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View Full Version : Idea: Dining Your Way Plan?



GrumpyFan
11-09-2007, 01:22 PM
There have been many discussions about the pros and cons of the dining plan, both past and present. All of these discussions and our own experiences with DDP have started me thinking about how DDP could be improved.

How about this, what if they were to implement a new flexible dining plan, call it the Dining Your Way Plan. Under the plan you could choose how many meals you wanted to have, and what level, i.e., Snack, Counter Service, Table Service, Deluxe Table Service (currently, 2TS meal credits), etc. They could charge a flat price for each and it would be completely customizable by the guest.

So, if you were staying 5 days, you could purchase any combination of the meals in advance and they would show up as credits on your Key to the World card.
You could have 5 snacks, 5 counter service, 3 table service and 2 deluxe table service credits.

Too bad Disney doesn't accept outside ideas, or I would pitch this to them. But, what do you guys think? Good idea? Or, too complicated? I know for some, who don't like to plan, it wouldn't appeal to them, and to the first time or unitiated visitor, it's just adds another level to what seems like an already complex decision making process in planning a trip to WDW.

Deesdisney
11-09-2007, 02:11 PM
That might be to complicated but it could work. I just wish they had a plan for 3 cs a day or even 2. My family does not eat that much food. Last time we used the dinning plan it ended up being way to much to eat. We would rather have salads and sandwiches. I am going in Jan. and decided not to use the DP because even on the sit down meals Salads and sandwichs were cheaper just to pay for them. Also I wish that all the dessert options could be a take with you for later plus the usual. We ended up leaving half of the dessert and food behind. I think they should give out marshmellow treats if you where to full. That way you could save it for later. But as you say that is just what I would like to see. Either way I still will be going to WDW when I get a chance.

chicade88
11-09-2007, 07:04 PM
I think it's a great idea but I doubt that a flexible plan like this would end up being as much of a value. I'm pretty sure that Disney counts on the people that are going to have credits left over at the end to save them some money and since this would eliminate this the lost money would have to be made up somewhere.

TheRustyScupper
11-09-2007, 07:13 PM
1) It might be guest-convenient.
2) But, it would be a disaster for WDW to manage.
. . . daily, the manpower must be rescheduled
. . . daily, food could not be planned
. . . daily, enough servings might be unavailable

azdisneymom
11-09-2007, 09:53 PM
I love the name Dining Your Way. What about a Dining You Way Debit Card. You could purchase it for a set dollar amount to be used at any CS or TS in WDW. As a benefit cardholders would receive a discount to the eateries participating. That way you could pick and choose where you were going to eat, have a choice of what to order off the menu and a way to budget for your dining expenditures. Maybe no expiration would be a given. :mickey:

GrumpyFan
11-09-2007, 10:28 PM
1) It might be guest-convenient.
2) But, it would be a disaster for WDW to manage.
. . . daily, the manpower must be rescheduled
. . . daily, food could not be planned
. . . daily, enough servings might be unavailable

Rusty, I'm not sure I follow you on this.
I don't see how it would cause that much of a logistics issue. If anything, it would help logistically because they would know ahead of time they had pre-purchased meals.

LibertyTreeGal
11-10-2007, 02:08 PM
I think that, computer wise it might be a nightmare to manage. But I would be all for 2 different tiers of children's meals, and you have a dining plan option where the kids could order child sized versions of what is on the adult menu. I'd be willing to pay more to have that my way.

GrumpyFan
11-11-2007, 12:31 AM
How about this, it's a simpler version, based on the same idea. Basically, it's a meal credit system. All meals could be paid for using Dining credits.

They could sell "Dining credits" for $3-4. For example, if it were $3.50 for a credit,

Snacks or drinks would require 1 credit, equivalent $3.50
Counter Svc, 2 credits, equivalent $7.00
Table Svc Entree, 4 credits, equivalent $14.00
Table Svc Appetizer, 1 or more credits
Table Svc Desert, 1 or more credits
Dinner Buffets 8 credits, equivalent $28.00
Deluxe table Svc 10 credits, equivalent $35.00, or however many credits deemed

Child meals and credits could be structured very similar.

