ndtechie05
Member
Hello my wife and I are waiting on the free dining option before booking as we have done this the past 2 years. Has there been any evidence of them offering free dining before the year is over?
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Free Dining 2013?
- Thread starter ndtechie05
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Hot Lava
Well-Known Member
Personally, I would prefer a room discount to the free DP. When I do eat at one of the sit down places, I would prefer it to be with good food. If all the free DPs have meant a real decline in food quality (esp. at the top couple of restaurant tiers), that is bad to me.
I wonder if they couldn't have a different sort of free DP for the people who really want it, or depend on it? So a free DP, but only at quick service, or the "lower end" sit down spots? Perhaps that could satisfy the consumers who want it, but the restaurant chefs that don't.
WS cares b/c they see it as affecting their share value. They want to wring every last dime out of every company for which they hold stock. They probably see crowds going and think at this point they would be there no matter what. Hence, get rid of the free DP; people will still come and they shareholders will get more money. Only if the elimination of free DP caused a corresponding (large) drop in attendance and/or spending at WDW would WS allow those discounts back.
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RedDad
Smitty Werben JagerManJensen
Well, they're a corporation with shareholders, and are in business to make money. Look at the cut-backs in maintenance that many on this site complain about, which is all about raising profit margins and maximizing income. Hence, also, the emphasis on adding dining options (FLE) and the increase in ticket prices. (They're now double what they were in 2001). I'm not saying it's a good thing, but they have said multiple times that the ultimate goal is to get folks back into their resorts at "normalized levels of pricing". They only introduced the kinds of discounts we've seen lately because of the poor economy. I know we wouldn't have gone nearly as much in the last few years if it hadn't been for the discounts, so I hope they don't go away!
Disney makes plenty of money, but I'm not sure the profit margins on the theme parks are quite what some think they are. ESPN and tv are their cash cows.
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Violet
Well-Known Member
Food costs have been going up as well I believe. So maybe free dining is costing them more now to provide.
The rooms are there regardless. If they give a room discount that gets someone to come, great. If they can entice people to upgrade with a room discount, then they feel like they got a deal and they hope to get them used to a different level of accommodation. Win-win for them.
The rooms are there regardless. If they give a room discount that gets someone to come, great. If they can entice people to upgrade with a room discount, then they feel like they got a deal and they hope to get them used to a different level of accommodation. Win-win for them.
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draybook
Well-Known Member
I have the feeling that most people who see a commercial for Free Dining would think that it's a better deal than a certain percentage off of a room. That is, most families with children. Obviously, the more people in your party, the more free food you're getting, whereas rooms are rooms, no matter how many people there are.
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mhaftman7
Well-Known Member
My opinion, for what it's worth, is to receive the free dining. The good is more than adequate and it allows us to not require an additional budget for food. For my family of four, we only really eat two meals per day, but the table meals can easily reach $100. To not need to set aside the best part of a grand just for good is more beneficial than the 15% off the rack rate. We trend to stay at ASMo, which generally comes to about $250-300 bucks off the bill.
My family trends to stay at the value resort purely for we stay out all day. The kids only want to use the pool before bed. After that, a quick tub and off to bed.
My family trends to stay at the value resort purely for we stay out all day. The kids only want to use the pool before bed. After that, a quick tub and off to bed.
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alissafalco
Well-Known Member
Losing free dining won't keep us from going either, but it will keep us from buying the dining plan. So long DDP!
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bluejasmine
Active Member
Im really on the fence about this.. I mean we have used FD many times but also bought DDP and used RO discount. It really depends on where your staying a RO discount at a Deluxe saves you more while at a MOD and value FD saves more..
I know I have several clients waiting to book if FD comes out or they will stay and eat off site.. I myself would like FD since its a very budgeted trip for us this yr and I could seriously use the discount. I just wish they would announce something either way.. The waiting really SUCKS! lol
I know I have several clients waiting to book if FD comes out or they will stay and eat off site.. I myself would like FD since its a very budgeted trip for us this yr and I could seriously use the discount. I just wish they would announce something either way.. The waiting really SUCKS! lol
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All of UK residents are on free DDP for 2013.
I beg to differ!!
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sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
"The food is more than adequate..."
