Why won't Free Dining work for you?

[canopynut66]

I'm interested to know why you think Free Dining won't work for your stay.


I feel like the black sheep of the DisBoards! I just don't think I want FD offered during my stay in October. I'm totally on the fence, though. I crunched the numbers and I think we'd save a lot, but my gut feeling is that it wouldn't work as well for us as a room discount.

Being booked currently at POP we'd get QS which would not be a great savings for us. We have an 11 year old daughter who eats like a bird(kids' meals are too much!), and I'm a light eater myself, plus we don't eat desserts that often and need to have a "real" hot breakfast every morning (waste of a credit). Furthermore, I think FD makes getting ADRs a real pain. Also, I have some social anxiety and trying to figure out what would work on the DDP in terms of snacks, making mistakes in ordering, etc. I don't know! It just seems easier to pay OOP. I'm hoping for a nice room discount as we'd love to stay at POFQ again!

We love the free dining as it sure saves us more per day than any room discount does. We like the many different places to eat that we would not go to at home we like having it free but have paid for it as is so much easier than paying OOP. we do love character meals even though all kids grown as that part of the "effect" for us I plan the park days according to crowds per touring plans.com and then I make the ADR'S and have done on line but this year just called and done them and it does not keep us from any park time as we go when a park closes (unless it super late time) we had the QSDP and upgraded to MYWD as we like the TS each day. the desserts can be taken with you for snack later. as well as a drink or bottled water can. at POP you can get your recipt stamped and go back later and have very good sunies. we also like hot breakfast and that can be done with a QS or TS depends what you want. we also only do one park a day and no park hopping to eat. we have found over the years and 59 trips this waste a lot of time..way more than any dining will waste also with a child that does not eat much you will still spend the same as if they did eat and can just order off childs menu as well for them.

 

[tyniknate]

Free dining would save us a bunch, regardless if it was QS or DDX. There are 8 of us going, 7 are considered adults. The convenience of even the quick service would be great for us and a real money saver. Plus, not having to reach in my pocket for money every time the kids want a snack or drink makes it feel like more of a vacation. We are putting money on prepaid gift cards for souvenirs for the kids, so we actually will have to carry very little cash. We are really hoping for a Pin or public code for free dining in November. We currently have the 35% off room only discount, but would change to free dining in a heartbeat!

 

[Lindsayrg3]

For DH & I, the 40% off is a much better deal. We did the dining plan the last couple of years & like it for it's convenience but it actually costs us more than if we paid out of pocket. We definately don't need or even eat all of the desserts & I find myself ordering something more expensive than what I want to make it pay for itself. This year we're just going to put money on a gift card & use that instead. I'm going to like the option of being able to order whatever I want & eat wherever I want.

We're going to put our "dining allowance" on a gift card as well! However, do ALL restaurants in the World accept the Disney gift card? Logically, it seems they would, but I don't want to get there and end up having to get out a lot of cash because some restaurants won't accept it. Has anyone done this before?

 

[ADisneyQueen]

I was just wondering something about those of you that use the gift cards to pay for food- what happens if you lose the card or it gets stolen? Will Disney replace it if you have numbers on it like the park tickets? If they won't, I would rather use a credit card that I can put a hold on if it gets lost/stolen.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

We've used FD and room off discounts. If there weren't any other discounts available of course we would use FD, but a room only discount or the 4/3 deal is better for us.

We just aren't fans of the DDP anymore. I've crunched the numbers on several of our trips and our eating habits are better met by buying meals OOP.

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

FD was a lifesaver for us for this upcoming May trip. There will be 3 adults and 2 girls and this was a real budget trip, so we wanted as much to be as prepaid for as possible. We're only doing 2 TS meals TOPS, otherwise we would just be doing CS and when we compared that to the Kids Stay and Play Free it ended up being cheaper. We would have ended up spending that kind of money on food anyway, so yeah, it was a deal.

