Am I the only one who DOESN'T care about free dining?

[fridayfun]

I imagine if we had more than the two of us, FD would be the way to go. But for the 2 of us, when going on vacation (finally) we want to eat where we want to, not having to change restaurants because we don't have enough credits to include the places we really want to eat. And then still paying OOP for meals and parts of meals and not using free desserts at all. I think this promotion works really well for families, by keeping them from having to carry so much food from home to the parks with them and for those who might not have been coming with out because of cost - disney food is by no means cheap. So, right now we can get no use out of this disney deal, but if history repeats itself, I am sure there will be other small discounts (room only, etc) out there sooner or later for us DINKS too!

 

[Informer1906]

It only saves you money if you eat that much to begin with.

I would be worried about booking during free dining and trying to get good ADRs.

It is not a lot of food, it is two meals a day. Does everyone on this board who claims that it is too much food have six-pack abs, and only consume 1200 calories a day?

 

[styron]

I don't have any six pack abs, but I still don't eat an appetizer and dessert plus my dh ordering an appetizer and dessert. We could probably share an appetizer, have no desserts, and that would be our typical sitdown meal. So it's not saving me any money. It's just getting me food that I wouldn't be ordering in the first place, and that's nice because free is free, but I don't need all that food and the dining plan is more than I'd spend if I were paying as I go. I'm sure that's why Disney does it -- cuts down on the brownbaggers and the people who skip desserts.

 

[DaisyD]

It is not a lot of food, it is two meals a day. Does everyone on this board who claims that it is too much food have six-pack abs, and only consume 1200 calories a day?

LOL! Actually I'm thin and work out 4 days a week yet still don't think it is a lot of food. I look forward to two desserts a day! Heck, breakfast will be a cinnamon roll so that's even more sweets! We always have 3 meals a day at home so I want at least two meals a day on vacation.

We are staying at the GF so I don't even think getting a 40% room discount would be better. Since we are all considered adults for meals the DDP will be great. Considering our TS meals cost around $200 at a time and we are staying 7 nights, right there is $1400 for dinner. Add another $50 per day for CS lunch which comes to $350 plus additonal snacks. We would be looking at close to $1800 for lunch and dinner. I got the GF and am only paying $500 for that same amount of food. For us this trip the "free" DDP is a great value. We will still make ADRs whether we would have been on the DDP or not so no extra effort there. We would still eat a CS and TS meal a day so no change there. We would still be getting two desserts a day and eating at the same places we always eat so again no big deal. It's a no brainer for us.

 

[DaisyD]

I don't have any six pack abs, but I still don't eat an appetizer and dessert plus my dh ordering an appetizer and dessert. We could probably share an appetizer, have no desserts, and that would be our typical sitdown meal. So it's not saving me any money. It's just getting me food that I wouldn't be ordering in the first place, and that's nice because free is free, but I don't need all that food and the dining plan is more than I'd spend if I were paying as I go. I'm sure that's why Disney does it -- cuts down on the brownbaggers and the people who skip desserts.

The DDP doesn't include appetizers. We will probably order an appetizer to split and still get dessert. And I'm not sharing my dessert with anyone.

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

We are staying at the GF so I don't even think getting a 40% room discount would be better. Since we are all considered adults for meals the DDP will be great. Considering our TS meals cost around $200 at a time and we are staying 7 nights, right there is $1400 for dinner. Add another $50 per day for CS lunch which comes to $350 plus additonal snacks. We would be looking at close to $1800 for lunch and dinner. I got the GF and am only paying $500 for that same amount of food. For us this trip the "free" DDP is a great value. We will still make ADRs whether we would have been on the DDP or not so no extra effort there. We would still eat a CS and TS meal a day so no change there. We would still be getting two desserts a day and eating at the same places we always eat so again no big deal. It's a no brainer for us.[/QUOTE]

Same for us!! This is exactly how it worked for us. Everyone needs to be careful to apply the savings to their own individual situation to see which savings works out better for them.

 

[G&J's Mom]

I am kind of up on the fence about it. We did the free dining a couple of years ago. It was nice to try different restaurants that we would not usually go to, not because we could not afford to, but we just never go to that many TS restaurants on our trips. We usually do a couple TS's, several CS's and usually eat breakfast in our room. We are pretty spontaneous so it really was an adjustment to stick to a meal schedule every day. We are 2 adults and 2 kids under 10 who eat very little. So, the savings really might not be that great for us. Now when the 2 kids reach adult status, HELLO, then we would probably be all over this.

