All this free dining business! I don't care!

[mco65]

You can add me to the list of parties that have NEVER been separated. I think i felt similar to your husband and FIL the first time my wife was making ADRs... seemed like a silly thing to do so far in advance and I also felt that ADRs would waste a lot of park time but that simply has never been the case. Its all about planning that my wife simply LIVES for!

My kids are still young <10 and character dining saves a TON of time vs standing in those autograph lines in the park. They will jump in a short line from time to time but the popular lines with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy are always LONG and we never stand in those, we simply catch Mickey at Chef Mickeys while we are eating dinner.

 

[TinkNH]

6 yrs ago we went during free dining, but didnt have it and other than the ADRs I had made..we were not able to get into any TS places anywhere..except Sci Fi which we waited a looong time for even at 4:30 pm

This year we have free dining, and even tho DH and I like to have the freedom to make spur of the moment decisions we know we may end up disappointed if we dont do a little planning ahead..

we looked at the EMH, and made ADRs based on the park we would go to that day ..either breakfast or dinner depending on early or late EMH. We have 3 kids with us and two of them are 4, there was NO WAY I was going to try to wait and hope to get into a TS place with hungry 4yo twins so i made all our dinner res for the time frame I know will work for my kids.

If they are still resistant, make sure they know that it is not your fault if they cant eat somewhere they want to ...you tried!

 

[4minutesflorida]

The dining plan isn't free. You are paying the same as you would if you got a discounted room and paid for the dining plan. In other words, if you do not use the plan appropriately you are certainly losing money. Maybe that could convince them.

 

[smitch425]

The dining plan isn't free. You are paying the same as you would if you got a discounted room and paid for the dining plan. In other words, if you do not use the plan appropriately you are certainly losing money. Maybe that could convince them.

This is not true. It depends on a number of factors. The number of people in your party, where you stay, whether or not there is even a room discount during the time frame. For instance, last Oct. I went during a week where there were no discounts available at all. Had free dining been offered, it most certainly would have been free. While free dining is not always the best deal, it IS free. It's all about doing the math to see what saves you the most money. It is different for everyone.

 

[4minutesflorida]

Obviously when free dining is offered a room discount is usually unavailable. They are roughly the same discount.

 

[smitch425]

Obviously when free dining is offered a room discount is usually unavailable. They are roughly the same discount.

Disney frequently runs (and is currently running) free dining promos and room only promos during the same time periods. Again, the best deal depends on the makeup of your party. A person getting 5% off at POP with 2 adults and 2 children that are "Disney Adults" is going to save hundreds of dollars more than the room discount. Like I said before, you have to do the math.

 

[mindy327]

I wouldn't mind making ADR's.....if everyone else in my party was on board. My frustrations are that:

1. No one in my party wants to talk about it (They think I am crazy!)

2. I have TRIED to no avail to explain that we will not be able to walk into a TS meal without a reservation-the response I get is "we'll be alright"

3. I have to consider my father in law and his fiance in the plans-if it were just us I would just make ADR's and they could deal with it!

What I fear is that we go...and low and behold I get the "why didn't you make reservations?!!?!?!?!" When they all find out that we can't get in anywhere.

Ugh...

I would have the same fears from my MIL... Sounds like you TRY to be the good DIL, but it comes out the other end like you messed up... I hear ya. IF I were you, I would just book em, and plan for 7 and if only 5 show up its okay I would assume. Better to have less than more show up for ressies. Say something when youre at the park say HS for 50s prime time that day, Hey we have reservations for 50's at 3pm and youre welcome to join us if youde like. Thats what I would do JMO. Good luck with the in laws.

 

[KELLY]

Ok, I care....a little. We were going to go in september anyways....we lucked out and got the free dining included in our reservation! At first, I was so excited! Now, I really don't care. I have made one ADR character meal for dinner-we are a party of 7 (4 adults, 2 kids, 1 infant). After reading about the possibility that we may be split up and worrying about where we will be when....I have had enough. This is my fourth trip to disney and I have never had to put so much thought into what I will be eating just because we got the free dining plan!! My husband doesn't want to be held to a schedule and my father in law looked at me like I was a MAD woman when I asked where they were wanting to eat. He said we'd figure it out when we got there!

The way I figure it, if its free, we can use the table service credits for quick service meals if needed. I don't want to spend a large amount of our time on dining nor do I want to feel like I have to be anywhere at a specific time.

Am I crazy????? I feel like the free dining will help with the food expense but I am not going to stress out about where I am eating!

