Is Disney's free dining fair?

[Disney Von Drake]

I don't blame free dining for the lower quality of food. I blame Disney's new business model in the Iger era. The dining plan, free and paid, is part of that business model.

You’re right. The focus for WDW is to book rooms at least 90 days in advance (longer if possible) and the “free dining” is an enticement tool. The entire WDW area is saturated with rooms they can’t book, DVC contracts they can’t sell and stagnate admission media sales. Bob Iger’s June announcement about ending discounts reminds me of George Bush when he said, “Mission accomplished”.

WDW is in panic mode right now and these short term promotional discounts are just buying them some extra time.

 

[Planogirl]

My two cents---

Hope I don’t get bashed! It makes me sad that people blame free dining on the supposed now lower quality of food and unattainable adr's at Disney because some threads make it seem like it’s our fault (those of us who take advantage of the free dining), some people have this if yall wouldn’t take advantage of it, Disney wouldn’t offer it mentality. I mean why in the world would anyone turn down a discount. And yes to me it’s a huge discount because I’m in a Value Resort and the free dining is a better offer than the room discount-although I’m upgrading, I’m still saving.
First off I’d like to say that I’m a newbie so I cannot attest to the quality of the food in the past but I do know that quality is being downgraded everywhere in the country. Disney is a business looking to turn a profit. If they did not offer the Free Dining a lot of families could not afford a trip to Disney this year and a lot of families wouldn’t be enticed to book a trip either so what do you think would happened if Disney had less bookings, yep they’d have less profit and they’d have to start making cuts somewhere to turn a profit and I’m guessing sooner or later those cuts would be in their restaurants. I love this forum but some threads get downright mean, one poster even said that they hate having to share the restaurant w/ people who not only are only there because of free dining but actually have no business eating at a table serv restaurant!

I'm one who at least partially blames free dining for the lower food quality at WDW but in no way do I blame anyone for taking advantage of it. We don't use it since we're just a party of two and we don't eat that many TS meals anyway but if it works for people, I always say go for it.

I suspect that the food quality might have dropped even without the dining offers to be honest. I think that free dining made it worse but that's just conjecture.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

The quality of the food has gone down in recent years no doubt. Is is the result of the dining plan? I've been around the Disney block, and Disney has had packages that included dining for at least 20 years, Gold Key, Food and Fun, and now the Disney Dining Plan. I agree that it was an overall strategy to get more butts in the restaurauts' seats while at the same time keeping costs down that has dragged the quality down.

As others have noted if you go over to the Disney site and plug in days during free dining there are still many many many reservations available. It's a recession, no matter what deals Disney is throwing out. So it's a moot point.

 

[goofy4tink]

This thread is really interesting, to say the least. Usually, we see a ton of posters who tell us that 'free' dining is truly getting their food 'free'..they have done the math and their food isn't costing much, if anything at all. Now, we have people telling us that they do 'free' dining but they know they aren't getting anything 'free'. They know that they may be getting some of the food cost cut but certainly not all of it.
Free dining really isn't a big issue when it comes to booking ADRs unless it's during the summertime (or other vacation period), and during the first week or so that it is offered. Very few people are going to say...'Hey, let's take the kids out of school for a week since we can get free food at WDW.' Sure, some are going to do that, but not the vast majority..hence the increased numbers during the end of summer periods.
I have taken advantage of free dining several times. It has saved me, at most, $250, for three adults over a period of 4 days. We usually stay DVC, so I usually opt out of the dining plans.

With the increase in cost for the ddp, it just isn't worth it for us. And to pay rack rate for a resort, and then get free dining..nope, not worth that either.

But, I will say that the quality of food has gone downhill a lot in the past 3-4 years. There used to be differences in offerings at variouis restaurants..not anymore. There is a sense of sameness now. Things have changed..they always do.

But fair??? First....nobody ever said life is fair. Nor did they say that Disney is fair. If you want free dining, you are free to book it. Up to each person to make that choice. But, I will say, I have been able to change my early Dec ADRs with little trouble. No, I wouldn't have been able to change around ADRs for Chef Mickey's or LeCellier, but even without free dining, that wouldn't have been possible.

