Ideas about free dining

[Colleen27]

I also hope there's no FD, but a different offer that saves just as much. I'm so tired of FD making it difficult to get a dining reservation and I also get tired of people saying "I'm not going unless I get Free Dining". I can actually picture someone stomping their foot ( sorry, my kids did this so I have a visual image that pops up uninvited, lol). There are other discounts out there that would fill the resorts, and it's better, IMO, not to get people so hooked on this particular one that they refuse to entertain any other possibility. Once there's a feeling of entitlement to a particular offer then it's time to be creative with a different one- again my opinion only. Same monetary outlay, different offer. Just my opinion and I have no idea what will be offered this year- I'm sure there will be something- well, fairly sure. Hopefully it will save families just as much as FD. ---Kathy

Theere isn't any other offer that Disney has put out that provides anything close to comparable savings for many families, though. Two of our three kids are adults in Disney-ese now. No other discount can even come close to what we save with the free dining offer - a 40% room-only code would be about $600 more expensive than a free dining package. That's why people say they aren't going to go if free dining isn't offered - not out of a sense of entitlement to that particular discount but because they can't or won't spend the money for a Disney trip if the package is much more expensive (particularly right now, when airfare is up as well - we've never spent more than $1000 to fly to FL, this trip will cost us at least $1500 unless we see a dramatic and unanticipated drop in airfares). For many families $600 more for the room/ticket/dining package + $500 more for airfare = time to seriously consider a different trip, or at least staying offsite to save on lodging and food.

 

[3boys4me]

Well my 2 cents is that Disney will continue to have to do discounts. They remind me of the store Kohls: The store jacks up prices, has sales, and offers discounts on top of the sales. When you get your receipt it says you saved $150. I think Disney jacks up the prices, offers the discounts to lure people in and in the end they're still getting the money they really need and then some bc more people book. So the discounts will continue bc they know people will not go with no room discount or with no free dining.

YES! Totally agree with this.

 

[MickeyEars]

Yes, this past trip June 2-12 we had free dining for the first time ever and it saved our family of 4 adults $1655. We could never save that amount with a room discount.
We've been going every year for 20+ years and we have always gotten some sort of room discount but this was the first time we've gotten free dining. It just hadn't been offered for our dates until this trip. Well, we loved it and you can bet my fingers are crossed that Disney will offer it again for our May 2012 trip which I booked 4 days after returning home!!!

Carla

 

[dclfun]

Theere isn't any other offer that Disney has put out that provides anything close to comparable savings for many families, though. Two of our three kids are adults in Disney-ese now. No other discount can even come close to what we save with the free dining offer - a 40% room-only code would be about $600 more expensive than a free dining package. That's why people say they aren't going to go if free dining isn't offered - not out of a sense of entitlement to that particular discount but because they can't or won't spend the money for a Disney trip if the package is much more expensive (particularly right now, when airfare is up as well - we've never spent more than $1000 to fly to FL, this trip will cost us at least $1500 unless we see a dramatic and unanticipated drop in airfares). For many families $600 more for the room/ticket/dining package + $500 more for airfare = time to seriously consider a different trip, or at least staying offsite to save on lodging and food.

This. And there *should* be a discount that offers families just as much savings as FD, especially for those who don't care about the dining plan. Dangle a big enough carrot and people will bite. And, the foot-stomper image was just in my head from something one of my kids used to do- not to disparage anyone here which is why I qualified why I said that. I agree 100% that Disney will continue to offer discounts if they need to fill the resorts and parks. I just wish they'd think of something more creative...hey, what about a "design your own discount" plan? You could choose a deeper resort discount, reduced price tix, or FD, or get a free day for every X days, etc. This would be really exciting to me as a way to customize each trip depending on who is going and what we want. Of course they could give us a deeper discount for more days spent on property. What about this kind of incentive? I'm really trying to think out of the box here vs. just looking for FD every year.----Kathy

 

[mom2rtk]

I think the free dining works for Disney because it packs the resorts, packs the parks and packs the restaurants. That's a winner for Disney's bottom line. If they offer as great a discount on just the room, then you still have the option of brown bagging it, or eating offsite for less. They have the overhead of those restaurants and it does behoove them to see that they are full.

