southjerseymom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2004
Just got back last week from 7 nights at POR. We were not on the dining plan. I understand that it is a good deal but we don't like to be that structured in our trips. We had some ADR's and kept most of them (making sure to cancel when we knew we wouldn't make it!). We are not head over heels about Disney food so we plan a couple things we like to do and then wing it after that. Now why I hate the DDP:
I think that some folks make multiple ADR's and don't keep a lot of them. Does Disney check out who might have overlapping ADR's? When we used to go to WDW before DDP you could call in the morning or go to guest services and find somewhere to eat. Now they say everything is booked and they have nothing more for that evening. (I tried to get Chef Mickey's every breakfast and dinner of our trip for 2 weeks before and every day during the trip. No dice) I used to manage busy restaurants and we always held out a couple of tables every hour for walkins. That way we wouldn't lose money if people didn't show It just seems to me that there should be a way to accomodate the people who keep their reservations and make room for a couple of spur of the moment. Mostly thought I think people need to CANCEL their ADR's when they are not going to use them!!!
I think the the price of the food have gone up. Every sandwich seems to be $1.50 to @ $2.00 more. Kind of felt like Disney was sticking it to us out of pocket people. We didn't eat any differently than we have on previous trips (actually I think we at more inexpensive places than before) and our bill was a good 15%-20% higher. Way more than can be attributed to inflation or rising food costs.
Service has suffered. I really think that the service we received was consistently less that stellar - even in the pricier places. If you have servers making consistent money because they are guaranteed a certain amount off of every DP patron - they really couldn't give a hoot about a table of "out of pockets" - they have already made their money. (Believe me I know....I was a server for a long time....take away the incentive for good service and I would be cranky too!!)
Lastly, DDP makes the lines horrendous. Nobody has any idea what is included. It was a hoot to watch "first dayers" get to the register and just stand there waiting for someone to tell them if they had the right stuff. I'm not knocking people - but I came to recognize the "look" and jump to another line.
One of my biggest objections to the DDP for my family is I don't want to waste every night with a sit down dinner. I know you can "save up" for signature dinners and that is probably what I will do. Yes, I can't fight Disney...if we go back I guess I will have to get the DDP. The rising prices, cranky servers, and no available reservations beat me up this trip.
I think that some folks make multiple ADR's and don't keep a lot of them. Does Disney check out who might have overlapping ADR's? When we used to go to WDW before DDP you could call in the morning or go to guest services and find somewhere to eat. Now they say everything is booked and they have nothing more for that evening. (I tried to get Chef Mickey's every breakfast and dinner of our trip for 2 weeks before and every day during the trip. No dice) I used to manage busy restaurants and we always held out a couple of tables every hour for walkins. That way we wouldn't lose money if people didn't show It just seems to me that there should be a way to accomodate the people who keep their reservations and make room for a couple of spur of the moment. Mostly thought I think people need to CANCEL their ADR's when they are not going to use them!!!
I think the the price of the food have gone up. Every sandwich seems to be $1.50 to @ $2.00 more. Kind of felt like Disney was sticking it to us out of pocket people. We didn't eat any differently than we have on previous trips (actually I think we at more inexpensive places than before) and our bill was a good 15%-20% higher. Way more than can be attributed to inflation or rising food costs.
Service has suffered. I really think that the service we received was consistently less that stellar - even in the pricier places. If you have servers making consistent money because they are guaranteed a certain amount off of every DP patron - they really couldn't give a hoot about a table of "out of pockets" - they have already made their money. (Believe me I know....I was a server for a long time....take away the incentive for good service and I would be cranky too!!)
Lastly, DDP makes the lines horrendous. Nobody has any idea what is included. It was a hoot to watch "first dayers" get to the register and just stand there waiting for someone to tell them if they had the right stuff. I'm not knocking people - but I came to recognize the "look" and jump to another line.
One of my biggest objections to the DDP for my family is I don't want to waste every night with a sit down dinner. I know you can "save up" for signature dinners and that is probably what I will do. Yes, I can't fight Disney...if we go back I guess I will have to get the DDP. The rising prices, cranky servers, and no available reservations beat me up this trip.