Is anyone as frustrated as me, due to no 2008DDP info yet?????

[Mad4Dizne]

A big thanks to all my UK friends!!!! That was very interesting and I can't wait to see what exactly is coming here for DDP 2008.


TIA!!!

 

[Cinders Mum]

Pumbaa

The pricing structure in the UK through Tour Operators is slightly different, in as much as they can charge what they wish for it... so they will have their rate from Disney and will add a mark up on to it for themselves.... so the price for DDP on VHols, Thomas Cook Signature etc, cannot be relied upon to give an accurate reflection on the Disney USA pricings.... as such this is why I omitted the pricing breakdown on my cut and paste on page 1 so as not to cause further confusion and mayhem ....

As I mentioned previously, I do have a letter from this company who state that this information has come directly from Resort as there has been a lot of 2008 contractual papers come through this week to the UK, and should the mods wish to see the letter I have stating this, I am sure I can arrange a PM/email for you.

Val
xx

 

[bicker]

I just checked to be sure .... The moderators indicated that they want to see something official from Disney before opening this topic back up.

I am so pleased that you concur that the website does indeed state what I said it does though Bicker.

I think you misunderstood what I wrote: What I checked was what Pumbaa_ had written in this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=19846116&postcount=10
(i.e., that they're waiting for something official, specifically from Disney, rather than from any other source). Regardless, it's a moot issue, given Pumbaa_'s earlier message in this thread.

 

[Leanne1977]

I think the reason Disney have given this information to UK tour operators first is because many UK people book their trips a minimum of a year in advance. My Sept 2007 trip was booked in June 2006, so 15 months in advance.
If people have booked the dining plan with a UK Tour Operator for 2008 then they will need to be informed asap as to the changes.

Thanks for the info Val, reliable as always.

 

[honeymo78]

I wonder if this will affect the other packages like Platinum and Premium. No starter and no tips would also seriously deflate the value of these.

 

[Brian Noble]

I would expect those plans to simply increase in price, but retain their "all-inclusive" nature. Premium and Platinum are selling convenience and flexibility more than value. The DDP is marketed more as a value purchase.

I'll go out on a limb and speculate that Disney will do one or the other: remove tips, *OR* remove one course. I would be surprised if they did both in the same year---that presents a very serious marketing challenge. This assumes that Disney is more or less happy with the rate of DDP uptake right now, of course. And, that might not be true.

Rather, I have a feeling that this is what they promised the UK operators (who do tend to book clients farther in advance compared to US operators) as a baseline minimum, with the expectation that they can add back features later, but once they book packages, they can't take anything else away.

Finally, if *I* were in charge of DDP, I'd just change the TS entitlements to entree, beverage, and either starter or dessert, but leave the tip included. That provides about the same cost savings as eliminating the tip, but it doesn't "feel" as harsh. It has the added benefit of addressing the most oft-heard complaint (too much food), AND could potentially turn tables faster, because some parties would forgo an entire course rather than sharing a few apps and a few desserts. It seems like a win all around.

 

[Cinders Mum]

I have to say it would not bother me if the DDP were to be reduced to a 2-course TS, but leaving the choice to the diner which 2 courses they'd prefer .... I don't have a huge sweet tooth, so do prefer to have a starter.

I cannot see UK tour ops being offered a different level of DDP to everyone else, how on earth are the restaurants meant to work that out? Who has booked with which tour op and what each contract is entitled to. It has always been the same standard plan, but the tour ops set their rate for charging.

 

[nicolbw]

The pricing for the Dining Plan for 7 nights is a bit shocking:

It looks to me like the amount is in Euros. 28 Euros is $38.65 US Dollars. It looks to me like the price is about the same. Now it's just a question of what it's going to include.

 

[Rabbit_Fan]

It looks to me like the amount is in Euros. 28 Euros is $38.65 US Dollars. It looks to me like the price is about the same. Now it's just a question of what it's going to include.

Why do you say it appears to be in Euros? The symbol is that of pound, not the symbol for euros .... isn't it? Plus, doesn't the UK use pounds rather than euros? It would be odd for a UK customer to be billed in Euros rather than the pound, I would think.

 

[bicker]

It looks to me like the amount is in Euros.

Nope, that's British Pounds, not Euros.

 

[Brian Noble]

I cannot see UK tour ops being offered a different level of DDP to everyone else, how on earth are the restaurants meant to work that out?

Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I was suggesting that, perhaps, the UK operator in question is only *promising* no tip, and no starter, but when 2008 actually rolls around, Disney may add either or both, depending on what Disney comes up with. No one will mind if their travel agent calls them and says, "Oh, by the way, good news! Starters *are* included after all!"

