*Free* Dining Plan Cost Comparison Challenge

[Brygida]

Okay. I have read several times that some posters believe that the free dining plan actually costs more than booking room only or using other discount packages. I have never been able to get real $ comparison from anyone though.

I have booked a stay at Port Orleans for $1147.60 with the free dining plan (through AAA, but the WDW offer was identical).

I just got a special PIN offer from WDW and thought: Okay, now I can see how free the *free* dining really is. I went online and booked the same package, same hotel, same room type, same people, same tickets and included the paid for dining plan. The cost came out to be $1435.48.

It really does look like *free* dining really is a bargain. Does anyone have any real $ comparisons where free dining was not a bargain?

P.S. We always spend more on food then the cost of the dining plan. So I am not looking for that comparison.

 

[catne]

Depends on what your pin discount is for (percentage), which resorts and how many people.

I did the math for DH & myself before booking a Value for Free Dining in May. I found that the best deal was the Value with Free Dining.

That said, if we absolutely HAD to have a Deluxe room, it would have been cheaper to book the Deluxe with a room discount & pay for Dining.

 

[Brygida]

Depends on what your pin discount is for (percentage), which resorts and how many people.

I did the math for DH & myself before booking a Value for Free Dining in May. I found that the best deal was the Value with Free Dining.

That said, if we absolutely HAD to have a Deluxe room, it would have been cheaper to book the Deluxe with a room discount & pay for Dining.

The discount had two offers $82/night for value resorts (with comparable savings at others) or 20% off.

 

[patsal]

Nevermind that was soooo off! Anyway I would think it would depend on the isze of the group and the ages .

 

[uncspin]

i really think it all depends on the resort, # of nights, # of people, etc. my husband and i are going from 8/31 to 9/6, staying at the poly w/ dxdp. we initially had free dining with dx upgrade. i called last week with DDI code and we ended up saving $150. not a ton, but a savings.

 

[Brygida]

i really think it all depends on the resort, # of nights, # of people, etc. my husband and i are going from 8/31 to 9/6, staying at the poly w/ dxdp. we initially had free dining with dx upgrade. i called last week with DDI code and we ended up saving $150. not a ton, but a savings.

I'd take $150 savings... would pay for the car rental.

Anyway, it does seem as if the discount codes do end up less than *free* dining when used on a deluxe resort... which makes sense due to the cost of the room. However, at value and moderate resorts *free* dining is a bargain.

Thanks for the response.

 

[Aliceacc]

Here's how the numbers worked for me:

We're staying at the Poly. Rack rate: $340 per night for 4nights and $360 for weekends= $2080.
BUT we got a 40% off Pin, so we save $832.

Free dining for the 5 of us:
3 adults X $40 X 6 nights = $720
2 kids X$10 X 6 nights=$120
Total savings with free diing: $840.

So, yes, free dining is the better deal by $8.
And it's a moot point anyway, because we're all back in school by the time free dining starts.
I'm hoping that being there just before free dining kicks in means the crowds will be down a bit.

 

[quixoticvalue]

It is just dbf and I, so we didnt get as large of a discount as families do when we took advantage of the free dining for september.

We switched to an AP package + basic dining for 6 nights at AKL with an AP discount applied to the room portion. Besides not having to have 2 extra 1 day tickets (we subtracted that from the cost to compare anyway), we saved nearly $200 more by switching.

Its not a omigosh huge savings, BUT it is significant and we get to get our renewals whenever we want.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

It depends on the level of resort you are staying at and the size of your party.

My friend is going down (2 adults and 4 kids) staying in 2 rooms at Pop. With free dining she's paying $3500 for 12 nights / 10 day tickets. I have never found another discount (even 40% off) that would be less expensive for her.

I had considered joining them but would be staying at AKL or WL. Since I am a single person, a room only discount would have been better for me since free dining would only save me $40 a night and the room only/package discount is more than that.

