what's the big deal about free dining????

[planplan]

I priced it out and it's only a savings of $200 compared to my last years trip with the dining paid for. I understand if sept was the time of year you wanted to go but to go in nov. when it's cooler for $200 more is well worth the money to me. i guess i hope everyone knows that there are other great deals out there also to be watched for!!!!

 

[lclark0621]

It depends on the hotel & how many people in your party.

We were going in Sept no matter what because the rest of the year is way to busy for us with school activities & holidays.

Booking with the free dining saved us $700. That is a lot of money.

 

[ktink]

We always travel to WDW the week of Labor Day. We've been unable to obtain a PIN for a great discount so free dining is a no brainer for us. We saved over $500 over the course of 4 days.

 

[rockin_rep]

I priced it out and it's only a savings of $200 compared to my last years trip with the dining paid for. I understand if sept was the time of year you wanted to go but to go in nov. when it's cooler for $200 more is well worth the money to me. i guess i hope everyone knows that there are other great deals out there also to be watched for!!!!

I heard from several CMs that attendance was really low because of the oppressive heat and they needed an incentive for people to visit.

"Free" seems to be working.

 

[vellamint]

We are saving $1364 for my family of six over six nights staying at Pop Century.....

A very good value for us..

 

[pooch]

as with any discount, free dining works better for some than others. It depends on how you eat when at WDW, what level resort you like to stay, how many people and the price of butter on Tuesday. In my case, we were a family of 4, all Disney adults, staying at a Deluxe for 10 days. The only discount available at that time was AAA (10%) which we gave up for free dining. So I gave up $300 and we "spent" almost $2000 on free food. Even if I had a 40% code, that would have been $1200 vs $2000. Free food was a no brainer for us. Last year DD and I stayed at Pop for 8 days at rack rate ($90) and ate $800 in free food. We love the Dining Plan and so it is a discount we will use. Others like other discounts. That's why there are so many.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

I heard from several CMs that attendance was really low because of the oppressive heat and they needed an incentive for people to visit.

"Free" seems to be working.

It used to be really low attendance, but last year we thought the park was much more crowded. We had a great time with all our free dining, but this year we are going in some cooler weather. Hopefully it will be cooler!

 

[LegoMom3]

We are a family of five so feeding us all on vacation is never cheap. I priced out the cost of the dining package (if I paid for it) vs. approx. what we would pay OOP without it (and OOP would assume all counter-service, save for maybe 1 character buffet). The savings was marginal, so to get the dining plan for free actually is a big deal to us. It also affords us the opportunity to go to sit-down restaurants that we would otherwise never be able to afford, and that alone is reason enough! My boys (and me!) love the character meals and the buffets and exploring new things like African dishes at Boma. For us it's just a real neat experience and we can't wait to go again this year!


.

 

[wdwmaw]

$1517 savings for my family. My family will enjoy10 nights in the world for less than we would have spent on the dining plan. Thats a no-brainer for us

 

[ThruTheEyesOfMyChild]

My DD and I always hit WDW the last week of August thru Labor Day! Great way to end the summer, rates are great, hot as you know what, but always save $400 with FREE dining! So for us, it's well worth it...and now it's a family tradition!

 

[tflood]

Since DH and I are going 6 nights with free dining, we will be able to eat at 6 tables service resturants, something we could NOT afford to do otherwise. Without free dining we would probably eat at one maybe (I stress maybe) two table service resturant and the rest would be all fast food, now we are eating at Le Cellier, Chef Mickey's, Liberty Tree Tavern, Tony's Town Square, Teppan Edo, and Sci-Fi for just the cost of tip! You can't beat that especially since we do not qualify for any discounts and we were coming in Sept anyway! Its a Win-Win for us

 

[cocowum]

It's a great deal for us. $82 a night at POP and we are 3 adults (DD is 13). So it's quite a savings. We try not to pull DD out of school so the last week of Aug is perfect.

 

[sunnyday123]

Even with just me and my dd, there is no way we would be able to eat a character meal every day without the dining plan. She get's a big kick out of eating at "fancy" Disney restaurants and this is the way I can afford it. We went two years ago, stayed in ASM with the DP and spent almost $2k. Now we are staying in Pop, DP and spending $1350. Can't beat that.

 

[planplan]

i think everyone is missing my point. i paid $2250 last year for 4 w/ the dining plan in nov. i priced out a trip with free dining and it came to $2050 in sept. my point is there are almost as good of deals at better times of the year. don't be fooled to going a time of year that you didn't want for free dining. now if sept was your choice month...then you are getting the best deal!!!

 

[hugabearjo]

My family of 5 staying at POR, saved $1706.37 with the dining plan over 40% off reservation. we are staying for 14 nights so that is wonderful savings for us. I can't wait to be at WDW again....... Now I just have to pray finances settle down so we can go.

Free food is great for my family that includes 3 teen boys.... I also should say though that I don't mind the heat. I love it.

 

[MCK588]

How hot is it at the end of August?

 

[planplan]

How hot is it at the end of August?

too hot for me!!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

I think it all balances out in the end. DH and I just came back from a 9 day trip, deluxe resorts booked on the 40% off code....saved us about $900 or so...we spent that much on food and snacks. If we booked the free dining we would lose our discounted room rate but still save on the food...more or less.

I prefer to go when it is cooler, the F&W thing going on and get the big room discount.

 

[planplan]

I think it all balances out in the end. DH and I just came back from a 9 day trip, deluxe resorts booked on the 40% off code....saved us about $900 or so...we spent that much on food and snacks. If we booked the free dining we would lose our discounted room rate but still save on the food...more or less.

I prefer to go when it is cooler, the F&W thing going on and get the big room discount.

that's my point!!! or take your $900 savings and apply it to the dining plan which most likely comes out $200 to $300 dif... thanks

 

[bettyann29]

I made my ADR's about a month ago because we were going to eat at these particular places whether I got the free dining or not because when I decided to go I wasnt aware that there was a chance I could get it..

so after looking at prices of things we would most likely order at these places I estimate that for just me and my DH we will be saving almost $500 over the course of 6 days..