Does free dining change your mind?

[debbs0723]

Now that free dining has been released on many dates from jan-March does it change any of your minds staying off site. We had resigned ourselves to offsite. I'm still leaning that way but I'm wondering how you guys justify still staying off site. The rack room rates are pretty high for what they are so it seems that It is about $100 difference a day to stay in a moderate with free dining for 4 people vs. staying offsite and paying for parking.

We were planning on mostly quick service meals and eating offsite and at the condo so I had budgeted $100 per day for meals for 3 non big eater kids and 2 adults. Again, this is not for table service restuarants.

We could save a little by staying on site in a value and doing the quick service plan but I'm not 100% sure I want to do that.


Thoughts?

Debbie

 

[Gr8t Fan]

There are 6 of us and we need 2 rooms, so simply looking at costs, offsite + food will always be less than onsite even with free dining. Our WH 3 bedroom condo is $766 for 2 weeks, the cheapest options for us onsite are 2 value rooms ($4,366), a family suite at ASMusic ($4,658) or a Ft. Wilderness Cabin ($6,368). If we do the family suite or the value rooms, we have to pay to upgrade to the regular DDP. Of course, the onsite prices include a 2 day ticket, and we will pay for our tickets separately when we stay at WH and also pay for parking, but the announcement of FD does nothing to change our plans. If we only needed 1 room, it might be a close call, but needing 2 rooms is the tipping point for us.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Last year we stayed off site even though free dining was offered. We had such a good deal for less than what free Dining would offer. And frankly the Disney food is way overpriced and not that great.

However this year we did book free dining. There are 10 of us going and staying at a disney resort is fun and not having to worry about meals is a plus. This costs more than off site even with free dining but it is what we want.

Remember when free dining is offered many off site nice places offer deals to compete.

 

[debbs0723]

it is becoming a little bit of a close call for us as well. We only need one room and right now we are considering a room at the french quarter and the regular dining plan. It actually saves us about $600 if we do the following.

Friday-fly in and use hotwire for hotel near airport
sat morn-check into universal hotel (will use express passes for two days)
Sun-Universal (check into French quarter that night)
Mon-Sat Disney

We are still renting a car no matter what but won't have to pay parking which does help and I did include tips. We will just have to make a decision. There are a few ts restaurants we have not tried like Les Chefs, Ohana, marakesh, etc.

Decisions, decisions. Basically we save approx $600 and it is a tradeoff between table service meals and space.

 

[budafam]

I am up in the air about all of this still... this will be our second trip and my MIL is coming along. Originally I wanted to do the DxDP so we could pig out but my MIL is hoping to keep costs close to $1500 for herself which would be impossible on the deluxe dining plan. Then free dining came up and I spent all day going over numbers. In the end, she'll still be close to $2000 even if we drive (which I was really hoping we could fly this time) Now I'm looking into sticking to our original plan (go in May) and stay offsite plus pick a few of the restaurants we planned on going to and splurge for those. Hopefully that will be cheaper than anything else. Argh... why must it be so darn expensive!?

 

[BrerMama]

This morning I was pricing it out. Free dining has not yet been released for my dates. Right now -- excluding tickets and dining -- it would cost us $300 more to stay onsite. I found myself thinking, "It's only $300 for all magic, all the time." And then I realized the fallacy in that thinking. I should have thought, "So I'm saving $300 and I'm getting a 4 bedroom, 4 bath house with its own pool. I can't believe that." We'd be staying in one room onsite (3 teens and 2 adults) so the comparison is remarkable.

Since then, I've found homes we like just as much and they're actually $800 cheaper than my original calculations, so we're saving $1100 vs. onsite and getting 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and our own pool. Crazy. Nah. If they offer free dining, I'm staying off site. I can't beat the space issues for less money.

 

[debbs0723]

I have to change my post. I would be saving about $300 to stay on site at a moderate and do the ddp (including tips). So $300 in savings and getting TS restaurants vs 3 bedroom townhouse and eating at counter service and back in the condo. I originally posted $600 and that was wrong.

It really is a tough call because in 6 days I know my kids (and us) do enjoy the TS restaurants but I also like the freedom of No ADRs. The reason we have liked the dining plan so much in the past is that I'm cheap and will tend to nickle and dime everything if we order OOP.