WE stay at a value so we can get the QSDP. We go for 11 days so it is way to many ad's for us. We do pay op for a couple of TS meals one being a character meal.. Adr's aren't for everyone. We like to go to the water parks and just chill on vacation a bit. For some reason Ad's are just a hassle for us.

We were thinking of upgrading our resort this year but if we do we will just drop our WP passes. Then it would make Ad's a bit easier.

 

[Sparkie]

Perhaps I will just go ahead and make some reservations since I DO plan on going to certain parks on certain days.....Is there a way to tell which places have CC holds and which don't??

Also, how far in advance do I have to cancel my reservations without getting charged?

When you are making the reservations if it is one that needs a CC hold, the spaces for that information will pop up during the reservation process. Mostly you can expect, any character meal, LeCellier, Ohanna, Dinner shows, Fantasmic package, and there may be a few others.

Now the cancel process is a FULL 24 hours before your reservation. Example: You have a reservation for Chef Mickeys on Wednesday. If you decide to cancel, you need to call before close of business on MONDAY.

I am currently planning for a group of 12. And I am and have been the trip planner each and every trip. I do ask anybody if they have any special requests and I used to get the responses of "i dont know where i want to eat in 6 months" but this go round it was "you decide, we will go wherever you plan"

When it came right down too it, the family was appreciative that I had taken the time and put the thought into it and they were happy to go with the plan and have somewhere to eat.

Now I do allow myself the option to change my mind and have the Disney Dinning phone number in my cell phone so I can call while standing in the middle of MK and see what is available anywhere on property for that day - just in case there needs to be a change of plan.

I agree with you. Make some reservations. Then at about 1 week prior to your trip you could include the family on your plans and go from there.

 

[Cafeen]

For the party being split up, awhile ago I had the same notification... for a reservation for 1*. It's a standard disclaimer that is placed on all reservations over a certain size. It rarely happens, and when it does, most of the time the "split-up" means you're sitting at tables next to each other anyway. They're not likely going to place half the party at one end of the restaurant, and the other half at the other end (would be a pain when the bill comes too!)

For the plans, I'd say go and make what you (and your immediate family) want, including the others in them. Staying away from the CC-guaranteed restaurants is relatively easy and can be done by avoiding anything with characters, Ohana, and any signature and pre-paid experiences (pre-paid include Hoop Dee Doo, Spirit of Aloha, and Cinderella's Royal Table) (and maybe Cape May Cafe dinner too, since breakfast does have characters, I'm not sure if they keep the guarantee for dinner). Basically, if it asks for a CC when booking, turn away.

The worse that can happen is you have to cancel them on short notice as you decide to go elsewhere, but at least you have something for sure in case it's needed.

As far as the "it's the same discount thing", that totally depends on a few factors. Party make up, plan level, resort discount percentage, whether or not you'd need tickets (and any ticket discounts you can get), and even room level all come into play. There are different break-even points at each resort level. Basically, according to last year's math (I haven't redone it for 2012), the break-even point for a standard moderate was 2 Adults (I think, it may have even been 1 Adult, 1 Child, though I think that was the Value resorts). Any more and you'd save more by using the DDP, fewer and you'd save more with a room discount (assuming you'd need tickets anyway). So, with that example, a standard moderate with 4 "Adults" (remember that kids are adults starting at 10) would save a considerable amount over a room discount.

I think I addressed everything

*As a note, I'm pretty sure this was a bug and it was throwing the notification for everyone at that restaurant... but it's just funny and goes to show how they decide to place that message up there.

 

[smitch425]

For the party being split up, awhile ago I had the same notification... for a reservation for 1

Everytime I see someone post this I think of the scarecrow in the Wizard Of Oz saying, "First they took my legs off and they threw them over there! Then they took my chest out and they threw it over there!"

And yes...I know I'm weird.

 

[TinkNH]

Everytime I see someone post this I think of the scarecrow in the Wizard Of Oz saying, "First they took my legs off and they threw them over there! Then they took my chest out and they threw it over there!"

And yes...I know I'm weird.

i must be weird too then cause this made me laugh like a loon!

 

[Sheaboys]

The dining plan isn't free. You are paying the same as you would if you got a discounted room and paid for the dining plan. In other words, if you do not use the plan appropriately you are certainly losing money. Maybe that could convince them.

Room discount does not even come close to the savings for the dining. We are a family of 7, 2 adults, 3 disney adults and 2 children. We chose value season, with free dining at a moderate resort with 2 rooms. The room discount came out and I did the math, the free dining is a much larger discount. I tried room discount for value resort, moderate and deluxe. Still, not even close.

