DDP was not free for me !!

[WDisnut]

Did this happen to anyone else? We all know that people who did use the Free DDP code have to pay a rack room rate. You know just another way for disney to move the numbers around and make this look better than they really are. BUT , What happened to me is even worse!!! My girl friend wanted to only stay at the CSR and wanted to go in sept. ( we are leaving on the 19th ). So when I tried to make the ressie for CSR , the day free DDP was allowed to the public (non-disney Visa members), the only rooms they were allowing for the Free DDP code was the king bed rooms, even though you could call and get standard twin bed without the code for free Dining ( but at that time there was no discount on the room price) . Here is the kicker , the king bed rooms were another 25$ a night extra than a standard room. So not only was I paying a rack room rate , but I was forced to get a king bed room at 25$ more a night lol. when I did the numbers from the Free DDP I got VS. the Discount room code and then adding on the DDP , I was saving like 3 $ a day. lol... I sure some of you got better deals! So anyone out there who thinks DDP is free or is something that should be treated less that someone who bought the plan, think again!!

 

[Mom of 3]

I think I paid $140 per night for our room at POR. We have 5 in our room. 3 adults and 2 children. If I had paid for the dinning plan it would have cost me about $140. So for us it was a good deal. My 3 boys sure like to eat.

 

[beroh2253]

Staying at POP Sept. 21-30. Would have saved about $17 a night for a discount on the room and $39 x 2 (ME & DW) is $78 per night savings not paying for the DDP so I chose the DDP not free but x 9 nights we would have paid $702 for the DDP and gave up saving $153 by taking rack rate on the room. So I guess if you want to say it isn't free you could say we paid $153 for the DDP instead of $702. Saved $549 by going with the DDP. But can't wait for 10 more day so go bye. Then off to eating.

 

[kacaju]

I booked our vacation before free dining. When I called AAA and asked if they could add on the free dining for me my vacation total dropped by $940.
We are 2 adults, 2 *adult* children (13 and 11) and 1 child (7).
Yes I had to pay rack rate, but saving $940 was well worth it!!

 

[Lewisc]

There was a limited number of rooms available, per resort/room type/date, under the free dining promotion. Guests had the option of changing dates/resorts or room type. You could have asked about changing to an alternate resort.

Your choice was to accept, and pay for, an updgraded room type.

 

[JimMIA]

NEWS FLASH! This just in: "There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

 

[WDisnut]

Lets try this again- I understand many people got a much better deal than I did and I'm happy for all of you, really. 3 years ago I stayed at pop music with 3 other adults and saved also during free DDP. But because of the fact my girl friend wanted to ONLY go to CSR, and being forced to go in a king bed during the month of SEPT, Free dining wasn't free for me no matter how the trip could have been done with any code I found at any time .... So when I read reports about how free diners should be segregated (or whatever term fits) from people who payed OOP or Payed for the DDP , I just wanted to point out my DDP was not free and I wanted to hear your similar stories and even If I got the best deal in the world and got the trip for 1$ I don't think anyone should be treated (or whatever term fits) differently!! I can't wait for the 19th of SEPT!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I can't prove or disprove your numbers because you don't say what the Discount Code you could have used is, but:
Standard room, Moderate resort = $145 per night
King bed, Moderate resort = $160 per night
Standard room with tax = $163.13
King bed with tax = $180
Base difference: $160 - $145 = $15
Total difference: $180 - $160 = $20
Cost of Dining Plan per person = $38.99
DDP cost for two people = $78.98
So, for the extra $20 you were forced to pay per night, you are getting $78.98 worth of Dining Plan, for a savings of $58.98.
And this is calculated on the actual cost of the plan and the room, NOT on the menu prices of the food you actually eat (which will likely be higher than $38.99 each)

You also could have called back one or more times while the Free Dining Promotion was available, to see if any other rooms had been added to the pool.

NEWS FLASH! This just in: "There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

Oh, really? You wanna confirm that with that family of four - two actual adults and two "juniors" - staying at a Value resort?
Value room with tax = $92.25
"Free" dining plan for four adults = $155.96
$92.25 - $155.96 = ($63.71)
And again, that's the price of the plan, not the actual price of the food. I worked out a sample day - food court snack breakfast, Pepper Market Lunch, San Angel dinner - that came to just over $90. Per person.