And honestly, you could have expressed your desire for a different type of discount without trying to paint those of us who like free dining in a disparaging light. We can all wish for whatever we like. Ultimately the discounts they offer (or lack thereof) will just be what it is.

 

[Colleen27]

I think the free dining works for Disney because it packs the resorts, packs the parks and packs the restaurants. That's a winner for Disney's bottom line. If they offer as great a discount on just the room, then you still have the option of brown bagging it, or eating offsite for less. They have the overhead of those restaurants and it does behoove them to see that they are full.

Yep. We're leaning towards the Fort Wilderness cabins for our Nov trip. I personally don't cook on vacation, but Disney doesn't know that. They do know that a family that books the cabins has the facilities to cook most of their meals in their lodging; a 40% code offers a good savings on the room but Disney stands to lose those dining dollars. Free dining gets Disney full price on the room and the assurance of that family visiting Disney restaurants for virtually every meal (and very likely ordering a few extras like alcohol or glow-clip kids' drinks while they're there).

 

[dclfun]

I think the free dining works for Disney because it packs the resorts, packs the parks and packs the restaurants. That's a winner for Disney's bottom line. If they offer as great a discount on just the room, then you still have the option of brown bagging it, or eating offsite for less. They have the overhead of those restaurants and it does behoove them to see that they are full.

And honestly, you could have expressed your desire for a different type of discount without trying to paint those of us who like free dining in a disparaging light. We can all wish for whatever we like. Ultimately the discounts they offer (or lack thereof) will just be what it is.

I did NOT paint you in a disparaging light. Wish away...and I was not the only person who said they hoped there was no FD. You're right- what will be will be and I hope you get the offer you're looking for just like I hope I get what I prefer.---Kathy

 

[mom2rtk]

I did NOT paint you in a disparaging light. Wish away...and I was not the only person who said they hoped there was no FD. You're right- what will be will be and I hope you get the offer you're looking for just like I hope I get what I prefer.---Kathy

My apologies then.

I misunderstood when you referenced those wanting free dining as stomping their feet with a feeling of entitlement.

 

[nooneshome]

I thought I read that attendance was down last year. Disney is addicted to discounts and will never get rid of them. With the economy still in the tank you can expect to see the FD offer sometime soon.

 

[wdwnut61]

I thought I read that attendance was down last year. Disney is addicted to discounts and will never get rid of them. With the economy still in the tank you can expect to see the FD offer sometime soon.

Oh I hope so.

 

[dclfun]

My apologies then.

I misunderstood when you referenced those wanting free dining as stomping their feet with a feeling of entitlement.

Oh my...absolutely not and I'm sorry you thought I meant that! I don't think anyone feels entitled but sometimes I think we are sucked into believing that only one offer or discount will work for us, which of course may be true based on what's been offered in the past. I'm still hoping they'll do something creative like a % off the room ( with a sliding scale- a greater % for a deluxe or villa) and then 1/2 off the dining plan of your choice to go along with it, or a design-your-own discount offer where people can choose from a variety of discounts based on what they'll use ( free water parks, fun and more, buy 4, get 3 free on the tickets, larger resort discount with 1/2 off dining, free upgrade or extra options based on days booked, etc.. My feeling about the DDP is that it's raised the prices for all of us to where a TS meal is priced outrageously. I wish the prices would go back to something reasonable, but of course I wish the resorts were priced reasonably as well. A girl can dream. ---Kathy

 

[xie]

Well my 2 cents is that Disney will continue to have to do discounts. They remind me of the store Kohls: The store jacks up prices, has sales, and offers discounts on top of the sales. When you get your receipt it says you saved $150. I think Disney jacks up the prices, offers the discounts to lure people in and in the end they're still getting the money they really need and then some bc more people book. So the discounts will continue bc they know people will not go with no room discount or with no free dining.

