Free Dining, why do some NOT like it?

[mom2rtk]

For us Free Dining is a must. We are a family of 7, with small children, ages 2-13. We have done free dining in the past when we were a family of 5, loved it. I loved knowing I had some where to sit every evening right around 6-7pm, knowing I was going to get a hot, nice meal, served to me and cleaned up by someone else.

With kids, at least mine, they welcome that down time, just to sit as a family and eat, talk about the day and what to do next.

When it comes to the quick service meals, we shared alot, to spread the credits to breakfast as well. Sit downs, we each ate our own, well as much as we could.

We don't stay at deluxe, we would and plan on staying at the cabins, if by chance we move to deluxe/villa, I would purchase the plan just for the fact, it is paid for and all planned out.

I absolutely agree with this! I work hard planning ADR's in the parks we will be in so the time at the restaurant gives us a nice break in the day, actually ADDING to our enjoyment instead of being something else to be checked off the "to do" list.

And anyone with teenage boys knows the value of them being able to have full reign of the menu......no parental negotiations needed!

 

[kelma]

I'm curious - those saying the "Free DDP" will save them x $. How is that figured? Because it should be compared to:
1. the room only discount* vs the rack rate with "free" DDP, and
2. how the person/group would eat without DDP; usually for most people that is a lot less food which equals lower cost than the "free" DDP.

I'll give this a shot:
1 - How Dining Plan works for my family :

This trip, our family consists of 4 Disney adults (me, dh, 12 and 10 year olds) and 2 kids (6 and 4). We enjoy doing Character meals so that we can meet the Characters without waiting in line and wasting time in the parks. We are also not big eaters and share all of our meals so we pay nothing out of pocket.

Breakfast: Pop Food Court -
2 Bounty Platters - $8.29 x 2 = $16.58
1 Kids Mickey Waffles - $4.39
Breakfast = $20.97 (not including any drinks)

Lunch - Cosmic Rays
2 Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Fries - $8.39 x 2 = $16.78
1 Kids Nuggets - $4.99
Lunch = $21. 77

Dinner - Crystal Palace Character Meal
4 adult meals - $36.99 x 4 = $148
2 child meals - $17.99 x 2 = $36
Dinner = $184

6 snacks = $24

$21 + $22 + $184 + $24 = $251

The meal plan cost my family $208 which makes a savings of $43/day not including any drinks.

2 - How FD is the best discount for MY family:
This year, our family will be 4 Disney adults and 2 children. We're staying in 2 rooms at Pop. FD saves us $208. We have opted to upgrade to Regular Dining so, $208 minus the $44 we pay to upgrade ($11/adult) means we actually save $164/night.

Each room is about $100/night. So, assuming that we would have purchased the DP anyway, FD gives us a savings of $80/room. 80% off the $100 room. There is NO offer out there that can beat 80%.

I know it would not work well for some, but FD can be the best discount out there for certain families including mine

Kelma - mom of 2 princes and 2 princesses

Edited to add that I make absolutely no guarantees regarding my quite possibly, although wholly unintentionally, shady math

 

[TwoAtDisney]

Thank you kelma for answering my question. I don't think your math quite worked, but if your family prefers the FD, I think that is a great thing!

I don't think all of the "savings" in the posts really are savings, but my opinion is, that doesn't matter. I was just curious how some folks were working the figures.

Have a great trip.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I'm curious - those saying the "Free DDP" will save them x $. How is that figured? Because it should be compared to:
1. the room only discount* vs the rack rate with "free" DDP, and
2. how the person/group would eat without DDP; usually for most people that is a lot less food which equals lower cost than the "free" DDP.

*room only discount has been offered & extended in the past, is currently offered for certain dates, & assuming will be extended this year.

We are doing "free" DDP for 9 nites this year just because we want to do so, but we know it is not "saving" us money if the room only discount is offered....& if the price is good enough, we may switch for the room only rate.

We are a family of 6 and we always get 2 connecting rooms at a value resort for 8 nights with 7 day tickets. Rack rate/full price for us for a vacation of this type at WDW is roughly $5,000.00. With a FD discount it is about $3,800.00. Ever before there was a Disney Dining Plan, let alone free dining, we always at at least 1 table service/character meal per day - yes, even dessert, gasp! And, also, I'm one of those women that isn't going to cook on vacation - I'm a stay at home mom and cooking and cleaning is my full time job and WDW is my vacation from that. So . . . .

