Dinning Plan 2008

[zane_anthony]

Will you do the dinning plan with the new changes? Basically for 2008 the gratuity and appetizer are no longer included. They do however have the deluxe dinning plan that includes 3 meals and 2 snacks for the low low price of $69.99/night. The packages are available for booking today.

[llgray16]

I won't be doing the new dining plan. We typically only eat one TS meal a day so the deluxe plan is definitely out of the question. I think that the elimination of the appetizer and gratuities is a deal breaker for us. We could have lived without getting the appetizer but eliminating tips from it means about another $20 in charges for us. I will have to really sit down and work up the numbers further but I think for 2008 it will be no dining plan for us (unless they offer it for free again and then we will take it!)

I have to admit that what the change in plan does for us as well is makes staying off-site a much more attractive option. We loved the dining plan so much and it is one of the main reasons for us staying on-site.

[zane_anthony]

I think a lot of people will start staying off sits again. I was trying to decide between the dinning plan and the disney dinning experience and this definitely made my decision easy. I will do the DDE.

[m 'n c]

We'll still do it because we like the all inclusiveness of a disney vacation. I think we'll just do more character buffets as we like seeing the characters and shouldn't have a problem not getting enough variety. For us convience and not having to worry too much on how much we are spending on vacation is more important than worrying about maximizing the plan to get the most savings.

I think I'm going to get one of those coupon holders and start putting in cash for each restaurant that we go to for the tips based on what the menu prices on allearsnet.com says the prices are so that we can have the cash saved up and ready to go.

[m4travels]

I think a lot of people will start staying off sits again. I was trying to decide between the dinning plan and the disney dinning experience and this definitely made my decision easy. I will do the DDE.

I thought I had read that the DDE will have a 18% gratuity added on the bill. Has it worked this way in the past? I know you get 20% off at various restaurants, which includes alcohol, but was the gratuity automatically added in the past?

[zane_anthony]

I thought I had read that the DDE will have a 18% gratuity added on the bill. Has it worked this way in the past? I know you get 20% off at various restaurants, which includes alcohol, but was the gratuity automatically added in the past?

Not that I know of but I guess I need to look into that.

[ligrumpygirl]

Unless there is a new change...we used the DDE two weeks ago and no gratuity was added on. Once we were a party of 8 (we had friends with us) and they added the tip. Not sure if I agree b/c two were infants who didn't order but it was what we would have left if not less. We usually leave the 20% that was taken off with the DDE.

ex $100 meal - 20%= $80 We would leave the $20 as the tip = $100

[Hannahsmom]

*Big Heavy Sigh*...........I feel the same way. I am really disappointed with the changes to the Dining Plan. I understand that Disney is in the business to make money, but jeez, the new Dining Plans are an insult to the consumer intelligence (although, I am amazed at the amount of people on the DIS that are excited about the new Deluxe Dining Plan). We enjoy the Dining Plan because it allows us not to have to budget during vacation. I don't have to worry about how much cash I carry for the day, or how much cash I have spent vs. how much I have left. We make all our ADR's ahead of time, and then all we have to do is show up and eat. With having to pay tips, that takes a lot of the "value" out of the Dining Plan for us. I suppose with the new plan you could eat all buffets (no noticeable loss of appetizer, plus minimal tip), but that would get old after awhile.

I just don't understand why Disney likes to take something that is working and wring every last penny out of it until it is unrecognizable.

ETA - The more I think about it, Disney has gotten every penny of my vacation dollar the last 3 years. ME and the free dining plan has kept us a captive audience. And since we are not paying for our food, we have been very willing to spend more on alcohol, souvies and tours. But now that we will have to budget, that won't happen.

[schachteles]

I won't be doing the new dining plan. We typically only eat one TS meal a day so the deluxe plan is definitely out of the question. I think that the elimination of the appetizer and gratuities is a deal breaker for us. We could have lived without getting the appetizer but eliminating tips from it means about another $20 in charges for us. I will have to really sit down and work up the numbers further but I think for 2008 it will be no dining plan for us (unless they offer it for free again and then we will take it!)

I have to admit that what the change in plan does for us as well is makes staying off-site a much more attractive option. We loved the dining plan so much and it is one of the main reasons for us staying on-site.

I agree with you. I could have lived without the appetizers, but the gratuity is the deal break for us too. I am glad that we decided to stay onsite in October so we can enjoy it, since we normally stay at our Hilton Timeshare...I was looking forward to more times onsite, but the dining plan as it stands now is the only reason we are staying onsite.

I cannot believe people on the budget board are excited about the premium plan, that is a lot of dough and WAY too much food...as if the current plan already isn't.

I really am concerned about the servers, they are the ones who are REALLY going to get the short end of the stick. My SIL called and was complaining about the changes and she said that she doesn't feel bad at all to stiff a waitress and I am sad to say she isn't the only one out there who will do that. I have heard from some people that they felt like they got worse service when they were on the dining plan, well that likely will just keep going down!!

[3dog2kidmom]

I don't know who broke it down on the DIS or how they did it, but here are my own un-scientific findings based on the allears.net menus...

We would do 1 TS everyday regardless of whether we get the DDP so that isn't a factor, and would also do 1 CS and bring granola bars or the like for breakfast in the room, so the DDP really fits our family. I figured out "what it should cost" for our upcoming trip using the following notes regarding sharing, etc. -- all figures include tax & tip:

Ohana -- 3 Disney adults & 1 child $112 {family style, still get appys, drinks & desserts)
Electric Umbrella -- 3 combos, 1 kids meal, no desserts $34
San Angel Inn -- 2 combos, 1 kids meal, 1 appy, 1 dessert, 1 beverage $91
Flametree BBQ -- 2 plates, 1 fries or rings, 4 drinks, no desserts $32
Boma -- 3 Disney adults & 1 child $105 {buffet, still get appys, drinks & desserts}
Pecos Bills -- 3 combos, 1 kids meal, 4 beverages, no desserts $36
WCC -- 3 skillets, 1 kids meal, 2 desserts, no beverages $104 {salad & cornbread part of skillet}
Pizza Planet -- 2 combo meals w/salad, 2 indiv pizzas, 3 beverages, no dessert $35
and a total of 8 snacks for 4 of us to share over the the 4 days $25

Total: ~$574

The DDP plus tips will cost us ~$546 for 3 disney adults and 1 child, so we are still saving around $28 without having to scrimp, share, worry about prices, or deny anyone desserts. And that $28 can be used for a couple of appetizers at San Angel Inn or something else at WCC if we really need the extra food.

Hope this helps someone!