Which is Cheaper? Free Dining or Resort Discount?

[Katems]

I want to be ready for next year in case Disney offers free dining again. Is it generally less expensive for a family of two adults, one 11 year old, and one six year old to get the free dining and no other discount, or is it cheaper to buy the dining plan and get a room discount somehow?

We would stay at WL probably, and we do not have annual passes. The dining plan is a must for us, I'm just not sure which is generally the cheaper way to go! Thanks!

 

[kaysmommie]

The dining plan would have cost us Almost $800 for 8 nights for a family of four. That is alot of savings for us. I think the AP rate on deluxes could also be about $100 per night of savings. We paid rack rate to get free dining but I thought it was a terrific deal. Hopefully someone else will have and opinion on this one.

 

[cjsmom5]

I would be curious, also. We always get AP rates, typically stay at the deluxe hotels ... I was thinking that we wouldn't normally eat as much as the dining plan provides .. and with the 20% disney dining experience discount ... kinda justified it in my mind that it was cheaper for the three of us (2 adults and one 8 year old) to go the other way. Especially since we have annual passes. Anyone ever done the comparison?

 

[JennyMominRI]

I am debating this myself..I want to go next may and I want free dining...II always spend a lot more on meals than I plan too..I also have an AP..I'm hoping there may be some sort of package discount offered

 

[poohluvrs]

We are going this year, in a few weeks, we are a family of 4 & skipped the free dining in lieu of a AAA room discount at GF - it saved us more $ plus I dont have to deal w/ worrying about what's included when we eat out on vacay! HTH

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

It all depends on where you stay of course and how many people in your room. We had two adults in the room (POP both free dining times), which saved us close to $80 a day. The hotel discount was only $20 off a night I think. Maybe $30, but $80 was still better. We couldn't have eaten out of pocket for that!

It comes down to how much is dining going to cost you out of pocket, vs. what the room discount is. LIke if you stay at Beach Club and are getting $160 a night off the room, obviously a family of 4 (2 A, 2 C) would be better off with the room discount, paying for the Dining Plan...as it only costs around $100 per day.

Usually, if you are at a Value or Moderate, you are better off with Free Dining. Deluxes might not be a better deal.

 

[klh999]

I found free dining to be a little overwhelming last year but then again I had a group of nine people. I felt like in order to get our savings, we had to really think about every meal and figure out what points were coming from what room. The nice part was we really did not have to take a penny out of our pocket which felt good. Also, I was not worried at all about what everyone was eating and how expensive it was. However, I really am not in LOVE with disney restaurants, and probably would have not eaten at the places that I choose unless they offered free dining. I am going in Jan and I would much prefer to just offer a room only discount and let me figure out meals on my own!

 

[Callalily6]

Renting points from a DVC and buying the DDP is cheaper...

You might want to check that out.

 

[blueroses]

I want to be ready for next year in case Disney offers free dining again. Is it generally less expensive for a family of two adults, one 11 year old, and one six year old to get the free dining and no other discount, or is it cheaper to buy the dining plan and get a room discount somehow?

We would stay at WL probably, and we do not have annual passes. The dining plan is a must for us, I'm just not sure which is generally the cheaper way to go! Thanks!

The dining plan would cost you $125 (3 adults @ $38 + one child at $11). Value season discounts at a deluxe have been lower than that. So given the number of people in your party free dining, if offered, should be your least expensive option.

 

[Katems]

Thanks everyone...but if I rent DVC points from someone, AM I able to buy the dining plan? If you rent points, do you still buy Magic Your Way packages or do you have to buy everything separate? I didn't think DVC worked in the traditional MYW package way...

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

With DVC you can add the Dining Plan, regardless of your membership! And the best part is you don't have to buy park passes, like with the MYW package. This is an advantage if you are AP holders or already have tickets.

I don't know if you can get a park passes added though or not, I am sure someone knows the answer. I would get them at one of the discount places though, as listed on Mousesavers and save a few $$$.

 

[lilstint]

I found free dining to be a little overwhelming last year but then again I had a group of nine people. I felt like in order to get our savings, we had to really think about every meal and figure out what points were coming from what room. The nice part was we really did not have to take a penny out of our pocket which felt good. Also, I was not worried at all about what everyone was eating and how expensive it was. However, I really am not in LOVE with disney restaurants, and probably would have not eaten at the places that I choose unless they offered free dining. I am going in Jan and I would much prefer to just offer a room only discount and let me figure out meals on my own!

I totally agree.

 

[honeymo78]

Just a reminder for those renting DVC points - from what I understand the member must book the DDP (since only the member can make the reservations, not the person renting) and you would pay for it upon checkin.