No free dining

[DeeCee735]

No bother about free dining for us. Never even occurs to us, with DVC rooms (and no money being laid out for them with every trip).

We've done the deluxe DP, the regular DP, no DP and now TIW card with my AP. As a DVC member who visits at least 2x a year, the AP (especially @ the annual renewal price) is a no brainer for me. And with it we can get the TIW card for the 20% off including alcohol. Yes they add the 18% for gratuity (I usually tip 20% anyway), but it still a good savings. For me, it's a better way to dine than free dining with rack rates and tickets, or even DP.

JMHO....to each his own....enjoy your trips

 

[minniecarousel]

ugh....the reason I don't like free dining is that I booked my December trip way before Disney decided to offer it in Dec. Now I'm going, and competing for ADRs with a whole lot more people than I thought I would.

Has Disney ever offered free dining in Dec before? Just seems unnecessary. I think the people would come w/o it.

 

[jodifla]

ugh....the reason I don't like free dining is that I booked my December trip way before Disney decided to offer it in Dec. Now I'm going, and competing for ADRs with a whole lot more people than I thought I would.

Has Disney ever offered free dining in Dec before? Just seems unnecessary. I think the people would come w/o it.

We ate at Jiko a week and a half ago on a Thursday night, and there were plenty of open tables. I was really surprised. Our whole week of Aug 29 thru Sept. 5 seemed to have pretty good availablity, at least at the resorts.

Crowds were way, way down that week as well from when we were there in mid January

 

[permavac]

I sit on both sides of the fence here - Until 2 weeks ago when I bought into DVC I used to say it would never work for me as I LOVE POP Century, and often travel during free dining...

That being said I find that I was starting to grow out of the atmosphere of POP...although I will always love their food court and decor...I am very happy to have made the decision to switch over to DVC and have the upgrades on resort stays...

I could have written this We bought a small contract with DVC last year and expect to do a small add-on soon. But, we still take advantage of the free dining at the Values (I love Pop too!). We were just there last week and we had a reservation at ASMusic AND a few nights at BCV at the same time - yeah - it was actually cheaper that way! Funny enough though - I was really dreading the nights at ASMusic (mostly because I feared terrible beds) but it turned out better than expected - so much so that my intention to cut back on the Values next year just went out the window. Did we have noisy neighbors at All Stars? Yes, but guess what? They were just as bad at BCV! And the salad (with steak) I had at the ASMusic food court was far superior to the one (with chicken option only) I got at the BC Marketplace - go figure. The real benefit I get from DVC is the location of BWV/BCV (in addition to the better beds and fridge/microwave of course) so I will still want to stay there, otherwise, I'm happy enough with the Values since the low cost allows us to go an extra couple of times per year. We take about 6 big vacations and about 4 weekend trips per year so we do benefit by staying cheaply during some trips while splurging on others.

...I totally disagree with the people who say dining has gone totally down hill - you can still get very good food at many Disney restaurants....we have many many favorites at Disney...

I used to "totally disagree" too, but, much as I hate to admit it this last trip did take a few "favorites" out of the picture for us. I just posted on another thread about some major disappointments regarding: reduced quality of fish at Yorkshire Fish Shop, switching of ice cream to ice "milk" at CBR, removal of black forest roulade at Biergarten dessert bar, and reduced egg on Gravlox & Egg sandwich at Kringla. These used to be must-haves during our dining excursions and we were disappointed. That said, we still have plenty of favorites left to choose from but I have now experienced first-hand the downsizing of quality of Disney food (whether due to DDP or not).

What is right for one family may not be right for everyone...

So true!

Terri

 

[hakepb]

ugh....the reason I don't like free dining is that I booked my December trip way before Disney decided to offer it in Dec. Now I'm going, and competing for ADRs with a whole lot more people than I thought I would.

Has Disney ever offered free dining in Dec before? Just seems unnecessary. I think the people would come w/o it.

Yes, they extended (or added) free dining in December last year, too.

 

[hakepb]

I am happy that you enjoyed your "free" dining experience, but apparently we have different expectations. As a long time visitor to WDW who vacations there several time a year we have noticed a difference.

Prior to Disney offering "free" dining the menus had a much better offering. Better and bigger cuts of meat, and even lobster. Now the menus have been modified to allow for the preparation of food in a shorter amount of time and the wait staff are instructed to turn over tables as soon as possible.

A few weeks ago while we were at Disney, Cast Members in preparation for "free" dining were actually replacing menu boards that had fewer items on them and increased prices. Wolfgang Puck Express West Side removed all pasta from their menu and the Pepper Market removed their Chinese food and beef fillet from the menu.

"Free" dining can be a good value but it has definitely affected the crowd level, quality, and quantity of food served.

