Why not free dining for DVC?

[Dizny Dad]

Help me. Help me. More expectations for free something! What a great example of what entitlements can do! The food has never been worse in The World since free dining became the standard.

Bring back pay as you go for me! Lots of things are better and I believe foster lower prices all around!

 

[tjkraz]

I'm not looking for anything "free" but maybe some discounts for members on a dining plan here and there.

WDW offers quite a variety of dining discounts to members. There are a couple dozen locations at which DVC owners can get discounts up to 20%. The TiW card is now available to all members. And members are also exempt from the peak season pricing on the dining plans.

Everyone has areas where they wish Disney would offer more discounts but there is no one perk that would satisfy everyone. If the DDP fees seem exorbitant, consider hitting a few of the locations where members receive 10-20% discounts (Chefs de France, Via Napoli, Sanaa, Olivia's, etc.) or buy the DDP card to save at many more locations.

 

[JWG]

I have quoted a room for one week in SSR in September, a typical period when free dining is offered: it's 2,481$.

In points one week in a studio is 95 points. I calculated that factoring initial purchase depreciation, opportunity cost and yearly MF, the cost of one point at SSR for me is around 7$. So the same week would cost me 665$.

The difference between rack rates with free dining and using points is 1816$, or 260$ per day. How much food can you buy with 260$ a day? The free dining is not really "free".

Thank you for this. This is where I think DVCer's get mixed up. We are already getting a significant cash discount on the value of the room. "Free" dining requires you pay the full rack rate for a room. If you do the math on the value of your room in cash you'll find points plus purchasing TiW or the DDP is a better deal than paying rack rate with free dining. You are getting a deal/perk.

There are many perks for DVC members, more than for most timeshare ownerships. As members we get:
- Dining discounts of 10-20% on various restaurants
- Ability to get DDP without a package (no park tickets required)
- No seasonal surcharge on DDP pricing
- Ability to purchase TiW for 20% (including alochol) off most table service locations
- "Opportunity" to pay full cash rack rate and get free dining

And that's just food. On top of that:
- Discounts on golf
- Discounts on minigolf
- Discounts on APs
- TiW for $75 with an AP (discounted as above)
- Discounts on tours
- Discounts on Petty raceway
- Member events (Christmas)
- Discounts on hard ticket events

We do ok for agreeing to nothing more than a room to sleep in.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The Dining Plan (and especially free dining) is just a way to keep people from cooking in their rooms using the iron and coffee pot (have you seen some of those websites with photos of cooking in the coffee pot??). With DVC we either have a nice kitchenette with a decent sized refrigerator (with a small freezer section) or a full sized kitchen. So we can easily prepare meals in our villas. We don't really need the dining plan with DVC stays.

And besides, DVD/DVC already has us by the mouth like a big bass. And we bit that hook.

At some point, most of the perks we have now with slowly disappear until we only get a few dining or shopping discounts that don't affect the bottom line at all.

 

[zavandor]

At some point, most of the perks we have now with slowly disappear until we only get a few dining or shopping discounts that don't affect the bottom line at all.

That would happen only if the DVC program will be discontinued. If they'll continue to build new resorts (VGF and rumors on FW let us think that they will continue) they'll need the perks to sell points to new members.

 

[Samaya]

Thank you for this. This is where I think DVCer's get mixed up. We are already getting a significant cash discount on the value of the room. "Free" dining requires you pay the full rack rate for a room. If you do the math on the value of your room in cash you'll find points plus purchasing TiW or the DDP is a better deal than paying rack rate with free dining. You are getting a deal/perk.

It might be correct for US residents, "where Free Dining requires you to pay the full rack rate for the room" but for United Kingdom residents they can get free dining and discounted rooms at SSR and OKW of up to 50% as quoted on the following web-site at Complete Orlando.

http://www.completeorlando.co.uk/corp/free_disney_dining_plan.php

Where it states: "Huge reductions available at Disney's Old Key West & Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort, savings of up to 50%! Please note these two resorts can only currently be booked up to 11 months in advance. Additionally, we are currently restricted to booking other Disney hotels no more than 500 days out"

In 2010 we received a 48% discount on the room rate, we stayed for 15-nights in a 1-bed at OKW and with the purchase of a 14-day Theme Park ticket for £225 ($355 approx.) we received free dining for those 15-days. It was clearly a much better option than using our points in 2010.

So for UK owner's of OKW or SSR then the math works out a little different and that's why we decided to take up the offer in 2010 and will possibly do so again 2013.

 

[LisaS]

They can't offer free dining to members booking on points without getting something in return because that would just be a giveaway. Who would cover the cost and why? I would be very annoyed if they decided to give some DVC members a "thank you" gift of free dining and the rest of us get nothing.

Disney offers discounts to fill rooms during slow periods. Free dining with rack rate rooms and tickets is one such discount. If I remember correctly it was first offered during hurricane season, though it may have been expanded to other times of the year. Another marketing decision to help fill rooms is the 30% room-only discounts offered on occasion to AP holders. DVC members can get a room discount when booking on points by going during Adventure or Choice season instead of Premier Season. Unlike the AP room discounts, we don't have to wait and hope, it's right there in the point charts and we can lock it in 11 months in advance! This is why we became DVC members -- I got tired of the discount waiting game.

They don't currently offer free dining to members staying on points but an equivalent offer might be free dining for up to 2 people in a studio or 1BR and up to 4 people in a 2BR in exchange for paying Premier Season points for a room during Adventure season. That might be worthwhile for some members but I wouldn't be interested.

