Free Dining Question

[jeffbear]

No. This is not the get excited about free dining pump up thread.

This is the thread where you try to convince me it's all that big a deal. Because I've done the math a thousand times and for me this is the most over rated discount in Disney's rather large quiver of over rated discounts.

 

[rteetz]

I won't try to convince you. If it works for you do it. If it doesn't don't. Don't let this discount be the only thing that gets you to Disney.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

No. This is the you decided to make a rant thread thread.
And you put it in the Dis Unplugged section?...
When I am going to get the dining plan regardless of a discount it obviously works out to be a great discount for me.
The room discount ends up not being nearly as good of a deal in my situation.

 

[wilkeliza]

The big part of your post OP is that for you it isn't a deal. Now in the right circumstance it can be a steal even if you don't eat all the food on the plan. I did it once and with 3 adult in the Pop Century room and getting FD then upgrading to the DDP we paid next to nothing for our food and were already planning on park hoppers and didn't have to change room categories so it worked out great. The RO discount would have been less then what we saved with the DDP feeding 3 true adults so it worked out perfect in the end.

 

[Disneylover99]

No. This is not the get excited about free dining pump up thread.

This is the thread where you try to convince me it's all that big a deal. Because I've done the math a thousand times and for me this is the most over rated discount in Disney's rather large quiver of over rated discounts.

If you've done the math and it doesn't work for you, there is no need to be convinced.

 

[KingLlama]

Technically, ALL dining can be free dining if you can run away fast enough.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Technically, ALL dining can be free dining if you can run away fast enough.

Thanks for your post.
This thread needed humor immediately.

 

[jeffbear]

No. This is the you decided to make a rant thread thread.
And you put it in the Dis Unplugged section?...
When I am going to get the dining plan regardless of a discount it obviously works out to be a great discount for me.
The room discount ends up not being nearly as good of a deal in my situation.

Geez. Pretty short rant, at least by my standards. And this WAS a topic on the most recent pod.

Thanks for the second bit though

 

[jeffbear]

The big part of your post OP is that for you it isn't a deal. Now in the right circumstance it can be a steal even if you don't eat all the food on the plan. I did it once and with 3 adult in the Pop Century room and getting FD then upgrading to the DDP we paid next to nothing for our food and were already planning on park hoppers and didn't have to change room categories so it worked out great. The RO discount would have been less then what we saved with the DDP feeding 3 true adults so it worked out perfect in the end.

That's what I'm looking for. Scenarios where it makes sense to get fired up about it.

 

[wilkeliza]

That's what I'm looking for. Scenarios where it makes sense to get fired up about it.

Oh yeah the scenarios are there but few and far between. You either need to be maxing out the room capacity with actual adults or with adults and disney kids. If you are a couple or a family with "disney adults" then it is harder and harder to see a savings. Also you have to eat how the pan is designed in most situations. In recent years I get water more than soda and skip dessert and apps. In those cases it is ok but not make or break a trip worthy

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Oh yeah the scenarios are there but few and far between. You either need to be maxing out the room capacity with actual adults or with adults and disney kids. If you are a couple or a family with "disney adults" then it is harder and harder to see a savings. Also you have to eat how the pan is designed in most situations. In recent years I get water more than soda and skip dessert and apps. In those cases it is ok but not make or break a trip worthy

Just in my own experience here...
It still works out to be a huge savings. I'm talking twice as much of a savings to get FD vs RO discount even when its myself and my sister staying in a RR at POR.

 

[Sean91]

Free dining is a wonderful promotion for us... then again the British free dining promotion is totally different to the US, so it's not really relevant. Our free dining promotion covers all room types (with only one or two acceptations), 48 weeks of the year and comes with a modest room discount too... Why the hell did I buy into DVC again?! :')

 

[chris benton]

No. This is not the get excited about free dining pump up thread.

This is the thread where you try to convince me it's all that big a deal. Because I've done the math a thousand times and for me this is the most over rated discount in Disney's rather large quiver of over rated discounts.

Yeah...
If the math doesn't work for you, then it just doesn't work. (It doesn't work out great for me, either.) No need to be convinced it's some kind of great deal. It works great for others, and that's ok. For my fam, we'd spend less paying oop eating where and what we'd want to eat, including a character meal or two, and also a F! pkg as well. I could make the numbers work with free dining + rack rate if I made some adjustments, but I have a feeling we'd be throwing away too much food, or wind up dreading the next meal. OOP fits our planning and saves money, no big deal. The numbers are there for everyone to figure out if the dining plan is worth it or not. Some ppl find and place monetary value on paying for their meals ahead of time as well.

 

[pjweaver]

I ran the numbers quickly in my head; Free keeps coming up lower than paying money. That doesn't mean WDW is cheap, just cheaper than when I go and there is no free dining and I pay for every meal out of pocket.

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

No. This is the you decided to make a rant thread thread.
And you put it in the Dis Unplugged section?...

Well to be fair to Jeff there is a farting thread, everything is pretty much free game once you have a farting thread... and the episode was about free dining so it seems fine to me.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Well to be fair to Jeff there is a farting thread, everything is pretty much free game once you have a farting thread... and the episode was about free dining so it seems fine to me.

Clearly what is needed is a thread that combines the two:

"With free dining, which food options will result in the most and least amount of farting?"

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

"With free dining, which food options will result in the most and least amount of farting?"

I'm going out on a limb and say Biergarten for most.

 

[pjweaver]

I'm going out on a limb and say Biergarten for most.

Not San Angel?

 

[jeffbear]

I ran the numbers quickly in my head; Free keeps coming up lower than paying money. That doesn't mean WDW is cheap, just cheaper than when I go and there is no free dining and I pay for every meal out of pocket.

Even if you were going to stay in a value or off property and thus have to pay full rack rate for a Deluxe to even qualify for the entirely of the benefit? I mean, that's what's rumored for this year, at least. I think we should at least acknowledge that this is precisely what the majority of people planning a WDW vacation are choosing between. I get that free is cheaper than not free, but free with those kinds of strings really isn't free if you aren't planning to spend that much money on food at the resort to begin with. A ton of people that choose to tour the parks the cheapest way possible certainly don't budget for three full meals on property every day ... table, counter or otherwise.

At the end of the day this is simply a promotion to fill unbooked rooms in the moderates and deluxe resorts. Nothing more, nothing less. If you are the kind of vacationer that has several adults in their group and that is going to spring for that level of accommodation to begin with, then happy days. If not, then I really don't get the level of annual excitement surrounding this promotion. For me it's the same thing as a meal plan ... figure out if it is actually likely to save you money and go for it if it does, or close enough to justify any additional expense in exchange for convenience.

 

[jeffbear]

I'm going out on a limb and say Biergarten for most.

Depends entirely on the individual's digestive temperament so to speak. Those with lactose issues might indicate the entirely of the France Pavilion at Epcot, for example. Maybe it's red meat for others. Diversity, man. Diversity.