No FD Pins this summer....Aaahhhh!

[cheer25mom]

Originally Posted by davedmaine

No you don't!! People think that but it's simply not true. A room discount will save you more $$$$.

Definitely untrue for us. We are 2A1C and always save twice as much with FD as with room only discount. We stay at moderates and even wher they offer 30%, which is rare, FD is still by far the better deal. We tend to enjoy a sit down meal every night and like to order desserts so DP fits the way we eat. We are doing room only this June, but FD would save us about $700 MORE than room only.

[bartleby1]

Originally Posted by davedmaine

No you don't!! People think that but it's simply not true. A room discount will save you more $$$$.

When my kids were little we saved more using a room discount and ate counter service only. Now that my kids are older (13, 11, and 8), the only one who eats like a kid is my 8 year old. We stay at POR which is roughly $200 a night. The current room discount is only 20% off (roughly $40 a night). I can't even feed my family of 5 ONE counter service meal for that! Free dining is definitely better for us but sadly it looks like it won't be offered for our dates.

[Susan & Jessica]

I have heard that the PIN offers are sent to people who have not visited Disney in recent years...as an incentive to get them back to the World.. I think this is probably correct as a few years ago I booked for my niece and her family to go at the same time as my family. When I booked I used my email address so that her itinerary would come to me. Since then I have received several PIN offers addressed to her. Of course, since it is addressed to her, she must be the one using the offer

[smitch425]

Originally Posted by Susan & Jessica

I have heard that the PIN offers are sent to people who have not visited Disney in recent years...as an incentive to get them back to the World.. I think this is probably correct as a few years ago I booked for my niece and her family to go at the same time as my family. When I booked I used my email address so that her itinerary would come to me. Since then I have received several PIN offers addressed to her. Of course, since it is addressed to her, she must be the one booking the offer

PINs can be sent to anyone at anytime. We go every year and still get them. To my knowledge, there has only been one PIN sent out this year so far, but it expired long ago. Hoping for another round to go out in the next couple of weeks, but who knows??? They have been wacky with their discounts this year.

[karenfb]

Originally Posted by Susan & Jessica

I have heard that the PIN offers are sent to people who have not visited Disney in recent years...as an incentive to get them back to the World.. I think this is probably correct as a few years ago I booked for my niece and her family to go at the same time as my family. When I booked I used my email address so that her itinerary would come to me. Since then I have received several PIN offers addressed to her. Of course, since it is addressed to her, she must be the one using the offer

I also go every year and have used one each summer for free dining for the last 3 years and I have received them for times I can't go as well. I know Disney well so the only incentive for me to go again this year was the free dining. This actually motivates me to explore other options.

[turnlisa]

Originally Posted by smitch425

PINs can be sent to anyone at anytime. We go every year and still get them. To my knowledge, there has only been one PIN sent out this year so far, but it expired long ago. Hoping for another round to go out in the next couple of weeks, but who knows??? They have been wacky with their discounts this year.

We go every year and received our PIN in January. It was a combination of 2 PINS - one for a room only discount for early in the year and also 8/11 - 9/28. The second PIN was for free dining but only for January - March.

I think the days of free dining are gone. I was happy with the discoun for August - September. Saved me almost $1500 so was a definite plus for us!

[Mousemommy1]

Originally Posted by karenfb

No it won't. I have done the math. The free dining will save me $1900. We are a family of 5 and we all count as adults.

Yes, it really depends on the individual situations. We have a family of four, 2A, 2C. Free dining only saves us $1400, while our 40% off saves us $2600. Plus, the fact that the DDP makes us pay for a certain amount of food, that we don't even eat, we take room only discount any day. Now, we can eat what we like and I am free to order an appetizer for a meal if I feel like it (and I often do). Or, we can share meals if we chose. It's a better type of FREE dining (as in free from the DDP constraints). Plus, we have TiW, so were saving 20% off food and alcohol beverages. Room discount works MUCH better for us.

[mickeynut1]

Originally Posted by davedmaine

No you don't!! People think that but it's simply not true. A room discount will save you more $$$$.

Not true in every situation. Every family is different and some save more money with a RO discount, while others save more with free dining as it depends on several factors (i.e., number of people, their ages, time of year, resort/room type, etc). Many people think just because you have to pay rack rate to get free dining, that free dining isn't a deal. That is not true at all. Everyone needs to run the numbers and figure out which is the better deal for their family. We stay deluxe and sometimes free dining comes out to be the better deal for our family over a RO discount, so it's not cut and dry as to which is the better discount.

Originally Posted by smitch425

You can't possibly know that a room discount will save more money for them than free dining. Free dining can save several hundred more dollars than a room discount depending on their party size, their ages, and the level of resort they stay in.

I totally agree .

Originally Posted by harleyquinn

I think they are referring to the fact that you can eat at Disney for MUCH less than what the dining plan costs. You don't have to eat at a TS every day or pay tips for them every day.

People have gotten hooked into thinking they have to eat a certain way at Disney to save money.

A room discount and paying out of pocket for quick service meals without desserts can be a lot cheaper than free dining. Is it as luxurious? No, but you can still go to Disney World.

You are correct that getting a room discount and paying OOP for CS meals can be cheaper, but that also can add up for a family and cost alot. We eat on vacation comparable to how we eat out at home. We don't go out every night at home, but we do go out enough that when we're on vacation, we enjoy a TS every night of our trip. Anybody can cut costs for a vacation, but people need to realize that not every family is the same and what saves money for one, might not necessarily save for the other without changing the way you vacation.