Why so much dislike for free dining?

[Dsnygirl]

Now, I'm NOT asking this question to start and arguement or a debate... I am legitamitely wondering why when I tell people we got a "free dining deal" for our trip, some answer me with "Oh, we hate free dining" or " We hate the dining plan". :confused:

I asked a question in a different thread whether or not the menus are different during free dining, and everyone said no -- but that the restaurants ARE busier, and the waitstaff CM's more rushed, less attentive and not quite as friendly during free dining. (Which is understandable, to a point, if people are rude to the CM's b/c their food is "free" or if people choose to not tip for the same reason... )

But what I'm getting more of is just a general dislike of the dining plan as a whole, and thus, free dining falls into the disliked category, as well.

From my perspective, I wouldn't pay for the dining plan again -- my girls are both "adult" priced now (but are truly only 9 and 12) and paying $46/day next year for each of them next year would be crazy. And thus, to pay $184/day for our whole family would be even crazier... we average about $120/day, including snacks.

But when Disney is giving you two square meals a day, plus a snack, for free -- what's not to like?

(I also realize that for our family, or any family of probably 4 or more who are all eating regular-type meals, free dining is a much more significant savings than a couple going by themselves, or with very small children. For them, a room discount is probably the bigger savings, and this could play into it.)

Just curious -- I realize this is a VERY personal opinion for everyone...

[ANG]

I love the dining plan!

But as DVC members, we do not receive free dining.

Which in turn also makes me angry because I am paying full price for my plan and had a harder time making ADRs.

[faline]

I don't hate the dining plan and, in fact, have been on it on several occasions, most recently last December.

Personally, I have never found waitstaff less attentive when we have been on the plan and have not felt we were treated differently in any way.

I do sometimes question, at least in my own person circumstances, whether or not, the dining plan makes financial sense. With a family of four staying in the same room, the numbers may play out differently. For a party of two, I've found that we come out ahead with a room discount and paying for food out of pocket.

[BrerGnat]

I hate "free dining" for a few reasons:

1. It makes the restaurants SO crowded. It makes it almost mandatory to make your reservations 180+ days out, which I HATE doing. I like to do walk ups sometimes, which it never a problem, UNLESS it's "Free Dining" time, and then there's no hope

2. They are doing it too often. It was fine when it was a once a year thing, in Aug/September. However, now, they are offering it the WHOLE year at various times, and that makes it annoying for people regarding ADRs.

3. I just hate the dining plan altogether. It was sort of okay at first (the one time I used it) because it really was a great deal (included apps, entree, dessert, drink, AND tip at TS places!). It's not really a "deal" anymore. It's a way that Disney makes people THINK it's a deal, and causes inflated pricing for people paying OOP, to further boost the claim of real savings. Quality and menu choices have declined significantly since the plan arrived, and prices have continued to go up. In addition, I hate being "tethered' to my ADR's and found the one time we used the DDP, we spent so much time getting to and from ADRs, and coordinating where we needed to be, that the trip became all about that, and not so much about being in the parks and having spontaneous fun.

Further, it's not "free". You are giving up a room discount in lieu of the dining plan being given.

[Dsnygirl]

I do sometimes question, at least in my own person circumstances, whether or not, the dining plan makes financial sense. With a family of four staying in the same room, the numbers may play out differently. For a party of two, I've found that we come out ahead with a room discount and paying for food out of pocket.
I totally agree -- even for our family of four, based on how and where we typically eat, we've found that a discounted room has always benefited us more than paying for food. (And we do at least one TS per day, but often not the really expensive ones - just once in awhile)

But what I'm really wondering about is the free dining -- that seems to be what most people are reacting to when I tell them we got that discount... they seem to think it's nothing, not worth it, not a good savings, etc. But for our family, it's saving us at LEAST $1500 for our 10 day trip, if you add in snacks, etc.

But I do agree that paying for the DDP is not always a better deal than paying OOP instead, and just watching how you eat while taking a room discount. It's always a numbers game, planning these trips! ;)

[Dsnygirl]

But as DVC members, we do not receive free dining.

