No lobster at captain jacks?

[shellgirl]

We eat out a good bit too and spend an average of $35-$45 for a family of four on one meal out at an average chain restaurant. I don't consider myself cheap by any means! I really think the DDP averages itself out in the end or they would not offer it. I'm sure some people leave without even using all their credits and no one has even thought of that. I know we will also spend more money OOP for Alcohol drinks, Specialty food items/snacks that are not on the DDP. We will also be spending money OOP one night for TS dinner since we are using one for Hoop De Doo revue(which by the way they are making a killing on those eating buffets). I know we are having two TS meals that are buffets at an average of $28.99 adults and $11.99 childs prices using DDP credits. I know my kids are not eating $12 worth of food on a buffet and I know that I am not eating $29 worth of food myself. We are using two TS credits to go to Hoop De Doo that averages $51 an adult and don't remember childs price off hand! So that alone will average out to the $25 TS for two of our adult credits. I doubt they are loosing money on us by having two nice meals at Le Cellier and Coral Reef(or capn'Jacks). It really should remain as it is now or I doubt it will be an attractive plan for the average traveler. They have a great majority of the TS restaurants on the plan and you can visit the Signature places by using two TS if you want that experience. I don't feel that they should remove food from menus for DDP users because that would make me feel like a second class citizen. I feel like we are spending a fortune on this trip for 5 nights considering we can fly to another country and spend a week all inclusive in a moderate resort for just a little more money. They really are not loosing money here or they would not bother offering the plan. They have a reason for offering the deal and that is to keep people staying on site and spending their money on site and never having to leave for a week at a time!

 

[DaisyD]

Oh good grief! No one is saying folks that use the dining plan are CHEAP!!!! I said that it would be nice if Disney didn' take the nicer items off the menus simply to keep the DP people from choosing it. It isn't fair for those that do not want to be with the dining plan to not be able to pay OOP for said items. Disney is already excluding stuff from the DP. No more lobster at Le Cellier for one. They are also removing stuff completely. That is what I don't like. Why should those that pay full price be punished for the DP that Disney created. I, for one, will certainly write a complaint if it continues.

 

[Ava]

You are right that Disney is making plenty of money off of the Dining Plan. My point was that the restaurants NOT owned by Disney (most if not all of the ones in DTD, and I'm sure some in the resorts and parks as well) are losing money. That is why some items are disappearing from menus. According to the terms Disney advertises, there are not supposed to be any exclusions for DDP users. So rather than "break the rules" and offer more expensive/labor-intensive items to OOP guests only, restaurants are removing them from the menu altogether.

I just think Disney needs to make some modifications to the plan that would allow all the restaurants to profit from it and not have to take items off the menu.

EDIT: Well said DaisyD! I never said people who use the DP are cheap. My partner and I looked into getting it but decided it wasn't worthwhile for us, for various reasons. I personally think Disney is being cheap in what they pay restaurants for the DP meals... ~$22 for an appetizer, entree, dessert, AND drink... come on now!

I also think some small modifications to the plan (for example, allowing an appetizer OR a dessert, not both, with TS meals) would help restaurants to be able to accept it without having to take items off the menu in order to make a profit.

 

[DaisyD]

I just think Disney needs to make some modifications to the plan that would allow all the restaurants to profit from it and not have to take items off the menu.

And you can bet if that happens, the dining plan will be much more costly. Someone is going to have to pay for it and it won't be Disney. LOL!

 

[Ava]

And you can bet if that happens, the dining plan will be much more costly. Someone is going to have to pay for it and it won't be Disney. LOL!

LOL, that's for sure. They're being cheap when it comes to paying the restaurants as it is. But I guess that's how you remain a multi-billion $$ corporation... by saving those pennies!

 

[Lewisc]

Many restaurants offer fixed price menus, sometimes early bird specials, in that price range. Disney is helping fill the restaurants.

The restaurants probably need the ability to exclude or surcharge one or two "signature" menu items. Almost any price fixed menu exclude lobster. The CP dinner package specifically excludes lobster. As an example many price fixed menus limit your appetizer to soup or salad and limit your dessert to a half dozen "normal" items.

Restaurants are not going to serve lobster, to large number of guests, for the price they're paid by Disney.

The options are to surcharge lobster to MYW Dining guests, exclude it from MYW Dining guests (possibly by removing it from the menu but making it a non-menu special) or by just removing it altogether.

