I'm investigating dining for our trip in Sept 2011 and I noticed that some of the places I've found on non disney websites & 2010 disney brochure don't include some places on 2011 Dining brochure. For example 99% of downtown disney dining plan partcipants are not on 2011 sheet. Why? Does this mean they can't be included in our trip? 8 Restaurants in Epcot alone aren't on the 2011 brochure. 2 Italian & the only mexican? REALLY? If this is the case...Disney sure is limiting what and where you can eat with the dining plan. Now I'm wondering if it's worth it. Feedback???
Try this link, it's what Disney directs you to:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm
The restaurants listed are suppose to be good for the dining plan in 2011 as well as 2010. Hope this helps. You do know about the free dining plan for 2011 don't you Tom? If not, they're taking vacation packages at reservations@dreamsunlimitedtravel.com which is through Disney that's how I booked.
Bobby, formally known as Bob & Robert!!!!!!!
Downtown Disney: (Not listed anymore)
CapnJacks, Cookes, Planet Hollywood, Wolfgang Pucks, etc, etc.
The only place contributing in downtown Disney 2011 is Foodquest.
Epcot places that were previously listed that are not anymore:
Tangierine Cafe, Nine Dragons, Restaurant Marrakesh, San Angel Inn, Lotus Blossum Cafe, Teppan Edo, Tutto Italia, Via Naploi
There are a few in Animal, Kingdom such as Yak & Yeti.
Most of the other places are the same...but I REALLY noticed the depletion of Epcot restaurants. Just wondering why??? It seems kind of silly to me that if Disney offers a dining plan to it's parks, then ALL of the dining options inside the park should be available. Who makes the decision that only "particular" restaurants participate?
This decision makes it seem as though the "rest" of the places that are NOT listed are "better" or are "too good" to be on a "dining plan". Which makes me wonder if shelling out money for the plan means we're only getting the "mediocre" places that disney has to offer.
I have printed out the 2011 brochure myself and I discovered these things while researching places to eat for our Sept 2011 trip. We have NEVER been to DisneyWorld and we will be there for 2 weeks and it seemed the dining plan was the way to go.
After looking on websites such as Mousesavers, All Ears, and DIS, is when I discovered the 2011 "fallout".
I guess I was REALLY surprised to see 2 Italian and one mexican restaurant gone from Epcot for 2011...Don't we americans Love to fallback on these two options? Who doesn't love Italian & mexican food? And especially in Epcot where "WORLD SHOWCASE" is such a big deal. If you're on the Disney Dining plan, you should be able to try food from any where in the "world" right?
Just an opinion from "average joe". I believe if Disney offers a dining plan, you should be able to use such dining plan ANYWHERE at Disney. It looks "fishy" to a consumer that Disney tells us "these are the places you can eat. HOWEVER, these other places are too upscale, or beyond reach for a common "dining plan".
Its also a ridiculously great deal that people might have been abusing.
Here is another link directly from Dreams Unlimited for the free dining package.
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/packages/2011-packages.htm#mypd
Tom, I just received these links a few weeks ago through an email from Disney so that I could book a vacation which included the new 2011 free dining plan Disney is offering. And as I said before, all the restaurants you talked about are listed whether its for quick service or table service.
I don't know if Disney has posted that they're extending the free dining package into September 2011, but they are and they listed the dates it's available. The dates Zachary and I fit into were 8/19/2011 to 9/29/2011. So please check out the links I've given you Tom, your getting worked up over nothing. And check out Dreams Unlimited, I'm not sure but I think they're the only place you can book the free dining package.
Bobby, formally known as Bob & Robert!!!!!!!
Now...Below is the link to the "official" Disney Dining Plan brochure for 2011. According to DISNEY-these are the participating restaurants
Who is correct??????
As you see, this is where my confusion lies!
* indicates a Quick Service restaurant.