Which in turn also makes me angry because I am paying full price for my plan and had a harder time making ADRs.
I can totally understand that... we're considering DVC in the future, and what's holding us off is the lack of discounts you guys get (although the AP discount is nice, but only if you travel more than 10-12 days/yr...) and the fact that you guys struggle with reservations and ADR's during these times. :(

BrerGnat, I totally agree with you on being "tethered" to your ADR's... we did the DDP once, and felt the same way. Too much hopping around to get to our meals, which we had mistakenly not always planned to have at the park we were at, or at a resort close by. So, too much "commuting" to eat, definitely.

And I admit, I'm a little nervous about how busy the restaurants will be... that will be a "wait & see" thing for us, and hopefully, now that they've spread out the dates a bit, will be more tolerable, as I see our trips being in August for quite awhile, as our DD's are too old to be out of school for a longer trip.

I do disagree about the "not really free" part, though.... yes, it's not entirely free, as you are then paying rack rate... but then, a lot of people pay rack rate, regardless, when they travel b/c of the dates they've chosed and no discounts being available. And for most families, even a 40% discount on their room, which is about as high as Disney goes, ('cept 42% once in a great while) is still less of a savings than free food. Not always for a couple, like I said, but for most families, I would think free food would be the biggest savings, unless they stay at the Poly, BW or BC - a 40% discount there would about even out the cost of food, I would think!

But thanks for the answers -- these are exactly what I was hoping for, and gives us all food for thought! :thumbsup: (no pun intended, honest!! :))

[DisneyDINK]

The dining plan really helps with budgeting on a trip. Like many, I've crunched the numbers, and while I could do better financially I still like the convenience of the dining plans and knowing about how much my trip will cost before I leave.

What I DON'T like about it is when the free dining offers are out you are now competing with thousands of other people and their TS points 6+ months in advance for ADRs at, what are percieved to be, the best restaurants (be they 1 pt or 2 pt "Signature") at WDW. You really can't be spontaneous anymore.

It is economics: you have an inflated number of points chasing a fixed number of seatings. If there were no free dining a family might opt for a counter service meal beacuse of convenience or saving money. Now the are essentially obligated to use each and every TS point to get the most out of their vacation dollar. Supply & demand, free dining increases demand for TS restaurents.

I think the system is fair, one TS point is as good as another, but we all know you have to study the plan a bit, it is fairly straightforward, but we all have to get educated and it gives us all some work to do. Heck, how many posts have we all read about the dining plan, ADRs, restaurants, busy times of year, making changes, etc. in order to prepare for our vacations. If there were no dining plan the Intercot Dining forum would probably have 50% less posts.

Also, who would book a last minute WDW trip knowing they probably can't eat at their 6-10 favorite restaurants? Is free dining to blame? Well, it doesn't help.

I've made 6 ADRs for a trip the last week of January. I'm hoping to make 4 or 5 last-minute dining decisions while I'm there; January is usually pretty quiet. I know, however, I might have to be very flexible.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Well, I understand that the dining plan isn't for everyone but we personally love it. I've done the math and we usually save money at the least break even and the convenience makes it a deal for us.

As for free dining, we've never gotten that lucky:( I promise I wouldn't hate it;)

[IloveJack]

We did the free dining last year, but are paying for the QSDP this year, as our dates fall within Disney's blackout dates.

I like the dining plan, because I know that no matter what I spend on souvenirs, I'll still have "money" to eat on. We've learned the hard way not to charge everything in our lives, so we live cash only while at WDW. I hate to have to budget our meals, not knowing how hungry/thirsty/snack-y someone will be each day. This way, our cash is for souvenirs and when it's gone, it's gone. But when it's gone, we're not left hungry. :)

That said, I decided to do the QS plan this year because A) it isn't free, B) I don't like being tied down by ADRs either, and C) we spent a lot of our short-3-day-trip last year eating. TS takes a good bit of time, and while the food was good, the service great, and it was free... I'd like to get what I pay for in the parks!

[AllDisney]

I like the fact that the DDP is paid for ahead of time. We don't seem to be able to go when there are room discounts so the "free dining" appeals to us.

