Postcard vs Free Dining promo

[sTINKS]

Ok, so which is the better deal? I have booked a free dining package. I just called with the postcard to request rates. You can not purchase a meal plan with the post card rate. The postcard rate is $2,000 less than my free dining quote for the same 1 bedroom BWV. I have 3 adults, 1 child and 1 infant going. It seems pretty equal when you figure in park tickets and what you will spend on food. 8 days of passes would be about $1100 which would leave $900 left over for food for 4 people for 8 days.

I am thinking it out as I type. Would you agree that it's a wash either way or am I missing something?

 

[CoolPool]

What were your ADRs for those 8 days on free dining? If you had 8 table service restaurants or a CRT booked for 3 adults + 1 child and/or you fully intend to use your dining credits to the max, then I'd strongly suggest staying with free dining. If you really are more happy with counter service or are "grazer" for most meals, then it might be okay to go with the postcard.

 

[beth_cam]

Comparing exact same thing room, tickets, ddp cost(you may be able to use your pin code and get the DDP)using the umbers you put in your post - 3 adults and one child would cost 128 per night. Are you staying 8 nights? if so the DDP cost would be 1024 so it looks like the free dining would be 124ish cheaper for the exact same thing. That's the best I can do for comparison without knowing exactly what you are getting.

 

[MEK]

I say stick with the free dining. Sure, you could eat for $900, but you would have to pay close attention to your food costs. My family of 4 (considered adults) spent $1024 for the dining plan last November and our receipts totaled more than $1600.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

We had the free dining booked and also received the post card.We called to price out our options and we were told that we could book the discounted room rate and then up until a week before arrival we could call and convert our room~only reservations to a package and purchase our tickets and the dining plan.

 

[beth_cam]

We had the free dining booked and also received the post card.We called to price out our options and we were told that we could book the discounted room rate and then up until a week before arrival we could call and convert our room~only reservations to a package and purchase our tickets and the dining plan.

Room only's cannot be simply converted to a package. While for the most part it really wont matter, waiting till the last minute can cause problems. When you want to go from a room only reservation to a package reservation what actually must happen is the room only will be cancelled, the deposit refunded, a new package reservation made and a new deposit taken. If there are no more rooms available for the type of deal you have then they must cancel the one you have before booking the new one. Your room could get snagged up in the transition and leave you with nothing. Also this kind of change after the booking window can be difficult to get to happen. They should be able to do it with the help of guest services but you may feel as if you are jumping through hoops to get it done. If you know you are buying tickets and may or may not be getting dining, it may be in your best interest to get a package with tickets now leaving the possibilty of adding dining in the future an easy change instead of having to completely rebook it.

 

[Bete]

I think it's fun being on the dining plan and when you do it for free it's a blast!
With five people eating I think it will be less stressful on the dining plan. You won't need to debate based on costs where to eat. Also, you get the chance to enjoy the restaurants at Disney to the fullest.

I find it quite enjoyable to do the plan. When you take sales tax and tips into consideration the dining plan is well worth it especially for free.

 

[Sammy]

We just went through the same thing. Had free dining booked for end of September, then got a discount code. Here's how it broke out for us:

Free DDP: 3 nights at Value w/1 day tix and Free DDP: $463
Room Only Code: 3 nights at Value and pay OOP for food (approx. $200), NO TIX: $434
(we really don't need tickets as we have days left on previous MYW passes)

So for us, it was difference of only $29 to stick with the Free Dining ressie, AND that ressie included 1 day tickets that we'll put away for another trip. PLUS....we don't have to keep an eye on a food budget at all. This is an adults-only anniversary trip, so we plan on visiting some nicer (read: pricier!) restaurants that we wouldn't normally go to, so this was the real "plus" for us!

Just figure out which one gives you more of what YOU need for the trip. The budget side of me had a hard time reconciling paying rack rate for the room vs. the cheap discount code price, but when I added everything together, it was actually a better deal to pay rack and get the free DDP.

Sammy