You are right that Disney is making plenty of money off of the Dining Plan. My point was that the restaurants NOT owned by Disney (most if not all of the ones in DTD, and I'm sure some in the resorts and parks as well) are losing money. That is why some items are disappearing from menus. According to the terms Disney advertises, there are not supposed to be any exclusions for DDP users. So rather than "break the rules" and offer more expensive/labor-intensive items to OOP guests only, restaurants are removing them from the menu altogether.

I just think Disney needs to make some modifications to the plan that would allow all the restaurants to profit from it and not have to take items off the menu.

EDIT: Well said DaisyD! I never said people who use the DP are cheap. My partner and I looked into getting it but decided it wasn't worthwhile for us, for various reasons. I personally think Disney is being cheap in what they pay restaurants for the DP meals... ~$22 for an appetizer, entree, dessert, AND drink... come on now!

I also think some small modifications to the plan (for example, allowing an appetizer OR a dessert, not both, with TS meals) would help restaurants to be able to accept it without having to take items off the menu in order to make a profit.

 

[ShellyMouse]

we had the ddp last december, and we will have it this december.

some (our family) choose it to save $$$ on food, but then we pay "rack rates" for tickets and rooms.
others would rather save their $$$ on rooms and tickets, and pay oop for food.
i don't know what the difference is between the 2 ways of doing it, but i'm sure disney makes out on all of it!
i love the idea of having everything paid in advance! as far as ordering the most expensive thing on the menu, why would someone do that if they really didn't like it? they go hungry? yes! i love lobster, so capt jacks is on our list. if they don't let us have lobster, we might still go.....and we might not.
i didn't pick the restaurants soley for what was on the menu. whispering canyon is on the list, not b/c of the menu (which does look good, but wouldn't be my 1st choice), but b/c i want to ask my dd to ask for ketchup , and i want to go to the bathroom, and call my dh on his cell phone...... .....or like the 50's prime time comedy stuff......some of the things are for the experience.

as far as non-disney-restaurants....all i know about that is what i've read on this thread. thats a shame that those rest. are losing b/c disney is too greedy.

have a good day!

 

[Sammie]

That would be true if all of the restaurants that accept the plan were owned by Disney, but they're not. Disney only pays the restaurant a set price for each meal purchased via the dining plan. Other posters here have quoted that price as somewhere in the $22-$25 range. That includes tax and the mandatory 18% tip paid to the server. Using the lobster tails at Cap'n Jacks as an example, the regular menu price of that entree is $31.99 (from AllEars menus). Already the cost of that meal is $7-$10 over what Disney is going to pay to Cap'n Jacks for that person's meal. Add on the appetizer (average price ~$8), dessert (average price ~$5), and drink (probably ~$2), 6% tax, and 18% tip for the server and you're up to ~$58. Even knowing that the menu prices at restaurants are nowhere near the actual cost of the food, these menu prices are how a restaurant makes a profit. Being paid only $25 of what would normally be a $58 bill causes a loss of profit for the restaurant. Disney, the corporation, is who ultimately makes money off of the dining plan because it gets more people to stay on-site, spend more time on Disney property, etc. The actual costs of the meals really has nothing to do with their profits/losses, it's the bigger "goal" of getting more people to stay on-site that makes their profits for them. A restaurant that is not owned by Disney does not benefit at all from the Disney Corp's added profits.

You may say restaurants do not have to participate in the dining plan, but if they don't they run the risk of losing the little profit they may be getting from the dining plan payouts, depending on how popular the plan becomes and what percentage of Disney guests are using it.

It sucks for the people who choose to pay out of pocket for their meals that many of the more expensive menu items are being removed because restaurants cannot afford to keep serving them for Disney's low-ball dining plan payback.

I am curious where you got your info on how much Disney is paying these Restaurants they do not own for the meals on the Dining plan. Also what is your opinion on what affect adults eating TS meals and getting very expensive items such as you described and used a child's credit to get it. Does that make the situation even worse since that meal was paid for out of a 10.99 meal plan.

 

[Lewisc]

I am curious where you got your info on how much Disney is paying these Restaurants they do not own for the meals on the Dining plan. Also what is your opinion on what affect adults eating TS meals and getting very expensive items such as you described and used a child's credit to get it. Does that make the situation even worse since that meal was paid for out of a 10.99 meal plan.

