The meaning of "free dining"

[Disney_Trippin]

Hi all, can someone explain to me why people put free dining in quotes sometimes? I took it from context to mean that the dining isn't actually free and that somehow Disney jacks up other prices to offset the "free-ness."

But I just looked up the price without dining and then clicked special offers and did it with the dining (same dates, same tickets.) The price was the same.

Is there something I'm missing about this?

TIA!!

 

[Bonniec]

The prices are the same. It's not really free in the sense that you can often find better deals without it. When you use free dining, you have to pay full price for your room and tickets. You can't take a discounted rate and have free dining. Either way, they get their money.

This topic can get heated on these boards. I'm not really a fan of it because you can almost always do things cheaper on your own. That being said, if you go for the free dining package, everything is done and paid for with little researching involved. It just depends on what works for your family.

 

[havoc315]

Disney often (not always) runs room discounts. To get "free dining" you must pay the full rate for the room. You can't take a Disney discount, AAA discount, etc on the room. You also can't get discounted tickets.

Often, the math isn't close. 20% off a $120 per night room, versus "free dining" for 4 adults!
Other times, the math can easily tilt the other way: 40% off a $600 room, versus free dining for 2 adults.

So free dining isn't necessarily free, in the sense that you have to sacrifice other potential discounts.

 

[Cafeen]

Free dining is the dining plan free. Now, there are other costs associated with dining, but you'd accrue those just the same if you weren't getting it for free (or if you weren't on it at all, although the values may differ).

Of course, as Havoc points out, it's not always the BEST discount, but saying "Free" Dining is like saying Room "Discount" . (And, if they can blame free dining for the downfall of Disney dining, I'm blaming room discounts on the downfall of resort amenities!)

 

[TDC Nala]

It's free if you pay rack rate on the room and buy at least 2 day tickets.

There are usually other alternatives - room discounts, annual passholders with ticketless dining packages and AP room discounts, etc which may or may not be a better deal for any given party.

Sometimes the word "free" is very powerful and discourages consideration of other alternatives.

 

[SarahKate]

The way I look at this is "rack rates" would be the max that a room would normally go for. But if you go during the value season, the rooms are naturally cheaper than they'd be during busy times of year - that's without any possible room only discount.

The initial package I booked @ POR this October (with NO dining plan added) and the cost of our NEW rebooked package with free dining are exactly the same cost. In my mind, that makes the plan free. We would have paid that pre-dining plan cost PLUS the $1000 or so to add on the plan if we had to pay out of pocket (actually we wouldn't be going if that were the case!).

 

[catne]

always do the math on the discounts available...for some families & some resorts, Free Dining will be the best discount. But for other families it could very well be they would save more money with a room discount and paying cash for meals & tickets. And if you do not need park tickets...like you're already annual passholders...it may be far cheaper to get the passholder room discount and pay full price for the dining. We've done that several times, staying at steeply discounted deluxe resorts, and saved hundreds over what Free Dining would have cost as a total package.

I always check the math on all the available options

 

[jenlov]

We're staying at a value since we need 2 rooms. Even a family suite will not fit all of our party. Therefore, the savings on a room discount will not even touch the savings we get w/ free dining. I would save $324 for 10 days w/ a room discount. There's no way I can feed 9 people at Disney for $32.40 / day. Staying at a deluxe w/ a bigger discount STILL would not save me as much. Sure, I'd get a better room, still paying more OOP for that room even w/ a discount and would still have to feed my family on top of that. You really just have to check it out for yourself to find the best savings for you.

 

[asmit4]

In general- if you are a fan of the disney dining plan and would like it with your package AND you generally book a value or a moderate- you will make out better with 'free dining' than you would with a room discount. Free DDP tends to run during off season or at least regular season. 2 adults in a mod room generally runs 190ish? (rough estimate), free ddp in a mod gives you a discount of around 110ish- (in 2013 $ since the ddp is running around 55pp). Even a 40% code won't save you enough to beat that.
The reality is that some people LOVE the DDP and WANT it enough to pay for it regardless. Others love the FREE DDP and ONLY go to Disney during free DDP dates (ME!) but would NOT pay for the DDP otherwise. Others hate the DDP and/or do better OOP and find it a 'racket' so to speak.

