Dining plan changes 2020

[OnceUponATime15]

Just read this, thought I’d share.

https://www.kennythepirate.com/2020/02/23/news-disney-world-is-introducing-a-new-dining-plan/

 

[Disneylover99]

Interesting.

It looks like you can use a combination of quick service and regular TS, but I wonder how it incorporates the deluxe dining plan.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Just read this, thought I’d share.

https://www.kennythepirate.com/2020/02/23/news-disney-world-is-introducing-a-new-dining-plan/

So, it will probably be priced at $1 under 2020's DxDP current price...and then DxDP will be looking at a huge price increase...not that I'm cynical or anything...

 

[OnceUponATime15]

Interesting.

It looks like you can use a combination of quick service and regular TS, but I wonder how it incorporates the deluxe dining plan.

I’m curious how it will be priced, it’s still 2 meals a day as opposed to the 3 on the other plan.. I do like the flexibility of being able to use the credits as I wish/need though. It certainly is interesting!

 

[Jetku]

I’m curious how it will be priced, it’s still 2 meals a day as opposed to the 3 on the other plan.. I do like the flexibility of being able to use the credits as I wish/need though. It certainly is interesting!

and it may or may not include appetizers. Depending on price, it may be very appealing to us! We love TS and always end up with so few QS usages

 

[jlundeen]

We already have a DDP for our trip in April, so I'm wondering if they replace the regular DDP with the new Plus Dining Plan, if those with current plans will be automatically upgraded - or have to pay for an upgrade if we want it.

 

[grossmansr]

I like it, but.... it will certainly be priced to make quick service credits a waste. So there might be flexibility if you're willing to lose money.

 

[DrunkJam]

We already have a DDP for our trip in April, so I'm wondering if they replace the regular DDP with the new Plus Dining Plan, if those with current plans will be automatically upgraded - or have to pay for an upgrade if we want it.

I have free (regular) dining for my June trip. I am not sure how I feel about this. part of me kind of wants to try more TS, but, hey, I also want to try some QS, since we hardly ever ate QS at WDW. Plus, TS is a huge time suck. But, I do have dining FOMO, so....

 

[Ellie Webbs]

We already have a DDP for our trip in April, so I'm wondering if they replace the regular DDP with the new Plus Dining Plan, if those with current plans will be automatically upgraded - or have to pay for an upgrade if we want it.

Ditto...

 

[Ellie Webbs]

I have free (regular) dining for my June trip. I am not sure how I feel about this. part of me kind of wants to try more TS, but, hey, I also want to try some QS, since we hardly ever ate QS at WDW. Plus, TS is a huge time suck. But, I do have dining FOMO, so....

Dining FOMO is a daily struggle

 

[DrunkJam]

Dining FOMO is a daily struggle

It totally is. If I got this new plan, I would be on the dining reservations in a heartbeat!

 

[Ellie Webbs]

It totally is. If I got this new plan, I would be on the dining reservations in a heartbeat!

Me too I already have my scheming head on...

 

[tlmadden73]

If this is an addition, its a weird addition. If this is just a consolidation (and getting rid of the Deluxe and regular dining plan and combining it into one -- then makes things easier to udnerstand)

But this is just the Dining Plan but the ability to either do 2 TS, 2 QS or one of each?

Sounds like this will be a HUGE money maker for Disney as guests who don't do the math and spend more on the dining plan than they would have out of pocket.

Because, (based on what the price will HAEV to be) ... if you ever use your dining credits for a QS restaurant as opposed to a TS or character meal, then you'll never get your money's worth.

It already is questionable if the regular dining plan is "worth it" at $75/day for an adult .. I would assume this new plan will be near $100 and only be "worth" it if you do 2 big character buffets a day.

 

[siren0119]

If this is an addition, its a weird addition. If this is just a consolidation (and getting rid of the Deluxe and regular dining plan and combining it into one -- then makes things easier to udnerstand)

But this is just the Dining Plan but the ability to either do 2 TS, 2 QS or one of each?

Sounds like this will be a HUGE money maker for Disney as guests who don't do the math and spend more on the dining plan than they would have out of pocket.

Because, (based on what the price will HAEV to be) ... if you ever use your dining credits for a QS restaurant as opposed to a TS or character meal, then you'll never get your money's worth.