But my friend and I are thinking of a long weekend trip this October. For us, FD would be such a bummer compared to a room discount. Again, we're making this trip as CHEAP as possible so we might just pack some food and bring it down and bag-lunch it through the parks, maybe getting one or two CS meals throughout the weekend. So FD would just be us justifying eating at the parks all weekend when we could have avoided it. A discount would be something we ACTUALLY benefit from, even if only the first two nights are discounted. So we'll see, maybe if FD is all that's offered we will go for it and then not have to worry about packing food, but we wouldn't really save any money.

 

[teacher31]

We feel the same way, which is why we just gave up FD at POR and took a room only at the Dolphin. I have to admit it is a bit of a relief being able to have a plan, but still be able to change it at the last minute and not be locked in by a dining reservation.

 

[Mamu]

Our last 5 trips we have stayed deluxes, 4 of them have been CL. We have always gotten huge discounts. We have AP's.

We choose the discount which is quite a bit when your booking 2 rooms. We do a few TS meal but mostly CS. We travel with teens and little ones.

A average savings with discount is usually over $2500 for a week at Disney. We just don't spend that kind of money on food for a week. Maybe the Free DP would be a better deal, but we are light eaters and the thought of booking all TS meals and going from one restaurant to another does not appeal to us. We do not go to Disney for dining we go for the parks.

Most of our TS meals are lunches which are a saving in themselves.

Decisions, Decisions, what is best for your family. The discount, CL and TS lunches is what works best for us.

 

[lurkernj]

Totally depends on who is going on the trip with me. I went with DH and two disney "adult" kids, so 4 of us "adults" in a Mod with free dining was the best deal ever for us (room was $149/nt, reg dining plan would have been $160/nt), 40% off would have been about $60/nt.

Another year stayed in a value with one disney adult(when we would get the TS with the free dining), so two of us at adult dining prices, room was $82/nt vs $80/nt for the dining plan, so obviously free dining worked for both of those trips. And it was great that I didn't care if DS11 ordered the $30 steak and could have a snack whenever he wanted.

Next year DH and I are thinking of doing beach club without kids, 40% off would be much better for us, and probably pay oop for food since we tend to split an appy, get our own entrees, then split dessert when we go out together, or just snack our way around. So one discount does not fit all.

 

[kstgelais4]

Bolding what I am responding to...

I couldn't agree with you more. We did the DDP once and really didn't like it - and this was when it truly was a deal with apps and tips included. We can eat cheaper oop, and the trip is so much cheaper because we use room discounts. It doesn't fit the way we vacation or eat. I can't imagine paying rack rate and thinking I'm getting a deal because of free dining. And to add more fuel to the fire, I'm convinced the food quality has gone down since the dining plan became so popular. We were pretty disappointed about some of our options on our last trip. I think the overall restaurant/dining experience was much better before the free dining madness.

But it will never go away because people will continue to think they are getting a deal. And some people are. So we ignore the free dining discounts and covet the room only discount pins. And we've lowered our dining expectations.

Some people REALLY are getting a deal. We are a family of 8 with 5 Disney adults. Although we have to book 2 rooms, FD is just better for us.
We are booked with the 35% pin, although we did add the DDP based on our eating habits. Financially it makes more sense for us to change to FD if it comes available. We will be spending $500 more than the room only pin if we add FD. I will NOT be able to feed my family for $500 for 10 nights. No way. Well, I guess I could, but I don't want to share CS meals for a week and a half, and not buy any mickey bars. That $500 would be blown pretty quickly on our 2 required character meals.

I think that people sometimes forget that you are not necessarily going to save money with the dining plan vs paying oop. Yes, if you compare what disney charges for the ddp vs a room discount on a particular package, then the free dining discount may appear cheaper. BUT, you also have to compare what you would spend without the dining plan altogether. The ddp is expensive so it is always wise to consider how you would eat if it were not in the equation at all. Would you be ordering soda with meals, getting dessert, doing character dining, etc.? It all depends on the priorities of the traveler. I'd much rather spend my dime on a nice room than a ho-hum buffet with Mickey. Again, it depends on the traveler's priorities.