 

[kaytieeldr]

free for me no matter how the trip could have been done with any code I found at any time .... So when I read reports about how free diners should be segregated (or whatever term fits) from people who payed OOP or Payed for the DDP , I just wanted to point out my DDP was not free and I wanted to hear your similar stories

One of the Dining Reviews mentions the DISer encountering a LOT of people in Disney restaurants either not on any plan, or on the DDP but, like you, having paid for it.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

One of the Dining Reviews mentions the DISer encountering a LOT of people in Disney restaurants either not on any plan, or on the DDP but, like you, having paid for it.

I feel like we got a pretty good deal. We have 4 children and have to have 2 rooms. We are staying at Pop for 8 nights with 2 rooms, have hoppers for 2 adults, 1 junior and 3 kids and got free dining for a grand total of $2,700.00. It saved our family over $1300.00.

On another note, I can't really understand all of the animosity some posters are spreading about the Free DDP. "I hate free dining," "free dining should just be CS," "free dining takes up all of the good tables," "free dining makes me have to plan early..." Free DDP or No Free DDP you have to make Advance Dining Reservations, unless and until Disney opens some more Table Service restaurants. That's just a plain fact. Their crowd numbers are up and are going to stay that way for a while, I would imagine.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

When planning my September trip, I had the choice of a rack rate room at the Poly with free dining, or an AP rate at the Poly with no dining plan. With four of us going (both kids are considered adults now), the free dining was the better deal, probably worth about $300 over the AP rate. And the convience of the dining plan worked out great for our family, as the kids could use their own cards and have some independance. If I were solo, the free dining would never have been worth it over an AP rate room. But we were very pleased with the free dining deal, as we ate at places that normally wouldn't have been in the budget.

 

[disney_family_1247]

I'm spending a little over $200 more on our room at ASMovies for the week. Feeding two adults and two kids would cost us much more than that, even with us only doing CS. The Free DDP may not be 100% free, but it's close enough to make us happy . We did it last year, and when we totalled the receipts, it came to be about $1000 worth of food. That's more than $200 .

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

There was a limited number of rooms available, per resort/room type/date, under the free dining promotion. Guests had the option of changing dates/resorts or room type. You could have asked about changing to an alternate resort.

Your choice was to accept, and pay for, an updgraded room type.

Yeah, that is just the way it is. You could have opted for a different room or resort.

 

[BeckWhy]

Did this happen to anyone else? We all know that people who did use the Free DDP code have to pay a rack room rate. You know just another way for disney to move the numbers around and make this look better than they really are. BUT , What happened to me is even worse!!! My girl friend wanted to only stay at the CSR and wanted to go in sept. ( we are leaving on the 19th ). So when I tried to make the ressie for CSR , the day free DDP was allowed to the public (non-disney Visa members), the only rooms they were allowing for the Free DDP code was the king bed rooms, even though you could call and get standard twin bed without the code for free Dining ( but at that time there was no discount on the room price) . Here is the kicker , the king bed rooms were another 25$ a night extra than a standard room. So not only was I paying a rack room rate , but I was forced to get a king bed room at 25$ more a night lol. when I did the numbers from the Free DDP I got VS. the Discount room code and then adding on the DDP , I was saving like 3 $ a day. lol... I sure some of you got better deals! So anyone out there who thinks DDP is free or is something that should be treated less that someone who bought the plan, think again!!

I understand your frustration. I did not encounter this problem though. CSR along with several other resorts offer very, very limited room choices, unfortunately. Therefore, sometimes you have to pay. But instead of booking the Free DDP promo, why didn't you just go ahead and book the other discount? I'm not sure what the time frames were on the discounts, but there are several things you can do to help prevent situations like this. For example, you can book the resort you want at rack rate, then when a discount code comes out, modify the existing reservation (is that what you do? if not just cancel and rebook). Then discount 1 comes out (example, discount off vacation packages in general). You book this... then when discount 2 comes out (example, free dining) you can price it out and determine if it is worth modifying your ressies again. Like I said, I'm not sure the order in which the discounts came out or what not, but this could have helped you in the situation you found yourself in.

