Current Dining Booking SUCKS!!!

Originally Posted By danyoung

OK, so I'm not a big fan of the Dining Plan, even though I used it once. My biggest gripe with it is that the nicer WDW restaurants are now booked solidly in advance by (dare I say it) folks who would never be eating at these nice places in the past, but now can because it's so cheap. This is my first time at booking dining reservations 180 days out. I had planned on booking my entire week's worth of dining, which starts on December 9th, as Disney says you can do.

My first snag is that I now have to have a hotel reservation number before I can take advantage of the 180PLUS thing. I can book 180 days out, but no more. I guess this makes sense, but it still came as a surprise. The next problem is that when trying to book the Coral Reef for 12/2 I found it ALREADY BOOKED SOLID! This is just not cool at all.

I used to giggle at the parents who had to call at the crack of dawn 90 days out or 180 days out or whatever to get into Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast. Now I guess all of WDW's top restaurants are going to be under this same situation. I remember when you could call a couple weeks in advance, or even same day during the slower seasions, and get into the Coral Reef or the California Grill. No more. Great for Disney that their restaurants now have solid occupancy. Bad for the customers who now have to jump through hoops to get a rez. I suppose I'll be calling every morning for the rest of the week to fill out my bookings. Very uncool.

 

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

I am shocked.

You might want to call back and see if a mistake was made on the Coral Reef. We recently made our 180 day reservations for Thanksgiving week. We were able to get our first choice on everything -- both restaurant and date/time of reservation.

Thanksgiving week should be considerably busier than the first week in December. The only thing that makes sense to me is if the Coral Reef was totally booked for the day by some group.

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

12/2 not a 'free dining' period is it ? Thought that was only late Aug and Sept. Then I would expect the nightmares you speak of -- however I booked my early August ( non free dining period - I use DDE anyway) - 180 days out and some times were already gone for a few of the restaurants - had to move maybe 15 minutes or so- which isn't bad but again I was booking the entire 10 days worth 180 days out and already others were ahead of me - even if by an hour or so ---

 

Originally Posted By MPierce

I really think WDW is forcing me into eating off property. I refuse to make my dinner reservations 6 months in advance. That will be an inconvenince, as it is much easier to grab a bite in the parks, but what the heck. I refuse to be made to jump thru the hoop when so many of the restaurants at WDW are not really that great anymore. Just my opinion.

 

Originally Posted By hopemax

Pop Warner and Mousefest are always that time. Get enough "knowlegeable" people all there at the same time, and it doesn't take much to fill a restaurant.

Were you booking your Coral Reef at 180 days or 180 plus? I think they only have a limited number of plus seats, and the rest open up at the 180 day mark.

 

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

<<The next problem is that when trying to book the Coral Reef for 12/2 I found it ALREADY BOOKED SOLID!>>

By the way... this cloud has a silver lining. Flying Fish Cafe, a short walk from Epcot at the Boardwalk, is a definite notch or two above the Coral Reef.

If you wanted to watch the fishies I can't help you, but if your main interest was in eating them I HIGHLY recommend the Flying Fish!!

 

Originally Posted By Boardwalkbum

>>If you wanted to watch the fishies I can't help you, but if your main interest was in eating them I HIGHLY recommend the Flying Fish!!<<

I second that one........

 

Originally Posted By danyoung

>12/2 not a 'free dining' period is it ?<

I don't think the dining plan's popularity has that much to do with whether it's free or not. In other words, there are large amounts of people paying $38.99 a day to eat the fine food.

>Were you booking your Coral Reef at 180 days or 180 plus?<

Well, as I said, I can't qualify for the 180 PLUS until I actually have a reservation. And I won't get a reservation till much closer to the actual date of the trip when AP discounts come out. And if I wait much longer, everything I want will be booked up. So I'm basically being forced into doing this day by day thing, which is really a huge inconvenience for me.