This is so true. We have been going to WDW for nearly 20 years and the price difference between rates 10 years ago and now is staggering. We used to stay in deluxe all the time, now we stay in moderates for what deluxe used to cost not very many years ago. We also owned DVC for a few years and then sold it, because all the perks disappeared that had made it a good deal.

We just stayed offsite (kind of - Hilton Bonnet Creek) last week for the first time ever, something we never thought we would do... and enjoyed a lower priced, much nicer room with far better service than what Disney would even provide at a Value resort.

I have a lot of trouble with all of the dining stuff. I miss being able to walk into Epcot in the morning and visit the video terminal to get a table for lunch practically anywhere we wanted to eat; it was so delightful to go on vacation with no real plan. Now, we have to regiment our trip's park days and make ADRs, which locks us into specific parks on specific dates, 180 days out. Either that or skip those places altogether (and my spouse loves his Canadian steak).

On top of that, the reduction in quality and choice on the menus to handle the cattle call DDP hordes has been very sad. So many great dishes are gone forever. I've collected the recipes for our favorites from the chefs at each place but part of the fun was having them made FOR me on vacation as a special treat, rather than cooking them myself. The cooking staff regrets it too... I had a fascinating conversation with an Epcot chef a couple of years ago about what the DDP had done to his kitchen (he was not happy).

Interestingly, I noticed this past week that the table service restaurants were less crowded than we had seen them in a long time. No waits and empty tables at quite a few surprising places that used to be booked up months in advance and mobbed at the check-in station. I suspect it is coming from the free dining at the value resorts now being only counter service, so perhaps there is somewhat less overall demand for table service, but that's only a guess.

We are going back in September and staying at CB for the first time, and doing the DDP for the first time as non-DVC owners... it'll be interesting to compare CB with where we just stayed and to see what differences are evident in the restaurants, which were completely mobbed in Septembers past due to the free DDP offers (we go every September so we know what it's been like there that time of year).

Personally, I would rather they ditch all the free DDP and silly gimmicks, lower the prices of the rooms back to where they should be (so that they aren't having to make up the cost of the food), and let people plan a decently priced vacation without having to hunt down codes and PINs and free this and discount that.

Xie

 

[dclfun]

This is so true. We have been going to WDW for nearly 20 years and the price difference between rates 10 years ago and now is staggering. We used to stay in deluxe all the time, now we stay in moderates for what deluxe used to cost not very many years ago. We also owned DVC for a few years and then sold it, because all the perks disappeared that had made it a good deal.

We just stayed offsite (kind of - Hilton Bonnet Creek) last week for the first time ever, something we never thought we would do... and enjoyed a lower priced, much nicer room with far better service than what Disney would even provide at a Value resort.

I have a lot of trouble with all of the dining stuff. I miss being able to walk into Epcot in the morning and visit the video terminal to get a table for lunch practically anywhere we wanted to eat; it was so delightful to go on vacation with no real plan. Now, we have to regiment our trip's park days and make ADRs, which locks us into specific parks on specific dates, 180 days out. Either that or skip those places altogether (and my spouse loves his Canadian steak).

On top of that, the reduction in quality and choice on the menus to handle the cattle call DDP hordes has been very sad. So many great dishes are gone forever. I've collected the recipes for our favorites from the chefs at each place but part of the fun was having them made FOR me on vacation as a special treat, rather than cooking them myself. The cooking staff regrets it too... I had a fascinating conversation with an Epcot chef a couple of years ago about what the DDP had done to his kitchen (he was not happy).

Interestingly, I noticed this past week that the table service restaurants were less crowded than we had seen them in a long time. No waits and empty tables at quite a few surprising places that used to be booked up months in advance and mobbed at the check-in station. I suspect it is coming from the free dining at the value resorts now being only counter service, so perhaps there is somewhat less overall demand for table service, but that's only a guess.

We are going back in September and staying at CB for the first time, and doing the DDP for the first time as non-DVC owners... it'll be interesting to compare CB with where we just stayed and to see what differences are evident in the restaurants, which were completely mobbed in Septembers past due to the free DDP offers (we go every September so we know what it's been like there that time of year).

