This article starts a new regular feature here at Only WDWorld called: Disney World BEYOND THE BOX.

These articles will look at ways Disney World can be done even better. Using a little "Out of the Box" thinking, we will take a different topic each time and propose ways that Disney could do it differently to achieve a better customer experience.

For it to be a good idea it has to create a win-win situation.

• Better experience for the guest.
• Makes sense business wise for Disney.
• It also has to be plausible that it could be implemented successfully.

Feel free to comment on a topic that you would like to see discussed in future articles.

We are focusing today on the Disney Dining Plan.

This Disney concept has gone through a number of iterations over the last several years. Some of the changes have been better received than others.

Today as the Disney Dining Plan stands, it currently has two classes of guest: Child (3-9) and Adult (10+).

The Disney Dining Plan is probably the best value when you have children that are in the 7-9 year age group. The price for children (3-9) is very reasonable and it makes it very enticing to purchase the Dining Plan option for your vacation.

Unfortunately, as soon as that 9 year old turns to 10, their daily rate for the Dining Plan goes from $10.99 to $39.99. That is a steep jump for a child that probably does not eat like an adult yet.

What I would like to propose is that Disney World creates a Junior/Senior classification for the Disney Dining Plan with a rate of around $29.99 per day.

The Junior/Senior would receive:

• 1 Counter Service Entrée or Combination meal with dessert and drink



• 1 snack



• 1 Table Service Restaurant Junior/Senior Portion Meal with dessert and non-alcoholic beverage.
  
  The only difference between this and a normal adult Dining Plan would be that Table Service meal would be a smaller portion. They would use the same menu as the standard adult meals. Buffet meals would be no different.
  
  This would take a lot of people off of the fence as whether to purchase the Dining Plan option or not.
  
  The Junior could be classified as 10-17 and the Senior as 62 and up. If someone was in these age groups, but would prefer the full size meals, then they can just purchase the Adult Dining Plan instead. They would have to choose at check-in which they will purchase for the duration of their stay.
  
  This proposed idea would give the Juniors and Seniors full access to the restaurant menus, but with a more reasonable portion size for the smaller appetites. It would give Disney World a larger group of people interested in participating in the Dining Plan, since the package makes more sense for people with Junior aged (10-17) children.
  
  So what do you think of this BEYOND THE BOX concept? Am I on to something or not? Let me hear from you.