Originally Posted By nats30 I heard from a cast member that the dining plan for 2008 is going to change. They are going to eliminate the appetizers and the cost would a few dollars cheaper. Any hear about this?
Originally Posted By LacyBelle I read about it on allearsnet this week and ElderP mentioned in his 'The DDDP?' topic that he read about it on MiceAge. In addition to the elimination of the appetizer, tips will also no longer be included in the plan. The rumored price reduction is only $1 (not equitable for the elimination of an appetizer and tips, IMHO). The official announcement is expected later this month.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss No, not equitable, but in a common tactic these days, they disguise a price increase by reducing the size of the product instead of just raising the price.
Originally Posted By nats30 I read on the internet that the only difference in the 07 plsn and the 08 plan is that the gratuity is not covered. The appetizer is included.
Originally Posted By Elderp Too many people complained about the appetizer so I think they brought it back. Here is the official brochure: <a href="http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw/images2003/languagespecific/eng/nontheme/tickets/08Dining.pdf" target="_blank">http://adisneyworld.disney.go. com/media/wdw/images2003/languagespecific/eng/nontheme/tickets/08Dining.pdf</a>
Originally Posted By BELLEROSE I looked over the brochure and it didn't mention anything about appitizers in the table service meal. Just entree, desert and non-alcoholic drink.
Originally Posted By nats30 According to the reservation clerk appetizers are not included in the plan and the tip is not included. There are 2 plans in 2008 and I am not sure what is included in the deluxe plan. She was not able to describe it to me. Does anyone understand the deluxe plan?
Originally Posted By Elderp <a href="http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw/images2003/languagespecific/eng/nontheme/tickets/08DeluxeDining.pdf" target="_blank">http://adisneyworld.disney.go. com/media/wdw/images2003/languagespecific/eng/nontheme/tickets/08DeluxeDining.pdf</a> Oh and two snacks instead of one.
Originally Posted By AuroraRose any one know how much the deluxe plan costs, and am i reading it right it could be 3 sit downs or 3 counter service?
Originally Posted By hightp I believe I just read that the meal plan is $40 for the regular, and $70 for the deluxe. Having just come back from WDW, and experienced the dining plan for the 1st time, I found the table service plans offered much more food than we could eat. With the 4 of us, 4 appetizers and 4 desserts with dinner were way too much. I think they would have been better suited to offer 1 appetizer for 2 people. We ended up being so stuffed we couldn't eat dessert, and when your in the parks, it's not convenient to carry a dessert around with you. Still, I don't think there will be a lot of people too happy with the new plan. Part of the charm with the old one was that you didn't need any additional money when you ate, now you've got to come up with the tip. It's not going to be popular, with the guests, or waitstaff.
Originally Posted By Elderp I really like the idea of not having to have extra cash on me. I do agree there isn't a need for a appetizer for everyone. Appetizers are really meant for sharing. Not sure what the dessert portions are like but if they are like normal restaurants those probably could be shared too.
Originally Posted By schnebs I think that they could have been a little more generous when cutting the price. Wild guess here, but by having the guests pay for their own gratuities and not including an appetizer with table service meals, I'm assuming Disney's gonna save more than a buck a person a day in expenses...
Originally Posted By AuroraRose well elderp the dining plan has seriously changed portion sizes, for example, i was totally craving a slice of choclate cake from tusker house in AK, from what i remembered, it was a huge slice of multi layered choclate cake and a fudge type frosting totally decedant i couldn't wait to back on our next trip. I waited a year and insisted we were working Tusker House in as a counter service credit. We got to tusker house and i ordered my meal complete with the choclate cake. what i got was not a slice cut from a real cake, but a tiny bowl of an individual cake ...nugget... it reminded me of the brownies my niece makes in her easy bake oven, totally disappointing. woops...rant. sorry. i guess i was saying with the advent of the plan, portions are smaller
Originally Posted By johnno We feel the same as hightp, too much food for us. My wife can usually only eat half her meal and sometimes take out the dessert also.We opted out for our 2008 trip even before we knew about the new plan. With no appetizers and an additional 15% tip ($10-$15 per meal) the plan may not appeal to many previous users. Reservation constricted our fun, so we are going back to Parks first, and eat when we get hungry.
Originally Posted By nats30 I don't like the new plan but can you make reservations easily without the plan?
Originally Posted By Elderp You don't have to be on the plan to make a reservation. A few of our ADRs were off plan meals.
Originally Posted By BELLEROSE I just noticed that they took away like 1/4 of all the good restaurants. We were really looking forward to eating at Wolf Gang Puck's and it's not on the list anymore. The mexican place at Epcot is also not on the plan anymore. I'm seriously thinking about taking it out of our vacation plans.