 

[Sammie]

Since free dining started to book rooms during declining periods of occupancy due to the economy, it truly is hard to know whether the DDP affected the quality of food or would it have declined anyway due to cost saving pushed by Disney bean counters.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

While I am sure WDW will never do this I sometimes think that there should be seperate ADR's for those on free dining and those guests who didn't purchase it. For example we had talked about trying Cape May Cafe for dinner, however I had a feeling with free dining we would not get an ADR. Well we then asked the Boardwalk Club Level Cast Members just to see if it was available either on a Sunday or Monday. Well we were told they were 100% sold out for both those dates and it had to be those on free dining. Anyway I just think that with having seperate ADR's for those guests not on free dining it would make things more fair if they want to make some last minute ADR's while at WDW.

 

[disney*mom*82]

I didnt read all responses but I agree with most of those I did read, It is not unfair at all. I have taken advantage of both, I have paid OOP for the dining plan and I have done free dining while paying regular rack rate for our room. Anyone that is at WDW has all had to pay, all have had a chance to book ADRs, etc. We try to book our vacation as far out as possible, so we have a better chance at getting the ADRs we want. Just because the places/times you want are not available, doesnt mean that someone with free dining has them and if they do, sorry, they were quicker at booking than you were.

 

[2Tiggies]

Now, we have people telling us that they do 'free' dining but they know they aren't getting anything 'free'.

Maybe everyone on this thread has been reading the DISboards very thoroughly and we have all seen the light

I don't think FD made it much harder to get reservations. There are always those sought after restaurants where you need to be hot onto the ADR system the minute your window opens at 180 days, but that applies to most of these places at almost all times of the year.

 

[emmabemmainc]

I am so sick of people whining about free dining and the dining plan. If you are upset b/c there are no reservations available, get on the ball early like everyone else and make them. If you are upset b/c your unbelievably sophisticated palate is offended by the food for the masses that WDW restaurants puts out now, eat somewhere else. If you enjoy telling people that free dining isn't really free so ha ha, good for you. If you love telling the stupid guests who go now, just how good it USED to be before the DDP, I feel bad that you're still living in the past.

BTW--I'm not paying for the DxDDP that we're getting in November, but I did get a great rate on a room.

 

[crashbb]

While I am sure WDW will never do this I sometimes think that there should be seperate ADR's for those on free dining and those guests who didn't purchase it. For example we had talked about trying Cape May Cafe for dinner, however I had a feeling with free dining we would not get an ADR. Well we then asked the Boardwalk Club Level Cast Members just to see if it was available either on a Sunday or Monday. Well we were told they were 100% sold out for both those dates and it had to be those on free dining. Anyway I just think that with having seperate ADR's for those guests not on free dining it would make things more fair if they want to make some last minute ADR's while at WDW.

Only if those that got a discount on their room rate have to select rooms from a different selection than those that paid full price, or those that have discounted tickets have to get fast passes from a different set than those without a discount. Would you have multiple lists? One for free dining? One for regular dining plan? Another for the Deluxe plan? Would people using TIW get to book just like those paying full price OOP?

If getting free dining gave people access to reservations earlier than others, I could see your point. However, there was nothing stopping you from getting your reservations earlier.

 

[rentayenta]

Everyone "pays" for dining. "Free" dining means rack rate rooms.

I am so glad I didn't have to read the entire thread to see if my point had already been made- it had on the second post. Free dining is NOT free. It was a better deal when the appetizer and tip were included but still not free.

 

[sassyredhead]

While I am sure WDW will never do this I sometimes think that there should be seperate ADR's for those on free dining and those guests who didn't purchase it. For example we had talked about trying Cape May Cafe for dinner, however I had a feeling with free dining we would not get an ADR. Well we then asked the Boardwalk Club Level Cast Members just to see if it was available either on a Sunday or Monday. Well we were told they were 100% sold out for both those dates and it had to be those on free dining. Anyway I just think that with having seperate ADR's for those guests not on free dining it would make things more fair if they want to make some last minute ADR's while at WDW.

Ouch! How about those who get a discounted room rate get the worst room location, or no mousekeeping? If Disney lured me to visit with free dining, then limited the places I could eat by limiting the number of ADRs for free diners, I would NOT be a happy visitor . . . and probably wouldn't return.

