Free Dining trip wrecker?

[Don Disney]

I definately agree with you about the "4/3"Deal-I wish we could have taken advantage of that!!! We wanted to do that deal,but work is usually very busy until the beginning of summer,and there is NO-WAY we are EVER going in the summer again-went twice and it was brutal!!

 

[HGD24]

Dining would've been $40 per day alone if I paid for it.

I think this is where some of the misconception comes into play. Disney puts a $40 per day value on the dining plan. Many people could eat well for far less than $40 per day though. If you weren't going during free dining, would you still pay for the dining plan or would you find that you don't want to eat at a TS every day or you would eat at a TS every day, but that you wouldn't order the $30 steak every night therefore; in actuality, the plan wouldn't be worth it for you? DH and I have never used the DDP and we hardly ever spend $40 a day on food.

 

[clc053103]

We went during free dining last year for the first time- we do deluxe dining, so last year we paid additional. This year, the 40% off pin was better so we paid oop for DxDP.

Like PP said, park crowds were low, but the restaurants were crowded. While I didn't specifically notice any difference in the quality of the food, I did notice at some places a difference in the quality of the dining experience. For example- Coral Reef was mobbed and loud and service was terrible.

 

[Don Disney]

I can see how there are misconceptions-everybody is different.If my wife and I were to pay for our food,I'm quite sure it would cost us at least $30 each;$5 for breakfast,$10 for lunch,and $15 for dinner;for our 2 DD's-$7,$8,$14 (both kids for B,L,D).So it would cost us about $89/day;10 days=$890!!! Yeah,"free-dining"isn't free at all!

 

[TDC Nala]

I can see how there are misconceptions-everybody is different.If my wife and I were to pay for our food,I'm quite sure it would cost us at least $30 each;$5 for breakfast,$10 for lunch,and $15 for dinner;for our 2 DD's-$7,$8,$14 (both kids for B,L,D).So it would cost us about $89/day;10 days=$890!!! Yeah,"free-dining"isn't free at all!

It works for you. It doesn't work for me. I am one person. I have DVC but even if I stayed at Pop Century with free dining (which I've done before) the rack rate and ticket are far more than I would have paid if I got a discount (which I always do being an AP holder). I did free dining back when the appetizer and tip were included - then it was a good deal. Now - I'd rather be able to choose what I order even if the plan is "free" and I don't ever even purchase the plan (I'm getting the QSDP for one night in August but that is really to get the mug on a split stay. The mug costs $12 and the plan is $30, so that turns out to be $18 for two CS meals and two snacks. That's a deal. The rest of the split stay is over a week at DVC with no dining plan. The dining plan's never a deal to me anymore, whether free or not.)

There are a lot of visitors for whom there are better deals than free dining, based on the discounts they can get or the fact that they don't eat the way the dining plan obligates you to eat.

 

[Don Disney]

That makes sense to me.It really does depend on the needs/wants of each individual,or family.

 

[shortbusmom]

Ok so if you are saying that because of Free Dining the resturants are serving less food and different menu to the people on the Dining Plan than can you tell me how they know that you are on free dining becasue when we go to Disney we pay for the Dining Plan since we are DVC members and are getting a free Dining plan which is part of your hotel package. Also we have been using the dining plan for many years now and other than the appetizer being not part of the plan and the fact that we now have to tip that has been the only changes to the menu-- Some resturants are doing a package plan now giving 3 entree choices, 3 appetizers and 3 desserts for a set price and then you can have that a part of the dining plan. Please don't think just because they are givining you free dining that you are going to get horrible low quality food if that was the case then no one would be eating on Disney property.

 

[fupresti]

A perfect example of Free Dining not really free.

I was booked at Boardwalk Villas for 9/26-10/4 with 8 Day Park Hoppers and DDP for about $3500.00

I re-ran the same vacation using the 35% Discount on the Room. Added the 8 day passes and also added the DDP back in and it was $400.00 cheaper.

If you stay at a Value resort, Free Dining is a more affordable option. Moderates are a 50/50 split and Deluxes are better depending on how many are going.

And we are all paying for the DDP with the reduction in quality and service. I feel for the waiters but being told 5-8 times during a meal that gratuity is not included really ruins the mood. Couple that with some pretty generic options and it really kind of sucks. I take advantage of it cause it makes sense, but it's not like there is a DDP menu and cash menu. I would just assume raise the price to accommodate and go back to the way it was in the first year when it included everything.

 

[brunette8706]

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 !!!

***

Hi!

I wholeheartedly concur! I would rather have 35-40 percent the rack rates then have the so called Free Dining. The so called Free dining is $40.00 per person plus tax for the duration of your stay. So in essence if two adults were there for 7 days that would be $560 added on top of your stay, PLUS TIP of course. We choose to bring sandwiches and snacks some days, counter service other days and a few table service meals. It's so much cheaper. We also have the 20 percent discount on food items called Table's in Wonderland.

Brunette

 

[PaulaSB12]

***

Hi!