We actually wouldn't order desserts or soda, but even still the room discount isn't enough for our family configuration. We probably won't even take the desserts, and still will drink water if FD comes available. Still worth it.

FD works for our family- I have run the numbers several times. We do a LOT of character meals (a sacrifice we make for our DD's) and one DD is 10 so she is adult price. We stay Value because we spend as much time as possible at the parks. For us the TS restaurants are a big part of the WDW experience so we upgrade the FD QS plan. I ask my family "which TS restaurant would you give up?" and they always say "we want to keep doing them all!"

I had not thought of it until reading some of the other posts, but knowing my personality I can see myself thinking or saying "we can't go there because it costs $$$" or "you can't order that because of the money" or "can't the 3 of you share a meal?" It may be a really nice blessing to my family to do the DDP so it is paid for in advance. Otherwise I may ruin the vacation- lol

OMG! This is me! I would too. We are paying for the DDP for this reason. (I know you can all cringe) Last trip I did this, and we still spent a small fortune on food. I think that we are STILL saving money with our eating habits even with paying for the DDP. FD would be a HUGE $1000 bonus for us!

Free dining would save us a bunch, regardless if it was QS or DDX. There are 8 of us going, 7 are considered adults. The convenience of even the quick service would be great for us and a real money saver. Plus, not having to reach in my pocket for money every time the kids want a snack or drink makes it feel like more of a vacation. We are putting money on prepaid gift cards for souvenirs for the kids, so we actually will have to carry very little cash. We are really hoping for a Pin or public code for free dining in November. We currently have the 35% off room only discount, but would change to free dining in a heartbeat!

Again this is us, although we only have 5 "adults". Part of our fear of the food budget is because we have 4 boys. LOL. As the 2 oldest get older, I find my wondering if we will have to choose between sending them to college or feeding them throughout highschool.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I've done the calculations and for us, QS is break even for us (and this includes the snacks).

We don't eat more than 2-3 TS for our 5 - 6 day trips. The one trip we tried more than that, we cancelled several because it felt like we were always going to TS and spending way too much time at sit down meals.

So for us, we wouldn't do the Dining Plan and we'd rather have a room discount.

 

[Sheaboys]

Well the time we went was 2005, and at that time just had 3 kids, that were kids.
We did get the FREE Dining plan, it was Snack, Table and Counter Service.

It was a huge savings for us.

I am on vacation, it is bad enough I have to carry the tray, get the little kids food, help cut it up or whatever, wait in the counter service lines, find tables and all that jazz, of DH helps, but you get the idea.
So I enjoy, having that sit down meal, where I am served, so I actually get a hot meal, a decent meal, etc.
Table service prices for us ran: $125-$190 each time. Counter service meals, ran about $50 each time.

Now, DH would use a counter service for breakfast at POR often, since my kids were younger at that time and they easily shared a meal. So it worked out perfect.

Now that our family has increased in size and now have "Disney Adults", it is an absolute must. Could we do CS every day, every meal and share, YEP, but like I said, I am on vacation too. Knowing that I have a seat to sit in come supper time, is a huge deal to me.

 

[Missoutandabout]

It's just the hubster, the kiddo (4) and myself. Just no way I'd consider a dining plan. I'd rather get a room discount (which is what we went for with our upcoming stay). Besides not wanting to worry about credits or points or whatever they're called, I don't want to feel tied down to making tons of ADRs. I like a relaxing, be-where-we-want-when-we-want feel to our vacations.

I already feel anxious, like we've got too many ADRs made. We're staying 6 nights at the BC and 4 nights at the Poly. During this time, we've got a whopping 5 ADRs.