Free Dining trip wrecker?

[aviva5675]

We have never been during free dining--too crowded and hard to get into restaurants.

That being said, I got a pin and booked free dining (not open to public--yet) for the week before Thanksgiving.

Will the menus be changed or dumbed down, so to speak, because of the FD? I really look forward to some good food when there, and am worried that the FD will ruin it.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Unless they put out a Holiday menu, I am thinking the menus will be what they are.. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Typically, the more unique and expensive meals are
. . . dumbed down, or
. . . removed from the menu, or
. . . portion size is reduced
2) It is the nature of profit and loss.
3) And regardless of the ads, there is no Free Lunch (or Free Dining).
4) There is a cost to everything.

 

[sah95]

I've been thinking about this too. We've never been during free dining. We went Jan of this year and are going again Dec. 12-19 because of the free dining PIN I received. I also wonder if the best quality items aren't the most expensive thing on the menu b/c most people would get the most expensive thing to get the most bang for their buck. Oh well, we will go and have a good time. I'm still worried about crowd levels if the free dining is released to Disney Visa holders and the public. However, I'm not worried enough to cancel my trip!!!

 

[jenjersnap]

I went to WDW for free dining in 9/07 and 9/08 and then paid for DDP in late 1/08 and 1/09. Ate at many of the same places and there was no substantial difference in any of the menus quantity or quality between the two visits.

Now I should add this caveat: the quality and quantity of food declines a bit each year, thanks to the DDP and, I am sure, sliding profit margins, but I personally believe that they do not remove items specifically for free dining periods. (Or, perhaps, more accurately, they remove items, i.e., filets, and THEY NEVER RETURN AT ALL! )

 

[catne]

Unless you have unbelievably high expectations, then no, Free dining has not ruined the food...you will find plenty to enjoy, and generous portions abound at Disney, Free Dining or not.

We have used the dining plan May 2007, May 2008, January 2009 and May 2009 -- paying for it all of four times. We also went for Free Dining in September 2008. And we ate at some of the exact same restaurants during Free Dining & as well as paid dining. There was no difference in the menus...no difference in the portion sizes, no difference in the service. The only difference was the restaurants had longer lines and there was no walk-up availability at the more popular places.

The parks are not crowded during free dining -- the restaurants are busy, but the parks are actually quite pleasant - a lot of 4s & 5s on the crowd levels.

 

[USAswimmer626]

I have been twice during Free Dining, and the food has never been anything different then what is typically offered. Restaurants change their menus all the time as things get more expensive and the times change, but they would never alter an experience because of a promotion such as Free Dining.

 

[bomzar]

During Free Dine, some restaurants will simplify their menu a little because of the increased business. They don't want to completely bury the kitchen.

 

[lds0191]

I have to disagree with the post that states there is no such thing as "Free" dining. We have booked WDW for September and the only reason we could afford it is due to the "Free" dining. We got a great deal thru SW and are going to eat better then any other trip to Disney. I have booked 2 character meals and Hoop De Doo Revue which we would never have been able to do without the "Free" dining.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Been doing Free dinning since they started it. Love it. The food is always good.

 

[RMulieri]

I've been thinking about this too. We've never been during free dining. We went Jan of this year and are going again Dec. 12-19 because of the free dining PIN I received. I also wonder if the best quality items aren't the most expensive thing on the menu b/c most people would get the most expensive thing to get the most bang for their buck. Oh well, we will go and have a good time. I'm still worried about crowd levels if the free dining is released to Disney Visa holders and the public. However, I'm not worried enough to cancel my trip!!!

Me too...I have already watched the UG crowd number climb from mostly 4's that week to 5/6.I am so hoping they don't go any higher.If I wanted Christmas week crowds I would go a week later

 

[VAN]

I agree that "Free Dining" is not totally free. To get FD you must pay "rack" rate for your room and purchase at least a 1 day park ticket.

If you are a party of 2 and are staying at a deluxe resort, you could well end up paying more for your FD package than if you took the 35% room only discount being offered for the same time.

I always say - CRUNCH THE NUMBERS !!!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Restaurants change their menus all the time as things get more expensive and the times change, but they would never alter an experience because of a promotion such as Free Dining.

. . . good thoughts
. . . incorrect
. . . but, good thoughts
. . . during Free Dining, MANY menu items are altered, and some removed

Unless you have unbelievably high expectations, then no, Free dining has not ruined the food...you will find plenty to enjoy, and generous portions abound at Disney, Free Dining or not.

. . . alas, true
. . . the quality and uniqueness has gone down, but folks don't care
. . . people forget about quality when all they want is to pig out "for free"
. . . however, there is no free lunch (or breakfast or dinner for that matter)

 

[Henlady]

Also, don't forget that while many are on the "free dining" program, there will be quite a few who are NOT utilizing the free dining promotion. Anyone staying off site and anyone who got a better deal by using a room discount. Disney also has to cater to and feed these customers, so they can't "dump" dining down too much or it would also affect this group adversly. They can't serve a paying customer a better looking meal than they are serving a "non paying" customer at the next table. The free dining promo is a way to get people into the parks and other facilities. They have to run the park wether they have 5,000 guests or 35,000 guests, so fill the parks & hotels as much as possible and even though they'll be giving away some "free food", they'll be getting more revenue overall. I guarantee, Disney does not loose out on this deal or any others they may institute.

