Never going During Free Dining again

[amir]

This is a rant.

I went last week during free dining. It was a special trip, during a special time for my family. I did choose not to use the dining plan or get free dining, because my family would only have a couple sit down meals and mostly do counter service.

The parks were not full, most waits for rides were 5-15 minutes. The problem, from what I saw and experienced, were huge crowds in the counter service restaurants.

My family eats early and during a normal time, a non free-dining time, we went to the counter service restaurants to find they are not full at 11am for lunch.

It seemed everyone was at the parks solely for eating. At 11am the counter service establishments were packed full! The lines were long. And sometimes the people in them were very very rude. We went other times to try to find a non-busy eating slot, and there were none.

Free Dining works. It pulled customers into the parks.



My dining review is this. Going during free dining works for people who eat lots and lots of food. It just does not work for me.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Ok so that being said....where did ya eat? How did you like it?

 

[amir]

I have 3 children and my self. We bought the refill mugs but used them for coffee for me in the mornings and water for the kids.

Day 1-
Casey's- Hot dogs with apples and 3 waters

Star Light Ray's- split double hamburger with apples water
Added mushrooms, lettuce, and tomatoes from fixings bar
my son had a 1/4 hamburger, with the same fixings adding ketchup and 3 waters

Day 2- Fruit in the room
Sunshine seasons- my self sweet and sour chicken noodles something with beef
2 kids chicken potatoes apples sauce w/2 apple juices
my son adult chicken with mashed potatoes and rice w/ soda

Tempo Grab and go-turkey sandwiches w/fruit chicken ceasar salad
my son flat bread pizza. We ate in the room. Water.

Day 3- fruit in the room with a cinamon bun bought at the main street bakery bakery in the magic kingdom w/orange juice

Disney Quest Food quest- pizza
peanut butter jelly with apple sauce
baked ziti
We all drank water there.

Mcdonald's out side All Star sports- 2Hamburger happy meal w/apples and apple juice boxes
ceasar chicken salad
my son chicken selectes fries and a soda

Day 4- This was my junk food day!!!!!
Chef Mickey's- Eggs, fruit, pancakes. Coffee for me, orange juice.
Very entertaining, won't do that again.

Peco's Bill's- 2 hamburger's with apples
taco salad
With apple juices for all four of us. We split the burgers.

Liberty Inn EPCOT- 3 hamburgers with apples
2 cobblers
i side of fries
4 apple juices.

Day five- last full day
Ate in the room cinamon bun with fruit.
Pinnochio Village Haus- Pizza
peanut butter with jelly
mac and cheese
Both of those with apple sauces and water
side salad
we split the meals

Trailside Buffett- ribs, chicken, salad, green beans, corn, soda for me, the only soda for me during this trip. We all ate the same stuff here and did not eat anything different.

All of the food was terrific. The crowds during the dinning times were what I could do with out. I did not take pictures of the food. Didn't think of doing that sorry.

 

[KayLuvsMickey]

Wow, no one in my family is "large size" and we LOVE free dinning!

 

[mel64]

I understand your frustation, but THAT comment was uncalled for.

 

[KGH]

i guess people go to disney world for different reasons, but i think pretty much everyone is there to have a good time... the best you can do is respect one another.

Sad you disney vacation wasn't as magical as it could have been.

 

[ILVPOOH]

You said you didn't choose "Free Dining" because your family mostly ate at counter service places. You could have used your Table Service credits at Counter Service locations and I think they would have given you 2 extra snacks credits too.

 

[pigletto]

Free dining was great for us. And we are neither obese or use scooters. Go figure.
Seriously.. did you honestly think anyone was going to have much sympathy for your situation after you made such sweeping generalizations? Yet you complain that people at the CS places were rude.
How Ironic.

 

[sebzmom]

You are right Free Dining probably isn't for you. I guess most us Free Dining enthusiast's do it to try different food you can not get just any place else. That is part of the fun trying new things. My kids love trying foods from all countries, resorts, etc. FYI we are not obese, nor do I have a scooter.

 

[KatMark]

We were there for free dining September 1 - 9 and had no issues with crowds at our table service meals (we were seated in less than five minutes for all of our adr's except Whispering Canyon Cafe which was over 30 and was by far the worse meal of the trip) and we waited an average of five minutes in line for our counter service meals (we ate at Cosmic Rays, Pecos Bills, Electric Umbrella, Flame Tree Barbecue, etc.). And no, I am not obese, although DH is a little overweight, yet, he does not use a scooter. Believe it or not, a lot of overweight people actually have a health issue that causes it, as do a lot of really thin people.

We love free dining and are booked again for next year.

 

[amir]

I am over weight from a medical problem called Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrom. You can get information on it at www.pcosupport.org, this syndrom causes obesity in women and infertility.

I am also 5 months pregnant currently. If ANYBODY would have the excuse to use a scooter it's me.

I know some are disabled who use the scooters. And Elderly have the RIGHT to use them. But when I see someone my age the looks like my weight on them refusing to walk and then not watching for small children while they rush to where-ever it made me mad.

There were a lot of individuals using those scooters.

If you don't walk then you can loose muscle and increase your risk for bad health.

 

[Sneezie]

*****.

This is by far the most outrageous comment I've seen on this board.

It's too bad that your trip was ruined because everyone decided to go to lunch at lunchtime.

Maybe you're right, you aren't the "free dining" type. Maybe for your next trip you'll go during "No scooters carrying over-weight people" days. When is that again?

 

[pumba]

lets try not to add fuel to the fire......please.....

Also I was there sept 6th to the 13th and it was to dang hot to run anywheres.....we were able to get into most cs places with no problems ....I had to keep drinking alot of cold drinks because it was so humid. we were not on the dining plan.

 

[sebzmom]

I am sorry but I am a little outraged about the "scooter" comment. It is nobody's business why someone is in a scooter. You cannot tell by a one second glance if someone is disabled or not. My 30 year old brother looks perfectly healthy but have has severe arthirtis, he can not even open a door much less walk for 8 hours in a Disney park. And no that is not an "excuse". The last thing i would ever tell him is he can not get a wheelchair or a scooter!

 

[pumba]

the comment has been deleted.

Please .....

 

[HonnyDipp]

I have a muscle disease that took away my ability to walk. So when we go to the world in November, I have to use a scooter to get around. To look at me I dont look sick, I just can't walk very well. Your comment was extremily rude and un called for. You never know what life has in store for you. You should learn to count your blessings, and stop looking down at people you dont know!