I hate to say it , and I hope I'm wrong , but ...

[Pookasaurus]

Am I the only one who wouldn't be terribly sad to see free dining go? It makes the restaurants in the parks (especially the QS) such a nightmare that having to eat becomes an anxiety fueled circus I dread rather than enjoy. Having gone twice during free dining and once during SPD I'd rather pay for the DP (discounted or not) and actually be able to sit and eat it in a somewhat timely fashion than deal with the complete chaos that is a park QS during actual meal times. FD is out for some of our dates on our up
Coming trip and boo

 

[Nancyg56]

Am I the only one who wouldn't be terribly sad to see free dining go? It makes the restaurants in the parks (especially the QS) such a nightmare that having to eat becomes an anxiety fueled circus I dread rather than enjoy. Having gone twice during free dining and once during SPD I'd rather pay for the DP (discounted or not) and actually be able to sit and eat it in a somewhat timely fashion than deal with the complete chaos that is a park QS during actual meal times. FD is out for some of our dates on our up
Coming trip and boo

I think that dining in general is complicated. I am not at all sure that losing FD will change the situation in the parks, even at CS meals. If you eat off hours, you are pretty good. If not? Busy no matter where you choose and no matter what promotion Disney uses. As long as they are discounting ther rooms people will book, and if they book they need to eat.

 

[Guyton dis lover]

No free tickets, no free dining, People I work with always ask how they can get cheap Disney tickets. Aint none folks. Free dinning is not free. You pay for it one way or another.

 

[Pookasaurus]

I think that dining in general is complicated. I am not at all sure that losing FD will change the situation in the parks, even at CS meals. If you eat off hours, you are pretty good. If not? Busy no matter where you choose and no matter what promotion Disney uses. As long as they are discounting ther rooms people will book, and if they book they need to eat.

I would have thought the same - and did. Logically that makes sense. But the reality was the difference between our two trips in September '10 and '11 with FD and January '15 without we're like night and day. On FD trips in MK we'd be lucky to squeeze 8 of us around a table for 2 with kids eating in strollers or on laps 20 min after we got our food. Non free dining however - Never once had an issue waiting very long and with the exception of a single night (our last Saturday in MK which was the busiest we've ever dealt with) did we (see someone else to be honest) have a slight wait to sit down. While there wasn't really much difference in the TS experience, there was a very noticeable difference in the QS.

Regardless we won't be doing the DP on our next trip and this is a huge factor why. Too stressful and eating shouldn't be stressful lol Disney table snatching should be a competitive sport. People are ruthless.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Am I the only one who wouldn't be terribly sad to see free dining go? It makes the restaurants in the parks (especially the QS) such a nightmare that having to eat becomes an anxiety fueled circus I dread rather than enjoy. Having gone twice during free dining and once during SPD I'd rather pay for the DP (discounted or not) and actually be able to sit and eat it in a somewhat timely fashion than deal with the complete chaos that is a park QS during actual meal times. FD is out for some of our dates on our up
Coming trip and boo

We would probably not be able to afford to go anymore if there were no free dining.

 

[Pookasaurus]

It is a great discount and for that reason alone - that it allows many to be able to have the experience they might not otherwise be able to afford - it is a nice perk - Just for me personally experiencing the trips with and without I prefer paying a little extra and doing without. I'm not openly campaigning against it nor ruling out ever taking advantage of that promotion should it present itself in the future lol - it is just a personal preference of mine having experienced both ways.
In general I think it would be nice to increase seating capacity, especially if continually running dining based discounts (I know, I know, dollars and cents) as it is not an enjoyable experience for me (quite the opposite actually) but we're trying a different kind of trip and forgoing the dining plan completely instead. Maybe we'll prefer the sustenance free for all better, who knows! Not asking others to change or demanding they would, I accept the world as is and am fine trying something new on my own experience. Just was stating a personal opinion and observation and possibly another side of the coin should it end

 

[ck2d]

I think that there will be a drop in attendance at Disneyworld due to fears about alligators, and they might continue the free dining promotions. There are a lot of people saying "no way, no how, I don't want to have to worry about it." I doubt it will be a big drop, but it could be enough to make Disney keep the promotions in place. And I expect there to be some great deals for the Grand Floridian, too.

 

[HappyGrape]

free dining in UK and Ireland for 2017 is already released and available without any reductions of what's on offer so I don't see it going soon. But if it does, and alternative room discount is not available we won't be staying onsite. I don't mind to be honest, I fancy staying offsite but the free dinning makes the deal too good to miss for us

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I think that there will be a drop in attendance at Disneyworld due to fears about alligators, and they might continue the free dining promotions. There are a lot of people saying "no way, no how, I don't want to have to worry about it." I doubt it will be a big drop, but it could be enough to make Disney keep the promotions in place. And I expect there to be some great deals for the Grand Floridian, too.

They comped a lot of rooms...

They've undoubledly had cancellations...not as many as you think

They will closely track the forecasts and bookings and offer discounts accordingly.

Free dining is on the way out in one form or another. An alligator isn't going to make much of a difference.

Free dining had been reduced to about 25% (reasonable guess) from what it once was...we aren't in a housing depression is 100% the result of one.

And even if they keep it around. There are massively turning the screws on it. Jacking the prices to pay their employees...charging double points to make the thing devalue...

This is going on with the regular plan...it's already a bad deal. That will be extended to the "free dining" plan as well...the margins shrink constantly.

 

[Pepper pots]

I think there's swings and roundabouts when it comes to the best offer, eg, room discount or free dining..We were offered a 40% room discount in 2014 at WL, and it worked out cheaper than staying at our old favourite resort PORS..However we spent a small fortune on table service meals, three of them being signatures, so this year we booked WL with no room discount but free DDP...I've already made my 14 ADRS, and 5 of them are signatures..I roughly know what the three of us ( two adults and a hungry teenager ) will be eating in each restaurant as I've printed off the menus..Its well over $2000, but we are very lucky in the UK with these offers as it includes 14 day ticket for the price of 7, a free memory maker, a $200 gift card, not to mention $1400 spending money due to the ongoing construction at WL...