Free Dining VS Hotel Discounts

[BellyBaby]

Thank goodness! I've been feeling left out, everyone's always raving about the dining plan, and cost wise, my family is better off POOP. (hee hee) It IS funny.

But OMG who eats all that? An appetizer EACH? The entree, yes. Then dessert, EACH? That's insane! We never order an appetizer at home, often take entree leftovers home in a doggy bag. And we share only one dessert! I'm constantly trying to lose weight (slowly, I might add), & do not want to gain 10lbs in one week. We've decided to pay the measly $1 for our piece of fruit (not much else is healthy in Disney) daily, plus bring our own granola bars. What would we likely get on the plan? Ice cream, or a 300 calorie pretzel (they are gigantic) or the like.

Sorry about the health rant, but check the stats on obesity and what we're teaching our children - it's okay to eat 3x as much b/c it's a good deal. Besides, the money one would save on the DDP is counteracted by the cost of buying larger pants!

I'm waiting for the room discounts!!! Plus, my eating plan allows more TS and character dining for cheaper than the DDP. (Purchasing the Dining experience)

 

[SeansMom]

Thank goodness! I've been feeling left out, everyone's always raving about the dining plan, and cost wise, my family is better off POOP. (hee hee) It IS funny.

But OMG who eats all that? An appetizer EACH? The entree, yes. Then dessert, EACH? That's insane! We never order an appetizer at home, often take entree leftovers home in a doggy bag. And we share only one dessert! I'm constantly trying to lose weight (slowly, I might add), & do not want to gain 10lbs in one week.

Sorry about the health rant, but check the stats on obesity and what we're teaching our children - it's okay to eat 3x as much b/c it's a good deal. Besides, the money one would save on the DDP is counteracted by the cost of buying larger pants!

I'm waiting for the room discounts!!! Plus, my eating plan allows more TS and character dining for cheaper than the DDP. (Purchasing the Dining experience)

I'm with you. We're newbies to DW, but the dining plan seems like an insane amount of food for our family. Plus, I'd rather ride, shop, do and see than eat, so I guess it's all about priorites, too.

 

[iloveeeyore]

Sorry, Canadianguy, but "...makes me sick that people will actually force themselves to eat that much food...Please people, eat responsibly" is not just a question. It is a judgment, and I take it quite personally. She has a right to express her feelings, and I have a right to respond.

I thought I did so calmly. I AM calm.

 

[nurse.darcy]

FWIW, I wasn't bagging necessarily on the dining plan other than the huge amounts of food, but more or less trying to encourage people that want to go to WDW to just go. If there is a way you can do it the way you want and save a bunch of money then go for it.

Life is too short to sit at home wishing for something. Create the vacation you want, don't wait for it to come to you. You can't take the money with you in the end anyhow. Vacations are priceless memories that we get to share with our families. Even if you can only afford to take a quick camping trip to the local mountains or beach, do it. The memories are worth WAY MORE.

 

[minnie61650]

Here is why I don't like to stay off site:

• No Extra Magic Hours
• I have to rent a car as the shuttles to off site hotels don't run early or late enough
• I would then have to drive to my hotel from the Airport
• The only way that I know of to get to Disney World from the Airport is to use toll roads, something we never HAVE to do in California
• I like the theming of the on site hotels
• The dining plan would not be available and would cost us more for food
• We would have to pay for the entire trip at once in most cases rather than over time

All of that being said staying on site is not for everyone, but we are not waiting for a discount to come out for our reservation, we have one made that we are keeping no matter what we do, we have the dining plan on it as well, it would be nice to have free dining of course, but we are not counting on it or any other discount, again which would be nice to have.

FYI

The Swan/Dolphin hotels are on site.
In fact they are Epcot hotels and are just a boat ride or short walk away from
Epcot and MGM.
I got a great rate of $125 a night which is more than 50% less than the other Disney owned Epcot Resorts.

The Swan/Dolphin have Disney transportation, they partake in EMH and they have package delivery from the parks.

They are real 4 star hotels and according to Birnbaums's official guide to WDW their 24 hour room service is the best on WDW property.


They are not Disney owned hotels so they do not have ME service, I cannot use my room key to charge at the Disney owned resorts or parks.

Since I never use room key for charging anyway (I always use my Disney Visa so I can earn more reward dollars for future trips). I don't miss that perk at all.

Each of us chose's a resort based on the amount we have allotted for vacation spending, our family size, resort amenities, and (at Disney anyway) a theme we think our family will enjoy.

I for one am very happy we have so many resort choices on property and off.

Have fun at Disney wherever you choose to stay!

 

[Mariposa]

.

But OMG who eats all that? An appetizer EACH? The entree, yes. Then dessert, EACH? That's insane! We never order an appetizer at home, often take entree leftovers home in a doggy bag. And we share only one dessert! I'm constantly trying to lose weight (slowly, I might add), & do not want to gain 10lbs in one week. We've decided to pay the measly $1 for our piece of fruit (not much else is healthy in Disney) daily, plus bring our own granola bars. What would we likely get on the plan? Ice cream, or a 300 calorie pretzel (they are gigantic) or the like.