We eat at a TS everyday. We used to enjoy the days when we would wake up in the morning, call for dinner reservations from the room or make the reservations once we got to the park that we decided to go to for the day. Now, we plan out what park for what day & make reservations based on our choice of park. That's what we miss most making reservations ON THE SAME DAY.:mad:

[Tinker Fan]

A good question!!! We love the dining plan, we have always felt we got our money's worth (even tho they have changed some things we still come out ahead) and don't mind the planning that goes along with it all. And how could you not like Free!!!! This is one family that has been happy with the dining plan!!:thumbsup:

[Melanie]

I don't like it because it really does ruin spontaneity for locals. :(

Case in point - I just made an ADR at Le Cellier for February. Just a random Sunday afternoon in February, which was the first one I could get. This because my DS has been wanting to eat there forever, but with our weekend/day trips that are sometimes planned that very week or day, it's not possible.

[Disnamic Duo]

We don't care for the dining plan...but we LOVE the "free" dining plan. I wouldn't pay for it because it seems to me we'd just break even. Why restrict choices (app. vs. dessert) and have to keep up with credits for no savings? BUT, if it's free, that's different. I don't mind keeping up with credits when we save $500.

[RedSoxFan]

We have never been on the dining plan. However, we have free dining in December. It saved us an extra $600 over the AAA room only discount. And with the new discounts released, the free dining is still a better savings for us. I am so looking forward to having a sit down meal every night as I can only take so much counter service meals. I have park hopper passes and it's only DH and DD who will be 14 and myself as the boys are in college (1 has since graduated) so I really don't think it will be stressful to make our ADR's.

[Scar]

I don't like using the word "hate" (except for the Yankees and the Eagles,) but I very much dislike the DDP for this reason:

Quality and menu choices have declined significantly since the plan arrived, and prices have continued to go up.

It's a simple numbers game for me. I'm saving $1,100.00 with my room discount for 6 nights. I would have to eat $183.00 a day worth of food to equal that. :sick:

Now... if beer was included... :beer:

[DizneyRox]

My biggest problem is the decline in quality and variety of food. The menu are all pretty much generic, which is unfortunate. The DDP has forced the restaurants to limit their offerings as they need to keep the costs within what they will be reimbursed from the plan. Paying OOP they can charge what the market will bear.

ADRs and such are also much more difficult to get, but I don't mind working within the system, so this hasn't really impacted me.

On our last trip, the best savings was TiW, then OOP, then the DDP. But all were actually within about a $300 range. At least how we normally eat when on vacation.

[vicster]

I love the dining plan - it's nice to have the whole package paid for before we leave. I do feel for the locals, though. I always thought if I lived close to WDW it would be so nice to just go there for dinner. I doubt that's very possible anymore for the locals.

I have not noticed a difference in the food or the service.

[eeyorepoohfan]

My DH and I are going on free QSDP in December. We went last year without the dining plan and spent around $300 for our 6 days and 5 nights for food. We only ate at counter service restaurants and enjoyed that freedom. We had also packed a lot of snacks from home to help save money and shared meals about once a day. We stay at POP Century to save money. With room only discount at a value, we are better off with the free dining. I would save around $80 for our length of stay on room only. Obviously we will spend a lot more than $80 on food for 6 days! So the free QSDP does make sense for us. We will still probably share a meal occasionally so we can use a different meal credit to try a different counter service place. We are thinking of tasting more in EPCOT this year! What can I say, I like free stuff! :D For the dates we are going and our length of stay, the free dining made the most sense. We really don't buy many suveniers, so we really should have minimal out of pocket costs when we are there! So I will look at it as our trip being paid for! :thumbsup:

[TheVBs]

I definitely don't hate the DDP. I wouldn't pay for it again, because it does not save us money, and I don't like being locked into a sit down reservation every day. I can understand why some people like the convenience of paying in advance, but for us, the convenience isn't worth the extra money - and it's not always convenient.

As for the food quality argument... I had great and awful meals before the DDP and I've had great and awful meals since. I've never felt like our dining experience overall has been ruined by the introduction of the DDP.

I do LOVE when we can get the free DDP!! :mickey: Because it most certainly is free food for us. What we pay for "rack rate" at a value hotel is minimal compared to what we would pay out of pocket for those meals. We're a family of four by the way. If we're getting something that we did not pay for, then it is actually FREE. :mickey:

And, weirdly, I'm actually happy that the free plan that will come with the value resort reservations is the quick service plan. Because, even when we got the regular DDP free, it was a stressor on our vacation to have all those ADRs to plan, hopefully make, and then get to or cancel if we can't. This is a change that actually should make most of the people who dislike the free dining specials happier. It takes out a whole chunk of people who would be vying for TS reservations every day. What we'll do is just book the few TS that we really want and run with the free CS the rest of the trip - exactly how we like to plan it anyway. :mickey:

[Gator]

I definitely don't hate the dining plan and I don't think it's made the quality of food go down. It's always been just OK quality, with or without the plan.