I wholeheartedly concur! I would rather have 35-40 percent the rack rates then have the so called Free Dining. The so called Free dining is $40.00 per person plus tax for the duration of your stay. So in essence if two adults were there for 7 days that would be $560 added on top of your stay, PLUS TIP of course. We choose to bring sandwiches and snacks some days, counter service other days and a few table service meals. It's so much cheaper. We also have the 20 percent discount on food items called Table's in Wonderland.

Brunette

For these of us that don't get codes the free dining is a good offer.

 

[brunette8706]

For these of us that don't get codes the free dining is a good offer.

******

You can still get discounts open to the public. You have to do a little research on this site and you can find them. I personally don't want to be locked in to $40.00 per person per day. It's not worth it to us.

 

[traylorc]

I can see how there are misconceptions-everybody is different.If my wife and I were to pay for our food,I'm quite sure it would cost us at least $30 each;$5 for breakfast,$10 for lunch,and $15 for dinner;for our 2 DD's-$7,$8,$14 (both kids for B,L,D).So it would cost us about $89/day;10 days=$890!!! Yeah,"free-dining"isn't free at all!

Don...I hear what you are saying. Perhaps in your situation free dining really is free.

But for one second, ask yourself this question. How many businesses do you know that have been around as long as Disney and give away their product or service for free? Maybe my fourteen plus years in Corporate Banking have made me cynical, but I have talked to numerous individuals who work in management positions in service related business. They all say the same thing. Successful businesses do not give away their product and/or service for free...they provide the illusion that those items are free.

In many instances "free XYZ" promotions are implemented because some highly skilled beancounter has determined that at the end of the day consumers subsidize their free transactions. That's one of the reasons Disney makes sure folks pay the full rack rate and purchase the park hopper. Disney's extensive research on consumer spending patterns likely allows them to put you in the best position to spend more of your disposable income. For example, by ensuring you buy a parkhopper ticket in conjunction with free dining you are likely to visit more than one park. I'm willing to bet Disney possesses historical data/statistics that indicates that people who visit more than one park are likely to spend more money. Why will folks spend more money?? Because they believe they have more discretionary income to spend because of all the cash they are saving on free dining.

Ever know someone who is trying to lose weight and decide to change their diet to incorporate fat free foods? Yet despite eating the fat free food they can't seem to lose weight? Well part of the problem is that because the person believes the food they are eating is fat free, they tend to eat more of it which increases the number of calories consumed and hence they don't lose weight. To me that's free dining in a nutshell, it's Disney's fat free treat they offer their customers.

At the end of the day I think free dining is an ingenious marketing plan on Disney's part. I imagine some folks actually save some serious cash using this program. But I question whether or not that is the exception rather than the rule. The Banker inside me knows that Disney would not be offering this "free dining" promotion unless they believed it would enhance their bottom line.

 

[dreamsensei]

******

You can still get discounts open to the public. You have to do a little research on this site and you can find them. I personally don't want to be locked in to $40.00 per person per day. It's not worth it to us.

DISNEY assigns that value. I'm certainly getting more than $40.00 per day from it. Here's a breakdown from our last trip :

Counter Service Average retail : $12
Table Service Average retail : $45
Snack : $3.50

That's $60.50 for us, per person, per day. Since it was myself and my wife, that's $121 per day. At the coveted 40% code level, that requires a $302.50/night room to beat the "savings".

 

[TDC Nala]

Ok so if you are saying that because of Free Dining the resturants are serving less food and different menu to the people on the Dining Plan than can you tell me how they know that you are on free dining becasue when we go to Disney we pay for the Dining Plan since we are DVC members and are getting a free Dining plan which is part of your hotel package. Also we have been using the dining plan for many years now and other than the appetizer being not part of the plan and the fact that we now have to tip that has been the only changes to the menu-- Some resturants are doing a package plan now giving 3 entree choices, 3 appetizers and 3 desserts for a set price and then you can have that a part of the dining plan. Please don't think just because they are givining you free dining that you are going to get horrible low quality food if that was the case then no one would be eating on Disney property.

They don't know. If they are changing the menus (and they change them all the time, not just during certain periods of the year) they change them for everyone .

Some resturants are doing a package plan now giving 3 entree choices, 3 appetizers and 3 desserts for a set price and then you can have that a part of the dining plan.

It's two restaurants - Chefs de France and Le Cellier. It should be mentioned that the fixed price items are the least expensive menu items - at Le Cellier you can't go for the free appetizer and still get a filet.

There's a general public room discount offer out right now for 35% off most resort rooms from 8/9/09 to 10/3/09, so there really isn't anybody who "doesn't get codes." (of course the poster who didn't get codes is in the UK - UK guests are different. They usually come and stay three weeks or more and spend a lot of cash - for them, free dining probably rocks their world. Disney's got to love keeping the Brits onsite for that long - prepaying most meals at Disney means less time to roll over to Universal or Sea World) You do need to be aware of the offers to book them - Disney won't tell you about them when you are booking - but the Internet takes care of that. This site has a Rates and Codes Section on the Resort board that keeps up with all the discounts out there.