It already is questionable if the regular dining plan is "worth it" at $75/day for an adult .. I would assume this new plan will be near $100 and only be "worth" it if you do 2 big character buffets a day.

THIS.

And the way it is being promoted, as part of a "Total package" including room and tickets...I wonder if it is designed to 1) make it less transparent what the actual cost of each component is (which to your point, may cause guests to be less aware of the true value of their dining credit - and cause Disney to make mucho bucks when they use their credit on a QS location) and 2) make it more difficult to make package changes as other discounts are released. It could just be the way it's worded and marketed, but I'm going to be reading the fine print VEEERY carefully when it goes live.

 

[tlmadden73]

THIS.

And the way it is being promoted, as part of a "Total package" including room and tickets...I wonder if it is designed to 1) make it less transparent what the actual cost of each component is (which to your point, may cause guests to be less aware of the true value of their dining credit - and cause Disney to make mucho bucks when they use their credit on a QS location) and 2) make it more difficult to make package changes as other discounts are released. It could just be the way it's worded and marketed, but I'm going to be reading the fine print VEEERY carefully when it goes live.

I understand some people like the dining plan, but I guess I don't understand why. I like to educate people to just buy what you need and not be locked into a pre-paid plan. You should RARELY ever be at a disadvantage for not buying the dining plan -- especially this one where you probably will pay $100/day and you end up wasting half of it .. because all you wanted was a bowl at Satuli Canteen and a burger/fries at RainForest cafe.

Even at "Disney" prices -- it is hard to spend $100/day/person unless you are buying a lot of alcohol, and going to 2 table service meals (buffets) a day.. and that is a LOT of food.

What this new dining plan WILL do though? Allow Disney to raise the cash prices of all their restaurants to make this feel like more of a deal.

 

[Devil13]

I can tell you, we've tried it both ways and definitely save money on the DDP over paying out of pocket. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but it works better for us and I'm guessing others have had the similar results.

Not sure how we'd do with the hypothetical new configuration.

Also also pretty sure Disney is going to raise prices with or without a new dining plan.

 

[kimwoje]

This is definitely interesting! I will have to crunch some numbers for our next trip. We love character meals and TS meals, definitely like to sit down for breakfast and dinner and usually skip lunch. We very rarely do QS so Dining plan is usually a waste and Deluxe Dining is way too much food. Giving the option to use both meal credits for TS night convince me to add back in dining if the price is right!

 

[kirb265]

The new dining plan will be interesting based on price. Two TS service option would have likely been the route we went on our recent trip but opted for Deluxe because one TS wasn’t enough. I will say it is a ton of food. But, it worked for us because my mom was with us half of our trip so we used quite a few credits on her. We had credits for 2 adults and 1 child for 7 days plus the snacks. We did 7 character meals. Most of which only took about an hour so it really wasn’t much more time than quick service. The plan for us was right at $2k and the bills for all the meals together was around $2,700-$3,000 ($150/meal or so from speciality drinks, appetizer, entree (or buffet) and dessert. You had in the snacks at roughly $5/each and that’s another $210 value ($5 x 42).

Had my mom not been with us some days for us to share credits, I would not advise doing it. Planning around 3 meals a day is hard not to mention it’s eating a lot. But, it was enjoyable trying many different restaurants at different resorts.

Here is where we ate:
Breakfast/Brunch-Chef Mickey’s, Ohana, Garden Grill, Kona Cafe, 1900 Park Fare
Lunch-Liberty Tree Tavern, Whispering Canyon, Yak and Yeti, Akershus, Chefs de France, Skipper Canteen
Dinner-1900 Park Fare, The Plaza, Tusker House, Biergarten, Teppan Edo, Ohana

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

We did the dining plan once paid, once free with bounce back. At the end of both trips we had so many quick serve and snack credits left we ended up bringing tons of snacks home and threw half in the trash. We like to "Snack" at places like The Boat House, Crew's Cup lounge etc. and eat the bar. We usually do a sit down daily but somehow couldn't use all the credits. I can't imagine how someone could do the deluxe plan! we just aren't that hungry while at WDW. And though the flexibility of this new plan is tempting, we will stick to just paying for each meal unless we can get free dining AND a room discount.

 

[Ellie Webbs]

From the UK we quite often get free dining so this would definitely be worth it, I can see people's point that OOP you would really struggle to get your money's worth. That's a lot of fillet and lobster!