dinning plan

[burlesonbryan]

i know that they offer the free diining plan, i was wondering that if we make our reservations and go ahead and pay for it and they offer it through disney do we get our money back or not.

 

[supersuperwendy]

If you are a DVC member staying on points you don't ever get the dining plan for free. That is an incentive they sometimes offer with full price packages.

 

[TDC Nala]

No free dining on DVC reservations. The only reservations you can get free dining for would be full price package reservations including at least 2 day base park tickets.

 

[icydog]

I agree it is not possible to get the DDP for free if you are staying on points. BUT I wish they would change the rules and allow it somehow. Maybe by making us pay more in points for rooms with free dining. I remember when DVC didn't offer the dining plan to members. Their thinking was we wouldn't use it in favor of cooking in our rooms. That turned out to be bogus so I wonder if they will ever figure out a way to offer an incentive to us to get the free plan.

 

[Missyrose]

I agree it is not possible to get the DDP for free if you are staying on points. BUT I wish they would change the rules and allow it somehow. Maybe by making us pay more in points for rooms with free dining. I remember when DVC didn't offer the dining plan to members. Their thinking was we wouldn't use it in favor of cooking in our rooms. That turned out to be bogus so I wonder if they will ever figure out a way to offer an incentive to us to get the free plan.

They won't ever do this. The free dining promotion is Disney's way to fill full-price resort rooms. The DVC rooms will pretty much always be full, so no need to offer free dining.

 

[drusba]

I have the opposite view on whether they should offer free dining to members. I wish they would stop offering free dining altogether. One affect that I noticed is that the quality of food in many of the restaurants decreased with the onslaught of free dining and it also makes restaurant reservations impossible to get unless you call way before you are scheduled to go even during times of year when, before free dining, it was easy to get reservations when calling just a few days out.

 

[TDC Nala]

I can't figure out why they would offer dining plans for free to DVC members when the sole function for free dining is to fill full price resort rooms (at which it is extremely effective). The only reason they'd have for giving DVC members free food is to reward us for frequent visits and it would seem counterproductive to give free food to frequent visitors. Personally I don't like the dining plan and am not sure I'd want to use it if they really did give it away.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I agree it is not possible to get the DDP for free if you are staying on points. BUT I wish they would change the rules and allow it somehow. Maybe by making us pay more in points for rooms with free dining. I remember when DVC didn't offer the dining plan to members. Their thinking was we wouldn't use it in favor of cooking in our rooms. That turned out to be bogus so I wonder if they will ever figure out a way to offer an incentive to us to get the free plan.

There isn't a problem with you getting free dining. Just make a reservation with Disney Reservation Center when they offer free dining, pay the full price for your room and get free dining. Nothing to figure out at all.

 

[Mtnman44]

uuuuuuum. ?

Think about this for one second.....The same thing is also true for Free Healthcare, but I digress.

Maybe by making us pay more in points for rooms with free dining.

 

[canoe86]

I have the opposite view on whether they should offer free dining to members. I wish they would stop offering free dining altogether. One affect that I noticed is that the quality of food in many of the restaurants decreased with the onslaught of free dining and it also makes restaurant reservations impossible to get unless you call way before you are scheduled to go even during times of year when, before free dining, it was easy to get reservations when calling just a few days out.

This.

 

[icydog]

I'm just saying.... I would like to get something for free. When I First joined in 1992 Disney gave us free passes. I never realized how lucky we were until they stopped giving them to us. I love freebies. And the person who said he wouldn't take the dining plan if it was given free might be missing the point. Of course, we'd all take it for free. Why not? We could eat at the best Disney restaurants without a care in the world. Now that's a fantasy vacation!

 

[DebbieB]

I'm just saying.... I would like to get something for free. When I First joined in 1992 Disney gave us free passes. I never realized how lucky we were until they stopped giving them to us. I love freebies. And the person who said he wouldn't take the dining plan if it was given free might be missing the point. Of course, we'd all take it for free. Why not? We could eat at the best Disney restaurants without a care in the world. Now that's a fantasy vacation!

The free passes were a sales incentive that had an expiration date of 12/31/99, you knew that upfront.

 

[mousefan1972]

I'm just saying.... I would like to get something for free. When I First joined in 1992 Disney gave us free passes. I never realized how lucky we were until they stopped giving them to us. I love freebies. And the person who said he wouldn't take the dining plan if it was given free might be missing the point. Of course, we'd all take it for free. Why not? We could eat at the best Disney restaurants without a care in the world. Now that's a fantasy vacation!

I guess I have the opposite point of view, probably b/c we are new members. We bought BLT in April of 2010. We knew exactly what we were buying: years of pre-paid accomodations at a deluxe timeshare in Walt Disney World. We are very happy with that purchase and have taken several amazing vacations in the couple of years since we joined. I don't expect, nor do I desire, any "freebies". I'm happy with what we have. Anything else is just gravy.

 

[Mtnman44]

But Free isn't real, it is just a marketing gimmick. Nothing is free. There is always a cost, just not always in price. Free dining has other costs which might include higher ticket prices, higher food prices for non plan food, cheaper quality food, less restaurants, higher room rates, or higher DVC point costs in future locations.

I'm just saying.... I would like to get something for free. When I First joined in 1992 Disney gave us free passes. I never realized how lucky we were until they stopped giving them to us. I love freebies. And the person who said he wouldn't take the dining plan if it was given free might be missing the point. Of course, we'd all take it for free. Why not? We could eat at the best Disney restaurants without a care in the world. Now that's a fantasy vacation!

 

[TDC Nala]

Of course, we'd all take it for free. Why not? We could eat at the best Disney restaurants without a care in the world.

Because I don't like being regimented as to where I can eat or what courses I can order. I do know that there is no reason in the world for Disney to just give us DVC members nearly all our meals at their best restaurants for free; that''s pretty much a pipe dream. And if so many guests are eating for free with Disney getting nothing back for it (the current free diners are purchasing rack rate rooms and at least 2 day tickets through Disney), there won't be best restaurants any more either.