>If you wanted to watch the fishies I can't help you, but if your main interest was in eating them I HIGHLY recommend the Flying Fish!!<

I've eaten at the FF before, and yes, it is terrific. But I do indeed want to watch the fishies. The atmosphere of the Coral Reef is one of the coolest anywhere on the planet. And so far I haven't had a bad meal there yet.

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

<>12/2 not a 'free dining' period is it ?<

I don't think the dining plan's popularity has that much to do with whether it's free or not. In other words, there are large amounts of people paying $38.99 a day to eat the fine food<

Since I really never looked at it seriously as i thought it way to complicated and limiting for the way we eat there ( using DDE ) - can you explain exactly what you get for $38.99 ?

I seem to remember some of the place I like were like 2 'credits' or something like that...which meant I'd either be scrimping by some meals ( yeah - nme ? ) - etc

 

Originally Posted By demderedoseguys

>>If you wanted to watch the fishies I can't help you, but if your main interest was in eating them I HIGHLY recommend the Flying Fish!!<<

I second that one........>>>

Without a doubt !!!

 

Originally Posted By sun-n-fun

This is why we only made 3 ressies for a 12 day trip. We use DDE, not the plan, but I hate to decide where I'm going 180 beofre I get there!! We did make a ressie at Boma as soon as we could and had to get 7pm on the day we wanted. Everything else after 5pm was booked.

 

Originally Posted By danyoung

>Since I really never looked at it seriously as i thought it way to complicated and limiting for the way we eat there ( using DDE ) - can you explain exactly what you get for $38.99 ?<

For each day of use, you get a quick serve credit, a table serve credit, and a snack credit. Quick serve is your basic counter service, where you get a main item, a dessert and a drink. A snack can be anything from popcorn to a bottle of water. A table serve credit is good for an appetizer, an entre, a dessert, and a non-alcoholic beverage. It can be a good deal if you eat a lot, or it can be a burden if you're not particularly hungry on a given day but are still forced into eating full meals to get your money's worth. It didn't work out well for me because I really like the 2-credit places like the California Grill and the Brown Derby, which left me with several meals that I still had to pay cash for. I think I saved a bit of money, but it just wasn't worth the extra hassle for me.

But as I said, the biggest problem right now is the hordes of people who previously would have been happy at the burger places, and are now taking up seats at the fine dining locations. These same people are complaining that they can't get burgers and chicken fingers in a fine French restaurant, which is resulting in the dumbing down (the Walmarting, if you will) of the menus. It's getting worse every year, and is a downward trend that I really hope someone at Disney is smart enough to head off before I start going off property as well.

 

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

You may want to look into the Disney Dining Experience. We find that it is an excellent deal. To be eligible you need to be an Annual Passholder, a Florida Resident, or (I think they are now included) a DVC owner.

If you have a fair number of expensive meals it can save you a lot. The card costs $65 (for an AP Holder) and it gives you 20% off at almost any Disney restaurant (including food courts) and includes alcohol.

Since my wife and I usually spend $100 - $150 per day on food and alcohol, the pass pays for itself in 2-3 days. Anything beyond that is savings.

You also are not limited to number of people. When we've used it in the past we would take my brother and his family (who used to live in Orlando) out to a nice table service restaurant (Spoodles, Kona Cafe, etc). We would buy dinner for ourselves, my brother and his wife, and their two daughters and boyfriends. The bill for that meal typically ran about $400, and the 20% discount saved use $80 on that ONE meal.

I think the DDE is a far better plan than the Disney Dining Plan, and it removes the feeling that you HAVE to eat a certain number of expensive meals each day to get your money’s worth. You know that during your vacation you will easily pay for the pass and have considerable savings in addition. There is no “this place costs one meal but this other place costs twoâ€. I think the Disney Dining Experience is a real money saver and does not have the negatives of the Disney Dining Plan.

 

Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey

We used the DDE card for our February trip and saved over $150 AFTER paying for the card. It's definitely an excellent deal.

