More free dining....grrrr!

[My2PrincessesMom]

I know the economy is slow and Disney uses Free Dining to boost the number of guests, but ....( Venting Starts NOW!) can they ever give a little break to us DVCers. I have to say that I would love to add that $1500 (4 adult standard dining and one kiddo) to my travel account or even a portion. Really Bugs me sometimes because I pay my annual dues and my ownership, and usually just a length of stay pass with no discounts! VENT stops now!

Does it stop me from visiting my Happy Place, NO but would love that perk sometimes..,

 

[rentayenta]

Don't tell anyone but free dining isn't really free. Rack rate for a room and pumped up prices to steer guests into eating at certain places is no bueno. There is a very interesting thread in the restaurant section on this very thing.

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

Here's my take on it. On our last trip we had enough Disney Visa Rewards to buy the dining plan. So in my mind it was like "free dining" because It wasn't paying out of pocket. I will never do the dining plan again, free or otherwise. It felt like we spent the whole trip running from one reservation to another. It became a huge burden to use up all the credits. I would rather make reservations for a few nice meals, and for the rest of the trip, eat where the wind takes us. This idea of obsessively making reservations 180 days in advance, and running from restaurant to restaurant really cramped our style. We are on vacation right?! I don't want to have to feel like I have to be somewhere, and eat a big meal, just because it's "free". I don't want to be on such a tight schedule. This why we bought DVC, so we don't have to be commando's at the parks or the restaurants.
Some of my best Disney memories is just ordering a pizza from Giardiana's and eating it in the Villa in our jammas!

 

[MerriH807]

Don't tell anyone but free dining isn't really free. Rack rate for a room and pumped up prices to steer guests into eating at certain places is no bueno. There is a very interesting thread in the restaurant section on this very thing.

Before we became DVc members, we stayed at BLT during a "free dining promotion". It would have been cheaper to do the 40 % off room only and add on the tickets and the meal plan. ( however no more of those promo rooms were left ....)

I agree --- free dining isn't really free.

Also I like our DVc bc if we do want to add the dining plan, we can without buying tickets. Anyone paying cash has to add tickets in order to add dining.

 

[arthur06]

We usually have about 2 ADR's per trip, then we just kind of wing it from there. It becomes too much of a hassle to plan out 6 months in advance.

We just enjoy breakfast in our room a snack during the day (preferably from the BW Bakery) then a nice supper, which happens to be in our room at times too.

Agree with everyone who says that "free" dining isn't really free!

 

[quirty30]

I know it's not really free, per se. But as a single mom with 2 kids who are 10 & 13 and "adults" on the dining plan, I decided to plan a "free dining" trip to CSR over Labor Day weekend. At a moderate, it's not a bad deal at all, and we always dine on site anyway. And for a long weekend, we can "rough it" in a hotel room. Our AP's expire later in the month, so we'll be spending most of our time at the parks (and the CSR pool which looks pretty nice!)

Any DVC member who really wants free dining can have it....just book a trip through CRO and indulge yourself. I don't expect free dining on my DVC stays because, in a sense, I've already gotten a great discount on my premium accomodations.

 

[helenk]

Here's my take on it. On our last trip we had enough Disney Visa Rewards to buy the dining plan. So in my mind it was like "free dining" because It wasn't paying out of pocket. I will never do the dining plan again, free or otherwise. It felt like we spent the whole trip running from one reservation to another. It became a huge burden to use up all the credits. I would rather make reservations for a few nice meals, and for the rest of the trip, eat where the wind takes us. This idea of obsessively making reservations 180 days in advance, and running from restaurant to restaurant really cramped our style. We are on vacation right?! I don't want to have to feel like I have to be somewhere, and eat a big meal, just because it's "free". I don't want to be on such a tight schedule. This why we bought DVC, so we don't have to be commando's at the parks or the restaurants.
Some of my best Disney memories is just ordering a pizza from Giardiana's and eating it in the Villa in our jammas!

I feel exactly the same way, we tried the free dining a few years and honestly we felt like we had to plan around our meals which makes for a bit of running around. Now I book the tea at the GF and one dinner and one lunch the rest I just wing it. The only exception is when I go with my grand-daughter, then I book Character meals.
The nice thing about having DVC is being able to take your time and enjoy your vacation time.

