Free dining 2018?

[SouthAfricanDisneymoon]

Hi everyone,

We are busy planning our honeymoon to Disney in Oct 2018, all the way from Cape Town, South Africa.

It is, of course, a major splurge for us and we want to ensure that we plan correctly and can save as much as possible wherever we can.

I had read somewhere that at some point in the year, Disney offers a free dining plan to guests staying on site- is this true? If so, when does this become available and is it automatically applied to whatever is in your reservation/booking on the official Disney website?

We are booking everything in Feb. My friend is a CM and is helping us book with her discount (she obviously won't be there) If we are getting such a great deal with her discount, is it even worth the effort to try and get free dining too? Am I being greedy?

If free dining isn't possible, is it worth it for us to just purchase the dining option as part of our vacation package? We really love eating out and trying as many new things as possible.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

If you can get free dining then go for it. If you can't then it is really an individual numbers game. Some people won't break anywhere near even on the dining plan some will come out ahead. If you are planning a lot of sit down meals and or character meals then it may well be worth it. Throw signature dining into the mix and i think it becomes more skewed towards getting the plan. It really needs a good deal of number crunching and deciding on what and where you are looking to eat.

 

[SouthAfricanDisneymoon]

If you can get free dining then go for it. If you can't then it is really an individual numbers game. Some people won't break anywhere near even on the dining plan some will come out ahead. If you are planning a lot of sit down meals and or character meals then it may well be worth it. Throw signature dining into the mix and i think it becomes more skewed towards getting the plan. It really needs a good deal of number crunching and deciding on what and where you are looking to eat.

Thank you so much!

 

[Tuvalu]

Free Dining is never offered in October anymore, due to increased guest attendance.

If you are using a cast member discount for your stay, that is the only discount you will be be able to use as only one type of discount per reservation is allowed. But cast member discounts are very generous so you’re good!

I am not a fan of the Dining Plan.

 

[Monty]

The offer for "free" dining usually comes out in April, IIRC. If you've booked with the CM discount, that will most likely be a better option, unless you have a large party [as you're on your honeymoon, I suspect there's just two]. Free DDP comes with the room at rack rate.

The good news is you can check to see what's offered and if it's somehow better, you can switch.

 

[jimbojones]

The dining plans are great if you eat a lot and I have used it when it was part of a special offer but honestly its not something that I think is really valuable

 

[sxeensweet]

As already pointed out it is usually never offered in October anymore but they will likely have a room discount during October so just keep an eye out and compare offers to see what is best for you. Probably won’t see any offers released until April or so for the fall.

 

[Dave B]

If it is offered, take it. I have no idea how people don't utilize it or "Break Even" for us, we get a chance to eat at places and try things we never would without the plan. IT ALWAYS saves us money, no one has ever showed me a scenario where it is not to your advantage.

Now people will say we don't eat that much, and the whole rack rate thing, but it has never made sense to me how you lose taking advantage of the promotion

 

[amycarl75]

We got the free dining plan last August. It was the first time that my family had experienced Family of 6 two adults four children. We stayed at one of the cabins it was excellent can’t say enough good things about it we didn’t get the quick service but we had upgraded to the regular dining plan. I can say we ate like kings My grumpy teenagers even loved . My little girls loved it even my husband who is not a huge Disney fan said hands down best trip ever

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

If you can get your friends discount on your room, as a CM they can add the dining plan for you also at a discounted rate. That is going to be your best plan and will save you the most money.

Have a wonderful trip/Honeymoon!

Pam

 

[SouthAfricanDisneymoon]

Thank you all for your help! This is really helpful. x

 

[DisneyDaver]

If it is offered, take it. I have no idea how people don't utilize it or "Break Even" for us, we get a chance to eat at places and try things we never would without the plan. IT ALWAYS saves us money, no one has ever showed me a scenario where it is not to your advantage.

I think the poster you are referring to meant that if free dining is not available and you have to pay for the dining plan, then it may not be worth it (depending on your situation). For example, my family does not drink pop (we are good with tap water) and we skip dessert at most meals. If that is how you eat, then you will lose money by purchasing the dining plan vs paying out of pocket for what you order.

 

[NelleBelle]

This! We're vegetarian so we never break even when we get the dining plan. I'm diabetic and really don't like the sugar-free options so for our family, we found that it just doesn't make sense to get the free dining plan. We'd rather take the room discount. If you want the dining plan, take your friend's discount and add the dining plan (you'll likely be saving so much with her CM discount the dining plan may be well worth it for you)!

 

[SouthAfricanDisneymoon]

This! We're vegetarian so we never break even when we get the dining plan. I'm diabetic and really don't like the sugar-free options so for our family, we found that it just doesn't make sense to get the free dining plan. We'd rather take the room discount. If you want the dining plan, take your friend's discount and add the dining plan (you'll likely be saving so much with her CM discount the dining plan may be well worth it for you)!

Thank you!!

 

[jimbojones]

I think the poster you are referring to meant that if free dining is not available and you have to pay for the dining plan, then it may not be worth it (depending on your situation). For example, my family does not drink pop (we are good with tap water) and we skip dessert at most meals. If that is how you eat, then you will lose money by purchasing the dining plan vs paying out of pocket for what you order.

If I am the person that this was directed at yes this is exactly what I meant. Its a great deal if it is free but I wouldn't pay for it and I'd take a room discount over free dining.

 

[Dave B]

I would take it for free, but We would NOT pay for it