Anyone "pass" on Free Dining?

[kimara3]

Anyone who thinks free dining is a good deal, just PM me, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

I have two teenagers, and we always stay in the values as we don't spend much time in the room. So even without the upgrade to DDP, we are almost breaking even on the room with the value of the QSDP. How would that not be a good deal?

 

[ccgirl]

oh, allow ME. I just did this earlier in the week. 'FREE' dining was going to cost our family of 4 $950 whereas room only would be $750...BUT we cannot possibly eat 4 full dining plans per day. No way. I think we'll spend less than $200 on food if we only do CS using our TIW card when we can and only ordering enough food--not way too much. My gs eats very little--any full meal is a waste with him.

So, for us, even FREE dining doesn't make sense. And, honestly, do you really think Disney is giving you anything free? Rack rate on a room was $138 for our stay...we are paying $49 a nite.

See...you did the math. Figured you could feed your family on less than $200 for the week and made your decision. A lot comes in to play here. Every family is different. My family enjoyes the character meals. We like doing 1 sit down meal a day and could not just eat counter service meals all week. I looked at the menus on allears.net and actually added up what I thought my family would eat. Most CS places I found came out to be about $10 for an adult meal/drink and $6 for a child. So, for my family each counter service meal alone would be $32.

 

[caroline1851]

I would think the free dining would be a better deal than a $300 gift card. i imagine you'll eat more than $300 while you're there...but i dont' know how many people are in your group.

 

[DaParkers]

Anyone who thinks free dining is a good deal, just PM me, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

Please explain. You seem like you would probably buy a bridge because you insinuate that free dining isn't a good deal, yet you refuse to back up your claims. I'm tired of people making blind claims based on what they've heard and not fact.

 

[DaParkers]

oh, allow ME. I just did this earlier in the week. 'FREE' dining was going to cost our family of 4 $950 whereas room only would be $750...BUT we cannot possibly eat 4 full dining plans per day. No way. I think we'll spend less than $200 on food if we only do CS using our TIW card when we can and only ordering enough food--not way too much. My gs eats very little--any full meal is a waste with him.

So, for us, even FREE dining doesn't make sense. And, honestly, do you really think Disney is giving you anything free? Rack rate on a room was $138 for our stay...we are paying $49 a nite.

Your math is WAY off. I would love to know how $49 a night comes to $750.are you going to be there for 15 nights? $750 would be 15 nights at $49. Yet, to be close to $950 at $138 a night, you would be there for 7 nights. Last thing. What type of discount or pin code did you get that gave you more than 60% off of the rack rate?

 

[ReneeA]

We have taken free dining for the past 5 years because I've ran the numbers and it saved us more money over the other discounts in the long run. However, we stayed at a value one year, and have been at the mods the other years. If we decide to stay at a deluxe in a year or 2, it will be more advantageous for us to take the room discount and pay OOP for food.

For those that say the DDP does not save money certainly have not been in every single person's situation and ran the numbers. We go often enough that I know how to twist the numbers every which way to get the best value for my money (being a 10 year DISboard member will do that for you).

 

[TDC Nala]

Your math is WAY off. I would love to know how $49 a night comes to $750.are you going to be there for 15 nights? $750 would be 15 nights at $49. Yet, to be close to $950 at $138 a night, you would be there for 7 nights. Last thing. What type of discount or pin code did you get that gave you more than 60% off of the rack rate?

The PP just said they won't eat the food. I can't see free dining as a good deal for people who don't eat the food. They could pay less getting a room discount and buying just what they WILL eat, especially with a TIW discount on the table service meals (and some counter service).

Besides, free dining is a maximum of 14 nights, so they couldn't get it for 15 nights (unless they're British, the British offer is for up to 21 nights). They'd have to make a separate reservation for the extra night.

I don't care if the free dining is a deal or not, I just won't use the dining plan. There are others who agree with me on that. I don't like the way it obligates you to order meals (entree/dessert only).

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Anyone who thinks free dining is a good deal, just PM me, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

While I agree that FD isn't a good value for everyone, to make statement that implies that FD is NEVER a good deal is naive at the least.

August 2010....5 people, 4 Disney adults and one child. DDP cost 179.95/day...cost of one night at POR 149.99. I have yet to recieve a pin code for that much off my room.

Did I feel tied to ADR's...sometimes...but not enough to put a damper on my trip. We have been enough times that I know our touring style and eating habits.

September 2011...I plan to take my younger two to either Poly or WL and I am hoping for a 40% off room code.

To each his own!

 

[mom2t]

I don't like being tied to all those reservations and don't enjoy eating out all those meals. We do a villa instead and go for % on room instead. We eat about 3 or 4 meals out for our 8 day trip. Just what our family is used to.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I passed for the room discount. 40% off 10 nights came out to a savings of almost $1900. The free dining was only a savings of about $1000 for 2 Adults and 1 child. We bought the deluxe plan and reserved breakfast every morning and dinner every night. We winged it for lunch, which 90% of the time skipped and had an ice cream or something with our 60 snack credits! Most of our dinners were 2 credits and breakfast with Cindy was 2 credits. When we checked out, we had 44 snack credits and 3 meals (one meal each) left on our card. It was well worth it even leaving behind credits.

 

[DaParkers]

The PP just said they won't eat the food. I can't see free dining as a good deal for people who don't eat the food. They could pay less getting a room discount and buying just what they WILL eat, especially with a TIW discount on the table service meals (and some counter service).

