FD can be a discount right??

[mommymanda]

We've had two Disney trips, both fell during FD promotions (just how our holidays work) and so both times we were able to travel with the DDP on our trip.

I've been watching prices and planning for our 2016 trip, which if patterns are the same will also fall under a FD promotion.

We are a family of 5. Three Disney adults a 5 and 7 year old. With that I am trying to figure out if OOP is a better deal, or if FD works for us.

Anyhow my question, I read everywhere that the FD promotion is not really a deal, that you can pay OOP with a room discount and save more...yet I'm not seeing it with my numbers. I'm on vacation, so I'm not going to pack groceries and make home meals in the room. I do purchase breakfast foods and evening snacks for the room, so that is OOP and roughly $150 (estimate). I've played around with the dining plan calculator and each time it puts us at an average of $1300 in food + the $150 I'm looking at $1450 in food, taxes etc.

Adding that to any room discount ends up being a huge chunk higher than just booking FD. Not just QS either, but a mod resort with DDP, so I could add more TS for less money. Am I reading things wrong, messing up my math or is it simply a lot of people dislike FD and say its a rip off, but for some it does work?

 

[basketlacey]

We're a family of 5 and FD is usually the cheapest way for us to go. Unfortunately it hasn't worked with our dates for quite a while. The important thing is to rub the numbers so that you can see which is the best discount for your family.

 

[Nancyg56]

FD is no different than any other sale anywhere. You need to know your numbers, and then you need to be very honest with yourself about how your family prefers to vacation.

The calculaters are a good planning tool, but they can only take into account what you put into them.

We generally choose FD because it is the promotion that works best for us. The trip I booked for August has FD on one room and RO on the other, and I based those choices on who was in each room and how many in the room. WE are staying at the Grand, so FD would not have been the best discount for both rooms.

I will also say that my DD tracks all our dining spending, from TS and CS meal choices to all of our snacks. She has done this since our first trip back in 2005 (I think) and so far, based on our actual choices vs our "virtual" choices, we are ahead by choosing the DDP. SOmetimes not by as much as others, but still we are not "throwing" money away bt prepurchasing the DDP or by using it as our discount.

I would suggest that in your case, run the numbers two ways: add in the cost of the trip if you upgrade your 7 YO to an adult. The ticket cost is generally minimal. Then, decide where you would eat and how the extra adult TS credits would affect your dining plans. Also run the numbers on RO, using how you woudl want to eat, not how you would choose if you pay OOP. It may seem like that is a silly exercise, but I know that I cannot stop looking at the prices on a menu if I pay OOP. I do it at home, and even though I know I don't have to do that, I always do. If I am on the fence I will always choose the less expensive option. Now on the DDP, I just make sure do not do the opposite: choose the more expensive option in order to maximaze the plan, which for me, is also difficult! LOL! It is always an experience dining with me! LOL! Anyway, that is how I would make my decision: the choices my family woul make if they stopped looking at prices. If they exceed the savings od RO and paying OOP I would choose FD. If not I woudl take my chances and pick RO.

 

[Figmentmommy]

We've had two Disney trips, both fell during FD promotions (just how our holidays work) and so both times we were able to travel with the DDP on our trip.

I've been watching prices and planning for our 2016 trip, which if patterns are the same will also fall under a FD promotion.

We are a family of 5. Three Disney adults a 5 and 7 year old. With that I am trying to figure out if OOP is a better deal, or if FD works for us.

Anyhow my question, I read everywhere that the FD promotion is not really a deal, that you can pay OOP with a room discount and save more...yet I'm not seeing it with my numbers. I'm on vacation, so I'm not going to pack groceries and make home meals in the room. I do purchase breakfast foods and evening snacks for the room, so that is OOP and roughly $150 (estimate). I've played around with the dining plan calculator and each time it puts us at an average of $1300 in food + the $150 I'm looking at $1450 in food, taxes etc.

Adding that to any room discount ends up being a huge chunk higher than just booking FD. Not just QS either, but a mod resort with DDP, so I could add more TS for less money. Am I reading things wrong, messing up my math or is it simply a lot of people dislike FD and say its a rip off, but for some it does work?

Every family's situation is different....however free dining has always been the best deal out there for our family of 4 at a moderate resort. We eat the way we eat no matter what while vacationing, so having free dining always saves us money. Last 3 trips we priced out free dining over the room discount and each time the room discount was only $250 less than the package with free dining. We know there is no way we could feed our family for $250 for a week at Disney- so for us it's a no-brainier! It sounds like your situation is similar.

 

[theduhaimes]

We are a family of 5 (3 Disney adults and 2 Disney kids) staying at a mod next month. Free dining was by far the best deal for us. I have read many people saying RO was better deal but it has never worked that way for us. I would run the numbers and then go with what seems best for your family.

 

[2DisPrincesses]

Every family's situation is different....however free dining has always been the best deal out there for our family of 4 at a moderate resort. We eat the way we eat no matter what while vacationing, so having free dining always saves us money. Last 3 trips we priced out free dining over the room discount and each time the room discount was only $250 less than the package with free dining. We know there is no way we could feed our family for $250 for a week at Disney- so for us it's a no-brainier! It sounds like your situation is similar.

This is us. My girls still like the character meals and DH eats a lot. With my older DD being 10 now, the table service meals (especially character meals) are pricey!

 

[sarmat1]

Anyhow my question, I read everywhere that the FD promotion is not really a deal, that you can pay OOP with a room discount and save more...yet I'm not seeing it with my numbers.

Ignore that FD debate. You're doing your numbers right. We'll be doing FD for the 3rd time next month. We're 3 Disney adults (hard to believe my DD10 is now an adult, but Disney says she is for meal pricing) and 1 child. The numbers for us are so obvious, that we could call it a free resort promo. In our case, we're staying four nights on the back end of a cruise. We're staying at POFQ. Our meals are dinners at 1900 PF, Crystal Palace, Chef Mickeys and Akershus. Our lunches are Contempo Cafe, BOG, Wolfgang Puck and Sunshine Seasons. The numbers (incl tax):

Dinners - 1900 PF ($155), CP ($155), CM ($175), Akershus ($180).
Lunches - I'll just assume $45 each as it will vary.

So not counting any snacks or the unlimited drinks with the mug, our meals are $845. We would eat these meals regardless of any offer, because that's where we want to eat and those are the meal experiences that we want. As for POFQ, I don't know the exact room cost as it's sold out RO for that time right now, but I believe it's around $200 - $220/night with tax. So if we use $210/night on average, the resort for our 4 nights costs $840.

Hmm . . . so basically Disney is telling me that if we eat where we were going to eat anyway, they'll throw in the resort for free (or better than free since the drinks and snacks are likely worth something and I've assumed they're worth nothing).

There you go - no brainer for Free Dining for us as Disney is really comping the resort, so it's Free Resort.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

FD is always a good deal at mods. The chintz room discount is nothing compared to fd in that resort class.

 

[supersnoop]

The regular dining plan for three adults and two children costs $220/night. That's a pretty big discount. Now, you just have to determine if it's actually worth that much to you. If you'd normally purchase the plan for your family, then you are saving that much. But if you'd normally feed your family with peanut butter sandwichs for $20/day, then you obviously aren't saving any money. There's a difference between how much "free" dining is "worth" and how much "value" it provides you.

With five people at a moderate, free dining is usually a great deal. But for two adults at a deluxe resort, the dining plan would cost $120/night, but a 30% discount on a $400/night room is the same $120. Then, what's worth more, the plan or the cash?