I will probably still book it and see if something else comes out.

Denise

 

[auntie]

I have no desire to be involved with the stress and the craziness during the free dining promotions. That being said..I've paid for the dining plan and enjoyed it. Only we prefer to stay at a deluxe resort..and the so called "free" dining ain't so free when you're paying full rack rate for a room to get it. Certainly it's a much better value when you are staying in a value resort. The more expensive the resort..the less of a deal so called free dining is.
I did have a 40% off room discount, to which I added a dining plan..and was very happy with the dining plan. Although..that was when it included the appetizer and gratuity.

 

[disney-dreams]

We have waited for this promotion again this year and jumped on it when it was offered to Disney Visa card holders a few days before it went public. We are a family of 4 with 2 adults, DD11 and DD8. The dining plan is a great deal for us because we enjoy taking a break from the bustle of the parks and sitting down at a TS and enjoying the atmosphere. There are just a few restaurants or dining experiences that require 2TS (most "signature" restraunts that have dress codes, some dinner shows and some character dining) and the rest require just one. In fact, last time we used the FD promotion and I called to do our AR, the cast member told me that we could get better seats for the "Ohana Luau" at the Poly by purchasing our tickets as opposed to using our TS credits. So, we did and used 2TS to do lunch at Cinderella's Castle. Both of these are amazing! Even with the DP, you need to look at what your family really wants to do on your vacation and taking time out to enjoy eachothers company over a nice meal is never a bad idea. We will once again eat our TS at Canada, Sci-Fi, Tony's Town Square, Coral Reef, France, Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace Breakfast!

 

[pooksma]

It never seems to be when I can go so I don't really worry. It would be nice, yes, but heck I'm at Disney!

 

[mommy*RN]

Please let me in on the deal, how did you get the Poly for $200 a night.

Sorry, I haven't been on the DIS in forever. I booked through Magical Vacations who was running a special during my dates in late October.

 

[auntie]

We also had a quote of some 225.00 a night at the Poly for August during ********. Which is a way better bargain than paying for rack rate of $400.00 for free dining. I'd rather just pay for my food. Especially now that the DP doesn't include the appetizer and gratuity.
I personally would want to avoid the crowds expected in the restaurants with free dining. Again..being that we prefer a deluxe resort, the dining isn't so free, if you have to pay full rack rate to get it.
I think for those that were planning on traveling during the promotional period, and didn't have any type of discount to the room available to them, then of course free dining is something they should take advantage of. They're planning to visit during that time anyway and pay full rack rate, then by all means.
For us..I wouldn't purposely plan a trip during that time period if I could avoid it. I've been lucky enough to always secure some type of discount in all the 17 years we've been visiting WDW. I can't bring myself to pay full rack rate. If I don't get a discount..we don't go.

EDIT:
I have NO idea why that is being blocked out with the stars? It's a promotion from another site, is all I can think of. Only I was under the impression we could mention other sites..sorry if that's changed. I wasn't aware.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I think it's great that Disney runs so many different promotions. I can see where the Free Dining wouldn't be a great deal for some, just like the 4/3 deal didn't appeal to me. You take the deal that best suits your travel situation.

For us, the time frame when FD is offered works very well. My son starts school after Labor Day, and the two weeks prior are the most convenient time workload-wise for me to take vacation.

We are 4 adults according to Disney restaurant pricing, and we enjoy character meals and AYCE's (like Ohana and Cape May Cafe). However, I wouldn't enjoy paying $30 for Chef Mickey's dinner for my 13 year-old with a tiny appetite. That kid doesn't eat anywhere near close to $30 worth of food ever. But on the Free Dining Plan, it makes no difference.

The basic DDP plan is close to what we'd buy if we were paying OOP. One big TS, a CS and a good snack is pretty much what we get for 4 of us each day anyway, so for us, FD is the best bargain WDW is offering right now.

 

[JeMarie6]

It is not a lot of food, it is two meals a day. Does everyone on this board who claims that it is too much food have six-pack abs, and only consume 1200 calories a day?

