Dining Plan Ruining things??

[Lisa417]

Anyone having this feeling?

A couple of friends of our have made the choice at just now that they are coming for the wedding in September. Made their reservations etc but can't get into any of the places they want to eat. zero!
They are starting to wonder if they should just cancel the dining plan.

does disney hold and reservations til day of? Can you get seated with a reservation anymore? I feel bad cause they are really disapointed and I feel like they are worried about their trip.. is the success of the dining plan ruining some trips for people??

[DizneyRox]

Yep, the DDP has ruined the Disney Dining Experience.

Because people feel the HAVE to use all their credits (and I don't blame them) it's now a race to get dining reservations ASAP. The DDP is tough to get value out of under ideal conditions, if you are being forced to eat places you don't want to eat, you will probably not see any value in the plan at all.

Your other questions...

NO, Disney will completely book up a restaurant if they can. If they are booked, they WILL turn walk ups away.

Some restaurants do still take walk ups. It's mostly because they are less popular. This may or may not be an indication of the food, etc.

The DDP has not ruined a trip for me, I don't get the DDP but still make my reservations far enough in advance to get my desired seatings, etc.

[Disney Doll]

Many Sept guests have the free ddp so that month is particularly bad. I agree that the ddp probably does increase the number of ADRs made and it does seem like ADRs are harder to get than they used to be. I do think the whole ADR thing has gotten way out of hand and I always feel bad for new visitors who do not know that you HAVE to make your ADRs at 90 days out to get the popular places.

[ali'sdad2003]

I can see both sides of this issue. But for me the Free DDP is the best promotion in terms of expierence. Granted, you have to book your meals a long way out, but we have been able to try and do so many more meals than we could have ever imagined. So , for purely selfish reasons, I love it and love all the planning that goes into it. It seems to make the time waiting for the trip so much fun and really adds to the anticipation. But that is just me.

73 Days to Go!!!!!!!!!!!

[DisneyOtaku]

I totally understand the frustration, but the DDP has made our trips better because we now eat at nicer restaurants more often, rather than the once-per-trip deal.

This is the first time my family is using it (I used it myself a while back) and my dad didn't understand why my DS and I were already planning where to eat and booking places. Lucky for us, we got all of our first choices, but we were at the 90 day mark.

[Horizon One]

Well I am going on a trip in September and it is the first time that I have stayed on site or dne the dining plan. I am looking forward to the experience.
The one thing I would say is that it is hard to book so far in advance. Since I didn't get the park hopper, I had to kind of plan what park I would go to on what day. The other issue is trying to get the restaurant you want at a reasonable time.
I didn't get everything that I wanted to try as some of the restaurants are very popular and I don't feel like eating later at night.
It was tricky to figure it all out, but I think I did the best that I could based on my plans.
I hope that the restaurants live up to what I am hoping for.

[Sam&Alex&Josh'sMOM]

I love the DDP and Free Dining in September (Super deal for us at the Values!)

I can understand frustration of one booking last moment... but that is someone else's issue.

We book bounce back, or as soon as the deal is released, we plan, we call for ADR's on the exact 90 day out date... (well this year we went on line) I enjoy the anticipation AND the race, and figuring out second choices as well. It is fun for me.

From what I understand, once Free Dining is done, it is a little easier to get ADR's...

[Seasonscraps]

I think the dining plan has ruined dining at Disney in general. The restaurants are really crowded and hard to get ADRs for a lot of the time. The menus are watered down and more generic, portions are smaller, the prices went up for OOP meals.

[Marceline]

It's not the DDP plan as much as it's the FREE DDP that is offered at this time that is causing their problems. This is a very successful and popular promotion to get people to the parks in the off season. Most folks make their ADRs at 90 days and at WDW the early bird gets the worm.

However....not every restaurant is fully booked. The key in this situation would be flexibility. Trying new places might lead to something wonderful, ya never know. Plus....if they keep trying at the online ressie engine everyday somethings are bound to open up.

I just made an ADR for a table at Cali Grill at 7pm during free dining just a few moments ago. There was nothing available for weeks....then poof....my persistence paid off.

[redleg96]

I don't think the dining pan itself is ruining the experience. In my mind it's the free dining that causes the congestion both at the restuarants as well as the ADR system. The economy is tight and the free dining surely eases some of the cost for some. After doing the math, the DDP definitely paid off for us with 2 adults, 2 over 10 and one 9 year old. I know others do not experience the same savings. And in the end, Disney needs to make money and offering free dining definitely attracts customers.