new blog: Bungling a Trip to Walt Disney World

[LeahZ]

http://www.disunplugged.com/2012/08/29/bungling-a-trip-to-walt-disney-world/

 

[doconeill]

Read it...

I'd just point out about the "free" dining plan...towards the end, it says "Not using the Dining Plan seems kind of silly when it is available at no additional cost." But even early on the article says it would have cost more to stay at WL with free dining, but doesn't explain why...free dining is generally not available at no additional cost, unless you normally pay full rack rate for the room.

There is a lot of math to do to determine if free dining is worth it in general, because you have to weigh it against getting a room discount instead, etc.

 

[jcb]

Read it...

I'd just point out about the "free" dining plan...towards the end, it says "Not using the Dining Plan seems kind of silly when it is available at no additional cost." But even early on the article says it would have cost more to stay at WL with free dining, but doesn't explain why...free dining is generally not available at no additional cost, unless you normally pay full rack rate for the room.

There is a lot of math to do to determine if free dining is worth it in general, because you have to weigh it against getting a room discount instead, etc.

Well first, you'll notice I put "free" in scare quotes several times in the article. Free dining isn't really "free."

We did get it at no additional cost, however. We would have had to change to a different class room at WL because they had sold out of the rooms at the price originally quoted to us. (Someone can correct me but I don't think you can just add free dining. You have to make a new reservation.)

So we switched to the AKL to avoid a price increase. AKL and WL were the same price per night (for a standard room) when we booked WL. That's why I said there was no additional cost.

I don't think a room discount was being offered at the time. At least, not one we were eligible to receive. I agree that a room discount is almost always better than "free" dining, at least for us.

In hindsight, it would have been less hectic to have just stayed at the WL - even without "free" dining.

 

[doconeill]

Well first, you'll notice I put "free" in scare quotes several times in the article. Free dining isn't really "free."

We did get it at no additional cost, however. We would have had to change to a different class room at WL because they had sold out of the rooms at the price originally quoted to us. (Someone can correct me but I don't think you can just add free dining. You have to make a new reservation.)

So we switched to the AKL to avoid a price increase. AKL and WL were the same price per night (for a standard room) when we booked WL. That's why I said there was no additional cost.

I don't think a room discount was being offered at the time. At least, not one we were eligible to receive. I agree that a room discount is almost always better than "free" dining, at least for us.

In hindsight, it would have been less hectic to have just stayed at the WL - even without "free" dining.

Interesting...it seems like there has been almost no time when there wasn't at least some token discount...but yes, if you were already paying the rack rate (and intended to get your tix as part of a package), then yes, free dining is no additional cost.

And yes, I believe you do have to rebook...

 

[kcb1dizbksfan]

Jack,

Very nice job on your photos ... Like the composition and rich color saturation.
What camera body and lens did you use?

DR NYKCB (Ken)

 

[jcb]

Jack,

Very nice job on your photos ... Like the composition and rich color saturation.
What camera body and lens did you use?

DR NYKCB (Ken)

Thanks Ken,

I used a Nikon D200 that is as rugged as they come.

The giraffe was taken with a Nikon 70-300 f/4.0 to 5.6 at 300 mm f 5.6. at 1/20 using an ISO of 1600. (Obviously, I used my monopod to brace the camera. I look a lot of photos of him before came close enough to get this head shot. Not surprisingly, most were blurred.

Most of other photos were taken with a Tokina 17-35 f/2.8-40. Hogwarts was taken with a Sigma 28-70 F/2.8 to 4.0.

I try not to over saturate the photos. A little goes a long way.

I enjoyed yours of the folks at the Dis NY meet. Getting good photos of people, most of whom are strangers, is pretty difficult.

 

[dansyr2514]

Great blog jack!!! We made the same mistakes previously but learned from them. We haven't given up the dining plan yet... Food is a priority... Lol. But we always rent a car. Saves us tons of time getting around.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I am a huge fan of Disney transportation, but when it doesn't make sense (like AKL to the Dolphin), I just take a cab.

