FREE DINING, NOT REALLY FREE at all...

[meeshkamooshka]

I think I finally figured it out...

a. if you get the room only discount you get the room at a discounted rate

b. if you get the FREE dining ( not sure why they call it that ) your room rate increases to the "regular rate" (whatever the time of year)...


the difference between a. and b. would actually be the cost of the "FREE" dining ( lol )

i think in my case the "FREE dining" ( how many more times do I have to say it) cost me about $777...

do I understand it correctly...

 

[sharonabe]

If your room discount is $777, then yes, you've got it.

The question most people then ask themselves is, "can I feed my family for $777 or less?" If the answer is no, then they go with free dining. If the answer is yes, then the room discount makes more sense.

 

[sarmat1]

My math was:

9 nights at POFQ @$179/night garden view. Best room only discount available was 20%. So $40/night discount times 9 nights = $360 savings

Free dining for 9 nights including all of the major character meals plus other hot spots (O'hana, Boma, etc). Total cost of the meals including QS = $1,300 savings

No brainer for us for free dining and pocketing the almost $1,000 difference.

 

[meeshkamooshka]

ok, I think I am catching on here....

so is that why when you get a room at the cheapest hotels ( ie all star sports )
they give you even less of a discount and even less of a " FREE dining" package ( less credits )

hmmmmm...

 

[TDC Nala]

They call it "free dining" because you do indeed get the dining plan free - if you pay rack rate on the room and buy at least 2 day tickets.

No, that is not always the best deal for everyone. If you're me, you don't need the tickets, there's only one of you and you don't like the dining plan anyway. So it's just as well for me to go with a room discount.

Free dining is brillant on Disney's part, just brilliant. It's a discount like any other discount except that the guest has control over the amount of the discount. Many guests plan to use each dining credit. But many, since they didn't pay for the credits, don't worry about using all of them, or use their TS credits if they have them for CS meals. Which lessens the amount of the discount.

And yes, at the value resorts you get the quick service plan free. (That of course can be upgraded to the regular plan by paying the difference between the two plans.)

 

[BearcatsFan]

ok, I think I am catching on here....

so is that why when you get a room at the cheapest hotels ( ie all star sports )
they give you even less of a discount and even less of a " FREE dining" package ( less credits )

hmmmmm...

You don't get less credits when staying at the value resorts. You get the same amount of credits, only they're all QS credits and no TS ones.

 

[Haley]

Usually the room only discounts are a better deal if you are staying at a deluxe and like a party of 2.

If you are a party of say 4 adults in a moderate....free dining is a better deal...

 

[meeshkamooshka]

Usually the room only discounts are a better deal if you are staying at a deluxe and like a party of 2.

If you are a party of say 4 adults in a moderate....free dining is a better deal...

so the more people, more food credits although you are paying the same hotel rate wether you have 2 people or 4 people, and a moderate Disney hotel is better because cheaper room than deluxe but same allotment of food credits...

although I wonder where the BIGGEST room only discounts are ( usually) I think I got 30% off on a deluxe AKL ...it that the steepest discount? and what % for different levels of hotels... can you get 30% off on "all stars" resorts?

 

[sharonabe]

so the more people, more food credits although you are paying the same hotel rate wether you have 2 people or 4 people, and a moderate Disney hotel is better because cheaper room than deluxe but same allotment of food credits...

although I wonder where the BIGGEST room only discounts are ( usually) I think I got 30% off on a deluxe AKL ...it that the steepest discount? and what % for different levels of hotels... can you get 30% off on "all stars" resorts?

Even if there was a 30% at values, let's say you stay at the cheapest time of year (which is usually when discounts are available), 30% off $87 night is only about $26. One person could probably eat for that, but with even just two people in the room, the free dining is a better discount. And even at the $107 rate of regular season, you're only talking about $30.

As for the largest room discount, military discounts have sometimes been 40% off a deluxe, but I'm not sure what the military discounts are right now.

 

[goofy78]

As a family of 5 Disney adults (at the time of travel), the DDP comes to 1945.65 and a 30% room only discount at Beach Club comes to 953.10 making our FD a WAY better discount! Now we just need one...