The simple answer is, we DON'T eat it all. Sometimes we don't even ORDER it all (and if we do, it's just because we'd like to try a variety). Paying for it, we'd still roughly break even with the DDP (I'd rather pay a little extra and not have to think about cost)- with it Free, it's a no-brainer. We don't stay Deluxe, so it's not something we have to weigh at all.

As for weight, I've never gained on a WDW trip, no matter how I've eaten. I don't normally walk 10 miles a day, though, so I guess that's what does the trick.

 

[Trekker]

Folks - the OP already apologized for the things she said in her excitement - let it go.

Learn that sometimes all of us will post things that may not seem bad to us - but because there is so little to determine what a person means (like body language or facial expression) that things can be hard to interpret - people on this board need to learn to let things go sometimes.

Now about the DDP............

It so happens when we vacation there are 4 of us over the age of 16 and part of our vacation is that we enjoy eating at fine restaurants. We easily spend $200.00 on just our evening meal at a nice TS restaurant. So for us the DDP is an awesome deal and we love it. If you do not like to eat that way or spend your time in a TS restaurant then the DDP may not be a good deal.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I gotta admit -- I'd sure like to TRY the dining plan but realistically.. that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. (even for free! the timing never works for me)

I can say we had a wonderful lunch at Le Cellier on this most recent trip and while my lunch was a wopping 38$ (with tax & tip) .. I also had an alcoholic beverage (wine), the cheese soup to start.. and dessert.

And I LOVED every bite.

And for the record, I weight 128 lbs.

Knox

 

[rjeash]

I have taken all of the "too much food" issue out of our itinerary...We are eating at buffets. 3 or 4 out of 5 TS will be character meals so we will get satisfied and see our friends without busting our waistline or wallet.

 

[Trekker]

I gotta admit -- I'd sure like to TRY the dining plan but realistically.. that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. (even for free! the timing never works for me)

I can say we had a wonderful lunch at Le Cellier on this most recent trip and while my lunch was a wopping 38$ (with tax & tip) .. I also had an alcoholic beverage (wine), the cheese soup to start.. and dessert.

And I LOVED every bite.

And for the record, I weight 128 lbs.

Knox

Braggart!

You do not have to add 100 to get to me - but close to it!

 

[Ziggy]

I must say sometimes this free dining does remind me of the film "Supersize Me". I guess though if you are careful and use it sensibly it really can be worth it.

 

[twinspluscade]

Quote:
"But OMG who eats all that? An appetizer EACH? The entree, yes. Then dessert, EACH? That's insane! We never order an appetizer at home, often take entree leftovers home in a doggy bag. And we share only one dessert! I'm constantly trying to lose weight (slowly, I might add), & do not want to gain 10lbs in one week. We've decided to pay the measly $1 for our piece of fruit (not much else is healthy in Disney) daily, plus bring our own granola bars. What would we likely get on the plan? Ice cream, or a 300 calorie pretzel (they are gigantic) or the like."

Sorry about the health rant, but check the stats on obesity and what we're teaching our children - it's okay to eat 3x as much b/c it's a good deal. Besides, the money one would save on the DDP is counteracted by the cost of buying larger pants! "

My reply:
We don't eat all that. I doubt there are many people-if any-who eat every single thing on the DDP plan. In fact, last year I even lost a little weight while in WDW--all that walking, I guess.

I'm one of those people (don't shoot me Dissers ) who doesn't feel that I have to clean my plate when I eat out (or at home, for that matter). I eat until I'm full, and leave the rest. I don't feel guilty about eating only half my entree, and a few bites of dessert. I don't feel a need to eat everything on DDP just because not to is to waste it.

So, why do we do the DDP then, you ask? Well:

1) Convenience. For me, this is the biggest plus of the DDP. I'm one of those people that gets very nervous about going over budget on vacation. I LOVE having DDP paid for a head of time, and not having to worry about going over our limit. I also like not having to check the prices at restaurants---and normally I would not get an expensive entree if I wasn't on the DDP. For me, that $50 lobster another poster mentioned would be out. . We also never order an appetizer or dessert at restaurants--so it's a treat for us (and our kids too) to be able to do so on vacation. Even if we don't eat every single bite of it.

2) It's FUN! I've had a blast checking out the menus on-line and deciding where to eat. Last time, we did all character buffets for every table service. This time, I'm limiting it to four We're also trying places we'd normally skip.


Kelly

 

[LisaNJ25]

Thank goodness! I've been feeling left out, everyone's always raving about the dining plan, and cost wise, my family is better off POOP. (hee hee) It IS funny.

But OMG who eats all that? An appetizer EACH? The entree, yes. Then dessert, EACH? That's insane! We never order an appetizer at home, often take entree leftovers home in a doggy bag. And we share only one dessert! I'm constantly trying to lose weight (slowly, I might add), & do not want to gain 10lbs in one week. We've decided to pay the measly $1 for our piece of fruit (not much else is healthy in Disney) daily, plus bring our own granola bars. What would we likely get on the plan? Ice cream, or a 300 calorie pretzel (they are gigantic) or the like.

