Is free Dining a thing of the past?

[mitchk]

I was checking out the promos they had out for last year, as well as this year, and it looks like they have not offered free QS for over a year now. I'm going in Nov. and was hoping to get free QS, but it looks like all they do now is a certain % off your room rate. So are we never gonna see free dining again?

 

[disneygirl76]

I was checking out the promos they had out for last year, as well as this year, and it looks like they have not offered free QS for over a year now. I'm going in Nov. and was hoping to get free QS, but it looks like all they do now is a certain % off your room rate. So are we never gonna see free dining again?

We will have to wait a bit longer to see what happens this fall. My DH and I had free dining but stayed at Mod so got the free dining. But it was the "traditional" dining plan - 1 QS, 1 TS, 1 Snack and mug. I am hoping for it again this year but we shall just see.

 

[Violet]

Late August to September is one of few remaining the slow periods not covered by a special event. For this reason, I suspect Disney will offer Free Dining again. However, Free Dining is expensive. Therefore, I also expect Disney to continue to move away from Free Dining as a way to reduce cost. One possibility is to use "bonus" FP+ experiences for onsite guests during slower periods.

How slow is this period anymore though? I know people have been saying that there isn't really a super slow season anymore. We went last year during a supposedly-slow week and it was quite busy! I agree that FP+ will be part of the incentives going forward.

 

[Violet]

I want the plans to go so we can have more selection, better quality and cheaper prices...like we did before the plans.

Not sure if I already wrote this one here somewhere...but anyway...We paid OOP for our meals last year...Character meals were fine, food was so-so, but we love the characters, so be it, those meals were worth it for us. The QS was fine as well, especially at the resorts.

The regular TS meals were where I felt really ripped off. This year, we'll be sticking to QS and a few character meals, just for the character experiences.

 

[ParentsOf4]

How slow is this period anymore though? I know people have been saying that there isn't really a super slow season anymore. We went last year during a supposedly-slow week and it was quite busy! I agree that FP+ will be part of the incentives going forward.

IMHO, the late August to September "slow" period picked up exactly because of Free Dining. Take away Free Dining without replacing it with another incentive and, I suspect, attendance would drop for that period.

Right now I believe Disney is looking for a less expensive alternative to offering Free Dining for late August to September.

Disney is trying to wean U.S. guests off Free Dining exactly because it is an expensive perk. Conversely, "Bonus" FP+ experiences cost Disney essentially nothing. However, it doesn't look like the system will be sufficiently operational to make a difference this year. Let's see what happens to Free Dining in 2014.

 

[Violet]

IMHO, the late August to September "slow" period picked up exactly because of Free Dining. Take away Free Dining without replacing it with another incentive and, I suspect, attendance would drop for that period.

Right now I believe Disney is looking for a less expensive alternative to offering Free Dining for late August to September.

Disney is trying to wean U.S. guests off Free Dining exactly because it is an expensive perk. Conversely, "Bonus" FP+ experiences cost Disney essentially nothing. However, it doesn't look like the system will be sufficiently operational to make a difference this year. Let's see what happens to Free Dining in 2014.

Oh gotcha, that makes sense.

I imagine room discounts must cost less than free food too...the rooms are already there. If it's the difference between them going empty or being filled at some reduced rate, they will try to fill them.

 

[bluejasmine]

We go early Sept to mid Sept and find parks no crowded mostly the restaurants which I find funny b/c hubby and I always wonder where everyone is? Lol

 

[bluejasmine]

To make the dining plans seem like a better deal, Disney jacked up the cost of food.

The restaurants took many good meals off the menus because of the dining plans.

The quality of food at WDW has begun to slide down again because of the dining plans. It had become so good again just before they started these plans.

I want the plans to go so we can have more selection, better quality and cheaper prices...like we did before the plans.

I certainly agree to a certain point but in fact almost everywhere you go the menus are being dumbed down, the $1 cheeseburger is smaller than it was and so on so I feel what your saying.

Even if they ever take away the DDP which I don't see ever happening, they have so much success with it. I don't see them changing the menus or quality in fact I'm sure there the more changes inevitable and NOT just b/c of DDP

 

[ParentsOf4]

To make the dining plans seem like a better deal, Disney jacked up the cost of food.

The restaurants took many good meals off the menus because of the dining plans.

The quality of food at WDW has begun to slide down again because of the dining plans. It had become so good again just before they started these plans.

I'm not sure what is the cause and what is the effect of the relatively recent decline in WDW food and selection.