 

Originally Posted By gurgitoy2

"I really think WDW is forcing me into eating off property. I refuse to make my dinner reservations 6 months in advance. That will be an inconvenince, as it is much easier to grab a bite in the parks, but what the heck. I refuse to be made to jump thru the hoop when so many of the restaurants at WDW are not really that great anymore. Just my opinion."

I agree with this. I like to be a bit more spontaneous in my trips, and to have everything so planned out so far in advance is crazy for me.

I do have a question though. I'm hoping to go to WDW for Christmas, but will be staying at a friends house. So, that means I won't be on the dining plan. Does this mean that NO table service restaurants accept walk-ins anymore? It used to be you could walk into one and they might have seats, or maybe you wait a little...you know, like a NORMAL restaurant. Now that people book them months in advance is that impossible now? I'd like to know, so that I can write eating any decent meals off my WDW list...

 

Originally Posted By sun-n-fun

DDE did save us almost $100 so after taking out the $65 price, we really saved $35. We are going for 12 days in Aug and my mom is joining us for 4 of them, so that will save us more. What I don't like about DDE is that is can not be used at a lot of counter service. At least that is what the list of included places implied. At EPCOT, if I am recalling correctly, it is only good the the sit downs in the countries. We did use it at Tusker House and Harbour House. That said,it still saved us money, even just using it on a short trip. And you can eat when you want to, not when you thought you'd want to 180 days before.

 

Originally Posted By WeirdJohn

Wow. I really don't understand it. I am going through smallworldvacations and was able to get every restaurant I wanted the first week of December at really good times. Here is the list of restaurants I had no problems with. Some are very popular from what I understand.

Spirit of Aloha
Biergarten - L
Le Cellier - D
Chef Mickey's - B
Boma - D
Liberty Tree Tavern - L
Whispering Canyon Cafe - D
Kona Cafe - B
California Grill - D (seated just before MK fireworks)
50's Prime Time - L
Sci-fi Drive-In - D

These were all booked on Monday using 180 plus. Now I will say my agent (Jodie, she is awesome) booked all these for me. I gave her a list with time suggestions, and got them all no problem with nothing later than 6:30 except for Aloha and California Grill which I requested for later.

Dan, I understand your frustration, I really do, but I'm not sure why you had the trouble with Coral Reef. It's a popular restaurant, but Le Cellier, California Grill and Chef Mickey's are all as popular I would think. Did you try other days? Also, I am wondering if there must be somethinig happening that day at that restaurant. I mean, the only place I've seen book up that fast is the Princess Storybook as you've said.

I do understand how frustrating it can be to have to book places 180 days out now. I do remember the days of being able to book the day of. It stinks, but what can you do? I have heard all the arguments about the DDP dumbing things down on the menus, overbooking the restaurants, but I still think the good outways the bad. I would like to see maybe a different dining plan that is less expensive and only has 3 counters a day or something of that nature. I think that would definitely free things up some.

 

Originally Posted By ChiMike

Well, I am glad to see more people coming around to the point that I and others have been screaming about for the last three years. I am sad to say that I foresaw many issues which are now here, and at the time was labeled an extreme crank as everybody was happily getting their All-Stars reservations together for free dining.

Nothing is free. And down the road Disney always offers as much as they previously profit from. Want better conditions at WDW? Hope that people stop trying to squeeze the system when planning for a vacation.

It’s no coincidence that upkeep at the resort stopped when DVC became popular, AP discounts became popular, Cruise-like, Ponderosa-like, all you can eat buffets became popular, etc. It’s less of a resort today because people aren’t as willing to pay as much. This is a chicken and the egg predicament which I solely blame Disney’s past actions for.

My last time on property in November will have been my last time dining regularly at WDW. The menu selection was worse, the prices higher, the service worse, the food miserable, and the facility cleanliness (some patrons even) less than desirable. I will now plan on dining at the Dolphin or other fine restaurants outside of WDW. The convenience of on-property dining has now been neutralized; for me personally.

