When is 30% off better?

jalmgiven · May 5, 2015

Planning a trip for 2016 and was just wondering if there is a time when the 30% off is a better deal than the free dining?

The Details:
I am looking to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savanna view room in October. I have never stayed in a room above moderate level but am splurging as we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary that summer and I am surprising my husband with a fall trip to Disney World.
Actually any tips or ideas would be helpful.

dansdad · May 5, 2015

You really have to run the numbers yourself because it is different for every family. Having said that, in general:

If you're staying Deluxe and it's only 2 adults the 30% off will be best.

If you're a family of 4-5 Disney adults staying at a Value or Moderate, Free Dining will be best.

Again, these are generalities. Every family has to run the numbers themselves to see what is best.

bethclayton · May 5, 2015

free dining for my family of four "adults" saves us about $242 per night. many deluxe rooms at disney at 30+% off (i can get 37% with my AP) will save more than that per night. especially if you stay club level, then you get both a good discount and some food, as well. you just have to literally run the numbers for each scenario to know for sure what the best discount is for your scenario.

BellsFam · May 5, 2015

I found that like pp it depends on the number of people in your family...

For my family of 3 (and we prefer the deluxes) free dining is not worth it to us... The discount is better.

dmband · May 5, 2015

Depends what you eat too
Just because free dining might "save" and be worth (example) $200 a day. If you don't eat $200 worth of food then it's not saving you that money.
For my family, even with the quick service plan it isn't really worth it because we don't get dessert and such.
Now if you are doing sit down character meals a lot then sure it's good

msmama · May 5, 2015

For my family of 2 (1 adult, 1 child) room only discount is always better.

Not only does it save us more money but the dining plan doesn't work for the way we eat so take that into consideration as well. We don't like the QS desserts generally and we share a lot of meals and snacks rather than each of us eating 2 meals and a snack per day.

I'm also not one of those people that would order the cheapest thing on the menu rather than what I really wanted too.

So obviously every family and situation is different.

Jing · May 5, 2015

Hubs and I stayed CL at AKL on a 30% (maybe 35%?) discount in 2012 and it was a better deal than free dining. We actually added the DxDDP doing a signature for a late dinner and a regular TS around 11am each day. We saved well over 20% on meals vs OOP, even with calculating only about half the deserts and snacks (wound up using the credits on take-home treats) and subtracting the mugs whic we rarely used.

We would do a discount deluxe with DxDDP again, except I don't think Flying Fish would appreciate my toddler taking the name literally - regular DDP loaded with character meals is the better logistical plan these days!

jalmgiven · May 5, 2015

Thanks for all the tips. This will be my 8th time at Disney. I have done all 3 levels of the dining plan and I know for a certainty that I will not do the deluxe plan again as it's just too much food. As of right now if (and that's a big if) I was able to get 30% off in October that would be the better deal.
So here's hoping I get a pin code sent to me.

Oswin · May 5, 2015

Room discount is usually always better than free dining. Unless you travel with a large party of people ages 10+ that plan on eating at all the more expensive places (IE Character meals for the Plus Dining Plan or a lot of signatures if you upgrade to DDP) on property and making the most use out of that "free" dining plan, you're typically better off using the 30% room reservation and paying out of pocket to eat.

Jadyreen1282 · May 5, 2015

I think you usually get a better deal with 30% at any Deluxe if you're two people. Moderate is another story.

cakebaker · May 5, 2015

dmband said:
Depends what you eat too

This ^...We are the type that with a very few exceptions, eat counter service all the time. And we don't eat a lot. A mid morning breakfast, then late afternoon meal and maybe a snack later in the evenings is as much as any of us eat. Sometimes we don't even get that much in and just eat snacks during the day. We're not fond of spending a lot of time on dining.

Add that to the fact that we usually stay at a deluxe and free dining really never makes sense for us.

