Why Free Dining is such a massive saving.

[Becky]

If there's only the two of you and you go more than once a year, you should look at getting Annual Passes and the Tables in Wonderland card. Unless you only stay at Value resorts and don't use Table Service restaurants, you'll probably save more than "free" dining costs.

With an AP and TiWL you actually save 20% at the Value food courts as there is no automatic 18% tip.

 

[HunnyPot]

We use the dining plan, but free or not doesn't decide our trip for us. We choose to purchase it if we want to depending on the details of each trip and then if it's free, bonus! Free or not doesn't change whether or not we go.

About snacks...we have totally been that family who have to burn up snack credits at the end of the trip. However, we ended up being glad we did because we always drive and it was nice to have some differrent snacks to offer the kids in the car on the way home.

 

[tracyandalex]

Being Florida residents the room discounts are always better than the free dining, also we don't usually go when it has been offered. I really really tried to justify it this year since we will actually be at the world during the promotion this year. I looked at the prices of every meal that we will be eating and calculated pretty much down to the penny what it would cost and unless there are no room discounts it would cost us more to have free dining than to pay out of pocket. Also, we often have 2 TS meals in one day (DD3 loves character meals) so when I added in that upgrade, it wasn't even close. So, no matter how much I wanted to do it, it just didn't make sense for us. We also had the same thoughts as others about it being way too much food. We are often too full for dessert and especially for each one of us to have a dessert.

For those who have TiW, about how many days do you spend in the world per year? We are trying to decide if it will be worth it for us. I have calculated that the savings for this trip will only be about $86, but we will probably go again before it expires.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Free dining does not save everyone money. It can be cheaper for some to use AP, Florida resident or Disney Visa discounts and the TIW card.

For example if you are just 2 adults in a room and you pay rack rate for the room to get the free dining, then you are not getting as much of a bargain. Now if you are a family of 2 adults and 2 teens pay the same room rack rate and getting 4 dining packages then you are definately saving some $$$.

The DDP is overpriced anyway as it stands. Disney is making so much money on guests paying for the convienence and security of the dining plan. We used the dining plan all the time going back 8 years ago before they started to remove tip, appetizers and then drastically raised the prices. After a WDW trip I always look at our food expenses and compare our expentitures to what the DDP would cost us. Over a week on average I can save over 15% on our meals using my TIW card over DDP and every year that margin increases slightly.

For people traveling from outside the US the discounts and packages seem to be better than what is available from the US from what i have seen discussed here.

 

[Crush Dude!]

Free dining does not save everyone money. It can be cheaper for some to use AP, Florida resident or Disney Visa discounts and the TIW card.

For example if you are just 2 adults in a room and you pay rack rate for the room to get the free dining, then you are not getting as much of a bargain. Now if you are a family of 2 adults and 2 teens pay the same room rack rate and getting 4 dining packages then you are definately saving some $$$.

The DDP is overpriced anyway as it stands. Disney is making so much money on guests paying for the convienence and security of the dining plan. We used the dining plan all the time going back 8 years ago before they started to remove tip, appetizers and then drastically raised the prices. After a WDW trip I always look at our food expenses and compare our expentitures to what the DDP would cost us. Over a week on average I can save over 15% on our meals using my TIW card over DDP and every year that margin increases slightly.

For people traveling from outside the US the discounts and packages seem to be better than what is available from the US from what i have seen discussed here.

They sure area

 

[DisneyWall-E]

My family and I have used free dinning the last 5 years. It has always saved us money in the end. Of course we always stay at POP. If it wasnt for free dinnig we would have to take a shorter trip or no trip at all.

 

[littleroo]

For me, I really enjoy staying at POFQ. They did not have free dining for the end of August so my DH and I talked extensively and deicided we would rather pay for the DDP than stay somewhere else. We also only go for one week. We have no problems using up the credits and then some!!

 

[The Incredible Schmulk]

Since it's always only two of us, the dining plan isn't very important for us. We prefer to eat a lot of our meals in lounges, and sometimes we like to hop around a bit for our meal. We will, for example, have appetizers at the bar in Sanaa and then walk to Jambo House for dinner in the lounge at Jiko (with a stop at Victoria Falls in between for refreshments; it is a long walk, afterall). That kind of dining schedule isn't really conducive to the dining plan at any level.

We much prefer room-only discounts. A good one is the kind of thing that will spur a last minute vacation for us.

