Who feels like the DDP should be stopped??

[Disneyfirsttimer]

We are a family of 6 that live in Michigan, go every year for two weeks and have never done the dining plan. I just don't like the idea of paying with meal tickets. I can understand how it is beneficial for some families, but I prefer the freedom of paying out of pocket with no restrictions of what I can and can't eat. I do think that it is a positive factor for the greater good, just not for us.

I am not really clear on this. It is not meal tickets. It is the ability to enjoy a TS meal at over 100 restaurants (which includes an appetizer, entree, dessert and soft drinks + tax and gratuity). Plus a CS meal and snack. There are really no limitations that we noticed. You can pretty much order anything off the menu. Nothing is off limits. Even if the cost came out equal (no savings), we like it b/c it is paid for in advance. The cost for my kids is $11/day. I would definitely spend more than that for a snack, CS lunch and TS dinner (even at kid's menu prices). We see it as a win win for everyone.

Karyn

[SignguyTom]

What is the possibility that Disney would 'overbook' their TS restaurants because of the dining plan? I will be making our ADRs well in advance and don't forsee a problem with getting our desired locations/times, but if somebody books a MYW package with the DDP 2 or 3 weeks out, what happens if availability at the TS restaurants is so low that they cannot use all of their TS meals? Does Disney track this in some way? Are they absolutely sure that there is enough to go around?

[Dreamin_of_Disney247]

My family and I go to WDW every year and we always use the DDP. It is a great perk for staying at their resorts instead of off site.I cannot tell you the money we have saved over the last 4 years. I personally think that disney should offer more perks for people who pay outlandish prices for their resorts, such as the fast pass being for WDW resort guests only.More and more families are opting to stay off site because other than transportation, there is not many benefits to staying on site. I personally would never stay off site because I am financially able to stay where I want but for large families its the only way they get to experience WDW. My trip is in 2 1/2 weeks on June 16th and I just called today for my ressies and got everything I wanted Cinderella's castle dinner, Hollywood Brown Derby fantasmic package, Whispering canyon, Ohana's character breakfast ,Victoria and Alberts , Kona cafe and Liberty Tree Tavern. I have never had any trouble getting ressies for any restaurant.

[pshokie]

If you don't plan ahead, or if you make a last minute trip, it may be more difficult to get a room at the resort you want too; and it may be more difficult to get he flight times you want. It's just part of the deal. You wouldn't (at least I wouldn't) expect the resort to save rooms just in case I decided I might show up; or an airline to save me a seat just in case.

Since this thread started several days ago, this has always bugged me and I could never quite get words around it. Thanks for "moving the context" a little bit and putting it in simple terms.

No business saves room "just in case".

I think saving 10-15% tables for same-days/walk-ups is a good theoretical idea. But if you actually walk through the motions of how would it work?, it falls apart pretty quickly, IMO.

For simple math, 100 tables per restaurant. 3 "seating"; 5, 7, and 9 o'clock. That is 300 tables a night. 30 to 45 of which are held for walk-ups.

It would start out "nice". I can get a table I want at LeCellier (High Demand) or Concourse Steakhouse (Moderate Demand) as a walkup. But once word gets out that you can do walk ups for 1 of maybe 45 tables for a particular evening, people will begin to make a point to get to LeCellier well in advance of their desired time. So they line up earlier (say 30 minutes), which causes some one else to realize that they need to be earlier next time (say 45 minutes), and so on and so on.....

It is this same mentality that has forced ADRs from being made a few weeks out, to 90 days out, then 120, and finally to 180 days out for not just the high demand TSs, but for all.

And the worst part for Disney? People would be standing in line waiting for a table, rather than moving about the parks (potential lost $$).

There are other aspects as well, such as the increase in "no shows" when some group decides to do a walk up at another TS other than their ADR location. Say you walk up to LeCellier, but you had Concourse. You are never gonna make it from LeCellier to Concourse once you find out you did not get LeCellier. So Concourse now has two potential problems: empty walk-up tables they must fill, and now no shows they need to fill. Its just bad business.

And since you lost out on both, you are now back to square one: a CS meal. ummmm...burgers & chicken fingers....

[LibertyTreeGal]

Since this thread started several days ago, this has always bugged me and I could never quite get words around it. Thanks for "moving the context" a little bit and putting it in simple terms.

No business saves room "just in case".....
.

I won't quote everything, but I agree. One thing that bothered me about the whole "save spaces for walkups" thing was that although it seemed consumer oriented, it really wasn't. If a consumer wants to make a reservation and there are tables available, then the consumer should be able to book that table. period. And it would cause considerable congestion with walkups flowing in and out of the lobby endlessly, looking for somewhere they can get served. In the case of WDW, the consumers, by and large, make advance ressies, and those are the people they have to cater to. As Lord Beckett pointed out, "It's just good business..."

[Mackflava99]

First off, I have only done it once ( my last trip) but I want to say the DDp is tremendous and I definitely save $$. Its a wonderful plan that makes it easier to budget my $$ on the trip because its a fixed price. Many times before i tried to "budget" our food money and i overexceeded it and came home to the bills.
This way I can put the money aside and its done. ( i actually pay when i arrive so i don't have to worry.) I really don't see a negative. I have gotten to experience a ton of great restaurants that i wouldn't have previously.

As for ADR - I do agree with the 180 days being excessive, but in reality, i just made a change to my trip in June and was able to get a reservation for something fairly easy. Its only a few places that get booked early, but if you really want to do it, then you have to plan. I just guess i am a planner , because i actually enjoy mapping out where we are dining etc- we don't plan the details out much more than - Monday we go to Epcot- we eat at Canada at 6pm- Everyone just show up there... but that makes it easy because we don't have to wait, there is no confuscion. ADR is good- going back to 90 days would be terrific.

Overall- its a vacation, anything to make a vacation easier is good. Pre-planning may be a pain at first, but it makes it much easier later on.

[conorsmom2000]

Moderator Note

Hi everyone -

While we know everyone has very strong feelings on this topic, posts are starting to get personal and so the Dining Mod's feel that this thread has run it's course and will now be closed.

Thank you!!