Poll: If you are a previous user of DDP, what will you do in 2008?

[carmiedog]

We will forgo the dining plan.

We'll pay OOP for one table service per day, and skip appetizers/desserts to save money. Will do some in-room meals using Garden Grocer and will pretty much skip snaps in the parks. We ended up with a few leftover CS credits and didn't use most of our snack credits as it was. We'll also do more meal splitting...half the kids' food got thrown out and I'll be more careful of that if paying OOP.

So food/value-wise the changes won't be that big a deal to me. What will suck is losing the convenience of having it prepaid.

 

[Colleen27]

We go to WDW too often to go all out on the spending..BUT if I only went once every 5 years or so, I might consider the Deluxe Plan..

That's us. We went in '05 and we're going again in Dec '07 as a family (plus the August trip, which is my mom's treat). Our family trip is going to be a big, spare no expense trip - 11 nights, deluxe resort, and the deluxe dining plan would be perfect if we were waiting until '08. After this trip, we don't plan to go back to Disney for 4-5 years at least. Since the kids are getting older and our range of possible destinations is expanding accordingly, we figure the next Disney trip we plan will be in 2012 or so, after we go back to Mexico and take the kids to NYC & DC and do a non-Disney Orlando trip when the Harry Potter attractions open at US/IoA and maybe go to Hawaii. The downside of only having time for one major trip each year is having to prioritize destinations, but the upside is being able to go all out for each trip!

 

[ENSOCK]

We will still get the ddp. We used it last year and loved the convience(sp?) of it. I don't like that I will have to leave a tip since I do not carry cash or like math, but since I can just swipe my card and the meal ticket is taken care of then it works for me. I pulled what we would eat at a cs and a ts meal. It works out that I would still come out cheaper with the ddp. Not a great amount, maybe only $5.00, but the trip will be paid for before we leave home. Again it is about saving me a hassle. I would not do the deluxe plan because it is too much money to me.
The servers should really be upset because they will not be getting an 18% tip from alot of people. If we get a good server then yes they will get a great tip, a bad server then a bad or no tip.
I wish that the plan had not changed but there is nothing I can do about it.

 

[WDWfor5]

I voted that i won't get the DDP in 2008, but I also won't be going to disney in 2008 based on this change. It made the vacation so much easier to not have to budget food / count costs in the parks and still eat at nice places. I wouldn't have minded it changing to a choice of app or dessert but I don't want dessert at every meal - I'm more interested in being able to get a salad to eat before my entree so I fill up on something healthy.

But the biggie for me is that the gratuity is no longer included - w/o it, it's just glorified pre-paid dining and no longer all inclusive. I don't want to carry cash / figure out a tip / charge tip only to my room cards / etc. And the accountant in me is offended that Disney thinks I'm stupid enough to not nitice that they have effectively raised the price by 20 - 25% and lowered the DDP by a token $1

So on the upside, I can now start planning family vacations to new and exciting places and Disney can go back to being a once in a blue moon vacation. We're glad we're going in October but then that's it until at least 2010.

 

[atisikitabasket]

The reason we loved the plan was less spending money we had to have on hand when we went. Now having to worry about tip which we usually leave a little extra anyway and everything it probably just won't be the best thing for my family but i my change my mind by next year. We never stayed on site till Feb and we got the dining plan and loved it. we will probably now go back to renting a house and me cooking and eating out just one meal off-site a day since the house is cheaper than staying onsite but we love staying on site.

 

[MommySiobhan]

It will definately be something I'll have to sit down and crunch numbers with before deciding.

We did have the dining plan last year and only paid for one meal out of pocket.

This year (Nov) I have purchased the dining plan and have to so far purchase 2 meals OOP as well as figure out our own way for breakfast, either purchasing some CS OOP or eating in the room with food we order or bring in ourselves. Either way I'm still spending extra cash in addition to the dining plan.

With the deluxe plan, the only thing that I really don't care for is the tip.
As far as the actual plan, with our family of 2A and 4K (3 over 3) it may at first glance look like it will still save us some cash. This way I don't think I'd have to purchase any meals OOP. Our family does like to sit down to breakfast and dinner and as far as the dining plan this year, I can't do that.

Like I said, we will have to crunch numbers first.

Basically, it's going to come down to what is the most cost effective for our family.

After this Nov 2007 trip, more than likely we will be planning a trip for early in the year of 2010, who knows what will be in effect then.

 

[milleali]

I do not think that we will do the dining plan if these changes are made. And Disney will loose a lot of money by doing this. The way that it is now is a lot of food for the three of us so the deluxe plan would be WAY too much food.

We love it the way that it is now but if gratuity is not included and removing the appt. I am sure we will not do the dining plan next year.

 

[jsmla]

We won't be purchasing the Dining Plan for our January 2008 trip. Hubby and I purchased the plan for October 2006 and decided then that it wasn't for us. We had more food than we could possibly eat and felt tied down by our reservations. (Free Dining was in effect and flexibilty wasn't an option. We were renting DVC points and not eligible.) I added up our expected dining expenses (pricing out only the amount of food we would order under normal circumstances) for our 2008 trip and they won't come close to the cost of the plan if the tip is not included. I prefer the cheaper entrees and rarely want dessert. Neither of us is a big appetizer person. We do like cocktails before and wine or beer with dinner but that's not included.