Personally, I would rather they ditch all the free DDP and silly gimmicks, lower the prices of the rooms back to where they should be (so that they aren't having to make up the cost of the food), and let people plan a decently priced vacation without having to hunt down codes and PINs and free this and discount that.

Xie

I'm with you 100%. Gone is the easy, relaxing trip where you didn't have to know 180 days prior where you or the kids want to eat and what menu in what park. Gone are many of the wonderful dishes that made each of the nicer restaurants stand out. Many of them are "signature" dining that take 2 credits or have the resultant cost increases associated with "signature" dining. Gosh I miss the old Yachtsman Steakhouse menu. There is no lobster anywhere at WDW ( unless it's been introduced again somewhere and I missed it). They homogenized the menus to appeal to the masses and to maximize profits, then raised the prices tremendously. After we factored in the appy's we want and leave off the "value" of the desserts we don't want, then add in the grats that used to be included in the DDP, even "free" dining is really not free. I'm not sure how anyone can afford full price at the deluxe resorts either and I'm also tired of the way discounts are offered. If they want to target a particular audience, then send them the first emails but make the offers valid for everyone. I think it's tiring on both the Guest and the reservation agents to have to search for someone's possible PIN and there's a margin of error there. I don't want to work that hard to get a discount and with social media and chat boards such as this abounding, I don't want to know that someone else got a discount that I wasn't offered just because it was "random". I still say that the most exciting discount to me would be the one I described above...the "customize your own discount" offer where people can choose what they want for their own family based on their budget and touring/dining style and with those choices everyone being offered the same amount of savings one way or the other. Actually I'd just be happy if they'd do more bounceback offers and less PINS- at least they are rewarding frequent Guests who commit to a future vacation. Anyone else have suggestions? What would be an offer that you couldn't refuse?---Kathy

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I'm with you 100%. Gone is the easy, relaxing trip where you didn't have to know 180 days prior where you or the kids want to eat and what menu in what park. Gone are many of the wonderful dishes that made each of the nicer restaurants stand out. Many of them are "signature" dining that take 2 credits or have the resultant cost increases associated with "signature" dining. Gosh I miss the old Yachtsman Steakhouse menu. There is no lobster anywhere at WDW ( unless it's been introduced again somewhere and I missed it). They homogenized the menus to appeal to the masses and to maximize profits, then raised the prices tremendously. After we factored in the appy's we want and leave off the "value" of the desserts we don't want, then add in the grats that used to be included in the DDP, even "free" dining is really not free. I'm not sure how anyone can afford full price at the deluxe resorts either and I'm also tired of the way discounts are offered. If they want to target a particular audience, then send them the first emails but make the offers valid for everyone. I think it's tiring on both the Guest and the reservation agents to have to search for someone's possible PIN and there's a margin of error there. I don't want to work that hard to get a discount and with social media and chat boards such as this abounding, I don't want to know that someone else got a discount that I wasn't offered just because it was "random". I still say that the most exciting discount to me would be the one I described above...the "customize your own discount" offer where people can choose what they want for their own family based on their budget and touring/dining style and with those choices everyone being offered the same amount of savings one way or the other. Actually I'd just be happy if they'd do more bounceback offers and less PINS- at least they are rewarding frequent Guests who commit to a future vacation. Anyone else have suggestions? What would be an offer that you couldn't refuse?---Kathy

Discount dining + a fist full of FPs. This could be done on a sliding scale whereby the value resorts offer a smaller discount than mods or deluxes. Stay at Pop and you get a Chip sized fistful of FPS; stay at GF and you get a Beast sized fist full.

 

[esmetutu]

This is so true. We have been going to WDW for nearly 20 years and the price difference between rates 10 years ago and now is staggering. We used to stay in deluxe all the time, now we stay in moderates for what deluxe used to cost not very many years ago. We also owned DVC for a few years and then sold it, because all the perks disappeared that had made it a good deal.