 

[thunderbird1]

I have an example from last year. There was a mom and son (under 10) booked in at WL with the 40% off code. When free DDP was announced, she called to change her reservation to take advantage of free DDP. Only to find out that 40% off at the WL is over $80 per night, while free DDP for 1A/1C was less than $50 per night.

Every time a new offer comes out, my dh asks if it's a better deal than our free DDP package. With a hotel rate of $150 per night, and a free DDP savings of $125 per night, I tell him to call me when the 85% discount code becomes available.

 

[goofy4tink]

I don't have my exact figures anymore..tossed them months ago. But, I had a room for the three of us, myself, dh, and 14 y/o dd, booked at POP for 3 nights (4th-7nth). I have an AP, dh has a nonexpire. hopper with days left, and dd would have had to get a new pass of some sort. When I originally booked the room only, I had no passes included and didn't plan on the DDP. But, when the free dining came along, I had my TA make the change to the package, with one day, one park passes for each of us. Yes, the room was now rack rate rather than the AAA rate I had. Now, I will still use my AP, dh will use 2 of the one day, one park passes and his leftover 2 day after 2 pm convention passes (that expire in Dec), and will use one day on his hopper. I will take the remaining one day one park pass and apply it to a new AP for my dd, with DVC discount.
So...long story short..when I compared figures, I came out saving about $300 total with free dining. Sure wish it were for longer, but since I was going anyway, it's a bonus for me to be able to get the free dining at all.

 

[kimgof]

I definitely think it matters what type of room you book. We are staying at POR with 2 adults and 3 kids but my DS is 13 so he is an adult price. We are saving like $900 for the week. There is no way a pin number is going to beat that. However, if we really wanted to stay at AKL or Poly then it might work out differently. 40% off of a $400/night room saves more. But we are happy at the POR with free dining and pocket change to spend.

 

[beautifultomorrow]

This link should tell you everything you ever wanted to know about free dining vs. % off discounts. It's totally awesome. Be sure to use the tabs at bottom to compare the different discounts.

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/2008FDDPConpare.htm

 

[gshumaker]

This link should tell you everything you ever wanted to know about free dining vs. % off discounts. It's totally awesome. Be sure to use the tabs at bottom to compare the different discounts.

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/2008FDDPConpare.htm

That should answer anyones questions in regards to FREE DDP vs discounts.

Awsome site - thanks for sharing!!

 

[Brygida]

This link should tell you everything you ever wanted to know about free dining vs. % off discounts. It's totally awesome. Be sure to use the tabs at bottom to compare the different discounts.

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/2008FDDPConpare.htm

This site needs to be put on one of the sticky pages!!!!

 

[Tricia1972]

That is Robinb's I believe and she has AMAZING spreadsheets for figuring out your best bang for your buck. She's one of the Dis wonders IMO.

 

[beautifultomorrow]

That is Robinb's I believe and she has AMAZING spreadsheets for figuring out your best bang for your buck. She's one of the Dis wonders IMO.

I agree! I also use her dining plan spreadsheets constantly. I have never talked to RobinB but she has helped me immensely!!

For everyone else, here are some more useful spreadsheets:

2008 Dining Plan value per credit:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/DisneyDiningRanking2008.htm

Comparison of 2007 and 2008 Dining Plans
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/DDP-2007-2008-Compare.htm

 

[gshumaker]

That is Robinb's I believe and she has AMAZING spreadsheets for figuring out your best bang for your buck. She's one of the Dis wonders IMO.

Go to http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Diningand see them all.

There are some lists of all the snacks from 2006, list of resturants and the credits required at each and more. VERY NICE!!!

 

[Brygida]

Thanks to all who responded. I have a much clearer picture now of comparing *free* dining's true cost.

I am the worrier type... worry that I overlooked something simple that cost me money.

I am happy now about my upcoming trip cost:

• $1147 for POFQ for 1 adult & 1 child
• $5 tickets from Connecticut to Orlando - using frequent flyer miles
• *free* dining
• $168 car rental from Avis using mousesavers.com rental codes

Now all I have to do is upgrade my 1 day base tix to real tix.