Am I a good candidate for free dining?

[barefootMom]

Hi All of you in the know!
We are a family of 4 thinking of going the last week of January and staying in a deluxe--Wilderness Lodge probably but would love the Polynesian. One of our daughters is 10 so would be considered an adult while the other is 7. So I am sure I can find it somewhere on here, but can anyone tell me right away if the free dining is better than any other deal I might find out there (since it is available that whole week I am there in value season) or if a room only or Pin code might be better financially?
Yes, we would probably make all the adrs and use all the credits..
We have never done the dining plan before so any help would be appreciated!
thank you!!

 

[Elmo007]

Many people find that a big discount off a deluxe is a better deal but its a pretty simple math problem. The dining plan in 2011 is 45.99 for dults and 11.99 for kids. ( i think its a lttle higher in 2012). Multiply that by the number of people and the number of days and you know the cost for dining.

Then get the total cost of which ever deluxe you get. Start deducting percentages and that will tell you what % off is your break even point and which is the better deal.

 

[fitzperry]

The discount comparison also depends, to some degree, on whether you would purchase the dining plan if it's not free and, if not, how much you would spend on food without it. I've seen people post sample daily menus comparing the cost of what they would plan to eat with in order to compare with the cost of the dining plan. I'm too lazy to do that though. It's all I can do to think about making dining reservations 180 days before my trip. I don't know what I want for dinner tonight, let alone in 6 months.

Anyway . . . your family sounds a lot like mine--2 kids, one who Disney sees as an adult (and so does she, but that's another story) We've done the dining plan twice before, once when our younger dd was under 3, so she was a freebie, and once when both kids were Disney kids. Also, back then appetizers and tips (I think) were included in the ts credits. Seemed a pretty good deal to us. But with a 12yo "adult" who is a very picky and light eater, it becomes less appealing. Then again, however, we are planning a couple of character breakfasts, dinner at `Ohana, and a Candlelight Processional dinner package where she will be charged as an adult regardless of what she eats, which makes it seem a bit more reasonable. I haven't done the detailed math and menu analysis though for the following reasons . . . .

We are currently booked for 7 nights with free dining. The dp would have cost us about $1050. Rack rate for Poly for those 7 nights is about $3300. My thought process is that a 30% off code would be about a break even that might force me to get more serious about calculating what we would expect to pay out of pocket for meals so that I could figure out which is the better deal. Seems like FD is easily a better deal than a 20% off code, but if I could get my hands on a 40% off code, I'd drop the FD like a hot potato.

Not sure of the rates at WL for your stay, but because they are lower than the Poly, it would take a bigger discount to beat the FD.

Hope that helps a little. It helped me to think it through a bit to figure out what I should be looking out for!

 

[wdw4rfam]

For us- we have 5 people and always do at least 3 character meals- and stay in moderate- so it is ALWAYS better for me. My parents who have just 2- the room discount is usually better. If you have 2 kids, and would normally buy the dining plan- or eat at TS rest., it is usually better.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are a family of 4 (all adults since we have 2 teens) and for us, some deluxes come out better with free dining over a room discount, while others break even or are not as good a deal as a room discount. But it all depends on varying factors. If we stay at the WL or AKL, free dining is far better than a room discount for us......with the Poly being about the break even point and the GF coming out better with a room discount. So as the pp said, you really have to do the math to see which is the better deal for your family. Alot of people say free dining is only good with a value or moderate, while a room discount is the better way to go at a deluxe.....but that's not accurate since it all depends on the resort, number of people, their ages, and the time of year. The only way to know which is the bigger savings is to price it out both ways .

 

[barefootMom]

Thank you all...I guess I just have to stop being lazy then and do the math. We would normally do at least 1 TS per day (some of them character meals--does that make it more worth it?) and my 10 year old is actually not wanting to order off the kids menu any longer anyway and so that was appealing that she actually "gets" to order off the adult menu for the week. But I guess if we were to choose the Poly and a 40% discount or PIN code came out then that might win? but maybe if we do WL again then this would be better...

 

[fitzperry]

We would normally do at least 1 TS per day (some of them character meals--does that make it more worth it?) and my 10 year old is actually not wanting to order off the kids menu any longer anyway and so that was appealing that she actually "gets" to order off the adult menu for the week.

