No way for the 2008 DP!

[FDV]

the changes in the plan were a deciding factor on whether to stay on site or off site. We have since decided to stay off site and therefore are saving a considerable amount of money, OK we won't get to eat at all the places we thought we would go to but with two small children, two grandparents and my husband and I we can pick out some of the best reviewed with options we like the look of and enjoy laid back breakfasts and the occassional lunch back at Windsor Hills.

Cheers Kirsten

What is the price at WH, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[lilyv]

I for one am looking forward to LESS people being on the dining plan and once again being able to walk-in to a restaurant on occasion and get a seat.

We will use the dining plan for the first time in May of 08' and I have no problem with the cost or paying the tip. It's still a good deal for us.

Your servers will so appreciate being tipped fairly at each table service. Don't know if there will be less folks on the dining plan in 08, not sure all guest truly understand the changes. Will be interesting to see how this evolves in the coming year.

 

[TLCDisney]

Your servers will so appreciate being tipped fairly at each table service. Don't know if there will be less folks on the dining plan in 08, not sure all guest truly understand the changes. Will be interesting to see how this evolves in the coming year.

I hope it turns out well. We always tip 20% as we have several friends who are in the business. So for us it was a toss up of whether to use the DDE card or the DDP. For just the two of us next spring it will be fun to try out the plan. I think we'll save money with it even with the changes.

 

[Zeebs]

What is the price at WH, if you don't mind me asking?

We haven't actually booked yet (need to finalise our dates when I can finally book my airfares in Jan on my airpoints) but looking at the websites I don't expect to pay anymore than $1000 which is about £500. And we get to half this as we are going with the inlaws.

Cheers Kirsten

 

[FDV]

We haven't actually booked yet (need to finalise our dates when I can finally book my airfares in Jan on my airpoints) but looking at the websites I don't expect to pay anymore than $1000 which is about £500. And we get to half this as we are going with the inlaws.

Cheers Kirsten

By comparison, under the current discounts, POFQ is about 105/night and All Stars are about $59/night, including tax. I think it will be hard to beat those prices, even without the Disney perks.

 

[jkp464]

I'd be ok with them taking out one item for the TS - but I wish you could choose between either an appetizer or a dessert. That way you'd get a little something "extra" to fit your mood and/or the restaurant's speciality without going overboard.

However, I don't agree with removing the gratuity from the DDP. I never had bad service at any of the restaurants, and we had no problem tipping extra for extraordinary service. Once of the perks of the DDP was that you didn't have to think about money when eating -- it was ALL taken care of.

 

[1andrea]

We used the DDP for 14 nights in 2007 and loved the plan.

We did use all of our credits but most of our TS were Character Breakfasts and 1 breakfast at Kona we also went to CRT breakfast and Hoop de doo.
We did not go to any of the more expensive TS like Le cellier etc so we didnt really get the most bang for our buck!

Now that the tip and appertiser have been removed its not going to be worth it for us as in 2007 we only saved around $10 if that a day.

If the tip had remained we still would have bought the 2008 plan just for the convenience but it hasnt so sadly we will not.

 

[Zeebs]

By comparison, under the current discounts, POFQ is about 105/night and All Stars are about $59/night, including tax. I think it will be hard to beat those prices, even without the Disney perks.

The cheapest I could get at a Value resort for around the time we want to go in October is $1549 for 7 nights (including park tickets, hopper and waterparks) double that for the inlaws so $3098.

So if we pay at most $1000 for accommodation at Windsor Hills plus tickets (purchased from the UK we get the hopper passes and passes to the waterparks etc.) $1379 = $2379 we will need to hire a car which we probably would have done anyway either option, unless I am doing something wrong with my adding (which is highly possible as I am terrible at maths) this option seems like a better deal for us and it gives us the option of having the boys in their own room, a kitchen to feed them thus saving some more money for us.

If the dining plan had stayed the same we may have considered staying in a room with the boys and absorbed the extra cost but I think staying offsite this time will be better for us. In the future i would like to stay onsite but that will require a bit more saving.

Cheers Kirsten

 

[hipchickie]

However, I don't agree with removing the gratuity from the DDP. I never had bad service at any of the restaurants, and we had no problem tipping extra for extraordinary service. Once of the perks of the DDP was that you didn't have to think about money when eating -- it was ALL taken care of.

ITA, and its our big issue with it. For the right price, I don't care if they cut the dessert *and* the ap, I just don't want to have to deal with the tip and how to pay it.

Edited because I forgot to add...