That said, my daughter, mother and I are going for Free Dining this Aug/Sept! I just can't resist the free(ish) dining.

Jennifer

 

[Diznut84]

Over 100 votes so far! Thanks to all of those (regardless of their feelings on this topic) who have voted!

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

We used the dining plan in 2005 & 2006 and will be using it again this fall. However, this will be the last time we are using it. The tip being excluded, while the price being lowered only $1 is the big issue for us.

Also my kids are getting older and really enjoy going to the caribbean. Last year we went to both Disney in the fall and Jamaica in June and while my kids absolutely love WDW, they said the Jamaica vacation was the best vacation they have ever had. This new dining issue, with my kids being considered adults in the near future, makes it a much easier decision to take a few years off.

 

[girli565]

Does the deluxe plan require as stay at a deluxe resort or can you stay anywhere on site?

 

[honeymo78]

Does the deluxe plan require as stay at a deluxe resort or can you stay anywhere on site?

It will likely be available at any level of resort (not sure yet about DVC staying on points). There is currently only one package that requires a stay at a deluxe resort - platinum. Even the premium meal and recreation plan is available at value resorts.

 

[girli565]

Thanks honeymo78! I figured that would be the case. Much more economical when you can stay at a Value resort and get 3 TS meals a day.

 

[kokotg]

I voted that we wouldn't get it. We actually wouldn't get it anyway next year if things go according to plan, because we'll be renting a house offsite with my in-laws. But the changes would be enough to keep me from getting it either way. I actually did a breakdown earlier this year of how much we would spend if we didn't get the dining plan (we were thinking of staying at the Swan). I figured that we would spend just about the same amount we'd pay for the plan (we wound up getting free dining, but it hadn't been announced yet at that point). That's for fewer table service meals, but that's how we'd eat if it weren't for the plan (and with three kids 6 and under, all the long sit down meals get a little stressful anyway). So, for us, the current dining plan doesn't represent any savings over what we would otherwise spend; it just means we get more table service meals for the same money.

 

[patsal]

As a consumer I don't want things stripped down and then to be told that is what is "best for me", I don't like when they downsize a package and up the price and I don't like losing amenities and paying the same for them--please that $1.00 is like paying the same especially since it is going to cost me more $$ in tips anyway. So now I get less--no appetizer but I pay more since I have to pay the tip--not working for me! Given the new Deluxe plan--I have no desire to spend 4.5 hours in restaurants per day and I'm certain that I will not be spending anywhere near $400 per day in food ($280+80 or more in tips) for a family of four--though if it has come to that $400 per day to feed a family of four then I'm pretty sure the parks would be pretty empty!

We eat very much like the original plan was structured overall and that worked well for us, this new plan is too much work--making sure there is tip cash--not going to try to deal with that mess on a room key charge, having a separate bill for the salads we will order--oh just too much work.

WDW needs to clear the restaurants faster, well here is a family of four who did spend extra on alcohol and didn't always order everything on the plan that will not be in the way of MOOving the masses.

 

[disneyjunkie]

We're moving up to the deluxe plan.

 

[maxaroni]

No, if the proposed plan is actually what will happen, we would not get the DDP. Quite honestly, we have had the DDP twice when offered for free and not sure we'd have done it had it not been for free, the 2nd year. We came out slightly ahead, had we had to pay for it and losing the AAA discount. Don't get me wrong, the DDP as it stands now is an excellent deal for many and it gave us an opportunity to try different restaurants. However, with the changes, the biggest being the tip exclusion, we wouldn't do it. DH and I actually spoke about this last night and with so many CS choices and then opening up some DTD restaurants again, we'd prefer to go that route.

As for the Deluxe DDP - no, not for us. We usually only eat 2 meals in Disney and snack the other. I don't want to spend the time eating 3 meals and we aren't really hungry enough, if we want those Mickey bars!

 

[mickey2001]

As a consumer I don't want things stripped down and then to be told that is what is "best for me", I don't like when they downsize a package and up the price and I don't like losing amenities and paying the same for them--please that $1.00 is like paying the same especially since it is going to cost me more $$ in tips anyway. So now I get less--no appetizer but I pay more since I have to pay the tip--not working for me! Given the new Deluxe plan--I have no desire to spend 4.5 hours in restaurants per day and I'm certain that I will not be spending anywhere near $400 per day in food ($280+80 or more in tips) for a family of four--though if it has come to that $400 per day to feed a family of four then I'm pretty sure the parks would be pretty empty!

We eat very much like the original plan was structured overall and that worked well for us, this new plan is too much work--making sure there is tip cash--not going to try to deal with that mess on a room key charge, having a separate bill for the salads we will order--oh just too much work.

WDW needs to clear the restaurants faster, well here is a family of four who did spend extra on alcohol and didn't always order everything on the plan that will not be in the way of MOOving the masses.

 

[Angela Kay]

I spoke with a CM earlier this evening. I told him I had heard there would be some changes to the DP for 2008 and that the TS meals would not include appetizers or the tip. He said, that was correct!

 

[emilymad]

I did some math based on the ADRs we have for January. We would still save about $10 a day a person on the plan. I am still not planning on getting the DDP since we wouldn't normally order desserts at every meal. We tend to share a dessert on most occasions. The total price increase just doesn't make sense anymore. It is a shame since I have loved the DDP the other times I have used it.