Going to attractions offsite - Does FD still make sense?

[SnoopyB]

My family wants to go to Orlando and visit attractions besides Disney (SeaWorld, HolyLand). They would only be able to do a 7night/8day trip so we would be limited to just the 4 major Disney parks (no hoppers). Since we would be offsite for 2 days out of the 8, does it make sense to book the FD? And they don't want to go to a park on the last day, just relax @ resort before departure. So that leaves only 5-Disney days.

If we went with a Value resort, we would get 14QS and 14snack credits, but the days we are offsite we wouldn't be using the credits so that leaves
4QS & 4snack credits *per person* that would have to be utilized somehow. Also, I'm sure they would want to do some character meals or popular TS restaurants (like 50's Prime Time) so that is either an out of pocket expense or upgrade to Full Dining but again I don't know if that make sense economically.

 

[trac96]

i think that it makes sence if it's free dining. you will still have to eat breakfast before you go off property so that will use a meal point. and if you have points left over you can always take home some treats for later. you can cash even a quick service point into i think two snacks before you leave. i don't think i would pay to upgrade the dining just keep the free dining and pay out of pocket for the other meals. but i'm sure someone else will have the opposite opinion and that's why i love the boards. run the numbers and see what comes out best for you.

 

[snykymom]

i think that it makes sence if it's free dining. you will still have to eat breakfast before you go off property so that will use a meal point. and if you have points left over you can always take home some treats for later. you can cash even a quick service point into i think two snacks before you leave. i don't think i would pay to upgrade the dining just keep the free dining and pay out of pocket for the other meals. but i'm sure someone else will have the opposite opinion and that's why i love the boards. run the numbers and see what comes out best for you.

That's right; I have an opposite opinion!

In order to get free dining, you have to pay rack rate for the room. Since you will be spending money on food at the other attractions, you must add this cost into your calculations. And then you will have paid full price for your room for the pleasure of carrying home snacks you wouldn't have otherwise spent money on!

IMO, the only time that free dining would make sense in your scenario (multiple days off-site) is if there were no other room discounts available.

 

[SnoopyB]

With the "extra" credits I was thinking about using them for other guests in our group/staying on site but would not have the meal plan (separate room/booking). I know this is cause for debate but I figure if I "buy" an extra meal what does it matter if I decided to then give it to someone? lol.

 

[aixia]

This is pretty much what we're doing when we go in January. We're doing the free dining, and using "extra" table service credits at some of the signature places that take 2 credits. We imagine we'll eat counter service for breakfasts on the days we visit offsite parks, and the extra snack credits we'll use for goodies for the trip back if need be. I made a list of each day, how many credits we'd expect to use, and what the leftovers would be. With a visual, it makes it easier to see what we'd use and what we wouldn't. It makes sense for us, but it may not for others.

 

[snykymom]

With the "extra" credits I was thinking about using them for other guests in our group/staying on site but would not have the meal plan (separate room/booking). I know this is cause for debate but I figure if I "buy" an extra meal what does it matter if I decided to then give it to someone? lol.

First, it's not allowed, although I suppose you could.

Second, that doesn't necessarily make free dining "worth it." Unless "worth it" in your situation includes giving things away for nothing.

Third, if you've already decided to cheat the system, why did you bother to ask?

 

[lovesdumbo]

I think it would depend on who is in the room. You would each get a refillable mug. You could use the mug for a breakfast drink and then take the CS drink to the offsite park (if that is allowed-do they all allow outside food at other parks?). You could also use your snack credits for those days too.

Would also depend on what kind of room only discount you would be giving up in order to get free DDP.

 

[MellieluvsDisney]

I don't know if I can be of any help, but since we are going in September for 14 days with FD, we also have 4 days out of Disney. When we go to Sea World, we take one QS credit to eat breakfast at the Contemporary Resort (we stay at Pop and use the Lynx bus #50 at TTC) and since Sea World closes at 6pm, we come back to eat dinner around 6:30pm. We usually take a QS credit at Wolfgang Puck and use our TS on another day.

The day we spend at Universal, we only take the QS credit for breakfast and use our TS on another day. So, some days we have a QS credit in the morning, and 2 TS meals. Or we spend it on a Character breakfast, eat a snack or two and an early dinner so that makes 2 TS and a snack or two in a day since they are days we do not use them.

As for extra snacks, sometimes we use them for a bottle of water if we are not hungry for more.

Of course, this is all planned out in advance in our itinerary

I don't know if that makes sense? Just PM me if you have any questions.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

My family wants to go to Orlando and visit attractions besides Disney (SeaWorld, HolyLand). They would only be able to do a 7night/8day trip so we would be limited to just the 4 major Disney parks (no hoppers). Since we would be offsite for 2 days out of the 8, does it make sense to book the FD? And they don't want to go to a park on the last day, just relax @ resort before departure. So that leaves only 5-Disney days.

If we went with a Value resort, we would get 14QS and 14snack credits, but the days we are offsite we wouldn't be using the credits so that leaves
4QS & 4snack credits *per person* that would have to be utilized somehow. Also, I'm sure they would want to do some character meals or popular TS restaurants (like 50's Prime Time) so that is either an out of pocket expense or upgrade to Full Dining but again I don't know if that make sense economically.

Plug your dates in on-line and get the package price for room only and FD. Personally, I think that having 4QS and 4Snacks per person makes it not worth it. I would book the room only discount and then add tickets. Pay out of pocket for your meals and be able to eat them at whatever location you are at. You will have that extra cash from not booking the package.

For our family of 5, the FD package at the CR was $3677. The room only discount was $3459 *after* I added tickets and the full service dining plan. We are adding the dining plan because we are doing one TS meal per night of our stay. That is the only way that the dining plan ends up being a cost savings for our family. I got prices from the menus for what we would order paying OOP and compared. One TS meal is $120 which is the cost of the DDP per day. So, it works out cheaper for us to do the DDP if we do a TS each day. If we don't, its cheaper to pay OOP. We like to eat at T-Rex Cafe in DTD. If we do just that one meal, the DDP is no longer valuable for us since we paid for the meal OOP and didn't have a TS on-property that day.

Leaving 4 meals and snacks is a lot of money. Check the numbers for the room discount. They will let you book it and then turn it into a package.

Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[Straitlover]

Will you ahve a vehicle? if so, then wht I would do is do the offsite activities at the beginning of the trip and book an offsite room for one or two nights, then move over to WDW for the remainder of the trip.

 

[SnoopyB]

Thank you so much guys/gals for sharing how you make it work & your suggestions!
Straitlover, didn't think of that, thanks.