Free Dining Might Change My Plans

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WDWFan2018

Active Member
Original Poster
What would you do? I originally booked Port Orleans (preferred room) with the dining plan for my vacation but now that Disney has announced the free dining, I'm wondering if I should change my plans. I can book Beach Club for only $300 more than PO for the week. I can also book an Art of Animation suite (with upgrade to standard dining plan) for $300 less than my original PO quote. Or would you just keep things the same?
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I concur - $300 total difference? Totally worth it for the upgrade. (Curious: is free dining offered at BC as well, because that would also be an upgrade in the kind of dining plan you'd get -- regular DDP instead of quick-service).
 
W

WDWFan2018

Active Member
Original Poster
Weather_Lady said:
I concur - $300 total difference? Totally worth it for the upgrade. (Curious: is free dining offered at BC as well, because that would also be an upgrade in the kind of dining plan you'd get -- regular DDP instead of quick-service).
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Yes, BC is included. It's still $300 more with the dining plan included versus me paying for the dining plan and staying at PO (which is not included in the free dining).
 
W

WDWFan2018

Active Member
Original Poster
CaptainAmerica said:
Stay at Port Orleans but cancel the dining plan. Pay cash for your food and save a ton of money.
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I would normally do this but I know my husband. If we're paying for each restaurant individually, he's not going to want to eat at any of the nice places because they're too expensive. If it's included (yes, I know we're still paying for it) he'll be thrilled to be able to order steaks everywhere. I know, it makes no sense. I don't try to understand it, I just deal with it haha.
 
H

Hockey89

Well-Known Member
WDWFan2018 said:
I would normally do this but I know my husband. If we're paying for each restaurant individually, he's not going to want to eat at any of the nice places because they're too expensive. If it's included (yes, I know we're still paying for it) he'll be thrilled to be able to order steaks everywhere. I know, it makes no sense. I don't try to understand it, I just deal with it haha.
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God bless ;)
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
Stay at Port Orleans but cancel the dining plan. Pay cash for your food and save a ton of money.
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WDWFan2018 said:
I would normally do this but I know my husband. If we're paying for each restaurant individually, he's not going to want to eat at any of the nice places because they're too expensive. If it's included (yes, I know we're still paying for it) he'll be thrilled to be able to order steaks everywhere. I know, it makes no sense. I don't try to understand it, I just deal with it haha.
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That's pretty much the point of the dining plan. You can conceivably save some decent money but it requires more thought and effort than most people want to put into a vacation, "so if I pay in advance, I pretty much don't have to worry about food? Sold."

I agree that for $300 more it's worth the switch to upgrade to BC. An exception being if you enjoy spending a lot of time at Disney Springs because PO has the boat access. And depending on how you tour WDW - how much time you spend at your hotel versus at parks or doing non-hotel things - it might even be worth it to save $300 and do the AoA suite.
 
Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
I would also consider what room discounts are available for your trip. Depending how many in your party and your dining style, a good discount could save enough to cover your food and you'd have better options than the "free dining" offers.
 
mf1972

mf1972

Well-Known Member
we’re currently booked at the FQ w/dining this fall. for an extra $330, we can upgrade to either SSR or OKW w/dining.
last i looked, i don’t think BC is available anymore for our travel dates, but SSR & OKW aren’t winning us over that much. we’re probably just stay where we are.
 
21stamps

21stamps

Well-Known Member
mf1972 said:
we’re currently booked at the FQ w/dining this fall. for an extra $330, we can upgrade to either SSR or OKW w/dining.
last i looked, i don’t think BC is available anymore for our travel dates, but SSR & OKW aren’t winning us over that much. we’re probably just stay where we are.
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Given those 3 choices, I would stay at POFQ, no question.
I’ve never been to SSR, but I have stayed at OKW. I literally felt like I was in a Key West apartment complex.
 
mf1972

mf1972

Well-Known Member
21stamps said:
Given those 3 choices, I would stay at POFQ, no question.
I’ve never been to SSR, but I have stayed at OKW. I literally felt like I was in a Key West apartment complex.
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thanks for the tip. we figured we’d stay with FQ because it’s small & compact. i don’t mind walking, but it looks like it’s a hike at both OKW & SSR
 
correcaminos

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
mf1972 said:
we’re currently booked at the FQ w/dining this fall. for an extra $330, we can upgrade to either SSR or OKW w/dining.
last i looked, i don’t think BC is available anymore for our travel dates, but SSR & OKW aren’t winning us over that much. we’re probably just stay where we are.
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Honestly the only room I would think of out of those two (unless it's just the two of you) is OKW. That said I do LOVE OKW a lot and far more than FQ, but if you don't spend a lot of time in your room or at the resort I'm not sure it would matter.
 

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