Disney Dinning Plan Your Thoughts?

[Wizzard419]

Judging by the way it sounds, it's a volume based sales method and you are getting food at a lower rate becuase you are paying up front for it and buying a pre-determined amount, even if you don't consume it you still paid for it and disney gets it's profit (even if they throw it in the trash). If you could pick and choose a custom lower total then they probably wouldn't want to give you a lower rate.

[Soarin08]

Ban it from nicer establishments.

That would never happen and would not be a smart move at all if Disney did it. I would say that factoring the tip back into the meal and making the dining plan suit your needs would be the best options. I would definitely like the plan if they could let you make your own plan in advance so you can do it how you want and not be forced to stick to their plan... IE you get to choose the number of snack, quick serve, and sit down credits.

I agree with Len here... 100%. Love that idea.

[Sleepy90]

I like Len90's idea but I think you would end up paying through the nose for it, as it stands there are three plans all of differing prices and if you are paying for them then you choose the one that suits your needs best now if I was actually paying I would not have any of them as they are way to restricting and anyway I could not consume all the credits.
This year we got free dining in our package we stayed at the same resort as last year Port Orleans Riverside and the price was within £20 of what we paid last year so yes it really was free. At the end of our 14 days we still had 14 Quick service meals and 18 snacks approximately left and the girl at the checkout desk told us to go and purchase the snacks and hand them out to other families as they were already purchased.
Now I could go with Len's idea if you could make the plan smaller and not have to pay the set value.

[Amy]

I would definitely like the plan if they could let you make your own plan in advance so you can do it how you want and not be forced to stick to their plan... IE you get to choose the number of snack, quick serve, and sit down credits.

You make it sound like the weight watchers point plan - you get the points and decide how want to consume them. I can't see why that would not work as well towards the DDP.

That would be a nice option, but I doubt many people would have the patience, or knowledge, to sit down and figure out exactly what they needed.

[mindflipper]

I would definitely like the plan if they could let you make your own plan in advance so you can do it how you want and not be forced to stick to their plan... IE you get to choose the number of snack, quick serve, and sit down credits.

You make it sound like the weight watchers point plan - you get the points and decide how want to consume them. I can't see why that would not work as well towards the DDP.

That would be a nice option, but I doubt many people would have the patience, or knowledge, to sit down and figure out exactly what they needed.

You could always make lunch and dinner fixed in the plan, but the breakfast and snacks are optional points that the usage can be determined by the planholder.

[Wizzard419]

If you're buying only the exact quantity of food you need then they probably don't make enough to merit a discount.

[Len90]

If you're buying only the exact quantity of food you need then they probably don't make enough to merit a discount.

That is an issue with it. As is the dining plan is only a savings if you live it to the max and order more expensive items for all your sitdown meals. It might make the dining more complex but I honestly think it would work very similar to theme park tickets. You add the options you want to make it suit your needs.

[Wizzard419]

Even with the theme park tickets, the goal is to oversell. For example, sell the all inclusive pass to people and they don't use the waterparks, or disney quest, mini golf, pleasure island, then it's a slight bonus since they are being charged for it but do not utilize it.

[Len90]

Even with the theme park tickets, the goal is to oversell. For example, sell the all inclusive pass to people and they don't use the waterparks, or disney quest, mini golf, pleasure island, then it's a slight bonus since they are being charged for it but do not utilize it.

Exactly, there is always a way to work things in with packaging. One of the best things since the consumer feels like they are getting a great deal but the seller is still making a decent profit. The Magic Your Way package is a great example of this as well. They offer you some of these coupons to entice guests to utilize things that might get overlooked. Some guests will take up these deals thinking that they will lose out if they don't do it and thus end up spending more money. The mini golf I think is the perfect example. They charge $12 per adult or $10 per child but give you one round free on the Magic Your Way package. Disney still makes plenty off of the guest in this but the guest feels they are also getting a savings.