That being said, I refuse to go when they're offering free dining. The reason? All the good restaurants are filled up with people who would not usually be there. It makes in hard to get good or any ADRs. That means I don't get the really good meals I want. That means my trip is a little less magical. So you see, it's selfishness that drives my hate for Free Dining. Simple enough.

[disneymomma2010]

For me and my family, we will always try to go during the free dining plan dates! It's the only thing that makes since. It's hard enough for us to save to pay for the trip alone when you have all your everyday exspenses and bills. The free dining plan means that it is at least $600 that we wont have to come up with to pay for our food. Which means more money for shopping and we can use that money to stay at the beach for a few days after disney which is wonderful (we live in tennessee!).
Also, the free dining plan lets us experience great places to eat (ts) because if we were paying out of pocket, all we would be able to afford is counter services.
We also love to be able to actually set down and enjoy a nice meal and relax after we have been playing all day in the parks.
And you dont have to bounce around from place to place to eat. You just need to give it a little thought and choose which days you are going to which park and choose your ts adr for a place that is in or nearby that park. I know that if you are a spontanious person that its not fun but im a planner and planning my trip is half the fun!:mickey:

[Dsnygirl]

I don't like it because it really does ruin spontaneity for locals. :(
Now, there's something I hadn't thought of -- I can imagine how that makes those quick trips/meals even more difficult. I'll cross my fingers for you that maybe because there are more "free" dates next year, it will open things up a bit! :blush:


That being said, I refuse to go when they're offering free dining. The reason? All the good restaurants are filled up with people who would not usually be there. It makes in hard to get good or any ADRs. That means I don't get the really good meals I want. That means my trip is a little less magical. So you see, it's selfishness that drives my hate for Free Dining. Simple enough.
Now, I wouldn't call that selfish -- if you like certain meals/foods/restaurants, esp. some of the nicer ones, and b/c of the Free Dining, masses of people are there that wouldn't normally pay for it, I'd just say you're discerning. ;) And honestly, it's one of the things I'm a bit worried about, although we arrive the day before free dining starts (on a "resort only ressie", a separate "free dining package" starts the next day...) and should be able to do all our meals easily online. (At least that is the hope) But if we were arriving further into the time frame, and I was told that I couldn't get into Kouzzinas, Le Cellier, Cali Grill, etc., etc., I'd not be happy, either. Our "special" meals are a big part of our trip, and while we don't want to spend an excessive amt of time travelling to restaurants or eating, we do like to have some downtime in our favorite nice spots, and it'd definitely take away some of the magic if that was missing.

[Granny Jill A]

For a party of two, I've found that we come out ahead with a room discount and paying for food out of pocket.


I ran the numbers and found I saved money with my room discount and my AAA park ticket discount. Plus, I don't want to spend my whole vacation running from one meal to the next.

That said, I do miss the serendipity of popping into a restaurant and trying something new without having to reserve 180+days prior.

I don't know what I will be hungry for that far in advance, and it sort of takes the fun out of my trips.

I wouldn't cry if they did away with "free" dining.

[Melanie]

I'll cross my fingers for you that maybe because there are more "free" dates next year, it will open things up a bit! :blush:

I like that idea! :D :thumbsup:

[joonyer]

We have tried the DDP, back when it included appetizers, and TIPs, and we enjoyed eating at places we wouldn't have otherwise. But it included way more food than we would have ever ordered otherwise. We spent more $$ for the DDP than we would have spent for food using our normal eating habits.

The valid comparison for me that convinced us not to us the DDP anymore was this:

Compared to what we would have paid for all the same food we got on the DDP if we were paying OOP, the DDP costs us less money . . . . BUT

Compared to what we would typically order for meals (NOT 4 appetizers for a family of 4) at our favorite restaurants, we normally spend less money for meals at WDW than what the DDP cost us.