For decades, WDW was justifiably criticized for having pretty ordinary food. Then there was a focus on food and, IMHO, both quality and variety improved.

More recently, there seems to have been an attempt to "value engineer" the food like so many other things at WDW. I suspect DDP was introduced as a way to increase food sales but then Disney started tinkering with it, looking to "value engineer" it while raising prices at an astonishing rate.

Since being introduced in 2005, the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) has proven to be popular with many onsite guests. In 2005, DDP cost $35/night and included one Table Service (TS) meal consisting of appetizer, non-alcoholic beverage, main course, dessert, and 18% gratuity, one Quick Service (QS) meal consisting of non-alcoholic beverage, main course, and dessert, and one snack. Disney now offers several DDP options, with the Standard DDP being most similar to the original DDP. The 2012 price of this plan is $51.54/night. However, the TS appetizer and 18% gratuity are no longer included. When these are factored in, the equivalent price is around $60/night. An increase from $35/night in 2005 to $60/night in 2012 represents an annual increase of 8.0%.

In 2013, the DDP price increased another 12.5%.

Based on these trends, I don't think DDP is the cause of WDW's recent food problem but, instead, is a symptom of a bigger problem, namely Disney's attempt to "price leverage" its theme parks while simultaneously "value engineer" the entire WDW experience.

 

[draybook]

We always go in September as well. I won't say that it was packed, but even Stitch had a 15-20 minute wait during our trip last year. Just the difference between 2008 and last year is surprising. In 2008, we literally never waited longer than 30 minutes for anything, not including the FP's we used. The only exception was TSMM, since it was still "new" at that point.

If FD is discontinued, we will simply just not use any plan or we will pay OOP on a few meals, no problem. It's a shame though. CRT is pretty cool and all, but in no way, shape, or form is it worth $240 for a family of 4. Hopefully they'll give us FD this year so we can take it all in before our run comes to an end.

 

[GoofGoof]

In truth your not paying more for your room with FD it's not like they increase the price of the room in fact it's lower than summer rates, you pay the normal base rate for the room.

Again I'd like to point out they started FD in 2005 BEFORE the failing economy, the economy got better in 2010 for most ppl and they offered it up to Dec 2012. Who's to say why Disney does what they do but even if FD doesn't make a come back this fall, mark my words when FAntasyland newness is gone and a good part of the guests that are fans of FD stop coming and start vacationing elsewhere ( as a TA I'm seeing this from guests tired of waiting for fall discounts) then Disney will bring back FD!

I never understood why ppl dislike FD so much? Sure for some RO is a better discount but why knock something that helps thousands of family's come to WDW? Even w/o it you'll not see a change in the menus or quality of food, not that there is anything wrong with it IMHO

"There is no such thing as a free lunch"

It's true here too. Offering free dining is a way for Disney to offer a discount on a package and lock you into eating all of your meals on property. I'm not saying you don't save money with it, but they could just as easily offer a room discount that could get you to the same place. If the rack rate for a 7 day package without dining is $4,000 for a family of 4 they could just off a 20% discount in slow times down to $3,200 and let you buy your own food. For some people who mostly eat counter service you would probably spend less than $800 on food. For others you might spend more. Instead Disney charges $1,000 for DDP for a family of 4 and then offer it to you for free. You now have the $3,200 package plus you prepaid for $800 worth of food. Sure you can get the NY strip at every meal and get over $800 worth of food, but it's tough to really show a sizeable gain with DDP.

Where the negative view comes in is Disney started jacking up the price of DDP while reducing the offerings so they can make you think you are getting a better deal. See @ParentsOf4 Post above. If the DDP only cost $500 instead of $1,000 it would be less of a bargain to people when given for free. It's like a department store doubling the price of jewelry and then having a 50% off sale.

Free dining hasn't ruined food at WDW, but the DDP in general has hurt it. See @luv 's post above.

 

[Disneymama2006]

How slow is this period anymore though? I know people have been saying that there isn't really a super slow season anymore. We went last year during a supposedly-slow week and it was quite busy! I agree that FP+ will be part of the incentives going forward.

I agree. We went the 3rd week of September last year and it was the busiest we ever seen it at that time of year (we have gone every year since 2006). Even the MNSSHP was so crowded that my husband said we wouldn't be dropping the extra $$$ to go to it again.

 

[Disneymama2006]

I am just a little tired of the "cat and mouse" game. If Disney has decided not to offer Free Dining this year, that is their choice. We aren't owed anything...HOWEVER, I wish they would just come out and say "yes" or "no" so that those of us who can't afford a trip without Free Dining can move on with our lives...or on to another vacation destination for this year I'm not saying I would never go back without Free Dining- We absolutely LOVE Disney!! But without Free Dining, yearly trips might have to go to every 2-3 years. I know our trip this year would have to be postponed until next year.