 

[LilyWDW]

I am a huge fan of Disney transportation, but when it doesn't make sense (like AKL to the Dolphin), I just take a cab.

Cabs are awesome! We use them for dinner or breakfast reservations at other hotels if we are leaving from POFQ. Makes getting around so much easier, faster, and a lot less stressful! None of our rides were more then $20 except for one... and that was because he got a better tip for saving our lives! A woman tried to turn left right in front of the cab and our driver's reflexes kept us from crashing within a few inches. It was way close and 100% the fault of the woman making the turn.

For everything else though, we use Disney transportation. Thanks to my OCD, we are never late. They say allow an hour... I allow 2. We always find something to waste the extra time!

I did notice though that AKL bus transportation seemed to be slower then POFQ. We had 3 meals at AKL; Boma dinner, Boma breakfast, and Jiko dinner. After the Boma dinner and the Boma breakfast, we wanted to head elsewhere so we decided to take the buses. These waits were much longer then any other wait we had for a bus, including right after Wishes or DTD. I don't know if that is common, but it was very obvious to us.

 

[jcb]

Cabs are awesome! We use them for dinner or breakfast reservations at other hotels if we are leaving from POFQ. Makes getting around so much easier, faster, and a lot less stressful! None of our rides were more then $20 except for one... and that was because he got a better tip for saving our lives! A woman tried to turn left right in front of the cab and our driver's reflexes kept us from crashing within a few inches. It was way close and 100% the fault of the woman making the turn.

For everything else though, we use Disney transportation. Thanks to my OCD, we are never late. They say allow an hour... I allow 2. We always find something to waste the extra time!

I did notice though that AKL bus transportation seemed to be slower then POFQ. We had 3 meals at AKL; Boma dinner, Boma breakfast, and Jiko dinner. After the Boma dinner and the Boma breakfast, we wanted to head elsewhere so we decided to take the buses. These waits were much longer then any other wait we had for a bus, including right after Wishes or DTD. I don't know if that is common, but it was very obvious to us.

I have no experience with a cab at WDW. The only time I use a cab is when I fly and my wife overrules my request to use the subway or train to get to our hotel. She says I'm schlepping. I got a short reprieve a few years ago when the cabbie drove 70 mph on the streets of San Francisco (we topped 80 on the freeway).
While I stand by my conclusion that I was trying to do too much in too short a time, it bothers me that Disney's time-standard appears to be to allow at least an hour (and, you and Tommy point out, the reality is that it takes much more time).

I understand I'm impatient. Odds are, at my age, that isn't going to change, DW's entreaties notwithstanding, so I've learned to do what I can to avoid the situation.

 

[DisneyDoc5]

Jack - I think I can speak for many of us 'ultra Disney fans' out there that have posted about this subject. I 'over-planned', over-thought, my last big trip in October 2010, and like you, it took me awhile to realize that the source of my discontent with that trip was not my less-than-Dis-fan spouse, the change of resort (first time at Poly - was I missing BC?), the kids wanting to swim all the time, it was me and my expectations. Specifically, I have realized even though 'food is fun' and I enjoy the dining experience, I was planning too much around ADR's. I did a mother/son trip last summer, no dining plan. We kept asking ourselves why it seemed like we had so much more time on our hands???!!! Well, we weren't always coming and going to a meal! We did a walk up to Le Cellier, enjoyed it all the more, and had CS the rest of the trip, when we wanted. The focus was on each other and the parks. Next trip, no dining plan, only a few ADR's, and more relaxed touring.

A lesson so many of us learn the hard way, but one that helps us to remember the real reasons we each want to be there.
Here's to future trips! Erin

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Disneyland spoiled us. We went to Disapalooza and were frustrated by the buses. We started to take taxis (like to the Podcast taping).

I have such fond memories of that trip! I wonder what's in store for 2013?! I hope we can go again...John really knows how to throw a party!