I find the "turn tables over as soon as possible" comment funny. here should be two rules restaurants follow for families with kids:
1) there should always be food on he table. Kids are quieter wih food in their mouths, and that is good for all restaurant guests.
2) Give us our check ASAP, right when you ask if the entree is fine, if we want to add desert, then ammend the check, but let us get out ASAP. Both the parents and the other guests do not appreciate fidgety kids who's parents are waiting for a check!!!!! I've always had to wait longer than I prefered for a check at WDW. The DDP is not "too much food" for me, but it is "too much time"


BTW, I absoluely agree about the food quality issues. Even noticeable for CS. During my first DDP trip or 2, there used to be quality CS deserts worth paying for OOP: fresh, giant Toll-house cookie (now a little cookie in a bag made in Canada), Chocolate milk shakes (now a pre-packaged frozen lemonaid), a slice of Apple pie (now a pre-packaged apple baked thingie)

 

[Anthony1971]

ugh....the reason I don't like free dining is that I booked my December trip way before Disney decided to offer it in Dec. Now I'm going, and competing for ADRs with a whole lot more people than I thought I would.

Has Disney ever offered free dining in Dec before? Just seems unnecessary. I think the people would come w/o it.

From what undrestand the Value resorts now only get the CS DP and the others get the regular- but they all can be upgraded.

 

[Anthony1971]

I concur!!! "free" dining has clogged the restaurants with folks who don't usually expect 4-5 Star quality, so even those 4 star places at WDW have come down more than a few notches to accommodate the masses. Those "special" places like Jiko, California Grill, and Artist Point are no longer special. Oh, if you're not on the "dining plan" you still pay the big prices for them, but the menu and quality and most of all variety has suffered greatly. Add to that the screaming shrieking highchair set in a white table cloth atmosphere, and something doesn't fit right.

Don't get me wrong, I think Disney is for kids, and kids are certainly welcome there, but there are some places that are meant to be relaxing for adults, and the afore mentioned venues were a few of them. Not so anymore. I had several pricey meals ruined our last trip because I couldn't even hear my DH for conversation over the screeching. It SHOULD be a great time for parents to teach children public etiquett and manners, but our society has become so "fast food" oriented, that sometimes I think even the adults don't know those things, so they can't teach them to the youngsters.

I know I'm going to get blasted for that last statement, but it's how I feel. It is also a SIGNIFICANT change from 10+ years ago at Disney. I'm slowly getting back into the practice of utilizing the kitchen in our unit in the same way I would at home. It saves my sanity and definitely my wallet.

I do not think you will get blasted years ago (as in maybe 5 or so) Disney had rules and dress codes.. Gone are those days.. I think it is more so Disney not making places special anymore-- and yes the food quality shows... Funny thing is some of the lesser hit on places that had good food have not changed that much and they now have better food then some of the more popular places that had better food at one point.
I would not take my 3 YO to the above as I see no reason to pay those prices to make sure my son is eating and acting in a reasonable manner and simply he will not enjoy it, to long and he does not care how his fries are presented.

 

[rsinj]

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[dejnosluvmickey]

All i have to say is remember the old saying "Nothing is Free".

 

[Tara]

I concur!!! "free" dining has clogged the restaurants with folks who don't usually expect 4-5 Star quality, so even those 4 star places at WDW have come down more than a few notches to accommodate the masses. Those "special" places like Jiko, California Grill, and Artist Point are no longer special. Oh, if you're not on the "dining plan" you still pay the big prices for them, but the menu and quality and most of all variety has suffered greatly. Add to that the screaming shrieking highchair set in a white table cloth atmosphere, and something doesn't fit right.

I think a lot of dining has gone downhill, but in 11 years of dining at CA Grill, I don't think there's a difference except that it's more popular and harder to get a reservation given the proliferation of websites related to Disney trip planning and an increase in the use of the internet for travel planning. Maybe there are menu items that have changed that I don't know about because I never ate them or paid attention, but we find it every bit as good. On our last trip I had the same first and second course that I had on our honeymoon in 1998 and it was every bit as good as I remembered! Jiko seemed no different between our 2 visits (which were 2 years apart, in 2005 and 2007), except that a soup I previously had wasn't offered, though I chalked that up to seasonality because it was more of a winter trip and my 2nd visit was in the summer.

Don't get me wrong, I think Disney is for kids, and kids are certainly welcome there, but there are some places that are meant to be relaxing for adults, and the afore mentioned venues were a few of them. Not so anymore. I had several pricey meals ruined our last trip because I couldn't even hear my DH for conversation over the screeching. It SHOULD be a great time for parents to teach children public etiquett and manners, but our society has become so "fast food" oriented, that sometimes I think even the adults don't know those things, so they can't teach them to the youngsters.

