Since Free Dining Expired...

blackthidot

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Since the promo Free Dining has expired, what will Disney have up it's sleeve for the next promo? Does anyone think Free Dining will be re-released in April/May like it always has?

Just curious...I'm already booked!
 

blackthidot

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
Yes
I agree with you Black. Quality has not been an issue. I don't see where these people are coming from. I don't think free dining has had any effect on the quality of the food.


I think 98% of the people who complain are people who live in the surrounding area that want to just walk up to a host and get a table. That is ALWAYS in their "quality" argument somewhere.

I can see where that would be frustrating as well but quality is not something I feel is lacking when I eat in WDW. In fact since 2006 I've probably eaten 25+ TS meals at Disney and quality was an issue ONCE at 50's Prime Time...The dreadful feather encounter! Other than than food quality, portions, and service has been better than ANYWHERE I have ever eaten in my life.
 
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sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
I dunno. Dining at TS is hit or miss. Mostly our meals have been good but sometimes we get something that throws us. Like the teriyaki steak dish at Kona for dinner came with a blob of sticky plain old steamed white rice. Really? They'll put a delicious (albeit somewhat gristly) steak on a plate with that? How about seasoning the rice or something. All the fab side dishes out there & they had the gall to plop plain white rice on the plate. I wanted to ask the chef or whomever came up with that idea what they were thinking.

I don't think the dining plan is a bad thing but I do see where it presents limitations to what restaurants can/will serve. Perhaps more non-DDP offerings placed on menus would appease those who don't use DDP & create an opportunity for Disney to do some up-selling to DDP guests who would rather step up when the time to order arrives.
 
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Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Quality is something I've never had a problem with. Every year I go my food appears better, along with the service. I've had food during free dining and I've paid for my food...no difference at all.

DHS is lacking BIG time though. But isn't that what DHS does?

I agree with you Black. Quality has not been an issue. I don't see where these people are coming from. I don't think free dining has had any effect on the quality of the food.

I think 98% of the people who complain are people who live in the surrounding area that want to just walk up to a host and get a table. That is ALWAYS in their "quality" argument somewhere.

I can see where that would be frustrating as well but quality is not something I feel is lacking when I eat in WDW. In fact since 2006 I've probably eaten 25+ TS meals at Disney and quality was an issue ONCE at 50's Prime Time...The dreadful feather encounter! Other than than food quality, portions, and service has been better than ANYWHERE I have ever eaten in my life.
The only legitimacy that I have found to the argument is the modification of the menus to fit inside of the budgetary restraints of the DDP and inflated pricing. When I spoke to Richard Debler last October he stated that those restraints exist and it is effecting what is on a menu. Portions are smaller, steaks are cheaper cuts, etc. There has also has been some anecdotal evidence that prices, especially on buffets, are artificially inflated to add more value to the DDP. Aside from that the quality of the food and service I have received has always been great at Disney restaurants.
 
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RobnRachal

Well-Known Member
We always eat what, and where we want. I crunched the numbers 100 times and the way we like to eat while we are out Free Dining always wins.

Us too!!!! Can't beat saving $1800. Of course, I understand, room only offers would save us money too, but for a family of 4 who enjoy nice meals together, free dining is always the way to go. Any way you crunch the numbers, free dining is the best deal for us.
 
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blackthidot

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
Yes
I dunno. Dining at TS is hit or miss. Mostly our meals have been good but sometimes we get something that throws us. Like the teriyaki steak dish at Kona for dinner came with a blob of sticky plain old steamed white rice. Really? They'll put a delicious (albeit somewhat gristly) steak on a plate with that? How about seasoning the rice or something. All the fab side dishes out there & they had the gall to plop plain white rice on the plate. I wanted to ask the chef or whomever came up with that idea what they were thinking.

I don't think the dining plan is a bad thing but I do see where it presents limitations to what restaurants can/will serve. Perhaps more non-DDP offerings placed on menus would appease those who don't use DDP & create an opportunity for Disney to do some up-selling to DDP guests who would rather step up when the time to order arrives.

People do not understand anything as it is, you can't say you can have this, but not this...Can you imagine the extreme laziness and ignorance of people when it would come to that?

In theory it's a good idea but people just can't handle that.
 
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sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
People do not understand anything as it is, you can't say you can have this, but not this...Can you imagine the extreme laziness and ignorance of people when it would come to that?

In theory it's a good idea but people just can't handle that.

Ugh! You're right. Everything has to be done to the intelligence level/speed of the lower end of the spectrum so the stupid people of the world can keep up. The problem is the dumbing-down of everything even for those who don't have a problem. Hence, the biggest issue facing our public schools....Bam!....but I'll leave that for another discussion on another day. :lookaroun

:D
 
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lebeau

Well-Known Member
Customer stupidity is only part of the problem. Can you imagine the complaints from DDP users if they were told they couldn't order from the entire menu? The DDP would die a quick death if that ever happened.
 
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blackthidot

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
Yes
Customer stupidity is only part of the problem. Can you imagine the complaints from DDP users if they were told they couldn't order from the entire menu? The DDP would die a quick death if that ever happened.

That is my point. People can't handle the simplicity of it as it is. Then they will be offended they can't order a $50 steak for little Jimmy and his free swinging sword.
 
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Disneykidder

Well-Known Member
We always eat what, and where we want. I crunched the numbers 100 times and the way we like to eat while we are out Free Dining always wins.