 

[Tink2312]

Funnily enough, part of the reason we bought into DVC was free dining - in 09 and 10 we did trips to SSR with free dining and over 40% off the rack rate for the room (UK offer). We loved it and decided that staying in DVC resorts was more important than the FD promotion. In the UK the FD offer is out for next year already, but it doesn't bother me as I know I'll still have my DVC if/when that promotion ends.
Also,I like the fact that with DVC we can do the segmented ressies for the dining plans - lots more flexibility that way and chance to eat at our favourite restaurants offsite too.

 

[Pootle]

Funnily enough, part of the reason we bought into DVC was free dining - in 09 and 10 we did trips to SSR with free dining and over 40% off the rack rate for the room (UK offer). We loved it and decided that staying in DVC resorts was more important than the FD promotion. In the UK the FD offer is out for next year already, but it doesn't bother me as I know I'll still have my DVC if/when that promotion ends.
Also,I like the fact that with DVC we can do the segmented ressies for the dining plans - lots more flexibility that way and chance to eat at our favourite restaurants offsite too.

Like Tink 2312, I prefer the flexibility of not having the DDP

NB: Believe me, with the UK offer, 'free' dining really IS free and is a great deal (SSR and OKW)!

 

[Cee]

My DSis did the free dining once and said it was just way too much food. She commented that if you want to spend your entire vacation eating, it's one thing. But she felt stressed to use the credits and "get what she paid for". Most of the trip she spent feeling uncomfortably full. Well, that's on HER for buckling to that self-imposed pressure, but you get the point.

 

[Alexander]

We don't like having ADRs because we don't like having to be at Point A at X time AND be hungry.

We like the quick service dining plan for the convenience. No it's not a money saver, but it is paid in advance and feels like it doesn't have to come OOP or be paid for when we get home, and we can eat whenever we decide we are hungry where ever we happen to be.

If we decide we'd like to sit down and eat at a TS, then we attempt a walk-up. Most of the time we have had really good luck with this, especially if we try right at the restaurant's opening for that meal (lunch or dinner). During free dining, this is less likely to happen, but we also aren't usually in WDW during this time.

 

[loveswdw]

I saw that Free Dining was coming out again and I groaned. That means the restaurants are always CRAZY! Then I looked at the dates and noticed that its blacked out during our trip! So YAY!! Won't have to worry about it anyway!

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

is pretty much universal for all of us who used to be able to get into the restaurant of your choice and now, if you don't book 180 days out, you will have a real challenge eating where you want.

Disney is hoping that by giving it away now, that when it isn't avaialbe prople will still eat at the prime places...

 

[FreeTime]

Free dining doesn't bother me. As others have said, having to pay for tickets (it is much cheaper that we have AP's) and rack rate for rooms just doesn't add up. You are usually better off not getting free dining.

I would rather use my Disney Rewards VISA, that I don't pay interest on and really have reduced or free dining (dependent on how many I have saved). I haven't decided which plan we are getting on our next trip, but if we go with DDP we have enough rewards that we will only be paying $21.75 per day and qith QSP, $12.75 per day. We are able to do this usually for at least one trip per year.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Don't tell anyone but free dining isn't really free. Rack rate for a room and pumped up prices to steer guests into eating at certain places is no bueno. There is a very interesting thread in the restaurant section on this very thing.

Someone else gets it YEAH

Disney will allow you to overpay DRAMATICALLY for thier hotels. (really would you pay over $100 a night for that value resort anyplace else? Exterior corridors, no free internet, no coffee pot in room etc....) And they give you "free" dining.

It's not FREE, it's a discount on an overpriced room. (And the moderates and "deluxes" are even more "overpriced" then the values IMHO!) But if Disney calls it "FREE" folks are throwing money at them. (If it was really FREE Disney would have long ago quit giving out this offer, they aren't in the business of "free" )


(And only at Disney would a 40% discount be considered standard... that should give you an idea of how OVERPRICED those rooms are.... Disney just marks them up to put them on sale because so many Disney consumers seem to be willing to "suspend" thier common sense when it comes to paying Disney!)

 

[baseballmickey]

I used to groan about the "free" dining plan promotions because they seemed to have ramped up just after we bought into DVC back in 2007. Or maybe that's just when I became more aware of it.

We finally tried the DDP (not free, just added on) on our last trip. I liked not having to pay OOP and I think we actually paid less using the DDP than we would have for the same exact meals if we had paid cash. It felt REALLY good to just look at a menu and order what I wanted without having to look at the price!!

The annoying part was trying to plan it out. DW is a planner, but I am not. We had a hard time getting ADRs and there were a few we had that made us walk halfway across the park to get to. I blamed it on DW for not planning better. LOL!

