Free Dining Vs Room Rates?? Help!

[cajunprincess]

For my family, we would probably do the dining plan regardless. I've crunched numbers and with kids, we do more buffets and at a sit down, DH and I usually eat the more expensive entrees. I love dessert too. It's one if the only times we eat ourselves have it. So since we would do the dining plan regardless, FD has been more beneficial for us even staying at a moderate.

 

[sharadoc]

OP, in your case, I think it would be a better deal to upgrade to a moderate to get the regular dining plan.

Some folks on here have given you good advice regarding cost comparison. In my view, the best use of free dining is families with children 10 and over who do character and buffet dining as their TS. Then eat a regular QS at a park every day, with your snack for breakfast, or OOP for something quick.

2 adults who like to drink and get apps, or families with little kids usually will make out better with a room discount. Upgrading to TS plan from QS will cost around $20 a person - could you upgrade your room for an additional $80, get a better resort and the regular dining plan? If so, then it's a good idea.

The question to ask yourself is would you eat that way anyway? If you would eat at a TS every day and only pay tips, nothing extra off the menu, then you're golden.

We had a TIW, staying at OKW one year, and went over to POFQ for a QS dinner (since we got the discount on our bill). We saw many people who had their receipts from dinner going to get dessert on their way back from parks. So apparently the dinner and dessert from your resort food court might be able to be spread out and you can get that dessert as your evening snack. Otherwise, you get big handfuls of Mickey Rice Krispy bars on a stick because you're too full to eat dessert right away.

We were hoping for free dining for this year's trip because we do plan to eat out most days. But a room only discount will probably be better in the long run. We'll eat some meals in our cabin, eat less when we go out and generally feel better and not overloaded with food. I don't want to be tied to constant reservations and running from one place to another, I want to be more free with our time.

Anyway, hope that helps. And I hope this thread doesn't turn into a debate like so many of them do.

 

[Shaden]

OP, in your case, I think it would be a better deal to upgrade to a moderate to get the regular dining plan.

Some folks on here have given you good advice regarding cost comparison. In my view, the best use of free dining is families with children 10 and over who do character and buffet dining as their TS. Then eat a regular QS at a park every day, with your snack for breakfast, or OOP for something quick.

2 adults who like to drink and get apps, or families with little kids usually will make out better with a room discount. Upgrading to TS plan from QS will cost around $20 a person - could you upgrade your room for an additional $80, get a better resort and the regular dining plan? If so, then it's a good idea.

The question to ask yourself is would you eat that way anyway? If you would eat at a TS every day and only pay tips, nothing extra off the menu, then you're golden.

We had a TIW, staying at OKW one year, and went over to POFQ for a QS dinner (since we got the discount on our bill). We saw many people who had their receipts from dinner going to get dessert on their way back from parks. So apparently the dinner and dessert from your resort food court might be able to be spread out and you can get that dessert as your evening snack. Otherwise, you get big handfuls of Mickey Rice Krispy bars on a stick because you're too full to eat dessert right away.

We were hoping for free dining for this year's trip because we do plan to eat out most days. But a room only discount will probably be better in the long run. We'll eat some meals in our cabin, eat less when we go out and generally feel better and not overloaded with food. I don't want to be tied to constant reservations and running from one place to another, I want to be more free with our time.

Anyway, hope that helps. And I hope this thread doesn't turn into a debate like so many of them do.

Great advice, This is exactly what I was talking about, its about the value to you from each, its about HOW you eat, etc.

If you are planning on drinks and apps most nights, instead of just focusing on 2 main courses, 2 pops and 2 deserts, then FD might not be for you.

A few PPs mentioned their family trips, but that does not really apply here, as I noted early on, with a family of 3 or more, its VERY difficult for a room only discount to match free dining, the numbers just don't work out.

 

[su_A_ve]

I've been upgrading to a mod since we started to do FD several years back. Even when my now DS12 was a Disney child.

For us, it's because:

* Two queen beds (we stay at CSR)
* Mini Fridge
* Better bathroom layout
* Upgrade from QSDP to DP since we like the sit down meals.
* Bus stop closer (we only get standard rooms)

Of course, since my two kids are juniors, FD is the way to go for us no matter what.

We've played with the quick service meals and typically get 3. We tend to upgrade to a Candlelight package or Hoop De Doo. Then we use the extra QS.

 

[fitzperry]

The Jacket Jean thing just doesn't work.

The problem with your logic of $200 a day of free dining, is that you have to eat ALL $200 worth for you to actually GET it.

