Dining plan cost OUTRAGEOUS for 2012

[havoc315]

The rate is $55.00. I called Disney twice and talked to 2 different customer service people. The rate jumped by $4 per person. $55.00 per adult, $19.00 per child.

I just re-confirmed, the adult peak rate is $53.54, off peak is $51.54.
CMs aren't given the breakdown.
When you call, actually price out a package -- with and without dining.
The prices in the sticky on this board are still correct.

 

[jackie101]

I don't think the dining plan is meant to save money. I think it's meant to be convenient for families, which is why we do it. Disney has the pricing figured so that they come out about even, maybe even a little ahead - not so they are losing money consistently. If you take the average price of an entree at each meal and the average price of a dessert, I bet you'll come out to a similar price for a day. Of course, it does not mean this is how you eat - it's just what you're offered. If you don't eat that way, you will lose money.

 

[ruthgator]

However, for our upcoming Feb trip my husband and I will be taking our 3 y/o GS down there for his very first trip (parents are not fans of WDW). Even though we go frequently, we are so excited about this trip and want to give him the perfect WDW experience. We decided to book every character meal that we could, plus a few of our favorites that we think he might enjoy.


You say you want to have a PERFECT week for a 3 year old... the 3 year olds I know (and I have 2 kids- ages 5 and 8...) are scared of the costumed characters, are bored silly at sit down restaurants and could care less about having the perfect time...

They would be happy with a burger and fries and a sippy cup of juice, all from the comfort of their stroller... I hope you have very low expectations for this trip, as I would.

Good luck...

 

[cmurray234]

I just re-confirmed, the adult peak rate is $53.54, off peak is $51.54.
CMs aren't given the breakdown.
When you call, actually price out a package -- with and without dining.
The prices in the sticky on this board are still correct.

Figures.

And this goes to prove yet again that you can't trust even what customer service tells you. I really DID talk to 2 different people on the phone on two different days and they really did both tell me that the rate was $55 and $19. I wonder where they got that number from?

...also, when I asked about the peak/non-peak pricing, they BOTH told me that there was no such thing as peak pricing and that the dining plan is the same price no matter when you go. Maybe it shouldn't but that frustrates the heck out of me.

 

[eliza61]

So I dug up my vacation plan from last August. Our most expensive meal day was our Epcot day. We had a lunch at Electric umbrella and dinner at Tuttio italia.

We are a party of 4, my sons are young adults so basically 4 adults.

Lunch.
3 bacon/double cheeseburger combo 8.09X3= $24.27
1 Caeser salad $7.19
4 drinks. ~2.50X4= 10.00.

It was hot outside (August) so we freeze water bottles and drink cold water throughout the day.

Dinner
family appertizer grand $30.00
My dish (lasagna)= $27.00
dh( roasted chicken)=28.00
#1son ( sausage dish)=27.00
#2 son (spaghetti)= $23.00
sons had 2 sodas each, total of 4 @ 3.00= $12.00
dh and I had 1 lemonade each =~$10.00 bucks.

we never have desserts in the restaurants. we like to get sweets in Paris. So that would be about an extra $15.00 dollars.

Grand total =$215.86 as opposed to the $220 (if price is 55 bucks ) or 206.16 (if price is 51.54) 4 adult ddp would cost me. And remember this was pretty much our most expensive day.

I can no longer justify it and honestly the ddp plan is no more convenient than putting every thing on my amerexp and tracking my spending. So I'm not buying that argument.

 

[Disneymadhouse]

Figures.

And this goes to prove yet again that you can't trust even what customer service tells you. I really DID talk to 2 different people on the phone on two different days and they really did both tell me that the rate was $55 and $19. I wonder where they got that number from?

...also, when I asked about the peak/non-peak pricing, they BOTH told me that there was no such thing as peak pricing and that the dining plan is the same price no matter when you go. Maybe it shouldn't but that frustrates the heck out of me.

Hey I believe you! It is really frustrating! Just a thought and I'm probably off the wall here but could the prices you have been quoted be for 2013!!! But then to be told the same thing by two CMs is very strange. I just hope that it is still the lower price. I think I'll get my DVC member to double check with MS when they book the accomodation for me, and then book the DDP seperately!

Claire

 

[cmurray234]

So I dug up my vacation plan from last August. Our most expensive meal day was our Epcot day. We had a lunch at Electric umbrella and dinner at Tuttio italia.

We are a party of 4, my sons are young adults so basically 4 adults.

Lunch.
3 bacon/double cheeseburger combo 8.09X3= $24.27
1 Caeser salad $7.19
4 drinks. ~2.50X4= 10.00.

It was hot outside (August) so we freeze water bottles and drink cold water throughout the day.