Besides, free dining is a maximum of 14 nights, so they couldn't get it for 15 nights (unless they're British, the British offer is for up to 21 nights). They'd have to make a separate reservation for the extra night.

I don't care if the free dining is a deal or not, I just won't use the dining plan. There are others who agree with me on that. I don't like the way it obligates you to order meals (entree/dessert only).

That's fine. My post was about the math. I am genuinely courious about the deal she got.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We passed on Free Dining for our trip this December because we got a 40% Room Only Bounceback rate at the Boardwalk Inn for a Standard Club Level Room, plus we don't think Free Dining is anything special of a deal when staying at a Deluxe Resort since you need to pay the rack rate.

 

[maddiesmom0116]

Free Dining was offered when I booked our package, but I told them I didn't want it. I took a $300 gift card instead. The CM on the phone kept telling me it was a better deal to get the free dining, but that is just to much food and planning for us. We also have about $300 on our Disney rewards card so between the 2 we shouldn't have to pay for anything anyway. Anyone else do this too? Just wondering.

By the way, we are doing CSR the 1st week of Feb. I can't wait.

The % off discount always works out better for me then free dining. I buy the DLXDDP many trips, I always ,map out where we are dining and see if it is a better deal t go OP or buy the plan. Last trip OP ended up being $100 cheaper, so no dining plan for us.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I think it depends on MANY factors. For my family, it is a good deal. Dining plan for my family is around $120 a day (2 adults, 2 kids) We would definitely spend that much money on foods. We are TS people - at home we go out to eat every weekend and always at regular restaurants. We rarely eat fast food type meals unless we are in a hurry or traveling on the highway. Without DDP, we'd probably eat more QS meals to save money than with DDP but in reality DDP fits better with our preference for TS.

Being frugal, I think it's fair to say that we'd spend a minimum of $35 per day per adult on food. That would be just entree + tax. No soft drinks. With buffets, the price will be higher. Factor in the fact that we'd want at a bottle of water.

$10 per adult for a QS lunch
$25 per adult for a TS dinner
$2.50 water

That's $37.50 a day without ordering a single dessert or soft drink. In reality, at least DH would typically get a soft drink (I usually don't order soft drinks because I'm frugal in that way and I like water with a slice of lemon). I often want dessert but am too cheap to get it.

If we took room only and paid OOP, we'd probably skip some of the pricier character meals plus we would be really conscious about what to order to stay within a certain budget, like I normally am when I go out to eat. I typically try to select entress at $20 or less if possible, unless we're going to a really nice place.

For a family of four in a moderate resort who likes to eat TS meals, Free Dining makes sense.

My main gripe with DDP is the dessert issue. I wish it included an appetizer. We are appetizer people and would be more inclined to share an appetizer and share a dessert or not get dessert at all. So we end up spending extra OOP for appetizers. We'd spend less extra OOP if appetizers were included and not dessert as we'd get dessert less frequently than we would get an appetizer.

 

[honeymo78]

Free dining isn't a deal for us, ever (even if we weren't DVC) and it has nothing to do with the cost of the room or pin codes. We eat maybe 2 or 3 CS meals the entire trip. I like appetizers (sometimes as my entree) and rarely order dessert, usually sharing DH's. We also like to eat meals that aren't on the DP, such as Shulas or eating lunch at the bar at Rose & Crown.

We used to get the Platinum or Premium packages (which do include food) but made our money in the recreational activities. We have tried the Deluxe DDP but still found that for our money and the way we like to eat, using our TiW card works out much better.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

One other thing to realize, if you don't have an AP, you can't use a TIW card. Special discounts aren't available either. At least for 2011, for the week we want, FD is the only option. The math works out differently without an AP.

Obviously, we need park tickets anyway whereas with AP you already have them. If we had an AP (and we really don't need one), then yes, we'd get TIW and not use a dining plan. But since there is no way for us to get TIW, the Dining Plan option has more value.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I think it all depends on what discounts are available to you and your family's preferences.

If you are staying at a deluxe- especially one of the upper level deluxe- and can get 40% off your room OR free dining- take the 40% off. i.e. 40% off at something like the Poly is a much better deal than free dining.

If you've got the option of free dining OR a gift card and you're a family who doesn't want a bunch of TS meals - whether it's too much food or you like to have more time touring the parks or enjoy the flexibility of quick service - take the gift card...since you're likely to get more bang for the buck and enjoyment out of the gift card than you will get out of the dining plan.

Otherwise- it's worth some consideration.

For us- We don't mind making ressies way in advance...we've been on enough trips where we had to book special meals months in advance or tours where meals/restaurants and times are highly regimented- that booking a week's worth of dining is really no biggie. Hey- it's a heck of a lot more flexible than a tour! We also like a lot of sit down meals and know how to get our $s worth. So, while free dining won't cover it all- it will help us out a lot with the 11 ADRs we have booked. There were no 40% off slots at our hotel when universal discounts came out and we didn't want to switch hotels, so we took the free dining PIN we got and I'm happy!

 

[Melanie B]

When we booked the room discount was offered as well. We opted for that and got the deluxe plan. Worked out to be cheaper in the end.

 

[CanadianPaco]

We did the room only discount. I worked it out and with our way, we'll save approx $550 and that's with 4 TS meals at Xmas. Free dining .... hmm!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Anyone who thinks free dining is a good deal, just PM me, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

We are a family of six that always gets two connecting rooms at a value resort for usually 8 night.

The free dining discount saves us about $1,500.00

The 4/3 deal saves us about $750.00

The 40% room only discount saves us about $630.00

I don't think we are as dumb as you apparently think we are.