So it looks like Be Our Guest is becoming Prix Fixe Meal and 2TS credits...thoughts?

[RayMusicCityUSA]

I didn’t realize how much the price of the ddp went up! So $90 for a $55 meal....

If you really want to eat here for dinner, I wonder if this will dissuade people from getting the ddp

Friends don't let friends use a $90 credit on a $55 meal........

Agree 100%. My daughter wanted to do the Meal Plan during our last trip. I told her to give me what she'd spend for the meal plan and I'd pay for all of her meals and I'd split whatever was left over with her. That convinced her to think it through and of course, she decided not to do the plan. It just forces people to eat way more than they'd normally eat to justify the cost of the plan. (sort of like ordering lobster, when you really feel like eating a hamburger!)

 

[Wubar]

I won't define any of the terms as requested but I'm sort of confused why Akershus is included in the exotic category by some. It's in the Norway Pavilion after all and basically most of the Pavilions is where we get to step out of our comfort zone to a degree. When making ADRs at Epcot I view it as a great opportunity to have a "hidden" lesson with children about how people in other countries eat.

I'm sure some would rather not step out of their comfort zone, and would probably rather have BoG as available to all from both a pricing and menu viewpoint. The dinner is out of our budget, but we will still stop in for lunch. As for the chicken finger, pizza, hamburger options, I prefer to have those elsewhere in the parks (certainly no shortload of those boring items in WDW). My family loves the different foods being offered at BoG, Skipper Canteen, Satuli Canteen, etc...

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

I won't define any of the terms as requested but I'm sort of confused why Akershus is included in the exotic category by some. It's in the Norway Pavilion after all and basically most of the Pavilions is where we get to step out of our comfort zone to a degree. When making ADRs at Epcot I view it as a great opportunity to have a "hidden" lesson with children about how people in other countries eat.

I completely agree that the food in the WS presents an excellent opportunity to step out of your comfort zone. I think it's difficult for many people simply because it's a princess meal and so many would think it would be basic and kid-friendly foods... Same with CRT. I personally don't have a problem trying new foods (although I am vegetarian so my new foods are limited in that sense), but at the same time, I like to know what I'm eating, and hate taking up the server's time having them translate the menu for me.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I'm sure some would rather not step out of their comfort zone, and would probably rather have BoG as available to all from both a pricing and menu viewpoint. The dinner is out of our budget, but we will still stop in for lunch. As for the chicken finger, pizza, hamburger options, I prefer to have those elsewhere in the parks (certainly no shortload of those boring items in WDW). My family loves the different foods being offered at BoG, Skipper Canteen, Satuli Canteen, etc...

Pretty sure we wont be eating at BoG for our early July trip (and the new menu isn't avail anyway then) unless one of the kiddos' insists and if it's the 17 year older she can just enjoy the sights and sounds of BoG with or without the younger kids while the oldsters take a well deserved nap, LOL. I'm fine with taking the kids (DGD, niece and grandnephew) to DWD but got to have a decent meal to compensate for neither being on a cruise or touring overseas. Fortunately, I've traveled with this crew before and they're used to my "idiosyncrasies".

I completely agree that the food in the WS presents an excellent opportunity to step out of your comfort zone. I think it's difficult for many people simply because it's a princess meal and so many would think it would be basic and kid-friendly foods... Same with CRT. I personally don't have a problem trying new foods (although I am vegetarian so my new foods are limited in that sense), but at the same time, I like to know what I'm eating, and hate taking up the server's time having them translate the menu for me.

I've never been to Akershus (my traveling children are past the character meals for the most part) but wouldn't be surprised if many of the servers are Norwegian and would look on it favorably if asked for a detailed explanation of menu items. DGD has become an expert at asking for substitutions- of late all dishes should come with mashed potatoes, LOL.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Pretty sure we wont be eating at BoG for our early July trip (and the new menu isn't avail anyway then) unless one of the kiddos' insists and if it's the 17 year older she can just enjoy the sights and sounds of BoG with or without the younger kids while the oldsters take a well deserved nap, LOL. I'm fine with taking the kids (DGD, niece and grandnephew) to DWD but got to have a decent meal to compensate for neither being on a cruise or touring overseas. Fortunately, I've traveled with this crew before and they're used to my "idiosyncrasies".