 

[Lehuaann]

. . . good thoughts
. . . incorrect
. . . but, good thoughts
. . . during Free Dining, MANY menu items are altered, and some removed

. . . alas, true
. . . the quality and uniqueness has gone down, but folks don't care
. . . people forget about quality when all they want is to pig out "for free". . . however, there is no free lunch (or breakfast or dinner for that matter)

WOW, I didn't pig out for free!! My first year at WDW on site (07) I knew nothing about FD. However I booked a FULL RACK rate pkg including FULL PRICE DP during one of the week's of FD. Therefore if what your saying is correct, I received less quality/dumbed down/altered menu because of a special that I, a full paying customer, had no part of??!! I have never noticed a difference in my meal qualities at neither rack rate/FD trips. Oooooh, not sitting well with me. Sounds unfair to us who paid/pay full rack rate to be getting the short end of the stick.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I agree that "Free Dining" is not totally free. To get FD you must pay "rack" rate for your room and purchase at least a 1 day park ticket.

If you are a party of 2 and are staying at a deluxe resort, you could well end up paying more for your FD package than if you took the 35% room only discount being offered for the same time.

I always say - CRUNCH THE NUMBERS !!!

I agree. Since I always stay at a value resort, free dining is always a good deal for me, an even better deal if I don't go solo. But if I were to stay at the GF, I'd be looking for a room discount instead.

 

[Planogirl]

Free dining would be a bust for us because there's only two of us. I think it's a much better deal when you have more in your group.

I would also never pay rack rate for any of the hotels. I look for moderates and deluxes if we stay on site so full rate would be way too expensive.

But to each their own! I've noticed that FS dining is a big part of the vacation experience for many people. It's not a high priority for us but if it were we'd probably try to be all over the free dining thing too.

 

[B-Ride]

. . . good thoughts
. . . incorrect
. . . but, good thoughts
. . . during Free Dining, MANY menu items are altered, and some removed




. . . alas, true
. . . the quality and uniqueness has gone down, but folks don't care
. . . people forget about quality when all they want is to pig out "for free"
. . . however, there is no free lunch (or breakfast or dinner for that matter)

Must be tough to have such a cynical view of life.

We have been during Free Dining three times to many different restaurants armed with menus from All Ears Net and have never encountered an item that was removed from the menu. The only restriction was at Marrakesh were we couldn't order the most expensive item. Maybe we were just lucky and they added items back when they saw us coming.

No Free Dining? What do you call it? Sure you pay rack rate but it is still an excellent deal.

As I used to say to my kids when they were being negative - time to go to the garden and eat worms.

 

[Lehuaann]

Must be tough to have such a cynical view of life.

We have been during Free Dining three times to many different restaurants armed with menus from All Ears Net and have never encountered an item that was removed from the menu. The only restriction was at Marrakesh were we couldn't order the most expensive item. Maybe we were just lucky and they added items back when they saw us coming.

No Free Dining? What do you call it? Sure you pay rack rate but it is still an excellent deal.

As I used to say to my kids when they were being negative - time to go to the garden and eat worms.

ROTFL!!! My husband JUST (10 min ago) asked our un-happy daughter if she wanted to eat worms.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I love free DDP! We stay at a value so the cost of the room is less than the cost of the three of us if we paid for free DDP. And this year my DD will be turning 10 so it makes it even more of a value. When the room is costing us $82/night and we are receiving $120 in DDP value then it's like they are actually paying us to go!

I know, I know, we have to pay a one day base ticket, each. So there's $240 I have to spend (3 x $80). We don't usually use that ticket on the same trip since we have prevoius unused days on previous tickets. We will save those one day base tix to upgrade at another time. Even if we didn't upgrade them, the way I look at it costs us $240 for 11 nights of food. (DDP value $1320) That is definitely a free lunch (and dinner in this case!)

If Disney keeps offering free DDP I figure when I die I will have a stockpile of one day base tickets. Cause as long as they are offering it, I'm going!

We don't have AP to WDW (we do to DLR) so we don't receive AP discount offers. There was only one year prior to that we received a PIN for a room at AKL for the same price as a moderate-I booked that so fast my DM's head was spinning. That was Sept. 04. That's the last PIN I received. I guess I go to often so they don't feel they need to lure me back with a discount.

Now, prior to 2005, I had a DNiece who was a CM at DLR. We took her several times and used her room discount and free admission (it's changed slightly now). Then were stayed in moderates and AKL, usually splitting our stay. We didn't get DDP (CM couldn't) but we did get a discount. Now that she no longer works for Disney (moved to UT for school) free DDP is the next best thing!

Also, I enjoy planning my WDW almost as much as actually going there (I said almost!) So adding on the planning of ADRs is just one more thing for me to spend my time on.

Love free DDP! (and love my 3 year old POP fridge swap-I'll be using my fridge for the fourth time in about 2 months!)