I wish it was more of an apples to apples comparison but I just don't want to give up the condo for a value hotel to and get quick service so it has to be a significant change.

However, if I was in a room with 3 teens and two adults I would absolutely get a condo. Our room will be my and DH and 10 and 7 year old girls.

 

[shalom]

I'm still leaning that way but I'm wondering how you guys justify still staying off site.

We stay for over a week and don't want to stay in hotel rooms that long. And if we went for a DVC unit, it'd be through RCI, which I don't believe offers free dining, so free dining is just not on our radar.

Free dining is a lot more pertinent if your group is small enough to fit comfortably in one room (what's comfortable varies from person to person, but right now we have to get at least two rooms however you cut it). It's also more pertinent if you like to eat out for at least two meals a day, which we don't -- we like quick, easy and familiar food for most of our meals while on vacation, and I haven't found a restaurant that serves Lumberjack mac or slammers on my favorite soft buns -- or even scrambled eggs the way I like them.

Now if they had a dining deal that was two or three snacks, desserts, or sides a day, that might tempt me, because we do get stuff like Mickey Ice Cream Bars and soup at Mara and maybe some noodles at Captain Cooks, sometimes making a meal of it (or snacking until we're not interested in "real food" ) but "having" to eat every meal in a restaurant just sounds like a chore to me. My kids love the meal deal at SeaWorld, but they don't like the way the Disney dining plans are set up, either. Guess we're just not into that kind of structure on vacation.

 

[debbs0723]

We did the quick service last year and did like the freedom. I could not do deluxe dining though. If we do ddp, we skip breakfast and do cs lunch around 11, then later dinner. This year I would never purchase either, because my 10 year old is a disney adult and doesnt eat enough to warrant that price.

We spend all our time in the parks and eating dinner in other resorts so the room is for sleeping. I would miss the extra bathrooms most.

 

[Brian Noble]

It will tip the balance for some folks, not for others. It would not for me---if I'm going with my kids, I want two rooms or a suite, and that's still awfully pricey at rack rate, even if the food is "free".

 

[wgeo]

It's our first trip, so I don't have the wisdom of experience yet, but we are very happy with our decision to stay offsite. We just switched from the Wilderness Lodge a few weeks ago. For us there are 2 big issues - space and the dining plan. Everybody draws their own lines in the sand, and my husbands line was absolutely no double bed, well that elimantes a lot of Disney hotels, and my kids sharing a bed is a disaster - so we ended up booking a bunk bed room at the WL, but I was still nervous about actually getting any sleep for our weeks vacation.

The second issue is whether you like the dining plan or not. We are doing enough character meals that it wouldn't be too bad for us. But we are very small eaters and will often split meals and never eat desserts every meal. So the dining plan just didn't excite me. Not to mention that since we've never been to Disney I was worried that my best guesses for how to arrange ADR's might not work out right.

Soooo, after doing a lot of math, even counting rental cars and parking we are saving a minimum of $1000 over the free dining discount AND everybody gets their own room - very happy with that!

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Now that free dining has been released on many dates from jan-March does it change any of your minds staying off site. We had resigned ourselves to offsite. I'm still leaning that way but I'm wondering how you guys justify still staying off site. The rack room rates are pretty high for what they are so it seems that It is about $100 difference a day to stay in a moderate with free dining for 4 people vs. staying offsite and paying for parking.

We were planning on mostly quick service meals and eating offsite and at the condo so I had budgeted $100 per day for meals for 3 non big eater kids and 2 adults. Again, this is not for table service restuarants.

We could save a little by staying on site in a value and doing the quick service plan but I'm not 100% sure I want to do that.


Thoughts?

Debbie

It seems your reason for staying offsite is purely economical. If that's the case I can see how "free" dining might be attractive. For many of us, the economy of staying offsite is not the only reason we're doing it. For us, no, "free" dining will make no difference.

 

[debbs0723]

It seems your reason for staying offsite is purely economical. If that's the case I can see how "free" dining might be attractive. For many of us, the economy of staying offsite is not the only reason we're doing it. For us, no, "free" dining will make no difference.

Actually it is not purely economical but once I have the trip planned, dates, etc I usually just start looking at our best options and deals that come out. Last night I told my husband the price difference and he immediately said no way. Condo it is. I didn't have a problem sharing a room all week but I hated to give up the extra bathrooms for everybody getting ready.

