What is the best thing about Free Dining?

[Lynne M]

Moving this to the Dining Plan board.

 

[stinkpickle]

Agreed with the others. The catch is having to pay full rack rates for the room. Our kids aren't big eaters, and we don't do many table service meals, so the only time we come out ahead is if we get free QS dining plan staying at a value resort. Otherwise, room discounts are usually better for us.

 

[joannamet]

For me, there are lots of negatives about the Dining Plan but I always crunch the numbers and Free Dining saves my family money. I know what you mean about looking for a catch but its really very straight-forward and easy to use. You get fabulous food at a huge choice of table and counter service restaurants.

 

[Faldred]

like restrictions most times you do not get something for nothing. I find the best way to get something free is to be loyal to a place , be polite

Oh, you aren't getting something for nothing. "Free dining" is a discount on a full rack-rate room/ticket/dining package that equals the amount of the dining component of that package. But to take advantage of that, you'd have to forgo any other potential discount, in addition to getting the specific package limitations for the free dining offer (typically: minimum 3-night stay, park hopper option required on tickets).

So in the end, it's just another discount to compare to other offers available. In some cases, it's the best discount. In others, you're better off with another option.

But whatever you do, don't go to WDW and pay full price for EVERYTHING. With the exception of peak-peak times, there's almost always SOME discount available.

 

[AngiTN]

like restrictions most times you do not get something for nothing. I find the best way to get something free is to be loyal to a place , be polite

That is not the case with Disney. Not at all. Their discounts are not based on loyalty
Though it's always good to be polite. It goes a long way to making everything more pleasant in general.

 

[Faldred]

That is not the case with Disney. Not at all. Their discounts are not based on loyalty
Though it's always good to be polite. It goes a long way to making everything more pleasant in general.

Well, there are "bounceback" offers. They don't reward long-time loyalty but they do cater to guests who want to repeat in the not-too-distant future.

 

[Nohal]

The best thing is free food. We stay at a value and upgrade to the regular DDP. It is cheaper for us to upgrade than doing a moderate (which had DDP). I like the fact that all my meals are paid for and I don't have to look at the menu prices. I'm glad that they took the desert off of the QS and give an extra snack as we never really got dessert with the QS.

 

[570traveler]

We now only go with free dining. Family of 4 with a 16 and 18 year old. We always get park hoppers so that doesn't bother me paying for that. I kept track of all our receipts on the regular DDP last year and we spent nearly $2000 on meals, snacks, refillable mugs! Many sit down meals were close to $200 and some were even more. There's no way I'd pay out of pocket for those! We figured that we ate as much in food each day as it cost us to pay for the hotel room even at rack rate. So for us, getting $50-60 off a moderate room each night is not worth it!

 

[GillianP1301]

Best thing about free dining is it will save you money. Always best to compare a room only discount rate + food costs to a free dining booking @ rack rate. Depending on the resort an discount level either option can come out ahead, so best to do the bath.

The other "best" thing for me is, an upgrade to the deluxe plan from the free regular plan is very doable and I love the deluxe plan because I tend to try a lot of different restaurants and meals that I may not try otherwise.

As for as any "catches", other than having to purchase a hopper or water park add-on to your pass, which is really only a catch if you weren't planning to have it in the first place, I can't think of any. Dining plans are super easy to use.

 

[KimBean]

just wondering?

$1100.

DDP for My length of stay and my family cost $2000. I have to pay park hopper $300 + upgrade from QS to DDP - $600. So I pay $900 to get $2000 value. I save $1100 in real money. We aren't QS people so we would eat exactly like the DDP. QS for lunch TS for dinner. We are staying value for $100 night so a room discount would only be about $100 savings.

 

[TreeFalls]

Here's my favorite thing: DH and I are natural savers. We tend to spend very modestly at restaurants, ordering less expensive things and splitting meals. With the DDP, I love going into restaurants and ordering exactly what I want to eat, with no regard for the price. It's really fun!

It probably doesn't save us money, because if we didn't have it we'd figure out how to eat frugally. But it wouldn't be as enjoyable.