 

[kaytieeldr]

If by "they" you mean Disney - they don't call it free dining. They call it what is is: the Dining Plan free with your undiscounted package reservation.

That 99.99% of the public misrepresents it can't be blamed on Disney .

 

[Cafeen]

If by "they" you mean Disney - they don't call it free dining. They call it what is is: the Dining Plan free with your undiscounted package reservation.

That 99.99% of the public misrepresents it can't be blamed on Disney .

Absolutely. I've tried to be more conscientious (holy crap, I spelled that right on the first try... or my spell check isn't working...) about calling it what it is... Free Dining Plan (FDP) or Free Dining Plan Promotion, in order to avoid that.

There's a cost associated with it, like everything. It won't always be the best deal. They're both discounts on specific parts of the package, and finding which works best for you and saves you the most money, thus allowing to either go on the vacation in the first place, or enjoy more vacation for your dollar, is what's most important. Saying it isn't free would be akin to getting a 100% room discount and saying that you aren't getting the room for free because you're paying full price for food.

The FDP works for so many people because the food bill at Disney can easily equal, or out pace, the room cost, especially the lower down in resort levels you go. A 15% discount at a value is pretty low, roughly $15 per night. I would be hard pressed eating at Disney, even doing CS, for $15 per night without bringing in all sorts of outside food. And that's as a solo. Add more people and it would be next to impossible (since the room discount doesn't change with the party size/make up, like the FDP one does).

The reverse is also true though, as you go up in resort level, the relative savings from the FDP goes down, since the resort costs are more and the average discount is far more. A 40% room discount at Poly is typically worth far more than a single dining plan, and you can usually eat pretty well on the savings amount, even as a family of 3-4.

 

[dakotix]

as a little caveat to the cost of Free Dining: you have to remember to subtract the cost of tips when using the table service credits from the total value of the free plan. It will vary depending how many is in your party and how much the bill is. For two people the average cost of a table service meal (with dessert) is what? $50-60? A 20% tip would be around $11. Multiply that for a typical week and your'e spending $77 in tips.

 

[Poodie]

Well, for us, a family of five (2 adults and 3 "Disney Adult" children), staying at POR, the Free Dining is a MUCH better deal.

Here are our numbers for our trip on 12/20-27:

30% Room Discount (not sure if that is even available on our dates at a Mod) would be $551.

The Dining Plan (the standard plan comes with the Mods for Free Dining) would cost us $1864.

So, our Free Dining savings are $1313. That is a "make or break" number for us.

As for whether we would buy the dining plan... no, we wouldn't. That said, on average, with one TS meal, one CS meal, and one snack per day, we would easily spend around $1500-$2000 out of pocket on food (with being careful and trying to order cheaper meals to save $$). So, we are still 'saving' $1000+ on our trip.

I do understand it isn't 'Free'.... but could a family of five (kids are 11, 16, and 17... and they can eat!) eat at WDW for 7 days for $551? I think not!

 

[meeshkamooshka]

If by "they" you mean Disney - they don't call it free dining. They call it what is is: the Dining Plan free with your undiscounted package reservation.

That 99.99% of the public misrepresents it can't be blamed on Disney .

IN MY OPINION ( sorry I will have to respectfully DISAGREE WITH YOU ) its misleading ... , its like a retailer raising the price of a piece of merchandise and then having a 30% off sale....

I always am skeptical when someone says FREE nowadays... because more and more there is something more to the equation or failing to leave out
( the fine print )

once in a while you actually get something for FREE...but those are few and far between!

 

[raraavis]

since the fall discounts just came out, we did the math to see what would be better for us. we originally booked our room at a reg. price so we could get free dining. the week we are going, they are only offering a 15% discount at POP, and there are only two of us going. it was a way better deal for us to get the free dining discount instead of the room discount.

i really think you just have to do the math to see which discount would work better for you.

