Free Dining is *NOT* really free!!! (sarcasm!)

[robinb]

Sorry....I'm reading this over and over again, but I'm not really following what you are saying. It could be the glass of wine I had with dinner. Please explain. Thanks!

No worries, I just had my glass of wine too .

You have two options. (1) A room only discount and (2) a free dining discount. The room only discount is a percentage off the rack rate for a Disney resort. The free dining discount is the amount that you would have paid for the DDP for your family. The free dining discount can be as small as 1 adult on the DDP all the way to 5 "Disney Adults" on the DDP.

 

[Disneylover99]

If Acme is selling apples this week for 30% off their normal price of $1.00 each and you buy one apple, you will pay 70 cents. Let's say that they are also running a sale on the same apples and it's buy-1-get-1-free. You have to spend $1.00 but you get 2 apples for that price. Is that 2nd apple free or are you actually paying 30 cents for it, since you could get an apple for 70 cents?

It's the same thing with "Free Dining".

It's not the same thing. Free dining is free dining.

Would you say, "Oh, I didn't get 30% off my room because I have to pay for my food." Of course you wouldn't say that. You got 30% off your room, just as someone else got the free dining instead.

 

[Disneylover99]

No worries, I just had my glass of wine too .

You have two options. (1) A room only discount and (2) a free dining discount. The room only discount is a percentage off the rack rate for a Disney resort. The free dining discount is the amount that you would have paid for the DDP for your family. The free dining discount can be as small as 1 adult on the DDP all the way to 5 "Disney Adults" on the DDP.

Yes, you have two options. I agree. You can take the room discount or the free dining. Depending on your family size and resort you choose, the room only discount could save you more money. But the free dining offer is still FREE!!!!

Now, that being said, I would not choose to pay for a dining plan. If I were taking a room only discount, I would pay oop for food because the price of the ddp is not good value for my family. But when free dining is offered.....it's free!!!!

 

[Marionnette]

It's not the same thing. Free dining is free dining.

Would you say, "Oh, I didn't get 30% off my room because I have to pay for my food." Of course you wouldn't say that. You got 30% off your room, just as someone else got the free dining instead.

Just because Disney hangs the "Free" moniker on something doesn't make it gospel truth.

It is exactly the same as my apple analogy. In both cases, the consumer had the choice of buying a product at a reduced price and then using the money they saved in order to buy something else OR they could pay the "shelf price" for something and believe some marketing hype that they are getting an added bonus for free.

 

[Disneylover99]

OR they could pay the "shelf price" for something and believe some marketing hype that they are getting an added bonus for free.

It sounds like what you are saying is that people who choose to pay rack rate to get free dining are naive suckers.

Yes.....I know I'm paying more for my room. I realize I can buy discounted tickets elsewhere (although I never have).

When I choose free dining, I eat differently then if I was paying oop. I eat more. I eat often. I choose more expensive menu items that I would not normally order because I am frugal in my everyday life. I have fun. I indulge. I try desserts and new drinks....... because it's free.

 

[SEA333]

Yes, you are saving money. That doesn't mean that "Free Dining" is *free*. It only means that "Free Dining" is a good deal for your family.

Personally, I think comparing staying offsite without "Free Dining" vs. booking "Free Dining" is like comparing apples to fish. They are not the same thing and if you want to make valid comparisons, you should start by making all things equal with the exception of the discounts for like items. So, I would never try to validate my opinions about "Free Dining" by making that comparison.

If you take into consideration what you would have saved by doing a discounted room vs. paying rack rate (as you do with
"Free Dining" ), plus the savings of buying your tickets from an outside source vs. buying directly from Disney, you'll see that it isn't as great of a savings as you would first imagine. That's what the "Free Dining" is costing you. Could you pay OOP for your food (not paying for the dining plan but actually paying as you go) and spend less? Probably. Could you eat at all of the same places you will on the dining plan for the same cost? Most likely not.

I've done my research, too, and "Free Dining" has never worked out to be a better deal for my family. That doesn't make it a bad deal for your family, too. It's just the way that the bottom line reads for me.[/QUOTE

First of all, why wouldn't I compare a 4 night stay in a hotel, 3-day park tickets, and food costs, with another 4 night stay in a hotel, 3-day park tickets, and food costs, with each other??!! It cannot get more "apples to apples" as that! Doesn't really matter *where* I'm staying, especially since we wouldn't consider any other options, so none other would be pertinent to my situation. It's either option A or option B here...there is no C.

