FREE DINING, NOT REALLY FREE at all...

[meeshkamooshka]

to PP, I usually always give tip regardless...
min. of 15%....

it may not be waiters fault that cook screwed up order...there are alot of things beyond servers control....

usually restaurants ( that have good service) have a manager walking around asking tables.."how's everything"

as which point if you have a problem, they take care of it ( give you a free meal, entree, gift card ) and that equalizes any BAD service....

now every restaurant ( even in WDW ) doesn't have GOOD service....so there in lies the problem...

 

[BuzzNwoodY0824]

Bare with me, this is a long post but it does have a point and a question =].....
I just did a comparison of the DDP vs. out of pocket for our group going. I took the highest price cs for each park we are in on that particular day and added a soda. Then I took the highest priced meal from the ts menu and added a drink.
I also added the 18% gratuity in.

From the looks of it we would save as a group $900.00 not doing the dining plan and $100.00 per person. Now here in lies the rest of the equation that I can't seem to figure out myself....
We are going January 27-feb 1st at pop century. What would be considered rack rate for that time and how could I compare if free dining would be worth it or a room discount? And also, if they offer free dining vs. room discount, if you choose the discount does it still jump to rack rate?

=}

 

[maxiesmom]

Don't the servers get mad when you don't tip much? We tipped a server at Mama Melrose a measly $30 instead of the recommended $40. After she saw that she looked livid. She came out and questioned us on it. We are from England where tipping is not expected.

Is it fair that you have to tip someone even when the service isn't good? Do Americans do this? Or is it considered something you have to do?

I don't think it is right that a server basically chases you down to question your tip. Not right at all, unless she was asking what she did wrong.

If you have truly bad service then no, you don't have to tip. If something is wrong with the food itself you should bring it to your server's attention and have them try and get it taken care of. However, if they do everything they can to make it right, and you are still not happy with your food, maybe a chat with the manager is in order. At that point it wouldn't be right to not tip your waiter or waitress because of the food, if they were trying their best.

 

[sharonabe]

Bare with me, this is a long post but it does have a point and a question =].....
I just did a comparison of the DDP vs. out of pocket for our group going. I took the highest price cs for each park we are in on that particular day and added a soda. Then I took the highest priced meal from the ts menu and added a drink.
I also added the 18% gratuity in.

From the looks of it we would save as a group $900.00 not doing the dining plan and $100.00 per person. Now here in lies the rest of the equation that I can't seem to figure out myself....
We are going January 27-feb 1st at pop century. What would be considered rack rate for that time and how could I compare if free dining would be worth it or a room discount? And also, if they offer free dining vs. room discount, if you choose the discount does it still jump to rack rate?

=}

It looks like you forgot to add in desserts. If your party does not want desserts, then you are definitely better off OOP. If everyone will want dessert with every meal, then you MAY want to do DDP. However, if everyone doesn't always order the most expensive entree, you may still lose money on DDP. By the way, did you add in the 6.5% sales tax to your menu calculations?

As to your discount question, if you choose free dining, you pay rack rate. If you choose room discount, you get that percentage off the rate rate for the time period you are going. Room rates change depending on season. allearsnet.com has a good breakdown of the different room rates for each resort.

 

[cyb]

I never understood why people thought free dining was such a good deal, maybe if you're staying at a value during value season and have the maximum number of people staying in one room it might be a deal but no way would I substitute free dining instead of a room only discount at a deluxe.

 

[maxiesmom]

I never understood why people thought free dining was such a good deal, maybe if you're staying at a value during value season and have the maximum number of people staying in one room it might be a deal but no way would I substitute free dining instead of a room only discount at a deluxe.

It depends on what is most important on each trip. A couple of years ago I had booked the Beach Club for 4 nights with a 40% pin code. When Free Dining was released I ran some numbers. My dad and I could stay at a Value with regular Free Dining for what I was paying for just my room at the Beach Club for 40% off. As I knew we were going to spend very little time at the resort, I switched to the Music.

 

[LisaTC]

I never understood why people thought free dining was such a good deal, maybe if you're staying at a value during value season and have the maximum number of people staying in one room it might be a deal but no way would I substitute free dining instead of a room only discount at a deluxe.

I guess if you can afford a deluxe or a deluxe at 30% off and that's your preference you should go for it. I priced 30% at a deluxe and could get the Dining Promo at a Moderate for less at rack. So for me, it made sense. Everybody has what they consider their value point. Last year we booked prior to any discounts given - dining or otherwise. Then they came out. We priced it both ways. It was $300 more to pay rack and get the dining promo than to get a discounted rack. We could not eat on $300 for the 3 of us. So, for us, it was a good deal. It's like anything, what's good for one may not be for another. I'd love to stay at a deluxe, but value-wise a mod w/dining gives me extra $$ for other things. That's us. Others may have a different value point. I have never, however, looked at it as "Free" no strings attached, you're not paying anything extra, you lucky dog, you got a deal, situation. I look at it as I pay rack and get dining or don't pay rack and get a discount, if offered, and pay OOP for dining.