Coronado Springs
Cafe Rix (B,L,D) *
Pepper Market (B,L,D) *
Siestas Cantina (L) *
Maya Grill (B,D)
Epcot
Cantina San Angel (L,D) *
Lotus Blossom (L,D) *
Tangierine Cafe (L,D) *
Yakitori House (L,D) *
Nine Dragons Rest(L,D)
Restaurant Marrakesh (L,D)
Teppan Edo (L,D)
Tokyo Dining (L,D)
Tutto Italia (L,D)
Animal Kingdom
Yak & Yeti Cafes (L,D) *
Yak & Yeti Restaurant(B,L)
Downtown Disney
Cookes of Dublin (L,D) *
Earl of Sandwich(B,L,D) *
Wolfgang Puck Exp (L,D) *
Cap’n Jack’s Rest(L,D)
Planet Hollywood (L,D)
Raglan Road (L,D)
Wolfgang Puck Cafe(L,D)
Osprey Ridge
Sand Trap Bar & Grill (B,L)
Everything at Coronado Springs has been removed. This is strange. "Coronado" does not even appear in the brochure. May be a brochure error or may be due to the emphasis on convention traffic at the resort.
Several Epcot restaurants are removed. Many are externally owned. Possibly the restaurants believe they make more selling directly rather than at the Disney contract rates which would be discounted. At the Animal Kingdom, Yak and Yeti is externally owned.
Most of the remaining restaurants are independently owned at Downtown Disney. Not sure about Cap'n Jack's.
J
When I tried to check something out about my vacation on the WDW's site, I could not find anything about it there. When I asked my agent why, she said that Disney was not handling the trip, that DU was and that she did in fact work for Disney. So you might be hitting that brick wall when it comes to the free dining offer because Disney itself is not in charge of it but Dreams Unlimited is, which must be a subsidiary company of WDW that's running the whole show and that's why your getting so much conflicting information on the WDW sites.
^And to J, all those restaurants are still listed by Dreams Unlimited on the list that I'm holding in my hand. Like I said to Tom above, I think it's because DU is running this promotion and not Disney itself, that's were all the confusion is comming in.
Bobby, formally known as Bob & Robert!!!!!!!
So, are you saying only travel agencies can book the 2011 vacation/dining plan packages but Disney itself doesn't? I guess it confuses me then that Disney would even put info, or a 2011 brochure on their own website...
Also, are you talking about the normal dining plan or the new free dining plan they just started August 16th, that's the day I received the original email from Disney?
Tom,it's been about six weeks since I was on the main WDW site, I just went on and tried to book a room using the free dining package and I was able to go all the way up to the book the room page. Now whether they redirect you to Dreams Unlimited, I don't know. But six weeks ago, you couldn't even book a room past 12/31/2010. So why your finding different info on the restaurants is a good question. But I've given my agent my restaurant reservations which can not be sent out until 180 days before my arrival. So maybe Disney is changing the regular dining plan because of starting up the free dining plan, that could be the answer for all the confusion.
His sites provide good information but it is third party information which may not yet be updated. I expect that the information Disney provides on their site may be updated with additional restaurants. They even point out that it is subject to change without notice.
Dreams Unlimited is reselling the Disney package and in exchange receives the travel agency commission.
For the guest on vacation, it adds some confusion, especially at Epcot and for people staying at Coronado or near the Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin/Beach/Yacht complex. However, the information of what is included is very clearly provided and it is not advertised to include all restaurants.
I think it covers every Disney OWNED restaurant at a hotel or park with a couple of exceptions for very high end restaurants. I suspect Coronado is a publishing error that will be caught.
A quick look at this from each parties view.
Disney point of view
By offering flat prices, the customer is guaranteed to eat more meals at Disney. The margin is a bit lower but the percentage of unused meals/snacks is pure profit. It also engourages people to never leave the property which is important for Disney. Finally, Disney has about 22000 rooms to fill. This is an easy way to add perceived value during a down economy and maintaining the prices at the base level to increase when the market picks up.
Customer point of view
Disney offers a fixed price reducing cost unknowns, provides good meals with choices, and reduces the overall cost. This is perceived even more when included in the room rate rather than as a separate charge.
Third Party Restaurant point of view
I expect (do not know) that Disney offers a specific flat rate per meal and the owner can accept or decline. Any other accounting would be a nightmare for both parties. Disney is motivated to keep the dining plan meals used at their own restaurants where profit is higher. The third party owner has to determine whether it would be more profitable to accept less off peak business in exchange for a higher profit margin for peak business.