Its like buying a Jacket, getting a discount on a pair of jeans that you never wear. Did you actually get a discount ?

That analogy doesn't exactly hold up either, because it assumes getting NO value from the dining plan, which (realistically) will never be the case.

There really is no substitute for crunching the numbers for your particular situation. For my family of 4 (both kids Disney "adults") staying at the Poly, a 30% room discount is where it starts to get tricky. We usually eat a light breakfast in our room, skip most of the desserts on the dp, and w/o the dp would probably do a day or two w/o a table service meal. But . . . my kids love `Ohana, and the families we're traveling with really want to do a CP dinner and the Fantasmic dinner package. Those fixed price meals add up fast. A conservative estimate of what we'd spend on food sans fd is roughly the same amount as the 30% discount. If we eat any more than that, then we're really better off with fd. If a better room discount were available, we'd take that.

 

[lynlynch]

We usually buy our theme park admission tickets through AAA ahead of time; 10-day hopper, no expiration, we would use half on any one trip. Because of this we factor in that, in order to get the free food, one has to also buy at least a one-day ticket. This year we have a 30-35% discount through AAA (no special pin needed) at a deluxe. I think you should factor in that ticket cost with your decision. Since the time of year and type of resort determine your % off, an assessment on paper of the overall cost is the only way to make that decision.

 

[aaarcher86]

We usually buy our theme park admission tickets through AAA ahead of time; 10-day hopper, no expiration, we would use half on any one trip. Because of this we factor in that, in order to get the free food, one has to also buy at least a one-day ticket. This year we have a 30-35% discount through AAA (no special pin needed) at a deluxe. I think you should factor in that ticket cost with your decision. Since the time of year and type of resort determine your % off, an assessment on paper of the overall cost is the only way to make that decision.

Free dining requires a to day ticket

 

[babydoll65]

To tell you the truth, I wish disney did there dining plans a little different. Qs: 2 quick service credits and make the next level up 3 quick service credits with the option of useing two qs for one ts this way you can make the decision of weather you want all those sit down meals. I'm staying at POR with fd and I have to take the ddp but would prefer qs instead. Both my son and I are not big eaters and almost never do desserts. I know some people have posted that disney allows you to replace a ts for a qs but I don't think at this time every resteruant will allow it and seems like a waste. At least if the regular dining plan gave you three qs you would have the option of having three smaller meals and it might help with crowd control at most of the popular ts resteraunts.

 

[aaarcher86]

To tell you the truth, I wish disney did there dining plans a little different. Qs: 2 quick service credits and make the next level up 3 quick service credits with the option of useing two qs for one ts this way you can make the decision of weather you want all those sit down meals. I'm staying at POR with fd and I have to take the ddp but would prefer qs instead. Both my son and I are not big eaters and almost never do desserts. I know some people have posted that disney allows you to replace a ts for a qs but I don't think at this time every resteruant will allow it and seems like a waste. At least if the regular dining plan gave you three qs you would have the option of having three smaller meals and it might help with crowd control at most of the popular ts resteraunts.

It is now standard across the board to use a TS for a QS meal. The only iffy thing any longer is using a QS for snacks.

 

[babydoll65]

It is now standard across the board to use a TS for a QS meal. The only iffy thing any longer is using a QS for snacks.

That's great but not a fair trade off a ts credit is worth more than a qs credit. So you almost feel like it's better to get that ts meal. Anyway most of my ts credits are breakfasts and dinners when we're at parks that close early. But the thought of three qs credits for the regular dining plan seemed nice for a moment. I wish they would bring back the two snack credits and get rid of the desserts on the meals. You lose out when you use the ts for breakfast and I'm too full to eat it after my meal.

 

[aaarcher86]

That's great but not a fair trade off a ts credit is worth more than a qs credit. So you almost feel like it's better to get that ts meal. Anyway most of my ts credits are breakfasts and dinners when we're at parks that close early. But the thought of three qs credits for the regular dining plan seemed nice for a moment. I wish they would bring back the two snack credits and get rid of the desserts on the meals. You lose out when you use the ts for breakfast and I'm too full to eat it after my meal.

Well yeah, but that's the point. They let you downgrade, not upgrade. Money wise it isn't a fair trad off, but it does allow people to have a little more flexibility with their credits.

 

[DizBelle]

I never did get why they did QS and TS credits. Why not just have 3 dining credits per night of your stay and you have to use 1 for QS and 2 for TS. This way, you could do all TS if you want or all QS if you want, or a mix if you want.

The dining plan was never good for us. We like to do a lot of TS (but not all TS) and always ended up going home with unused QS credits.