 

[Reddog1134]

I still don't understand the argument that "Free Dining" isn't free.

 

[LisaS]

I still don't understand the argument that "Free Dining" isn't free.

It isn't free because you give up any room discounts that might be available during that time. For example, you cannot combine an AP room-only discount or PIN code room discount and free dining. Before DVC, we only went to WDW if a room discount was available. For people like me, free dining isn't really free because we would be giving up the room discount to get free dining.

As noted by Samaya, UK visitors do get combo offers but they haven't been offered to US-based visitors as far as I'm aware.

 

[Reddog1134]

It isn't free because you give up any room discounts that might be available during that time. For example, you cannot combine an AP room-only discount or PIN code room discount and free dining. Before DVC, we only went to WDW if a room discount was available. For people like me, free dining isn't really free because we would be giving up the room discount to get free dining.

As noted by Samaya, UK visitors do get combo offers but they haven't been offered to US-based visitors as far as I'm aware.

So how does that make it "Not free"? Saying "because you paid more for the room" doesn't make sense because you DIDN'T pay MORE for the room. You paid rack rate.

Maybe it's just semantics. Call it "100% off the dining plan", "dining plan added at no additional cost", "free dining". It's all the same.

 

[soulmates]

New DVC owners here...what is this TiW you speak of?

 

[Reddog1134]

New DVC owners here...what is this TiW you speak of?

Tables in Wonderland.

It's a dining discount card previously only available to Annual Passholders and Florida Residents. They recently made it available to DVC members.

More info HERE.

 

[soulmates]

Tables in Wonderland.

It's a dining discount card previously only available to Annual Passholders and Florida Residents. They recently made it available to DVC members.

More info HERE.

Why thank you!

 

[LisaS]

So how does that make it "Not free"? Saying "because you paid more for the room" doesn't make sense because you DIDN'T pay MORE for the room. You paid rack rate.

Maybe it's just semantics. Call it "100% off the dining plan", "dining plan added at no additional cost", "free dining". It's all the same.

It isn't the same for people like me who would never book a room at rack rate. From my perspective, "free dining" isn't really free if my other costs will go up by more than what I would save. Prior to joining DVC, we only went to WDW when we could get a room discount. When I compare rack rate + free dining against a discounted room rate + paying OOP for meals (especially with a TIW to help with the cost of TS meals), the second option is less expensive. This is not necessarily true for everyone but it is in my case.

It's kind of like those "as seen on TV" offers. "But wait! Call now and we'll throw in a second <insert product name here> absolutely free! Just pay shipping and handling." The shipping and handling charges will be excessive but the product itself was free! I would have to pay rack rate (excessive) to get free dining. The math doesn't work in my case.

 

[ccgirl]

It isn't the same for people like me who would never book a room at rack rate. From my perspective, "free dining" isn't really free if my other costs will go up by more than what I would save. Prior to joining DVC, we only went to WDW when we could get a room discount. When I compare rack rate + free dining against a discounted room rate + paying OOP for meals (especially with a TIW to help with the cost of TS meals), the second option is less expensive. This is not necessarily true for everyone but it is in my case.

It's kind of like those "as seen on TV" offers. "But wait! Call now and we'll throw in a second <insert product name here> absolutely free! Just pay shipping and handling." The shipping and handling charges will be excessive but the product itself was free! I would have to pay rack rate (excessive) to get free dining. The math doesn't work in my case.

What a great analogy.

 

[com_op_2000]

To everyone who believes that DVC members should get free dining:
WHY?
Should Disney offer you something for free, when you have contract that you agreeded to.

 

[Reddog1134]

It isn't the same for people like me who would never book a room at rack rate. From my perspective, "free dining" isn't really free if my other costs will go up by more than what I would save. Prior to joining DVC, we only went to WDW when we could get a room discount. When I compare rack rate + free dining against a discounted room rate + paying OOP for meals (especially with a TIW to help with the cost of TS meals), the second option is less expensive. This is not necessarily true for everyone but it is in my case.

It's kind of like those "as seen on TV" offers. "But wait! Call now and we'll throw in a second <insert product name here> absolutely free! Just pay shipping and handling." The shipping and handling charges will be excessive but the product itself was free! I would have to pay rack rate (excessive) to get free dining. The math doesn't work in my case.

It's not a good analogy because Disney is not making you pay more than rack rate for the room to get the free dining. I know that in most cases, the room discount is a much better savings but that does not negate the fact that you paid no additional cost for the dining plan.

 

[EEyorelover22]

The TIW is now available to DVC members without an AP. I think it is $100 without AP and $75 with AP.

Where do you purchase the TIW with the DVC discount.

Before I bought the TIW at the International Gateway when I activated my AP. Is this still the same or do I have to buy it through MS?

 

[GEB@okw]

My OKW room was 9 points a night and at $10 a point it was $90. Or, I can pay Disney $369 a night plus 12% tax and get free dining. That is the most expensive free dining I have ever seen. Maybe people should stop asking this question once and for all.

 

[fmer55]

I want to throw you a lifeline Fireman17 but it's not going to help. Youre not alone though, I too wish there were some ongoing perks to our DVC. Just a little thank you once in a while.

this thread makes me think people don't know what dvc is. You "own" a piece of a piece of property. Do you get free meals at your home? Or do you supply your own groceries, which you pay for, and cook on your own stove just like the one you have at your vacation home at disney?