Does Disney lose money when they offer free dining?

[babydoll65]

I don't quite get your comment. I booked before the free dining came out!

Mind you, yesterday I did a dummy booking direct with Disney (3 flights, 14 nights CBR with preferred room, 3 14-day Ultimate park tickets, free QSDP and a $100 gift card). Came out to £4,405 - only about £100 less than I booked through the TA, even thought I'd moved my dates forward a week so we didn't go into peak season. Mind you, I don't know whether that included the 3rd adult surcharge because I booked it as 3 adults and it didn't ask for DD's dob. If it didn't, then the price would have come out just slightly more expensive than I actually paid.

The free dining for the UK market ends 14th October and, unlike the US offer, it includes ALL the moderate hotels!

Regarding the date of introduction of the dining plan, it may be that it wasn't offered to the UK market for a few years.

Sorry, I had to go back and look at your post again and misunderstood what I had read. I thought you were able to get the cheaper flights AND the 200$ gc. I'm not sure how it works in the uk but usually when I book, I book room and tickets only. I usually do the flights on my own later. When I try to book a pkg with flights included, I can never get a direct flight. Southwest is about the best airline out of providence,ri for direct flights and is usually cheaper.

 

[Toffeewoffy]

Sorry, I had to go back and look at your post again and misunderstood what I had read. I thought you were able to get the cheaper flights AND the 200$ gc. I'm not sure how it works in the uk but usually when I book, I book room and tickets only. I usually do the flights on my own later. When I try to book a pkg with flights included, I can never get a direct flight. Southwest is about the best airline out of providence,ri for direct flights and is usually cheaper.

We have various options:

1. Book a package which includes everything. Then you pay the one deposit and don't have to pay the balance until about 8 weeks before you go. You can do this through Disney or any TA. This way we're totally covered under ABTA/IATA for any risks of the TA going bust so we wouldn't lose our money.

2. Book a hotel/tickets package through Disney and sort your own flights out. Doing it this way, you still pay a deposit, but you have to pay for the flights in full up front. This includes a limited amount of insurance as it's a partial package.

3. Book all elements separately. However, to get the free dining, you HAVE to book the Disney park tickets at the same time as you book the room, so this option only really applies if you stay at a Value Resort (which doesn't include free dining for the UK).

4. Stay offsite (which is what we usually do). Book flights (and pay up front), book accommodation (and deal with the owner direct), get the cheapest park tickets you can (which saves a lot of money). The only downside is that you're not protected if any element of your holiday is lost for some reason - and I'm not talking about the normal holiday insurance which ought to be mandatory.

 

[smiths02]

Disney do something that will lose them money?

I don't understand the friend's logic here.

Free dining is just a discount. It gets people in Disney resorts paying a rack rate, paying a non-discounted rate for tickets, buying souvenirs, eating at Disney establishments (maybe ordering drinks, apps, things not included with DDP).

If a family of 4 (2 adults, 1 junior, 1 child) went to an AllStar for a week in early October and paid for 8-day hopper tickets, the cost would be around $2,600. Does your friend really think it cost $2600 extra dollars in employees to run the hotel and rides and give the family a few quick service meals? [This doesn't even count that the family is also likely to pay for a TS OOP or pay for the dessert party or pay for alcohol or buy souvenirs]

In the real world, I could easily house, entertain, and feed my family for a week for $2600.

 

[babydoll65]

I see what your saying. When I book my flights I (sometimes) book both ways all at once. Lately when I book with southwest, I'll find (either down or back) to be cheap and one very expensive. So I just book one way and wait for the price to drop on the return. Last trip our flight going down was 140$ then a few weeks later it dropped to 115$ so I applied the credit to my return flight. I'm not sure who you use for the Disney tickets but o e of the girls I work with uses ticket momma. She has never had a problem and you can purchase other theme park tickets too.

 

[babydoll65]

I don't understand the friend's logic here.

