Free dining in the fall?

Will you take advantage of free dining this year?

  • Yes

    Votes: 68 68.7%
  • No

    Votes: 31 31.3%

  • Total voters
    99
  • Poll closed .
We already know Disney's attendance was down around 7% before the whole Pandora PR machine ramped up. I'm sure they'll see a bump out of that but I don't think it will be a sustained one. I see comments from people on these threads who used to go multiple times a year (which I think is crazy to begin with) who are going to cut it down to "only" once a year. I haven't been in almost 9 years and don't plan on going for another 4 years, and then nothing in the foreseeable future after that. Disney may be hitting a price point that's starting to push people away. With that said, I don't understand this whole notion that Disney is evil for practicing capitalism is insane. It's supply and demand in action. Am I happy about it? No. Did I adjust my vacation to suit my needs? Heck yeah I did. I dropped down from POR to POP, got the FD, and didn't upgrade to DDP. I upgraded from PH to PH+ (which is practically nothing) and my son is totally excited to hit the water park. You may not see it that way, but I look at that as a win for me. Poo poo FD and RO discount all you want but, for somebody who doesn't go all the time, I'll take it.

I'll say it again. If you don't like it, don't do it. You're not happy about paying $128 for a sharable steak? Then don't buy it! Go get a burger. Or don't eat in the park at all. But all this whining and complaining, and then doing it anyway, accomplishes nothing. I've taught my son that. I don't want to hear you complain unless you have a solution and are willing to put it into motion. Otherwise, I don't want to hear it. Don't complain just to complain, it just makes you a whiner. Repeating the same action over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. As long as you keep ordering that $128 steak nothing will change.
 
I'll say it again. If you don't like it, don't do it. You're not happy about paying $128 for a sharable steak? Then don't buy it! Go get a burger. Or don't eat in the park at all. But all this whining and complaining, and then doing it anyway, accomplishes nothing.

I truly think y'all are talking past one another. People are speaking from a place of disappointment. For many years I was a student and had an income of basically zero. I lived with my parents as a 20 something and now I have the money to take my son on these wonderful vacations. Do I wish it was more affordable, of course. It means pretty much nothing to me that it was cheaper X years ago as I had zero dollars to go. But I do think many here are right in that they boosted the price too much in too short of a time period. But, not doing so leaves money on the table and management just cannot do that either.

If people want to do the dining plan, and it works for them, fantastic, have a great time. But what posters like @Madonna3 are saying is that people just blindly book it assuming it's a better deal. The previous poster saying $6400 for free dining at Yacht Club is expensive, because it is! That's not a deal! Unless you're an absolute yacht club enthusiast who will not stay anywhere else and will pay rack rate, its not a deal. People do need to do the math if they are looking for a discount and be honest with themselves.
 
I dunno, you do have a bigger family than me, but in my personal experience, it's not a good idea to trade real money for basically funny money. It's a gamble and often the house wins.

I'm able to see All Star Sports for $98 a night for 4 nights in October. That's a pretty decent deal if you want to stay there. I'd expect it might be a little lower in September. If you're all going to eat at Be Our Guest breakfast twice, then yeah it's probably "worth" it. But are you eating there because it's a good value, because you want to ride the mine train early, or because you enjoy it? The only way you truly will know is to get out a calculator and add it all up and be honest with yourself. For 2 of us, we are at around ~$800 in my estimations, but I have a ton of table service restaurants on my list. That's what my son and I prefer to do. I don't wanna min/max my food, there's plenty of other things to "strategize" on these vacations.

That's exactly it. You make your vacation what you want. Nobody's pointing a gun at your head. Everybody says "ohhhhhhh, the prices that Disney charges are insane!" You can't get a decent hotel hardly anywhere for less than $98/night. I'm doing 4n/5d at POP, PH+, and FD. There are 2 of us. When all is said and done I'm gonna have right around $2,000 wrapped up in this with travel there and back. My boss is going to New York with his son in June for 5n/6d. He's going to have over $5,000 wrapped up in that vacation. I'm sorry, I'll take Disney over that every day of the week.

It's all about perspective. The "regulars" get jaded, wishing for a yesterday that ain't ever coming back, kind of like 60 cents per gallon gas. It's gone for ever.
 
That's exactly it. You make your vacation what you want. Nobody's pointing a gun at your head. Everybody says "ohhhhhhh, the prices that Disney charges are insane!" You can't get a decent hotel hardly anywhere for less than $98/night. I'm doing 4n/5d at POP, PH+, and FD. There are 2 of us. When all is said and done I'm gonna have right around $2,000 wrapped up in this with travel there and back. My boss is going to New York with his son in June for 5n/6d. He's going to have over $5,000 wrapped up in that vacation. I'm sorry, I'll take Disney over that every day of the week.