Free Dining saves us around $1,200.00
4/3 deal saves us around $740.00
Room only discount saves us around $650.00.

It's not hard to do the math here. Free Dining is the hands down winner for us. Free Dining cerainly doesn't work for everyone, if just happens to work really well for us

 

[kelma]

Thank you kelma for answering my question. I don't think your math quite worked, but if your family prefers the FD, I think that is a great thing!

I don't think all of the "savings" in the posts really are savings, but my opinion is, that doesn't matter. I was just curious how some folks were working the figures.

Have a great trip.

Well, the reason we prefer it is because it saves us money

My savings are truly savings for MY family. I can see that for many, especially those who don't care for sit down meals while at Disney or those that have a substantially smaller family than my enormous brood, or those who choose to only stay Deluxe, FD is not a great deal.

Now, if you see any math off, please, please, please feel free to correct it - and I say that with complete sincerity - math is not my specialty

Thanks for the trip well wishes

Kelma - mom to 2 princes and 2 princesses

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I checked on this too, and you have to then pay adult prices for your room and prices. The CM I talked to also said they are not able to eat from the Kid's menu then.

You spoke to a very misinformed CM. All you have to pay is the ticket upgrade cost. There is no upcharge for the resort for a 10 year old child. The only extra room cost is if there are more than 2 actual, over the age of 18, adults - not for children. They were also wrong about ordering from the children's menu. I have a 14 year old who has been consider an adult under the DDP for 4 years and she almost always still orders off the children's menu. You need to call back and talk to someone else or a manager.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I called and the first guy I spoke to was a jerk. I said that we got the free dining vacation this morning but after looking over the menus, I think my son would be more happy with the adult plan. Is there any way to upgrade from the kids to the adults? He said, No, a child is a child until the age of ten. Plus, why would you want to. The kids menu has the exact thing as the adults. I said no it doesn't and then he said, well if you're asking me to change your sons age to ten, that's fraud and we can't do that. I said that's not what I asked you to do, I was just asking if there's a way to upgrade. I then hung up and tried again.

I said the same exact thing to the next very helpful CM. He said, sure we can upgrade him, but you have to pay for an adult park ticket instead of a child's ticket. I said that was fine. He ran the prices and said the price difference was only $20 and some change and he said, wow, that's low, let me just make sure I did everything right. He then verified the price difference between an adult and child's 7 day ticket was $20 and redid my package and that was it.

Wow! That's crazy. I'm so glad you called back and got someone that could help you. and knew what they were doing. There is at least someone, once a day, that posts on the Dining Board that they have upgraded their child for free dining and didn't have any issues.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

It's not so much about the eating for me........ it's about the NOT COOKING!

Amen, Sister!

 

[Jayana]

This December, my friend and I will be staying in a Value Resort together, and my 35% room only PIN worked out a lot better for us. The way I see it, having to pay rack rate and getting free dining is like paying $20/day for the QS Dining Plan, and even at that price it isn't worth it for us. He's a super picky eater who doesn't drink soft drinks and wouldn't really eat all the food the plan comes with. I prefer to graze all day over eating big meals with deserts. Added to that, we are paying for one or two table service meals out of pocket anyway, and free dining is too much of a hassle.

But that's just us personally. When I went with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece a few months ago, we paid for the regular Dining Plan and it was well worth it. Free dining would have been a much better deal for us than our kids-play-free. It all depends on who you are and what your vacation style is.

 

[carebee21]

Wow! That's crazy. I'm so glad you called back and got someone that could help you. and knew what they were doing. There is at least someone, once a day, that posts on the Dining Board that they have upgraded their child for free dining and didn't have any issues.

Me too! But I'm also glad that you had posted about it in this thread!!!! I never knew that you could upgrade a child, let alone do it so cheaply and wouldn't have if you hadn't posted it

 

[goodferry]

Even though free dining is really not the best deal for us usually because we don't care for the value resorts, if we aren't staying on points we are at the BC or Poly, so the room only or AP rates work better for us.