Free dining is just a discount. It gets people in Disney resorts paying a rack rate, paying a non-discounted rate for tickets, buying souvenirs, eating at Disney establishments (maybe ordering drinks, apps, things not included with DDP).

If a family of 4 (2 adults, 1 junior, 1 child) went to an AllStar for a week in early October and paid for 8-day hopper tickets, the cost would be around $2,600. Does your friend really think it cost $2600 extra dollars in employees to run the hotel and rides and give the family a few quick service meals? [This doesn't even count that the family is also likely to pay for a TS OOP or pay for the dessert party or pay for alcohol or buy souvenirs]

In the real world, I could easily house, entertain, and feed my family for a week for $2600.

I totally agree but sometimes you just can't argue with an idiot. (Thank God she doesnt go on disboards)

 

[Toffeewoffy]

I see what your saying. When I book my flights I (sometimes) book both ways all at once. Lately when I book with southwest, I'll find (either down or back) to be cheap and one very expensive. So I just book one way and wait for the price to drop on the return. Last trip our flight going down was 140$ then a few weeks later it dropped to 115$ so I applied the credit to my return flight. I'm not sure who you use for the Disney tickets but o e of the girls I work with uses ticket momma. She has never had a problem and you can purchase other theme park tickets too.

This year and next year, staying on site with the free QSDP we had to buy the UK-only 14-day ultimates to qualify. So, you could say that it's not 'free' as we had to spend more than we needed to in order to get the free dining.

Staying offsite I usually buy the 7-day MYW base tickets from a US ticket site as it's much, much cheaper to do that. I have used Undercover Tourist in the past, but more recently I've used Orlando Attractions.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

UK offers are a lot different from US offers. they often get the kind of offer where if they book someplace like OKW or SSR, then they can get both the free dining AND a room discount or gift card. this is because Disney knows that British guests stay for two to three weeks and they want all of that to be staying and eating at WDW. So they offer them free dining practically year round, extra discounts, different ticket options, plus a maximum of 21 nights on free dining as opposed to the 14 nights maximum for everybody else.

 

[Toffeewoffy]

That said, I think I'd die of boredom if I had to stay on site for 3 weeks!! Even staying for 7 days this year DD and I went off site to eat at Sweet Tomatoes because I craved some decent salad!

I'm not sure that we can book the free dining for most of the year, though. I'm always seeing threads on the Dibb asking when the free dining will open up again and when can they book it. It's also extraordinarily difficult to get to the US site to compare prices/offers against ours. What irritates us is that yes, we get the gift card - but we have to schlepp to DTD to pick it up, and you can imagine how difficult that is at the moment!

 

[wdwfan1]

No, Disney is not losing money. If they were there would be no free dining plan.

 

[Cadbury]

UK offers are a lot different from US offers. they often get the kind of offer where if they book someplace like OKW or SSR, then they can get both the free dining AND a room discount or gift card. this is because Disney knows that British guests stay for two to three weeks and they want all of that to be staying and eating at WDW. So they offer them free dining practically year round, extra discounts, different ticket options, plus a maximum of 21 nights on free dining as opposed to the 14 nights maximum for everybody else.

This is what we got, free ddp, 30% off our room at SSR and a 200 dollar gift card.
Costs are about 90 dollar a day per person, for room, food/drink and tickets.

 

[vetrik]

I went to Disney with free dining the first year it was offered, in September of 2005. We stayed at Pop Century for a week with the regular dining plan included for free, and at that time it also included an appetizer for each person and an 18% tip with the table service meals. We ate at places like Le Cellier for 1 dining credit with no additional cost. I don't think we paid one penny out of pocket for food on that trip, other than a margarita or two in Epcot.

I totaled it up when we got home from the trip, and I think the money we saved on meals that week was more than the total cost of the hotel. Disney probably did lose money more often with the plan set up that way, which is why it has changed so much! Now, a value stay will get you the QSDP, and the regular dining no longer includes the appetizer or tip, and more restaurants are signature meals. Disney doesn't give free dining to be a gift to visitors, I'm sure they have it structured now so it's another opportunity for money making.
.

