Free Dining Plan for DVC?

[chrysano]

I notice now and then that a free dining plan is offered if you book during certain dates or if you have the Disney Visa. Is there ever anything that DVC members can utilize to gain free dining plan? I was getting excited when I saw about the Disney Visa because we have that card, but also realized that you actually have to book your vacation using it. Since we are DVC member we don't exactly have to need to book a vacation the same way anymore..

Does anyone know anything about DVC members being able to get free dining ever? Or is that just wishful thinking?

 

[PeterPan09]

I've never seen it-mostly because in order to get "free" dining, Disney charges the rack rate for the rooms instead of discounting them the way they do with other packages. It's really a swap that people don't see-sure, you're not paying for the dining in your package, but you're paying more for the room. They're going to make up that money someplace. As DVC members, we never pay rack rate for the room, so they aren't going to give us that dining discount.

 

[Kimberle]

I doubt it. FD is used to fill rooms. DVC owners have already paid for their rooms. You're a "captive audiance". Even if you don't come, WDW can rent out your room(s).

I guess you could rent out your points and come as a "regular" guest in a traditional hotel room.

 

[J3nn78]

sure, you just have to pay full price for a package and use your DVC points at another time.

 

[puffkin]

Nope. And most likely it isn't worth it to even rent out your points and book a regular package to get free dining. You will still probably come out way ahead doing DVC and just paying OOP for your food.

Have you looked into the Tables In Wonderland card? We have had that for years since we are also AP holders, and now DVC members can get it too (although it is cheaper for AP holders). Much better deal for us.

I actually hate the dining plan and the impact it has had on prices at WDW in general, but I guess I am not their targeted audience. We just don't eat like that or want to eat like that...but it has driven up the prices for everyone else.

 

[DebbieB]

I have a DVC reservation for next month, 6 nights in a BWV 1 bedroom, it's 222 points. To get the free dining package, you would have to pay $3800 for the full price room, plus buy 2 day tickets for each person. I figured it out, at $10 per point, I would still be saving over $600 by using points and paying for the dining plan for 3 adults. But actually we don't do the dining plan, it's too expensive, we just pay OOP.

 

[Tiger926]

No, as others have said.

Your flaw in thinking is that you are presuming that Disney uses Free Dining as a gift or reward, and that is not how it works.

Free Dining is a marketing promo used to incentify guests to book rooms. It is another discount, plain and simple. It is not a gift, which is what it would be if given to us DVC members, since we already have accommodations. We don't need any incentive to book a room, since we've already paid thousands for that privilege.

As others have mentioned, you can get Free Dining by booking a room through Disney's Central Reservations at rack rate (full price), but not if booking through Member Services on points.

By the way, as a DVC member I do get my own version of free dining - I cook my own meals in my full kitchen! Saves me thousands, and so after a few trips, I take that money and pay for my cruise!

Tiger

 

[Lynne M]

All of those deals...free dining, the Visa thing....those are offered by the division of Disney that rents out hotel rooms that they own, to try to fill that inventory of hotel rooms.

When you book a room with your DVC points, you're using the inventory of rooms that we, the members, own. You're not giving any money at all to the business unit that offers those packages. We don't deal with them, our reservations aren't even in their computer system. So they've got no reason to offer us free dining.

Free dining isn't Disney giving anything away, it's just another repackaging of a discount. Instead of giving you a percentage off your room and making you pay full price for your food, they give you some free meals, and make you pay full price for the room.

To see what's the better deal, you really need to do what DebbieB did, and run the numbers yourself. Since I often travel solo, or with one other person, DVC always comes out way ahead of free dining. Way, way ahead.