Price Increase for Tables in Wonderland

[Melanie]

Per Jason's December Tidbits in the News forum:


Increase in Wonderland

12/2/12 Price Increases have been announced for the Tables in Wonderland discounted dining program. Prices have increased $25 per annual membership yielding a price of $100 for Passholders, $100 for Disney Vacation Club Members, and $125 for Florida Residents.

[TinkerbellT421]

That's just ridiculous. I can understand price increases, but that much?!? grrr

[Dsnygirl]

Add that to the price increase for the APs, and I think it's priced quite a lot of people right out of the market. :(

Wonder if Disney will see a decrease in the sales of APs & TiW cards... not that we'll ever know if they do.... but I just can't see people doing the math and actually finding a savings, unless they are travelling to Disney for REALLY long periods of time each year.

I think the over/under on where you broke even used to be at 12 or 13 days in the parksfor an AP... it's GOT to be more like 16 at this point. And unless you eat at every expensive restaurant, with one TS (or more) every day, I can't see you recouping the $100 as easily... I found it took at least 5 or 6 meals to get the $75 paid for, and above that, maybe we saved another $25 or $30... now? That $100 might just be the break even point, doesn't quite make it worth it... :confused:

[BrerGnat]

WDW needs to just include dining discounts with APs. Standard discount for regular AP, larger discount for premium AP (range of 10%-20%). Disneyland has successfully done this for years. Get a clue, WDW...

Having to purchase a discount card is just weird.

On the other hand, Disneyland makes APs pay for parking...so...

[TinkerbellT421]

Add that to the price increase for the APs, and I think it's priced quite a lot of people right out of the market. :(

Wonder if Disney will see a decrease in the sales of APs & TiW cards... not that we'll ever know if they do.... but I just can't see people doing the math and actually finding a savings, unless they are travelling to Disney for REALLY long periods of time each year.

I think the over/under on where you broke even used to be at 12 or 13 days in the parksfor an AP... it's GOT to be more like 16 at this point. And unless you eat at every expensive restaurant, with one TS (or more) every day, I can't see you recouping the $100 as easily... I found it took at least 5 or 6 meals to get the $75 paid for, and above that, maybe we saved another $25 or $30... now? That $100 might just be the break even point, doesn't quite make it worth it... :confused:

EXACTLY! In January we purchased the TiW card. By the end of the trip, eating tables services every night except one, we were only $20.00 ahead. Granted, we saved money on the tipping end because generally we are 20% tippers so forcing us to only tip 18% helped us save the 2% we had stashed for tipping. Which was a separate savings. But based on the math for just dinning, the two of us, paying the $75.00 at the time for it, we only came out ahead $25.00, for $25.00 savings it wouldn't be worth the hassle if it were going to be only one trip. Now, if we had payed $100.00 we would have broke even, again, no savings, not worth the hassle. At all. But, with this second trip starting in five days (yay!), whatever we save will be additional savings on top of the $25.00, but other than that. One trip? Nah, TiW is definitely not the saver. Maybe if it were a family reunion, grand gathering type deal a 7 day vacation with it would be worth it due to it being available for up to 10 guests. So obviously the bills would be higher making the savings slightly greater. So I guess the bigger the party the longer the stays the more it's worth it. But if we don't do two tips within 13 months of each other this will not be worth it again. And will have to do the math this time next year if we go with the AP's again and see if the TiW would be worth it again....I'm fearing the dramatic price increases. It's very frustrating.

[Mickey'sGirl]

That's a pretty steep increase. We will likely still purchase it when we go again. We typically go for about two weeks, and plan to use both our APs and the TIW card for two annual holidays (August one year and July the next) ... so it's still a good deal for us.

[Dsnygirl]

That's a pretty steep increase. We will likely still purchase it when we go again. We typically go for about two weeks, and plan to use both our APs and the TIW card for two annual holidays (August one year and July the next) ... so it's still a good deal for us.

Exactly - when you can bookend trips like that within the 365 days, it's an awesome deal - we had two trips like that a few yrs ago, plus a "girls trip" for me, so it was great. Maybe one day we'll be able to figure out two trips like that again, and if we do, we'd definitely consider it. :thumbsup:

[Melanie]

I do think it's still a great value for local AP holders and those who use it for multiple trips. Mine has paid for itself over and over and over again, and would even with the $25 increase.

