"Free" dining offer a joke

[GoofyKidd]

I am so disgusted. We are booked at WL Nov 29-Dec 5, bunkbed room, woods view-reserved thru AAA. When I got the email from Disney Visa last week offering "free" dining, I called AAA immediately. Here I am thinking, we're a family of 4 and the dining plan costs roughly $100/day for us-so I should be getting a credit of $600 or so. When she repriced my package, there were no rooms in my same category, so I could still get the bunk bed room but with a courtyard view, which is a little more expensive. My package with "free" dining is now more than my original package-how can that even be? Disney is offering nothing free. They just make something "free" and you pay more for your room. I love Disney more than anything but come on, what a joke-do they think we're dumb enough not to figure this out pretty quickly???

 

[Sammie]

I am so disgusted. We are booked at WL Nov 29-Dec 5, bunkbed room, woods view-reserved thru AAA. When I got the email from Disney Visa last week offering "free" dining, I called AAA immediately. Here I am thinking, we're a family of 4 and the dining plan costs roughly $100/day for us-so I should be getting a credit of $600 or so. When she repriced my package, there were no rooms in my same category, so I could still get the bunk bed room but with a courtyard view, which is a little more expensive. My package with "free" dining is now more than my original package-how can that even be? Disney is offering nothing free. They just make something "free" and you pay more for your room. I love Disney more than anything but come on, what a joke-do they think we're dumb enough not to figure this out pretty quickly???

Everyone has to figure out what works best for them and the bargain in Free Dining is not a Courtyard room at WL. Your package changed room views, which are more expensive and you can not use the AAA discount so you lost that.

For a family of 4 staying at a value it is a good deal, not so much staying at a deluxe.

 

[raider97]

I'm sorry they didn't have your same room available at the discount. Have you run the numbers to see if taking the room discount and adding the dp and tickets is cheaper for you? It wasn't for us, but it might be since you are at a deluxe.

We ended up saving $1300 dollars with free dining on our reservation. But we were at POR which I don't think is as popular as the Wilderness Lodge!

Have a great trip! I love WL... only wish my family of 5 could stay in one of their rooms there.

Stephanie

 

[GoofyKidd]

Everyone has to figure out what works best for them and the bargain in Free Dining is not a Courtyard room at WL. Your package changed room views, which are more expensive and you can not use the AAA discount so you lost that.

For a family of 4 staying at a value it is a good deal, not so much staying at a deluxe.

Free dining is free dining and should be a bargain regardless of where you stay. If I'm paying more to stay at a Deluxe, I should certainly realize SOME type of saving. The courtyard room is not that much more than the bunk bed room I'm already paying for.

 

[Faldred]

"Free dining" is simply a package discount. Nothing is truly "free", and Disney does not stack discounts.

If you have some other form of room discount -- especially at a deluxe resort -- "free dining" may not be as good for you. In general, room discounts are better as the accommodation grade increases and the number of people per room decreases; "free dining" tends to be better for the opposite conditions.

 

[Sammie]

Free dining is free dining and should be a bargain regardless of where you stay. If I'm paying more to stay at a Deluxe, I should certainly realize SOME type of saving. The courtyard room is not that much more than the bunk bed room I'm already paying for.

It is a savings if you do not have a room discount. If you price out a rack room, the cost of the dining plan and tickets than Free dining is less.

But you are trying to compare your previous package which included a discount on the room. Not the same.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I am so disgusted. We are booked at WL Nov 29-Dec 5, bunkbed room, woods view-reserved thru AAA. When I got the email from Disney Visa last week offering "free" dining, I called AAA immediately. Here I am thinking, we're a family of 4 and the dining plan costs roughly $100/day for us-so I should be getting a credit of $600 or so. When she repriced my package, there were no rooms in my same category, so I could still get the bunk bed room but with a courtyard view, which is a little more expensive. My package with "free" dining is now more than my original package-how can that even be? Disney is offering nothing free. They just make something "free" and you pay more for your room. I love Disney more than anything but come on, what a joke-do they think we're dumb enough not to figure this out pretty quickly???

I'm not sure I understand why you seem to be offended by Disney calling this free dining. They're not trying to insult the public or pull the wool over anybody's eyes. The dining plan is offered free when you purchase a room and tickets at regular price. That does make it free. What it DOESN'T do is make it the best deal for everybody.