I've never been to Akershus (my traveling children are past the character meals for the most part) but wouldn't be surprised if many of the servers are Norwegian and would look on it favorably if asked for a detailed explanation of menu items. DGD has become an expert at asking for substitutions- of late all dishes should come with mashed potatoes, LOL.

That's a fair point. I've never been to Akershus either so I'm not sure if the servers are primarily from there or not. For me, the biggest thing keeping me from going there is both vegetarian dishes have some sort of vinaigrette (which I don't like), and I feel awkward asking for meals to be prepared differently based simply on me not liking something... Which also ties into why I like to know what the descriptions are that I'm reading on the menu lol.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

For me, the exotic aspect comes into play when I can't read the menu and actually know what I'm ordering. Yeah, you can get the gist of whether it's chicken, beef, pork, seafood, vegetarian, etc, but the descriptions seem so fancy. For instance, what the heck is citrus gremolata, braised rapini, madeira-mushroom sauce, veloute sauce, beer and berry demi-glace, cassis-braised cabbage, or terrine? ***For the record, I'm not asking any of you to define these for me, but they are directly from CRT's and Akershus' menus and I'm sure many people have no idea what they are. I'm sure there are many people that have no problem ordering something without having a clue what it is, but there are plenty of others that like to have an idea of the ingredients or flavors for the meal they are spending a great deal of money on so they can have an idea if it's something they would like/ has ingredients they don't like, etc.

All of those are just fancy names for relatively common ingredients. Rapini, for example, is basically just a type of broccoli. I wouldn't let fear of the unknown deter me from going to a restaurant that I really wanted to visit. A simple google search ahead of time could help understand the menu options, or just ask the server to explain the dish.

 

[dlavender]

I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but why would they so blatantly fleece the ddp crowd? If anything, they should try to make it more appealing. But telling your ddp crowd that you are forcing them to pay almost double what the cash crowd pays is mind boggling. “Get the ddp so you can pay double!” What a steal.....

 

[anneboleyn]

I know with Belle next door at Enchanted she can’t appear at BoG, but maybe they could have some new B&B characters there to make it more worth the 2 TS points...maybe Belles father or Gaston or something, then it may be more worth it

My vote is for the footstool/dog!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I think it's fine the way it is. I don't see the need to add more characters. Now if Disney would like to add more characters, GREAT, but IMO it's not needed.

If the food gets really good reviews I wouldn't mind paying the price and just seeing the Beast.

 

[WDW_Ding]

But telling your ddp crowd that you are forcing them to pay almost double what the cash crowd pays is mind boggling.

EDITED, because I was wrong, lol.

 

[dlavender]

I'm not sure your logic is sound here.

While WDW is raising the points you need to spend for dinner at BoG, they are also redoing the menu and, likely, increasing the amount of money the average dinner spends per person. This change also gets rid of the people that book dinning reservations at BoG just for dessert or appetizers.

DDP users aren't getting cheated. DDP users don't pay "double" at other Signature resturants at WDW.

I could be wrong...

But if they go to prix fixe for dinner, and that costs $55 per person, but 2 credits for the ddp, where am I wrong? The ddp credits are valued at $45. 2x45 = $90. $90 is more than $55.....

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I could be wrong...

But if they go to prix fixe for dinner, and that costs $55 per person, but 2 credits for the ddp, where am I wrong? The ddp credits are valued at $45. 2x45 = $90. $90 is more than $55.....

You're not wrong. It's a terrible value on the DDP.

 

[WDW_Ding]

I could be wrong...

But if they go to prix fixe for dinner, and that costs $55 per person, but 2 credits for the ddp, where am I wrong? The ddp credits are valued at $45. 2x45 = $90. $90 is more than $55.....

I'm not an expert on the DDP, but it looks like the Standard plan is 75 dollars a day, which includes:

• one counter-service meal (per night)
• one sit-down meal (per night)
• two snacks (per night)
• a refillable drink mug (per stay)

Value of a counter service meal: around 15 dollars.
Value of a snack: around 5 dollars (times 2, remember).
Value of the mug: highly situational, so let's just remove it for the sake of this conversation.
Value of sit-down meal: let's peg this one at 55, since that is what the BoG meal costs.

So we have 15+10+55=80

So, you get about 80 dollars of value, for the cost of 75, not counting the mug.