We just stayed offsite (kind of - Hilton Bonnet Creek) last week for the first time ever, something we never thought we would do... and enjoyed a lower priced, much nicer room with far better service than what Disney would even provide at a Value resort.

I have a lot of trouble with all of the dining stuff. I miss being able to walk into Epcot in the morning and visit the video terminal to get a table for lunch practically anywhere we wanted to eat; it was so delightful to go on vacation with no real plan. Now, we have to regiment our trip's park days and make ADRs, which locks us into specific parks on specific dates, 180 days out. Either that or skip those places altogether (and my spouse loves his Canadian steak).

On top of that, the reduction in quality and choice on the menus to handle the cattle call DDP hordes has been very sad. So many great dishes are gone forever. I've collected the recipes for our favorites from the chefs at each place but part of the fun was having them made FOR me on vacation as a special treat, rather than cooking them myself. The cooking staff regrets it too... I had a fascinating conversation with an Epcot chef a couple of years ago about what the DDP had done to his kitchen (he was not happy).

Interestingly, I noticed this past week that the table service restaurants were less crowded than we had seen them in a long time. No waits and empty tables at quite a few surprising places that used to be booked up months in advance and mobbed at the check-in station. I suspect it is coming from the free dining at the value resorts now being only counter service, so perhaps there is somewhat less overall demand for table service, but that's only a guess.

We are going back in September and staying at CB for the first time, and doing the DDP for the first time as non-DVC owners... it'll be interesting to compare CB with where we just stayed and to see what differences are evident in the restaurants, which were completely mobbed in Septembers past due to the free DDP offers (we go every September so we know what it's been like there that time of year).

Personally, I would rather they ditch all the free DDP and silly gimmicks, lower the prices of the rooms back to where they should be (so that they aren't having to make up the cost of the food), and let people plan a decently priced vacation without having to hunt down codes and PINs and free this and discount that.

Xie

Originally Posted by dclfun
I'm with you 100%. Gone is the easy, relaxing trip where you didn't have to know 180 days prior where you or the kids want to eat and what menu in what park. Gone are many of the wonderful dishes that made each of the nicer restaurants stand out. Many of them are "signature" dining that take 2 credits or have the resultant cost increases associated with "signature" dining. Gosh I miss the old Yachtsman Steakhouse menu. There is no lobster anywhere at WDW ( unless it's been introduced again somewhere and I missed it). They homogenized the menus to appeal to the masses and to maximize profits, then raised the prices tremendously. After we factored in the appy's we want and leave off the "value" of the desserts we don't want, then add in the grats that used to be included in the DDP, even "free" dining is really not free. I'm not sure how anyone can afford full price at the deluxe resorts either and I'm also tired of the way discounts are offered. If they want to target a particular audience, then send them the first emails but make the offers valid for everyone. I think it's tiring on both the Guest and the reservation agents to have to search for someone's possible PIN and there's a margin of error there. I don't want to work that hard to get a discount and with social media and chat boards such as this abounding, I don't want to know that someone else got a discount that I wasn't offered just because it was "random". I still say that the most exciting discount to me would be the one I described above...the "customize your own discount" offer where people can choose what they want for their own family based on their budget and touring/dining style and with those choices everyone being offered the same amount of savings one way or the other. Actually I'd just be happy if they'd do more bounceback offers and less PINS- at least they are rewarding frequent Guests who commit to a future vacation. Anyone else have suggestions? What would be an offer that you couldn't refuse?---Kathy

Thank you both, Kathy and Xie, for saying this so eloquently that I don't have to!

I completely agree. While FD would save us a bundle (equal to 62% off a moderate to be exact!) I hope it doesn't come out during our stay. Also, I HATE the PINs. They are very unfair. Especially this new "Game On" one where everyone seems to be getting different offers. Rack rate is a joke. I wish things were just priced fairly.

An offer I couldn't refuse would be an appropriately priced hotel (mod.=$120 max), plus a dining coupon or one free buffet, and free Park Hopper. Or maybe buy 4 days, get one free?