Free Dinning thought..

[Tbiafore]

With this years free dinning window shrunk down to a smaller window over previous years from 9/2 to 9/25, the window of time that people capitalize/wait for this essentially pushes more people into this smaller window...which should in theory, increase crowd levels for those days, destroy the prediction calendars, etc....Do you feel this is accurate?

--Thor

 

[JRawkSteady]

If you think that many people fall for the "free dining" scam and base their whole trip around it...paying rack rates for their hotels, then yeah. Crowd calenders usually take all this into effect though anyway.

 

[ArwenMarie]

With this years free dinning window shrunk down to a smaller window over previous years from 9/2 to 9/25, the window of time that people capitalize/wait for this essentially pushes more people into this smaller window...which should in theory, increase crowd levels for those days, destroy the prediction calendars, etc....Do you feel this is accurate?

--Thor

I think it's a possibility, especially because the window is so short as of now compared to past years. I could see people moving their trips to Sept, from either August or October (if they are able to!).

 

[darnheather]

If you think that many people fall for the "free dining" scam and base their whole trip around it...paying rack rates for their hotels, then yeah. Crowd calenders usually take all this into effect though anyway.

It wasn't a scam for us. I did the math and we came out way far ahead with free dining.

 

[rhpools]

I agree. We always get the best deal with free dining, but we always stay value.

 

[Tbiafore]

If you think that many people fall for the "free dining" scam and base their whole trip around it...paying rack rates for their hotels, then yeah. Crowd calenders usually take all this into effect though anyway.

Not sure where you got this information from...My trip dropped drastically when this came out and due to me having the flexibility to change dates, I canceled my previous trip which wasnt during this window and rescheduled. Saved thousands....Doesnt sound or feel like a scam to me...

--Thor

 

[Tbiafore]

I am just mostly concerned about the potential for a record breaking September due to Dining dates being much shorter (baiting people into a tighter window).

--Thor

 

[lauradis]

Not sure where you got this information from...My trip dropped drastically when this came out and due to me having the flexibility to change dates, I canceled my previous trip which wasnt during this window and rescheduled. Saved thousands....Doesnt sound or feel like a scam to me...

--Thor

They meant free dinning is a scam, because its over prices for what most people would normally order if they didn't feel like if was "free". plus you give up discount on room price for "free dinning"

 

[darnheather]

They meant free dinning is a scam, because its over prices for what most people would normally order if they didn't feel like if was "free". plus you give up discount on room price for "free dinning"

Yes I know exactly what they meant. And I still say it isn't a scam. We are military and still staying at a moderate with free dining package was the cheapest option for us. I don't like to worry about what I order on vacation and kids like character meals.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

If you think that many people fall for the "free dining" scam and base their whole trip around it...paying rack rates for their hotels, then yeah. Crowd calenders usually take all this into effect though anyway.

This "scam" works a whole lot better for a family of four Disney adults than a measly 5% or 10% room discount! Believe me....I'm a number crunching, bargain hunting, coupon clipping, penny pinching, dollar saving mom and I've done my homework...and then some!

It may be a "scam" for a couple staying at a deluxe resort who get a great room discount. But for us families struggling to give our kids a trip to Disney, staying at Values (or now Moderates), and wanting to do some of the special dinners, it's a HUGE savings!

 

[Disneylifeforme]

Believer in the dinning plan. I love the fact that its all ready paid and I don't have a coronary when my child ask for a $4.99 ice cream.

 

[chrystalc77]

Believer in the dinning plan. I love the fact that its all ready paid and I don't have a coronary when my child ask for a $4.99 ice cream.

Love that!!!! I felt like having a coronary when my youngest DS wanted a bag of gummies in the food court until DH reminded me that he could use that as one of his snack credits! Love those credits for just that reason!!!

 

[Marionnette]

With this years free dinning window shrunk down to a smaller window over previous years from 9/2 to 9/25, the window of time that people capitalize/wait for this essentially pushes more people into this smaller window...which should in theory, increase crowd levels for those days, destroy the prediction calendars, etc....Do you feel this is accurate?

--Thor

Not everyone who visits the parks stays onsite. Free dining does not influence their decision as to when to visit Disney. Plus, there are a finite number of Disney resort rooms that are available through the deal. I think that the smaller booking window will not have a major impact on crowds. The Sept crowd calendar on easywdw.com was updated on 5/14/13 . Free Dining was announced on 5/6/13. They took the new dates into account when they updated their calendar.

 

[darnheather]

Not everyone who visits the parks stays onsite. Free dining does not influence their decision as to when to visit Disney. Plus, there are a finite number of Disney resort rooms that are available through the deal. I think that the smaller booking window will not have a major impact on crowds. The Sept crowd calendar on easywdw.com was updated on 5/14/13 . Free Dining was announced on 5/6/13. They took the new dates into account when they updated their calendar.

I was just thinking about this last night. Free dining might increase the number of people staying on site during those dates but will have no effect on people staying off site and because schools are in all over the country off site visitors will be in the lowest numbers more than off setting the increase in on site. BTW does Disney offer all rooms with free dining during this time or only set aside a certain percentage?