Dinner
family appertizer grand $30.00
My dish (lasagna)= $27.00
dh( roasted chicken)=28.00
#1son ( sausage dish)=27.00
#2 son (spaghetti)= $23.00
sons had 2 sodas each, total of 4 @ 3.00= $12.00
dh and I had 1 lemonade each =~$10.00 bucks.

we never have desserts in the restaurants. we like to get sweets in Paris. So that would be about an extra $15.00 dollars.

Grand total =$215.86 as opposed to the $220 4 adult ddp would cost me. And remember this was pretty much our most expensive day.

That's very interesting. The dessert thing is what gets me the most. I like dessert, but not twice a day...and from my calculations, that's pretty much the only way you can get your money's worth.

OTOH, given that I got bad information (TWICE) from customer service, and given the fact that it seems like the dining plan is $51.54 and not the $55.00 that I was quoted (TWICE), you'd have just made out ahead on that scenario.

 

[tzolkin]

We did free dining last trip and even though it was way more food than we would ever eat, DH thought it was nice to try the different restaurants and would like to try the dining plan again.

We're planning to go mid-late Aug, but I don't know that free dining will be offered again for our dates. I just priced out the dining plan for our family (2A, 1teen, 2C) and it's about $1800. That's what we paid for our entire first trip.

And if my two younger kids were 10, it would be almost $260/day for our family to eat. There is no way we would ever spend even close to that eating OOP. We would never order the desserts or sodas offered with the DP and wouldn't eat at any of the character meals.

And thats exactly what ends up happening. you no longer really order what you want but what is the most expensive dish simply to justify paying that outrageous price.

I was really excited last trip to have the dining plan because I thought that would give me the freedom to not look at prices and just order whatever I was in the mood for, but I actually found myself always choosing the more expensive items to get the most out of the plan (even though it was free )

My older DD is also my only picky eater, so she wound up ordering the really expensive steak at almost every meal. If we were paying OOP she probably would have been content ordering off of the childrens' menu or getting a burger or something.

Also, when folks talk about the free dining, they may want to price it out and see if they'd be better off looking for discounted hotel offers (if they can travel at that time of year when discounts are offered) and seeing if the numbers work better without "free" dining. Of course, if you can get a discounted hotel room and free dining, that would probably be worth it.

People should definitely always compare prices. Some (especially solo travelers or couples) certainly could save more with a room discount. But families of 4 or 5 where the children count as adults for the dining plan really can't find a better deal. Even a large % off at a deluxe would not save us more than $185-260/night.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I'm confused by your extra $30 in lattes and snacks. Lattes would be a snack credit each. Only regular coffee is covered by the mug, and only at the resort food court. Not going to run back from the theme park 4 times a day for coffee refills.

So you have 3 snack credits per day to use for snacks and lattes -- adds up to about 2 regular snacks and 1 latte per day.
So it would appear you overestimated the value of the plan by about $20 per day. Plus, 1 of your meals would have to be oop, as you went over your credits.
It would actually appear that you would save money oop.

Even if your +55 is correct -- remembering that only 5 out of those 6 dinners are covered, you would get total value of $845 (I took out Via Napoli as the cheapest meal). And for 7 nights, the ddp would cost $903. So even at the +55, you would be losing $58.

I was being conservative in my estimates.. all of the totals were from restaurants where we didn't even include drinks.. we are not huge alcohol drinkers so we would order soda or juices.. Add around $8.00 for that.. I know there are only 3 snacks per day.. and my hubby would use them for coffee at our resort latte's are $3.46 per coffee which adds up to be over $10.00.. I have NEVER eaten at a counter service for less than $ $30.00 and sometimes much more than that.. I know that we are going to have to pay at least 1 meal OOP.. and yes Via napoli would have been the one as it seems to be the most expensive..
If i am eating at a signature, I want to get the most out of it, and I will order app. and entree and dessert.. as we have all dinners except for chef mickeys I would order dessert more than likely every night.. Not for lunches though.. But, just ordering 2 sandwiches, a hot dog and 3 drinks from CS at our resort would be around $34.00.. if you take into consideration that the sand. are $9 a piece, and a hotdog is 7 and the drinks are around $3.00 a piece.. and that is NOT the expensive counter service..
I was adding on $$ as my orginal estimates did not include everything and were conservative..

 

[nkereina]

If the point isn't to save money, why not?

Truthfully, the plan already costs more than if most people paid oop for the food they want. (I am assuming most people don't always want the most expensive entrees at the most expensive 1-credit restaurants with always getting dessert).

If you don't order the most expensive meals, or do lots of character dinners, for such people, it would be cheaper oop. At this point, only a small percentage of adults actually would save money.
And if the children's price actually is $19-- then children won't save unless they do character dinners.