It's up to the consumer to figure out what deal is best for him/her. Why is that Disney's responsibility? You've figured out that your AAA rate is a better deal for your family. If I was you, I'd also take a look at the fall/winter room discount that Disney is currently advertising at there's a chance that it'll be better than the AAA discount (though it may not be; again, that's up to you as the consumer to figure out). Choose what works best for you.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Free dining is an offer that attracts people to come to WDW during times when attendance there is lower. Most people out there do not do research for their Disney vacation so they are not aware of the other deals out there, like the codes for a certain percentage off the room, and so they assume they will always have to pay rack rate for their room, so the free dining seems like a terrific deal to them. Kind of along the lines of people who do not make ADRs because they don't realize how necessary they really are, then you see tons of people waiting as walk-ins at a character meal, or being turned away because the restaurant is booked up.

Most people who go to WDW are not on the DIS so they are not aware of what we are. I believe we are a small percentage of WDW vacationers.

 

[ReneeA]

Free dining is just a discount like any other discount - just a marketing ploy. It obviously saves the family booked at a Value or Mod resort a larger percentage than a family at a Deluxe resort - nature of the beast due to the fact that per night prices at Deluxes is so much more than the other two.

Everyone needs to do their homework and double check price and availablility before changing existing reservations.

 

[kelldawn]

The best deal for free dining is the values. The rooms are cheaper and just as nice.We only sleep and bath there. We are there for the parks and the fun not to sit in our room so values are for us. Our room cost us 838.00 for 9 nights. The dining would have cost us $720.00 for those nine days. This it is the BEST deal. Our room discount rate would have been 60 something dollars. Difference of 298.00 only. So dining is the best thing for values. If you prefer higher priced hotels then it is a**umable that you would rather have that than dining. I truly think that they cover the free dining they are giving away to those who pay for higher priced rooms. Am I making sense??? Meaning you 400.00 per night for a room and that should cover the cost of food... Oh forget it I can't type what I mean. I only wish we could afford to stay at at MOD but are thrilled to be going to Disney any way it takes. I have never ever received a pin code or discount before. So to me it is long long overdue and am grateful for every bit of it

 

[Dizneydaz]

We too are staying at a value so it's a gread deal for us. My DD is turning 10 on the trip so she's considered an adult. We are staying for 11 nights. The room is just over $900. If we paid for the DDP it would be $440 x 3 = $1320. We have to buy a min. of a one day tix. That's about $225.00 So even if I deduct the price of the tickets (which we can upgrade and use) then the value of the free DDP is over $1100 for our family of 3. So unless Disney offerred a room discount where they actually paid me to stay (the difference is about $200, or just under $20 a night) then free DDP is free.

Of course, things are different at the moderates and deluxes. Sorry it didn't work as well for you. Have you run the numbers yourself? Maybe they made an error.

 

[MarkinNM]

"Free dining" is simply a package discount. Nothing is truly "free", and Disney does not stack discounts.

If you have some other form of room discount -- especially at a deluxe resort -- "free dining" may not be as good for you. In general, room discounts are better as the accommodation grade increases and the number of people per room decreases; "free dining" tends to be better for the opposite conditions.

I just dont get it why some say its not free, the "free dining" saved me $1K, now I checked our same stay w/o the free dining and guess what...............


Cost right at $1,200 more!!!


ITS FREE!!!!


I am paying rake rates for a room but get a HUGE discount on the food while others are paying rake rates on the food........

 

[PADISFAM]

We too are staying at a value so it's a gread deal for us. My DD is turning 10 on the trip so she's considered an adult..

OT Dizneydaz-- if your DD is turning 10 on (during) the trip I didn't think she would be considered an 'adult', isn't it the same as a turning 3 y/o on the trip?
If 2 at the start of the trip the child doesn't count in the room occ total, doesn't need a ticket nor paying for a meal plan. Obviously a 9 y/o would need all these things but at a child rate vs 'adult' rate.

 

[TDC Nala]

Free dining is free dining and should be a bargain regardless of where you stay. If I'm paying more to stay at a Deluxe, I should certainly realize SOME type of saving. The courtyard room is not that much more than the bunk bed room I'm already paying for.

Free dining means just that the dining plan is free. It doesn't mean necessarily that any individual booking their preference is guaranteed a bigger bargain with free dining than they would get by accepting other offers. In order to get the dining free, you have to give up any other discount available on that room, paying rack rate for it - AND agree to buy tickets as part of your package. That ups the ante for anyone who already has tickets; anyone who can buy tickets cheaper; and anyone who has access to some other type of discount on the room.

Once you get beyond those staying at a value resort (for whom free dining is almost always the best bargain regardless of any other offer they might be eligible for - although with the current dining offer they have to factor in the knowledge that they're only getting the quick service plan free), it's specific to each individual as to whether it would be a "better deal" to rebook their reservation in order to get the free dining.

