Why is free dining better than package discount?

[TCups4Me]

I have always travelled to disney on a room only or package discount - not free dining discounts. It seems that lots of folks are waiting for free dining discounts to trump the 4/3 deal or 40% pin codes. How is that a better deal?

Don't you still have to pay rack rate for your room and tickets? Rack rate is so ridiculously expensive that it would seem any discount for that would be the way to go. Is it just a really good perk for large families? Help me understand because I'm always looking for the best deal!

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Free dining tends to be a better savings if you stay at a value. The % off room rates tend to be a bigger savings if you stay at a deluxe. It really depends on the size of your family and where you are staying in terms of which works out to be a bigger savings.
For us, the 40% off room rate worked out better on an 8 night stay because we are staying at the Poly. The 40% off savings there outweighs the saving of free dining at the same resort for our family of 4 (2 adults & 2 children).

 

[rainbowdarling]

I was doing some math on our trip pricing, and unless we were staying at a deluxe, the free dining would give us a greater discount than either the 40% or the 4/3. I'd take either one if they decide not to do free dining, but I'm still holding out hope for it. We're going either way but I sure wouldn't say no to some money off!

 

[Mom2Max]

I think it depends on what your situation is. The larger the party, the better deal the FD is. If you're staying at a value, then the other discounts don't save you near as much as they do in a deluxe. So if you have a party of 4 and are staying at a value, FD is a GREAT deal! HTH a little!

 

[jupers]

I also think free dining is that last push for many people who want to go to Disney but weren't planning on that type of vaca for the year. For us (I got a pin) we had no intention to go to Dis this year. DH and I are actually going away alone to celebrate our 10th ann to Vegas in April. However, I got the free dining pin and started pricing the trip. I am taking my family of 4 to Dis for a week, basically all inclusive for $2300! We figured we would've spent $1000 on a local vaca for 4 days, now we get to go to Dis for a week!

 

[madisonsmommy7704]

like others posted- it depends where you are staying.. last year I planned a vacation at a value in Sept- value season. I used a 40% room deal and that made it about 49 a night for room only - a savings of $330 for 10 days.
I intended to switch it to frre dinning when it became available- which would have saved us about $900 for 10 days (2 adults & 1- 4 yr old) - we ended up canceling cause we found out I was preggo right after I made the reservation LOL and would have been 8 months preg at the time of the trip-
Anyway now I am planning our next trip again- most likely for Feb 2010 and am talking myself into the Poly (although DH does not know yet LOL) so if I could get my hands on a 40% off code now- it would be better than free dinning.. if I could get the cheapest room there at value season $355.) I would save about $944 w/ the code for 7 days or $1420 for 10 days

BTW- sorry if my math is a bit off LOL

ETA- not that they will offer free dinning in Feb- just using that as a comparision

 

[tallen429]

I have always travelled to disney on a room only or package discount - not free dining discounts. It seems that lots of folks are waiting for free dining discounts to trump the 4/3 deal or 40% pin codes. How is that a better deal?

Don't you still have to pay rack rate for your room and tickets? Rack rate is so ridiculously expensive that it would seem any discount for that would be the way to go. Is it just a really good perk for large families? Help me understand because I'm always looking for the best deal!

I have run the numbers a thousand ways and we always come out better with FD. Only staying at a deluxe would change that.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We are a family of 6. We usually get two connecting rooms at a value for 9 nights with 8 day hoppers. The 40% discount saves us about $630.00. The 4/3 offer saves us about $750.00 and Free Dining saves us $1,600.00. There is no better discount for us than free dining.

 

[asmit4]

My mom and I go alone- so a value works just fine for us. We don't want or need anything fancy since we are park commandos. So the FD code is the best for us. We get to eat and stay for approx 95 a day TOTAL. It's uber cheap!

We also aren't into a week at DW. We just go for 3 or 4 nights. When we go with family- we can go for longer but for us it's just a short trip to enjoy the parks running all day and crashing. So the 4/3 deal isn't a good one for us.

Plus- we don't really view the deluxes as 'deluxe' enough to warrant the big $$. We go on true deluxe trips when we want to elsewhere- but DW is all about commando on the cheap!

 

[fsufan4]

How do you get the fd codes and the 40% ??? Do you have to call ?

Jen

 

[wdwmaw]

How do you get the fd codes and the 40% ??? Do you have to call ?

Jen

Free dining is a promotion Disney has offered the past several years and is expected again this year. The promotion is offered in last August-end of Sept. and is usually available for booking to the general public at somepoint in April. Here is the thread that discusses this and just hang out here and you will know when the code comes out. When you have the code then you can call and book for the dates offered.http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2049198

 

[Sandisw]

How do you get the fd codes and the 40% ??? Do you have to call ?

Jen

No, they are sent out randomly to people. No one knows for sure how and why people get them.

The best thing to do is sign up for everything Disney. Be sure you are registered through the WDW site.

You can try to call and ask a CM to check to see if you have a code attached to your name, although many are reporting that they are becoming much stricter on this and not always willing.

Good luck!