We have also compared the cost of the trip with the free dining, but higher room rates, vs. paying for our own meals and getting big room discounts. Given our eating habits, we save more money with the room discounts, so even the free dining doesn't pay off for us.

That being said, I don't hate the "Free Dining", but we avoid going to WDW during free dining promotions because it is so much hassle getting a table at the few table service places we choose to enjoy. And we rarely plan WDW vacations more than 6 months out, which you MUST do if you want to dine at TS restaurants during free dining offers.

Free dining puts more money in Disney's pockets. But it is not really a good deal to save money as a consumer. They do a good job at making you feel like you're saving tons of money, when all you are doing is paying less for food you never would have bought without the offer. But the bottom line is that you are spending more.

[crltkcagle]

We did free dining in 2007 and paid for DDP in 09 and 10. We are doing free dining in 11.We love it and have not found any difference in wait staff or availability of reservations during free dining or not. We always make our reservations 180 days out and get the restaurants we want. Guess its all a matter of personal opnion.

[Bellerella]

I absolutley LOVE the dining plan! Here are my reasons:

1) We enjoy taking a break in a comfortable, air conditioned atmosphere with good food.
2) Table service meals are quite pricey, which are the meals we enjoy the most.
3) We really feel it saves us money. We tried the deluxe dining plan this year, which included an appetizer, entree, dessert, and beverage per person. These meals added up to over $100 each on average, so over $300 per day. We also were given 2 snacks per day and a free resort mug.

So I think it really depends on what type of dining experience you prefer. No one is right or wrong- people just like different things. We like to have some relaxing time on our trip, and for us the table service meals help us do that without necesarily having to leave the park. :mickey:

[Goes4FastPass]

I hate "free dining" for a few reasons:

1. It makes the restaurants SO crowded. It makes it almost mandatory to make your reservations 180+ days out, which I HATE doing. I like to do walk ups sometimes, which it never a problem, UNLESS it's "Free Dining" time, and then there's no hope

2. They are doing it too often. It was fine when it was a once a year thing, in Aug/September. However, now, they are offering it the WHOLE year at various times, and that makes it annoying for people regarding ADRs.

3. I just hate the dining plan altogether. It was sort of okay at first (the one time I used it) because it really was a great deal (included apps, entree, dessert, drink, AND tip at TS places!). It's not really a "deal" anymore. It's a way that Disney makes people THINK it's a deal, and causes inflated pricing for people paying OOP, to further boost the claim of real savings. Quality and menu choices have declined significantly since the plan arrived, and prices have continued to go up. In addition, I hate being "tethered' to my ADR's and found the one time we used the DDP, we spent so much time getting to and from ADRs, and coordinating where we needed to be, that the trip became all about that, and not so much about being in the parks and having spontaneous fun.

Further, it's not "free". You are giving up a room discount in lieu of the dining plan being given.

Brer was just entirely 100% point by point right.

[TheVBs]

Free dining puts more money in Disney's pockets. But it is not really a good deal to save money as a consumer. They do a good job at making you feel like you're saving tons of money, when all you are doing is paying less for food you never would have bought without the offer. But the bottom line is that you are spending more.

Sorry, but for us this most definitely is not the case. The savings of a discounted room at ASMu is far less than the savings of the 2 CS & 2 snacks per day that we get free. That's food that we absolutely would be buying with or without the offer. So, yes, we'll actually be getting free meals on this plan. Now, we would not normally buy the refillable mugs for each of us. Usually I'm the only one that buys one for my morning coffee. So don't know how to factor that in. But, while Disney certainly does do this to bring people in and make more money, we are still, without a doubt, getting food for free that we would have paid for otherwise, even factoring in the higher room cost. ;)

[ILoveLegos]

I don't like it because it really does ruin spontaneity for locals. :(

Cast in point - I just made an ADR at Le Cellier for February. Just a random Sunday afternoon in February, which was the first one I could get. This because my DS has been wanting to eat there forever, but with our weekend/day trips that are sometimes planned that very week or day, it's not possible.

Ditto.

[PopPhan]

I can only speak for my DW and myself, but we truly enjoy "Free DDP" trips.

Since we stay at Pop Century, and have been lucky enough to get the STANDARD DDP "free" every year since it's inception (2005,) we have found a number of things:

1) It saves us money.