He hated the idea of giving up any of it. His point was that the first year we went we did tons of sit down and character meals. He really liked it last year where we ate when and where we wanted and were not tied down. I think when it comes right down to it he is more excited about "snacking" around the world rather than being locked down to meals. Sometimes the meals do feel forced, especially when the kids would be just as happy to have a pretzel or popcorn for lunch.

As a stay at home mom I dont love the idea of going to the grocery store on the way to condo and having to be responsible for any cooking but also reminded me of how tired and gross we feel eating out for every meal and that simple deli type stuff back at the condo will be easy. We try to make every trip a different experience so we are sticking with the condo.

Debbie

 

[Planogirl]

Free dining doesn't matter to me - in fact it makes me more inclined to stay offsite. The program doesn't work for us.

 

[debbs0723]

Free dining doesn't matter to me - in fact it makes me more inclined to stay offsite. The program doesn't work for us.

I'm happy to hear all this. If I was being honest I would say that I was probably looking for people to talk me out of staying on site. I'm just one of those people that I hate the idea of passing up on something free, but I guess I just have to figure out what free really means to us. We have always done either the ddp or quick service plan, but I had two disney children then. Now one is a disney adult. I would like to try Ohana OOP but with one disney adult I can't see paying that much for her to eat. My 10 year old daughter eats like a toddler.

 

[1Grumpy9]

Free Dining is our biggest question right now too...Of course my friends and I have to settle on a week that we can all go first. But, looking at the cost, if we stay off-site we can save almost as much by getting the dining plan. I have been to WDW many times, but have never had the DDP or stayed on property. So I guess it all depends on what you are willing to pay and if it is an economical advantage for you.

 

[lizabu]

It changed our plans. I had a 2 bedroom villa at the Sheraton Vistana reserved. With my employee discount I'd be paying $693 for 7 nights. We have 2 adults and 5 kids/teens so we need 7 x 6 day tickets so about $1778 through UT for a total of approx $2471 plus we need money for food and we would have to rent a car vs doing 2 value rooms, tickets and free dining for approx $3440. It seems like we will come out cheaper with free dining because we won't have to rent a car. My big boys will have a little more freedom too. They can go back to the room on their own or we will be able to do the same. With one car we'd have to stick together a bit more. Either way, I'm just really excited to be going. It's the kids 1st time.

 

[mom2princesss]

Free dinning does not change my mind. Even if there were a bit of monetary savings overall, what I get for my money is not equal.

For less then the price of a value room that is slightly larger then a walk-in closet I can rent a 3 bedroom/3 bath townhouse with my own splash pool and full kitchen. I have space, privacy, comfort and the ability to eat, snack and drink real coffee without having to walk to a food court.

Free dinning plan or not I'll take my townhouse

 

[debbs0723]

It changed our plans. I had a 2 bedroom villa at the Sheraton Vistana reserved. With my employee discount I'd be paying $693 for 7 nights. We have 2 adults and 5 kids/teens so we need 7 x 6 day tickets so about $1778 through UT for a total of approx $2471 plus we need money for food and we would have to rent a car vs doing 2 value rooms, tickets and free dining for approx $3440. It seems like we will come out cheaper with free dining because we won't have to rent a car. My big boys will have a little more freedom too. They can go back to the room on their own or we will be able to do the same. With one car we'd have to stick together a bit more. Either way, I'm just really excited to be going. It's the kids 1st time.

I agree. either way you will have a good time. If renting a car were an option for us then it would have changed my budget but last year we rented a car from hotwire for 10 days for 157 and ended up with a luxury car. Even if that had not happened my husband said he will never do buses again. I had thought the bus service was great, and honestly it was just fine but he just REALLY love having our own car. I think that is a man thing. I think everybody has to just figure out what works for them. It is really a toss up for me because I love being at Disney regardless but in the spirt of doing each trip differently I guess we are sticking with the condo this time. Have a great time.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Free dinning does not change my mind. Even if there were a bit of monetary savings overall, what I get for my money is not equal.

For less then the price of a value room that is slightly larger then a walk-in closet I can rent a 3 bedroom/3 bath townhouse with my own splash pool and full kitchen. I have space, privacy, comfort and the ability to eat, snack and drink real coffee without having to walk to a food court.

Free dinning plan or not I'll take my townhouse