What do you think of Free Dining as a DVC member?

[dzorn]

We bought our DVC during a free dining trip, for us we wanted larger accomidation to make the trips more enjoyable. We have taken advantage of free dining since then booking 3 extra days to extend the trip.

Deals will come and go I would not change our 1 bedroom to go back to studios for a few free meals.

Denise in MI

 

[DebbieB]

Free dining is an overhyped promotion. It's not even the best promotion Disney offers throughout the year. Since you have to pay rack rate for your room getting the free dining isn't really that good of a deal. I'd rather get a 40% AP discount on a room than paying rack with free dining.

As other posters have said...If you really want free dining then book it and pay rack rate for the room.

It really depends on the resort. If you are staying at a value or moderate resort and have 2 adults and 2 teens (so 4 adults for the dining plan), free dining would be the way to go. Once you get into the deluxe and DVC resorts, a 40% discount might be better depending on the number of people you have.

 

[jodifla]

The dining plan and the "free" dining have been a terrible thing for what once was GREAT Disney Dining.

We've never participated, and never plan to.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

IMO, the DDP and free dining has been the demise of Disney dining, the all mighty pocket has won out over quality and menu diversity. I bought DVC for the resort and villa amenities and most of all to be on-site. We do enjoy eating at restaurants but not every night, and certainly not Disney food at that so the DDP and free dining have no appeal for me. We prefer a more spontanous process in determining what and where we eat, depending on how the day has gone and the constraints of ADR's etc. we don't find works for us. I reserve a couple of good restaurants, we like Todd's Blue Zoo and this summer we will try the Wave for the 1st time and the rest of the time, I will cook or try a few of Orlando's eateries.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

As others have pointed out, it's not really the savings people think it is, especially with these changes this year.

We are taking a Port Orleans vacation this fall because we ran out of points. We are AP holders so Free Dining is especially not worth it. If we can get a discount on our room of 30-35%, maybe AP discount or some other, then we can add the AP dining plan. We come out ahead and don't have two, now 2-day, tickets on our hands.

 

[kcormier]

I love being a DVC Member, but often feel that we should have more perks. I wish we got more discounts on things like the meal plan. I wouldn't trade my 50 years of Disney Magic for a meal plan, but I wish there were more discounts or freebies "for us only"!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

I love being a DVC Member, but often feel that we should have more perks. I wish we got more discounts on things like the meal plan. I wouldn't trade my 50 years of Disney Magic for a meal plan, but I wish there were more discounts or freebies "for us only"!

I second the vote!!

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

I see no problem with the free dining promotion. It's used as an incentive by Disney to get more people in the parks. The Disney bean counters know whether this promotion is worth it to their bottom line or not, so it's up to them to decide what works.

As a DVC member, Disney has no incentive to "give" me free dining. They know I'm coming already at some point. Sure, if they gave it to me I'd take it, but I'm much more concerned about other parts of my trip, such as quality of accomodation, ability to plan farther in advance etc. that made me buy DVC. I wouldn't buy someything like DVC for perks, but for these reasons alone.

What I do have concern is that some DVC owners seem to feel that the "free dining" people are somehow lower class. "Those" people entering "our" park has ruined things. Everyone has the right to the best vacation that they can afford. Just my 2 cents.

 

[disneynutz]

Disney is very good at exploiting the psychology of people.

Anything labeled "free" causes people to act without thinking.

Disney offered "free" dining to fill rooms during slow periods while charging more for the rooms. Every year since then, they have reduced the quality and choice of food, decreased the items included with the plan, not only during free dining but for all dining plans.

The sad fact is that Disney has reduced the quality and choice of food for all Guests, not just the ones on the DDP. They are making changes at the restaurants to process more people in a shorter time. It's a feed the masses mentality with the average table turn being 27 minutes.

There are very few restaurants left that are truly a dining experience. If I wanted mediocre food, I would go off site to Taco Bell. On second thought, I like Taco Bell better than the food served at some of the Disney restaurants.

Bill

 

[crisi]

What I do have concern is that some DVC owners seem to feel that the "free dining" people are somehow lower class. "Those" people entering "our" park has ruined things. Everyone has the right to the best vacation that they can afford. Just my 2 cents.

My problem isn't with the people who take advantage of it, my problem is with the way and quantity Disney sells it ...and that they simultaneously screw around with the cash menus when its offered. The regular dining plan has hit me hard enough - I pay more for food that has gone way downhill in terms of quality and quantity. The free dining means I pay the same amount - and my steak got replaced by a cheaper cut and some things go completely missing from the menu.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

My problem isn't with the people who take advantage of it, my problem is with the way and quantity Disney sells it ...and that they simultaneously screw around with the cash menus when its offered. The regular dining plan has hit me hard enough - I pay more for food that has gone way downhill in terms of quality and quantity. The free dining means I pay the same amount - and my steak got replaced by a cheaper cut and some things go completely missing from the menu.

I think since 2005 it's been going downhill

 

[dsneygirl]

Yep, not free at all. And has anyone noticed that the offer has lost alot of its luster of years past? I feel like I bet on DVC and won!

The last 2 years they started giving Value resort guests the QSDP and the ability to pay to upgrade. $$

I remember our free dining trip back in 2005 after the Member cruise, we stayed at PC with the promo and we received the Regular plan and tax and tip was included. That trip cost us less than $600 for a family of 4!