 

[GoofGoof]

I am just a little tired of the "cat and mouse" game. If Disney has decided not to offer Free Dining this year, that is their choice. We aren't owed anything...HOWEVER, I wish they would just come out and say "yes" or "no" so that those of us who can't afford a trip without Free Dining can move on with our lives...or on to another vacation destination for this year I'm not saying I would never go back without Free Dining- We absolutely LOVE Disney!! But without Free Dining, yearly trips might have to go to every 2-3 years. I know our trip this year would have to be postponed until next year.

That's the real dilemma Disney faces now. They raised prices to the point that a lot of people need the discounts to be able to afford it. When they pull back on discounts if room occupancy drops they will have no choice but to return to discounts. If you stay off property you can get a nice room for under $100 a night and eat at least some meals off property which would save people a ton of money and eat into Disney's bottom line. WDW today is economically a large hotel company with theme parks on the side. Unlike Disneyland and even Universal up the street where revenues are driven mostly by theme park attendance. Disney can't afford to take a hit on hotel occupancy and they aren't really adding a ton that will drive new or return guests at higher prices. It's a balancing act where they try to cut discounts as much as possible without impacting room occupancy.

Another thing that free DDP has done is it has gotten guests into the habit of having the DDP. A lot of people will probably buy DDP even if its not offered free. Disney makes a nice profit on most people who buy DDP plus it keeps them on property. Win/win for Disney. Free dining is kinda like a crack dealer near the school yard. Give em a little taste for free and they are a customer for life.

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

Free dining was the final push for us to finally book our trip in sept. of 09 for a april 2010 visit...without it that yr, we more than likely would not have gone....we didnt get it for our april 2012 trip, but we kinda figured we wouldnt and just planned a little longer for the extra cost....now, as of this coming friday, we will be one yr away from our april 2014 trip (!!!) and we pretty much gave up on the thought of getting it....we dont mind, but it would be nice...i guess i will always be partial to the free dining as that will always be the way we made our first trip happen....

 

[draybook]

I wish I had known about it on our first trip in 9/08, it would have been awesome! However, we stayed off-site and brought snacks, so I guess it was a good way for us to already be prepared for not having a DDP.

 

[bluejasmine]

I agree. We went the 3rd week of September last year and it was the busiest we ever seen it at that time of year (we have gone every year since 2006). Even the MNSSHP was so crowded that my husband said we wouldn't be dropping the extra $$$ to go to it again.

Might be b/c F&W was almost there we always noticed in increase close to it.. I never understood the draw of it but what ever floats your boat.. Lol

 

[Runmyhorse]

In truth your not paying more for your room with FD it's not like they increase the price of the room in fact it's lower than summer rates, you pay the normal base rate for the room.

Again I'd like to point out they started FD in 2005 BEFORE the failing economy, the economy got better in 2010 for most ppl and they offered it up to Dec 2012. Who's to say why Disney does what they do but even if FD doesn't make a come back this fall, mark my words when FAntasyland newness is gone and a good part of the guests that are fans of FD stop coming and start vacationing elsewhere ( as a TA I'm seeing this from guests tired of waiting for fall discounts) then Disney will bring back FD!

I never understood why ppl dislike FD so much? Sure for some RO is a better discount but why knock something that helps thousands of family's come to WDW? Even w/o it you'll not see a change in the menus or quality of food, not that there is anything wrong with it IMHO

I think alot of people dont like the fd because it ties up the restaurants. Most like to just go to disney and be able to decide when they want to eat and where. Then there are some who think the quality of the food might get better when they remove fd. Im not sure though just a guess

 

[Runmyhorse]

Im personally hoping for one more time for the FD. This will be our last time going for awhile due to me expecting and we will want to wait until the baby is a little older so she /he can enjoy the parks. So heres to my fingers crossed. We do plan on doing a cruise instead.

 

[bluejasmine]

I think alot of people dont like the fd because it ties up the restaurants. Most like to just go to disney and be able to decide when they want to eat and where. Then there are some who think the quality of the food might get better when they remove fd. Im not sure though just a guess

I think the days of walk ups w/o ADRS (with some exceptions) is gone even w/o the DDP! The restaurants have become so popular with the coming of these forums! LOL

 

[Ariel Savage]

I just went in March and we got free QS. But it does seem to be offered less and less over the past few years.