No FD Pins this summer....Aaahhhh!

[Kat016]

Email or US mail from Disney Destinations

Do you have to sign up for anything to get them?

 

[lmhall2000]

I think they are referring to the fact that you can eat at Disney for MUCH less than what the dining plan costs. You don't have to eat at a TS every day or pay tips for them every day.

People have gotten hooked into thinking they have to eat a certain way at Disney to save money.

All the rumors I have heard are that the current promotion is what will be. No more free dining.

A room discount and paying out of pocket for quick service meals without desserts can be a lot cheaper than free dining. Is it as luxurious? No, but you can still go to Disney World.

For us, 35% off a deluxe would save us $740...Free dining saves us $1700...if our family of five ate at just 5 sit downs (no counter service) it would run us around $150-200 per meal! Very few entrees under $20 and with salads or desserts separate, it racks up fast! There is no comparison for our family.

 

[black562]

I think they are referring to the fact that you can eat at Disney for MUCH less than what the dining plan costs. You don't have to eat at a TS every day or pay tips for them every day.

People have gotten hooked into thinking they have to eat a certain way at Disney to save money.

All the rumors I have heard are that the current promotion is what will be. No more free dining.

A room discount and paying out of pocket for quick service meals without desserts can be a lot cheaper than free dining. Is it as luxurious? No, but you can still go to Disney World.

I realize you can eat for less; however, a big part of a vacation for me is dining. A restaurant is like an attraction in itself. I like to eat good sit down table meals that I can't find at home. Sure I could eat quick service for dinner each day and save money but then I'm missing out on a large part of the experience. I also rarely splurge for dessert at home, so that's a big part as well. When I eat on the dining plan I usually end up with a dinner bill of at least a hundred dollars for two of us.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Sorry to those waiting for pins. I understand your pain. I know for US free dining is the best deal. I have priced them all, it isn't just a guess, it is fact. I also understand that certain people would get a better deal with the percentage off deals. That would be mostly those staying deluxe or those with a small party.

 

[Three cats]

I realize you can eat for less; however, a big part of a vacation for me is dining. A restaurant is like an attraction in itself. I like to eat good sit down table meals that I can't find at home. Sure I could eat quick service for dinner each day and save money but then I'm missing out on a large part of the experience. I also rarely splurge for dessert at home, so that's a big part as well. When I eat on the dining plan I usually end up with a dinner bill of at least a hundred dollars for two of us.

Same goes for the two of us. The dining experience is a huge part of our trip.

 

[Kat016]

How does the resort your staying at effect the free dining offer? I'm staying at POFQ in October.

 

[karice2]

I always see people waiting for a free dining pin. I never get it because it is just me most of the time when I go to Disney. Has anyone considered getting off the FD go round and consider TiW. Annual pass room discounts come out early, you get discounts on merch and 20% of most table service meals with Tiw. I think the break even point is now $500 but it could save a decent amount of money.

Just a thought. I have never done FD because I like to have a free flowing vacation and Tiw allows me to be less locked in to getting ADR. Again it is easier to get a table for one.

 

[Marionnette]

Do you have to sign up for anything to get them?

It's a mystery how Disney decides who gets a PIN. It certainly helps if Disney has your email address and home address. So make sure that you register on their website. Rumor has it that researching a trip and "saving" it to your profile on the website can sometimes trigger a PIN, if there are any being offered. So give that a try,too.

How does the resort your staying at effect the free dining offer? I'm staying at POFQ in October.

Disney offered the QSDP at the value resorts the past two years, while offering the DDP to moderates and deluxes. The rumor for this fall is that it's possible that the values will not have any form of free dining whatsoever and the offer will include the QSDP for moderates, while deluxes will get the DDP offer.

 

[Kat016]

It's a mystery how Disney decides who gets a PIN. It certainly helps if Disney has your email address and home address. So make sure that you register on their website. Rumor has it that researching a trip and "saving" it to your profile on the website can sometimes trigger a PIN, if there are any being offered. So give that a try,too.

Disney offered the QSDP at the value resorts the past two years, while offering the DDP to moderates and deluxes. The rumor for this fall is that it's possible that the values will not have any form of free dining whatsoever and the offer will include the QSDP for moderates, while deluxes will get the DDP offer.

I'm a Disney Visa card holder. That's how my one friend gets free dining...but I've never heard of pins and it depending on what resort your staying at. Ill have to keep a look out for it.

 

[karenfb]

Same goes for the two of us. The dining experience is a huge part of our trip.

I have decided to skip Disney this year because I did not get a pin. My kids love the parks and I love the food. The dining is what makes the trip. It is a $1900 savings for me and that is what has me returning year after year. I will miss it but it's time to explore new options.

 

[cheer25mom]

No you don't!! People think that but it's simply not true. A room discount will save you more $$$$.

