I am a passholder but planning to go at the end of September. Is it more beneficial to buy tickets in order to qualify for the
free dining or use a room discount and pay for dining? I am crunching numbers now, but wondering if anyone has been in the same predicament.
good question.. it depends on a lot of things. how you normally eat, what your priorities are, etc.
we were AP holders when we went with the "free" dining discount in dec 2013. so we purchase the 2 day tickets which we have not yet used. we had a sprintg tri[p after that, in which we also did not use these tickets. our AP expired the day after our spring 2013 trip. in fall we visited DL.
this spring we will use out unused tickets from dec 2013 once. at that time, we will "bridge" them to our 2014 annual passes.
we are hoping for "free" dining in the fall. at which point we will be forced to , again, purcahse 2 day tickets we don't need. which we will use in about a year and a half (we figure, if you time it right, doing 2 trips a year, you can get 3 trips out of one AP) but it won't always work out with the "free" dining and the 2 day tickets.
for just the 2 of us, we really would be better off getting a room only discount and paying for meal out of pocket.. we really only eat one big meal a day. we don't get our money's worth out of buffets anymore (we are 57 and 59).
HOWEVER!!! I am a server and to me it is a BIG treat to be served. to not have to look at the prices on the menu and order what I want, etc. but would we eat that way normally? no. when we used to drive down (diminishing eyesight has made that undoable now
) we used to bring down bread and lunchmeat and mac salad, etc. and eat a lot of meals in the room. bring a lot of snacks, etc. and splurge on a few sit down meals an da few counter service meals.
that first free dining they offerred was great!!! included appetizers AND the tip! (as a server, I tip 20%, so that was a HUGE savings for us! we only had to add 2%.. but sometimes I added more
)
but now that we have been so often, I love the meals, the relaxation, etc. families with kids could save a lot more than we do.. esp. if you want the character buffets anyway.
uopi have to first look at what you would spend anyway. then do the "disney math" (I am waiting for "common core" to include "disney math" in their curriculum
)
We appreciate what you do. A lot of pressure. If the promo I am hoping and praying for doesn't come when anticipated (or ever), I won't shoot the messengers. And we are still going to go to Disney. We appreciate all you do. This is a huge part of the fun and anxiety and craziness that is planning. Can't say thank you enough - I am only planning for a party of 4. Can't imagine the pressure you feel! Did I mention thank you?
Should I still keep my rese and just wait until Jul/Aug?