The "Free DDP" has always been a greater savings than the % discount (typically 20% - 25%) off the room
the 'bills' for meals have always been quite close to the daily cost of the plan - avg. $8.50 lunch entree + $2.79 drink + $2.79 dessert = ~$14 lunch; avg. $15 dinner entree + $2.79 drink + $7 dessert = ~$25; avg. $3 "snack" ==>> ~$42, which is about the same price as the DDP per day. But remember, these are AVERAGE prices off menus, we tend to eat higher priced items just because we can. (Yes, I know...."You wouldn't eat like that OOP." No, we wouldn't. We probably would only eat one CS per day and snack the rest of the time, but that adds up quickly in itself!)



2) We eat at places we wouldn't pay for if OOP. We would never have tried Flying Fish, Kouzzina, Le Cellier, Tutto Italia, 'Ohana, Jiko, Boma, etc..... We just wouldn't justify the OOP cost for them.

3) Whereas a lot of complaints have been lodged that the selection and quality have suffered, we have not found this at all. We have actually thought that over the past couple years, with the advent of new restaurants on property - Kouzzina, Sanaa, The Wave, etc. - the selection has actually become much more diverse and enjoyable, and we have never had an issue with quality.

4) Having Park Hoppers every trip, we have found that park planning has not been a concern. We go wherever we want during the first half of the day, go back to our resort to clean up/freshen up/revive ourselves, then head out to our planned dinner, whether it be in a park, another resort, or DTD. Yes, going resort-to-resort takes some planning, but it can also be a lot of fun.

5) Over the years, we have found that we don't need to use our CS credits every day, so on our last day (travel day) we still have a "free lunch" before leaving for the airport and whatever credits are left after that go to "trade" for snacks to take home with us. Not the best usage of CS credits I know, but having some WDW at home for a few days really allows the trip to last longer for us.

I fully understand some of the negative points brought up -

Excessive planning
lack of spontaneity
no 'walk ups'
difficulty getting ADR even at the 180 (+10) mark


and I can empathise with you all, but for those of us on budgets, who can only make one visit every 12 - 24 months, this is a major godsend.

Also, understand that prior to the start of the 'Free DDP' offerings, the time frame - mid to late August thru the beginning of October - was a huge money drain on the park budget (yes, I know - this is another thing "locals" don't like - loss of 'private' park time.) Disney needed some way to entice visitors during this slowest of times.

Hopefully, with the opening of the two new (OK, one new, one major rehab) restaurants in World Showcase; the forthcoming restaurants in the FLE project; and the new options in DTD; this will spread out some of the dining congestion, but that still remains to be seen.

One last point....If this wasn't a money making endeavor for Disney, it would not have been continued for so long and would not be offered for so much of the coming year.

Sorry for the soapbox :soapbox: ......Now back to your regularly scheduled responses....:D

[Dsnygirl]

But it is not really a good deal to save money as a consumer. They do a good job at making you feel like you're saving tons of money, when all you are doing is paying less for food you never would have bought without the offer. But the bottom line is that you are spending more.
I have to disagree with this... we are very frugal when we plan our trips, and as we always do ADR's ahead of time for our TS meals, we usually have a good idea of where our CS meals will be, as we don't park hop just for meals. (We do hop, just not for that)

Because of that, I always have created a budget before we go for our food, and know pretty much when we're eating breakfast in our room, etc., that sort of thing.

Seeing as we're a family that always gets a CS and a TS meal per day, and we always get a snack at some point during the day, free dining saves us a ton... I never budget less than $100/day for our family of 4, and usually it's more like $130 or $140/day, as we do like some of the pricier spots now & then.

Compared to any of the other discounts out there, for us, we are spending WAY less by far than we would be otherwise, and we aren't eating more than we normally would -- we're eating pretty much exactly the same.

