Help me decide Offsite/Condo or WDW w/free dining?

[JoyG]

Cast: Me, dh, ds 5, ds 5, ds 3

I think I'll be able to find a condo for $75/night this summer (already have several leads in this price range). My other option is POR for $139 a night after Aug 27 or $155 before then.

I'm wondering is free disney dining worth it?

For the record, we weren't planning to go to WDW this year, we were going to Universal Studios for 5 days and Seaword for one or two days.

I'm wondering if I should consider staying at WDW for 7 nights with the free dining and a one day ticket to the parks or

Stay at a condo offsite and just do Universal and Seaworld as planned.

I'll be renting a car in both scenerios. Wondering how convenient the dining plan will really be if I'm spending all my time at different parks. Also, will one day at Disney really satisfy us or just leave us wanting more...is it best to just avoid it altogether this time?

My dates are open all summer long, but I was hoping to go earlier in the summer like late June or early July.

What would you do?

Poll coming.

 

[dougsmom98]

Only you know your children, but my kids are 7,5,5 and 9 months, and the older ones are finally at an age where we might do a sit down meal, but even so - most of the time we don't. I noticed you have a three year old and we found 3 to be a tough age to bring to a place for a meal. We have stayed in a town house and then a pool house for our last two trips and it will be very hard to ever go back to a hotel room. We find it too hard to plan meals when we are at Disney, especially with kids, so we have never done a sit down meal. We personally think that it also takes too much time. We also eat at the villa before we go to the parks and it is nice to have snacks and drinks at your fingertips whenever you are at the villa. The space is wonderful in a condo/townhouse and I don't think you will regret it.

 

[spiceycat]

are you planning on using the kitchen for some meals - like breakfast - and either lunch or dinner.

then no the dinning plan is not worth it.

but you are doing every meal out - then I might consider it.

kept in mind with Disney you don't need a car - between their tranportation and DME - you definitely don't need a car....but then you can't go to the other parks very easily....

you need to put aside $55 for each adult and around $35 to $25 for each child for every day...

 

[Lisa P.]

Your children are young so only you and DH will get much value from the dining plan. With it (and staying at a Disney hotel), you will be very tempted to try a lot of the best restaurants, which may require more of 3 young children than they can reasonably handle. Disney wasn't even a part of this planned vacation and the timing is not that good for you.

For me, I'd book the condo and not look back. It will save you money in the long run. It will preserve your (good) plan for what you want to do this trip. It will give you the freedom to choose the best dates for you. This is kind of a no-brainer, to me.

BTW, the dining may be "free" but the room is costlier, you'll be in one room together w/only one bathroom and no kitchen, you'll have to accommodate the kids' sleep/nap times and you'll end up paying for MYW tickets that you don't need right now. Also, when I checked online for the cost of our family of 5 using this plan for 7 nights, the minimum number of days for a MYW ticket was 2-days, not just 1.

 

[horseshowmom]

It seems like I saw somewhere that US was doing the free dining (might have been just the kids eat free though). You might check on that.

 

[JoyG]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I think I'll just stick to the condo and my original plans.

I was VERY tempted b/c we got free dining last year when we went to WDW. The difference is, we were planning to go to WDW for a week and get the dining anyway...so it was a really good deal then.

But, things have changed since then b/c my youngest is now old enough to have to pay for park tickets and meals and last year he wasn't. We could all fit into the cheaper AsMo then too and now we can't.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Also, when I checked online for the cost of our family of 5 using this plan for 7 nights, the minimum number of days for a MYW ticket was 2-days, not just 1.

You only need to buy one day ticket for each member of your family. That's what we are doing since we have AP's. I don't know why it wouldn't let you do it online. I was able to get the info online and also with a CM on the phone.