 

[goofy78]

Here's my thought. When you don't pay for something it's "free". Or when you have 30% off your RO and then purchase the DP are you really only getting 15% off your RO? You can look at a bunch of different ways but I believe my first statement is true.

 

[bookluvingbabe]

I decided to run some numbers. This is for a trip that doesn't exist but I keep hoping. 5 nights, 4 parks days, me and my 5 year old son.

This presumed nothing but table service and several 2 credit options. No matter what dining plan we end up on, we'd be doing table service only.

Using all ears and the disney website, I calculated what we would order at each meal, added 7 percent tax (but not the tip since that would be constant across the two dining options) and a $16 a day snack budget.

Because I was showing the bottom line to my husband, it also includes airfare.

Option 1--No dining plan, discounted Pop Century Room. Eating what we want at each place we want to go with $16 in snacks a day: $2396.70

Option 2--Discounted Pop Century Room, DDxP: $2241.25

Option 3--"Free Dining" at Pop Century, upgraded to DDxP: $2130.19

--------

(For the record, I think my husband now thinks I'm crazy....)

Too bad we aren't going anywhere...

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

I never understood why people thought free dining was such a good deal, maybe if you're staying at a value during value season and have the maximum number of people staying in one room it might be a deal but no way would I substitute free dining instead of a room only discount at a deluxe.

I never understood why people can't do simple math. Even at a deluxe resort, if the room only discount is less than 40%, which they currently are, you are still going to save more money with a free dining discount vs. paying full price rack rates.

We are a family of 6 so we need 2 rooms. A room only discount at All-Star Movies value resort saves us about $$42.00 per night. A room only discount at Animal Kingdom Lodge Deluxe resort saves us about $150.00 per night. A free dining discount saves us about $199.00 per night, after paying the difference to upgrade from QS to the basic DDP with the free dining offer. We are going to have to eat while we are at WDW, we are going to eat at least one sit down meal per day, so why would we not choose the free dining discount? Why would I spend an extra $450.00 on our upcoming 9 night stay by taking the current room discount? Because I, like most people, don't want to spend more money than I have to.

I guess I just don't get all constant back and forth on this board about free dining discounts. It's a huge discount, one of the biggest discounts Disney has ever put out. That being said, there are a few instances where a room discount will come out ahead - usually that room discount needs to be more than 35%. If a room discount makes better financial sense to you, than take it, use it, do it. Me, I'll continue to take the discount that saves us the most money, which is free dining.

 

[BuzzNwoodY0824]

Thanks for all the replies. It's just all so confusing. Trying to figure out the best way to do things.

 

[reeddi]

Here are our numbers plain and simple:

We are staying at POR with 5 people (2 adults, DD17, DD12, and DD6)
the package I booked with my PIN for free dining is $2599 with 5 day WP&M tickets back in July for 11/1 - 11/6 stay.

With the new room only discount - same package price quoted today with room only and tickets from wdwinfo:
Room 989.00
Tickets 1573.71 (318.31 * 4 plus one at 300.47)
TOTAL $2562.71

So for the extra $36 we get dining for free. That is $36 for the WHOLE TRIP. No way I am feeding a family of 5 for the week for that. Heck not even the day.

Now that is a line by line comparision. Of course, if you don't need tickets or don't want to stay onsite then it will not work out but for a real apples to apples look - there you go.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

Bare with me, this is a long post but it does have a point and a question =].....
I just did a comparison of the DDP vs. out of pocket for our group going. I took the highest price cs for each park we are in on that particular day and added a soda. Then I took the highest priced meal from the ts menu and added a drink.
I also added the 18% gratuity in.

From the looks of it we would save as a group $900.00 not doing the dining plan and $100.00 per person. Now here in lies the rest of the equation that I can't seem to figure out myself....
We are going January 27-feb 1st at pop century. What would be considered rack rate for that time and how could I compare if free dining would be worth it or a room discount? And also, if they offer free dining vs. room discount, if you choose the discount does it still jump to rack rate?

=}

Rack rate for one room at Pop Century, during the season you are vacationing, is about $89.00 per night.

If you have 11 people, with infant 12, but free, you will need 3 rooms at Pop. With a 20% off room only discount on those 3 rooms you will save about $50.00 per night off full price rack rates.

A free dining discount will save you about $415.00 per night.

So, on a 6 night stay a room only discount at Pop will save you about $300.00 off full price rack rates. A free dining discount at Pop will save your group of 11 about $2,490 off full price rack rates.

So you would save about $2,100.00 more with a free dining discount.

So, unless you think you can feed your group of 12 for less than $300.00 for 6 nights at Disney World, taking the free dining discount in this scenario would seem to be a no brainer.

 

[udsweetpea]

Believe me, if you come into the same restaurant throughout your stay and undertip us, we do talk to each other. We know who tips well and who doesn't. We won't mistreat you or your food, but we do talk to our managers. If you consistently undertip the WDW servers, they do keep a report about you.

If you don't tip me at all, I lose $1 out of my pocket for every $30 you spend. And even if you don't tip me, I still have to report at least 15% of the check to the IRS because they think that's what I'm making.