I'd say that yes, even adults don't know these things. I think we've dined at CA Grill 8 or 9 times and in all that time, the only disruptive experience I remember was a couple who bickered loudly and incessantly. I've certainly experienced crying and shrieking children, but honestly it's never been in one of the signature restaurants. I don't doubt it happens or that it happened to you, of course.

I will add that my son is a grilled cheese aficionado and he thinks CA Grill has the best ones. Now, we also have raised him to be polite and to order for himself and interact with wait staff. He's also easily able to entertain himself quietly with just paper and a pencil when he's done eating and not interested in conversation. Of course, he's right here playing a game and I asked him if he'd prefer to eat at CA Grill or Chef Mickey's and he chose CA Grill. That's my boy!

 

[rsinj]

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[Tara]

I rather like the saying "Never look a gift horse in the mouth" as it applied here.

If you had a Disney trip planned, accommodations were not an issue, and would have taken the dining plan anyhow, this was a free $40/person/day.

Yeah, but how many people on the DVC boards pay rack rate for hotel accommodations? For this crowd, I don't believe this applies very often.

 

[rsinj]

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[Chuck S]

If you chose the value resort (yes, I know - once again, it's a value resort), you aren't going to get a discount from the rack rate that gave you anywhere near the equivalent of $120 or $160 discount per night for a 3 or 4 person family.

It could be that there aren't many who were aware that this existed and were travelling when offered, or that if you only have a small point contract or few points left in your UY this was an economical option for an inexpensive trip, or simply the peer pressure and stigma around here (again, "OMG - it's a value resort...you couldn't pay me to stay there").

Everyone I see that did take advantage of this offer seems to have the same view as me and incredibly no complaints that I've seen. Ironically, the ones doing all the complaining about it is everyone else!

It was going to cost us 40 points for Sunday through Thursday in the OKW studio, and then 2 nights cash for Saturday/Friday and then meals, tickets, etc. We did very well with this offer and still have the 40 points for next trip. The value resort was nowhere near as bad as people made it out to be.

Again, though, I question whether of family of 4 would normally spend $120 to $160 per day, everyday, on food during a trip...it is hard to say you actually "save" that huge amount if you would normally dine that way while paying out of pocket. For instance, we only occasinally eat dessert, and prefer appetizers which is not included on the DDP, so while we as a party of 2 adults would "save" $80 getting free dining if we normally purchased DDP...we actually don't normally purchase the DDP, and spend less on the food, so our "savings" on free DDP would not be $80 per day. Your actual savings is all in the details, and comparing it to your normal dining habits.

Also, when I do stay at POP, I generally get an AP disount, so the different between that and rack rate to qualify for free DDP also diminishes the true free DDP value.

 

[Babsbeast]

I think that many folks don't even realize the way that a DP changes the way you plan your stay at Disney. Before I bought DVC, we (being budgetteers) would settle for cereal or a quick MickeyDee breakfast in the morning as we rushed to the parks, manage to grab a quick bite at a counter between rides, and then try to figure out what we were doing for dinner on a contingency basis. (Sometimes, we'd leave an go off property, get a counter service, or occasionally do a sit down, which awlays seemed like such a waste with a 4 and 7 year old...) The food was always more of an afterthought for us.

Fast forward to getting a DP, and feeling OBLIGATED to use all of the credits. Now we're trying to work our plans around eating... and not the parks and rides. As my kids are older, we may see more value in the plans, but they still change the way we do business... And having the kitchen in the resort makes the DP less and less appealing than paying as we go.

And additionally, I feel (maybe wrongly) slighted by all of the incentives offered to the general public. I know the mouse is about the money, but since they have us already, I think that we sometimes get shorted in the incentive department...

 

[rsinj]

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[Tara]

If you chose the value resort (yes, I know - once again, it's a value resort), you aren't going to get a discount from the rack rate that gave you anywhere near the equivalent of $120 or $160 discount per night for a 3 or 4 person family.

It could be that there aren't many who were aware that this existed and were travelling when offered, or that if you only have a small point contract or few points left in your UY this was an economical option for an inexpensive trip, or simply the peer pressure and stigma around here (again, "OMG - it's a value resort...you couldn't pay me to stay there").

Everyone I see that did take advantage of this offer seems to have the same view as me and incredibly no complaints that I've seen. Ironically, the ones doing all the complaining about it is everyone else!

It was going to cost us 40 points for Sunday through Thursday in the OKW studio, and then 2 nights cash for Saturday/Friday and then meals, tickets, etc. We did very well with this offer and still have the 40 points for next trip. The value resort was nowhere near as bad as people made it out to be.

