Aw, too bad. Better that restaurants should utilize only 20% or 25% or 50% of their capacity (and revenue) than that more Guests should be enticed to enjoy Disney's Table Service restaurants. And there are many long-timers who do not "hate the DDP".
Your concern for my finances is appreciated. Afford? Sure. Be willing to take time out of park touring if I hadn't already paid for my food? Not so much.
Gee whiz, not ONE Disney Cast Member "made" me order every course, or "made" me finish it if I did. But again, thanks for your concern.
Afford may be the wrong word, given that (except for a few weeks a year) Guests must PAY for the DDP. Intend to spend might be more fitting
Not according to the DDP-haters
I respectfully disagree. Such offerings exist whether one is on a Dining Plan or not, and they existed prior to the onset of the current/popular
Disney Dining Plan.
It's stated frequently on the DIS Restaurants and Dining Plan boards that the DDP is not for everyone. Despite the marketing you faced, knowing what you do about your dining habits indicates you're one of the parties for whom it does not "work", for whom it's not a good deal.
Uh huh. Okay. Sure. Fine. The Disney Dining Plan has been in existence now for almost twenty-six months. If it were not financially wise (and Disney thanks you for your concern about its financial condition), they'd have ended it by now.
But not everybody does that. It's been over two years now since I've been to SeaWorld or to Universal Studios Florida. Disney's influence works for me
Mears waited to fill up a van or bus, generally heading for a particular area, before departing the airport - and after riders checked in at the Mears counter; - then dropping passengers at numerous resorts. Magical Express generally departs the airport about fifteen minutes after the first passengers board - and go to no more than four resorts, all Disney-owned. HOW is the DME wait longer than the Mears wait, unless you were incredibly lucky?
You, um, might want to check your figures. A 100% drop in food means that there is now NO food on cruise lines (speaking of painting with a broad brush - food on Carnival has "dropped" the same percentage as Windstar? Interesting...)
I don't believe RFC participates in the DDP but even if they do - a 3.5 hour wait on a Saturday night at any Rainforest doesn't surprise me.