The point is....I will be going to Florida and either staying onsite at rack rate with full priced tickets AND getting all of my food for free,

OR

Staying off-site, getting a $4 discount on the same exact tickets, and paying all but $9 out of pocket for food, which would probably cost another $500 (at least!), unless we eat at Mcdonald's and Pizza Hut every day (which, at an average of $25-$35, and $45-$50 each time for the five of us even at those two places, respectively, would still add up to almost $500 for the five day trip).

So....again - it seems to me that, based on the two options, I am getting a whole lot of food in option B for.....less than....well, no, um...$9 more than....Oh, never mind. What other word is there for "FREE"?

 

[SEA333]

It sounds like what you are saying is that people who choose to pay rack rate to get free dining are naive suckers.

Yes.....I know I'm paying more for my room. I realize I can buy discounted tickets elsewhere (although I never have).

When I choose free dining, I eat differently then if I was paying oop. I eat more. I eat often. I choose more expensive menu items that I would not normally order because I am frugal in my everyday life. I have fun. I indulge. I try desserts and new drinks....... because it's free.

Undercover Tourist is offering 3-day park tickets for $1.00 off each ticket!!!!

 

[SEA333]

*sigh* Free dining is not FREE. It is a discount because you are paying rack rate for the room and full price for your passes. Sometimes the discount is good. In your case you are stuffing a POR room with 4 Disney "adults" and a child so you are getting just about the maximum bang for your buck. A couple staying at the Polynesian would see a much smaller discount with "free dining" because there are fewer people and the cost of the resort is much higher.

I'm glad that it's working out for your family, but it doesn't work for all families. Everyone needs to run the numbers themselves.

LOL - we live in a 1300 sq foot house in an expensive Chicago suburb. "Stuffing" a 13, 10, and 45 lb 7 year old into a hotel room with their parents for 4 nights really isn't a big deal to us.

We are not really the type of family who needs 3000 square feet to be "comfortable" on a daily basis. We are never home anyway!!! Too many sports and activities going on. We prefer to spend our money on experience, not on "things" or space. So, stuff us away!!!!

 

[Disneylover99]

Undercover Tourist is offering 3-day park tickets for $1.00 off each ticket!!!!

 

[poohfriend]

and I guess we won't solve the discussion here..

but ultimately each guests must decide for herself what deal Disney is offering at the moment is the best.

I find it interesting that time after time when I run numbers that are essentially the same package, Disney's price is VERY close. For example a R/O discount at the Poly may run within $60 of the Free Dining Discount when ticket and dining are added to it. Disney knows the exact point for each resort it will make money. And you as a consumer know the exact $$ amount you are willing to pay. Sometimes that means you are willing to be on the dining plan, and sometimes that means you are willing to pay for some meals out of pocket or stock a mini-fridge full of sandwich meat.

In the end we all enjoy a great vacation at Disney for a dollar amount we're willing to live with.

I've chosen both the room-only discount and the free dining plan. I have to admit, I prefer the free dining plan when Disney offers it. There is something emotionally satisfying to eating free cheesecake and only occasionally having to pay for a turkey leg.

 

[Strangeite]

I have never used the DDP, so correct me if I am wrong, but don't you still have to pay out of pocket for tips?

So, when you feel more relaxed to indulge, order more expensive items and order more items than you would normally because you are on "free" dining, aren't you paying more in gratuities than you would if you were paying for food out of pocket?

 

[NJmommy33]

Yes, you are saving money. That doesn't mean that "Free Dining" is *free*. It only means that "Free Dining" is a good deal for your family.

Personally, I think comparing staying offsite without "Free Dining" vs. booking "Free Dining" is like comparing apples to fish. They are not the same thing and if you want to make valid comparisons, you should start by making all things equal with the exception of the discounts for like items. So, I would never try to validate my opinions about "Free Dining" by making that comparison.

If you take into consideration what you would have saved by doing a discounted room vs. paying rack rate (as you do with
"Free Dining" ), plus the savings of buying your tickets from an outside source vs. buying directly from Disney, you'll see that it isn't as great of a savings as you would first imagine. That's what the "Free Dining" is costing you. Could you pay OOP for your food (not paying for the dining plan but actually paying as you go) and spend less? Probably. Could you eat at all of the same places you will on the dining plan for the same cost? Most likely not.

