better deal- free dining or year long pin?

[g3pak]

I could do the math, but I am sure half of the people on here already have. Strongly considering taking the family next fall during free dining (assuming they have it again). What is a better deal for a moderate? A deluxe?

 

[marcielm]

It all depends on your own family dynamics. The dining plan costs are as follows (this is per night in the resort):
During the dates of 8/15 - 12/16 (typically when FD runs):
Adult price: $31.99
Child price (3-9): $9.99

Do the math this way:
((# of Disney adults (ages 10+) X $31.99) + (# of Disney kids (ages 3-9) X $9.99)) X # of nights in resort = total cost of dining plan

For your hotel discount, do the % off the room only rate for each resort you are intrested in staying at. See which discount is a larger deal. Often at a deluxe, the 40% is better than free dining. HOWEVER, if you have 4 Disney adults, the price of $127.96 per night could be a better deal than a room discount at a deluxe.

 

[ajpa]

During the dates of 8/15 - 12/16 (typically when FD runs):

Is this the first year they extended FD to Dec?
Or have they done that in the past, just not to the general public?

I'd love to get FD again but Aug-Sept is not our favorite time to go.

 

[PearlySwan]

^^^ I would second Marcielm and add the following. It depends. Here are the factors:

1. How many nights you plan on staying
2. How many people are in your party
3. The dining plan you plan on purchasing (QS, DDP, or DxDP)

You would have to sit down and do the math. Here's what we did to find out the total for the 20%, 30%, 40% PIN. We priced a room only stay for our dates. That gave us the resort cost w/out ticket, etc. Then we subtracted the percentage coming off with the PIN code from that number (20% value, 30% moderate, 40% deluxe). Afterwards we added the cost of tickets w/out the dining plan. That gave us the total package price using the PIN. If we wanted to add the dining plan, then we would simply price it for the number of nights and number of people in our party before adding it to the total for the package.

Now to find out what the cost of your package would be with free dining is simpler. Price a room only stay for your dates. Add the cost of tickets. Then figure out the cost of dining for your party. The last number would be the money coming off your package total. As PP said: ((# of Disney adults (ages 10+) X $31.99) + (# of Disney kids (ages 3-9) X $9.99)) X # of nights in resort = total cost of dining plan

Finally, compare prices between option#1 (PIN code discount) and option#2 (free dining discount) then make an informed decision. Best of luck!

 

[marcielm]

Is this the first year they extended FD to Dec?
Or have they done that in the past, just not to the general public?

I'd love to get FD again but Aug-Sept is not our favorite time to go.

This is the first year the extended it to general public. In the previous year I believe Disney VISA holders got it into Dec. (go check out Mousesavers.com at this link: Historical Discounts for a chart of previous offerings).

 

[g3pak]

5 minutes after my first post I realized I didn't give enough information. Here it is:

probably 6 nights or so.
2 adults, one 9 year old and one 5 year old
DDP- would be regular plan, not deluxe or quick service

concering an earlier post- is the adult plan $31.99 per day? I thought it was $38.99 or $39.99.

 

[disneyfan55]

YOu do have to do the math and also decide on what you would really want to eat. We have only used the dining plan when it was free with a Value. That's the best way to help decide. To me, Free Dining is best when combined with a Value resort since you have to pay rack rate for the hotel. The Deluxe hotels usually are a better deal with 40 % off. The moderates are a toss up and are pretty even either way, maybe the 4/7 is the best for mods if you need tickets. Just and easy way to figure without all the actual costs counted.

 

[disneyfan55]

This is the first year the extended it to general public. In the previous year I believe Disney VISA holders got it into Dec. (go check out Mousesavers.com at this link: Historical Discounts for a chart of previous offerings).

Yes, last year the Disney Visa free dining started on Sept 28 or 29th and went through Christmas Eve. As long as your first night was by Chirstmas eve you could get the free dining through the end of the year!! It was a good deal. There were also AP and General Public discounts offered on room only.

 

[marcielm]

5 minutes after my first post I realized I didn't give enough information. Here it is:

probably 6 nights or so.
2 adults, one 9 year old and one 5 year old
DDP- would be regular plan, not deluxe or quick service

concering an earlier post- is the adult plan $31.99 per day? I thought it was $38.99 or $39.99.

OH CRAPOLA!! I just noticed I pulled the WRONG prices off my spreadsheet. Sorry about that! It is $41.99 & $11.99 in the value, and $46.99 & $12.99 in the peaks.

What I quoted you was for the QSDP (where is the *hand hits forehead* smiley???)

It also depends on WHEN in 2010 you are traveling.
Here are the dates for the dining plan costs:
VALUE SEASON: 1/01/10 - 2/11/10; 4/11/10 - 6/03/10; 8/15/10 - 12/16/10
PEAK SEASON: 2/12/10 - 4/10/10; 6/04/10 - 8/14/10; 12/17/10 - 12/31/10