 

[dreamfinder]

For those who have TiW, about how many days do you spend in the world per year? We are trying to decide if it will be worth it for us. I have calculated that the savings for this trip will only be about $86, but we will probably go again before it expires.

I have never looked at the number of days, but rather the breakeven point. Some times I broke even after 4 meals that we did in the first 2 days of a 7 day trip, and another time I think I made 4 trips during the life of the TiW, of which 2 were at resorts where the CS was included. That year it was a huge savings. If you are seeing $86 in savings, is that before or after the purchase cost? And do you have an AP? The cost to a FL Resident is $100, but only $75 for an AP. That may help to change the breakeven point.

 

[tracyandalex]

I have never looked at the number of days, but rather the breakeven point. Some times I broke even after 4 meals that we did in the first 2 days of a 7 day trip, and another time I think I made 4 trips during the life of the TiW, of which 2 were at resorts where the CS was included. That year it was a huge savings. If you are seeing $86 in savings, is that before or after the purchase cost? And do you have an AP? The cost to a FL Resident is $100, but only $75 for an AP. That may help to change the breakeven point.

No AP for us, my sister is a CM. The $86 is about what we will save on meals using TiW for our trip in December when my sister is not available to join us. We will be almost at break even (we paid $100). We will be taking another trip before TiW would expire, but right now the length of that trip is uncertain that is why i was asking about days. Perhaps number of TS meals would be a better question. We general do 2 TS meals for 2 or 3 days each trip.

 

[Kandi]

The first 2 times we went we stayed offsite and paid for all our meals and snacks. This meant we hardly had any snacks and shared drinks and meals in CS restaurants as my parents were worried about the cost and running out of money (my teenage brother moaned that he was constantly hungry those 2 trips.) The last 9 times we have stayed onsite with free dining, my parents no longer have to worry about budgeting for food and this makes the holiday less stressful and i can load up on all favourite snacks and desserts

 

[nicnic]

We priced hotels at DTD and they were only £1000 less than staying at OKW, so it was worth paying the extra to get the free DDp and be on Disney.

 

[sgtmgd]

The dining plan pretty much forces over-eating. I can't really imagine anyone eating the same amount if they were paying out of pocket, so direct price comparisons are difficult.

The dining plan has also led to a reduction in food quality at the restaurants, less availability, and on the whole a devaluation of food.

As you can tell, I'm not a fan LOL.

I dissagree respectively

We use the DDP and I don't feel forced to over eat..and whole on vacation I would probably be inclined to order a little differently anyway. I don.t see how free dining has devalued quality either..if you go to a good Disney dining venue like Jikos or Yachtsman..you will get good food more often than not...go to a buffet like Hollywood and vine for lunch or dinner and you probably will feel you didn't get good quality...QS places are not fine cuisine by any stretch...this was true well before free dining took hold..

I think familys or groups of 4 or more will benefit much more than a couple..but IMO having free dining or paid dining plan is a nice luxury to have

 

[Gabe1]

I will "ditto" @DonaldDoleWhip - it really does depend. Everybody needs to do the math based on where they stay, how many they are and how they eat. If the pattern of credits the plan gives you works for your eating routine and you'll actually use the credits they give you, you have enough people to negate the savings of room-only discounts at the resort level you'll be staying at, then "free" dining might be for you.

For myself and my son, even at a Value resort, "free" dining is barely a break-even proposal and we have to eat a lot more QS meals than we would normally consider. AP and TiW are a much more palatable choice for us.

This year we did the DP at a CM rate so it was well worth it. On my own not so much, even the QS unless I am getting bottled water. If I buy soda I buy it at a cart so it is in a bottle with a top and can go on rides with me. No matter if we eating at QS or TS we wouldn't normally order soda at WDW, we need water and we are not normally hungry after a meal for dessert. If I don't order soda or dessert I am paying more on the DP than I'd pay out of pocket. Add in the tip on the items I don't really want if we opt to eat/drink the included items, the DP isn't for us unless it is free or the CM rate cause the room rate discount paid out better.

 

[KeithVH]

For those of you who are fans of free dining. Do you really think it's "free"? Sure, the plan itself has no upfront cost at the time you dine. And I'll even ignore the whole quality issue (although anyone going for the last 15-20 years will agree with this). But if you don't think a variety of other prices have been raised to offset any potential losses thereby making your whole vacation more expensive, you need to start thinking in terms of corporate economics. I can control how much and what I eat; I can't control the fact that I need a hotel room each night or that I may enjoy purchasing some merchandise. Note that it's not always higher prices but the outright loss of certain features and functions where the company may have also accrued some savings to be able to drag people in by dangling this offer out there.