Looking at this data, it is clear that, at 2 credits, BoG is not a good value on the DDP.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

No signature meals are a good deal on the DDP, but this one is the worst I think

 

[disneynurse03]

I'm still trying to get a reservation for August...I think increasing the cost to 2 DC will allow more people a chance to make dinner reservations. Supply and demand.

 

[dlavender]

I'm not an expert on the DDP, but it looks like the Standard plan is 75 dollars a day, which includes:

• one counter-service meal (per night)
• one sit-down meal (per night)
• two snacks (per night)
• a refillable drink mug (per stay)

Value of a counter service meal: around 15 dollars.
Value of a snack: around 5 dollars (times 2, remember).
Value of the mug: highly situational, so let's just remove it for the sake of this conversation.
Value of sit-down meal: let's peg this one at 55, since that is what the BoG meal costs.

So we have 15+10+55=80

So, you get about 80 dollars of value, for the cost of 75, not counting the mug.

Looking at this data, it is clear that, at 2 credits, BoG is not a good value on the DDP.

Not a good value is an understatement. By that math, you have to pay double vs cash. That’s what doesn’t make sense to me. Why punish your ddp crowd? Unless they want to steer the ddp away from one of the most popular restaurants. Which again, doesn’t make sense. The ddp people guarantee revenue. Why ostracize them?

 

[maltdizzy]

Not a good value is an understatement. By that math, you have to pay double vs cash. That’s what doesn’t make sense to me. Why punish your ddp crowd? Unless they want to steer the ddp away from one of the most popular restaurants. Which again, doesn’t make sense. The ddp people guarantee revenue. Why ostracize them?

I suspect they figure most DDP'ers won't do the math. Look at all the people who never get their money's worth out of the DDP to begin with. That is the whole business principle behind dining plans (not just at Disney), people on average tend to leave more $$$ "on the table" using dining plans, charge-to-room services, charge-to-magic band, bar tabs, etc. People spend more if they aren't counting out cash for each transaction. Like in a casino, a dollar here and a dollar there adds up to big bucks over time. And this isn't just Disney, the whole push to credit/debit charges, university spending cards for students, etc. all make money off this.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

I foresee them very quickly changing the price to somewhere in the $70 range and including the tax and tip, like they do with CRT, HDD, SOA, and Mickey's backyard BBQ. If you look at $70 as a base meal price of $56.45, 6% sales tax is $3.39, 18% tip on $56.45 is $10.16. $56.45 + $3.39 + $10.16 = $70.

If this were to happen, it really only increases the OOP meal cost by $1.45 over the $55 being currently advertised, while guaranteeing the servers will receive at least an 18% tip. For DDP users, a perceived $70 value would suddenly seem much more palatable. Although it would still be a poor value on the DDP (1 credit here = $35 vs the $45 value of a credit), it would fall in line with pricing for CRT and the dinner shows which also cost 2 credits.

 

[mab2012]

I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but why would they so blatantly fleece the ddp crowd? If anything, they should try to make it more appealing. But telling your ddp crowd that you are forcing them to pay almost double what the cash crowd pays is mind boggling. “Get the ddp so you can pay double!” What a steal.....

Because they can.

You're completely right, but the DDP is full of this sort of thing. Granted, this might be the worst offender I've seen so far, but there are many, many examples of meals that cost more on the plan than out of pocket, even for exactly the same food. Especially the 2-credit meals. I don't know how anyone ever makes sense of the regular DDP, except on the most overpriced character buffets. And even then it'll be barely better than break-even for many.

I have to agree with @maltdizzy, most likely they're counting on people not bothering to consider the value of their credits. And a great many people seem to buy the dining plan for exactly that reason - so that they don't have to consider what they are spending. All they see is "do I have enough credits" and "is this a thing I want to do?". Doesn't work for me; as much as I would love to be free to order whatever I like with no thought at all given to the cost, I can't divorce myself from reality far enough to justify spending more for the privilege. But lots of people can, and do.

 

[jlwhitney]

I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but why would they so blatantly fleece the ddp crowd? If anything, they should try to make it more appealing. But telling your ddp crowd that you are forcing them to pay almost double what the cash crowd pays is mind boggling. “Get the ddp so you can pay double!” What a steal.....

There are many on the DDP that don't even think about the cost. It lumped into a package price for their vacation and don't think twice about it. Many don't even know what the plan's per day cost is.