Survey from Disney re: Free Dining - interesting...

[DISNUT21]

To be quite frank, I agree with all of you. However, in many cases the Free Dining Promotion is just too good to pass up.
I am currently in the process of planning my second trip to "the world" in December. I checked rates all over the place (there is probably a picture of me at the Disney Vacation Call Center, saying DO NOT ANSWER THIS NUMBER), but I am being very "cheap" for choice of better words. Just because one does not know what lies down the road in a few months.
With that being said, I could have booked a room-only reservation at POR for $700 give or take, or with free dining and a 2 day PH for $1296, or Deluxe Dining for $1500.
At that point, I had no choice but to run with the Deluxe Dining option, we usually eat at Signature Dining locations... so it seemed as though it was the best option. Not to mention, the DRC rep told me "it was the best option for my party of 2".
Now... I am on the fence regarding the reservation I made because I do not know if the percieved value is as high as one would assume, because for me it just seems like it is ALOT of food, especially with free dining.

 

[luke]

(we need a :jawpdrop smiley...)

Disney uk are offering very similar prices for next year too...

 

[doconeill]

I think everyone will do what works best for them with what Disney has to offer. Even though I don't like how they are accounting as I mentioned I still need to do what is best for us...

I still am having trouble wrapping my head around it though. We are DVC and staying on points, so no free dining. Getting a CRO room wouldn't work for this trip as there are 4 adults and two kids, so we'd need two rooms, and we want privacy too...

We're still not utilizing th kitchen to its full potential, but we are planning to do more breakfast stuff before heading out the door (with an occasional exception).

So I did the following math, using strictly myself and what I would order off the menu if I was paying out of pocket, but paying for an entree/dessert/soda at the non-buffets. It doesn't include gratuity or add-ons (like appetizers or alcoholic drinks) as they would be OOP in any case.

Standard DDP for 8 nights would cost me $335.92.

Our 5 "definite" TS meals come out to $157.46. 4 turned out to be buffet/fixed price - Crystal Palace, Ohana, Tusker House, Biergarten (for DFiL, no teasing). The other is Yachtsman Steakhouse, probably the most expensive meal (this is only DW and I. The in-laws will get a similar meal at Artists Point, we will have leftover credits from the kids)

I figured over 9 days, we'd still likely hit 8 QS locations. That worked out to about $87.40. So now we're up to $244.86, or $91.06 less than the DDP. And that doesn't include snacks yet. I don't know if I would eat that in snacks though.

Now we have three additional TS meals planned, although we might not have done them this trip if we weren't doing the dining plan: 50s Prime Time, Chefs de France, and The Wave (this is where we use the last of the credits due to the kids not getting a signature meal). These come to $104.70. So this puts us over the top and the snacks are free. But it is marginal.

Another factor is that we don't usually get desserts, but rather split an appetizer. Can't do that with the DDP now. So what I would have ordered may not be 100% the same, but the difference is probably just a few dollars.

So I'm not 100% sure which to do yet. More table services for a bit more and throw in some free snacks for everyone, or save some money?

And of course there is another option that is a bit harder to calculate - I could bump my ticket up to a DVC AP for $88, get the TIW for $75, and get 20% off all the TS dining regardless of what we order (and off one planned QS meal as well). Using my numbers the cost of all meals drops to $294.93, but of course there may be appys instead of desserts, a beer or two, etc. It wouldn't work for my in-laws at all, but I think the cost of the AP and TIW is covered over the total savings on all the other meals.

Whoa...that's a lot of math. Ticket upgrades are 1st Grade by comparison...

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

We just returned from a visit using free DDP...it has finally convinced us we won't be doing it again. Most of the table service meals we had were average to below-average, and the additional cost of the gratuity was almost as high as what would pay for the entire bill at local restaurants (with better food!).

We felt rushed at most of the table service restaurants to a point that it took away the pleasure of being able to sit down and relax for a bit. The server @ Kona Cafe took my daughter's plate right out from under her before she was even finished.

So, for future trips we will either do counter service and save money by getting water and possibly sharing a dessert (or just wait and get a sugary snack later in the day)...we will all be better off for it. We'll still do a small amount of table service but definitely not every day.

With a good room discount I really feel we will come out ahead.

 

[kaligal]

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

The drawbacks are already obvious. Menu items being changed or removed, difficulty doing walk-ups in many places due to crowded restaurants, servers who are trying to rush you out, etc.

Never did a free dining, never will.

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

We were well and truly converted by the deal this year (UK OKW $150 dollar studio). Absolutely loved everything about staying onsite. Interestingly because we had free dining we didn't go to Sea World, Busch or Universal which is very unusual for us. Just what Disney wants I know - but we were super happy. So happy we are booked again for next year - same deal.

Keep the free dining = keep us on property!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We have never done DDP, free or not. We normally go for only 4 or 5 days and have maybe 3 TS meals tops because we don't like wasting too much time sitting around for so-so TS food so the normal DDP doesn't work for us.

When I've priced out QSDP thinking maybe we could try that, there wasn't any cost savings. It was the same cost as what we'd normally spend on QS food and snacks.

We much prefer getting a room discount when we stay on-site.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

And of course there is another option that is a bit harder to calculate - I could bump my ticket up to a DVC AP for $88, get the TIW for $75, and get 20% off all the TS dining regardless of what we order (and off one planned QS meal as well). Using my numbers the cost of all meals drops to $294.93, but of course there may be appys instead of desserts, a beer or two, etc. It wouldn't work for my in-laws at all, but I think the cost of the AP and TIW is covered over the total savings on all the other meals.

You are right that a DVC AP would be $88 (plus tax) more than a nine day hopper. And for the extra $75 you can get TiW. At any TS location, as well as some CS, the savings is $21.30 per $100 of menu price, taking tax into consideration for all meals and the assumption you would normally tip 18% at all table service. And this would include alcoholic beverages as well as anything else not covered by DDP.

Note also that with DDP you are still expected to pay the tip OOP, so that is an add-on to your DDP costs.

Of course there are also certain merchandise discounts that you can get with an AP which could lead to additional savings.

The major problem with Annual Passes concerns when they are in a drawer more than 100 miles from Disney World and they whine a lot and scream:

Use Me!

 

[starwood]

We are DVC so we can never do "free" dining. I've done the dining plan in the past and it is no longer worth what they are charging for it. It has also become a major headache trying to make dining reservations due to the free dining people. I would be so glad if they did away with this so "normal" people can actually have a chance of getting a reservation at a sit down restaurant.

 

[BriarRosie]

We are DVC so we can never do "free" dining. I've done the dining plan in the past and it is no longer worth what they are charging for it. It has also become a major headache trying to make dining reservations due to the free dining people. I would be so glad if they did away with this so "normal" people can actually have a chance of getting a reservation at a sit down restaurant.

I don't care for the DDP in general, but I can't blame those who go for free dining entirely for the ADR issues. The demand for dining is there because of the DDP in general, not because some people are paying for it and others are getting it "free".

Everyone has the same shot at the 180 day mark as anyone else. And there are times you'll find that there is availability in restaurants the closer you get to your trip. People do cancel sometimes. But there are places that the demand is so high, it's been that way since before free dining. (The CRT breakfast 10 years ago comes to mind.)

My friends planned a trip in July maybe about 3 months in advance, and we still managed to eat at some decent places.