I hate to say it , and I hope I'm wrong , but ...

[captain america 2003]

Well for my wife and myself ,when we go , which is usually in early to mid December , we get breakfast from the food court at POR or CBR , have a counter service lunch in the parks , and a table service meal for dinner every day we're there . So , if you have free dining credits you use your snack credit for breakfast (bagel or muffin ) , QS credit for lunch , and TS credit for dinner you should , and we do , save money over paying for the same out of pocket . Again , this won' t be the best choice for many families but for many it does . For those who are unsure if the dining plan is a good choice or not for them go to YouTube and search for Episode 24 -Disney dining plan calculator- save money and budget . Great tool created by Joey and Ashley from See Ya Reel Soon .

 

[wdw4rfam]

I'm hoping that since early September is still a low-crowd time of the year (progressively increasing in attendance maybe, but still low-ish), that Disney will still consider it beneficial to themselves to offer Free Dining for that time of the year. We have to remember that promotions aren't to help us visitors out because Disney feels like being nice. Promotions are to increase profits. Everyone agrees that attendance levels for September have been increasing the past few years, but I think that has largely been due to free dining. I don't see Disney cutting off that momentum...

Just my 2 cents... hope I am right.

I agree, that September attendance levels are largely from FD. I also don't see them cutting it, but rather adding in things to make it less appealing. Like first they took values out of the regular dining. Our first few free dining trips, we got free regular dining at the values. Then they added the park hopper/ waterpark requirement last year- something we've never wanted or bought before. They also cut the standard rooms out or down at most of the moderates- and took POFQ& POR out a few years ago. I'm sure if we see it this year, it will be even less and wouldn't be surprised if they throw another additional requirement. I'm waiting for them to give moderates quick service too or something crazy....

 

[larryz]

Thanks for the info Larryz but I think I'll leave my signature as is .

I'm not suggesting that you change your signature. I'm telling the other poster that they have the option to avoid having to look at it.

 

[larryz]

A value or moderate discount is typically 20%, even with 2 adults you will get more with free dining.

For my family, it's closer to break even with a moderate, but the value "free" dining promotions are limited to the CS plan.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Don't use free dining, so I don't care if it goes away or not. But I think it will stay in September.

Oh , I forgot to mention the rumored $15 per night resort fee that is expected to be implemented soon .

I've seen the survey. I missed the part where anybody with knowledge said that they expected the resort fee to be "implemented soon."

 

[larryz]

Thank you! I didn't know this and it's so incredibly annoying! Now I can read the thread and take the poster seriously

YW! Some might find that pages also load faster with signatures turned off...

 

[larryz]

I've seen the survey. I missed the part where anybody with knowledge said that they expected the resort fee to be "implemented soon."

While past performance may not be indicative of future plans, WDW gave their first clue about tiered ticket pricing in a survey... You may be riding the Jungle Cruise...

 

[Dreamin192]

If I'm going to be charged an extra $15 a day on top of the already high prices, they better bring in more buses. I'm not paying extra to wait forever and then be packed in like sardines.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

They have also mentioned things in surveys that didn't happen. You don't know...maybe the targeted guests said overwhelmingly that they wouldn't stay at Disney if they had to pay it.

I'm not ready to state it is definitely going to happen.

 

[ellie05]

They have also mentioned things in surveys that didn't happen. You don't know...maybe the targeted guests said overwhelmingly that they wouldn't stay at Disney if they had to pay it.

I'm not ready to state it is definitely going to happen.

Or they will just raise rates again. Touring plans tweet a picture today of offers Disney sent for October $147 + tax for value and $200+ for moderate higher than rack rates now and this are "special offer".

 

[Nancyg56]

They have also mentioned things in surveys that didn't happen. You don't know...maybe the targeted guests said overwhelmingly that they wouldn't stay at Disney if they had to pay it.

I'm not ready to state it is definitely going to happen.

I think that surveys are a way of gauging how guests will react to any changes they are considering. If enough of the people whose feedback they have determined matter on any given survey is negative, I think they move on with another plan.

 

[Jaime4004]

I think it's also about the size of your party & type of resort. I usually go with my young son, so we don't pay too much for food for just two of us, & we don't have 3 sit-downs a day, so the 30% deluxe resort discount is a much better deal for us. If you've got five big people in a moderate room, then I suppose that free dining can really pay off.

