30 percent off or Free Dining?

[elishakaylen]

I have ASMu booked for me and my DBF (age 21 & 23) Dec. 15-20 right now, using a 30 percent off room only discount. We plan on going to the parks 4 days, but have not purchased our tickets yet. Free Dining is being offered at this time and I have calculated numbers, but still can not make a decision. Any opinions on if I should use FD or 30 off room only??

 

[parith1114]

I vote for free dinning. It's nice to have all your package pre paid before you go. I personally like the idea of having everything taken care of, but if you aren't big eaters the room discount my be better.

 

[tzolkin]

If it was the regular dining plan, I would be more likely to go for the free dining than the quick service plan (which I believe is what they now offer at the value resorts).

It really depends on how you eat. If you're already planning to eat counter service and you would order a drink and dessert with every meal anyway than this might be the better savings. But if you're going to do one or two nicer meals, share things, snack more often, etc than you may be better off with the room discount.

 

[carebee21]

I'm bored so I played around with your info a bit on the website.

You're paying about $387 for your room with the 30% off discount. Regular 4 day park tickets will be about $545 (this is the gate price for 2 people; you may get a discount purchasing elsewhere). All in all, this comes out to be about $932. Then you need to add in any food you will be purchasing.

If you decide to do the QS free dining package, the cost is $1,101.32 with 4 day base tickets. If you decide to upgrade to regular dining, the cost is $1266.82 with 4 day base passes.

So you're planning on paying about $932 now, plus out of pocket for food. For $169 more, you get the QS meal plan. You're going to be eating for five days and honestly, I don't think you'd really come in any cheaper than $169 by paying out of pocket. So, IMO, free dining is the better deal.

 

[julluvsdisney]

Free dining all the way! You never notice how quickly food adds up! for 169 Id at the very least do QS FD but Id upgrade to Regular just because I like one sit down a day but thats just my style. Plus everything is all set for you no budgeting for food! I like to just get there and know its all taken care of! Have a great time no matter what you choose! Disney at christmas is the best!

 

[POOHsie]

The FD or 30% hotel discount are very similar in value. What I like about FD is the refillable mug, the convenience of just using your card when getting food, and the snack credits. The list of available snacks is mind-boggling and many have a high value. If you were paying OOP, you might think hard about these snack expenditures. Also, with DP you can order large soda if you want. If paying OOP, would you only order medium? Also, many CS places will substitute a bottled water for the dessert. Here is the list of available snack credit items (the list keeps growing, check back occasionally). http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2853528

BTW, my DD and her BF were with me last visit to WDW. BF hadn't been to WDW since he was a kid, and seemed not too excited about going. By the end of the trip, he revealed that he really liked WDW. He especially liked the DP because of the ease of using the card for getting food.

 

[JohnsonsLoveDisney]

We just had the same problem. We decided to do the Free Dining and upgrade it to the Dining plan about quick service, we usually only do 1 meal in the park-a sit down, or character meal so it works out. We will just switch things up this time

 

[feezle]

Will you have a vehicle?

 

[IDoDis]

If you were staying at a deluxe, I would say to go for the 30% off since it's bigger discount than 30% off of a value resort, but in your case, the free dining might be a better deal, although only having quick service would be a big turn off for me. We took the 30% discount off of a deluxe and ate our diners offsite, often using coupons and restaurant.com certificates and came out way ahead financially.

 

[elishakaylen]

Will you have a vehicle?

Yes, we will have a vehicle. We only live about 7 hours from Orlando so we will be driving.

 

[elishakaylen]

The FD or 30% hotel discount are very similar in value. What I like about FD is the refillable mug, the convenience of just using your card when getting food, and the snack credits. The list of available snacks is mind-boggling and many have a high value. If you were paying OOP, you might think hard about these snack expenditures. Also, with DP you can order large soda if you want. If paying OOP, would you only order medium? Also, many CS places will substitute a bottled water for the dessert. Here is the list of available snack credit items (the list keeps growing, check back occasionally). http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2853528

BTW, my DD and her BF were with me last visit to WDW. BF hadn't been to WDW since he was a kid, and seemed not too excited about going. By the end of the trip, he revealed that he really liked WDW. He especially liked the DP because of the ease of using the card for getting food.

We are in this exact position. My BF has only been once and it was when he was a kid. He doesn't seem excited right now and everytime I mention it he's just kind of indifferent, but I think as soon as he gets there he will LOVE it!

 

[aubreysmom09]

If you were staying at a deluxe, I would say to go for the 30% off since it's bigger discount than 30% off of a value resort, but in your case, the free dining might be a better deal, although only having quick service would be a big turn off for me. We took the 30% discount off of a deluxe and ate our diners offsite, often using coupons and restaurant.com certificates and came out way ahead financially.

This is what we plan on doing in January depending what discount may come out. When we went in April we stayed off site and used the restaurant.com certificates, and only ate a couple meals at the park. We saved so much money. When we at at Girodano's OOP for 6 people spent $15+ tip. We ordered a pizza, child's meal, and a cup of soup. I would do the dining since you are staying at value resort. If you don't mind the QS stick with it. Their are many nice QS places.