Same here. I always do number a million times. We like at least one sit down a day to relax and refuel after going all commando in the parks so having the free dining vs. say 20 or so % off a room is def worth it. We are a family of 3 (really 4 but won't pay for the 2 year old) so it is an even better value. We are booked for August.

Disney will def come out with a new promotion after the first of the year, I am sure. Maybe they will do the buy some get some night thing again. Who knows but we all know Disney has something up their sleeve to keep us all coming back. :)
 
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Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Ugh! You're right. Everything has to be done to the intelligence level/speed of the lower end of the spectrum so the stupid people of the world can keep up. The problem is the dumbing-down of everything even for those who don't have a problem. Hence, the biggest issue facing our public schools....Bam!....but I'll leave that for another discussion on another day. :lookaroun

:D

Oh my girl.. I read this not realizing it was you..LOL.. U KNOW I agree..
 
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Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
The "Quality" argument has some merit. Many of the buffets changed from Prime Rib to Rib Eye Roast or Strip Loin Roast and a lot dropped Tenderloin in favour of Strip Loin steaks. Some of the sides have been reduced in 'pizazz' as well IMO.

The question is whether that is a direct result of the DDP or would have occurred anyway with the ever-increasing supply costs in restaurants. If the quality had not gone down, they would have had to increases meal prices [and most likely DDP cost] to compensate.

It becomes a circular argument trying to blame DDP because DDP itself annoys people. IMO DDP is only partly to blame for the increasing difficulty in booking restaurants [the part the Locals bemoan most vociferously], the reality is more likely that there are more people at WDW, thus more people eating and those who plan to eat TS are more and more forced to book as far in advance as possible, local or not. The Locals miss being able to walk up and get a table... I've got news for them: So do I! Tourists have the advantage if you will because they have to book their whole vacation in advance, adding ADRs to the mix at the 180-day mark is just an inconvenience. Locals don't want to plan dinners 180 days out, but it's the new reality, they have to. :shrug: [And likely would still have to if DDP didn't exist]
 
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sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
As the vacation planner of the family, I have to agree with you Monty. I do NOT like having to make ADRs so far in advance. It's no fun for someone to ask me, "Hey! What's for dinner tonight?" and after I answer they give me this look of 'what were you thinking???'. Who knows what I was thinking. That was 6 months ago. :lookaroun
 
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Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
As the vacation planner of the family, I have to agree with you Monty. I do NOT like having to make ADRs so far in advance. It's no fun for someone to ask me, "Hey! What's for dinner tonight?" and after I answer they give me this look of 'what were you thinking???'. Who knows what I was thinking. That was 6 months ago. :lookaroun
I'm lucky... Morgan is the only person affected by my choices. He'd follow blindly into the Gates of Hell if I told him there was food on the other side! :lol:
 
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disneygirl1

Well-Known Member
I love the dining plan and agree with John... It has allowed us to eat at places we typically would not due to cost. But like other posters have said, I wish there was a little more flexiblity with the plan. i.e. appetizer or dessert.

As far as the quilty of food being served. I tend to lean towards the hit or miss senario. Over the least 4 trips I have taken, I have had some really great meals and some meals that were less then desirable.
 
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blackthidot

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
Yes
I try to stay away from the buffet meals. They just don't seem worth it to me. We do Chef Mickey's just because it's Chef Mickey's but I am past that now. We are going to be more strict of where we eat this trip.
 
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mickey2008.1

Well-Known Member
while the ddp is worth it to a family of six as us, the dishes are good and different, and most certainly hit or miss. For the restaurants using less quality meats or products, is inexcusable, as prices have not increased as much as one would think, in fact, they have actually gone down. A case of wings consisting of 275 jumbo wings is currently at $52/case. Angus choice prime rib $7.99 /lb, choice strips $5.50/lb. So how can one charge $35 for an 8oz strip that costs $2.75, plus broccolini at 50cents per 4 oz portion at most, and yukon gold potatoes at $28/case. Total cost of meal $4 tops maybe $5. And wdw is using the cheapest cuts, select! come on people, wake up and realize you are not paying for average food at best. Now if youre paying out of pocket, youre getting ripped off! Its more than a texas roadhouse with less quality. As soon as free dining is over and people start paying for it, quality will go up, because customers wont pay for average. Service is hardly ever an issue, except in italy. And for the dinner shows, youre getting just that, entertainment with food. You get what you pay for, or in tis case, dont pay for. While we dont like certain places, there are always new ones to try and make it work. Hey, its better than dennys.
 
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flavious27

Well-Known Member
As the vacation planner of the family, I have to agree with you Monty. I do NOT like having to make ADRs so far in advance. It's no fun for someone to ask me, "Hey! What's for dinner tonight?" and after I answer they give me this look of 'what were you thinking???'. Who knows what I was thinking. That was 6 months ago. :lookaroun

Well when we used the ddp before we picked places out in the park that we would be at. The fun part for us was using google calendar to keep track of how many different table service points we had used. Oh and really the only good use of 2 table service points were the dinner shows, the brown derby wasn't worth it or the select seating we got for fantasmic!
 
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flavious27

Well-Known Member
I try to stay away from the buffet meals. They just don't seem worth it to me. We do Chef Mickey's just because it's Chef Mickey's but I am past that now. We are going to be more strict of where we eat this trip.

And I think that disney has figured this out and enhanced some restaurants that weren't popular. I don't know anyone that wanted to go to Norway's buffet because some of the cold food buffet wasn't that desirable and the hot food tasted weird along with the hybrid nature of the restaurant, this has to be why it is now a character meal and they changed the hot menu to be more familiar.
 
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