I agree, though, that there will only be one DDP implemented for all MYW+DDP guests---with one set of rules, whatever they may be.

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

So you are saying Disney would risk lots of people in the uk pulling out of the plan just incase they want to change something later. If it's coming in it's coming in for everyone.

 

[familyS]

Well, since some information has been provided to UK tour operators, I hope it is a sign that Disney is close to announcing the plan and any changes. Then we can determine if the plan is right for us .

 

[JimMIA]

So you are saying Disney would risk lots of people in the uk pulling out of the plan just incase they want to change something later. If it's coming in it's coming in for everyone.

I agree that the Disney Dining Plan will be the same for all. In the past, Disney has put some additional eligibility requirements on UK folks (park tickets required for each day of the stay for free dining, I think), but the plans have been identical.

And even if they were going to have different plans, the UK visitors would be the last ones they would slight. The UK visitors are among the best and most loyal customers Disney has.

I could see a DDP with a soup or salad in place of the appy, with gratuity and dessert included, for paying customers at a slightly higher price than 2007 (say $39.99 adult and $12.99 child). I could also see that coupled with the appy being included for Signature Dining.

And I could see Free Dining including soup/salad but neither an appy or gratuity included. It's FREE, after all, so who's going to complain?

But I don't think we will see different benefits for different folks...depending on where they are from.

 

[bicker]

So you are saying Disney would risk lots of people in the uk pulling out of the plan just incase they want to change something later.

No, I took Brian's suggestion to be that perhaps Virgin is promising the least that they KNOW Disney will supply; that Disney may still provide more. -- and Virgin will continue to low-ball the offering details until Disney announces the actual details. That sounds reasonable: It's like Disney promising "no substitutions in the Dining Plan, and then each restaurant perhaps allowing substitutions. I bet that not one customer would object to getting more than promised.

However, I think, by now, Disney does know, and would provide a partner like Virgin that information, or Virgin would simply not start offering the Dining Plan yet.

 

[Lewisc]

Bicker and Rabbit_Fan--No question the symbol is for a pound and that's the correct currency for UK BUT the pricing would make more sense if there Disney made an error and the amount show was mistakenly converted into Euros. I can't see Disney having a significant price increase and cut backs the same year.

Is it possible Disney made a mistake in currency conversion and has calculated the price in Euros?

That said some servers said 80-90% of their tables used DDP. Disney may want to make the plan less popular.

 

[Amyrlin]

Ermmm, for the UK marklet it would make NO sense to price in euros, we do not use them!

The issue of priocing has already been explained. Tour opertators in this country will sell the dinning plan, but can also add on spome for themselves, which they frequently do. That would explain the price difference.

They do tend to annouce some thing, or start some promotions over here as we will book long haul holidays a lot earlier than our US counter parts (remember we were offered free dining for the Aug Sept of 2007 as long as we booked before Nov 6th 2006).

There main issue is what is included and what is not incluided. Have delt with Virgin many times it is highly unlikey they would sent out a load of letters telling people about changes unless they had offcial word from Disney. They are not the sort of firm to 'low ball' things.

It looks like the price will stay the same, (just that Virgin and others have always over charged for the DDP apart from when it was free), andnit would make sense that Disney will not increrase the price, but have a signficant cut back, increasing profits more, partly in response to those who said there was too much food and those who felt they were not getting suvh good service (please no flames, I am not sayuing that isn right or worng, merely a response).

Disney often release news on Mondays, so maybe offical US news will come tomorrow.

 

[hansel1]

I wonder if one of our UK bretherin could ask the tour agent for a copy of what disney has sent them?

Much can be misunderstood from one ear to the next. If they posted a document from disney, it might clear up some confusion as to how they plan to deal with DDP.

 

[Cinders Mum]

there is absolutely no chance of a uk tour operator showing us their contract with Disney. Their additional information as shown on a previous page is as much as they will make public. They have advised in a letter to all affected existing clients, is that this is information provided to them by resort.

Val
xx

 

[bicker]

Bicker and Rabbit_Fan--No question the symbol is for a pound and that's the correct currency for UK BUT the pricing would make more sense if there Disney made an error and the amount show was mistakenly converted into Euros. I can't see Disney having a significant price increase and cut backs the same year.

This isn't Disney -- it is Virgin. I don't think we even know IF this IS a big increase, over what Virgin charged last year or not. Remember, Cinders Mum said earlier in this thread, "The pricing structure in the UK through Tour Operators is slightly different, in as much as they can charge what they wish for it... so they will have their rate from Disney and will add a mark up on to it for themselves.... so the price for DDP on VHols, Thomas Cook Signature etc, cannot be relied upon to give an accurate reflection on the Disney USA pricings...."