I, personally, saved something like $600 with free dining last year. No discount off rack rate can compare to that money we saved. Of course, I am very flexible where we stay, and prefer staying at the value resorts. If I were to book a moderate resort, I would pay the extra $25 a night for a king room (assuming I am going with my boyfriend). Because of this, I am very reluctlant about booking a moderate resort, because I try to have my vacation cost as less as possible (there are a lot of other factors why I won't stay at a moderate, but we won't get into that now).

There is one time, I called to price a vacation and the CM offered me a discount for CSR, standard room (you could NOT add DDP to it) and the cost of the room (it was a vacation package) was something like $65 a night. He did tell me that this discount only pops up when you are very flexible with your travel dates (I know this part was OT).

 

[DISNEYNY]

I'm spending a little over $200 more on our room at ASMovies for the week. Feeding two adults and two kids would cost us much more than that, even with us only doing CS. The Free DDP may not be 100% free, but it's close enough to make us happy . We did it last year, and when we totalled the receipts, it came to be about $1000 worth of food. That's more than $200 .

I agree with this. We just got back from 8 days with FDP. I paid 82 per night for ASMU. The best rate I could have found was 69. So I paid an extra 13 per day so I could have the FDP. Well worth it IMO.

 

[webshark3]

The math around the free DDP (and even the DDP) is VERY subjective, and must be looked at on an individual basis.

Under "normal" eating conditions at Disney, I'd gladly take the AP discount. But this trip, we decided that since we'd be there under free dining anyways, when our "normal" habits would be disrupted (due to ADRs and all the diners), we decided to make it more of a "eating adventure trip". So with all our ADRs booked, we stand to save about about $300 plus with the free DDP this time around (9 of us).

Normally, the room discount would save us more....

 

[TDC Nala]

Lets try this again- I understand many people got a much better deal than I did and I'm happy for all of you, really. 3 years ago I stayed at pop music with 3 other adults and saved also during free DDP. But because of the fact my girl friend wanted to ONLY go to CSR, and being forced to go in a king bed during the month of SEPT, Free dining wasn't free for me no matter how the trip could have been done with any code I found at any time .... So when I read reports about how free diners should be segregated (or whatever term fits) from people who payed OOP or Payed for the DDP , I just wanted to point out my DDP was not free and I wanted to hear your similar stories and even If I got the best deal in the world and got the trip for 1$ I don't think anyone should be treated (or whatever term fits) differently!! I can't wait for the 19th of SEPT!!!

Yeah, you did get the free DDP. You just limited yourself to one resort that was sold out of standard rooms on the offer, so you had to take a room at a higher price. You weren't FORCED by Disney to take the king room, your preference (or your girlfriend's) made it necessary.

Sorry you were not able to get a better deal.

 

[cmurray234]

Depends on how you look at it. We missed out on free dining, which does kind of stink, but we got the discounted rate on CSR which saved us about $50.00/day when you consider what you're saving in actual rates and then add tax savings onto it. For our 8 night trip, that's a savings of $400.00. Since without DDP, our family can eat for about $500.00 (because we don't bother with sit-downs). So free dining makes the trip about $100.00 cheaper for the whole trip. I'd have liked the free dining, but what we got is almost as good. its all perspective.

We've used DDP before and found it to be a momumental time waster to do a sit down EVERY day, and its really more food than we need.

 

[rantnnravin]

when I did the numbers from the Free DDP I got VS. the Discount room code and then adding on the DDP , I was saving like 3 $ a day.

OP the problem with your analysis is that you can't get the free DDP or the regular DDP with a discounted room - so you saved much more than $3 since you would have had to pay OOP for your meals.

 

[WDisnut]

I understand you always have to pay a rack room in theory... There are AAA discounts and other forms of dicounts or specials disney has or travel agents that the DDP can still be a part of..., but yes, paying OOP I might be saving more depending on which food Items I choose or vice versa with the ddp / free DDP... I was more upset that I had to get the king bed room, when there were standard rooms available just not with the Free ddp the FIRST DAY the free DDP was available to the general public (non disney visa members) ................( The HM is open and I'm leaving in 5 days )