 

[Marthasor]

Yes, it's absolutely positively fair. We all have the chance to book our ADR's 180 days out, period, regardless of how your are paying - by paying a huge rack rate for your room and getting free dining, by getting a discounted room and buying the dining plan or paying out of pocket or by not doing your research and paying full price for everything! Or, come to think of it, staying offsite! We never buy the dining plan because we get substantial room discounts through our travel agent who buys blocks of rooms during specific weeks throughout the year. We then pay OOP for all of our food. Our food happens to be free because I buy everything with my Disney Rewards Card throughout the year and pay my balance every month. I rack up enough Disney Reward Dollars every year to pay for our food. So come to think of it - our food is truly free! Please don't take my Le Cellier reservation away!

 

[nytimez]

It's not a matter of fair or unfair. It is.

 

[ngvenice]

Only if those that got a discount on their room rate have to select rooms from a different selection than those that paid full price, or those that have discounted tickets have to get fast passes from a different set than those without a discount. Would you have multiple lists? One for free dining? One for regular dining plan? Another for the Deluxe plan? Would people using TIW get to book just like those paying full price OOP?

If getting free dining gave people access to reservations earlier than others, I could see your point. However, there was nothing stopping you from getting your reservations earlier.

 

[bwilcox]

Ouch! How about those who get a discounted room rate get the worst room location, or no mousekeeping? If Disney lured me to visit with free dining, then limited the places I could eat by limiting the number of ADRs for free diners, I would NOT be a happy visitor . . . and probably wouldn't return.

I agree! I'll start taking second-rate ADRs for my free dining when you start getting the worst rooms for your lower-than-rack-rate room discount.

 

[Vivianne]

Well, I love it when people take themselves out of the loop.

That's right, you're not in a certain category but sure have opinions on the
parameters of other people's visits as long as it doesn't affect yours.

People are pretty predictable in what they would tolerate. It's the same old story. No surprise here.

 

[Melodious]

It's not a question of 'fair' to me. Certainly there are many discounts, some are better for certain situations and not for others. Disney has made decisions to keep the restaurants full which is their right. It does bother me that ADRs need to be made so far in advance though. We happened to have made our ADRs on our 180 days this trip, but usually I haven't decided if I'm vacationing at Disney at all by 180 days.

 

[goofy4tink]

While I am sure WDW will never do this I sometimes think that there should be seperate ADR's for those on free dining and those guests who didn't purchase it. For example we had talked about trying Cape May Cafe for dinner, however I had a feeling with free dining we would not get an ADR. Well we then asked the Boardwalk Club Level Cast Members just to see if it was available either on a Sunday or Monday. Well we were told they were 100% sold out for both those dates and it had to be those on free dining. Anyway I just think that with having seperate ADR's for those guests not on free dining it would make things more fair if they want to make some last minute ADR's while at WDW.

You were there for the very early days of free dining this time around. That first week is always notoriously busy..no way you can do a last minute ADR at a popular spot.
Everyone is able to book at the same time. I would have an issue with it if those getting free dining were able to book before I could. Now, that wouldn't be fair. But, since we can all book at the same time, it's fair. Just because you are paying for dining doesn't mean you should get more. Those getting free dining are paying a ton for their rooms..most of us like a room discount over free dining. I'm sure that if you had wanted to, you could have booked free dining....or whomever booked the trip. But, a choice was made. Your party opted to stay Club Level, which is probably not open to free dining offers. That's the same as when I stay DVC...sure, I can buy the dining plan but free is just not an option for me. My choice.

But, those who go often, and your group falls into that catagory, know that places are not going to be available for last minute bookings..especially during free dining. You probably should have thought about making an ADR at Cape May before you left home. Last minute choices are not a good idea during free dining periods.

 

[2Tiggies]

Everyone is able to book at the same time. I would have an issue with it if those getting free dining were able to book before I could. Now, that wouldn't be fair. But, since we can all book at the same time, it's fair.

I have the QSDP for our trip which falls into free dining season. I was at my laptop clockwatching at my 180 day mark to make my 6 TS reservations and had no problem getting them all. I have since looked at changing one of them, but unsurprisingly, can't find availability so I am sticking with what I have.