I've done my research, too, and "Free Dining" has never worked out to be a better deal for my family. That doesn't make it a bad deal for your family, too. It's just the way that the bottom line reads for me.

Chuckling at apples to fish. So true!

 

[Disneylover99]

I have never used the DDP, so correct me if I am wrong, but don't you still have to pay out of pocket for tips?

So, when you feel more relaxed to indulge, order more expensive items and order more items than you would normally because you are on "free" dining, aren't you paying more in gratuities than you would if you were paying for food out of pocket?

I am doing the quick service dining plan for my upcoming trip which means two counter service plus one snack per person per day, so no tipping involved...just free dining.

 

[robinb]

It sounds like what you are saying is that people who choose to pay rack rate to get free dining are naive suckers.

Yes.....I know I'm paying more for my room. I realize I can buy discounted tickets elsewhere (although I never have).

Marionnette's analogy is spot on, but she's not saying that people who choose "free dining" are "suckers". What she's saying is that it's a marketing gimmick. Just like a BOGO is a marketing gimmick to make you think you are really getting the second item for "free". You're not. You're getting a discount that is (at best) 50%. That doesn't mean that you're a "sucker" because that discount may in fact be exactly what you are looking for.

When I choose free dining, I eat differently then if I was paying oop. I eat more. I eat often. I choose more expensive menu items that I would not normally order because I am frugal in my everyday life. I have fun. I indulge. I try desserts and new drinks....... because it's free.

I wonder what else you splurge on while you are at WDW because you received "free dining". Do you order that fancy cocktail because your food was "free"? More souvenirs because your food was "free"? Disney executives are not stupid. They wouldn't offer a discount that didn't make them money.

 

[robinb]

Undercover Tourist is offering 3-day park tickets for $1.00 off each ticket!!!!

Actually, it's $3 each if you use the Mousesaver's link .

But ... a 5-day PH that you can "bridge" upgrade after using it at least one day to a longer pass is discounted $28. We will often buy passes from UT and upgrade them to DVC APs and stack the original UT discount with the DVC discount.

 

[Disneylover99]

Marionnette's analogy is spot on, but she's not saying that people who choose "free dining" are "suckers". What she's saying is that it's a marketing gimmick. Just like a BOGO is a marketing gimmick to make you think you are really getting the second item for "free". You're not. You're getting a discount that is (at best) 50%. That doesn't mean that you're a "sucker" because that discount may in fact be exactly what you are looking for.

Last August I had the opportunity to book a bounce back offer for free dining at the AofA in a LM room. As far as I know, the LM rooms are not discounted at all (during my time frame at least). Would you still argue that I am not getting free dining?

 

[Disneylover99]

I wonder what else you splurge on while you are at WDW because you received "free dining". Do you order that fancy cocktail because your food was "free"? More souvenirs because your food was "free"? Disney executives are not stupid. They wouldn't offer a discount that didn't make them money.

I totally get that Disney wants to entice you into buying, buying, buying, anything and everything while you are there when they offer free dining because you have extra money in your pocket. But that's not me. For me, free dining is free and I don't splurge on souvenirs and unnecessary purchases.

 

[robinb]

Last August I had the opportunity to book a bounce back offer for free dining at the AofA in a LM room. As far as I know, the LM rooms are not discounted at all (during my time frame at least). Would you still argue that I am not getting free dining?

I don't see how the resort matters . The theory remains the same. In fact, I commend you on getting a discount in a room type where discounts are far and few between .

 

[Disneylover99]

Actually, it's $3 each if you use the Mousesaver's link .

But ... a 5-day PH that you can "bridge" upgrade after using it at least one day to a longer pass is discounted $28. We will often buy passes from UT and upgrade them to DVC APs and stack the original UT discount with the DVC discount.

Well you are one savvy ticket shopper. I could learn a thing or two from you! However, the majority of visitors to Disney would not have a clue what you are talking about. They do understand free dining though.

 

[robinb]

Well you are one savvy ticket shopper. I could learn a thing or two from you! However, the majority of visitors to Disney would not have a clue what you are talking about. They do understand free dining though.

Very true. Especially since (IMO) Disney is marketing more and more to the "Once in a Lifetime" visitor and less to the return guest. I wouldn't be surprised if bounceback offers such as yours would be fazed out in the future.