 

[elishakaylen]

We went on and switched to FD and upgraded it. It was only $16.55 a day to upgrade it. I crunched numbers like crazy and even though we could have saved a little more using the 30 percent off code and paying OOP for food, that would have required us to pack lunches and eat breakfast in the room some days. I think I would rather spend an extra $100 and be able to have a nice meal every day and not have the hassle of packing lunches and trying to budget on food like crazy.

 

[POOHsie]

We went on and switched to FD and upgraded it. It was only $16.55 a day to upgrade it. I crunched numbers like crazy and even though we could have saved a little more using the 30 percent off code and paying OOP for food, that would have required us to pack lunches and eat breakfast in the room some days. I think I would rather spend an extra $100 and be able to have a nice meal every day and not have the hassle of packing lunches and trying to budget on food like crazy.

Agree with you in general. It looks like you are staying 5 nights. The calculation is $16.55/day x 2 people. That's $33.10/day x 5 = $165.50. Let's look at table service food you might order because it's "free." If you got the $30 dish, non-alcoholic drink & dessert, you could have a bill of $100 for 2. The DDP pays the food bill, and covers the tax, but doesn't cover tip. Tip is calculated at 18% at WDW. That one meal tip would cost you $18. 5 nights' meals could be upwards of $100 in tips OOP. These calculations don't even discuss OOP alcohol, tax and tip. Alcohol could bring your OOP expense up another $30. You might want to re-consider QSDP (free) and 1-2 table service meals OOP. That would bring down your extra dining expense considerably.

You still have to buy breakfast OOP. Best thing to do is bring cereal, pop tarts, breakfast bars from home. The resort has milk, bread, fruit, other breakfast stuff, so you could do breakfast relatively cheaply.

 

[lmf77]

I think the current free dining offer requires a 6 night stay.

 

[Magalex]

I would stick with the 30% off the room instead of free dining. You do have a car to go to the grocery store to pick up breakfast foods, water etc & you can eat off Disney property. Plus you have no kids. It was myself, DH & DS (11) & we renting a car for June. We also had a 30% discount in June. It was great we never ate breakfast at the food court or at the parks because we went to the store. We went to every website for any popular restaurant located in Lake Buena Vista & sign up for any on-line promotions coupons. It was just a better deal for us. We did save money.

 

[POOHsie]

I think the current free dining offer requires a 6 night stay.

WELCOME! to the DisBoards!

Sorry, you misunderstand. And Disney does that, I think, intentionally. Disney ads might show an example of a 6-night stay, to show how a family could afford a WDW trip. And you could get the impression that this is what's required, and even adjust your vacation plans to meet these goals. However, Disney Free Dining only requires a minimum 3-night stay, plus minimum 2-day base MYW tickets, for everyone in a resort room. If you buy a dining plan out-of-pocket, there is only a minimum 1-night stay, and 1-day base MYW tickets.

There is a forum here devoted to the Disney Dining Plan, with explanation of current offers and in-depth details. There is also a forum called Disney Discount Codes and Rates, where upcoming "possible" offers are discussed, so you can keep on top of info that might be pertinent to your vacation dates.

 

[dhardawa]

Agree with you in general. It looks like you are staying 5 nights. The calculation is $16.55/day x 2 people. That's $33.10/day x 5 = $165.50. Let's look at table service food you might order because it's "free." If you got the $30 dish, non-alcoholic drink & dessert, you could have a bill of $100 for 2. The DDP pays the food bill, and covers the tax, but doesn't cover tip. Tip is calculated at 18% at WDW. That one meal tip would cost you $18. 5 nights' meals could be upwards of $100 in tips OOP. These calculations don't even discuss OOP alcohol, tax and tip. Alcohol could bring your OOP expense up another $30. You might want to re-consider QSDP (free) and 1-2 table service meals OOP. That would bring down your extra dining expense considerably.

You still have to buy breakfast OOP. Best thing to do is bring cereal, pop tarts, breakfast bars from home. The resort has milk, bread, fruit, other breakfast stuff, so you could do breakfast relatively cheaply.

For me, personally, I find that the dining plan has so much food that the last thing I want is breakfast in the morning. You can also use snack credits for breakfast.

 

[SDSorority]

I have ASMu booked for me and my DBF (age 21 & 23) Dec. 15-20 right now, using a 30 percent off room only discount. We plan on going to the parks 4 days, but have not purchased our tickets yet. Free Dining is being offered at this time and I have calculated numbers, but still can not make a decision. Any opinions on if I should use FD or 30 off room only??

We would do room-only discount and purchase tickets through the Mousesavers discounted link with Undercover Tourist. Especially because you have a car and can get inexpensive breakfast and snack items at the grocery. Unless you're planning on eating a lot of food, that is. We're not HUGE eaters, and with our food allergies, I feel better buying some of our "regular" food items from Publix to have in the room to keep our tummies happy.

 

[FergieTCat]

I had the same dilemma on my last trip. The room discount and Free Dining worked out to the same amount. I took the room discount, but if I had to do it again, I'd take the free dining. Food is expensive in the world of Disney!