It's all about perspective. The "regulars" get jaded, wishing for a yesterday that ain't ever coming back, kind of like 60 cents per gallon gas. It's gone for ever.

I agree with you. We did book free dining it fell in our window and we already had park hoppers so with the offer it did save us money. We already stay at the values because we don't do anything but sleep and shower in the room. We don't spend time in the pools or food court so it's fine for what we need. So for us we paid a little more to get the free dining but it would have cost us more than that to buy our meals plus we don't do but 1 table service a trip so again the QS saves us money. I can see people that staying at other resorts upset because it is less, but as of now for us it's still a deal.
 


No, but I feel this is part of the reason it went away.
I don't care if someone "gets" free dining. I care about blind consumerism that leads to higher prices for us all.
I don't think that Free Dining hurt the restaurants - I think that the DDP did. Everything started to go downhill after the DDP was implemented because it created higher demand and built in purchases unnaturally. Increased demand usually is a result of excellence. Many of these restaurants got it without having to exceed, or even meet, customer expectations.

Now, the obvious question - they created the DDP because the restaurant tables were sitting empty - what would things look like today if the DDP had never been created? A part of me believes that failure would have driven the poor restaurants out of business and seen them replaced with better ones, but another part of me can absolutely see a WDW with almost no TS options - just more QS.
 
I don't think that Free Dining hurt the restaurants - I think that the DDP did. Everything started to go downhill after the DDP was implemented because it created higher demand and built in purchases unnaturally. Increased demand usually is a result of excellence. Many of these restaurants got it without having to exceed, or even meet, customer expectations.

Now, the obvious question - they created the DDP because the restaurant tables were sitting empty - what would things look like today if the DDP had never been created? A part of me believes that failure would have driven the poor restaurants out of business and seen them replaced with better ones, but another part of me can absolutely see a WDW with almost no TS options - just more QS.

And that's why I feel free dining contributed to it. They developed the dining plan in order to fill the restaurants. Then, when that wasn't hooking people, they gave it away "free" and that hooked lots and suddenly, the dining plan became a part of our Disney vocabulary.
 
I truly think y'all are talking past one another. People are speaking from a place of disappointment. For many years I was a student and had an income of basically zero. I lived with my parents as a 20 something and now I have the money to take my son on these wonderful vacations. Do I wish it was more affordable, of course. It means pretty much nothing to me that it was cheaper X years ago as I had zero dollars to go. But I do think many here are right in that they boosted the price too much in too short of a time period. But, not doing so leaves money on the table and management just cannot do that either.

If people want to do the dining plan, and it works for them, fantastic, have a great time. But what posters like @Madonna3 are saying is that people just blindly book it assuming it's a better deal. The previous poster saying $6400 for free dining at Yacht Club is expensive, because it is! That's not a deal! Unless you're an absolute yacht club enthusiast who will not stay anywhere else and will pay rack rate, its not a deal. People do need to do the math if they are looking for a discount and be honest with themselves.

Yes thanks Roxy. I do believe my point was being missed completely.
 


I dunno, you do have a bigger family than me, but in my personal experience, it's not a good idea to trade real money for basically funny money. It's a gamble and often the house wins.

I'm able to see All Star Sports for $98 a night for 4 nights in October. That's a pretty decent deal if you want to stay there. I'd expect it might be a little lower in September. If you're all going to eat at Be Our Guest breakfast twice, then yeah it's probably "worth" it. But are you eating there because it's a good value, because you want to ride the mine train early, or because you enjoy it? The only way you truly will know is to get out a calculator and add it all up and be honest with yourself. For 2 of us, we are at around ~$800 in my estimations, but I have a ton of table service restaurants on my list. That's what my son and I prefer to do. I don't wanna min/max my food, there's plenty of other things to "strategize" on these vacations.

Yaaas! This. Once you convert money to "credits" then you start caring less because "who cares, it was only a credit". The psychology behind money is amazing. This is why we have checks, debit cards, credit cards, dining credits, etc.; it devalues money and encourages and increases spending.
 
Yaaas! This. Once you convert money to "credits" then you start caring less because "who cares, it was only a credit". The psychology behind money is amazing. This is why we have checks, debit cards, credit cards, dining credits, etc.; it devalues money and encourages and increases spending.

Yeah this really hit home after my big vacation last year and christmas time. My credit card bill was higher than I wanted it to be. And it's because I mentally disconnected that money from reality. Now I'm following my budget plan a lot closer. I do put things on those cards for the points but I have to go into YNAB and virtually track it. So that helps bring the mental connection back. I don't like seeing that red message for going over my budget so that really does help. It's helped me with planning my trip budgets too. I look at the menu, plug in the amount, and that gives me a realistic idea of what it'll cost, including tax, tip and overpriced drink. No surprises, no regrets.
 
