but that doesn't come across in forums very well. Apologies if I offended.

Your widget analogy is fine and dandy, but has nothing to do with the conversation. Let me sum up my point... yet again...

Let's say you are paying cash for all food on a given trip. Total the receipts for all the food you purchased and deduct the price of any snacks/desserts that you wouldn't have purchased that the meal plan includes, then compare it to what the cost of the meal plan would be for the same number of days. If the total cost of the meal plan is lower than what you paid in cash, even with unwanted snacks or desserts, you would have saved money with the meal plan, period.
:brick:

And to reiterate, yet again, I'm not even trying to prove that the meal plan is worth it because it's not. :brick:

Well, we're agreed that it's not worth it.

Your explanation seems perfectly reasonable this time. But it also seems very consistent with the "too much food" argument you've been railing against. Am I missing something or have you come around to the idea that "too much food" is a valid complaint about DDP?

 

[Phonedave]

WOW, just WOW. First, I'd like to point out that V&A's is not on the any dining plan except the Platinum. You say your steaks were tough and overcooked, I'm curious how you order your steaks to be prepared (med rare, med, med well, well). I have never been to Bistro de Paris, but for the others, ordering apps, wine, entrees and desserts for my family of 4, we've never been able to leave with a check less that $250+. Two of our four are only 9 & 5 years old to boot. I've always based the amount of my tip on the service, not the food quality. If food quality is an issue, I take that up with management. As a matter of fact, while using the Platinum plan a few years back, I did have issues with the food quality at Fulton's. We had issues with our service as well. The manager came over and didn't satisfy my complaint, so I called his manager in Chicago. The gentleman in Chicago, after listening to my complaint, asked me what he could do for me to remedy this. I explained, I didn't call him to get anything from him, I called him to ensure he would take care of the issues that happened and make sure they didn't continue to happen to other guests. He said he knew I wasn't asking for anything because if I was I would have asked in the first few minutes of our conversation.

We went back about 6 months later and ate there again, since Fuulton's has always been one of our favorite restaurants. This time we were paying out of pocket and had my inlaws with us. They had our table waiting, the service and food were excellent. When I asked for our check, I told our waiter we had TIW. He said that "10% of nothing is nothing". Our entire meal had been comped! Our check should have easily been over $500 not including tip. Our waiter got tipped a couple hundred that night. Two other waiters that took time from their tables to entertain my children with some magic tricks. They had an orginization that did magic tricks for underpriviliged children in Orlando and purchased Christmas presents for them as well. We donated some to their group as well.

I was going to agree about the pricing.

$200 for 4 people with alcohol, apps, and dessert hardly warrants "perfection on a plate". $50 a head is a $26 entree, $7 drink, $9 app, and $8 dessert

Decent food and service yes, but not somthing along the lines of exceptional (which is what I expect from V&A BTW)

 

[Now Is The Time]

Yeah, that was bad of me. I was being silly but that doesn't come across in forums very well. Apologies if I offended.

No sweat!

Well, we're agreed that it's not worth it.

Your explanation seems perfectly reasonable this time. But it also seems very consistent with the "too much food" argument you've been railing against. Am I missing something or have you come around to the idea that "too much food" is a valid complaint about DDP?

Personally, it's only too much food in the dessert category. When we used the dining plan in the past, the snack was good for water or ice cream so we liked that. Getting a dessert for a counter service meal is just a waste though I think. For table service, my biggest beef has always been that you should be given the option of getting an appetizer or a dessert.

This whole back and forth has actually been comical for me because I was trying to prove a hypothetical of the dining plan being worth the money, but in reality I don't think it is. :ROFLOL:

The biggest thing I think killed the meal plan valuewise was when tip stopped being included. Disney claimed the servers were still getting 18% but others doubted it. I'm assuming it wasn't working out since tip is no longer included. This is also why I don't buy the argument of "servers don't work as hard or aren't as pleasant if you have the meal plan" because meal plan folks have to tip the same as cash paying folks. I'm all for servers getting tipped, but when Disney removed the tip being included in the plan, I think (if memory serves) it went down a dollar, which is hysterical in itself. So if you're looking at a daily meal plan price of $46.99 and you tend to eat dinner at places like Ohana or Teppan Edo, the cost of the meal plan goes up another 15-18 bucks roughly. That's where the value really suffers.

 

[worldfanatic]

This whole back and forth has actually been comical for me because I was trying to prove a hypothetical of the dining plan being worth the money, but in reality I don't think it is. :ROFLOL:

I agree, people's ignorance can be entertaining.

Not tipping because the meal's not perfect......or because you're not required to. That's low level, loser talk by foolish ignorant scumbags!!

And if it's because your from another country, shame on you even more.
I've spent a lot of time in other countries, and despite some things I don't really understand or agree with, I just go with the local custom.

Funny stuff.:ROFLOL: And makes me happy I'm not that stupid.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

The Dining Plan works great for us! We're a family of 4 and just added up our reciepts from our recent visit in March. We pd about $100/dy for the 4 of us and spent roughly $150/dy per the reciepts. Spread over an 8 day trip we save about $300. We LOVE it! We've done our research so we eat some great food too!

 

[Mightyquinn]

The Dining Plan works great for us! We're a family of 4 and just added up our reciepts from our recent visit in March. We pd about $100/dy for the 4 of us and spent roughly $150/dy per the reciepts. Spread over an 8 day trip we save about $300. We LOVE it! We've done our research so we eat some great food too!

That was very good information, thanks for taking the time to figure that. You look familiar, do we know each other?

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I agree, people's ignorance can be entertaining.

Not tipping because the meal's not perfect......or because you're not required to. That's low level, loser talk by foolish ignorant scumbags!!

And if it's because your from another country, shame on you even more.
I've spent a lot of time in other countries, and despite some things I don't really understand or agree with, I just go with the local custom.

Funny stuff.:ROFLOL: And makes me happy I'm not that stupid.

I disagree with your assessment of your stupidity level.

 

[Touchdown]

While Im sure Im not "saving" much money, Im pretty sure we are breaking even on DDP. Even before this we would always have a TS meal everyday, and two snacks during the day. We stay in OKW with its full kitchen, we use that to our advantage and buy continental breakfast items for the morning. We used to schedule the TS at either the end of the lunch period or the beginning of the dinner period. We usually ended up hungry in the middle of day and again around Night Show time which is when we would have our snacks that only partially curbed it. Even then the snack totals for the day would usually cost $10-15. We also did eat at more expensive restaurants (LTT, CP, Biergarden, 50s Prime Time, and at least one resort restaurant.) To use the added cost of the CS meal in addition to making so we don't get hungry, is usually made up by the loss of that second snack and the savings we get on the TS meal.

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

Aaaahhhhh, nice to hear from you Mightyquinn! :wave:

 

[DisneyDadof5]

My family is heading there in August. Party of 6 this go around with DDP (2 Adults, 4 Children), however according to Disney policy, 3 of them are considered adults. I'll keep an eye on my receipts, and report back the difference, but knowing my children all like steak and dessert, I'm sure I'll come out ahead.