Hi, I’ve never planned a WDW vacation before, so this is more a question about what’s normal. I just saw the 2016 deluxe dining plan brochure, and 1) appetizers are no longer included and 2) a lot of restaurants we wanted to try (yak and yeti, chefs de France, etc) aren’t on there. Is it normal that Disney revises and may change this, or do I drop my dining plan (without the apps the value we saw is gone)? Don’t have an AP so TIW isn’t an option.
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It is apparently true that appetizers are no longer included.
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The restaurants listed now will change before next year. It won’t be finalized for a little while still.
Most reviews of the Deluxe Dining Plan are that it’s WAY too much food and it feels like you run from one ADR to the next. And if you use any of the credits on a QS, it’s a waste of money because it’s not maximizing the value. So definitely definitely definitely do the math as to whether or not you’ll be better off doing that Plan, or just the regular Plan, or even paying out of pocket.
They often “massage” which locations are on the plan multiple times before it becomes “official”. However, Y&Y is not Disney-owned (Landry Group) and has never accepted TiW. Chefs has not accepted TiW at dinner (Monsieur Paul also does not accept TiW). I just looked at the brochure and noticed that RF and T-Rex are no longer on it, so they may be excluding the Landry’s restaurants. Additionally, all of the independantly-owned WS restaurants are missing from the list - as of now. As these are all contract issues, they may still be under negotiations and will show up later. I don’t do the DDP so I have never paid really close attention, but I think I remember reading that this is common.
As for the apps, that is something nre this year and may well be the case. I haven’t looked at the prices, but if the apps are gone and the cost is the same, I agree; any “value” of the plan is pretty much shot.
The only thing I can add to @bswan26’s response is that the deluxe plan really was only a value if you planned well and if the appetizers were included. I ran the numbers for my last trip and since I was doing a split stay 2/4 and I had two signatures meals booked my first two nights, I could plan 6 credits and 4 snacks over three days ( 2 nights). It was only a value since the appetizers were included. It becomes an expensive convenience without them.
What’s TiW?
Tables in Wonderland
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The list of restaurants that are included on first publication generally only includes the Disney-run restaurants. All of the others renegotiate rates and participation every year, often going well into the end of the calendar year before making a last-minute deal. In general, using historical data, a restaurant on the dining plan in 2015 will almost certainly be on it in 2016.
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I seem to recall a few years ago that on first announcement, the appetizer was gone from the DxDP plans - this was quickly noted as an error and the materials were updated accordingly. Seeing that the price is rising a couple of dollars each night (in proportion to the other plans, roughly), I can’t imagine they’d be removing any entitlements. But it’s always possible.
Personally, I hope the appetizers are included because I’m tentatively planning an adults-only trip in 2016, and we’d like to do Deluxe! (Mostly with the breakfast or lunch plus signature dinner model.)
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I’m still not sold on the “no appetizers on DxDP for 2016”. I looked at the official brochures, and the DxDP and (regular) DDP have identical pages for the Quick Service and Table Service sections, minus the color scheme of the page background. I think it’s a copy/paste error that will probably get fixed when they revise the brochures to add in locations that have renegotiated.
That is, unless and until Disney officially says this was an intentional change.
Thank you for your feedback. As an update, I emailed Disney to express my disappointment if this was true, and they responded that it was incorrect- appetizers will be included. I responded, asking them directly if this was a misprint, and a different representative said yes, it was a misprint. I’m thinking things will remain the same for next year.
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