Which do you usually choose -- Free Dining or a room discount?

[durangojim]

I'm curious, with the frequency of both free dining deals and room discounts occuring which do you usually choose, and what type of resort do you usually stay in -- value, moderate, deluxe, dvc?

I always choose a room discount as we are APs and most often stay at a deluxe resort, the savings is more than that of the free dining plan.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

We've actually tried both out. Normally, we choose the free dining with a week's stay in a deluxe resort. On our last trip, we took the "pay for 4 nights, get 3 free" and threw in the dining plan ourselves. Unfortunately for us, we choose to stay at the "moderate" Carribean Beach Resort.......which was barely a step up from one of the local run-down Hotel 6s in our town.

 

[ZuzuPetals]

I always choose a room discount as we are APs and most often stay at a deluxe resort, the savings is more than that of the free dining plan.

I think you hit the nail on the head right there. It makes no sense to me why someone would choose the free dining over a room only discount at a deluxe, assuming they had an option for either. And I do think the buy 4 get 3 free isn't all that great....I mean, after you buy a 4 day ticket, each additional day isn't that expensive and you may be getting 3 nights free at the hotel but with no nightly discount, isn't it basically the same thing as getting an AP or other room only discount? Just seems like a marketing ploy, to me.

If you are staying at a Value or maybe a Moderate (depending on the season), the free dining is probably a good deal. I just can't imagine paying rack rate for a Deluxe and getting free dining....especially since we can take or leave the dining plan.

 

[thetodd]

We always take the deluxe room discount over the free dining. And we always take the basic dining plan anyway.

 

[jen2009]

I think this depends on where you stay. We always stay at POFQ. It is not a deluxe, but we do not spend a lot of time in the room. The beds are always comfortable and we enjoy the smallness of the resort. We usually stay in a room with a king bed. We have AP's and received a free dining offer pin code and the notice for room discount for our Dec. trip. My DH likes the dining plan and it worked out better for us to take the free dining over the room discount. It was a $400 savings. It really depends on where you stay as to what works better. Each reservation is different and free dining just worked out better for us this time.

 

[Master Yoda]

It all depends on what the greater value is. With my family of 5 at a value free dining wins out every time. As the resort level increases and/or the party size decreases then the lines become a little more blurry.

 

[elizs77]

In 2006, we originally had a $200 discount on our room at the Wilderness Lodge. We ended up forgoing that discount in favor of the $600 savings with free dining and still stayed at WL.

 

[EPCOTPluto]

If the discount is pretty good at the Deluxe resort, then I would prefer that over Free Dining. Who needs food anyway? :lookaroun :lol:

 

[marcriss]

We do the room discount at a deluxe. My Dh and I liked to share meals and appy's so the dining plan is more food than we need. I do run the numbers each time though, just in case.

Admittedly I hate the dining plan because it seems like they don't make it clear to people. I would hate to be one of the people that frustrates me on line:lookaroun...I believe it's Disney's fault on the clarity thing...:lookaroun

 

[jen2009]

We do the room discount at a deluxe. My Dh and I liked to share meals and appy's so the dining plan is more food than we need. I do run the numbers each time though, just in case.

Admittedly I hate the dining plan because it seems like they don't make it clear to people. I would hate to be one of the people that frustrates me on line:lookaroun...I believe it's Disney's fault on the clarity thing...:lookaroun

It took us some time to learn the dining plan. Once we did, it was much easier to use. My DH likes to go on vacation and eat and not worry about price. The plan allows him to have really good dinners and not fuss over the bill. We use a lot of the 2TS for dinners and the QS for lunch or a dinner. The snacks are usually water or a treat. I agree that it was complicated to learn, but we are pros at using it to our advantage now.

 

[marcriss]

I wish they made it easier to know what's included, maybe it would work for us, especially if the room discounts aren't great. The thought of not knowing what's included and whether it counts and how many credits we've used, etc. stresses me out.

In the end we use our Disney rewards card for a lot of our meals and break open the piggy bank. Once that's gone we start earning more rewards for the next trip

 

[DisneyJoe]

you may be getting 3 nights free at the hotel but with no nightly discount, isn't it basically the same thing as getting an AP or other room only discount?

For a 7 night stay, with 3 nights free, thats 43% discount. You would need an AP discount at 43% or greater to match or beat it.

 

[KnK]

The last couple of years we have been lucky enough to get a 40% off pin code.

We like to eat at lot of the delux spots and the DP just is not worth it. Especially now that the tip is not included. We also like to get all three courses and share meals.

I did the math a few years in a row, discount was more than what we spent on food including tip.

 

[durangojim]

For a 7 night stay, with 3 nights free, thats 43% discount. You would need an AP discount at 43% or greater to match or beat it.

Unless you wanted to stay more or less than 7 nights.

 

[durangojim]

My God I hope I never meet you people. I've never seen so many people with such a high opinion of themselves.

Huh?

 

[marcriss]

My God I hope I never meet you people. I've never seen so many people with such a high opinion of themselves.

It has nothing to do with people's opinions of themselves, it's a matter of math and where you choose to stay. There's no such thing as "Free Dining." To get "Free Dining" you need to pay full price for your room. Disney does, at times, heavily discount a deluxe room. Moderates and values aren't discounted as much, so to pay full price and get "free dining" can be a good discount. But if you want to stay at a deluxe the room discount is a better deal. In my experience you can eat at all the restaurants you like to and still save money on the price of the dining plan because of what's included, what's not and your personal eating habits.

 

[AGentlRose]

I love the Poly and Grand Floridian, so I always choose a deluxe room only discount. I don't go for the free dining because I don't want to stress out over making and getting certain ADRs, then having to watch a clock when we're at WDW to make sure we don't miss our ADR time. WDW is so much more than food.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

I think you hit the nail on the head right there. It makes no sense to me why someone would choose the free dining over a room only discount at a deluxe, assuming they had an option for either.

Well as someone who has tried both......even though only one was offered at a time, so it wasn't a matter of choosing one OR the other, I would still pick the free dining over the room only discount. It makes no sense to me why someone would pick the room-only discount over the free dining (considering the cost of food and the restaurants in WDW).

 

[ryguy]

Well as someone who has tried both......even though only one was offered at a time, so it wasn't a matter of choosing one OR the other, I would still pick the free dining over the room only discount. It makes no sense to me why someone would pick the room-only discount over the free dining (considering the cost of food and the restaurants in WDW).

Unless you had a car or were staying at a deluxe. Then it makes perfect sense to take the room only. Every family is different and has different vacation needs and wants. Although it makes no sense to you, it could make perfect sense to another family. I will say if you are stuck with no car the dining plan could be a good deal, but I bet a person who was diligent could figure out a way to eat for less or equal to the plans daily cost.
I buy my tickets through Undercover tourist and I rent a car every time, so I would always take the room only deal over free dining. I too like to use my disney reward points for food and recreational activities. The packages just aren't my thing. If I could just get the dining plan without buying a package I would think about it, but even then, it would be a stretch.

 

[captainkidd]

Room discount. Never bothered with the dining plan, and never will. I always read it's too much food, and the aggrivation I feel from standing behind people in line who have no idea what they're doing is not something I wish to make others experience.