That trip we also purchased the minimum 1 Day base tix. This year the minimum tix is a 2 day base tix. $$

So the cash outlay required to take advantage of this offer has almost doubled for the same resort for our family.

The double beds at PC almost did us in and we havent looked back.
Love my DVC waaaaayyyy more than I love the food.

Pretty soon, at the rate WDW is going, they are going to close all the restaurants and when you check in, they are going to hand you your bucket full of rations for the week!

We did the plan in 05 and 06 when app/dessert/tip was included and it was only about $35/day per adult. That was good value.

A huge part of the reason we joined DVC was the resorts. I wouldn't trade VWL or BC for Free dining at Pop any day. We really like our AP and TIW it is so much more flexible and we are getting 4 trips out of it this year.

 

[perdidobay]

Disney is very good at exploiting the psychology of people.

Anything labeled "free" causes people to act without thinking.

Disney offered "free" dining to fill rooms during slow periods while charging more for the rooms. Every year since then, they have reduced the quality and choice of food, decreased the items included with the plan, not only during free dining but for all dining plans.

The sad fact is that Disney has reduced the quality and choice of food for all Guests, not just the ones on the DDP. They are making changes at the restaurants to process more people in a shorter time. It's a feed the masses mentality with the average table turn being 27 minutes.

There are very few restaurants left that are truly a dining experience. If I wanted mediocre food, I would go off site to Taco Bell. On second thought, I like Taco Bell better than the food served at some of the Disney restaurants.

Bill

I agree with this, except I don't have quite as dim a view of the food quality at WDW. It has gone downhill, for sure, and I blame the dining plan. We don't buy it anymore, we have the TIW card. We eat better and don't feel the need to order things we don't want just to "maximize" our savings.

 

[blondietink]

I guess I am in the minority here. We go during the FD promotion .... this year we are going to CBR for 5 nights, then we are going to use our DVC points to stay 5 nights at AKV's. We usually have enough meal and snack credits left over from the FD plan to get take out food on our check-out day and take to our DVC villa to last us another couple of days. We have been known to get several chinese counter service meals from POP along with many snacks and our refrigerator is filled for a while. We like to try the different resorts without using DVC points to stay at them, while still taking advantage of relaxing in our DVC villa. Last year we banked all of our DVC points into our next use year, stayed FD at POP and are now going 3 times in our next use year using our DVC points. Works for us. BUT, it sure would be nice to get a discount or something as a DVC member for dining!

 

[wildernessDad]

Nothing is really free. I'm fine with the way it is for us, but like others, I wish Disney just canceled free dining. Maybe if the economy continues to improve...

 

[dclfun]

Nothing is really free. I'm fine with the way it is for us, but like others, I wish Disney just canceled free dining. Maybe if the economy continues to improve...

At least for now ( with no further changes) FD is wildly popular. Look at all the 'speculation" threads on the resort discount board and people stating that if they can't get FD, they're not coming. Truly, it's not always the best deal but as another poster mentioned "FREE" gets people every time. I remember when Yachtsman steakhouse had lobster and a really good filet. Last time we ate there the steak was so gristly and full of fat that it was inedible. Disney has created the demand for this particular promo that is so strong, I don't see it going away until the economy is greatly recovered. People will have to be weaned off their discounts, which for now they feel they're entitled to. I feel I'm entitled to quality accommodations only-which is why I bought DVC. FD and the DDP will continue to be altered but we don't have to participate to feel we're getting our money's worth.---Kathy

 

[disneynutz]

I remember when Yachtsman steakhouse had lobster and a really good filet. Last time we ate there the steak was so gristly and full of fat that it was inedible.

Wow, we ate at Yachtsman in February for the first time and our steak must have been cut from the same cow. Worst steak ever.

Bill

 

[starbox]

We've gone from a family that did at least one TS meal per day - and multiple signature meals per trip - to a family that almost never eats TS. The food quality has become so lackluster, and it's SO hard to get decent reservations unless your trip is planned 180 days in advance - and with DVC we are just done with the commando stuff and don't want a schedule!

And I agree with PP - if you are unlucky enough to be traveling during FD, and you do dare to pay cash for a TS meal, you'll find the quality to be really impacted - especially at the popular restaurants that have very few paying guests.

It's sad to me, because I remember when eating at Disney was THE BEST. It was my favorite thing about vacation. I remember really how big of a deal it was to eat in the castle - it was so nice. I don't blame the DP - because if you do the math, realistically, people end up spending just as much on the DP as they would otherwise - food is hardly discounted, it's mostly just free snacks. I do blame free dining - especially as people have become addicted to it and Disney has had to offer it for longer and longer stretches of the year.

IMHO, they should offer it very selectively to fill the less popular second and third-tier dining locations- and they should NOT include the restaurants that would otherwise fill with cash paying guests for free dining.

 

[Brancaneve]

The rack rate on my hotel room at BLT (which we would have to pay to take advantage of free dining) is $550/night or $7,700 plus tax for our entire stay. Our DDP cost us right at $1,400. There is no comparison. At all.

Nice....you got it right!

 

[Brancaneve]

After reading everything, I'm glad DLR(nice and close) doesn't offer the dining plan.