But those who maybe bought for one trip, along with an AP for room discounts, might have to look a little more closely.

[azcavalier]

Well, there goes that idea. We just got our APs, and we're heading back in April for four days, just the DW and myself. We'll be eating at four or five TS restaurants, and were wondering if it would be worth it to purchase the TiW card as we're not going to be getting the dining plan. But, they raised the price. No way we're making that $100 in savings over the four or five days.

Is the card good for a whole year? We'll probably come back in the fall with at least two others, possibly more.

[Melanie]

Is the card good for a whole year? We'll probably come back in the fall with at least two others, possibly more.

Unless they've made a change on this as well, it's actually good for 13 months.

[Fangorn]

Unless they've made a change on this as well, it's actually good for 13 months.

I just bought one on October 26 during ICOT-15. My TiW clearly says it expires on 10/26/13. So only 1 year to the day -just like APs. We bought ours specifically to use during our (current) trip for my son's wedding. It paid for itself with one family dinner. Plus, they let me use it the entire party, even though there were 14 of us.

Steve

[faline]

I just bought one on October 26 during ICOT-15. My TiW clearly says it expires on 10/26/13. So only 1 year to the day -just like APs. We bought ours specifically to use during our (current) trip for my son's wedding. It paid for itself with one family dinner. Plus, they let me use it the entire party, even though there were 14 of us.

Steve

That's a change as well. Bought one last December and the expiration date on mine is January 31 of 2013. Not being a local, that extra time was not a biggie for me because my annual pass expires this month and I won't be back before the Tables in Wonderland card expires. That is a significant difference, however, for those who live locally and visit often.

[Melanie]

That's a change as well. Bought one last December and the expiration date on mine is January 31 of 2013. Not being a local, that extra time was not a biggie for me because my annual pass expires this month and I won't be back before the Tables in Wonderland card expires. That is a significant difference, however, for those who live locally and visit often.

Agreed Linda! It was a nice benefit. Wow, big changes for sure. If you think about it, there were instances it was good for 14 months essentially. Say you bought it December 1st. Being that it was good until the end of the next month, a year later (January 31st, 2014), that's 14 months. Oh well.

And Steve, that's the first I've heard of them allowing it for over 10 people. Was this a regular or one time thing?

[TheDuckRocks]

We are going to WDW in January for our 50th wedding anniversary and still will be purchasing the card. The one dinner alone for 9 people at Yachtsman's Steakhouse will pay for the card and it will easily cover the tips for rest.

[Fangorn]

And Steve, that's the first I've heard of them allowing it for over 10 people. Was this a regular or one time thing?

Mel, I don't know if it's a change or not, but on both of the occasions where there were more than 10, the discount was applied to the entire bill, and nothing was ever said about it. They could've just been taking pity on me.

I do know that in my case, it has already paid for itself, I still have 8 days left on this trip and its good until next October which means at least one more trip.

Steve

[MrPeetrie]

Disney is pricing me out of the market.

Living in Pittsburgh, a trip to WDW is a once-a-year event. To be worth our while, we like to stay about 10 days. However, the only way to make it affordable is by purchasing APs, then take two trips on one pass. We usually take the second trip the following year just as the passes are about to expire. One the second trip, since we don't need tickets, we tend to splurge more on vacation.

Another way we make longer trips more affordable is by purchasing a Tables In Wonderland card. (We do not like the dining plan.)

It is beginning to feel like I'm exacyly the type of traveler Disney is targeting to eliminate. They are making annual, longer trips very hard for me and my family to afford in favor of encouraging shorter trips and utilizing the dining plan. I can assure you: that is not the type of trip I'm going to take. Airfare for four is around $1,000-$1,200. I'm not buying plane tickets for just five days in Disney. And I'm not going to buy 10-day tickets each year I want to visit and still return each year. I'm not EVER going to use the dining plan again. EVER!!!! I'm just not going to come back. And that's a shame.