For those of us that live in the area (Passholders), the meal plans actually fill up the better restaurants making getting a seat difficult. Also, the quality of food and service at the table service restaurants has degraded. This is due to a shift from quality to volume. Finally, the restaurants in resorts are less unique due to less need to draw a customer in to a specific location. The third-party restaurants are now the ones providing this instead of Disney.
J
So then I guess my agent mislead me by saying she loved working for Disney and not Mr. Werner huh?
And I also checked out the info I got from DU compared to WDW. The information about the restaurants is just about the same except for the third party ones. According to DU, they're on board. Wouldn't it be misleading to the public to show on his website that they were, if in fact they were not? Thanks again for the info.
Bobby, formally known as Bob & Robert!!!!!!!
J
Since this is the first time our family is going to WDW, and staying 2 weeks, it's a little daunting trying to figure out if we would spend less by getting the DP, or without.
We are trying to utilize the free DP by going in Sept 2011. Which still means full price rooms of course...but after reading "lots" & "lots" of info on all kinds of websites, it's mind boggling!
Since you have to book by 12-20-10 for the free dining, I'm almost to the point where I'm making a "mock" vaction itinerary to see if the DP is worth it. What I'm finding out is...you really have to "map" out your days when on the DP. And without knowing what restaurants are ACTUALLY on the plan (for Sept 2011) it's a difficult formula to figure out.
When does a "final" list of restaurants for the DP materialize? I've learned that table service reservations need to be made 180 days in advance in some cases, so how do you do that without knowing all of your choices?
Any advice for us disney novices?
And check this out (to double our fun:)) we will have to book our package (by 12-20-2010) without knowing if there are flights available those days from our airport. The airline doesn't have info that far in advance. Nice huh?!?
All helpful hints welcome!!! :(
While I won't do it again (too much food, if you can believe that), it still was a fantaastic deal if you knew where to eat. My family dined like kings since we knew who had the best food, portions were large, and were expensive. I think people like us and others (possibly on TPI), knew how to really take advantage of the pricing and actually made Disney lose money on the meal. Yachtsmen Steakhouse, while it still takes two credits, is still the biggest steal on the meal plan.
Also, I noticed that it tended to book up places, especially at EPCOT. Forget Le Cellier since you need to now book it in advance. Perhaps the meal plan caused TOO many people to come to paticular places in the park.
Even with your most restrictive list, there still is a bazillion places at WDW for you to use your meal plan.
I will say it again, the meal plan is great for a group on a budget because you will know exactly how much you are spending on food per day. Period, end of story. It gives piece of mind that you know that your food will be covered.
I was undecided about how long to stay or where, so Zachary (age 11) asked if he could sleep in a Pirate Room at Caribbean Beach. So like you said, the price was a bit to much for the 8 days, so that was another reason I cut back to 4 days.
After checking out the menus of all the restaurants that were listed on Dreams Unlimited, I picked out the most expensive items I could for where we wanted to eat and then based that against the price of the room and here's my conclusion.
Do you want or need a table service meal or would a quick service meal suffice? If the QS meal is all right,then you can stay at one of the Value Resorts and get the QS plan. If you want that TS meal, then you must stay at a Moderate Resort such as the Caribbean Beach which is about the cheapest.
But since Zachary wanted to sleep in their Pirate Room, the money spent for the room compared to the money saved for the meals was a bit misleading. The most we could use for food would have been about $115 a day for both of us, compared to the $212 a day for the room(more like maybe $195 a day without the Pirate Room.)
We could have stayed at Pop Century in a standard room for about $82 a day I think. That;'s $130 difference without the free dining plan. If we would stay at PC we could get the free Quick Servive Plan and be $130 ahead of the game, but no Table Service.
So you see Tom, it's how you want to play this food game with Disney. Do you want to gain 15 pounds because you'll over eat since it's free? Do you really want to stay at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort in order to get that free Table Service meal? The choice is yours for the taking.
Zachary and I decided to stay at Pop Century for awhile without the dining plan and then we'll move over to the Caribbean Beach with the free dining plan. I know it's a bit confusing.
Bobby, formally known as Bob & Robert!!!!!!!