This. This is a problem. Lets set DDP & free dining aside for a moment. Whether or not the prices on the menus concern you, you should be aware of what Disney asks for their food and consider what it is you receive. Even if the food/prices don't concern DDP &/or Free Dining guests you should understand what Disney is doing and know that what they do doesn't just apply to the food. At the prices asked the food should not be even close to the word "adequate". Everyone says, "It's Disney. It's expensive." Okay. So you're telling me the food costs twice as much when the suppliers have to cross the threshold onto Disney soil? The utilities to run the kitchens & dining facilities are double the rest of the area because its Disney utilities? Better yet, we all know Disney cast & crew aren't making a premium wage because they work there vs. other restaurants. So what gives? Disney is ripping the crap out of people, feeding them grub slightly above slop level, and laughing all the way to the bank. This is not the only thing they do this with. Resorts. Don't like the little percentage room discounts offered on considerably over-inflated rack rates? We'll give you free slop and now you can pay full over-inflated rack rate.
I think I'm just astonished at the use of the word "adequate". Our family of 4 used to budget $2k+ for food/snacks for a 10-day trip. We always had good room discounts & utilized TiW. $2k. That's not chump change. When I became insulted by the bill at the end of the meal and livid at the cash registers because the food was that not-even-adequate it was time to reevaluate.
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sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
I hear ya, Dray! Definitely another factor for us. Just last night the old man said, "I miss WDW. The one reason I don't want to go, tho, is the crowds. The crowds are miserable." Pile obnoxious tour groups on that and its frickin' kryptonite!
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mhaftman7
Well-Known Member
First off, I didn't say it was adequate, i said it was more than adequate. By that I mean I enjoy my meal. I have never walked away from a meal at any park or resort thinking that was disgusting or "slop".
Compared to similar restaurants locally, i.e. Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood, and Hard Rock Cafe, the prices are not all that astronomical as it is made out to be. I find the quality to be the same at the RC in WDW and in Atlantic City.
So what you're saying is, in my estimation, that you'd rather take the "little percentage room discounts" and overpay for "slop" for 10 days. Is that what you're getting at? Personally, I'd rather have free, or discounted "slop" that is already paid for so that I don't have to shell out that much money while I'm there than save a miniscule percentage at a value priced resort during a value season.
You said a good majority of people expect Disney to be expensive. I don't. I try to price the best time, place, and special offer that is most beneficial to my family. I only expect to have to wait in long lines and get a whiff of sun tan lotion, heat related smells, and food related smells.
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mhaftman7
Well-Known Member
Wow. You must go when all of Brazil comes up. In all actuality, I prefer large South American groups to the large North American ones. Maybe I'm just lucky, but every group I've come across has been 10x more polite and respectful. I generally try to stay away during times when High School trips are there. I stay away between Halloween and New Year's because I have a large, close knit family that we spend a lot of time with.
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mhaftman7
Well-Known Member
So I skimmed a trip report of yours from last year. It seems like your problem is the price for the for food and not the quality. Like buyer's remorse. When you refer to the slop, do you mean at WDW our just Disney in general? Because you said the Mushroom Risotto was the bomb on your cruise. I'm just having a difficult time with it being good when you photographed it, but now it's slop. Or did this all change since last year?
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sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
First, I don't frequent the chain restaurants you mentioned (Rainforest, Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock, etc) because for the most part we walk away feeling like we paid entirely too much for meh-level food. We're not easily impressed. For Rainforest in particular, chaos or obnoxious is not an enjoyable atmosphere. Rather stay home & keep the bucks for the vacation funds.
Disney food??? Our last trip we ate QS, TS, & a signature. Wasn't wow'd by much at all. What I recall more than anything were the numerous times we were presented with very large bills to pay (after discount) and being ed. Not irritated. Not disappointed. Mad. Soooo much money for food not even close to being worth that, especially at the signature. That's so unacceptable. Seriously. I imagine if we'd taken the money spent on food that trip and swapped it for free dining/paying full rack rate at Wilderness Lodge & Yacht Club. (((((((shudders))))))). Never mind. Can't even wrap my brain around that one.
As far as choice between free dining or room discount...currently that decision would be NEITHER. We've not been back to WDW for a parks trip since fall 2011 because the overall quality of the experience (food, resorts, parks, etc) vs. what we paid was enough to slam the door on an 8 year love affair with vacationing there. That trip we utilized our FL resident annual passes, had a 40%+ pin code off our resorts, and had TiW. I know how to work the discounts, believe me.
We have used free dining once (Nov 2010) which was an okay value staying at a moderate resort but I wouldn't say great. We still had to pay for tips on all the TS restaurants. We still had OOP expenses for drinks & food in addition to what was on the dining plan. Teen boys eat frequently. At DDP meals its too much food all at once and we ended up ordering way more food than we would paying OOP. So, yeah, free dining looked nice but wasn't really a savings for us over utilizing room discounts, APs, and TiW. If Free Dining is such a draw, might I suggest a Disney cruise? All the food & entertainment/activities (w/the exception of optional things here & there that aren't necessary at all) are included in your cruise fare. It's like Free Dining every day. Just like WDW travel, if you travel in the less-typically-busy times or keep a sharp eye discounts and lower prices often appear making it pretty affordable. Why settle for 1 free Mickey's Premium when you can have as many as you want brought to you (room service) for free??? Why have 1 walk-up & 1 table service meal for free each day when you can have as many of both as you can manage???? And, lets face it, the quality of what you get to eat DOES illustrate just how bad the WDW so-called "food" is. I won't go into the service or anything else. Rest assured, we like to stay busy and be on-the-go. It doesn't take a park to keep a Disney fan engaged, entertained, and enchanted.