With that said, I totally agree that the Dining Plans work for a lot of families, actually it works out great for our family! We like to get out of the heat and sit and relax and enjoy each others company, not just run from attraction to attraction stopping briefly to eat.

We usually book the DXDP, doing a sit down lunch and a signature dinner. We are a family of 6 who usually have at least one other person with us and we own DVC. Not once have we lost out using the dining plan, we have always come out ahead and no we don't always order an appetizer, entree and dessert each. We like that everyone can order what they want and try new things without having to worry about finding the cheapest thing on the menu under dads watchful eye

We are careful when we book to look for restaurants with interesting items on the kids menu, there are places (Coral Reef for example). We have also tried asking if there was anything else available for DD (8) and were offered alternatives that suited her.

 

[goofy4tink]

Just have to come back and say something...I don't think I ever said anyone was stupid for booking fd. I know, no one said that 'I' said that, but still...it's out there.
If it works for your family then go for it. As I've said before...remember to add in those obligatory tips when doing fd...many forget that until they are sitting at the table. And it adds up. I know that for my trip in Oct, tips are adding about $150 to my costs.

The thing that frosts my patootie, so to speak, is this...Disney first offered the dining plan and it included everything...tip and meal, and it was a very good value for the guest. Then, they took away the tip, and left it at about the same price. Then, they raised the price, without adding anything. And now, next year, it goes up again!!!
Then, you got regular free dining at all level of resort...value to deluxe. There was no difference. Well...people discovered what a great deal it was to do free dining at a value resort with their family!!! Yay. Well.... Disney figured they weren't making enough money now....too many people getting regular dning free. So, they changed it to only quick service for free at a value. What's next??? I can't imagine what they're going to do next.

All I know is that Disney offers the free dining plan for a reason. It makes them money. Seriously, anyone who thinks Disney is doing it out of the goodness of their hearts is sadly mistaken. Sure, the guest can get a good deal, but not at all level of resort and not for all types of 'families'.

So, again...do I think you guys are stupid for booking free dining?? Absolutely not. If you were going to pay rack rate anyway, that's a great deal. You really have to compare apples to apples. It does work for many...just not for me.

 

[kerplop]

Just have to come back and say something...I don't think I ever said anyone was stupid for booking fd. I know, no one said that 'I' said that, but still...it's out there.
If it works for your family then go for it. As I've said before...remember to add in those obligatory tips when doing fd...many forget that until they are sitting at the table. And it adds up. I know that for my trip in Oct, tips are adding about $150 to my costs.

The thing that frosts my patootie, so to speak, is this...Disney first offered the dining plan and it included everything...tip and meal, and it was a very good value for the guest. Then, they took away the tip, and left it at about the same price. Then, they raised the price, without adding anything. And now, next year, it goes up again!!!
Then, you got regular free dining at all level of resort...value to deluxe. There was no difference. Well...people discovered what a great deal it was to do free dining at a value resort with their family!!! Yay. Well.... Disney figured they weren't making enough money now....too many people getting regular dning free. So, they changed it to only quick service for free at a value. What's next??? I can't imagine what they're going to do next.

All I know is that Disney offers the free dining plan for a reason. It makes them money. Seriously, anyone who thinks Disney is doing it out of the goodness of their hearts is sadly mistaken. Sure, the guest can get a good deal, but not at all level of resort and not for all types of 'families'.

So, again...do I think you guys are stupid for booking free dining?? Absolutely not. If you were going to pay rack rate anyway, that's a great deal. You really have to compare apples to apples. It does work for many...just not for me.

I was just posting in another thread about this, but honestly it just comes down to what's right for your family/group. You have to do the math and consider what you're getting for your money because you're absolutely right - Disney is out to make a buck, not make you happy. Everything they do comes down to that, even if they do it with a smile. For us personally with our eating habits and our touring style it works! Do I think they should still cover tips and give everyone the same plan? Definitely and it stinks that they changed it. But that is what they do as we all know. It's what any company does really if they can.

The only people that I get angry over are the ones who complain about how it lets in a lower class of people or something along those lines. Let's be honest - there are low class people in any income bracket.