Also, if you don't tip, there is such a thing called "theft of service", and if you continue to stiff your servers, you can be arrested.

 

[momofkids]

I believe "theft of services" only applies in the instance of large groups where the gratuity is automatically added to the check. Tipping is a sensitive subject here on the boards. That said gratuities are in appreciation of services rendered. That means they are up to the customer. I suppose you could get arrested for anything police wish; however, I doubt most prosecutors would continue forward with a charge like that.

 

[BuzzNwoodY0824]

Rack rate for one room at Pop Century, during the season you are vacationing, is about $89.00 per night.

If you have 11 people, with infant 12, but free, you will need 3 rooms at Pop. With a 20% off room only discount on those 3 rooms you will save about $50.00 per night off full price rack rates.

A free dining discount will save you about $415.00 per night.

So, on a 6 night stay a room only discount at Pop will save you about $300.00 off full price rack rates. A free dining discount at Pop will save your group of 11 about $2,490 off full price rack rates.

So you would save about $2,100.00 more with a free dining discount.

So, unless you think you can feed your group of 12 for less than $300.00 for 6 nights at Disney World, taking the free dining discount in this scenario would seem to be a no brainer.

Wow thanks so much. This really put things into perspective. I really appreciate it!!

 

[basketlacey]

I never understood why people thought free dining was such a good deal, maybe if you're staying at a value during value season and have the maximum number of people staying in one room it might be a deal but no way would I substitute free dining instead of a room only discount at a deluxe.

cyb - I have to respectfully disagree with you. For my family, FD is a better discount at a deluxe resort than the 30% discount. Each family is going to be different and that is why so many of us suggest running the numbers. I just posted this in another post but wanted to copy it here because I see there are some on this thread trying to figure out what works best for them:

We are a family of 5 - 2 adults, 2 "Disney" adults (13 and 11) and a child (8). For us, the FD discount is better than the RO discount. I just did the math a few minutes ago actually because I added a night to our reservation.

At the Beach Club, a Sunday night stay with the current 30% off RO rate is $323. With the FD discount, we pay full price which is $461. So for $138, I get 4 adult TS meals, 4 adult CS meals, 1 child TS meal and 1 child CS meal plus 5 snacks. We can't eat all of that food for $138.

Just estimating the cost of the meals:
Adult CS at $10 each = $40
Child CS at $5 = 5
Adult TS at $20 each = $80
Child TS at $10 = $10
5 snacks at $3 each = $15
That totals $150 without calculating the desserts. I also think those estimates are pretty conservative and most meals would cost more.

We would order some desserts without the DDP but not nearly as many and probably not any for CS meals. However, I have been very successful in getting them to sub carrots or grapes for CS desserts.

I like the convenience as well. This will be our third trip on the DDP. Before we only ate at one or two TS places a trip (mostly character meals). Honestly, all 5 of us, like this better. We like sitting down to eat and we like the choices offered at the TS locations.

 

[phillymummer]

I do believe that in my case the Dining Plan is free! Here is my situation: We decided to plan a trip to the World in Oct of 1012. We were looking at either the weekend of the 12 th or the 19th . We were were planning on staying at either POFQ or CBR. When the FD offer came out, we picked the weekend that the FD offer covered and I made the reservation. So was it free for me? Absolutely! I was going to pay rack rate for a mod anyway. A room discount IS not a better deal for my family bc of our eating habits. My hubby is a not a "eat-cereal-or-pop-tart-in-the-room" kind of guy. We will eat a full breakfast in the morning if we have a DP or not. We do enjoy eating a nice meal on vacation, so we would have made ADRs even if we did not have the FD.
Having the FD did NOT affect our choices. We didn't choose "more expensive" places to eat just bc we have FD. If anything, it kept us away from the Signature Restaurants bc we didn't want to use up 2 credits on 1 meal!

I think someone summed it up best when they said FD is a discount. I did run the numbers and although I don't know them off the top of my head, I do know that the "FREE" Dining Plan is a better discount for my family of 3, staying at a mod resort, than a room discount.

 

[BNukem]

I think everyone really needs to run their own numbers....it will be me, DH, DD(15) and DD(3). We have FD at POFQ. When the room only discount came out I rechecked the numbers. It was going to be $51 cheaper with the room only discount but no dining at all. Well, I can't feed us for 6 days on $51, so this time FD worked for us. I have stayed at Poly and AKL with room only discounts that worked better for us in that situation.

 

[BuzzNwoodY0824]

I think everyone really needs to run their own numbers....it will be me, DH, DD(15) and DD(3). We have FD at POFQ. When the room only discount came out I rechecked the numbers. It was going to be $51 cheaper with the room only discount but no dining at all. Well, I can't feed us for 6 days on $51, so this time FD worked for us. I have stayed at Poly and AKL with room only discounts that worked better for us in that situation.

I agree. We always stay at a value when all of us go (between 9 & 12 people). I got the numbers from Disney about rack room rates and ticket rates and the free dining is definitely the way to go for us.