If you walk up to any random person on the street and ask them if they think going to WDW is expensive the majority will say "Yes!" In all the years we went on allvthe trips we did when it came up in conversation the vast majority always mentioned how expensive everything is. When you start knocking Disney's prices on fan forums there will always be many who pop up and say things like "It's Disney. What did you expect?" For me, its not about how much everything is as much as a need to feel like what I'm getting is worth what I'm paying. Disney has jacked prices thru the roof well beyond any inflation rate without providing additional value or quality. The price-jacking is so obviously done to create an illusion of value in their discounts. Sorry, to me it comes off very underhanded...or as some might say: unDisney-like.
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sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
I didn't pay $120+ plus for 1 serving of the risotto at a meal where it was served. In fact, I could've ordered as many portions of it as I wanted. When dining in restaurants that the risotto was not on the menu had I wanted that dish and it had been prepared that night I would've been brought as much of it as I wanted. And each time I would not be separated from large sums of money to have it either.
Quality. Last WDW trip we ate at the Yachtsman for our anniversary. Can't go wrong with a signature, especially one so highly reviewed, right? Wrong. We paid (gosh, hard to remember just now) somewhere like $350 or more (?) for dinner for 5 for steaks that weren't that good, substandard cuts, insufficient quality, and a few were improperly prepared. Sorry, its hard for me to go into a restaurant knowing I'm about to drop a couple hundred dollars without being even somewhat confident the food will be worthwhile. That just doesn't sit right with me. It's spending large sums of money not being assured of a quality experience. I'm not a good gambler. I can't do it.
Its also an unsettling in the dwindling quality of experiences and products we've experienced over the years. Again, it comes down to willingness to take a chance with large sums of money. If I feel I'm more likely to be disappointed than I am to be impressed its just not likely I'll shell out more money than I did a few years ago or than I would anywhere else.
Not saying everything at WDW is awful. Definitely have little gems here and there that "do it" for me. But why is it not this way at more turns than less??? Is that not reasonable? Disney's quality standards in all areas are legendary for being above the rest. I grew up in Orlando. Been going to WDW my whole life. It wasn't always this way.
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Violet
Well-Known Member
My experience was this...(No dining plan, all OOP)
- There was some decent QS meals out there that were a good value for the money (relative to Disney and other amusement parks).
- The food at the character meals was generally awful, mostly buffets, but also including CRT. But we did those for the characters, so those didn't tick me off that much.
- Now, the regular, non-character TS restaurants were the problem IMO...They were way overpriced for the quality of food. Every single time I left thinking that I just should have eating something QS.
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bluejasmine
Active Member
Holy Cow has this gone SOUTH! LOL I think everyone should agree to disagree..
Im a Disney fanatic as well as a Disney TA and Ill be the first to admit Disney is a very expensive addiction.
I am one that really believes in the DDP, we have gotten free several times as well as paid for it several times and either way after adding up all my receipts each trip and doing the math we did save several hundred dollars.
We are a family that likes to buy QS breakfast, have QS lunch and a 1TS dinner plus snacks so it works for us. In fact honestly there are several places I feel we would have never ate at or been able to afford w/o DDP.
Is the food top notch? Not always but there has been many meals I really enjoyed and look fwd to repeating each yr.
Our experience has been staying Deluxe a RO code saves more but staying Mod or Value the FD saves more.. So this yr Im praying for FD!
Im a Disney fanatic as well as a Disney TA and Ill be the first to admit Disney is a very expensive addiction.
I am one that really believes in the DDP, we have gotten free several times as well as paid for it several times and either way after adding up all my receipts each trip and doing the math we did save several hundred dollars.
We are a family that likes to buy QS breakfast, have QS lunch and a 1TS dinner plus snacks so it works for us. In fact honestly there are several places I feel we would have never ate at or been able to afford w/o DDP.
Is the food top notch? Not always but there has been many meals I really enjoyed and look fwd to repeating each yr.
Our experience has been staying Deluxe a RO code saves more but staying Mod or Value the FD saves more.. So this yr Im praying for FD!
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