*Free* Dining is available - but it might not be what you want to hear!

[Misha72683]

But, is the dining plan worth $200/day to you?

For us, it is.

As an example, on Wed we're using two of our TS credits (no TS on the first day) and having breakfast at H&V which would be roughly a $100 for the five of us (since baby eats free) and dinner at Tepan Edo which would be roughly $140 out of pocket (not including baby, who will likely share with his brother). So we're at over $200, though obviously that is our more expensive day.

Our only other set day we're doing BOG lunch and Ohana dinner. BOG lunch would be roughly $70 OOP (not taking the baby into consideration) and Ohana will be around $140, so we're looking at $210.

Plus, we would have gotten resort mugs anyway (at least for DH and bff) so that adds up to $7 a day just for their mugs (I consider mine and our older son's a bonus). Plus snacks (and we plan to use at least some of our sanck credits during F&W).

We alway order soft drink with meals. We usually order desert. We're planning on a lot of buffets for our TS credits. Fr these reasons, the DDP works for us (plus having it paid off and not having to stress about the exchange rate, etc.), but I understand that it's not the case for everyone. I think it's a very individual decision.

 

[scard192]

But are you really feeding your family all the I meals on the dining plan? Are you accounting for a third meal? Snacks, water, coffee, sodas? Alcohol? Tips for those table service meals?

we usually share 2 snack credit items for breakfast and do ship case of water to the resort but would do that dining plan or not. We get the refillable mugs to use for soda, coffee etc at the resort and the dining plan meals all come with a drink. FD at a value is the QS plan and am looking forward to not having to worry about getting to an ADR on time. Will only book one TS meal that would include a tip and I have Disney Visa card and the rewards will pay for that meal includiing tips.

everyone's family if different, FD works for mine, I know it doesn't for everyone.

 

[cjbcam]

Free dining is definitely the best for our family. With 4 (disney adults) and 2 kids the savings is huge. I also find that with the free dining I order what I want not the cheapest thing on the menu. We are fine having 2 meals a day on holidays. We usually eat more at each sitting than we would at home so it kind of balances the caloric intake. If the kids get hungry we always have fruit available.
We also love the table service places. It's a nice break and part of the experience.
I do think most people run the numbers and find what deal works best for them.

 

[amylevan]

I think part of the draw people subconsciously feel is being able to say, "hey I"m eating this meal for free". It just sounds better than saying, "hey I got 30% off of my hotel room".

 

[LilyWDW]

*Shrug*

I have free dining from a bounce back for this upcoming October at POFQ. In my case it is WELL worth it as POFQ rarely ends up discounted in any way for the dates I travel. I would NEVER buy the dining plan, but in this case having it for free does save me a ton of money.

Does it work for all people? No. But it does work for some. TO act like it doesn't is just pushing your own view on things onto others without taking into account their specific situation.

 

[supersnoop]

For us, it is.

As an example, on Wed we're using two of our TS credits (no TS on the first day) and having breakfast at H&V which would be roughly a $100 for the five of us (since baby eats free) and dinner at Tepan Edo which would be roughly $140 out of pocket (not including baby, who will likely share with his brother). So we're at over $200, though obviously that is our more expensive day.

Our only other set day we're doing BOG lunch and Ohana dinner. BOG lunch would be roughly $70 OOP (not taking the baby into consideration) and Ohana will be around $140, so we're looking at $210.

Plus, we would have gotten resort mugs anyway (at least for DH and bff) so that adds up to $7 a day just for their mugs (I consider mine and our older son's a bonus). Plus snacks (and we plan to use at least some of our sanck credits during F&W).

We alway order soft drink with meals. We usually order desert. We're planning on a lot of buffets for our TS credits. Fr these reasons, the DDP works for us (plus having it paid off and not having to stress about the exchange rate, etc.), but I understand that it's not the case for everyone. I think it's a very individual decision.

You're using two days worth of TS credits and only get $240 worth of value out of them that day?

 

[Marionnette]

I have a question for the *free* dining enthusiasts:

Would you pay the OOP cost for any of the dining plans? IOW, do you feel that they are worth the price tag that Disney puts on them?

 

[Misha72683]

You're using two days worth of TS credits and only get $240 worth of value out of them that day?

Breakfast is never a good a deal, but I don't want to do a TS lunch and we're doing MNSSHP on our first night and will be grabbing QS.