Sorry about the health rant, but check the stats on obesity and what we're teaching our children - it's okay to eat 3x as much b/c it's a good deal. Besides, the money one would save on the DDP is counteracted by the cost of buying larger pants!

I'm waiting for the room discounts!!! Plus, my eating plan allows more TS and character dining for cheaper than the DDP. (Purchasing the Dining experience)

Even if everyone ate every last morsel on their plates its a short vacation worth of eating.. not a life time.. If you are spending the day on the park you will walk it off. It not like at home where we run to the couch.

 

[Disney Kim]

Me and my husband did the dining plan last year, we did not get it free..
and I won't go back again without it.

But let me say, The dining plan has nothing to do with gaining weight or child obesity! I would have eaten just as much going without the plan, me and my husband split a couple CS credits. Its not like I gorged myself. In fact I think I would have gained more weight not sitting down for dinner and consentatly eating burgers and fries (which is probably what I would have done not on the plan)

I don't know why people think it is sooo much food? Do people not eat a couple meals a day anyways??

Maybe the dining plan doesnt suit certain people, I won't go a day on vacation not having a leat one sit down meal which is I think a big part of why I like the plan.. The pre-paid thing I also like..

But I think its a great deal... thats just me, I'm sure everyone is different

 

[nurse.darcy]

You know, some of you gave VERY well thought out arguements in favor of the dining plan. Thank you for that. I learned some things as well and now feel better informed.

 

[Trekker]

 

[LovintheLodge]

You know, some of you gave VERY well thought out arguements in favor of the dining plan. Thank you for that. I learned some things as well and now feel better informed.

My family had the free dining back in Aug/Sep 2005. Here's my take on it. I compared the AAA discount on the hotel vs paying 'rack' rate with the free dining. Our 8 night AAA package for standard room at the WL during value season would have been $50 less a day , but that's without meal cost. So we looked at it like we were eating great for $50 a day...which would not be the case if we had paid for the 4 of us. Plus eating on average one TS meal per day really added to our vacation experience and we tried some places we probably wouldn't have otherwise. We also ate a couple of character meals (Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace) that can be pricey (my kids were 12 and 14 at the time).

Also, the meal plan covers 2, not 3, meals per day. That's what we typically do on vacation anyway. True, many times the appy and dessert are too much, but believe me we ate healthier and better. It made a believer out of my husband who originally said that he "wasn't go to WDW to eat"! I do understand how it may not be economical for those children > 9 yrs old that don't eat like an adult, but you have to pay adult prices if paying for DDP.

 

[castleri]

We did DDP last year after much going back and forth about the cost and if it would be a good idea. The final reasoning covered several areas.
1. We had a total of 7 adults and 1 child on the plan. It made it so much easier for everyone to just order what they wanted and never have to try to sort out the bills or ask for separate ones. We had a total of 5 separate households represented. Everyone paid the same and could use their credits as they saw fit.

2. We all felt it was vacation and a special time and that while we wouldn't eat this way at home or when dining out at home it was a chance to try those things that we wouldn't order if paying that day OOP. If I wanted to eat like I do at home I would stay home. We also do trips where we do not do the dining plan and eat for less money and they are also fun.

3. It was a chance to sit down every day and relax and enjoy talking about the great time we were having. Without the DDP we did not usually eat that many TS meals. ( I know that is what many of you find wrong with it.) We didn't do the plan at Christmas as we knew everything was going to be crowded anyway and it was more of a park trip than some of the others so did not want to be obligated to be at a certain spot at a certain time. We also ate some meals in out 2 BR villa at OKW which was fine given our plans for the trip.

4. I do agree that for those who got the 40% discount it is a great opportunity. If that 40% is off a moderate or deluxe you can probably eat OOP for what the savings is. To get free dining you have to pay rack rate for the room. If you would give up the deluxe to stay at a value if free dining is offered that is a whole different story.

All in all it depends on what you can afford to pay to take the vacation you want and as the OP said - if you really want to go - try to find a way - life is too short to keep putting it off waiting for free dining. I did cruises in 2004 and 2005 staying in an inside cabin on one of the lower levels - that's what I could afford at the time. Would I have liked to be in a balcony room - yes but it was wonderful to spend the time with my DD and DGD (yep three in the cabin) and if I am unable to do these things in another 5 or 10 years I will never have to say "I wish I had gone". I can say "I am so glad I went and didn't we have a wonderful time".

 

[Alisha's mom Sarah]

We're going with our 2 y/o daughter so it will be nice for us to be able to share with her. Not to mention I have been to Disney numerous times and have never eaten at sit down restuarants.. I think it will be awesome to relax and enjoy dinners, try new foods and not have to worry about money.

We're going to Disney regardless but I would love to eat at some of these places I've only "looked at" before. And to take my DD to the Princess dining!!!