If no free dining, we may have the restaurants to ourselves!!

[MARY-IN-OH]

I am seeing on the boards that there is no announcement yet for free dining for late summer and fall (August/Sept).

If there is no free dining, do you think it will have much of an impact on restaurants and park crowds? (I think it will!!) We go in September (before food and wine) and love it that there are no crowds, but this year could be extra empty!!

We shall see!
-mary

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

Oops, meant to put this in DVC mousecellaneous (sorry!)
-mary

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Normally without "free" dining the WDW restaurants tend to be at close to a 90% level. With the "free" incentive they become unreasonable. The big thing is the restaurants will be able to handle walk-ins with less than a ten minute wait.

 

[disneynutz]

I would be nice to bring back some competition and have them bump the service and menus back to where they once were.

Bill

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

As a planner we never have had a problem getting tables when we want them.Free dining or no being handed out (have never used FD) It's usually just the people that procrastinate that have problems getting tables.

 

[wheelcap]

Free Dining makes the whole issue of eating more horrible. My wife and I went to a counter serve place about 10:30 at night, and we waited about 50 minutes before we got our food!?! That same place usually only took about 7-10 minutes, normally. The cashier was surprised that we were paying cash and "...not using those stupid credits!" She said free dining brings out all the crazies, and they complain about everything - far more than normal. My experience suggested that, but her experience is far greater than mine, so . . . NO FREE DINING!! YAY!!

 

[LILJAN59]

I would be nice to bring back some competition and have them bump the service and menus back to where they once were.

Bill

Amen to that Bill. I also think the FREE DINING to fill the rooms actually made their dining plans too expensive for the people who would normally purchase the dining plans. Drop the prices, dump free dining, and raise food quality!!!!!!

 

[Li Li]

Free Dining makes the whole issue of eating more horrible. My wife and I went to a counter serve place about 10:30 at night, and we waited about 50 minutes before we got our food!?! That same place usually only took about 7-10 minutes, normally. The cashier was surprised that we were paying cash and "...not using those stupid credits!" She said free dining brings out all the crazies, and they complain about everything - far more than normal. My experience suggested that, but her experience is far greater than mine, so . . . NO FREE DINING!! YAY!!

My DH remarked that he thought the waiters always seemed relieved when we said we were not on the dining plan!

 

[Checkers]

My DH remarked that he thought the waiters always seemed relieved when we said we were not on the dining plan!

I have had the same impression.

 

[MoreTravels]

My DH remarked that he thought the waiters always seemed relieved when we said we were not on the dining plan!

Really? Dining plans, free or not, encourage people to over-eat and over-spend. That leads to a bigger tip at the end.

So I think the waitstaff actually wants you to be on the plan, without looking at the menu prices.

 

[DizBub]

In years past they have offered Disney Visa card holders free dining a couple of weeks before they offer it to the general public. This usually happens in April and the general offer goes out in May. Hoping they don't have it this year. What a zoo it turns into.

We've found that the servers seem to genuinely prefer TIW since they know they will be getting a decent tip. I've been told that some "free dining" people tip very little or not at all.

 

[SamSam]

I would be nice to bring back some competition and have them bump the service and menus back to where they once were.

Bill

I would love to see this happen. I am tired of the dumbed down menus!

 

[bumbershoot]

Really? Dining plans, free or not, encourage people to over-eat and over-spend. That leads to a bigger tip at the end.

So I think the waitstaff actually wants you to be on the plan, without looking at the menu prices.

I haven't noticed that. They have to spend far less time with people not on the dining plans, less time explaining things and making people (who didn't read their brochures) upset, so can give better service to everyone.

 

[sleepydog25]

I, too, am tired of the poorer quality at Disney restaurants than what one would have found, say, six or seven years ago. I am less sure of the trail of evidence pointing to free dining as the culprit since "dumbing down menus" (a perfect term) is a way to save costs regardless of the number of people eating in restaurants. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing free dining going the way of the dinosaurs. However, if I might be a fly in the ointment, a monkey in the wrench, it is too soon to celebrate the demise of free dining. If we make it a few more weeks, I might start believing it is really so; until then, I remain skeptical that we won't see it yet again this year.

 

[crisi]

Really? Dining plans, free or not, encourage people to over-eat and over-spend. That leads to a bigger tip at the end.

So I think the waitstaff actually wants you to be on the plan, without looking at the menu prices.

I think Disney waitstaff gets undertipped a lot - of course, not by any of us. And I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that with Free Dining they get undertipped more than usual. I think you can do very well as a waiter in the right restaurant at Disney - but I'm not sure that I'd want to be waiting tables at the Sci Fi Drive In during free dining.

 

[DisneyDiana]

Really? Dining plans, free or not, encourage people to over-eat and over-spend. That leads to a bigger tip at the end.

So I think the waitstaff actually wants you to be on the plan, without looking at the menu prices.

My husband works for a casino/resort and spa. He consistently complains that he actually makes less whenever there is a promotion for something free. Generally, the people enticed by something for free are the least likely group of people to tip.

 

[RobynPrincess]

There has been free dining offered for the UK martket already for the whole year so I doubt it will be that empty

 

[Murron]

I sincerely don't want to start the whole ad nauseum dining plan debate again....but how I wish that promotion would just simply go away!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I would be nice to bring back some competition and have them bump the service and menus back to where they once were.

Bill

HATE what the dining plan and free dining has done to the food at WDW!

 

[gray52]

Disney dining used to be quality... With choices... Served with a smile??? Nah... That never happened! Hahahaha! I was talking to my neighbor the other day... They had gone to Disney for the first time recently and said the food wasn't as bad as I had prepped them for. I was like... Oh, geez... Where do I start?