It probably depends on the particular meal. If it is a buffet or fixed price menu like `Ohana, then w/o the dp your 10yo will be charged the adult rate, regardless of what she eats, so it's easy to determine how much you're saving w/ fd. If you're ordering off a menu, it gets a little bit trickier--for instance, my 12yo is also not a fan of kids' meals, but she often just eats soup or a salad or appetizer. I'm not even sure if they'll let her do that instead of an entree on the dp (anyone know the answer to that? ), but if they do, then it would make that fd discount less valuable, if that makes sense. Also, the dp credits include dessert; if you would not normally order dessert, then it is not saving you any money there.

 

[dclfun]

It probably depends on the particular meal. If it is a buffet or fixed price menu like `Ohana, then w/o the dp your 10yo will be charged the adult rate, regardless of what she eats, so it's easy to determine how much you're saving w/ fd. If you're ordering off a menu, it gets a little bit trickier--for instance, my 12yo is also not a fan of kids' meals, but she often just eats soup or a salad or appetizer. I'm not even sure if they'll let her do that instead of an entree on the dp (anyone know the answer to that? ), but if they do, then it would make that fd discount less valuable, if that makes sense. Also, the dp credits include dessert; if you would not normally order dessert, then it is not saving you any money there.

To answer the question above, no....they will not let you substitute an appy for an entree or an appy for dessert. The DDP comes as it is and trust me, we've asked as it makes no sense for us to want something less costly from the menu and not be able to get it. For us, we don't like the dining plan. My kids like appetizers vs. entrees in many instances and rarely want dessert. Instead we use either our DVC points or if we want a different resort, book with a discount and use the TiW card for a 20% discount on our meals. After doing the math, this always comes out to be the better deal for us if we can get at least a 35% discount...which is the current bounceback offer. Back when the ddp included appetizers and grats, then it was fantastic but they keep whittling away at it, so it's no longer appealing for us. OP as it sounds like you have TS meals planned then I'd add up the costs of your meals if you were to purchase them OOP and then if you get a room-only discount offer, it will be easier to make your decision. ---Kathy

 

[fitzperry]

To answer the question above, no....they will not let you substitute an appy for an entree or an appy for dessert. The DDP comes as it is and trust me, we've asked as it makes no sense for us to want something less costly from the menu and not be able to get it. For us, we don't like the dining plan. My kids like appetizers vs. entrees in many instances and rarely want dessert. Instead we use either our DVC points or if we want a different resort, book with a discount and use the TiW card for a 20% discount on our meals. After doing the math, this always comes out to be the better deal for us if we can get at least a 35% discount...which is the current bounceback offer. Back when the ddp included appetizers and grats, then it was fantastic but they keep whittling away at it, so it's no longer appealing for us. OP as it sounds like you have TS meals planned then I'd add up the costs of your meals if you were to purchase them OOP and then if you get a room-only discount offer, it will be easier to make your decision. ---Kathy

Thanks, dclfun. Makes no logical sense, but it's what I expected. I agree with you completely--in its initial form, the ddp was a pretty good deal, but we would not pay for the current version, and I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a discount that would save us more $$.

 

[pjhootch]

It seems to me that since you appear to be planning to go even without a PIN or discount, the best way to handle it would be to go ahead and book with the free dining. Of course, that means you have to book a package with tickets and brings up the issue of deposits and last payment dates.

If you DO get a PIN or a room only discount shows up for your time frame, then you can change your reservation to get the best deal. There are a lot of folks here that are frustrated because they aren't getting PINS or discounts that apply to their dates.

If you aren't someone who would pay for the dining plan (like me) the best way to figure it is to run through the booking engine and get the total for your room(s) with no discounts applied. Then sit down and work out how much you guys would realistically eat in a day times the number of days in your trip. That is what free dining is really worth. It isn't worth the amount of food you COULD eat under the plan... it is worth what you would really use.

Then if a room only or PIN discount shows up for your time frame, it is very simple to see which deal is better. For us, I'm saving $355 on my value family suite for 5 adults with a PIN code I received in the spring. Free dining did come out for my dates, but since I'm at a value it is the quick/counter service plan. The way we eat and do the parks, it would about come out the same for us, BUT we are planning on spending one day of our trip at Harry Potter, so for us any savings goes out the window.

Bottom line is we would not spend $355 in three days at the parks, so for us the room only discount beats the dining plan.