Am I the only one hoping no free dining?

[llaxton]

I would also prefer a room discount...

 

[pepe of ohio]

We too wish it was stopped......never used it or cared for it. We rather have bigger room discounts and go back to the old way of getting a restaurant reservation on the day you were going to use it. Disney was so easy before this dining bologna, you found where you wanted to eat, walked up and got in, nothing in advance. Making reservations 180 days out.....I don't know what I want to eat or what time for tomorrow......hate schedules too. Sorry.

 

[sdmom]

We too wish it was stopped......never used it or cared for it. We rather have bigger room discounts and go back to the old way of getting a restaurant reservation on the day you were going to use it. Disney was so easy before this dining bologna, you found where you wanted to eat, walked up and got in, nothing in advance. Making reservations 180 days out.....I don't know what I want to eat or what time for tomorrow......hate schedules too. Sorry.

I don't even know what we will have for dinner tonight.

 

[Bouncin-Tigger]

We also are hoping that free dining isnt offered as much but understand why. We are frequent travelers to wdw 3-4 times yearly and have been for a long time and freed dining has made reservations a little more difficult but not to bad with the 180 day booking but during 90 day it was tougher. Also the slower times of year ( jan,may, sept, and early december) no longer exist, last year our mnnshp trip in sept was crazy, but I do wish everyone who needs or wants the discounts to get what they want.

 

[ols386]

I'd rather have room discounts than free dining.

 

[avahoneybee]

Disney should really stop calling it free dining, because it's not free.

 

[hammie59]

We went in spring (well after Easter) when the crowds at the parks were busy, but not crazy. There was no free dining at the time, but the "park hopper, waterparks and more" code was in place for those dates. Let me tell you, those restaurants were packed. I made my ADRs 180 days advance and still had trouble. So I can only imagine how free dining effects things.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Disney should really stop calling it free dining, because it's not free.

How so? Because you have to buy the package?

 

[iheartdolewhips]

I don't understand why a waiter wouldn't want a table with that is on the Dining Plan. We have dined with and without, when we dine without we usually spend less on a meal (no apps, split dessert, chicken instead of steak), which means less money for the waiter even if you are tipping 20%.

This is true for us too. We would cut costs like you mentioned and not eat as many table service meals without the dining plan. However, I think they dread people on the dining plan because there are a lot of people on the dining plan that don't tip well. Some just don't tip on the value of the meal they just ate, but many don't leave a tip at all. Some probably don't understand that the tip isn't included in their dining plan and others think they've already paid for the dining plan, they shouldn't have to pay more in tips. It's not right, but it happens and is why the servers often dislike the dining plan, even though many of us tip them well.

 

[3floridarays]

I would rather a good room discount than free dining, especially since, with all of the changes to the DP, "free" dining doesn't really feel like a good deal anymore. You have to pay rack rate for the hotel, the menus have changed and become very homogenized, the dining experience is usually more rushed since they have to accommodate more people and you now get less food for the same price (no appetizer or tip included).

Back when the DP was first offered, we jumped on it and it was a decent deal. Now I would rather have a good room discount (especially since I have an AP) and eat out of pocket.

Ditto to everything!

 

[magpie889]

I AM WAITING FOR THE FREE DINING AS WELL!!!

 

[Gymbomom]

So weird about them saying that servers are grumbling....I have heard the opposite. They have taken a typically slow period of time which HAD to hurt the servers $$ and made it slam packed. And think about the places that are not as popular - people can't get the popular places so they settle for the others.

 

[nolanboys]

We enjoyed the free dining in fall 2008, but having done it once, really would prefer the room discounts. It's just way too much food, and although I liked the restaurants, a big meal every day was a little too much. We even used two sit downs for a signature restaurant, but I didn't feel like it was worth it. We went this past February and enjoyed snacking our way around the park and enjoying two nice dinners. Especially in the fall during Food and Wine, I'd rather just enjoy a taste here and there.

 

[3floridarays]

I don't understand why a waiter wouldn't want a table with that is on the Dining Plan. We have dined with and without, when we dine without we usually spend less on a meal (no apps, split dessert, chicken instead of steak), which means less money for the waiter even if you are tipping 20%.

Over our last 2 trips, we witnessed 3 tables at 3 separate restaurants (WCC, PTC & CR) where people on the DP did not leave a tip. Nothing. Nada. Our server at Coral Reef told us it happens a lot with the DP. People either think it's included or just decide they shouldn't have to since "hey, it's free".

At every single TS meal, the first question our servers ask us is if we are on DP. After witnessing people not leaving tips, we started realizing why our servers brightened up and spent extra time with us after we told them we were OOP.

 

[flicx]

Room discounts would be better for us too.If you break down disney packages they rarely are a deal compared to doing stuff seperate.

 

[luvthemouse71]

A room discount would be so cool. I think FD was a nice idea when it wasn't guaranteed to be offered..now it's almost a given. Every single time we go to a WDW restaurant, there's someone pitching a fit because they didn't bother(or didn't know about) ADRs. While sometimes the entertainment factor of that can be high, it gets old after a while.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Over our last 2 trips, we witnessed 3 tables at 3 separate restaurants (WCC, PTC & CR) where people on the DP did not leave a tip. Nothing. Nada. Our server at Coral Reef told us it happens a lot with the DP. People either think it's included or just decide they shouldn't have to since "hey, it's free".

At every single TS meal, the first question our servers ask us is if we are on DP. After witnessing people not leaving tips, we started realizing why our servers brightened up and spent extra time with us after we told them we were OOP.

I've taken to asking them if it's true tipping isn't included, even though I know it's not. This is my way of letting them know that I won't stiff them on a tip.

 

[DaniB]

I've taken to asking them if it's true tipping isn't included, even though I know it's not. This is my way of letting them know that I won't stiff them on a tip.

Good idea. I was just wondering how to tactfully let the server know to expect a tip from us.

 

[kittythepoohbear]

How so? Because you have to buy the package?

In a nutshell, yes. Before free dining, there were usually some hefty room discounts at that time of year to draw people onto WDW property. Then they developed the DP and decided to offer it for free during hurricane season as an incentive to get people into WDW. The catch was you had to pay full rack rate for the room plus get your tickets as part of a package.

Back then, the DP wasn't too bad for the price and you tended to come out even or maybe even save a few bucks during free dining if you knew how to use it. Now, with the recent changes, I don't see how it is a great monetary value for the average guest. I agree that it can be convenient to have the food portion of your trip pre paid and, if guests really take the time to know how the DP works and fully utilize it, it can be a decent value for some families. But think about how many dining credits get wasted and how, due to misunderstanding of how the plan works, many guests end up not utilizing the plan to its fullest not to mention the inconvenience of trying to get ADRs.

There have been times when a good room discount made the whole vacation (food budget included) substantially cheaper than free dining price.

 

[mcreste]

That IS a good idea! Reminds me of what TIP really means (to insure proper service, used to be given to the server BEFORE dining)...