Am I the only one who DOESN'T care about free dining?

[PrincessTiffany]

40% for us just isnt as good of a deal.. with 2 rooms at pop I would save approx $74 a day. I know my family of 6 will easily eat more than $74 a day on food while on vacation.

If your a small family or no kids and staying at a deluxe I could see how the 40% off room would much a much better deal for you.

Ditto for us.

 

[clc053103]

we get a better deal with 40% off- but regardless, we get the DxDP. Here's why I hate free dining: because people who normally would not be eating table service at the Disney restaurants are now eating there because it's free- making reservations even a bigger nightmare! I'd rather they just discount the rooms so the restaurants are available who those who want to pay to eat there.

 

[MissMichelle]

I didn't see it hyped up as much this year as in previous years...And wasn't is released AT least a week earlier this time? They must really be hurting at Disney

I had Deluxe dining from Bounce back booked but have canceled and switched to the free dining...We really don't need nor want as much food as the deluxe gives us. I only get the DDP for the convienence honestly. Whether it is a "deal" $$ wise it saves my sanity.

 

[Mommydar]

Sure you eat for free, but for many with children, August - early october has to be the most inopportune time to go. First, unless you live in an area where they have later school time, you are inevitably pulling children out of school to visit Disney. Second, it's too darn hot that time of year, not to mention the risk of hurricanes. Now if this were a spring deal, I'd jump all over it.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Sure you eat for free, but for many with children, August - early october has to be the most inopportune time to go. First, unless you live in an area where they have later school time, you are inevitably pulling children out of school to visit Disney. Second, it's too darn hot that time of year, not to mention the risk of hurricanes. Now if this were a spring deal, I'd jump all over it.

We will be pulling our kids out again this year. They already have Sept. 7 off for Labor Day and Sept. 8 for Teacher Inservice Day so they will only be missing 3 days of school. And, yes, it is very hot, but we have 4 kids and the $1,600.00 savings is just too great to pass up.

 

[Tink561]

Sure you eat for free, but for many with children, August - early october has to be the most inopportune time to go. First, unless you live in an area where they have later school time, you are inevitably pulling children out of school to visit Disney. Second, it's too darn hot that time of year, not to mention the risk of hurricanes. Now if this were a spring deal, I'd jump all over it.

We homeschool and live in south Florida so we deal with the heat and hurricanes anyway.

 

[pktbMouse]

is it just august to october? also how do you get it?

 

[kykatt2]

We did the DDP last year for the first time, so we never had the free Appetizer's and Tip-less experience that MOST PEOPLE still complain about.

Eh.. it was O.K. I ate at places that I would NEVER EAT AT... because of the expense. Free dining seems to be coming early this year.. I am there that first week and i now am DREADING IT. I rented points from a DVC'r so I could afford to stay at OKW... so the Free food is not an option for me.

I WOULD to DDP for Free. Meals run us 100.00 a day normally... more if we dine at Disney. The Hassle of having to be SOMEWHERE at a CERTAIN TIME was the big drawback but if it was free I could stomach it better.

 

[kykatt2]

is it just august to october? also how do you get it?

Maybe this will help:




Get FREE Dining for travel most nights August 16 - October 3, 2009 when you book a full price Walt Disney World vacation package that includes at least 3 hotel nights at an official Disney World resort, plus at least one-day base theme park ticket.
Disney Booking Codes:

• RYH - Basic Dining Plan
• UGR - Deluxe Dining
• KEU - Free with Wine
• NZZ - Deluxe Dining with Wine and Dine

Travel agents or Disney Rep can hook ya up

 

[mickeynut1]

We did free dining in Sept '06 & '07 and it was a great savings for our family of 4 as we have 2 teen boys (who are priced as adults at Disney). But this year we are not interested in free dining since the 4/3 deal (and paying for the DDP) is saving us $226 more than what free dining would save us .

 

[DaisyD]

Sure you eat for free, but for many with children, August - early october has to be the most inopportune time to go. First, unless you live in an area where they have later school time, you are inevitably pulling children out of school to visit Disney. Second, it's too darn hot that time of year, not to mention the risk of hurricanes. Now if this were a spring deal, I'd jump all over it.

I always pull my daughter out for our Sept/Oct trip. Crowds are low and weather is great.

 

[MEK]

I am DVC, I have an AP, and I have the TIW card, but I still think free dining is da bomb! I don't have enough DVC points to cover a second trip in September, but my DH and I are going to take advantage of the free dining for 4 nights. Of course, we are staying value to make this "extra" trip as inexpensive as possible.