So, I think for future trips we will do our planning session, make our ADRs for the places we really want to eat, and then see based on that, if the DDP is worth doing again.

And I'll only get annoyed at the "free" DDP promotions for making the restaurants that much more crowded, and for making the lines at counter service go that much slower since so many people need the DDP explained to them again and again...

Lastly, I know people who take advantage of the ADR system by making multiple ADRs at the same time in different parks so that they'll have "options" when they are there. I think that is just wrong! But you can't stop it.

 

[Pootle]

Someone else gets it YEAH

Disney will allow you to overpay DRAMATICALLY for thier hotels. (really would you pay over $100 a night for that value resort anyplace else? Exterior corridors, no free internet, no coffee pot in room etc....) And they give you "free" dining.

It's not FREE, it's a discount on an overpriced room. (And the moderates and "deluxes" are even more "overpriced" then the values IMHO!) But if Disney calls it "FREE" folks are throwing money at them. (If it was really FREE Disney would have long ago quit giving out this offer, they aren't in the business of "free" )

I know that what you are saying is true for the US market, which will be most folks reading this, but let me give you 2 examples of what is on offer in the UK. I have converted sterling to dollars at a current commercial rate of £1 = $1.64 for this exercise.

14 nights at either OKW or SSR in a studio with the DDP AND 14-day ultimate park tickets for 4 people (could be 2 adults and 2 teenagers) for early May next year: *$4486. A one bedroom would be *$5633. This works out at a nightly rate of $320 for the studio including DDP and park passes and $402 for a one bedroom; same deal. (There are no additional taxes to pay on these figures by the way).

According to another All Ears, the regular rates for the accommodation alone for this year in early May is $340 for a studio and $470 for a one bedroom plus taxes of approximately 12.5%. So approx $382 for a studio and $529 for a one bedroom.

So, a UK visitor is getting an OKW or SSR studio at $382-$320 = $62 cheaper than a US visitor and with the dining plan and park tickets included.

Now in my book, that is a great deal . I haven't done all the permutations, but the good deal is not only restricted to the low periods although it does exclude the peak times.

One of the mods on the UK board is doing this offer again for the 3rd time in August for himself and his wife and teenage son. I know he wouldn't mind me disclosing that he wouldn't pay Disney prices for either food or accommodation but he thinks it works out cheaper staying at OKW than staying in a budget hotel offsite and paying for meals - again offsite - for the 3 of them! If only Disney would throw in free wifi too with the deal I think his cup would runneth over

*Edited to add, in the UK you can also get a 3% cashback discount on these prices too if you go to Disney booking via a cashback site!

 

[RDP]

We took advantage of such an offer last year, using points this year, but will be able to book a similar DDP, tickets and accommodation package next year. I suspect we get a competitive deal on rooms as most of the UK crowd spend an additional $4000 just getting to MCO! however the free DDP and subsidised tickets won't be around for ever but my DVC will for as long as I need it.

 

[Pootle]

We took advantage of such an offer last year, using points this year, but will be able to book a similar DDP, tickets and accommodation package next year. I suspect we get a competitive deal on rooms as most of the UK crowd spend an additional $4000 just getting to MCO! however the free DDP and subsidised tickets won't be around for ever but my DVC will for as long as I need it.

Let me make it clear that it doesn't bother me one bit - I'm happy for anyone who gets a deal. However, right now, if you are from the UK, want SSR or OKW (and don't want to travel at Easter, Christmas etc) then on a purely financial basis, buying into DVC may not make good sense IMO.

Now saying all of that, I bought an add-on at OKW last year fully in the knowledge of these deals because a) I'm in it for the long-term b) I really would not want the DDP for more than 2 days and c) we often visit and don't set foot into a theme park, but would typically stay at OKW and VB during one trip. In short, I value the flexibility DVC affords.

I doubt that Disney gives UK visitors a good deal because they have already spend so much on air fares - like they would care if they are not getting any of it (sorry, I'm not big on Pixie Dust ). I bet they have figures that show because we tend to stay longer, usually 14 nights, we spend more on souvenirs etc than the average US visitor. Just a guess though

 

[RDP]

Totally agree on a financial basis the current offers can make a large DVC contract look expensive. We have had heavily subsidised Disney accommodation for years in the UK and some of the package deals are great value. I have the best of both worlds at the moment with some great package offers and the DVC contract allowing me to stay in accommodation i would not be able to afford to book ( 2 bed deluxe villas) even with the current offers.