Free Dining is a great deal for us. We are 2A1c(under 3yo so he's free). My mom and I can go, stay at a value, get the free QS ddp and do great on it. My LO is too little to sit in restaurants for very long so the free QS gives us lunch and dinner easily and we pay OOP for breakfast (CHEAP!) It all depends on your goals. The DDP is not for everyone and even the FREE ddp is not for everyone- (AKA- you get a 40% discount and want to book a $600 room OR you simply don't eat on property enough OR you don't eat the way the plan is designed)

 

[Palendat]

(And, if they can blame free dining for the downfall of Disney dining, I'm blaming room discounts on the downfall of resort amenities!)

Well said! We love free dining!!

 

[stepdisney]

It is free for us. We plan to eat while at Disney and that costs money....a lot of money. When we go to pay for our meals, we give them our card and just pay the tax and tip. We have 2 A and 2 Disney Adults ( DS's 11 & 17). We are staying deluxe. The average meal for a family of 4 (no dessert) would cost us approx. $120.00 per night. (Boma, Ohana, Cape May Cafe, etc.) We average 7 nights (sometimes more). This does not include lunch or snacks. We would average over $1000 for food and I can't find a discount that does better than that. It all depends on what works for you. We like to cool off and have a relaxing late morning/early afternoon meal and we like to begin the evening with a nice sit-down dinner. Since I cook mostly every night at home, I consider this a very special part of my vacation.

For us, it is free dining and it has been working for us since 2005.

 

[pugdog]

I just booked for our trip in December for 2 adults and with the "free" DDP we are saving $700. I think that is a good deal.

 

[MHSweb79]

The last time I added "free" dining (quotes deliberate!) to my existing AAA package, the travel agent told me, "OK, we've added free dining to your package. You'll need to come in and pay the $252 difference."

I lost my room & ticket discount, so it ended up being "half price dining."

As others have said, it's a good deal when you have 4 people in a value or moderate room. If you have 2 people in a deluxe room, a room discount is usually the better deal.

These free dining packages are offered when they need to fill up rooms, and usually this means that room-only discounts are abundant for the same period. So you really have to price out your options and compare.

 

[TACK]

The package works for me when I am staying for a longer period of time. Since I am going for 14 days, Free Dining does work out better for me than room discounts and out of pocket dining expenses.

I always do the math to see how much per day I am spending to justify getting the dining package vs. other discounts.

 

[Don Disney]

It is free for us. We plan to eat while at Disney and that costs money....a lot of money. When we go to pay for our meals, we give them our card and just pay the tax and tip. We have 2 A and 2 Disney Adults ( DS's 11 & 17). We are staying deluxe. The average meal for a family of 4 (no dessert) would cost us approx. $120.00 per night. (Boma, Ohana, Cape May Cafe, etc.) We average 7 nights (sometimes more). This does not include lunch or snacks. We would average over $1000 for food and I can't find a discount that does better than that. It all depends on what works for you. We like to cool off and have a relaxing late morning/early afternoon meal and we like to begin the evening with a nice sit-down dinner. Since I cook mostly every night at home, I consider this a very special part of my vacation.

For us, it is free dining and it has been working for us since 2005.

I'm with you sister-our sentiments exactly! Works out great for our family of 4!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

When we go to pay for our meals, we give them our card and just pay the tax and tip.

Actually you just pay tip. Tax is included.

 

[stepdisney]

Actually you just pay tip. Tax is included.

Even better!!!!!

 

[pugdog]

The last time I added "free" dining (quotes deliberate!) to my existing AAA package, the travel agent told me, "OK, we've added free dining to your package. You'll need to come in and pay the $252 difference."

You actually didn't add it to your AAA package because you have to pay rack rate to get free dining, you ended up dropping your AAA rate for the dining.

 

[MickeyGs]

I asked this exact question- what's with the quotes? yeah, sometimes the discounts aren't as good as other's, but yes, they offer the dining plans FREE.

from what I gathered, it really depends how you travel and how you eat. if you stay at a value resort, have big eaters, etc you will definitely win out with the dining plan because 20% off a value resort is basically no discount at all, where as free dining for 2 adults and 2 kids is huge.
but if you stay at a deluxe resort and they offer 40% off a room, and you don't eat lots of snacks, etc.. the room discount is much better for you.

 

[asmit4]

You actually didn't add it to your AAA package because you have to pay rack rate to get free dining, you ended up dropping your AAA rate for the dining.

Exactly- and depending on how many nights you were staying- this may or may not have been the better deal. 252 extra for the DDP isn't that much so I'm betting it was a good deal.