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

[Disneylover99]

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?

I don't think I would like the dining plan, because:
1) it dictates what you can eat and where
2) it forces you to eat table service once per day, which is more than we normally would
3) all your meals and drinks are still not covered, so you have to add any out of pocket costs to your perceived value.

It sounds like you don't understand the quick service dining plan that is offered at value resorts.

Snacks, drinks, coffee, etc....are included.
There are no tips required because you are ordering counter service. So you are not forced to eat anywhere you don't want to eat.
You can eat at which ever counter service restaurant you choose. No reservations are necessary.
Plus you have the flexibility to use your dining credits however you wish, since they are pooled with your party.

 

[popriv]

since they are pooled with your party.

I didn't know this??? So our party of 3 adults has 6 quick service meals per night?
So I could eat 4 meals and my DW & DD would get 1 each?

 

[Disneylover99]

I didn't know this??? So our party of 3 adults has 6 quick service meals per night?
So I could eat 4 meals and my DW & DD would get 1 each?

If you want. Or you could eat 8 meals a day if you're really hungry or just one meal if you're not. You have until midnight of check out day to use all your credits. Break them up any way you like.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

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.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Furthermore, if you decide to have more than one snack one day, you have to pay for that as well. And the quick service plan would mean a whole trip of basically fast food.

 

[Disneylover99]

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.

You get a refillable mug at your resort for pop, coffee, tea, etc.... You get a drink with each meal. We just ask for cups of ice water at the parks when we are thirsty. It's totally doable to not have to pay extra for drinks. Each person gets a snack credit per day. We never use our snack credits for snacks because we get dessert with our meals. But you can get some interesting options with your snack credits, like French Onion soup at BOG. Which is like a meal in itself.

And just to add, we bring a box of granola bars and a couple of boxes of little cereals from home for breakfast if we feel hungry. We usually save our meals for lunch and dinner. Even so, we always end up with extra snack and meal credits at the end.

 

[Disneylover99]

Furthermore, if you decide to have more than one snack one day, you have to pay for that as well. And the quick service plan would mean a whole trip of basically fast food.

Have you eaten at Wolfgang Puck Express? Sunshine Seasons? Kringla Bakeri? BOG? There are tons of healthy options if you look around.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Are you leaving the parks every time you want a non water drink or healthy meal? No, you aren't.
I'm not saying that free dining doesn't have value, but it isn't the holy grail it's made out to be. I prefer flexibility in my eating and plan my budget accordingly. We usually spend less than dining would cost, and eat much healthier.

 

[Disneylover99]

Are you leaving the parks every time you want a non water drink or healthy meal? No, you aren't.
I'm not saying that free dining doesn't have value, but it isn't the holy grail it's made out to be. I prefer flexibility in my eating and plan my budget accordingly. We usually spend less than dining would cost, and eat much healthier.

Why would we? We get drinks with our meals and there are plenty of healthy options in and out of the parks.

We've done Disney with and without the dining plan. We find we eat healthier on the dining plan. We tend to eat cheaper without it and cheaper isn't usually healthier for us. We've also only done the dining plan when it was free. We prefer the value resort quick service dining because of the flexibility. It's awesome! That being said, I don't think we would ever purchase the dining plan. But free? Definitely!

 

[Kbee]

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.

We order a case of water for the room and I order breakfast food for the room for the week. I would do that with or without the DP.
I just priced 7 nights at CBR for late summer, 3 day tickets (with water parks and more) for our family of 5 Disney adults.
Its $2850 without dining or $3200 with "free" dining. There is no way the 5 of us could eat for $350 for a week. In our case the free dining would be the better discount.

 

[JanaDee]

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?

I don't think I would like the dining plan, because:
1) it dictates what you can eat and where
2) it forces you to eat table service once per day, which is more than we normally would
3) all your meals and drinks are still not covered, so you have to add any out of pocket costs to your perceived value.

It doesn't do any of those things. I don't think you quite understand how the different dining plans work.

 

[JanaDee]

Furthermore, if you decide to have more than one snack one day, you have to pay for that as well. And the quick service plan would mean a whole trip of basically fast food.

Uh, no, you don't. Say you have a 6 night stay. Each person gets 6 snack credits, to be used whenever they wish on anything that is snack eligible. You can use all 6 credits the first day if you want, use 1 a day or save them all until the last day and go crazy with 6 snacks.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

It doesn't do any of those things. I don't think you quite understand how the different dining plans work.

I do understand dining plans. Not every menu item is included, it only covers 2 meals and a snack per day. Most people eat 3 meals per day. Most people drink more often than just with meals or at the resort.

Yes, you get 1 snack credit per day to use whenever you want. I realize you could use all 6 in one day, but then the rest of your stay would will not have any credits left for the other 5 days. You still have to pay for any other snacks beyond the 1 per day allotment.

 

[JanaDee]

I do understand dining plans. Not every menu item is included, it only covers 2 meals and a snack per day. Most people eat 3 meals per day. Most people drink more often than just with meals or at the resort.

Yes, you get 1 snack credit per day to use whenever you want. I realize you could use all 6 in one day, but then the rest of your stay would will not have any credits left for the other 5 days. You still have to pay for any other snacks beyond the 1 per day allotment.

That must be a recent change, then (the bolded). The few times we've been on the DDP, there were no exclusions from any of the menus (CS or TS), other than alcohol.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

That must be a recent change, then (the bolded). The few times we've been on the DDP, there were no exclusions from any of the menus (CS or TS), other than alcohol.

I was more referring to the snacks allotment. There are many items know the snack menus that are excluded.

Look, I get it, you feel like it is a good value for you. I don't think it is the end all be all that everyone makes it to be, but to each his own.

 

[aaarcher86]

I was more referring to the snacks allotment. There are many items know the snack menus that are excluded.

Look, I get it, you feel like it is a good value for you. I don't think it is the end all be all that everyone makes it to be, but to each his own.

I don't think everybody does. Just the people who it works for. Plenty of people prefer room discounts or dislike the DDP. But obviously the people who gain the most from FD will loudly rejoice about it.

 

[JanaDee]

I was more referring to the snacks allotment. There are many items know the snack menus that are excluded.

Look, I get it, you feel like it is a good value for you. I don't think it is the end all be all that everyone makes it to be, but to each his own.

No, I don't feel it is that great of a value for me. But I don't like inaccurate information being touted as fact.

Free dining can be a much better deal for some families than others, which is why everyone is saying people need to see what their different options are and figure out whether free dining is a good value for their family.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I didn't tout any wrong information, I did give facts, and pointed out why it isn't all that. I think people get tunnel vision when they hear "free".

 

[aaarcher86]

I didn't tout any wrong information, I did give facts, and pointed out why it isn't all that. I think people get tunnel vision when they hear "free".

Eh, I think plenty of people work the math and just find out it works the best for them. At least most people here I'd say do.

 

[supersnoop]

It depends on a lot of factors. For our party, buying the DDP would cost us $200 a day. No room discount at a moderate or value (where we would stay) would save us that much. Yes, we could upgrade to a deluxe, but we'd still be paying to eat where as with free dining we're staying in the same class we always intended and we get to eat for free.

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