[azcavalier]

Airfare for four is around $1,000-$1,200. I'm not buying plane tickets for just five days in Disney. And I'm not going to buy 10-day tickets each year I want to visit and still return each year.

Why don't you save some $$$ and just drive? Yes, you would probably break it up over two days and have to spend about $120 for a hotel each way, but even with gas, food for the trip, and the hotel, you're only talking $400 (ish). Take it out of your ten day trip, and you're now talking an 8-day trip.

We live a few hours south of you in Virginia, and we used to fly as well because its 11 hours away. One year we decided to drive to save money, and now we *never* fly. We've come to enjoy the drive. We decorate the windows with window markers, get special movies, pack a cooler with food and drinks, and as soon as school is out on Friday, we are on the road. Get to S.C., spend the night, get up the next day, and we're in Orlando by 1pm. This year we pushed it a little, got up a little earlier, and we were there by 11am. Checked-in to POR, ate lunch at the food court, and were in the Magic Kingdom by 1pm the day after we left home.

[ginny57]

I'll be purchasing my TIW on Friday using my VISA rewards points....so to me that's free money. Not sure I would do it if I had to put out the cash.

[MrPeetrie]

Why don't you save some $$$ and just drive? Yes, you would probably break it up over two days and have to spend about $120 for a hotel each way, but even with gas, food for the trip, and the hotel, you're only talking $400 (ish). Take it out of your ten day trip, and you're now talking an 8-day trip..

Azcavalier, that's never going to happen. For one, with little ones, we'd lose two days going down and two days coming back. That's four vacation days lost in travel. And I would guess that trip home is probably really depressing

Second, we all really love to fly. We had a 6:10 am flight non-stop to Orlando last trip and were on Walt Disney World property before 10 a.m. I love that.

My point was, it feels like I found a way to afford a nice, 10-day trip once a year and the way I do it is EXACTLY the way Disney wants to eliminate. But thanks for the advice.

[DebK]

I bought a TIW membership on 11/8/12 and my expiration date is 12/31/13.......

[Fangorn]

I bought a TIW membership on 11/8/12 and my expiration date is 12/31/13.......

Now that's just plain odd. I bought mine at City Hall in MK on 10/26/12. The expiration on the back is 10/26/13. Why would they have two different time frames going... Oh wait, this is Disney. Hopefully, mine is the anomaly.

Steve

[TinkerbellT421]

Now that's just plain odd. I bought mine at City Hall in MK on 10/26/12. The expiration on the back is 10/26/13. Why would they have two different time frames going... Oh wait, this is Disney. Hopefully, mine is the anomaly.

Steve

If your still on site I would inquire about it at a guest relations. They manually put that date on, because when we got ours our cm out our expiration date as the same date we purchased them, thankfully I noticed it and he fixed it.

[Fangorn]

If your still on site I would inquire about it at a guest relations. They manually put that date on, because when we got ours our cm out our expiration date as the same date we purchased them, thankfully I noticed it and he fixed it.

Thanks for the heads up. That is probably what happened. And while I am still on property, it's not worth my effort to try to correct it. It's a pretty sure thing that I won't be back here in November of 2013, and it's already paid for itself a few times over.

Steve

[Melanie]

Oh my, or I hope this date thing isn't a change as well. :unsure:

[TinkerbellT421]

Oh my, or I hope this date thing isn't a change as well. :unsure:

Yea me too. I am really hoping it's a CM not fully knowing the details of TiW and manually putting in the wrong date thinking it's the same as an AP. 12 months from the date of activation.

In my trip report from January I actually talked about how when the CM handed me the TiW card. I had to take a double take at the date because I saw the same date we were there and then I had to count the years in my head I am like wait a minute this is the same date as today lol So then he had to redo it. That CM was a nightmare, really was a nightmare. Somehow I think he made us pay $300.00 more than we calculated for our AP's...but at that point we were so frustrated we just let it go and said heck with it.

[Crow]

i got TIW w my AP and used it on 2 trips this yr. Im hoping to use it again at least on 1, poss 2 trips before it expires in May. mine was 1 yr.
but after this, i doubt if i will get an AP renewal..the price increases are pretty big for everything
a big thing to me was TIW included :beer::marg:..