 

[Marionnette]

I was just thinking about this last night. Free dining might increase the number of people staying on site during those dates but will have no effect on people staying off site and because schools are in all over the country off site visitors will be in the lowest numbers more than off setting the increase in on site. BTW does Disney offer all rooms with free dining during this time or only set aside a certain percentage?

They only set aside a certain number. In fact, they may not include all resorts and may even exclude certain rooms within a participating resort (i.e. no LM rooms at AoA or no suites at the deluxe resorts).

They will also have different booking codes for the same offer but for different demographics. Disney Visa cardholders have access to a different block of rooms than the general public and people who got PIN codes have yet another block of rooms available to them. They could all be for free dining. Sometimes people will see rooms available at the rack rate but the same room is not available with free dining. It's because when Disney has discount offers, they limit the number of rooms available for the discount.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

I don't think free dining is scam either. The only time any kind of room discount is better than free dining is if it is only 2 ppl and you are staying in a deluxe room that is more than $300 a night and you get a 35% off room discount. Or if you are a person who hates the dining plan and couldn't care less how much it saves you. You don't want it and you will use a room discount every time.

When all 5 of us go and we get free dining with all 5 of us being considered adults it saves us a ton of money.

Both times we have stayed in a family suite at ASMu for around $240 a night. a 10% room discount (which is usually all you get at a value) would have saved us $24.

Getting free QSDP for 5 adults saved us $200 a day.

Even when we took the free QSDP and upgraded it to the DDP it still saved us a ton of money. There is never going to be any kind of room discount that beats that free dining savings.

Both of our trips we had booked with no discount. rack rate. because we had picked our dates and that is when we were going, discount or no discount. So when the free dining came out that applied to our dates of the trip we already had booked and paid for, it was a genuine free dining plan with plenty of free food that didn't cost us a dime more than what we already paid for our package.

Some ppl think it is a crime to pay rack rate for a room no matter how much free dining would save you. They would rather take $40 a day off their room and spend $200 a day paying for their food out of pocket. You will never convince those ppl that free dining is a better deal.

But I also know there are a ton of ppl who DO plan when they take their vacation around free dining dates. Most of those ppl will post on here and say they can't even go to Disney unless they get free dining. So those ppl will absolutely change around dates to make sure they get free dining.

But since they only allow so many rooms at each resort to be sold using the free dining promo I really don't think it will swell park crowds beyond what it would have already been. September is a slower month because it is heavy hurricane season with a lot of rain, high heat and humidity. So they need to lure ppl in during that month.

 

[buckeev]

Color me scammed then. ...DDP, (Free or not), works very well for us. I realize that's not always the case for everyone, so each family should thoroughly crunch their numbers. Free is MUCH better of course, even if I hafta miss any AP or other room discounts. Family of five-eating NUMEROUS character meals-runs up a serious meal tab!
My best guess, for what it's worth, is that the crowds for this fall's promo will only increase a bit due to the promo. As PPs have said, The Diz limits room counts allocated for the free dining, plus so many of us that can't take the kids out of school for that many days.

Can't wait 'til DECEMBER-Christmas & New Year's in Orlando!!!

 

[darnheather]

They only set aside a certain number. In fact, they may not include all resorts and may even exclude certain rooms within a participating resort (i.e. no LM rooms at AoA or no suites at the deluxe resorts).

They will also have different booking codes for the same offer but for different demographics. Disney Visa cardholders have access to a different block of rooms than the general public and people who got PIN codes have yet another block of rooms available to them. They could all be for free dining. Sometimes people will see rooms available at the rack rate but the same room is not available with free dining. It's because when Disney has discount offers, they limit the number of rooms available for the discount.

Thanks! I feel more grateful than ever that I managed to get in and to the exact resort I wanted! I think I booked a week after free dining was announced to the public. Knowing a bottom line price before we go is so reassuring to me that I'd probably do it without the free. But then again I'd probably go off site and be super frugal by taking in sandwiches and eating other meals in the room. Anyway, this is the best vacation option I could think of for my family.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

It wasn't a scam for us. I did the math and we came out way far ahead with free dining.

I agree.

This "scam" works a whole lot better for a family of four Disney adults than a measly 5% or 10% room discount! Believe me....I'm a number crunching, bargain hunting, coupon clipping, penny pinching, dollar saving mom and I've done my homework...and then some!

It may be a "scam" for a couple staying at a deluxe resort who get a great room discount. But for us families struggling to give our kids a trip to Disney, staying at Values (or now Moderates), and wanting to do some of the special dinners, it's a HUGE savings!

Yup. For us (me, DW, DD16, DS13) getting free dining is a dream come true. My teenagers can flat out eat, and having free DDP means everyone can just eat and eat to their heart's desire. I have made the ADRs which we will all enjoy, but I imagine DW and I may even wind up deferring some of our QS credits or snacks so that the kids will be sure to have plenty.

 

[angelmav]

We went in September a few years ago when Free Dining was offered (we stayed Off site).

Parks were really light. Hardly any lines. Very managable. Restaurants however were packed.