Is free dining really free???

[aguinnmc]

We are traveling to Disney at the end of September and I thought about extending our trip to include four extra days with free dining before the end of the special. So I went Disney's site and got a total for a free dining package. Decided it seemed high and opened two new windows. In the first - I checked ticket prices as I specified in the plan. In the second I checked my plan, without the special, at regular rates.

Subtracting the cost of the tickets, I was being charged almost $1000 for three nights at a moderate with the special - definitely high. And the package without dining was over $300 less...when I added dining to that (as if I was paying for it - no promotion) it was only $30 more than the quote I got for the free dining package.

I hope I didn't confuse you all totally, because I am already there. Has anyone else found the free dining to not be free? I was just so surprised by this. I rechecked everything twice and I am entering everything correctly. I dream so much about Disney Vacations, I should be an expert at this site, so I don't think that is the problem. Please help. I am a little disheartened right now.

Thank you for your time in helping me out with this one. I really hope that I am very, very wrong. -Amy

 

[indigoxtreme]

Unless you are going through the special link to quote the free dining, it will not calculate correctly. On the disney site look for special offers and click on the dining offer. If your dates are prior to the first day of the offer it will not give you the free dining. Your 1st day must fall within the free dining period. From reading your post it sounded like you were adding on dates at the end of your trip to include free dining days.

Example: you start your vacation on 8-24-07 and end 9-1. Since this is not in the free dining range of 8-26 to 9-22 you will not get free dining.

Now start your vacation 8-26-07 and end 9-3 you will get free dining.

So if you need to start earlier then you will need to do a split stay to get the free dining. You can also start your trip on 9-3 and you will receive free dining for the length of your stay.

 

[aguinnmc]

I did go through a free dining link and I had us checking out on September 22nd, for three nights, which was the minimum according to the site. I really don't know why it didn't work, but after reading your response, I decided to try again from a different link. This time, when I went through the link on the Special Offers page it did subtract the cost of the meal plan. Thanks so much for sending me back. We may book this afterall

 

[joy13]

I did go through a free dining link and I had us checking out on September 22nd, for three nights, which was the minimum according to the site. I really don't know why it didn't work, but after reading your response, I decided to try again from a different link. This time, when I went through the link on the Special Offers page it did subtract the cost of the meal plan. Thanks so much for sending me back. We may book this afterall

So when are you going - because I think the 22nd is the end of the Free dining, so if you check out on that day - your whole trip should include free dining. We are arriving 9/20 - so we get the free dining for the whole trip because we check in before the 22nd.

 

[aguinnmc]

We are going to stay off site at Windsor Hills from the 22nd through the 30th. Since we have to buy tickets anyway, I thought I would plan the free dining from the 19th - 22nd and go ahead and get the 10-day ticket then. I did get the discount to work...I just had to use the link on the special offers page. If we can swing a longer vacation, I think it will be worth it to get the character meals out of the way during the dining plan and get to stay on site at least for a little while -Amy

 

[Mom of 3]

We are checking in on 9/22 and get the free dining for the length of our stay. If you check-in on or before 9/22 you'll get free dining for the length of your stay up to 14 nights.

Is free dining free - no. You are paying the full price for rooms instead of getting discounted room rates. Is free dining a deal - yes. Especially for us with a family of 5.

 

[iamalittlegoofy]

That is incorrect. DDP is free. If you get a room discount, it is a room discount. Doesn't mean DDP is not free. I do not qualify for a room discount. Just because you cannot combine discounts does not mean DDP is not "free".

 

[mom2my3kids]

We saved 1200 by switching my vacation up a week to get free dining. The exact same reservation..

 

[joy13]

We saved 1200 by switching my vacation up a week to get free dining. The exact same reservation..

That's awesome!


I was planning our vacation for a week later originally and then changed to earlier to get free dining. The price for my trip with free dining is the same as my trip was a week later without the dining plan, so the room rate was the same for both weeks - so they aren't jacking up the price of rooms during free dining from what I can see.

 

[goofy4tink]

Are you paying for your food? No. But, for the most part, most people on the DIS seldom pay rack rate for a room, we tend to get rooms at discounted rates. So, we give up those discounted rates, and pay top dollar for our rooms. I'm sure that for some it works out fine, and it is easier to just not have to worry about paying for your meals. But, I firmly believe that Disney is not giving anything away. They are not a charitable organization...they are making money on it somehow.

 

[Jaime]

I really think it depends on what you eat...but when we went in 2005 we paid about $1300 for me,dh,dd3 &dd1...we stayed at the POP...had 7 day base MY tickets...and if I remember correctly we ate about $1400 in food for free. We average about $200 a day. So for us yes free dining was free! We actually ate more food than we paid for the trip including hotel and passes!

We would have prefered to stay in a deluxe hotel but thought staying in a value resort on the free dining gave us the most value for our money...but that's just us! The POP was nice and I would stay there on free dining again but otherwise I would prefer to stay at a deluxe at a discount rate or on DVC points.

Have a great trip!