The DDP costs $60 per day for adults and $20 per day for children. I think it's been said that the value of a QS credit for adult is about $15, I already calculated the mug to be over $3 a day, and we'll say the snack credit is worth $5. That means the adult value of a TS credit is around $37. For a child we'll say both QS and TS are worth $6.

By that math, two TS meals for our family have a value of $234, so I'm not losing any money with my $240.

Especially since it didn't cost me any extra. My original point was I was always staying at a value or moderate. I was always going to get park hoppers and I had already decided to purchase the DDP. All FDing did was make it so that I didn't have to pay for one of these things and no room discount on a value or moderate was going to have the same price value as FDing. At least for is.

 

[Misha72683]

I have a question for the *free* dining enthusiasts:

Would you pay the OOP cost for any of the dining plans? IOW, do you feel that they are worth the price tag that Disney puts on them?

Yes. We were always going to get the DDP. For us it's worth not having to stress about cost, budget every penny and worry about exchange. The DDP means our meals are (mostly) paid for ahead of time.

 

[Marionnette]

Yes. We were always going to get the DDP. For us it's worth not having to stress about cost, budget every penny and worry about exchange. The DDP means our meals are (mostly) paid for ahead of time.

Couldn't you "pre-pay" for your meals by just purchasing a few Disney GCs before you go?

 

[Misha72683]

Couldn't you "pre-pay" for your meals by just purchasing a few Disney GCs before you go?

I could (though I'm not actually sure where I'd get them) but for me I'd be constantly aware of how much was on the GC and the fact it could also cover souveneirs and I'd still stress about my meals. I respect that for some that's a great strategy, but for me, on this trip, I want to relax and know my meals are covered. The DDP lets me do that.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I have a question for the *free* dining enthusiasts:

Would you pay the OOP cost for any of the dining plans? IOW, do you feel that they are worth the price tag that Disney puts on them?

No I wouldn't. I know I can eat cheaper especially because we don't need sodas and we don't need a dessert with every meal and honestly we don't need more than 1 or 2 table service meals per trip.

But I am staying in a moderate. I did the math for my trip the maximum RO discount would be about $254 for 5 nights. My 5 night/6 day trip with the RO discount and 6 day base tickets with MM would be $1711.21. The trip I booked still in a standard room in a moderate, still 5 nights/6days, still with MM but now with PH is $2018.53. The different between them is $307.32, and sure we could eat for that price for our 6 days but we couldn't eat 5 table service meals, 5 counter service meals and 5 snacks for that price. Either with or without the DDP we will be bringing snack and breakfast foods to supplement, we are driving so it's a non-issue.

And this trip is just for two of us. The difference between the two discounts only widens for larger parties.

 

[scard192]

I have a question for the *free* dining enthusiasts:

Would you pay the OOP cost for any of the dining plans? IOW, do you feel that they are worth the price tag that Disney puts on them?

NO way. QS is ~ $42/night x 3 of us = $126/day. not worth it for us.

 

[Marionnette]

No I wouldn't. I know I can eat cheaper especially because we don't need sodas and we don't need a dessert with every meal and honestly we don't need more than 1 or 2 table service meals per trip.

But I am staying in a moderate. I did the math for my trip the maximum RO discount would be about $254 for 5 nights. My 5 night/6 day trip with the RO discount and 6 day base tickets with MM would be $1711.21. The trip I booked still in a standard room in a moderate, still 5 nights/6days, still with MM but now with PH is $2018.53. The different between them is $307.32, and sure we could eat for that price for our 6 days but we couldn't eat 5 table service meals, 5 counter service meals and 5 snacks for that price. Either with or without the DDP we will be bringing snack and breakfast foods to supplement, we are driving so it's a non-issue.

And this trip is just for two of us. The difference between the two discounts only widens for larger parties.

I understand that for some families it makes more fiscal sense to go with the *free* dining (even with having to pay rack rates and purchase hopping or WPF&M addons). I even understand people who prefer the convenience of pre-paying for their meals by purchasing the dining plan (to a certain extent).

However, I see people saying that *free* dining "saved" them $61 pp/night (the cost of an adult regular dining plan) when they would not pay that price any other time of the year. I compare it to some of the cable company bundles that include *free* HBO and other goodies that you normally wouldn't add to your service. Sure, Comcast normally charges $15/month for HBO, but if I bundle my services to include a landline that I don't need, I get the HBO for free! It might still be cheaper to have a landline + internet + cable TV than it is to just have internet + cable TV w/HBO, but that doesn't mean that I'm saving $15/month.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I understand that for some families it makes more fiscal sense to go with the *free* dining (even with having to pay rack rates and purchase hopping or WPF&M addons). I even understand people who prefer the convenience of pre-paying for their meals by purchasing the dining plan (to a certain extent).