We would eat a table service meal everyday, a counter service meal everyday, snacks everyday, maybe even a counter service breakfast meal everyday (not everyone but a few will). So even paying out of pocket for a few CS meals, we are still way ahead with free dining.

I do agree, it is not for everyone, it certainly is for us.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think you already have the best idea--make a few ADRs you may like, and cancel them if need be. It is easy enough for people to say you will be alright when you get there, when they don't know how competitive getting into certain restaurants can be! Getting into a particular restaurant, right when you are hungry, is just not that simple at WDW.

As far as the you may be separated thing goes, we have been split up one time. We were a party of 8 and were seated at tables right across the aisle from each other. It is not something that happens very often at all, so don't stress about it.

 

[Yoshiandi]

Everytime I see someone post this I think of the scarecrow in the Wizard Of Oz saying, "First they took my legs off and they threw them over there! Then they took my chest out and they threw it over there!"

And yes...I know I'm weird.

I nearly snorted coffee out of my nose when I read that. That's hilarious!!

~M~

 

[diskids2]

I hear what you are saying loud and clear. I, too, have a non planning family that makes remarks when we are on the trip about this or that. Here's what I would do.

1. First, have a great trip. Don't stress.
2. Make ADR's to restaurants that you like or you think everyone would like for a time that you usually eat when at home or going out to dinner at home. Try to make ADR's to non $10 guarantee places. IF there are restaurants you know that they will want to eat at $10 guarantee, then make them.
3. If the ADR is not going to work out, cancel it, in an appropriate time.
4. You will probably not be split up, but you never know you may want to be split up at the end of a disney day,
5. When the others grump about the ADR, simply say, you're welcome to try and find another restaurant that you would like to eat at. I'm going here.

 

[apartyof5]

Well, I would like everyone here to know that I put on my big girl panties and made some ADR's all by myself!!

I told my husband that I arranged some table service meals for the parks we will be visiting on certain days....I didn't let him get a word in about it! I told him that I made ADRs for parties of 7 (for all of us) and if FIL and fiance didn't want to join us...then they don't have to-we would not be charged for a smaller party (yup...did my homework!).

I told him that I have put together an itinerary (Father in law said "you're planning what days we will be where, right?") SURE, let ME plan what parks...but no food.... whateeeverrrrr!

So far, so good. My planning is coming right along...I think. I am back in class on monday so planning will be postponed for 5 weeks while I finish up and graduate.

I have learned so much from these boards already!

 

[Dismom55]

Good for you, take the bull by the horns and at least you will leave knowing you will have a great time as your plans are solid.

Good luck with your studies.

 

[KRiegler]

Although I think the people in my traveling group were fine with me making reservations...they also weren't nearly as into it as I was. So, I just researched myself, booked what sounded good to me and what seemed like it would work for everyone, and now I'm done. They'll be happy when we get to the park - and it was more fun for me than for them - so I wasn't really bothered by their not being involved. If I were you, I'd make reservations that don't require a CC and then they'll probably be fine with those when you get there - and if they're not, they can break away and find their own food

 

[I<3theMouse]

I understand your frustrations. The first year, I couldn't get DH to help at all (he sounded a lot like your family- "I don't know what I will want to eat in 6 months" and "I dont understand why we need to decide so early") So I just made all the ADRs at places I wanted to go to based on my research and reading the menus.

When we got there, DH was glad I had made the ADRs and really enjoyed all the food. Since the first trip, he is itching to make ADRs and schedule everything months before we can even make our ADRs!

Long story short, I recommend making ADRs at places that you like. Make sure you match the park you are going to that day (assuming you don't have hoppers) with the ADR so you can get to the restaurant easily.

Good luck

This sound sooo much like how my first time making ADRs went with my husband! He and my teenage son looked at me like I was crazy for planning which parks we would visit each day and for making reservations for our meals. Well, let me just say- hubby has "seen the light"! After that first time, he saw how much faster we were seated and that it really wasn't that big a hassle, plus we all really enjoyed trying the different restaurants. Hubby was totally complimentary of my vacation planning after that trip! lol
Haven't had anymore problems with getting cooperation on making ADRs since.

To the OP, I would definately go ahead and make ADRs based on foods you know everyone will like. And like someone else suggested, just make your ADRs at locations that don't require a credit card guarantee, so if you happen to forget to cancel a ressie that you won't be using, you at least won't be charged.