Like you said - Disney markets it as saving money. If they can no longer do that (without being fraudulent), then they will undoubtedly lose DDP customers. There are people in the world (most likely non-DISers) who book the DDP assuming they are saving money because that's what Disney says, and maybe they never realize they could do it cheaper on their own. If they can no longer market it as a money saving opportunity, then most people will no longer do it. There would be people who would still do it for the convenience and at $75 pp as you suggested, I can't say if I would or not. It would depend on how many days I was there I guess.

Of course nobody orders the most expensive meals each time, but that's how Disney can still market it this way - if someone DID order the most expensive meals each time, then they would save money with the plan. Of course Disney doesn't say that explicitly so maybe it's a little underhanded, but that's marketing. I know it, and still do the DDP. I'm not going to be nickel and diming myself on vacation - if I can spend an extra $100 for a little convenience and some splurges, then I'll do it every time. And I'm not saying everyone should - if we had kids or were on a stricter budget, maybe it would be a different story. But it's what works for US currently - I'm just defending my reasoning for us

 

[eeyoresmom]

DDP makes Disney money in ways most of us don't think of unless we go very often. It keeps people onsite. I have a car this trip and would possibly spend a day at Busch Gardens,but because we have DDP, I'm not going to waste a days credits PLUS pay for an additional days food while offsite. So by purchasing the DDP, Disney is ensuring I stay in their hotels, spend all my time in their parks and all my souvenier $ with them. I'm not complaining. It is good business, but NOT designed to save the customer money except in very specific circumstances.

 

[MarkF0wle]

For the last few months I have been working on an economic/business project based around Disney dining prices & the Dining Plan.

When all the data is analysed in 2011 the average family (2 adults/2 kids) did save money based around the 2011 prices although best estimates were only putting the saving at around 7-10% certainly not the 25% advertised. However, it WAS possible to save around 25% if everything is maxed out. The interesting concept was that all the savings came from the kids plans, not the adults. Really as an adult in 2011 you were coming off even & it was simply a way to pre-pay for food rather than otherwise. As others have said it was purely convenience to the average guest.

In 2012 things just go out of whack. I haven't spent too much time looking at data for 2012 but early indications are that really those using the dining plan are losing money. Although I haven't worked on all possible permutations.

As a real world example, using my actual plans for my family's 2012 trip (4 adults, 21 nights) we are estimated to be at a $800 loss. Then to put on top an approximate $350 in tips not covered in the plan. Fortunately for us we get free dining.

At 2012 prices it's hard to see how an adult even comes out even & children look like probably coming out about even. 2012 sees the year when OOP is the better value.

 

[MarkF0wle]

DDP makes Disney money in ways most of us don't think of unless we go very often. It keeps people onsite. I have a car this trip and would possibly spend a day at Busch Gardens,but because we have DDP, I'm not going to waste a days credits PLUS pay for an additional days food while offsite. So by purchasing the DDP, Disney is ensuring I stay in their hotels, spend all my time in their parks and all my souvenier $ with them. I'm not complaining. It is good business, but NOT designed to save the customer money except in very specific circumstances.

Completely! Also for families going to Universal for the day if they do, will tend to eat breakfast/dinner at the resort on Disney property. Or not going off-site like they may do otherwise.

Sometimes it's not even about making money for Disney, just stopping everybody else making money.

 

[TwistGrl101]

Would you consider it to be "worth it" going on a free dining plan and then just paying for the deluxe upgrade??

Because now you can pretty much eat anything your heart desires, at any restaurant you want, and only pay for the upgrade price...

 

[MEK]

For the last few months I have been working on an economic/business project based around Disney dining prices & the Dining Plan.

When all the data is analysed in 2011 the average family (2 adults/2 kids) did save money based around the 2011 prices although best estimates were only putting the saving at around 7-10% certainly not the 25% advertised. However, it WAS possible to save around 25% if everything is maxed out. The interesting concept was that all the savings came from the kids plans, not the adults. Really as an adult in 2011 you were coming off even & it was simply a way to pre-pay for food rather than otherwise. As others have said it was purely convenience to the average guest.

In 2012 things just go out of whack. I haven't spent too much time looking at data for 2012 but early indications are that really those using the dining plan are losing money. Although I haven't worked on all possible permutations.

As a real world example, using my actual plans for my family's 2012 trip (4 adults, 21 nights) we are estimated to be at a $800 loss. Then to put on top an approximate $350 in tips not covered in the plan. Fortunately for us we get free dining.

At 2012 prices it's hard to see how an adult even comes out even & children look like probably coming out about even. 2012 sees the year when OOP is the better value.

Interesting.

It would also be interesting to see how the 2012 plan fairs with your calculations, although I think its obvious what the answer will be.

There is a personal thing I just noticed between using and not using the plan. I tend to be a bit of a cheap skate, so on the plan I always did order the more expensive entree and always had dessert. I used all my snacks one way or another. At the end of such a trip I always left feeling a little disgusted that I had become a victim of such obvious over eating.