If you're by the register at a place like Chefs De France when they ring up your bill you can actually see the register apply a discount which lowers the bill down to the amount Disney is paying them. The copy of the receipt we get just says 0. Earl of Sandwich, CS, actually showed a MYW discount on the bill to bring it down to what Disney is paying them. I also so the discount lowering my CS bill at PM.

One of the wait staff confirmed this, some of the restaurants base their tip on the amount Disney is paying the restaurant and not on the total amount of the bill.

TS credits are TS credits. Disney doesn't, pay the restaurant less if the credit was paid for at the child rate since the computer doesn't keep track of it. For one guest the restaurant may come out ahead. Assume 2A and 1C. The restaurant probably does slightly better getting paid by Disney for 2A meals and getting paid cash for one child meal rather than getting paid by Disney for 2A and 1C meal. For multiple visits this results in a 33% increase in credits so it will lead to more total guest meals under MYW Dining.

 

[Lisa_M]

I agree with the poster who talked about the rack room rates. Disney makes alot off of its fans in other ways. I understand that some privately owned restaurants may lose money from those on the DP, but that is their perogative. They have the choice to participate in DP or not, and they must believe that it is beneficial to them. We have the dining plan for our June 4th honeymoon, and if the menu was limited, we wouldn't do it. I wouldn't want to be held to a burger, cheesesteak or cobb salad or something else that is deemed cost effective by the restaurant.

In the end, I go to Disney movies, watch ABC, ESPN, buy collectible figurines, souvenoirs on property, overpriced bottles of water, soda and other snacks, and am spending over 500 dollars on park tickets. If they can't recoup the DP cost through some of their other business ventures, then I just plain don't care.

 

[formernyer]

There is a reason the restaurants are willing to participate in the plan even though they are getting much lower sales prices on each dish they serve. The reason is VOLUME!

First off, "most" people who eat on the dining plan are not going to order lobster just because it's the most expensive thing on the menu. People order what the like or what they are in the mood for. Some people will order lobster, but some will order chicken. Most people, in fact, will NOT order the lobster. It's possible that the restaurant might be only breaking even on their own cost when they sell the lobster meal at the $25 price they were paid by Disney, but it MORE THAN evens out in the end because of volume. These restaurants are now booked to capacity every single day from the minute they open until the minute they close. It wasn't that way before the DDP. Not only are all of the tables now booked to capacity, but people are more likely to drink than they were before and there is a LOT of profit in sales of alcholic beverages.

Oversimplified summary of why I think the restaurants participate:
If I sell 10 widgets at a $10 profit per widget I'd make $100.
If I sell 100 widgets at a $2 profit per widget I'd make $200.
Sometimes it's better to lower the markup on things if you know you'll still have better profits in the end.

 

[Lewisc]

In general your analysis make sense. BUT when there are only one or two one TS restaurants that serve lobster your analysis falls short. Lobster is probably the only entrée in which the cost of the food is much higher and it take more kitchen time than other entrées.

Teppanyaki was known as the one credit restaurant to get lobster with MYW Dining. There were numerous posts of families going there and only ordering lobster. A common punchline for your analysis is a business that loses money on every transaction but makes it up on volume. I agree not everyone is going to be ordering the most expensive veal dish in a restaurant, some guests prefer chicken BUT it got to the point where EVERY MYW Dining guest who wanted lobster went to Teppanyaki. There were many posts from guests who never had lobster but wanted to try it for free.

I can understand why Teppanyaki had to remove lobster as a listed entree.

There is a reason the restaurants are willing to participate in the plan even though they are getting much lower sales prices on each dish they serve. The reason is VOLUME!

First off, "most" people who eat on the dining plan are not going to order lobster just because it's the most expensive thing on the menu. People order what the like or what they are in the mood for. Some people will order lobster, but some will order chicken. Most people, in fact, will NOT order the lobster. It's possible that the restaurant might be only breaking even on their own cost when they sell the lobster meal at the $25 price they were paid by Disney, but it MORE THAN evens out in the end because of volume. These restaurants are now booked to capacity every single day from the minute they open until the minute they close. It wasn't that way before the DDP. Not only are all of the tables now booked to capacity, but people are more likely to drink than they were before and there is a LOT of profit in sales of alcholic beverages.

Oversimplified summary of why I think the restaurants participate:
If I sell 10 widgets at a $10 profit per widget I'd make $100.
If I sell 100 widgets at a $2 profit per widget I'd make $200.
Sometimes it's better to lower the markup on things if you know you'll still have better profits in the end.