I can see how this would be different for smaller families, though -- just wanted to clarify that for larger families, esp. who's kids are eating more, to not have to pay for dining really is a considerable amount of savings, esp. if you're a family that enjoys CS/TS meals every day. :thumbsup:

(btw, PopPhan and theVB's... I couldn't agree more -- we must have exactly the same travel style! :))

[elmjimmlm]

I love the dining plan and love free dining more...A room discount is not better for us because we have 5 in our family and our older 2 kids are considered adults... If we are going to a TS and have to pay out of pocket for 4 adult and 1 child meals it will cost us almost as much as a full day of dining combined... With the dining at 47. a day per adult and 11. for a child, it works better for us... For the 5 of us it's costs at least 50.-60. to eat a CS meal... Dining cost us about 1200. for the week and if we can get it free then I will take that over a room discount any day...

[angua85]

I used the free dining my last trip to WDW, and enjoyed it. I dont like carrying extra money around and dont like charging too much to my room key. So having it preset this way was helpful.

It was more food than we could eat, but we did enjoy the option of having a snack if we wanted.

We didnt do ADRs, as I don't like being pinned down like that. Rather, we just stopped by the concierge desk in the morning and asked what was available in the park we were headed to. We ate at places we normally wouldnt consider, and discovered we enjoyed them. Great fun!

I have booked a trip for early December and it has the Quick Service DDP again. Counter service is fine!

[Scar]

We would never have tried Flying Fish, Kouzzina, Le Cellier, Tutto Italia, 'Ohana, Jiko, Boma, etc..... We just wouldn't justify the OOP cost for them.Would you pay OOP for these restaurants now, after you have tried them?

I only ask this question because if someone recommended a restaurant to me (and I mean any restaurant, not just at WDW,) I would give it a shot.

[PopPhan]

Would you pay OOP for these restaurants now, after you have tried them?

I only ask this question because if someone recommended a restaurant to me (and I mean any restaurant, not just at WDW,) I would give it a shot.

Very possibly - one per trip, as we are generally on a tight budget.

[lightyearfan]

But when Disney is giving you two square meals a day, plus a snack, for free -- what's not to like?Just curious -- I realize this is a VERY personal opinion for everyone...

i completely agree, and yes the dining plan thing has been a huge debate on this site, when we first started going we paid out of pocket and had to subsiidze seperate money just for eating, which frankly was a pain, so then we heard about the dining plan, and we haven't looked back. me and dw have been doing the ddp every trip since 06 and we wouldn't do wdw without it, on the deluxe ddp, which is what we used to do, 3 meals anyway u like plus snacks and mugs, the regular plan is nice as well and on our upcoming sept trip we are doing the free qs ddp dining, just so we can change things up a bit, but let me back up a little , pre-paying for our meals before we arrived was a perfect thing for our family, we used the estimator sheet provided and it estimated that we would save up to $250 and guess what when i got back home and tailed up all of our receipts we saved close to $300, so for us thats a huge savings, like i said we never looked back and would never do wdw again without it. as you can see we LOVE the DDP:mickey:

Victor

[Basket Mommy]

I don't like the dining plan because we're DVC members and can't take advantage of free dining. We do like to eat at the restaurants in WDW, though, and find it extremely difficult to get ADRs at our favorite places because of all the people filling up spaces because they have the free dining plan. I think free dining was introduced to make the restaurants busier - but honestly, if they'd lower the prices a tad and offer better quality meals across the board, people would be more interested in dining in the parks.

[ShanPooh]

I love the dining plan and love free dining more...A room discount is not better for us because we have 5 in our family and our older 2 kids are considered adults... If we are going to a TS and have to pay out of pocket for 4 adult and 1 child meals it will cost us almost as much as a full day of dining combined... With the dining at 47. a day per adult and 11. for a child, it works better for us... For the 5 of us it's costs at least 50.-60. to eat a CS meal... Dining cost us about 1200. for the week and if we can get it free then I will take that over a room discount any day...

:number1: Exactly the same as our family!

We've only had the DP during "free" dining.
We probably wouldn't have gone as much (once a year for a few years) had it not been for the "free" dining.

[TheVBs]

(btw, PopPhan and theVB's... I couldn't agree more -- we must have exactly the same travel style! :))

I think we do! :mickey:

[TheVBs]

I don't like the dining plan because we're DVC members and can't take advantage of free dining. We do like to eat at the restaurants in WDW, though, and find it extremely difficult to get ADRs at our favorite places because of all the people filling up spaces because they have the free dining plan. I think free dining was introduced to make the restaurants busier - but honestly, if they'd lower the prices a tad and offer better quality meals across the board, people would be more interested in dining in the parks.