 

[doconeill]

We've been frustrated by the buses as well, but equally frustrated by the monorail as well, especially in Dec. 2010 when it broke down both times while we were waiting to get to the MK from the TTC...we had a car, plus my DFiL had an ECV, and for some reason I thought it would be easier than dealing with the buses...but we ended up on buses anyways...

 

[sayhello]

I always use the WDW buses, and I've just learned to adapt. I don't like driving in traffic, and finding parking spaces, so it's an OK compromise for me.

A couple of trips ago, I decided to try doing ADR's for pretty much every meal. While I got to eat in some cool places, and have some nice meals, I found the lack of flexibility to be a pain. For the first time, I accidentally jumped on the bus to Magic Kingdom, when I'd meant to go to Epcot (with an ADR for Teppan Edo for lunch). I spent a little time at MK, and there was NOBODY there, and the weather was perfect. But I didn't feel like I could stay, because I had that ADR. It was not nearly so nice or uncrowded when I went to MK the next day.

I really did find I did not enjoy myself as much having everything planned out ahead of time. Now I make one or 2 ADR's for a special meal, but do the rest CS or whatever I can get into.

I'm looking forward to using this new app where you can search for availability as you go. I'm thinking I'm going to get a lot of use out of that.

Sayhello

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

Great blog, Jack, and very timely for me! My ADR window for our spring trip is coming up and I find myself getting excited and overplanning, especially when it comes to dining. I needed a reminder to step back and enjoy!

Laurie

 

[skier_pete]

Nice blog - I especially like the main truth behind it...even someone very familiar with the Disney Parks can make mistakes that cause frustration on a trip.

Many people don't like the the DDP for the reasons you state. However, for us, we take advantage of "free dining" every chance we get and plan our trips around the dates. I think it is very hard to argue to "free dining" is not at least a good discount if not a great discount. While the DDP prices have skyrocketed making the actual DDP cost not a value, the "free dining" can still be well worth it. (We especially like it to take advantage of all those available snack credits with F&W festival.)

Last trip we spent 8 days with free dining, and with 3 Adults, 1 child got $1477.70 worht of food for "free". We also spent about $270 on additional food/drinks/tips outside the "free" portion of the plan - but to eat for 8 days at WDW for $270 is pretty dern cheap.

The room charges for those days at CBR were $1668, so we would've had to have gotten an 80 % room discount give us the equivalent value. The total trip cost (including flights and everything) was around $4000, so a savings of $1478 on the food was HUGE, even if you consider that we might have eaten differently without the meal plan. And we never feel tied down to the dining plan...part of our enjoyment of the trip is to have that one sit-down meal per day.

One way to ease the burden on using the DDP - we try to choose our meal locations based on our schedule rather than the other way around. (Sure, I'd like to eat 5 meals in Epcot each trip, but we spend two days in Epcot, so only get 2 dinners there. Two days spent in AK means one meal at Tusker House, a second at Sanaa.)

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

 

[doconeill]

Last trip we spent 8 days with free dining, and with 3 Adults, 1 child got $1477.70 worht of food for "free". We also spent about $270 on additional food/drinks/tips outside the "free" portion of the plan - but to eat for 8 days at WDW for $270 is pretty dern cheap.

That's one of the keys to computing if it works for you...the number of people, especially adults, in the room. The more there are, the better the discount works, since free dining works per person, but a room discount is for the entire room.

Disney doesn't seem to advertise the actual price of the plan in their documents, but I see for 2013 the DVC member cost for an adult is now $55.59/night for the standard plan. Even if there was just one person in a room costing a rack rate of $300, you'd need better than an 18% discount on the room rate to make it better to take the room. With the dining plan getting so expensive, the free dining does appear to be the best discount available for 2 or more people - if, of course, you'd utilize the dining plan optimally, and you aren't talking the most expensive rooms.

Similarly, on a QSDP and a $200 room (just trying to compare roughly class vs. offered free dining plan, I don't know how exactly it breaks down), the percentage is roughly the same.