DDP will never go back to tip included - that's my estimation - Disney can't afford that. And with three separate dining plans, you won't find the appetizer included in the basic anymore either.

 

[Rip]

DISNEY assigns that value. I'm certainly getting more than $40.00 per day from it. Here's a breakdown from our last trip :

Counter Service Average retail : $12
Table Service Average retail : $45
Snack : $3.50

That's $60.50 for us, per person, per day. Since it was myself and my wife, that's $121 per day. At the coveted 40% code level, that requires a $302.50/night room to beat the "savings".

Keep in mind that the regular prices on the menu are reflective of not only the general $40/day plan when it's not "free", but also when it is. They wouldn't be charging as much in the absence of the DP, particularly for food that isn't the quality that it once was (and like many others, we've seen the quality of food go down within the last several years). The increase in regular prices is used to offset the "free", or even the discounted portion of the full price DP. This, in addition, causes an increase in the amount you pay in gratuity. There is a reason that Disney dropped the appetizer and gratuity from the plan - it wasn't cost effective. Last year we got both a room discount and "free" dining through our Disney Visa, we spent over $500 in gratuities during our week long stay with 3 adults and 2 kids. We would not have eaten as much or as often if we'd paid OOP.

That isn't to say it can't be a better deal for you, depending on your circumstance, but it most definitely isn't "free".

 

[disneynutz]

Ok so if you are saying that because of Free Dining the resturants are serving less food and different menu to the people on the Dining Plan than can you tell me how they know that you are on free dining becasue when we go to Disney we pay for the Dining Plan since we are DVC members and are getting a free Dining plan which is part of your hotel package. Also we have been using the dining plan for many years now and other than the appetizer being not part of the plan and the fact that we now have to tip that has been the only changes to the menu-- Some resturants are doing a package plan now giving 3 entree choices, 3 appetizers and 3 desserts for a set price and then you can have that a part of the dining plan. Please don't think just because they are givining you free dining that you are going to get horrible low quality food if that was the case then no one would be eating on Disney property.

It's surprising what people will put up with when you use words, ''free and Disney" together.

It's because of the DDP, not free dining that Disney has reduced the quality and quantity of their food. Menus are chosen because they are easy and require less preparation time. Turning over tables is a priority and as a additional cost savings, the servers now bus their own tables.

The DDP's have changed the way that Disney does business, and it makes them so much money, that they will never get rid of it.

 

[Rip]

It's surprising what people will put up with when you use words, ''free and Disney" together.

It's because of the DDP, not free dining that Disney has reduced the quality and quantity of their food. Menus are chosen because they are easy and require less preparation time. Turning over tables is a priority and as a additional cost savings, the servers now bus their own tables.

The DDP's have changed the way that Disney does business, and it makes them so much money, that they will never get rid of it.

Exactly, it locks you in for a fixed amount of money per day - that's the hard part, getting people to buy into that concept. Adjusting the offerings to ensure that they are more profitable with you "saving up to 35%", for a company as big as Disney with their unique field of expertise, is the easy part.

Just look at how many people don't like to hear that their free dining isn't free, there is no greater proof of Disney's mastery of marketing than that.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

It's two restaurants - Chefs de France and Le Cellier. It should be mentioned that the fixed price items are the least expensive menu items - at Le Cellier you can't go for the free appetizer and still get a filet.

Captain's Grille has a fixed price menu now too.

 

[elranzer]

Free Dining doesn't make the park more crowded in my experience. In fact, the free dining is offered BECAUSE the park isn't crowded at all.

I don't think the free dining brings in that many more people that wouldn't have came during value season anyway.

 

[mom2rtk]

I keep seeing post's like this,and still don't get why "free-dining" isn't free.PLEASE tell me how to get our room at Pop for less than $82/night WITHOUT "free-dining",and also could you please show me how to feed our family of 4 for 10 days with the savings we would get with the"room discount"? I am definately not a mathematical genius,but I truly don't understand why so many folks insist the food ain't free? We refuse to pay for moderate or deluxe sleeping quarters-would rather use the money to fly instead of driving 12-15 hours each way. I just don't get it.

These discussions are almost pointless.... yet I've seen them over and over here on the boards. People are comparing apples and oranges. Those staying at a deluxe resort have an entirely different opinion than those staying at a value resort. Disney runs all sorts of specials, like 40% off the room only rate. If you're at a deluxe paying $500 a night, that's a $200 discount per day. If you're staying at the POP for $82 a night, that's $20a day, almost not worth mentioning. So those of us staying at a value resort will ALWAYS look at free dining as FREE, whereas those staying at a deluxe will look at it as not worthwhile because they would have to give up that steep room discount.

We're staying at the POP for 7 nights and the truth is that we wouldn't be going if it weren't for FREE dining (well, you know..... sort of free..... I DID have to give up the chance of finding a $20 per night discount on the room.....)