 

[Mom2princessprince]

I don't understand the friend's logic here.

Free dining is just a discount. It gets people in Disney resorts paying a rack rate, paying a non-discounted rate for tickets, buying souvenirs, eating at Disney establishments (maybe ordering drinks, apps, things not included with DDP).

If a family of 4 (2 adults, 1 junior, 1 child) went to an AllStar for a week in early October and paid for 8-day hopper tickets, the cost would be around $2,600. Does your friend really think it cost $2600 extra dollars in employees to run the hotel and rides and give the family a few quick service meals? [This doesn't even count that the family is also likely to pay for a TS OOP or pay for the dessert party or pay for alcohol or buy souvenirs]

In the real world, I could easily house, entertain, and feed my family for a week for $2600.

I agree! I think by offering free dining during these lower traffic times, it puts some people over the edge to go because they are getting 'free dining.' However, you might not have come at ALL otherwise, so Disney is getting your money for the hotel, tickets, souvenirs and any other extras you buy, food or otherwise. Plus those on the fence about staying in disney vs outside will possibly be swayed by free dining to stay in park. To me, with or without the dining offer, $80-100 a night to stay at an allstar in park with transportation, etc. is a lot more enticing than paying a comparable amount or slightly less and dealing with driving, paying to park, etc from out of disney.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Nope, they make money and a lot of it. The majority of guests that go to WDW are not DP savy. They have no idea how much a TS is worth or how to take their full advantage of it. You would be surprised how many will go to a TS for breakfast and order $9.99 pancakes and a coffee and use their TS credit for the day. . So WDW got rack rate, tickets and made about $22 off that one meal. The mouse always wins.

Agree.

Disney will never lose money.

My coworker's cousin bought the DDP and showed up to Disney with no ADR's. She was very upset that she didn't get to use any of her TS credits.
Look at how much they made off of that reservation.

Personally it's hard to win out on the DDP. I would rather pay OOP.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

How the heck do you not use ANY of your TS credits. I guess they had no incentive to even look about for someplace to use them, because all they had to do was run over to Downtown Disney for lunch. Of course that would mean leaving a theme park to go eat somewhere.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

How the heck do you not use ANY of your TS credits. I guess they had no incentive to even look about for someplace to use them, because all they had to do was run over to Downtown Disney for lunch. Of course that would mean leaving a theme park to go eat somewhere.

I think they just tried to walk up to TS places inside the park.

I figure that since they didn't even research making ADR's they probably didn't research anything else. I'm also guessing that after frustration of being turned away from 1 or 2 places they just decided to go get CS.

Her words to my coworker were "it was such a waste of money."

 

[msb578]

During free dining (and in general with the DDP), the resort you're staying at gets billed for your meals.

Even at rack rate, your individual resort might not make out so good during free dining. But Disney as a whole, with tickets, shopping, extra food, and everything else you end up spending is turning a profit. Otherwise, like others have said, this discount would not be offered.

 

[andieb0602]

I'm a prime example of Disney's benefit for offering free dining. DH and I had planned a long weekend trip to Charleston, SC for our anniversary. Once Disney offered free dining it wasn't that much more for us to go to Disney vs. taking the long weekend trip. However, while we're staying value, we upgraded to DDP. We'll also be buying extra snacks for F&W and souvenirs for the kids and my parents. While we're at it we're also booking a bounceback and, depending on the offer at the time, may stay at a deluxe in 2015. Without free dining we might not have done either trip.

Free dining also creates a buzz. I know of a woman who learned about free dining and wanted to book. She couldn't find a rate that she liked for her family of 6 but really wanted to go so they went anyway and stayed off-site so Disney still had the revenue that they brought in just from free dining buzz.

They wouldn't keep doing it if they lost money.