However, I see people saying that *free* dining "saved" them $61 pp/night (the cost of an adult regular dining plan) when they would not pay that price any other time of the year. I compare it to some of the cable company bundles that include *free* HBO and other goodies that you normally wouldn't add to your service. Sure, Comcast normally charges $15/month for HBO, but if I bundle my services to include a landline that I don't need, I get the HBO for free! It might still be cheaper to have a landline + internet + cable TV than it is to just have internet + cable TV w/HBO, but that doesn't mean that I'm saving $15/month.

Absolutely I totally agree with you. I am shocked that people are willing to pay more for something free that they would have never bought, such as an upgraded room. Had I not been able to get a standard room at the resort I wanted I would not have gone. This is why I always recommend people price the room they want and the resort the want at rack rate, otherwise you won't know if you are truly getting the best deal. And I totally understand what people are saying when they say it isn't free. It is merely a discount with wording to pull people in.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Whenever we had the dining plan the $$$ is all we thought about. We had to get the most value out of the money we had spent. On our 2 week honeymoon, I can't tell you the number of steaks that I had but I know it was in the double digits.

The way we work around it now is by purchasing gift cards ahead of time (usually at a small discount, target/sams/etc...) and using the TIW card. I know not everyone can do that, but it has let us enjoy our meal time. As others have said, each family just needs to figure out what works for them.

I think I would worry more about maximizing the value of the DDP. Most of our past trips have all been with free dining. We usually stay at a moderate and the RO discount would only save us ~$50/night. I know I'm going to spend more than that on food a day, so I consider free dining to be a good deal and don't worry about eating at the most expensive places or eating the most expensive things. We generally eat where we want. Since we go during F&W, we do try to maximize the value of our snack credits though. If it's $3.50 or less we'll probably pay OOP.

All snacks drinks and coffee are not included. You get 1 snack per person per day. 1 drinks per persons per meal. If you need a bottle of water or a coffee the parks, you have to use a snack credit or pay out of pocket. And 2 quick service meals per day is just that, 2 meals per day. You have a 3rd meal each a to account for.

Like others have said, we generally eat breakfast in our room. We might have one or two breakfast ADRs during our stay. We drive so we have no problems bringing breakfast items and a case of water. And all of CS location offer free water.

I have a question for the *free* dining enthusiasts:

Would you pay the OOP cost for any of the dining plans? IOW, do you feel that they are worth the price tag that Disney puts on them?

We would not pay OOP for the DDP. On our last trip we did a split stay. We had free didning for the first half of our trip and got a great room discount on the YC for the second half. On those days we paid OOP for our meals.

 

[5kidsmommy]

Oh and trust me if my budget would have allowed a deluxe resort with a big RO discount I totally would have done that but alas I need to keep my trip under a certain amount. The deluxe resort is totally on my Disney bucket list. Funny thing is I did the math also for a value resort and I would have paid less but I can't justify spending less on a resort that I have no interest in going too. If I can't afford the resort I want I'd rather not go.

 

[monica9]

I just dont get what all the fuss is about for FD...the room rate discount adds up to be the same in most all cases...its just nuts. Do people really think they are getting something for free??

The room rate would only save us about $300 whereas the FD saved us $700

 

[Disneylover99]

I have a question for the *free* dining enthusiasts:

Would you pay the OOP cost for any of the dining plans? IOW, do you feel that they are worth the price tag that Disney puts on them?

I wouldn't pay for the dining plan, because as I stated already, sometimes we don't use all of our credits. However, I feel like the dining plan could be a good value for some families, even if they are purchasing it. If you stick with mainly dinner buffets, and like to order the most expensive entrees on the menu, then the dining plan can be an awesome value.

 

[ELSA711]

We paid for dining plan last year and I think we had 8 QS meals left on our check out day we couldn't use, however we definitely utilized every penny of the TS meals. This year we did scored FD and saved almost 2K, well I guess it was like 1500 since we had to do hoppers, but that's okay. We saved and now if we don't utilize all the credits we still come out cheaper than last year.

I have 3 kids under 10 and we do character meal everyday. So right there is the $$ for us. If I price in 1 QS and 1 TS meal each day for us we break even. However then we'd be paying out of pocket for snacks and desserts which come with dining plan. That for our family for 10 days is about $350, we like snacks
Probably why we didn't eat the QS meals...lol