I'm with you, but then again I haven't done the dining plan yet. We are a family of 4 and going in Sept with free dining. I think we will tend to share two CS meals (ie. 2 CS meals for breakfast, 2 CS meals for lunch and then 4 TS for dinner) instead of trying to each eat one for the same one. But I can tell you at home I definetely eat 3 decent meals a day. Definetely going to have to make some wise choices about dessert as we are used to eating a lot but eating healthy, but other than than I think we'll make it work well.

 

[nwhitehead1214]

It only saves you money if you eat that much to begin with.

I would be worried about booking during free dining and trying to get good ADRs.

I guess that is the big question and everyone is different. This only saves you money if you spend that much to begin with-- it depends on the family. I am not saying "wow this is way too much food and I have six pack abs" but I don't go to Disney to sit down for TS every night. I can do that at home. We grab Turkey legs, popcorn, snack, CS, maybe a TS here and there but not every night. I do have a Dole Whip daily. But I love to ride, see the shows, get the snacks, etc. Don't forget your tips now when you are budgeting. Listen, its free, if you were going great but I wouldn't change my trip for FD. Look at your "true" family touring and if this is something you would have done before you are saving a ton going DDP, but if you snacked here and there-- got CS most of the time and occasionally a TS you aren't saving money at all. However, everyone is saving money when its free.

 

[rt2dz]

I have not read the whole darn thread--the real world has kept me off these past couple of months and I just don't have the time to fully catch up! But I do have to say, free dining doesn't do it for me. I follow someone on Twitter that is a writer (lots of Disney travel) and I like the way she phrased it, or rather, ran the comparisons. HERE is the link if anyone is interested. Basically, she runs the math between different discounts for a single family and finds that free dining costs you more money.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I have not read the whole darn thread--the real world has kept me off these past couple of months and I just don't have the time to fully catch up! But I do have to say, free dining doesn't do it for me. I follow someone on Twitter that is a writer (lots of Disney travel) and I like the way she phrased it, or rather, ran the comparisons. HERE is the link if anyone is interested. Basically, she runs the math between different discounts for a single family and finds that free dining costs you more money.

I didn't find that analysis helpful at all. She didn't say what the make up the family was, what dates they were going or what resort they were staying at. You have to factor all of those things in to see if Free Dining for your family. Free Dining can be an incredible savings for some.

We are a family of 6 and we always get two connecting rooms at a value for 8 nights with the basic dinnig plan.

A 40% discount room code saves us about $637.00

The 4/3 deal would save us about $750.00

The free dining discount saves us about $1,600.00

A more accurate analysis would be that most familes that have two or more children and stay value or moderate can get more savings from the Free Dining plan. If you stay deluxe and have less than two children then free dining would not be as good a deal as the 4/3 or a 40% discount.

 

[StrwLady]

In August my son and I are going but leaving Grumpy (hubby) at home. My son is 11 so considered an adult. At restaurants that are not buffets he usually eats off the kids menu. When my hubby goes with us we will pay for the kids meals out of pocket and then use his table service for my hubby or I at another restaurant. We checked to see if an adult table service could come off the child's menu and were told no. The way its set up the dining plan adult TS wouldn't cover it. With it being just my son and I we won't end up doing extra table services. So I will probably do my best to schedule all TS meals at buffet restaurants.

So right now I'm going to book the Free Dining package so I can get the resort I want. If a different package or room only discount comes out I will run the numbers on that. Figuring my dining cost with at most 1 or 2 TS. If something works out cheaper I will switch to that. I wish they would offer the Quick Service Dining Plan in the free dining package. That would be best for us.

I think free dining works out great for some but not great for others. I all boils down to the numbers.

 

[Manda]

I've had free dining twice in the past, but I'm not bothering with it this time. I prefer my AAA discount (and hoping for an AP discount). It would cost me an extra $450 to book free dining, so it's really $450 dining for me. Which probably still isn't a horrible deal, but the dining plan doesn't really mesh up well with the way we prefer to dine any way (we do a lot of room service and order a la carte). So I'd rather just pay out of pocket and get exactly what I want. If it was really free - meaning I'd still be paying what I have booked now and get some food on top of that - then sure, I'd take it.

 

[Brygida]

What do you mean?? Our trip is schedule for 10/24-10/31. I thought free dining ends 10/3?

Officially... right now.... yes. But remember last year when it was extended until Christmas? You could switch when it is extended.... and with the economy as it is.... it WILL be extended.