If you have a room discount at a deluxe and don't have a large party, you might be better off not going for the free dining - because you'd now have to pay rack rate for that deluxe room. If you're just a couple with annual passes and already have a discounted room plus paid dining, it may not be worth it for you to pay rack rate and buy tickets just to get the dining free. There's also the instances such as you have run across - the free dining package is not available in the same accommodations you booked, and you'd have to either upgrade your room category or change resorts, which eliminates much of the "savings" you were anticipating by getting the dining free.

Doesn't help to know that if you really wanted the free dining because everyone is doing it and it sounds wonderful, but once you get past that word "free" you can see how it isn't a bargain for every party.

 

[septbaby]

there were no rooms in my same category, so I could still get the bunk bed room but with a courtyard view, which is a little more expensive. My package with "free" dining is now more than my original package-how can that even be?

Were you paying for DP before? If you get the same tickets, substract the DP costs and if the room rate difference is less than $100 per night you should save money. If the room rate is over $100 you won't save.

We are using the fall FD for the second time and we'll save $50 a night onthe DP and enjoy using all of our credits. Without FD I would not be heading to WDW.

You really don't need to be disgusted. If you math is correct you are getting the room you want at a lower price than the FD package offered.

 

[pooch]

was in 2006 with the whole family (4 disney adults) we stayed at WL in a standard room. Originally booked with a AAA discount which came to $300ish (10%) Dining would have cost an additional $1520 (37.99 x 4 x 10) So I gave back the $300 AAA discount to get a $1500 discount for a net of $1200 off. Now to me that's a no brainer. The fact that we ate approx $1900 worth of free food AND had credits left which we used to bring treats home, well that's just a bonus!!!

Add to that the free upgrade to a MK view room and I was hooked forever. DD and I now do FREE dining every year - our Mother/Daughter bonding trip!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

and I am traveling for 9 days at the end of August and am not getting a dining plan at all, much less free. It wouldn't be free because I would be required to give up my DVC points reservation and book a package at rack rate with a one-day ticket (I have an annual pass). To just break even with what I'd spend on a DVC stay, that would mean moving from Animal Kingdom Villas to a value and what would be the point of doing that if the only difference would be that the dining is now prepaid?

It really isn't a bargain for everyone. When one sees other guests realizing huge savings with the free dining offer, one needs to compare their own circumstances and see what's best for them.

 

[pooch]

It really isn't a bargain for everyone. When one sees other guests realizing huge savings with the free dining offer, one needs to compare their own circumstances and see what's best for them.

Totally agree but to make it sound like Disney is trying to pull a fast one (as my dear old Dad use to say!) is unfair. If I could have gotten a great pin code or was fortunate enough to be DVC (can't con hubby!) maybe free dining wouldn't be for me. But I have NEVER gotten a pin code of any kind, we normally stay Value or Moderate although I am determined to stay at AKL very soon, so FOR US,free dining is a great deal. I'm sorry OP isn't happy with it. Maybe there's a better discount out there for him/her.

 

[PADISFAM]

I am so disgusted. We are booked at WL Nov 29-Dec 5, bunkbed room, woods view-reserved thru AAA. When I got the email from Disney Visa last week offering "free" dining, I called AAA immediately. Here I am thinking, we're a family of 4 and the dining plan costs roughly $100/day for us-so I should be getting a credit of $600 or so. When she repriced my package, there were no rooms in my same category, so I could still get the bunk bed room but with a courtyard view, which is a little more expensive. My package with "free" dining is now more than my original package-how can that even be? Disney is offering nothing free. They just make something "free" and you pay more for your room. I love Disney more than anything but come on, what a joke-do they think we're dumb enough not to figure this out pretty quickly???

maybe this is a dumb question----but why didn't you just say 'never mind, I'll stick w/ my original plan' ?

 

[Tricia1972]

I agree with TDC Nala and others who say that Free Dining is a great discount, but it's important to remember that it is just a discount.

Because of the word "Free" the overall impression is that it's the best deal out there for everyone, and it isn't the best deal for everyone. I do worry sometimes about the 'mob mentality' that Free Dining is the be all end all, luring some into thinking that Free Dining is for them regardless of the circumstances.

I think that rather than arguing that Free Dining is free, we should let this remind us all that Free Dining is a discount and everyone needs to see if it's the best discount for them.

To you OP, I hope you can get things switched back around so that you are no longer paying more for your 'free' dining.