I think you are missing my point. What I'm saying is that many if not most DVC members do not plan on outlaying ANY cash for rooms and do not see any value in renting out points because of the hassle of making it work. So for me as a DVC member, I'm far better off using my points as I planned and buying the dining plan outright. As I've said before, I've stayed at every resort category (and almost every resort), done the dining plan for free and at "retail", paid rack rate for a room only 1 time in 11+ years (GF with free dining). When I compared free dining and rack rate to GF with a AAA discount and estimated dining costs, the cost difference was virtually the same. That says something to me about the value of the plan when I stay at a resort that meets my needs. (And I should note that was the first year of free dining when child credits could be used for adult meals, if we did that exact trip again today, the dining plan would not have covered our meals.)

And yes, perhaps you could pay me to stay at a value resort, but it would have to be a lot of money! I've been there, done that and don't plan on doing it ever again. I certainly wouldn't stay there just for the "privilege" of "free" dining! I don't care what other people think about it, if there's a stigma, whatever. I simply know what I like and want out of a vacation and the values do not satisfy those wants and needs. End of story.

And I thought they quit offering the full dining plan if you stay at a value resort?

If the free dining offers work for you, that's great. For whomever they work for - more power to you! I'm glad that you're out there helping the Disney bottom line. It just makes me wonder about the psychology involved in such an offer. How many DVC members see this offer and take advantage of it thinking they'll save their points to bank, but then can't resist using those points and end up taking another trip anyway? (Just like many who buy an AP end up visiting more frequently than they planned.)

 

[rentayenta]

Again, though, I question whether of family of 4 would normally spend $120 to $160 per day, everyday, on food during a trip...it is hard to say you actually "save" that huge amount if you would normally dine that way while paying out of pocket. For instance, we only occasionally eat dessert, and prefer appetizers which is not included on the DDP, so while we as a party of 2 adults would "save" $80 getting free dining if we normally purchased DDP...we actually don't normally purchase the DDP, and spend less on the food, so our "savings" on free DDP would not be $80 per day. Your actual savings is all in the details, and comparing it to your normal dining habits.

Also, when I do stay at POP, I generally get an AP discount, so the different between that and rack rate to qualify for free DDP also diminishes the true free DDP value.

I just dissected the DDP argument for our next trip and went into wanting to do the DDP. The DDP would cost my family $181 per day, before gratuity. Like you, we love our appetizers. We would never ever order 5 desserts- truly, that's obscene to me. I went through the 7 places we are wanting to dine (TS) and the only one that remotely justified us using the DDP was 'Ohana for dinner. We are also wanting to dine at the Turf Club, Teppan Edo, Beaches, Tony's, 50's, and Sanaa. Sure we would get stuffed on the DDP but that's not our goal. I don't want to tell the kids they have to skip their favorite app (somosas) so they can have yet another dessert. We are a family of sharers as far as meals are concerned and I think the DDP forces us to order food we normally wouldn't so we feel we are getting the most bang for our buck. Plus the waste is maddening to me. Having to order full entrees regardless of how hungry we are is wacky to me. The DDP is just too limiting for us.


Plus I will take my full kitchen, beautiful accommodations, and homelike atmosphere over "free" dining any day.

 

[Lost in Neverland]

I just dissected the DDP argument for our next trip and went into wanting to do the DDP. The DDP would cost my family $181 per day, before gratuity. Like you, we love our appetizers. We would never ever order 5 desserts- truly, that's obscene to me. I went through the 7 places we are wanting to dine (TS) and the only one that remotely justified us using the DDP was 'Ohana for dinner. We are also wanting to dine at the Turf Club, Teppan Edo, Beaches, Tony's, 50's, and Sanaa. Sure we would get stuffed on the DDP but that's not our goal. I don't want to tell the kids they have to skip their favorite app (somosas) so they can have yet another dessert. We are a family of sharers as far as meals are concerned and I think the DDP forces us to order food we normally wouldn't so we feel we are getting the most bang for our buck. Plus the waste is maddening to me. Having to order full entrees regardless of how hungry we are is wacky to me. The DDP is just too limiting for us.


Plus I will take my full kitchen, beautiful accommodations, and homelike atmosphere over "free" dining any day.

We just cancelled our DDP for the 6 day portion of our split stay. We also could not justify paying over $800 for the four of us to eat when we have a full kitchen in the villa. I will make use of the slow cooker for most of our dinners especially since the parks will be closing early while we are there. We have done the DDP for the last 5 times we went but we have never been as DVC members. We always felt pushed to make our ADRs and then schedule the park time around them which is something we definitely did not like as the kids have gotten older. There is no way we will spend even close to $800 for our meals OOP even with a couple of TS meals thrown in the mix. For individuals staying in rooms that have no kitchen I can see the DDP being a nice option but otherwise for us it is an unnecessary expense.