But as everyone says, it really depends on your personal circumstances.

buzznina · May 5, 2015

There are many factors that goes in to it, so you really have to run the numbers based on your family. We are AP holders and ever since they made it that you have to buy a 2 day ticket, the immediate OOP cost of tickets is to much, plus we only do 1-2 TS meals per trip. So even when we stay at a Mod we will take the RO discount over FD.

thr33boys · May 5, 2015

You might want to also consider renting dvc points as that can be a huge savings but you have to research it and see if it's for you.

gottalovepluto · May 6, 2015

I would be cautious about expecting 30% off savannah view and/or CLub level at AKL because the last couple times AKL has been 30-35% off but those rooms are specifically listed under "20-25%" (10% less off than the standard rooms). This is from the Summer 2015 offer & Spring 2015. I don't know about previous offers so I don't know if this usual or new.

Nancyg56 · May 6, 2015

I agree that you really need to run numbers specific to your family for any given discount. There is not cut and dried answer, and since each offer seems to be a little different than the one prior, you need to know what your family will actually use. For instance, th current free dining offer include hoppers and water parks. will your family use them> if not, this offer may not be the appropriate one for you. We have two rooms booked at the GF in August. One room is free dining that I scored with a BB, and it is the best option for that room. The other has a 30% off offfer in place, and is the best financial option for that room.

jalmgiven · May 6, 2015

thr33boys said:
You might want to also consider renting dvc points as that can be a huge savings but you have to research it and see if it's for you.

What are DVC Points?

gottalovepluto said:
I would be cautious about expecting 30% off savannah view and/or CLub level at AKL because the last couple times AKL has been 30-35% off but those rooms are specifically listed under "20-25%" (10% less off than the standard rooms). This is from the Summer 2015 offer & Spring 2015. I don't know about previous offers so I don't know if this usual or new.

Thanks. I always just assumed that the 30% off was for all rooms, will have to look into this more closely.

goofy4tink · May 6, 2015

You really need to sit down, pencil and paper in hand, and make a comparison. You need to figure out what you are likely to eat.....you've been to WDW enough times to know where and what you'll eat. When you make your comparisons, don't forget to add in the tips...a lot of people forget those and you need to add them to your free dining costs!
I have seldom found free dining to be worth it for me. And I very rarely get the dining plan. The only time I've done the dining plan was when we traveled with another couple and we went with the deluxe plan...had a big table service breakfast around 10 each day and then a two credit dinner in the evening. That was the only time the dining plan, free or otherwise, worked for us. I have a Table in Wonderland card (AP and fl residents can get it) that gives me 20% off most table service meals...even that wasn't as good as the deluxe dining plan that time around!!!
You really need to sit down and run those figures...that's about the only way you can be sure.

mom2AidanAndEli · May 6, 2015

We're 4 Disney "adults" and Free Dining is always the winner for us. We stay moderate. We do like having one TS a day.

We look at this way. Moderates are usually in the 25% room only discount, if you're lucky. And a room averages about $200 a night. (I like using round numbers!). So that discount would save me $50 a day. NO WAY am I feeding my family of four at Disney for $50 a day. People say it depends on how you eat. Well, no matter how we eat, we're not doing it for that amount!

vinotinto · May 6, 2015

*If* FD is offered during our dates (if I recall correctly, it has been offered during 4 of our previous trips between 2009 and 2014), I run the numbers to compare.

For us, staying deluxe (usually one of the cheaper deluxes, like BC, YC) with 2 adults and 2 kids, it has worked out cheaper to book with the room discount and pay for the DDP or DxDP (or pay OOP).

The more expensive the room, the more likely that you will do better with a room discount.
The fewer the number of adults, the more likely that you will do better with a room discount.

Staying at a value with 4 Disney adults? FD is better.
Staying at a deluxe with 2 adults? Room discount is usually better.
Staying at a moderate? Run the numbers and determine if you would get value out of the DDP.

My son turned 10 this year. FD is not offered for our dates, but it'll be interesting to see if it's offered in the future, how 3 adults and 1 child affects the equation, since there is a significant up-charge from child to adult.

Also, as Disney continues to limit promotions, FD or room discount may not be available, or room discounts may not be the full 30%, so it's important to compare once the promotions come out.

Babsy · May 6, 2015

When you are travelling solo and staying moderate or deluxe, the discount is usually better. This is especially true if you are not a big eater.

When is 30% off better?

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