That's how it worked well for us, 4 "adults" and 1 "child" in a moderate room with free dining. It was fabulous. We were able to eat at so many places that I never would have booked otherwise because my two little "adults" hardly eat anything and it's not worth paying adult prices at the buffets that the rest of us wanted to go to. Even with free dining, it is a little painful to watch your kids barely eat at expensive buffets. I'm taking DD for her 13th birthday, just her and I in October and free dining would not be worth it for just us. We would be skipping buffets and probably sharing most meals.

 

[unwritten01]

We have 6 kids (think Brady Bunch with 5 boys - 3 of them are teens) - so it's a good deal. Always depends on the circumstances of the party.

 

[Love Tink]

We have 6 kids (think Brady Bunch with 5 boys - 3 of them are teens) - so it's a good deal. Always depends on the circumstances of the party.

Yes, there is a subset on here who routinely sneer at free dining. But we have five people in our group, including three boys. Getting two meals and a snack saves us at least $150 a day, whereas a room discount would be maybe $30 a day.

What those people also forget is that free dining is the discount that is also *fun*. A room discount, okay, you pay a little less. With free dining you suddenly get to choose all these restaurants and have all these experiences that - at least in our case - we wouldn't do otherwise. My kids even love being able to get an extra cupcake or ice cream each day without having to ask, or using any of their trip money. It adds to the fun of the planning and of the visit, and adds value that isn't monetary.

 

[Minnesota!]

I'm a planner from way back and when we go to Disney I keep every receipt, then after we return home, I make a spreadsheet so I can see where we spent the money (and it also helps me remember on what days and times we did what.) Every year I compare the DDP, so called "free" DDP and the price of the plan has NEVER been less than what we spend on food. Granted, we don't do table service every meal and most mornings just eat Pop Tarts in our room for breakfast. But our meal selections are based more on time than budget. To us, the eating at Chefs de France or Le Cellier, while excellent meals, just take up too much time.

We are the opposite. We plan our vacations around long, leisurely meals. Love ending the night with a long table service. Appetizers, cold drinks, nice entrée, a dessert, and then maybe an after dinner drink. It's a great way to unwind.

The DDP has always been a better deal for us than a room discount.

However, I will admit, it has led to the low quality of meals/variety they now offer. I am ok with it going away. Buh-bye now, DDP.

 

[starryagain]

When I was getting my MBA a few years ago, Disney as a corporation is frequently used as an example of bad corporate governance / horrible board of directors / etc. The case studies were from the early 2000s so perhaps it's gotten better but I am never surprised about poor management decisions there because it's kind of what they are known for.

 

[Robertfam08]

I don't think it's going anywhere any time soon...at least not in September. In fact, I was just reading a blog post about this very thing. Free dining is definitely the best value for our family. We save, literally, over a thousand dollars on food experiences. With little ones, character meals are a huge part of our trip. There is no way a room discount (at a moderate, where we stay) would ever come close to the savings. Not to mention that room rates are close to the lowest they will be all year anyway, so it almost feels like a double discount.

 

[Dis703]

"Free Dining" has always been an illusion anyway. It's not really free, you're paying full price for a room to get it. I've never understood why people get so excited about it.

For a family of 5 at a mod resort free dining would be a significant savings over a room only discount. Especially, once our 3 kids become Disney adults. That said with the added necessity last year of purchasing a park hopper or water parks and more pass it shrunk difference by a bit.

 

[crazymomof4]

"Free Dining" has always been an illusion anyway. It's not really free, you're paying full price for a room to get it. I've never understood why people get so excited about it.

It really depends on how many people are in your room.
What is the room-only discount on a deluxe? Max 30% off rack? So, when the 5 of us (all "disney adults") stay at Beach Club (avg $400/night) our discount would be $120/night. With free dining we pay the $400/ngt yes, but FIVE of us eat breakfast (muffin/bagel = snack credit) , lunch (CS) and a sit-down dinner every day of our stay! If I take the room-only discount I get a $120/day savings but pay OOP for all food........ Can each member of our party eat 3 meals in WDW for $24/day?? If the answer is NO then FD is the better deal for us.

 

[crazymomof4]

For a family of 5 at a mod resort free dining would be a significant savings over a room only discount. Especially, once our 3 kids become Disney adults. That said with the added necessity last year of purchasing a park hopper or water parks and more pass it shrunk difference by a bit.

We are THERE! LOL. That's what I get for raising them, from early on, to be WDW fans!