In December, when we used the TIW, I ordered what I wanted, did a few signature meals where the emphasis is on quality not quantity, and I left not feeling like such a glutton. I had a couple spoonfills of my son's dessert but did not feel like I had to finish my own. I made my choices based more on what I felt like eating vs what had the highest price tag.

And, yes, I agree, its a way to keep people on property and to cut profits for other vendors and companies.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

We come out ahead with the dining plan. But only because the restaurant prices are so so expensive.

It we drove & had a car we would dine off site alot. Here in town my husband & I can eat at lots of our favorite places for maybe $40 tops....we can even do outback for $50. There an entree can top that price! We had meals this time that came to $150 - $170 [ for 2 people] & that is with tea for the drink.

Still, lots of the fun of Disney to us is getting to eat wherever we wish & order what we want without watching prices & the dining plan lets us do that. And we love getting desserts so we get them every meal.

 

[MEK]

Would you consider it to be "worth it" going on a free dining plan and then just paying for the deluxe upgrade??

Because now you can pretty much eat anything your heart desires, at any restaurant you want, and only pay for the upgrade price...

I personally would. I don't have the hard calculations to prove it, but I think its a wonderful way to experience a variety of venues at a fraction of the cost just keeping in mind what your tip expenses will be. It's a great way to try out the signature restaurants.

My DH and I did this on a 4 night anniversary trip several years ago and for the 2009 prices and package it was a phenomenal deal. We paid value season rack rate at Pop, upgraded from regular to deluxe, and rented a car so we could have the convenience of driving to several of the resort restaurants. It was fabulous, but 4 days of DxDP is the most I can handle.

 

[MarkF0wle]

Interesting.

It would also be interesting to see how the 2012 plan fairs with your calculations, although I think its obvious what the answer will be.

There is a personal thing I just noticed between using and not using the plan. I tend to be a bit of a cheap skate, so on the plan I always did order the more expensive entree and always had dessert. I used all my snacks one way or another. At the end of such a trip I always left feeling a little disgusted that I had become a victim of such obvious over eating.

In December, when we used the TIW, I ordered what I wanted, did a few signature meals where the emphasis is on quality not quantity, and I left not feeling like such a glutton. I had a couple spoonfills of my son's dessert but did not feel like I had to finish my own. I made my choices based more on what I felt like eating vs what had the highest price tag.

And, yes, I agree, its a way to keep people on property and to cut profits for other vendors and companies.

I think it's quite obvious to where things are trending, not looking promising for 2012.

The fact that on the DDP you don't have to think about costs while on holiday is a +major for the plan. Paying OOP it's easy to sacrifice meal quality for cost whereas when already paid you just eat & relax.

 

[eliza61]

That's very interesting. The dessert thing is what gets me the most. I like dessert, but not twice a day...and from my calculations, that's pretty much the only way you can get your money's worth.

OTOH, given that I got bad information (TWICE) from customer service, and given the fact that it seems like the dining plan is $51.54 and not the $55.00 that I was quoted (TWICE), you'd have just made out ahead on that scenario.

LOL, Cmurray you could call disney a dozen times and get a dozen different answers. I'm surprised you got a confirmation the 2nd time on any price.

I think it's quite obvious to where things are trending, not looking promising for 2012.

The fact that on the DDP you don't have to think about costs while on holiday is a +major for the plan. Paying OOP it's easy to sacrifice meal quality for cost whereas when already paid you just eat & relax.

I find that so funny because I find simply from the post on the dis, people on the plan think about price waay more than without. this is just my unscientific observation but I find that most people spend time making sure they get the most expensive item whether they want it or not simply because they feel they must maximize the plan.

When the ddp first changed over (no tips and no apps) I would see post where people wanted to know where they could get the most expensive steak or if they could get lobster tail so they could maximize their credits.

Also I've personally witness quite a number of times people in the hotel quick and go's trying to load up on snacks so they don't waste the credits. So I really don't buy the "prepay and never think about what you order" argument.
People on the ddp OBSESS over what to order and how to use their points.

 

[creativeamanda]

I think the point here is that Disney likely never intended for the dining plan to save us money, but rather to be a prepay for food. It was us (the customers) who discovered how we could work it to save money. Disney is likely closing loopholes.

I am fine with it costing more and getting the refillable mugs, because that something less I have to budget for that I would get regardless. And, no, I don't typically eat like that, but on vacation, it's all about splurging and not having to count pennies. I count the pennies before I leave, have a prepaid Visa on the room so I only charge food back to the room, and enjoy myself. I don't have to worry about money, and coming from someone who balances their checkbook EVERY DAY, it's nice not to have to deal with that.

For this coming trip, my daughter and I are doing the deluxe plan, because I want no out of pocket expenses (typically, we pay for one meal oop). I want to spend time with my daughter when she's 13 and before she totally hates me (lol) and worrying about money is at the bottom of my list.