Convince me free dining is worth it

[fordpony92]

Ok so we have never done the dining plan we missed free dining by a couple of weeks the last time we went. But here is the dilemma. I have a 40% off code and we were planning on booking a Mod with (CBR, POR, CSR). If free dining is offered we would probably switch to a value with POP (which we have stayed at before and was fine with us as we are not in the room that much) being the preferred choice. I have always wanted to do the dining my wife is indifferent and doesn't know if it is really worth it. We are planning a couple character dining experiences (Chef Mickey and ?), a Fantasmic package, and my DW is taking DD to Perfectly Princess Tea Party regardless of dining plan or not. So my question is would it be worth staying Value with free dining or just go with the Moderate with 40% off. Of course this is all relying on Disney offering free dining for our dates (Sept. 20th-30th). I don't have a decision to make yet as I will book with the 40% code in a few days but then if the dining is offered I'll have to choose. I know I know just stay Mod with free dining which could possibly be done but POP with free dining is about the same price as a Mod using the 40% code.

TIA for all opinions!!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Well... I'm on the 'don't get free dining' side, but that's just me. Since we're planning almost the same trip (we're in a mod with the 40% off and almost align with your dates too!)...here's my mentality.

You're saving more money staying in a mod at 40% off. Also, the dining plan doesn't include ANY appetizers for adults for the table service. I know our family always wants at least one appetizer. So if you pay for the app OOP, then it's a TON of food since you get an entree and dessert, etc. Plus... the Food and Wine Festival is just starting when you're there so you'd only be able to use snack credits for some of the food and pay OOP for the rest. I was planning on just eating my way around the world showcase one night (or two) for dinner/lunch. I'd run out of snack credits in like 30 minutes!

That's just my two cents though. I know a ton of people LOVE the dining plan.

 

[mbanks21]

Whichever saves you more money. If youre staying at a mod and saving lets say $80 a night vs. free dining for 2 adults and one child youre saving $90 a night. Do that math depending on your situation

 

[ckenlady]

I am also on the "don't do the free dining" side. Way to much time spent thinking about food.... going to get food,,,,sitting around waiting on food.... talking about tomorrows food.....blah blah blah..

Took a lot of our enjoyment of the parks out of our trip. Plus, its a lot of food. 40% off is the way to go.

Make your ADR's and add it up, if you think your going to do as many meals that Free Dining would cover, then get it. If not, take the 40% discount and pay OOP.

 

[winterman]

We (DH & I) are booked for 10 nights in Sept. with a 40% PIN. We upgraded from AAA rate at ASMu when we got the PIN. We have already decided that if/when free dining is offered, we will switch to a value resort for the first 5 nights. We'll try for ASMu again but will take any value. Free Dining only makes financial sense for us if we stay at a value to take advantage of it. But, I'm not willing to pass up an opportunity to stay at POFQ.

If you will be at WDW for enough nights to allow you to do a split stay as well, just remember to put the FD package at the beginning, not the end.

 

[shainamom]

opps wrong section...sorry.

 

[kevgraub]

You just have to sit down and think about what your plans are and do the math. This will be our second trip, and on our first trip we did breakfast in the room every morning, ate CS every day for lunch in the park, then ate TS every evening to unwind. We also easily spent 1 snack credit per day (between popcorn, pop, bottled water, ice cream, etc). That worked well for us and we plan on doing it again this trip.

For us, the dining plan simply works. First, the dining plan almost exactly fits our dining habits at WDW - 1 TS, 1 CS and 1 snack per day. We do that anyway. We don't typically order an appetizer when we go eat, and although we usually don't get dessert, it doesn't take much talking to get us to eat one either.

Second, if we did a 40% off at a moderate, we would save about $60 a night during value season. We will save quite a bit more than that through the free dining plan with a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids).

So for us, choosing between a 40% off code (which we don't have - grrrr) and free dining is an easy choice. However, you simply have to look at your own situation.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Free dining is a no brainer for us. We can save between 600 and 700 with the 40% off code, but the free dining saves us about $1,500.00. We are a family of 6 and always get two connecting rooms at a value.

 

[Palendat]

The 40% off code saves you about $67 per night at a moderate. If you think that your family will spend that much or more per day on food, why not stay at the moderate that you already have your heart set on and add free dining to that resort. If, on the other hand, you don`t want to be tied down to all the ADRs involved with table service dining, take the 40% and eat counter service. Depending of the length of your trip, counter service isn`t too bad!!!

 

[skier_pete]

It takes a math geek like me to convince you.

We did FD in a mod last 2 years. We did 8 nights in August 2008.

8 nights at 40 % would have been $536 savings on our stay.

8 days of FD - 2 adults 1 child would have cost $687...about a $150 savings.

However, the ACTUAL COST of the food we got for free on the DDP, if you totalled it up, was $877.32. And yes, we kept track of every single item we got on the DDP, and that's what it came to. So that's an actual savings of $341 versus 40% off at a moderate. Tell me you couldn't use that money somewhere else!

Yes, we had to pay tips out of pocket...and bought a couple of appetizers and a couple of drinks, and the total out-of-pocket expense we spent for the 8 days of FD was...$116! That's it, all week, INCLUDING TIPS. (Again, I kept track of every penny...I could e-mail you the spreadsheet if you wanted to see every meal.)

You say full price at a value with FD is the same price as a mod at 40 %? This is true except in the former your meals are paid for, while in the latter, YOU have to pay for them. Even if you don't normally go to a TS restaurant every day, you can't tell me you don't spend $50 - $75 a day on food normally. So even if you don't like the DDP normally, why not try it when it's free! You can still do the TS restaurants you want, and try a few more.

And here's the great thing about it free DDP, when you sit down at a restaurant or go up to a counter, you no longer worry about prices! If you are like me, you look at the menu and go...hmmm the grilled chicken breast sandwhich looks good, but it's $11.95, the burger is only $7.95. DDP eliminates that feeling completely. You walk up and pick your meal...ooh, I'll have the steak sandwhich thanks!

There are negatives to DDP. You need to make your ADRs well in advance, and having that fixed time each day, meaning you have to plan your park days out. But we loved having a sit-down meal every day as a break. We did mostly late-lunches, which is the heat of summer made for a nice cool sit-down mid-day. And we did the same dates as you did in 2007, and believe me it is wicked hot still late-September.

So, in conclusion...If I was staying at either or value or a mod, I would choose the free dining over 40% off (assuming at least 2 adults, 1 child) in a millisecond.

SkierPete

 

[disneymom06]

Each cases is different. Our family needs 2 rooms,(4 kids). They like POP, and I pay $164 for two rooms and get the DDP for free which would cost me $206 a day. It's FD for us.

 

[MEK]

My opinion has less to do with actual money saved and more to do with the experience. I think everyone should try free dining! I don't think that one TS a day adds that much time and planning to your schedule. I personally think experiencing different dining establishments is part of the fun.

I would do free dining and stay at a mod!

 

[dsnymomof4]

My opinion has less to do with actual money saved and more to do with the experience. I think everyone should try free dining! I don't think that one TS a day adds that much time and planning to your schedule. I personally think experiencing different dining establishments is part of the fun.

I agree with this sentiment. The first time we tried the dining plan was in 2006 when they offered the free dining. Before that we had never had many sit-down meals. We had such a great time trying the more expensive restaurants that we wouldn't normally go to. Plus, it's so much more enjoyable when you know you're getting the food for FREE! We are a family of 7 and get 2 connecting rooms at Pop and its really worth the money for us. But besides that, we enjoy Disney paying for our meals - for this trip anyway!