Am I the only one who doesn't do FREE DINING?

[boomhauer]

I see all these threads on here about it, and I feel like I'm missing something.

I have an Annual Pass, so free dining isn't an option for me as we don't book packages.

For some reason, I never think about the cost of food in Disney. We eat mostly fast food, so maybe that's why it doesn't seem like a huge inconvenience.

 

[dabute]

I also have an AP. I just buy a one day base ticket and save it to upgrade to my next AP. My husband and I don't like fast food. The dining plan would have cost us $836 for the 11 nights we are staying. For that amount of time we would spend about $1200 in food. We do mostly table service. No AP rate can match that. We staying at CBR so it's just as good of a deal as the 40%.

 

[rcraw45425]

We don't spend eanough daily on food to offset the cost of the DP, plus with kidsalready back in school the dates don't work for us to participate in the free dining. I calculated how much we spend daily and it's conciderably less than the >~$130 per day it would cost us, so we just pay OOP since the girls share off the adult menu.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I booked the free dining package with a 1 day base tickets. I'll purchase our PAPs when we get there.

We ate CS everyday, every meal during our first trip. I'd stay home before I do that again.

 

[traveladdiction]

We also have APs here! Our 14 night stay would cost us $1344. for the dining plan (for 2 adults, 2 kids) - so I buy 4 base tickets that as long as you don't use them (duh!) you can put them toward any other kind of ticket later on! So, yeah, I'm spending $200 in tickets I don't need, but I'll get it back when I go back and get new tickets (no matter what kind) when my AP expires in December. Now, to just get off hold and modify my reservation!!!

 

[fla4fun]

No, I don't book the DDP because the AP discounts are usually worth more than paying rack rate and getting the DDP free since I like to stay deluxe. It really only works out as a benefit for AP holders if you are staying in the less expensive resorts. So if you're a Pop or All Star fan, book the package with the one day ticket and then use the ticket as partial payment when renewing your pass. Otherwise, especially if it's value season, you're probably better off with the room discounts.