 

[LizinSTL]

Are you paying for your food? No. But, for the most part, most people on the DIS seldom pay rack rate for a room, we tend to get rooms at discounted rates. So, we give up those discounted rates, and pay top dollar for our rooms. I'm sure that for some it works out fine, and it is easier to just not have to worry about paying for your meals. But, I firmly believe that Disney is not giving anything away. They are not a charitable organization...they are making money on it somehow.

I don't think most people who visit disney qualify for significant discounts on their rooms. AAA, sure but beyond that.... Free dining is free. It's a promotion. You pay rack rates on the rooms but at values and moderates that's not out of line with other tourist areas for hotel rooms- heck, I pay $100/night for a motel room in St. Louis near Six Flags in the summer...I'd much prefer to pay that as the rack rate at Pop Century!

People who qualify for significant discounts on rooms are FL residents or AP holders or frequent visitors. People who go to disney once every year or two, live 1000 miles or more away, are visiting for 7 days or less, dont' qualify for those discounts. Free dining is a great deal- especially if you are staying at a value or a moderate. I guess it can become questionable at a deluxe with fewer than 4 adults depending on if you are able to secure a room discount (even with just a AAA). Do the math but saving $100/night or more on food for a family of 2A/2C isn't something to sneeze at no matter how you look at it. You gotta eat at Disney!

 

[thunderbird1]

Trying to put everything into the web site correctly to calculate the various costs can be maddening, can't it? Glad you figured it out.

Whether you consider free dining to be a better deal than other discounts really depends on your family size and choice of resorts.

2 adults in a deluxe resort would be better off with the 40% discount ($300 a night x 40% is $120 off per night--much more than the $80 per night value of the free DDP).

2 adults and 2 juniors in a value resort would be much better off with free dining (DDP would cost $160 per night--even a 100% discount off the room would only be around $84 per night).

For our family (2A/1J/1C at moderate resort), we calculated the room discount would have to be in the neighborhood of 89% to equal the value of free dining. And that's based on the cost of the dining plan, not the $ value of the amount of food we'll be getting. When WDW starts offering 89% room discounts, then I'll agree that free dining isn't really "free."

 

[IwannaseeMickey]

All I can tell you is that I booked a mod (POR) thru AAA, and then when free dining came out I rebooked the exact same package w/ free dining and my total went DOWN from my previous AAA booking. You do lose the AAA discount and pay rack rate, but the free food still made us come out ahead. I think we saved $200 w/ the free dining from what we were going to pay w/o it.

It was free to us.

 

[missycj96]

The cost of free dining is equal to the amount of the discount that you give up in order to get the free dining. For example, if the best discount you could get without free dining is a AAA 20%, then the amount you are paying for the dining package is equal to the dollar value of that discount. You then have to compare how much you would have spent on the dining package to the discount you have given up. If you would not have been able to get another discount at all, then it is free - provided you would have taken the plan anyway. I actually think that even when not free DDP is a great value.

 

[pooch]

we had a AAA discount at WL (10% on Deluxes) for 9 nights, came to about $250. Dining plan for 4 adults for 9 nights $1063.00 So Free dining saved us $813.00 off our original package. We ate $1900 worth of food so, based on that, we saved $1650. Gotta love Free Dining and going back for more 9/21!!

 

[mungo]

Of course it isn't free, its included in the price you pay. They say theres no such thing as a free lunch, and there isn't. Its an offer, a special call it whatever you like but you will still pay for it.

 

[MrsMud]

I did go through a free dining link and I had us checking out on September 22nd, for three nights, which was the minimum according to the site. I really don't know why it didn't work, but after reading your response, I decided to try again from a different link. This time, when I went through the link on the Special Offers page it did subtract the cost of the meal plan. Thanks so much for sending me back. We may book this afterall

I'm glad you were able to figure it out, it CAN be confusing. I just wanted to mention something else for anyone trying to book free dining at this point:
When you first plug in your dates and you get the screen which gives you 3 package choices, it will automatically add in the PARK HOPPER AND WATERPARKS AND MORE tickets for the length of your stay. I was also very surprised at the high price I was quoted, until I unchecked these 2 boxes, and boy, did the price come down. Now of course some people may want these options, but we didn't. Just a heads up.

 

[ReneeA]

I don't know why it works this way, but the last 2 years, I ran a quote myself through Disney's website. Then I called up and talked to a CM...they quoted me a lower price both times than what I could do on the website.

Last year, we got a *great* deal - 9 days/8 nights during the free dining promo for 2 adults and 2 children at CSR for $1512.00. For whatever reason (I was never able to figure it out), we paid LESS at a moderate in 2006 than we did at a Value in 2005 using the same promo...in fact, our DD turned 3 before our 2006 trip, so we even had to pay for her, and it was still cheaper.

I was really on the fence about going last year, but couldn't pass up that deal. Maybe that made the difference...I told the CM that it was all up to him...if he could get me the right price, I'd book.

 

[ihearttink]

Usually we stay at a deluxe with a discount. When I saw the free dining this year, and had no intention of taking a vacation this year, we booked. To save money we booked a moderate, POR, instead of the deluxe, the BC. The difference in resorts was a little over a $1,000.00, not including the free food.

I do understand that with a discount for the room, AP, code, etc. the difference would not be $1,000.00, BUT I will tell myself anything I need to (also known as happily living in the land of denial ) to justify a DW vacation!