 

[formernyer]

ok, i can understand where you're coming from now. i wasn't aware that only two restaurants served the lobster. i figured it was like the filet mignon where it was on the menu at most places (i tend to completely overlook all seafood when i review menus because my kids and i all hate seafood of any kind).

if only two of the participating restaurants serve lobster then it seems completely realistic that there would be a disproportionate volume of lobster being purchased under the plan and i could understand excluding it from the plan.

my concern would be that other restaurants will follow with "special exclusions."

i think one easy way around this problem is for disney to impose two new restrictions on the plan...one for the restaurants and one for the patrons.

RESTAURANT RULE - you may not exclude any single-portion menu item from the DDP

PATRON RULE - DDP plan includes all meals priced at $27 or less. Customers agree to pay any amount over the $27 limit out of pocket.

 

[pedro2112]

Interesting thread. The OP heard a rumour about a lobster exclusion at a one TS restaurant, which was quickly debunked in the first few posts. Yet people still are arguing about how one cannot get the lobster on the dining plan (which they clearly can.)

Reminds me of the threads stating that "add-ons" are not allowed on the dining plan, which came as a complete surprise to me as we were able to obtain them when we used the plan.

 

[DaisyD]

Interesting thread. The OP heard a rumour about a lobster exclusion at a one TS restaurant, which was quickly debunked in the first few posts. Yet people still are arguing about how one cannot get the lobster on the dining plan (which they clearly can.)

Reminds me of the threads stating that "add-ons" are not allowed on the dining plan, which came as a complete surprise to me as we were able to obtain them when we used the plan.

I haven't seen it debunked at all. Someone else said it wasn't. That isn't debunking. That is heresay. It is obvious that lobster is disappearing or at least having a surcharge at some of the restaurants. It is at LeCellier. Read the boards. Everyone is looking for lobster! LOL! So I do believe that lobster will probably be gone from all restaurants soon.

 

[shellgirl]

I still don't know if you can get lobster at CapnJacks or not? Some say yes and some say No. Maybe it depends on the server you get. It seems to me that everyone seems to have different experiences at the same places so I have to just assume it has to do with your server. I just said forget about it and booked at Coral Reef instead. I would like to get lobster if it is allowed but I did not get the DDP just to get lobster! We are driving 9 hours to get to WDW and spend a week onsite and just don't want to leave the resort to eat out at night. We felt that we would have spent an average of $100 day on food for the four of us anyway so why not buy the plan. I just think it is hard to book reservations to restaurants based off menus not knowing what you are allowed or not allowed. I want to know up front what I am getting and not be surprised after I get there that I can't have something. Who wants to be disappointed that way. If they want to exclude things then they need to put it in writing for those buying the plan. Restaurants have the choice to change menus and I know they are not written in stone but it is nice to know what you can get where in advance. I am curious about how the servers are tipped though! I would hate to feel like they are getting screwed out of the deal. I'm sure we will tip more if they are great and if we buy add ons OOP. Are they tipped off the flate rate or the amount of what your meal would have been?

 

[Lisa_M]

18% gratuity is included in the meal plan. So, tipping anything more is simply a personal decision. I assume they are tipped off of whatever the amount disney pays to that restaurant for ts credits. I don't know how much that is.

 

[byoung]

Had the rack of ribs in early March, it was great.

 

[pedro2112]

I haven't seen it debunked at all. Someone else said it wasn't. That isn't debunking. That is heresay

A board member posted that their sister was in WDW last week and ordered lobster on the dining plan at Captain Jack's. Unless you are calling another board member a liar (in a scenario in which it makes no sense to lie), then yes... you can still order lobster on the dining plan at Captain Jacks.

 

[hopesmommy]

A board member posted that their sister was in WDW last week and ordered lobster on the dining plan at Captain Jack's. Unless you are calling another board member a liar (in a scenario in which it makes no sense to lie), then yes... you can still order lobster on the dining plan at Captain Jacks.

Thank you perdo2112, you are right I am not a liar and this is not heresay. My Dsis was at WDW from March 4 to March 10 with her two DSs and DH. They waited until 10pm one night to eat at Capn Jacks and got the 2 lobster tails. She enjoyed it so much she called and told me how good it was because I would not wait to eat there in Sept 2005.

So for those of you that are still confused, as of that week YES you can get lobster. And for those of you that believe I am lying, call Capn Jacks or WDW Dining and ASK. ( I am ready...Flame on)