This is the first year our kids will be old enough to be left alone for 4 nights and I have always wanted to go to the Halloween party, so free dining gives us the excuse we need.

I look forward to the day when we can do a longer trip and split it between DVC and free dining!

 

[CoolPool]

We stay deluxe. Free dining is not a good deal for 2 adults with 2 under 10s. Almost any hotel discount would be better than free dining. The only reason I can figure that some people still book this at the deluxe level with our family type would be because they simply do not run the real numbers. They hear the word "free" and take it at face value.

 

[Informer1906]

We stay deluxe. Free dining is not a good deal for 2 adults with 2 under 10s. Almost any hotel discount would be better than free dining. The only reason I can figure that some people still book this at the deluxe level with our family type would be because they simply do not run the real numbers. They hear the word "free" and take it at face value.

Please share becuse I have tried to find a deal for a Deluxe, and unless you get a pin (which is random) for Septemeber, what room deal beats free dining? What numbers am I not running

 

[Cupmom]

You need to crunch the numbers and see what works best for your family. For us it does there are four of us ,me, DH,DS16 and DS 8. We like a sit down meal each day and a counter service. The cost would be well over what a discount on a room would be. But we go during value, stay at WL. A 40% saving would be $96 off the room. We would spend more then $96 a day in food for sure.

 

[winterman]

I feel like such an oddball. I have no desire to do the dining plan at Disney, even for free. I've seen so many people have issues with what they have left, what they've used, not understanding how it works.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's awesome that so many people can take advantage of it. I'm just wondering if I'm all alone in my little world.

Yes. Apparently so.

 

[clkelley]

We absolutely don't care about free dining either. We stay at the campground, much prefer the later October time frame for Food & Wine Festival, and even the free dining plan with the changes (no appetizer, plus pay tips) isn't a deal for us.

We can do much better with AP discounts, Tables in Wonderland Card, and eating the way that is more our style. (Each get an appetizer, share entree, have a snack a couple of hours later).

We made a special trip for Free Dining in September 07 and it was fun, but with the changes they made in 08, it's no longer worth it.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Any deal is going to be good/bad depending on your family. I have 5 kids, 4 who are "Disney adults". We are bringing a tween cousin. Feeding a family of 8 is VERY expensive at Disney. This is why the offer was so attractive to us.

 

[Informer1906]

We absolutely don't care about free dining either. We stay at the campground, much prefer the later October time frame for Food & Wine Festival, and even the free dining plan with the changes (no appetizer, plus pay tips) isn't a deal for us.

We can do much better with AP discounts, Tables in Wonderland Card, and eating the way that is more our style. (Each get an appetizer, share entree, have a snack a couple of hours later).

We made a special trip for Free Dining in September 07 and it was fun, but with the changes they made in 08, it's no longer worth it.

Good deal for you but most do not have an AP, or get 40% off, thus this deal is a dream if you were going to Disney anyway. Who turns down free food? Man, you get trampled by people running to the break room at lunch when a vendor brings free food to work.

 

[NancyIL]

Nope, OP you are not alone.

1. It's not FREE! You pay rack rate for the room. Since IMHO the rooms at Disney are VERY overpriced FREE means "we marked up something else to give you the deal"

2. It's not good to overpay for a room that will include more food then I need or want. That's just wasteful. (And I don't buy the "you don't have to eat it all" Folks on here will force themselves to eat it because "it's free" or "we paid for it " LOL!)

3. It's Disney Dining. With some exceptions it's not that outstanding. I live in a major city and can eat better!

I admit I just dropped into this board this morning to watch the frenzy!

I agree with you, Carol! Some additional reasons for me:

1. I usually go to WDW solo, so "free" dining for one person isn't a big deal.

2. I prefer to stay at the Swan or Dolphin, and they don't participate in the Dining Plan.

3. As an annual passholder, I have the Tables In Wonderland (formerly Disney Dining Experience) discount card. I prefer to save 20% on the food I really want to eat, rather than order dessert twice a day because it's "free."

4. I don't want to have to plan where I'm going to eat my meals 3 months in advance, just to ensure that I can eat somewhere!

5. September isn't my favorite month to visit WDW! I booked a last-minute trip for late September 2008, but only to hear some entertainers (Four for a Dollar at the Studios and Leon Gregory at the Rose and Crown Pub) before their jobs were eliminated at the end of the month.