The advantage of the plan, would be a discount on meals. However, it would require a bit more planning on the part of the guest on how and where to spend their credits.

It might be simpler to make snacks half a credit, then everything else will be a little easier, at least as far as the number required is concerned.

beksy
11-11-2007, 12:47 AM
I like this idea! Even if it doesn't really save me money, I just like knowing that it is all paid for ahead of time and I'm not figuring up each day how much I spent and what I still have left to splurge with (yes, my budget can be tight!). If nothing else, I would have the planning done and the food paid for, leaving me to just enjoy the magic!:mickey:

Jared
11-11-2007, 09:44 AM
Even for a compulsive planner, this idea seems a little too complicated. You have to plan every single meal for an entire trip, breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Disney Dining Plan has eliminated almost all spontaneity to eating at Walt Disney World, and I think this idea would crush it completely.

But, despite my negativity, I think the original poster brings up a great point. A customizable plan could work -- I'm just not sure how, yet. Let's keep brainstorming.

TheRustyScupper
11-11-2007, 10:49 AM
[FONT=Arial]They could sell "Dining credits" for $3-4. For example, if it were $3.50 for a credit,

Snacks or drinks would require 1 credit, equivalent $3.50
Counter Svc, 2 credits, equivalent $7.00
Table Svc Entree, 4 credits, equivalent $14.00
Table Svc Appetizer, 1 or more credits
Table Svc Desert, 1 or more credits
Dinner Buffets 8 credits, equivalent $28.00
Deluxe table Svc 10 credits, equivalent $35.00, or however many credits deemed

Child meals and credits could be structured very similar.



1) A good thought, but not as many would buy it.
2) People would see the dollars, and back away some bucks.
3) Think of the psychology behind casino gambling with chips
. . . chip lose their cash equivalent
. . . it is easier to toss a chip bet than lay down dollar bills
. . . the mind does not relate chips to actual cash
4) The same is true for DDP
. . . people don't really the coupon to cash
. . . many actually say, who cares about cost, it is prepaid
. . . after a few days, people just don't care about food costs
5) By putting dollar values on meals, people are more careful about spending.
6) Disney would not make the big bucks from it.

GrumpyFan
11-11-2007, 06:59 PM
1) A good thought, but not as many would buy it.
2) People would see the dollars, and back away some bucks.
3) Think of the psychology behind casino gambling with chips
. . . chip lose their cash equivalent
. . . it is easier to toss a chip bet than lay down dollar bills
. . . the mind does not relate chips to actual cash
4) The same is true for DDP
. . . people don't really the coupon to cash
. . . many actually say, who cares about cost, it is prepaid
. . . after a few days, people just don't care about food costs
5) By putting dollar values on meals, people are more careful about spending.
6) Disney would not make the big bucks from it.

Response:

Maybe, maybe not. Hard to say really. Depends on how it would be marketed, and what value is percieved.
Hmm, not sure I agree. The ease of use, much like DDP, would seem to make it a shoe-in. Besides, DL has a meal package/voucher system they use. Not sure how popular it is, but it's been around a couple years at least.
Not sure I follow the "chip psychology" - (some) people tend to look for the best value and convenience. Also, the "all-inclusive package mentality" helps in selling as well.
Again, not sure I agree. I know many people who have used DDP and love it because it takes the worry of how much they're spending away.
True, but this mostly applies to day visitors, or those staying off-property. Resort guests, in general know about such things as DDP, which can save money, depending on how you use it.
Debatable. There are ways they could make money from it, much like they do with DDP (presumed). Unused credits could expire on the last day, or, Disney could coneceivably charge for a non-expiring option, much like MYW tickets.

Iluvpooh
11-11-2007, 07:28 PM
I think that, computer wise it might be a nightmare to manage. But I would be all for 2 different tiers of children's meals, and you have a dining plan option where the kids could order child sized versions of what is on the adult menu. I'd be willing to pay more to have that my way.

