Talk me down off of the ledge ;)

[Jankam]

Hi lovely DISers!

So I booked a magical package for 8/20-28 at the Poly and for a good deal.

Now I realize I was completely under a rock and missed the free dining for my dates with Disney Visa!!

I'm paying about $433
Per night for Standard Poly room and that price includes a 7 day base ticket for 3 Disney adults and 2 children. I have budgeted $200 per day for dining, so that brings the whole vacation total to about $5k almost exactly.

Would I have been better off with the free dining plan?? Torturing myself now... and peeved that travel agent didn't mention the deal!

 

[sharonabe]

Hi lovely DISers!

So I booked a magical package for 8/20-28 at the Poly and for a good deal.

Now I realize I was completely under a rock and missed the free dining for my dates with Disney Visa!!

I'm paying about $433
Per night for Standard Poly room and that price includes a 7 day base ticket for 3 Disney adults and 2 children. I have budgeted $200 per day for dining, so that brings the whole vacation total to about $5k almost exactly.

Would I have been better off with the free dining plan?? Torturing myself now... and peeved that travel agent didn't mention the deal!

Considering the free dining offer is no longer available, I would let it go. You can't know if it would be better or not. If it helps at all, you would have to upgrade those base tickets to park hoppers or WP&M, so there is that cost. There's no guarantee there would've been any Standard rooms available, so you might have had to add an upgraded room.

When the free dining came out, there were quite a few people who have a similar deal you do at the Poly and they kept their deal because it worked out better than free dining, so let it go and enjoy your trip.

 

[Jankam]

Thank you. You're so right, let it gooooooo....

I emailed TA after posting originally and she said that when she checked a bunch of deals at the same time as ours, they all came out to be way better than free dining, so that made me feel way better. Hate that second guessing feeling.

Thanks again

 

[Shanti]

Hi lovely DISers!

So I booked a magical package for 8/20-28 at the Poly and for a good deal.

Now I realize I was completely under a rock and missed the free dining for my dates with Disney Visa!!

I'm paying about $433
Per night for Standard Poly room and that price includes a 7 day base ticket for 3 Disney adults and 2 children. I have budgeted $200 per day for dining, so that brings the whole vacation total to about $5k almost exactly.

Would I have been better off with the free dining plan?? Torturing myself now... and peeved that travel agent didn't mention the deal!

$433 per night at the Poly including 7-day tickets for 5 people is a great deal. The dining plan can be a PITA to use, anyway. You scored!

 

[Jankam]

Thanks for that, Shanti

 

[momof2gr8kids]

To make you feel better... I priced out a standard room at Poly w/ 2 adults and 3 kids (1 being a disney adult) w/ 7 day tickets and the WP&M Add on (which was a requirement for FD - WP add on or PH add on). Came to $6434 Add in the tips you would have spent on those meals and you're probably at $6800.

Also, FD is available for Canadians to book still, and there weren't any standard rooms available under the FD promo. So most likely you would have had to spend more money to upgrade your room view to get the FD.

So, yes, you got a great deal. If it's the same magical agency that lots of people book through (which I did as well for over New Years), I don't think you will find a better rate! Plus, in Aug in the heat you most likely won't want to eat as much and will enjoy the freedom from the Dining Plan.

Enjoy!

 

[Jankam]

That was so sweet of you to do that, momof2gr8kids!

You're right, the kids barely eat anything anyway and we are mostly eating lighter in summers heat too. This is our third time going in August ('09, '13) and we are big users of the laundry every couple of days due to our clothes being virtually unwearable with sweat and grime!

I'm grateful to you guys for helping me put everything in perspective!

 

[Lisa F]

that is a great deal. I just did a quick calculation and I am betting your tickets are running about $235/day for all 5 of you out of that $433/night. That leaves you $200 for a room at the poly. THAT IS CRAZY CHEAP. Free dining is worth about $226/day. So if rack rate is at least $450 or so you're about even there.

 

[mindymouse1]

Did they say what the name of this deal was? Just curious. We never go in the summer (too hot). I'm always comparing the discount plans in my head all year long. Lol

 

[Jadyreen1282]

That deals seems too good to be true. Are you sure you're not missing something...uh I want your deal.

 

[sharonabe]

Did they say what the name of this deal was? Just curious. We never go in the summer (too hot). I'm always comparing the discount plans in my head all year long. Lol

That deals seems too good to be true. Are you sure you're not missing something...uh I want your deal.

Before free dining was announced, there was a "free dining watch" thread. Several people were talking about this Poly deal that some TA was running. When they ran the numbers, it was a better deal than free dining, so I believe they all kept it instead of trying for free dining. I'm pretty sure the deal is no longer available.

 

[mindymouse1]

Before free dining was announced, there was a "free dining watch" thread. Several people were talking about this Poly deal that some TA was running. When they ran the numbers, it was a better deal than free dining, so I believe they all kept it instead of trying for free dining. I'm pretty sure the deal is no longer available.

Awesome. Thank you for the info!

 

[Disney Khi]

Are you sure your tickets are just base tickets? I ask because we are doing the magical TA deal this month staying at GF and BC, and my parents bought their tickets through the TA, and they are hoppers with one extra admission to a water park or DQ. My family has APs, so we don't need tickets, so maybe my mom asked for PH and I just didn't realize. I thought it was part of the standard deal. The prices really are amazing, though, no matter the tickets.

 

[Lynne G]

I always now take a room discount over free dining. We tend to go when it is hot, and my kids have outgrown or no longer have interest in most of the character meals. When we had free dining, while it was nice, it did not save us much money, as we do not eat desserts most of the time, and my younger one still likes some appetizers more than any entree.

What you can do, is put money into a gift card, you can use it to pay for all food. You may be surprised and you have some left over to pay for some treats to bring home.

No reason to stress, and have an awesome time at the Poly.