I called 3 different times, making different ADR's, talking about how we loved the plan on our previous visits, and NO ONE mentioned the changes until the last call. I think a lot of people are going to be in for a little shock when they get there.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Having spent 24 days with the Free Dining in September I am looking forward to the laid back and lazy December trip we have planned. I am not sure that we will eat at more than one or two sit down restaurants and maybe not even that. We ate a lot of times when we were not really hungry because that is when we had the reservations and ate more than we really wanted because it was 'free'.

This trip we shall eat when we are hungry and will probably just graze at the counter serves and have a few snacks here and there. We tend to eat at odd hours anyway so crowds should not be much of a problem.

Both trips are nice but different. Never had two trips the same yet and we have made many trips.

I would never pay for the dining plan, under the current circumstances or 2008 version but that is just my take.

Slightly Goofy

 

[mickey2000]

The standard is 15% for full service and 10% for buffet service. Many people who are more generous than that want the higher number to be the standard.

The 15% number is appropriate if the server does what the server is supposed to do, and nothing more (or less).

Thanks for the info!
I have been tipping 20%

 

[TLSnell1981]

Thanks for the info!
I have been tipping 20%

I think 15% is a little low for table service now days. If a tip is automatically added, it is usually 17% or !8%. I usually tip at least 20%....I appreciate having someone wait on me. ( I'm a full time wife and mother) There is a lot more to your service than just having someone bring your food to the table and the tips are shared in most places.

 

[madbrad76]

Now that we're over 4 months into the 2008 DDP, does anyone have any stories or experiences to tell us about?

 

[pixistix]

With the changes in the DDP for 2008, they should have allowed guests to choose appetizer or dessert. I agree after a few days I'm sick of desserts too. It would be nice to have a choice because I like to order a salad as my appetizer.
I just don't see the value or convenience in paying the same price and getting less. Last year my bill at Spoodles was over $200. That tip would cost me another $40 now.
It also was nice that you could book your trip and dining and it's like an all-inclusive, you don't have to carry cash around! But now that's changed and I don't think it's for the better. No more DDP for me until they fixed what they messed up!

 

[Tinks]

I did the math for an upcoming June trip and unless I'm adding incorrectly, the Dining plan is just breaking even with out of pocket for what we'd order. Keep in mind, we most likely wouldn't order desserts. I checked all the updated menus (including the recent price increases at some places ) and added up what we would order. So.....

I think we are not doing the dining plan this year. We'll have more flexibility on our own (in case we decide to skip a TS dinner, for example. Not likely to happen, but still. ) and we don't really want the dessert part of the meal, anyway.

Anyone else?

 

[kaytieeldr]

With the changes in the DDP for 2008, they should have allowed guests to choose appetizer or dessert. I agree after a few days I'm sick of desserts too. It would be nice to have a choice because I like to order a salad as my appetizer.

This opinion has been posted a number of times in the past, so...
Desserts are less labor-intensive
Desserts are less expensive to make
A diner who wants an appetizer will tend to order an appetizer; a diner who waits until after the meal to order dessert may not, due to being "full"
It takes less time to eat two courses than three, allowing for a greater turnover and so more different Guests to dine at any given restaurant
Diners who don't order the included dessert enable tables to turn over even faster

 

[libinatorsmom]

It works for some it doesnt for others... for our the Dulx Dinning Plan works great and is saving us a bunch of money - but we are planning on eating at several signature meals and we want to eat at least 2 sit down meals again... on the dulx plan we get the app and dest still and are really looking forward to it....

 

[Mr Man]

We did the DDP on our last visit in March. We had 16 people total on our plan (yeah, that was "interesting"). The gratuity really added up over the length of stay. Based on some quick math at the end of the vacation, we still came up a slight (around 5%) better than OOP but it is difficult to know for sure with the drinks/appetizers that we got anyways.

We are doing another trip in August (only 9 of us this time). We are going to use our DDE card this time and will see what the difference is (if any).

Regards,

 

[fall08CP]

We did the DDP for the first time in Feb 08. I can't compare it to old ones, but it worked out just fine for us. There was more than enough food to say the least- I can't imagine also having an appetizer! It would have been really great to have the tip included though.
This was also the first time we'd eaten on property, so it was fun to see the different resorts and enjoy new cuisine.
Would we do it again? Probably not. Too much food and it wasn't worth it for the price. If they added the tip back in then we would consider it. However, I am becoming a CM next month so I'll have a dining discount already.

 

[minniekissedme]

I love the DDP...we (3 adults/2 kids) saved $500 versus menu prices in Feb. Subtract tips and I still saved over $250. Yes I would have liked a choice of app/dessert. But I didn't have that choice and I knew it.

I take full advantage of the DDP and make it work for us. TS meals are for dinner...end of story. I'm not looking for 3 square meals a day...who has time or can eat that much.

It doesn't work for everyone but sure works well for us! I'm sorry that others don't see it the same way.