Definitely untrue for us. We are 2A1C and always save twice as much with FD as with room only discount. We stay at moderates and even wher they offer 30%, which is rare, FD is still by far the better deal. We tend to enjoy a sit down meal every night and like to order desserts so DP fits the way we eat. We are doing room only this June, but FD would save us about $700 MORE than room only.

 

[bartleby1]

No you don't!! People think that but it's simply not true. A room discount will save you more $$$$.

When my kids were little we saved more using a room discount and ate counter service only. Now that my kids are older (13, 11, and 8), the only one who eats like a kid is my 8 year old. We stay at POR which is roughly $200 a night. The current room discount is only 20% off (roughly $40 a night). I can't even feed my family of 5 ONE counter service meal for that! Free dining is definitely better for us but sadly it looks like it won't be offered for our dates.

 

[Susan & Jessica]

I have heard that the PIN offers are sent to people who have not visited Disney in recent years...as an incentive to get them back to the World.. I think this is probably correct as a few years ago I booked for my niece and her family to go at the same time as my family. When I booked I used my email address so that her itinerary would come to me. Since then I have received several PIN offers addressed to her. Of course, since it is addressed to her, she must be the one using the offer

 

[smitch425]

I have heard that the PIN offers are sent to people who have not visited Disney in recent years...as an incentive to get them back to the World.. I think this is probably correct as a few years ago I booked for my niece and her family to go at the same time as my family. When I booked I used my email address so that her itinerary would come to me. Since then I have received several PIN offers addressed to her. Of course, since it is addressed to her, she must be the one booking the offer

PINs can be sent to anyone at anytime. We go every year and still get them. To my knowledge, there has only been one PIN sent out this year so far, but it expired long ago. Hoping for another round to go out in the next couple of weeks, but who knows??? They have been wacky with their discounts this year.

 

[karenfb]

I have heard that the PIN offers are sent to people who have not visited Disney in recent years...as an incentive to get them back to the World.. I think this is probably correct as a few years ago I booked for my niece and her family to go at the same time as my family. When I booked I used my email address so that her itinerary would come to me. Since then I have received several PIN offers addressed to her. Of course, since it is addressed to her, she must be the one using the offer

I also go every year and have used one each summer for free dining for the last 3 years and I have received them for times I can't go as well. I know Disney well so the only incentive for me to go again this year was the free dining. This actually motivates me to explore other options.

 

[turnlisa]

PINs can be sent to anyone at anytime. We go every year and still get them. To my knowledge, there has only been one PIN sent out this year so far, but it expired long ago. Hoping for another round to go out in the next couple of weeks, but who knows??? They have been wacky with their discounts this year.

We go every year and received our PIN in January. It was a combination of 2 PINS - one for a room only discount for early in the year and also 8/11 - 9/28. The second PIN was for free dining but only for January - March.

I think the days of free dining are gone. I was happy with the discoun for August - September. Saved me almost $1500 so was a definite plus for us!

 

[Mousemommy1]

No it won't. I have done the math. The free dining will save me $1900. We are a family of 5 and we all count as adults.

Yes, it really depends on the individual situations. We have a family of four, 2A, 2C. Free dining only saves us $1400, while our 40% off saves us $2600. Plus, the fact that the DDP makes us pay for a certain amount of food, that we don't even eat, we take room only discount any day. Now, we can eat what we like and I am free to order an appetizer for a meal if I feel like it (and I often do). Or, we can share meals if we chose. It's a better type of FREE dining (as in free from the DDP constraints). Plus, we have TiW, so were saving 20% off food and alcohol beverages. Room discount works MUCH better for us.

 

[mickeynut1]

No you don't!! People think that but it's simply not true. A room discount will save you more $$$$.

Not true in every situation. Every family is different and some save more money with a RO discount, while others save more with free dining as it depends on several factors (i.e., number of people, their ages, time of year, resort/room type, etc). Many people think just because you have to pay rack rate to get free dining, that free dining isn't a deal. That is not true at all. Everyone needs to run the numbers and figure out which is the better deal for their family. We stay deluxe and sometimes free dining comes out to be the better deal for our family over a RO discount, so it's not cut and dry as to which is the better discount.

You can't possibly know that a room discount will save more money for them than free dining. Free dining can save several hundred more dollars than a room discount depending on their party size, their ages, and the level of resort they stay in.

I totally agree .

I think they are referring to the fact that you can eat at Disney for MUCH less than what the dining plan costs. You don't have to eat at a TS every day or pay tips for them every day.

People have gotten hooked into thinking they have to eat a certain way at Disney to save money.

A room discount and paying out of pocket for quick service meals without desserts can be a lot cheaper than free dining. Is it as luxurious? No, but you can still go to Disney World.

You are correct that getting a room discount and paying OOP for CS meals can be cheaper, but that also can add up for a family and cost alot. We eat on vacation comparable to how we eat out at home. We don't go out every night at home, but we do go out enough that when we're on vacation, we enjoy a TS every night of our trip. Anybody can cut costs for a vacation, but people need to realize that not every family is the same and what saves money for one, might not necessarily save for the other without changing the way you vacation.