This is really why I think Disney can do so much more with the dining plan by allowing some customization or even more options. They can still work out package savings but will succeed in getting guests to go for a bit more than they will use. It has worked with the theme park tickets extremely well. We will always take length of stay as it is the best value. However, there might be one or two days where we will only be in the parks for just 2-3 hours. We only will go to the park since we would feel guilty leaving a day unused.

[Wizzard419]

That's kind of the exact reason they don't let you customize, they want the average/majority of guests to leave money on the table. Kind of like the park tickets, unless you arrive at the resort first thing you're probably going to burn up a good portion (if not all) of a day's ticket in travel, and then if you're jetlagged as well. Disney really likes sunk costs for guests.

[Amy]

Did anyone else see that they are going to start requiring a credit card hold on ADR's at more restaurants now? There will be a 24 hour cancellation policy, and if you do not cancel within those 24 hours they will charge $10/person. Personally I like this plan. It will make more people think about making reservations that they aren't really planning on using. It should free up the reservations a little more as well. Here is a list of the restaurants that will be using this new requirement. It is supposed to go into effect October 26, 2011.

• 1900 Park Fare
• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
• Artist Point
• California Grill
• Cape May Café
• Chef Mickey’s
• Cítricos
• The Crystal Palace
• Flying Fish Café
• The Garden Grill
• Hollywood & Vine
• Jiko – The Cooking Place
• Le Cellier Steakhouse
• Narcoossee’s
• ‘Ohana
• Tusker House Restaurant
• The Hollywood Brown Derby
• Victoria & Albert’s – $25 per person
• Yachtsman Steakhouse

This is not supposed to affect the places that already require a full payment hold in advance. That hold will still continue to be true for Cinderella’s Royal Tale, the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue. Same 24 hour cancellation policy applies though.

[cousininmiami]

I think it's a good idea to have a cancellation policy, not as a money maker but as a deterrent for people not to make multiple reservations and not show up!!

[Amy]

I think it's a good idea to have a cancellation policy, not as a money maker but as a deterrent for people not to make multiple reservations and not show up!!

I agree. I think they really are trying to make people stop churning through ressies that they never keep. The cancellation fee seems reasonable. It is high enough to make people want to remember to cancel a ressie they aren't intending to keep, but not so high that it really would make a ton of money for Disney. I'm sure they would much rather fill their tables each night with paying customers...

[Soarin08]

Did anyone else see that they are going to start requiring a credit card hold on ADR's at more restaurants now? There will be a 24 hour cancellation policy, and if you do not cancel within those 24 hours they will charge $10/person. Personally I like this plan. It will make more people think about making reservations that they aren't really planning on using. It should free up the reservations a little more as well. Here is a list of the restaurants that will be using this new requirement. It is supposed to go into effect October 26, 2011.

• 1900 Park Fare
• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
• Artist Point
• California Grill
• Cape May Café
• Chef Mickey’s
• Cítricos
• The Crystal Palace
• Flying Fish Café
• The Garden Grill
• Hollywood & Vine
• Jiko – The Cooking Place
• Le Cellier Steakhouse
• Narcoossee’s
• ‘Ohana
• Tusker House Restaurant
• The Hollywood Brown Derby
• Victoria & Albert’s – $25 per person
• Yachtsman Steakhouse

This is not supposed to affect the places that already require a full payment hold in advance. That hold will still continue to be true for Cinderella’s Royal Tale, the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue. Same 24 hour cancellation policy applies though.

Thank goodness. I get so sick of guests refusing to cancel and thus screwing up everyone else trying to get a table. It was a big problem at both places I worked on my CP, I personally would implement this at ALL the restaurants if I was in charge of this policy. Maybe it'll teach the ruder guests some common decency when their no-show party of 9 is out $90.

[wdwmedia]

I am hopeful that this will make some closer to last minute reservations easier to come by. We like to play fast and loose and the last few times it has been a bit harder to score reservations the night before.