Free dining survey

[janjandis]

I booked free dining for the summer and got a survey asking all kinds of questions about free dining. Wonder what this will mean for future free dining?

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I booked free dining for the summer and got a survey asking all kinds of questions about free dining. Wonder what this will mean for future free dining?

As Pete's said several times on the show, I doubt it will be offered again, ESPECIALLY not after Galaxy's Edge opens. They ain't gonna do nuthin' they ain't GOTTA do!

 

[janjandis]

I don’t know, it asked a lot of questions about would you have booked without this discount or promotion.

 

[lampshadehead]

The survey was also sent to me, but I have the room discount. It asked which promotion I booked, but then towards the end, the questions were worded as if I chose free dining.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

will be interesting to see what they do with promotions going forward. I agree with @SorcererHeidi that we won't see the same types or level of discounts post Galaxy's Edge (I think we will start to refer to times as BGE and AGE) - but at the same time I also see Disney jacking up the prices a lot but then having limited promotions to use for advertising, etc.

So if they still feel free dining is something people *need* to book, they might still offer it, but with more limitations and requirements to get it, etc.

 

[YesterDark]

I'm willing to bet that they will offer free dining, but not like it is now. It'll be part of a special pre-packaged vacation that includes specific MK days and specific HS days for an extended weekend and only available certain periods, not open ended like it is now.

 

[mcd2745]

I always thought they may offer FD, but limit you to some of the less popular restaurants in order to help fill them.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I feel like the “end” of free dining keeps being predicted yearly...

Anytime there is a slow period there will be free dining. Star Wars land isn’t the be all end all...we’ve had two other lands opened pandora and toy story and yet there’s free dining.

I just want to know for those booking does it still work out as a deal? It seems with all the restrictions they placed on it you pretty much break even on the “free” aspect.

 

[YesterDark]

Well if you go back a year or two you'll have people on the DISunplugged and DreamsUnlimited podcasts both predicting that "this year" will probably be the last year for free dining. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[rteetz]

I don’t believe there will be a slow period it will be offered in 2020. 2021 you have the 50th. Post 2021 I could see it being offered again but I think we will see a 2 year break where it simply isn’t needed unless there is a big economic downturn.

 

[rdaky]

I think that Free Dining is Disney's golden ticket for adding extra guests during an otherwise slower time. They can charge people full rates for the rooms and people have the illusion of saving all kinds of money. When the reality is that that cheeseburger and fries meal that you get on your "free" dining plan probably didn't cost Disney much at all (even though the price you think you're saving is $15 or whatever it costs for a meal). So as long as they can make people believe that they are saving money and getting an amazing deal and can bring in the crowds, they are going to continue with that promotion.

 

[GAN]

Since almost all would agree that it really isn’t “free” it doesn’t really matter if it’s “free” or not. Like Max said, they might tweak it and tighten it up ....ALL in their favor of course! So it will still be “free” -but just cost you more....

 

[maltdizzy]

I don’t believe there will be a slow period it will be offered in 2020. 2021 you have the 50th. Post 2021 I could see it being offered again but I think we will see a 2 year break where it simply isn’t needed unless there is a big economic downturn.

Yep, a LOT of people are waiting for those 2021 bookings to open.

I also expect WDW will roll the 50th excitement and bookings well into 2022. The real anniversary isn't until Oct. 1 2021 and I bet some improvements will roll out through 2021. Disneyland very successfully stretched their 50th and 60th out to 18 months.

 

[rteetz]

Yep, a LOT of people are waiting for those 2021 bookings to open.

I also expect WDW will roll the 50th excitement and bookings well into 2022. The real anniversary isn't until Oct. 1 2021 and I bet some improvements will roll out through 2021. Disneyland very successfully stretched their 50th and 60th out to 18 months.

Yep last rumor I had heard was the 50th will run from Summer 2021 through the majority of 2022.

 

[disneysteve]

As noted, free dining isn't free at all. Unless you exploit every single loophole, it typically costs more than paying out of pocket. The reason Disney offers it is because it brings in cash. It is profitable for them to get people to considerably overpay, and do so in advance, for their meals. We would never do "free" dining because we don't spend anywhere near what it costs for our food when we're there.

I think they'll continue to offer it. They can easily regulate the room availability. And keep in mind that they have 3 new resorts coming online soon so even more rooms to fill. Yes, SWGE will be popular, but I don't think it will necessarily be the total game-changer that others are predicting. And as Ryan mentioned, when the next economic slump hits, Disney will be affected right along with everyone else, probably even more so than last time around precisely because of higher room inventory and higher prices all around.

 

[disneysteve]

Yep last rumor I had heard was the 50th will run from Summer 2021 through the majority of 2022.

That would be pretty typical. 15-18 months for a celebration is not unusual at all.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I've never done "free" dining, but when I used to visit frequently, I preferred to have the dining plan, rather than not, to have everything budgeted/paid for in advance. And since I did that to take stress off of myself, I never tried to eat the most expensive places/order the most expensive things/wring the best deal out of every place - that would have stressed me out just as much, if not more. Only time I didn't get the dining plan was when others going with me were really adamant about not doing so, or I was staying DVC.

 

[disneysteve]

I preferred to have the dining plan, rather than not, to have everything budgeted/paid for in advance. And since I did that to take stress off of myself, I never tried to eat the most expensive places/order the most expensive things/wring the best deal out of every place

Exactly, and I think that mirrors most guests. Most people do it for the convenience, and convenience always comes at a price.

If "free" dining actually resulted in most people saving money and spending less, you can be darn sure Disney would put an end to it pronto.

 

[YesterDark]

I always use free dining as a way to get character dining at every one of my sit down meals (I have young kids). If we weren't doing character meals, I would never use a dining plan.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

If "free" dining actually resulted in most people saving money and spending less, you can be darn sure Disney would put an end to it pronto.

And the church shouted "AMEN!!!!"