Which one is better 4/3 or free dining

[kymmyk13]

We are going to WDW next year and we are going to stay on property for the first time(my family lives in Orlando so we always stay with them) We want to take advantage of either the buy 4 get 3 free or the free dining. Which one is a better deal. we are 3 adults and 1 child and we will stay at a budget resort.

 

[mommyto_3princesses]

Free dining is a better deal for us, family of 6. The 4/3 deal, it's not a lot of savings because once you get to a certain # of days it doesn't cost a whole lot more for each additional day that you add.

 

[tzolkin]

Well, there's no guarantee they'll offer the 4/3 deal next year, so you can't count on that. But if they did, it really depends on the number of days of your trip, where you're staying, and also if you were planning to eat all the meals anyway.

We prefer to eat snacks/meals in the room and split several CS meals as we go through the parks. My DH does not like to be tied to a schedule with ADRs and we also prefer to snack throughout the day rather than eat large meals when we're hot. So, we would not be purchasing the dining plan. If it was offered free when we wanted to go that would be a perk, but not a huge cost savings for us. For your party size it would be a savings of $130 per night.

We are doing the 4/3 deal this month and are saving about $450 (rooms are more expensive during summer season than value season when free dining is usually offered). There was also a spring code offered this year, so we are staying an additional 4 nights at CSR for around $100 per night.

 

[DVCBELLE]

Do you have a code? There is no guarantee the 4/3 code will come out again next year. I find that it is best to pick your dates and then when the codes come out you get a bonus. Planning around a possible code can get you. I planned a trip on past code history this year and then they changed it to the 4/3 deal which I couldn't use since I was only going for a weekend. I ended up canceling my trip.

 

[srwarden1928]

It depends on how much you eat. For my family, 4/3 is MUCH better than free dining because the value of free dining is less for us than 42% of the room cost. Since we do not typically order desserts, for example, I do NOT include the value of the desserts in the value that we receive. We are only a family of two, which lowers the value of the dining. We also frequently share meals, or parts of a meal, which would reduce the value of free dining for us.
For larger families, or those who eat fourteen desserts in a week , free dining may be a better deal. As the price of the resort increases, 4/3 becomes a better deal, but it works better for us even at a value with OOP dining.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

As others have mentioned, there are no guarantees as to what kind of deals Disney will offer in the future. They may offer 4/3 or even 5/2. Or they may come up with an entirely different incentive to get you to visit.

For us, free dining and the 4/3 with DD were the same...almost to the penny. We have 3 adults and 1 junior in our family. The 4/3 gives you about 41% off of the rack rate of the room and that amounts to $174/night savings on a std. view room at YC/BC/BW when you include tax. A family of 3 adults and 1 junior would pay about $170/night for the DDP.

So, you really have to crunch the numbers for your own situation. It's not one-size-fits-all.

 

[KKB]

Typcially, free dining is a better deal for those in budget resorts and those w/ larger parties.
If you like to eat at a table service each day, free dining is probably a better deal for you.