You really need to crunch some numbers to decide if the
free dining with an AP is worth it for your family. Sometimes there are room only codes that can be a better deal.
Typically, if you're staying at value and moderate, the room only deals aren't as big, because the rooms are cheaper to begin with....so the "free" dining deal with a value of $38 per adult $10 per kid make it worth paying rack rate for the room. I put "free" in quotes, because once you pay the rack rate instead of the room only deals available, you're not getting truly free "free dining"......but it's usually a great deal anyway.
Let me give an example......value resorts during regular season are about $100 a night weekday.....but you can often get room only deals that bring that down to $60 or sometimes even less. So that's a savings of about $40....just about exactly what you'd pay for one adult dining plan. So, if you're going solo....you'll break even. But...throw another adult into the room and even paying rack rate you're saving the cost ($38) of the second adult....through in a couple of "juniors" (age 10-18) who are charged $38 also for the dining plan and you can see the savings add up. Even with children (ages 3-9) the dining plan is $10. Moderate resorts rack rates are $150-165....but typically room only deals are $99-109. So the room only is saving roughly $50....so solo guests wouldn't benefit, but throw in two kids (age 3-9 $10 dining plan) and it's break even....throw in a second adult and it's truly a bargain.
BUT.....stay at a deluxe and the savings aren't always as good.....since a deluxe room starts at $300 or more a night, a room only rate will often bring that down 30-40%.....and of course that may be a better deal than the $38 per person dining plan.
And...some people (myself included) have gotten free dining AND a discount on a room.....we leave in 5 days and we've got POP for $89 a night for 9 days (instead of $99 weeknights, $109 weekends) and free dining for 1 adult and 2 juniors, or $114 a day in dining free. The room only rate I had was for $69.....so I figure I paid $20 more per night to get $114 in food. Definitely a good deal. We had budgeted $750 for food for those days (we're light eaters and share meals often)....so in my mind I saved about $700.
We are AP holders and did have to spend $75 each on a 1 day MYW base ticket, but frankly, I see that purchase as an "investment" towards our APs in 2010. Even if you took the $700 I felt I saved and subtracted the $225 in tickets, we still are saving $475.00 if we never use those tickets (which of course we will. Our APs expire January 2009, and we won't be going back until late 2009 or 2010, so we'll simply upgrade those tickets to an AP at that time).
If you renew your AP with the small discount they give for renewals (typically $25)....then it does lower your savings a bit......but if you don't go every month, then renewing is possibly not a bargain in itself anyway.
So...if I haven't totally confused you already, wow! But, basically that was a windbag way of saying crunch the numbers for your particular situation....which hotel, when, adults/kids, return......it all varies and makes it impossible for someone to say which deal is best for your family.
If you need help calculating it....then let us know when you're going, where you want to stay, how many adults, juniors, kids in your party, etc. and we may be able to help you crunch.