I also think they should do this. My daughter has allergies and we found the children's selections to be lacking. I wound up ordering myself a baked chicken breast or plain hamburger and eating her chicken nuggets or Smucker's PB&J. Because almost every child selection had either soy or egg. So basically I got Scr**ed out of my dinner every night.:thedolls:

GrumpyFan
11-12-2007, 10:05 AM
Another idea to go along with the "Dining Credits".

Any restaurant (even Deluxe or Buffets) could offer meals or options, that cost more/less than the "standard" for that class of restaurant.

For example,
A Table Service restaurant might offer:
- A "Special of the day" that costs 5 dining credits
- They could have 1 or 2 smaller portioned meals, and only charge 3 credits for them.
- Another option might be a salad at a cost of 2 or 3 credits.
- They could sell mixed drinks at a cost of 1 or more credits

A Counter Service Restaurant might offer:
- A small salad for 1 credit
- A half-sized portion of a regular/combo meal for 1 credit
- A “plus-sized” portion of a regular/combo for 3 credits

To make the plan easier to use/understand, they could add a dining credit "wizard" to help guests figure out how many they would need for their trip.

They could also offer packages with dining credits included. I figure about 8 credits per day, per person, would be close to the equivalent of the free DDP promotions they've run. 8 credits per day would work out into 1-Snack(1 credit), 1-Counter Svc(2), 1-Table Svc(4), plus an appetizer(1 or 2), or a dessert (1 or 2). Of course, they could offer packages with fewer credits for those who don't desire that many Table Service meals.

Also, the plan would only be available for resort guests, and the credits would be tied to your Key to the world resort key.

They could also make them available for (discounted?) purchase for Annual Passholders and DVC members.

ibelieveindisneymagic
11-12-2007, 01:37 PM
I think that there will be more and more "tinkers" to the DDP in the coming years, and this may be an idea that they go with, but with the risk of the whole thing getting way too complicated and confusing, I would think that they would have to stick to whole meals.

So, you'd buy a TS meal, or a CS meal...like a voucher. Disney would make money 'cause not everyone would eat all of the food they came with (especially if the TS came with an appetizer and dessert), I'm sure some vouchers would expire before they are used, and the guests would be happy since they would be able to pre-pay and "customize" their meal.

pamickeys
11-12-2007, 04:05 PM
do your math. we did DP once saved all receipts and we came out $20 ahead, but gained 900lbs.every trip since then we pay for all meals and guess what we do not even come close to the cost of the plan.if Disney was not making money off of this idea do you think that they would keep doing it? they just want to be nice guys? I don't think so.sometimes you just want a hot dog for lunch, you don't need a plan or a res for that.

GrumpyFan
11-12-2007, 05:52 PM
do your math. we did DP once saved all receipts and we came out $20 ahead, but gained 900lbs.every trip since then we pay for all meals and guess what we do not even come close to the cost of the plan.

We've done the math, and we usually come out about $35-50 ahead (6 of us), because we plan where to eat, and almost all of our TS meals are at the more expensive restaurants. It's all about how you use it. Of course, we too gained a few unneeded pounds too, but the food is one of the things we enjoy about WDW. One of the reasons we do the DDP is it takes the hassle and worry out of how much we have to spend for food.

The idea for the flexible plan I outlined here, was to make it easier for those who wanted a different comination/class of restaurants than what's typically offered on DDP (1 snack, 1 CS, 1 TS per day). Many complain that the TS offering of appetizer and dessert is too much food. Others complain that they would like to have another CS for each day so they could pick up breakfast somehwere. Then there are others who want something completely different. The plan/options I presented allows the guest to choose exactly how many and how they spend their options, and if they decide they need less (or more) than the current DDP has, then with a little planning, they could customize it to fit their needs.

So, if it were just you and your spouse going for 2 days, you could conceivably just buy enough CS credits for 4 meals for those 2 days, and maybe throw in a snack or 2. Or, you could even buy just enough credits to have 1 CS each day (shared), then 2 TS each night, or visa-versa. Any combination would work. My wife and I have done just this sort of thing, but we paid out of pocket for the meals.

I understand some people don't like to do a lot of planning, and this definitely could require more planning prior to arrival, depending on how you want to use it. But once you're at the parks, it could make your visit easier due to the fact that you don't have to worry about your money.