 

[choirfarm]

Well, this is how the math worked out for us:

8 nights at two value rooms in September(which is typically when fd is offered) equals 164 x 8= $1,312. I had a 40 percent off quote, so if I had used that it would have been 787 for just a room with no dining. So basically, if I could spend less than 524 dollars on food for 8 days for 5 people, then the 40 percent off discount would be better. The only way I could do that would be to have cereal in the room, make sandwhiches, etc. Actually with tips it cost a little more than 1,312 but we had some rewards dollars and the free gift card from signing up for Visa. The tickets will be close to the same no matter what. So for us it was better. It would have been even better if it had been just 4 of us in 1 room. 82 dollars a night for 2 adults and 2 teenage boys to stay and eat is a good deal. My 7 yo daughter just caused it to be not quite so good a deal.

Christine

:

I have always travelled to disney on a room only or package discount - not free dining discounts. It seems that lots of folks are waiting for free dining discounts to trump the 4/3 deal or 40% pin codes. How is that a better deal?

Don't you still have to pay rack rate for your room and tickets? Rack rate is so ridiculously expensive that it would seem any discount for that would be the way to go. Is it just a really good perk for large families? Help me understand because I'm always looking for the best deal!

 

[WeLoveNemo]

Since this thread clearly has experts when it comes to Disney math I could use some advice:

I have reservations at the Dolphin ( a great place, I know I've been there) for my family of 5 (2 grownups and 3 kids ages 7,9,11) at a rate of $129/night during the first week of sept. (I'm a nurse).

There are some easily calculated "hidden" costs with this plan- $10/night hotel fee, van service or car rental (no ME), etc. that I have accounted for which made the Beach Club a potential alternative had I received a 40% room discount or the 4/3 was extended.

If free dining is offered that week, how do I justify still changing to the BC - which is now STUCK in my mind?

 

[Colleen27]

I have always travelled to disney on a room only or package discount - not free dining discounts. It seems that lots of folks are waiting for free dining discounts to trump the 4/3 deal or 40% pin codes. How is that a better deal?

Don't you still have to pay rack rate for your room and tickets? Rack rate is so ridiculously expensive that it would seem any discount for that would be the way to go. Is it just a really good perk for large families? Help me understand because I'm always looking for the best deal!

It depends on where you're staying and who is in your party, but you don't have to be a large family for free dining to be the better deal.

For my family (2 adults, 1 Disney adult, 1 child), free dining is a discount of $131 per night. For 40% off to be a better discount, we have to stay in a resort with a rack rate of $327 or higher.

The other factor is that free dining is a good deal regardless of your length of stay. 4/3 is great if you're staying a week but useless for short trips and not everyone got the 40% code.

 

[TCups4Me]

Thanks for all the thorough replies. They were really helpful! Looks like it pays to explore all the options (varying lengths of stay, different resorts, etc.). Thanks!

 

[wdwmaw]

Since this thread clearly has experts when it comes to Disney math I could use some advice:

I have reservations at the Dolphin ( a great place, I know I've been there) for my family of 5 (2 grownups and 3 kids ages 7,9,11) at a rate of $129/night during the first week of sept. (I'm a nurse).

There are some easily calculated "hidden" costs with this plan- $10/night hotel fee, van service or car rental (no ME), etc. that I have accounted for which made the Beach Club a potential alternative had I received a 40% room discount or the 4/3 was extended.

If free dining is offered that week, how do I justify still changing to the BC - which is now STUCK in my mind?

Rack rate for a standard room at BC is $335 and a dining plan would cost your family $140 per night. The difference would bring you to a standard rate per night of $195 per night. You would be paying $56 more a night to be at the Beach Club, or any Epcot area resort, in a standard room ( I used $135 adding the resort fee). Can your family eat for $56 per day? You will have to pay tip reguardless and you can pocket the savings with transfers and put that toward tip.

 

[TDC Nala]

It's not necessarily a better deal. Depends on how many in your party, how much you'd spend on food and what type of resort you want to book.

I never use free dining. It will never be a deal for me.

 

[WeLoveNemo]

You would be paying $56 more a night to be at the Beach Club, or any Epcot area resort, in a standard room ( I used $135 adding the resort fee). Can your family eat for $56 per day?

Hmmm $56 for a family of 5 in Disney World - soft pretzels and soda

Since my kids are dying to stay at the BC, I think they'd really appreciate your math .

Thanks for your time!

 

[JohnNYC]

If free dining is offered that week, how do I justify still changing to the BC - which is now STUCK in my mind?

Because the BC is a lot of fun!

Seriously, we had no plans to go back this year, but I just booked with a 40% code.

We splurge on the BC because the kids adore the pool complex (as do we), the new rooms are really nice, the staff has always been wonderful, and best of all, the proximity to World Showcase and its restaurants - one of our favorite places in WDW. Most evenings we stroll over, have dinner and check out a few shops in a particular "country". If not up for Epcot in the evening, you have the BW right there as well, and MGM Studios a quick little boat ride away. For us, the location of the BC can't be beat.