 

[durangojim]

For us, we'll take a good room discount over free dining any day. Of course we primarily stay in deluxes, share entrees and rarely have deserts. Also we're more inclined to order an adult beverage or four with lunch or dinner. Free dining has little attraction for us.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I dissagree respectively

We use the DDP and I don't feel forced to over eat..and whole on vacation I would probably be inclined to order a little differently anyway. I don.t see how free dining has devalued quality either..if you go to a good Disney dining venue like Jikos or Yachtsman..you will get good food more often than not...go to a buffet like Hollywood and vine for lunch or dinner and you probably will feel you didn't get good quality...QS places are not fine cuisine by any stretch...this was true well before free dining took hold..

I think familys or groups of 4 or more will benefit much more than a couple..but IMO having free dining or paid dining plan is a nice luxury to have

Free dining and the DDP have devalued the quality of the food at most WDW restaurants. When guests are on the DDP, they tend to choose restaurants based on their price, because they think they're getting a better deal eating at more expensive restaurants. This has led to most table service restaurants being priced very similarly (signatures being the exception). So...a place like, say, Shutters, or the Turf Club which is not that popular, used to be priced much lower. However, the prices there have gone up to match the prices at other 1 credit table service restaurants. As a result of this, no one is eating at Shutters. By the law of supply and demand, prices at those restaurants should go down- that would cause a lot more folks to want to eat there. They won't go down, unfortunately, because the DDP dictates that everything be priced comparitively. Who's going to pay the same amount of money to eat at Shutters as they are at, say, 'Ohana?

 

[menamechris]

So...a place like, say, Shutters, or the Turf Club which is not that popular, used to be priced much lower. However, the prices there have gone up to match the prices at other 1 credit table service restaurants. As a result of this, no one is eating at Shutters. By the law of supply and demand, prices at those restaurants should go down- that would cause a lot more folks to want to eat there. They won't go down, unfortunately, because the DDP dictates that everything be priced comparitively. Who's going to pay the same amount of money to eat at Shutters as they are at, say, 'Ohana?

This is my hugest complaint - and my biggest issue with the DDP. I don't know how they justify even keeping Shutters or the Turf Club open. I have been to both a couple times and it was always our table and just a couple others. They would be able to fill these restaurants - and even entice more pay-out-of-pocket guests to have a table service meal if they would allow a fair pricing structure.

 

[sgtmgd]

This is my hugest complaint - and my biggest issue with the DDP. I don't know how they justify even keeping Shutters or the Turf Club open. I have been to both a couple times and it was always our table and just a couple others. They would be able to fill these restaurants - and even entice more pay-out-of-pocket guests to have a table service meal if they would allow a fair pricing structure.

All valid reasoning..but then again you are only using a very small analysis...most of us are only there at most a couple times of year...Disney isn't the billion dollar company it is without making smart buisness choices..if those two places to dine are losing that much money Disney will make the adjustment...close it rename it or reprice it...who's to say those two places don't support themselves balanced over the year. Everyone certainly sees things in their own way..I just don't see the de valuement. I enjoy the places in the parks I've always enjoyed..DDP or not...prices will always raise year to year...DDP not withstanding

 

[menamechris]

All valid reasoning..but then again you are only using a very small analysis...most of us are only there at most a couple times of year...Disney isn't the billion dollar company it is without making smart buisness choices..if those two places to dine are losing that much money Disney will make the adjustment...close it rename it or reprice it...who's to say those two places don't support themselves balanced over the year. Everyone certainly sees things in their own way..I just don't see the de valuement. I enjoy the places in the parks I've always enjoyed..DDP or not...prices will always raise year to year...DDP not withstanding

Or...they are viewed as collateral damage to encourage the dining plan. There really is no getting around that a dinner at Shutters does not have the same value as a dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe or Kona Cafe - and yet, their prices are within striking distance of each other.

But realistically speaking - someone thousands of miles away looking at menus online (and not having much knowledge of the restaurants) will have a hard time selecting restaurants that ARE a good value - because they are all priced about the same, giving the impression they are of the same value. And it encourages purchase of the dining plan, because there is no "saving money" with the way food is priced at WDW, beyond the grouped pricing of quick service, table service, and signature prices. All establishments in each of those tiers will charge within a few dollars of each other no matter what.

I'm not saying its not genius - I'm saying its not right...