I'll say it again. If you don't like it, don't do it. You're not happy about paying $128 for a sharable steak? Then don't buy it! Go get a burger. Or don't eat in the park at all. But all this whining and complaining, and then doing it anyway, accomplishes nothing. I've taught my son that. I don't want to hear you complain unless you have a solution and are willing to put it into motion. Otherwise, I don't want to hear it. Don't complain just to complain, it just makes you a whiner. Repeating the same action over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. As long as you keep ordering that $128 steak nothing will change.

First of all, that's Einstein's definition. Secondly, I am neither whining nor complaining. I am stating my opinion, albeit negative, of the course of Disney restaurants and quality since the introduction of the dining plan. Do I enjoy eating at Disney restaurants when I am on Disney vacation? Yes. Do I have to like the prices? No. However, you better believe if I am paying top dollar, I expect the best. I've found restaurants at Disney where I can get that. Guess what the common factor is with those restaurants? They don't accept discounts and they're 2 credits on the DDP, which I believe is proof that the DDP has lowered the quality of the Disney restaurants who have some very talented chefs. The whole attitude of "if you don't like it, don't go" frankly sucks. I believe the devaluing of currency for those on the DDP has lead to complacency and that has allowed Disney to behave badly. Why should we sit by, as consumers, and blindly eat it up? Pun intended.

I feel like I have stated my point plainly multiple times at this point. No use beating a dead horse. Expecting you to see my perspective is insane, a per your use of Einstein's definition. Live and let live my friend.
 
.... With that said, I don't understand this whole notion that Disney is evil for practicing capitalism is insane. It's supply and demand in action. Am I happy about it? No. Did I adjust my vacation to suit my needs? Heck yeah I did. I dropped down from POR to POP, got the FD, and didn't upgrade to DDP. I upgraded from PH to PH+ (which is practically nothing) and my son is totally excited to hit the water park. You may not see it that way, but I look at that as a win for me. Poo poo FD and RO discount all you want but, for somebody who doesn't go all the time, I'll take it.

I'll say it again. If you don't like it, don't do it. You're not happy about paying $128 for a sharable steak? Then don't buy it! Go get a burger. Or don't eat in the park at all. But all this whining and complaining, and then doing it anyway, accomplishes nothing. I've taught my son that. I don't want to hear you complain unless you have a solution and are willing to put it into motion. Otherwise, I don't want to hear it. Don't complain just to complain, it just makes you a whiner. Repeating the same action over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. As long as you keep ordering that $128 steak nothing will change.

That is the point exactly. They are chagrining ever increasing prices for an ever decreasing level of quality. Let them do it. But in this capitalistic society of supply and demand that will bite you in the rear end. The problem is there are two ways WDW has made money in its history. First they provided exceptional customer service and high quality across the board. This drove repeat business and an ever increasing demand for their product. Now we are deep within the second phase, walmart/KOHLS phase (I used to call it the KOHLS mentality but it is a combination of the two) Offer the least possible product quality (Walmart) then put an extremely high price tag on it but offer a discount(KOHLS). Keep increasing the price of everything while lowering the overall experience eventually the value goes away for everyone no matter how they change their plans.

The changes they are making are unsustainable, what is bad for the consumer is ultimately bad for the shareholder. The shareholders should be shaking in their boots over last years decline in attendance. What can we as consumers do for a solution? I for one am not going change jobs and work the next 20 - 30 years to try and become CEO of the company. What I have done is priced out a vacation for the last 5 years and decided to go to Maine instead.

Consumers should whine and complain when they feel that the product is not what it should be. They should complain with their wallets, and whine to the company and other consumers. So then the other consumers will vote with their wallet (as I have) and maybe the company will put 2 and 2 together. When they do, do get the correct message, do they get 4 or 22, all depends on how they run the data. If last years decline in attendance is any indication the wallets are speaking.
 
This morning (Apl 25) I looked into booking a 4 day solo trip in September. The "Free Delicious" Water View at Coronado is $1166. If I buy the "Enchanted Escape" Water View and add dining the price is $1132.
So I save $34 if I don't buy the Free Dining package. Am I missing something?
 
This morning (Apl 25) I looked into booking a 4 day solo trip in September. The "Free Delicious" Water View at Coronado is $1166. If I buy the "Enchanted Escape" Water View and add dining the price is $1132.
So I save $34 if I don't buy the Free Dining package. Am I missing something?

YEAH! Rack rate at your hotel and a quick service plan.

Honestly, FD hardly ever works out if you're only one or two people.
 
Hi all. I have more of a question re: dining promotion. I booked a trip about 10 days ago for on on-site vacation: POP resort, 6 nights, 4 day park hoppers, DDP and charged to my Disney VISA. Of course, the post yesterday comes out about free dining, and I think "oh, that's cool..it's the week after we are there." BUT. I get an email from Chase / Disney VISA that because I'm a card holder, the dates extend to the week I'm there with a code they provided.