 

[catne]

as a little caveat to the cost of Free Dining: you have to remember to subtract the cost of tips when using the table service credits from the total value of the free plan. It will vary depending how many is in your party and how much the bill is. For two people the average cost of a table service meal (with dessert) is what? $50-60? A 20% tip would be around $11. Multiply that for a typical week and your'e spending $77 in tips.

why would you subtract tips from the value of the free dining? If people are going to eat at X number of table service restaurants on their vacation, they're going to pay tips regardless of whether they pay cash or use a free dining plan. If you're booked with 5 table service restaurants, you're paying tips at 5 no matter what. The tips do not need to be figured into the value equation at all because that number would be there either way, so it's a push. The only reason you would have to subtract tips to get the real value would be if you would not go to any table service restaurants unless you have the free dining plan. Then you're not making an even comparison anyway.

 

[Cafeen]

why would you subtract tips from the value of the free dining? If people are going to eat at X number of table service restaurants on their vacation, they're going to pay tips regardless of whether they pay cash or use a free dining plan. If you're booked with 5 table service restaurants, you're paying tips at 5 no matter what. The tips do not need to be figured into the value equation at all because that number would be there either way, so it's a push. The only reason you would have to subtract tips to get the real value would be if you would not go to any table service restaurants unless you have the free dining plan. Then you're not making an even comparison anyway.

A lot of people do comment that they either do more TS with the dining plan (free or otherwise) than they would without it. I know, for a fact, that I do. (Since, you know, I go through my days and pick what I'd do on each plan, on TiW, and if paying OOP ). (Edit: Or even just higher priced TS meals).

So, while it's not a point for comparison between the raw value of the FDP discount. It is something to take into account when budgeting the overall trip, and likewise, comparing estimated costs between different discounts. Basically, it has 0 effect on savings (the value of the discount), but it will have an effect the overall net cost of the trip. They are slightly different points, but both are used (even subconsciously) when making a decision about which discount to go for.

Of course, the amount of discount on either side also affects whether or not taking the extra outlay will have much net effect on the discount or not. If the savings from the FDP is $1000 more than a room discount, then really, the little extra amount from tips isn't going to matter in the big picture. If it's closer (e.g. $200), then it very well may.

Of course, all of that is sideline to the raw discount amount of the FDP promotions, where the amount, correctly, does not need tips taken into account.

 

[JeffreyY]

why would you subtract tips from the value of the free dining? If people are going to eat at X number of table service restaurants on their vacation, they're going to pay tips regardless of whether they pay cash or use a free dining plan. If you're booked with 5 table service restaurants, you're paying tips at 5 no matter what. The tips do not need to be figured into the value equation at all because that number would be there either way, so it's a push. The only reason you would have to subtract tips to get the real value would be if you would not go to any table service restaurants unless you have the free dining plan. Then you're not making an even comparison anyway.

We just got back from a 10 day trip. 6 day were oop 4 day with free dining. We spent the same amount of money with free dining as our oop day because of tips. We ate more expensive meals which meant we spent a lot on tips (about $50 per meal). On our oop day we ate off sight or shared meals and we didn't get sodas and shared desserts. On free dining we each got a dessert and some ordered soda (even though they didn't like soda) so it drove up the cost of the meal and therefore the tip.

So I do think you need to factor in tips when figuring out if DDP or even free dining is worth it.

 

[meggiebeth]

We love the free DDP. We wouldn't go at a time that room rates were unreasonable though. WDW isn't that expensive when you compare it to hotels in Europe. Room rates at moderates for times like August thru to early December, excluding thanksgiving, are IMO reasonable. Therefore I think 'free dining' can be free.

Last August, we got 45% off Saratoga Springs and a free regular dining plan. What a great deal. We paid £1500 for a week in a 2 bedroom villa at SSR, and enjoyed over £2000 worth of food. (We paid around £400 to upgrade to deluxe.)

This year, we got 35% off SSR and a free dining plan again. It is upgrading that is expensive. We would never pay for a DDP.

We think moderate resort rates during the times we want to go are reasonable even without a discount. A week at a moderate resort in two rooms for our family of 5, with free dining and no other discount, is the same price as a week in a mobile home, camping in France. Great value IMHO