Additionally, I smirk when I read about people enthusiastically pumping DDE. DDE is another thing that has been ruined by economies of scale. Like AP discounts DDE has morphed into a common trip planning tool that makes it worse for everyone as more websites encourage it and it becomes more popular. It becomes a dilutive benefit as the AP hotel discounts became.

When I originally had DDE it was for Florida residents only. It was cheaper to use and the discounts were more beneficial in the fact that the restaurants were better run with better food. Most importantly, while DDE and the dining plan have grown in popularity and use, the menu prices have gone up substantially. So basically since Disney allowed APs to buy DDE, they have raised their menu prices to offset the 20%, while still profiting on guests who don't use either mechanism. Most significantly, Disney is making a killing on the pure revenue from the hundreds of DDE memberships.

So I hope everyone understands that Disney made out like a bandit with DDE and the discount has not kept up to the massive price increases, and limiting of the menu to only higher margin food offerings. Why? Because Disney will get their margins and their money no matter what. The consumer pays less, the consumer gets less. Period. So while it’s great to help the fellow man out, from Deb to Mary to someone on a message board pumping DDE - - I continue to smirk. Because all of this is to the detriment of the resort, and thus, the resort’s guests. And just to be clear, this is not Mary’s fault, it’s not anyone’s fault except for Disney’s.

So please remember, I understand that someone, specifically, might benefit today from using DDE. But that's not the larger point. It is that guests are saving money on artificially high prices that have come about from more people using DDE and the dining plan. Just as the hotel discounts still save some people money on higher rack rates with less of an overall savings.

 

Originally Posted By WeirdJohn

Hi ChiMike.

I can't really say I disagree with higher prices on the menus. The prices have definitely gone up and they are much higher than restaurants outside of Disney. There is no question. I am not sure if the food quality has gone down in every restaurant though.

As far as hotel prices go though, I do not believe Disney has gone up substantially in comparison to other hotels in other areas. For example a 4 star hotel in Chicago runs around $400 per night. I belive these rates are similar in other major cities and are similar in major high end resorts around the world. Now, I can't say for sure if the quality is similar for the same price, but I will say that most people on the boards here have said that the WL, Polynesian, GF, and AKL seem to be top notch and great places to stay. The Poly on allears.net rates an average of 9.0 with 99 reviews. On top of that these hotels are much less than $400 a night at least during the value season. So I would say the hotel discounts are still worth it and a good deal. On top of that I belive the Poly (GF too??) is a AAA 4 diamond hotel.

Now, it is possible that I am making a bad comparison here. If so, I would love for people to let me know, but this is what I observe. I am far from being a frequenter at high end hotels (4 or 5 star) though, so I can't be sure of any of this.

 

Originally Posted By ChiMike

John,

Like the restaurants, the hotels have suffered from a decline in quality as well. But that is a whole other tangent.

However, with that in mind there really are two dynamics. 1) The restaurants have raised their prices while substantially raising the price of DDE and keeping the discount fixed. 2) The hotels have bumped up their rack rates annually, and instead of competitively pricing them, continue to rely on discounts, promotions, and packages to fill vacancy. My point is that while the rack rates have increased, the AP discounts for the hotels, have decreased substantially from even the late 90s.

There is not a problem with rising rack rates nationwide. Chicago has seen increases because of demand. So has Las Vegas. DisneyWorld is completely different because their lodging supply has far exceeded demand. Normally, that would lead one to believe that AP discounts should be more plentiful. But the exact opposite is true because everybody and their brother now know the "tricks" on AP rates, DVC rentals, etc. etc. In 2000 I stayed at the Polynesian Concierge for $200 a night. This was pre-9/11 with the Millennium celebration when tourism was >>supposedly<< so great. Good luck trying to find that rate today.