How do I handle this? Options? After 15+ calls into Disney Res. last night, I finally got through and was advised there would be a 45 min hold. After 20 mins I gave up and wrote an email.

Any thoughts on my next move? What do you think they might do? Anyone else experienced this?
 
I'm a little surprised by the reaction to the current iteration of the "deal".

People accepted the park hopper hook (to be fair some already get that regardless), accepted the upgraded room hook, and now many are accepting the quick service at a mod and having to come out of pocket even more to upgrade to the full plan.

What else can they add?

I use alot of "Disney math" to make financial "sense" out of our trips, so I get those who justify it. I wonder what September would look like without the coupon? Maybe we find out next year?

I haven't accepted it. We're not going to WDW this year. We will spend our vacation money elsewhere. Taking away the full FD from the Mods is the final straw for me. I can't live on QS for 2 weeks (we go for 2 weeks not 4 days) and I'm not paying for the upgrade.

If more people would make this choice they would have to offer a better price.

You folks realize you can vacation somewhere other than WDW right?
 
YEAH! Rack rate at your hotel and a quick service plan.

Honestly, FD hardly ever works out if you're only one or two people.
That makes sense.

But it doesn't matter now. I just went back to the site to book it and that resort is no longer available. Neither is my second choice French Quarter. Both were available at 9:30AM (pacific) and now at 11AM both gone.
 
Hi all. I have more of a question re: dining promotion. I booked a trip about 10 days ago for on on-site vacation: POP resort, 6 nights, 4 day park hoppers, DDP and charged to my Disney VISA. Of course, the post yesterday comes out about free dining, and I think "oh, that's cool..it's the week after we are there." BUT. I get an email from Chase / Disney VISA that because I'm a card holder, the dates extend to the week I'm there with a code they provided.

How do I handle this? Options? After 15+ calls into Disney Res. last night, I finally got through and was advised there would be a 45 min hold. After 20 mins I gave up and wrote an email.

Any thoughts on my next move? What do you think they might do? Anyone else experienced this?

I am not what one would call and "experienced" Diser by any means. but if it were me; I would sit on hold for 45 minutes and speak to someone about it. Since you are locked in at whatever rate you booked, and planned on going anyways, this would be a good deal for you. JMO though. Good luck and I hope it works out in your favor!
 
Hi all. I have more of a question re: dining promotion. I booked a trip about 10 days ago for on on-site vacation: POP resort, 6 nights, 4 day park hoppers, DDP and charged to my Disney VISA. Of course, the post yesterday comes out about free dining, and I think "oh, that's cool..it's the week after we are there." BUT. I get an email from Chase / Disney VISA that because I'm a card holder, the dates extend to the week I'm there with a code they provided.

How do I handle this? Options? After 15+ calls into Disney Res. last night, I finally got through and was advised there would be a 45 min hold. After 20 mins I gave up and wrote an email.

Any thoughts on my next move? What do you think they might do? Anyone else experienced this?

I have been a Disney Chase cardholder for about 4 years and have yet to receive one email from them on these type of promotions :( I knew about the free dining coming up and was ready to update my reservation @ 8:00cst but is was too late ... everything was gone. I'm wondering had I gotten the email with the code if I could have called and got the FD. I meet all the requirements there is just nothing there.. I even tried moving from POP to another resort....nothing :( I guess next time I know that 8am is way too late.
I still want to know why I do not get notifications through my Disney Chase card though.... Oh well it is what it is.. I plan on having a magical trip..
 
I'll admit, in the past I LOVED the dining plan... Sadly, it just doesn't fit well with our budget or how we like to dine any longer. If I thought that it would, I'd be all over it. And the only advice I have about the dining plan... if you are using it as a discount, be sure to run the numbers and then to do what you feel is best for you. And then ignore the rest of us :)
 
I think I am losing the "Magic" in getting excited with booking a pkg with FD. Granted I am getting older, but the prices are really going through the roof and the parks are always jammed no matter when you go, or at least when we go. I did book a pkg for our family of 5, just as a placeholder for now, but the price of $6400 for the Yacht club has me sticker shocked. We have been going to the parks for over 40 years and something has been just a bit off with each of our latest visits. My wife loves our trips and I do too, yet there just seems to be too many people, less open rides and more congestion each year.

My senior HS trip was at WDW and imagine the entire class was assembled in front of the Train Station garden for a picture. I mean those were the days. A stroll down Main Street without getting run over by strollers, people buried in their phones and without the need to peel off an exit ramp to go in a store. I know, I know it's changed, but I wish everyone could experience that pleasure. Disney's hospitality and management used to be the benchmark of the industry and now it has melded into the meh, they'll still spend no matter what mentality.

We will see if we stick to this booking or use that amount of money to go somewhere else.

This one needs to have a Sticky put on it...
 

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