 

[goofy4tink]

I was just posting in another thread about this, but honestly it just comes down to what's right for your family/group. You have to do the math and consider what you're getting for your money because you're absolutely right - Disney is out to make a buck, not make you happy. Everything they do comes down to that, even if they do it with a smile. For us personally with our eating habits and our touring style it works! Do I think they should still cover tips and give everyone the same plan? Definitely and it stinks that they changed it. But that is what they do as we all know. It's what any company does really if they can.

The only people that I get angry over are the ones who complain about how it lets in a lower class of people or something along those lines. Let's be honest - there are low class people in any income bracket.

So true!! The worst behaviour I've seen to date was at the Polynesian, not at a value resort. Parents at the Polynesian allowed their kids to act like animals both inside and outside the longhouses. Drove me nuts.
I will never say it's a lower class of guest that comes for free dining. There are many people, in higher income brackets, that like to do free dining. I hate it when some make such a gross generalization. Perhaps it makes them feel better about themselves??!!! Having money does not mean you have class. Plain and simple.

 

[LaurieN]

For everyone on this thread that has posted that their kids don't like the WDW kid's menus, you do know that for about $100.00 (the cost of ticket upgrade) you can upgrade your child to 10+ and they can order off the Adult Menu during free dining?

I didn't really think of that (I did read your other post that it is only $20 per child) that would make more sense. However, staying Deluxe I would much rather a room-only discount (a much bigger savings). I should also have mentioned that sometimes I or even my son would much rather just and appetizer than a meal and that is not an option on the plan. We also will be eating in some places that are not on the plan at all.
Thank you PrincessTiffany, you are very helpful

Problme with that is then you become wasteful! Think about how much food would be wasted everyday if 50% of the guest did that. Not very earth friendly.
Children can't/shouldn't be able to eat an entire adult entree. As it is most adult portions are greatly over portioned.

As it is we like dining no matter if it's free or not because it's one less thing to have to think about. But lets not deny the truth that free dining = the downward spiral in quality and variety of food at Disney, especially on the kids menu.

My DS9 can eat like a grown man when he is hungry, he many not finish the very large portions at some places but a kids meal sure isn't enough for him!!!So saying he can't or shouldn't isn't really true in my case. Just so I don't get flamed for over-feeding my kids: DS9 is only 50lbs so by no means is he fat and should't eat an adult portion. If he wants to eat I let him

Laurie

 

[kelma]

So, again...do I think you guys are stupid for booking free dining?? Absolutely not. If you were going to pay rack rate anyway, that's a great deal.

I agree completely with your entire post except this one part. FD is just a discount to our family. It just happens to be the absolute best one we could get . So, even if we weren't going to pay rack rate, but had a % off discount, FD would still be a better discount.

Kelma - mom to 2 princes and 2 princesses

 

[nyrfan00]

If you stay at the upper echelon Deluxe resorts a room discount will be more beneficial monetarily.

Otherwise, Disney's value for free dining is "worth more" than the 30% off for AKL/WL and below.

Or if you just don't like to eat, then FD is not for you.

For me...I LOVE IT!!

 

[MNDisneyChick]

I can see how the free dining would work well for families with children, or if you're staying at a Value resort. For me, who is staying at the Poly CL (just me and my husband), the room only discount far outweighs the free dining.

I am excited for those of you with a lot of children, because I can't imagine having to pay for rooms, tickets AND food for all those people. That can get to be VERY expensive and I can see how the free dining is a great benefit.

 

[betmust]

I also would prefer a room discount only.
As some have said, I would like to eat where and when I want. If I have a ADR for a meal and am not that hungry, it will not be worth it.
There are only 3 of us and we always stay at Ft. Wilderness cabins. Last year the discount saved me almost $800. I was thrilled with this. We eat breakfast a lot in the room, quick lunch or snack and then dinner. I do not go to the park every day - maybe 3 or 4 days is enough.
There are other places outside the park I enjoy also. Last year it did not cost me $800 to eat so I didn't miss out on anything by not booking FD.

For some people it works great, others just aren't worth it...

 

[soarinup]

From past experience, I would say its because they don't intend to do any sit-down meals, and would rather have the room discount.