If I were DVC I would be frustrated too. Although, really, I guess it's equivalent to having the room discount instead of the free dining. I can't, as non-DVC, book both the room discount offer and the free dining plan. So in that sense it's fair.

I do think it would be nice if the restaurants held a certain number of tables for walk ups. I think they'd be guaranteed to fill them. That would allow at least some people to be spontaneous, depending on how many walk up tables are held and how quickly they fill.

I also think with the free DDP offerings being tiered to the resorts, it will free up a lot of reservations that guests at the value resorts would have booked. I know we'll be happy to get the QSDP because we really only want a few TS on each trip. So, it will be interesting to see if booking ADRs are easier this time next year! :mickey:

[Joannelet]

I think that DVC members who pay for the DDP should be getting priority seatings at WDW restaurants before the people on the free DDP. We struggle just like the rest of you do and we pay for everything out of pocket during these promotional times.

[klb]

I don't dislike the dining plan. It just isn't the best option for our family. Everyone staying in the room has to be on the same plan. Since my son is on a prescription diet, this promotion doesn't make much sense for us. We would rather take advantage of a room only discount.

[disneymom2000]

I am one of those who think the "free" dining plan has had a negative effect on the dining program and the business at Disney altogether. People are on the boards all the time whining about how they just missed it or if they should book at a certain time because of historical free dining opportunities. If you are going to Disney - go for the fun of Disney. Chances are if you wait to book to see if free dining is available at that time, you won't get a chance to book that restaurant you really want because they are already booked up. And the 180+10 ADR planning is just too ridiculous for words. Do you plan your meals at home that far in advance? I mean even Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at home get normal planning time of around a month maybe - but not Disney. So my opinion is that is has ruined the dining pleasure and spontaneity of Disney. :spoiler:

[DisneyFr33k]

We LOVE the dining plan and have paid for it for some trips, but last year and this year it is free - even better!!!

The big draw is not worrying with paying out of pocket. My hubbie is a huge penney pincher and would not eat at all with the sticker shock! So I pay in advance (if not free dining like this year and last), and he just eats all he can! :eat:

[MomTo3Tiggers]

This is the first year we're considering free dining, so it's interesting to read the comments. Three of the five of my family have food issues (allergies, celiac and allergies), and I've always found it easier to get a Ft. Wilderness cabin so I can do some cooking - besides they fit five! The money never worked out for the food plan.

However, the kids really love eating at the restaurants, Disney is one of the few places we do it and all 5 of us now are charged adult prices. I'm thinking about the plan because TS is much easier with our food issues than counter service. I can't imagine paying for all of us to eat TS most nights.

Having gone to Disney off and one for about 20 years, I really do miss the days when you could walk into Epcot and make your reservations that morning at a kiosk. DDP definitely is a huge pain for planning. That I really dislike, but this time I think it might work out for us.

[azcavalier]

We, for the most part, do really like the DDP, and have taken advantage of the free DDP for the last three years. But, my wife is a planner, and she loves to book our DDPs 180 days out, and figure out which parks we're going to be at, which ones have EMH, etc. And then we tell our kids the plan, and we all obsess over it for six months until the trip comes.

Spontaneity is great, but we're still going to hit each park multiple times, so who cares if its planned or not? It's just as fun to say, "We're going to Epcot the first day, MK the second, AK the third,..." as it is to wake up and say, "Hey, let's do MK today!" Of course, with the Park Hopper, you can still be spontaneous. We usually know where we're going to be for dinner, but for the mornings, we can go wherever we want. So we have ressies, but are still somewhat flexible.

[Melanie]

Having gone to Disney off and one for about 20 years, I really do miss the days when you could walk into Epcot and make your reservations that morning at a kiosk.

You've just brought back an old memory of doing just this. It was in the exit area of Spaceship Earth, right?

[faline]

You've just brought back an old memory of doing just this. It was in the exit area of Spaceship Earth, right?

Yes, it was in that area. It was located just to the left of the Guest Relations building. It was our first stop every time we entered Epcot!

[Dsnygirl]

But, my wife is a planner, and she loves to book our DDPs 180 days out, and figure out which parks we're going to be at, which ones have EMH, etc. And then we tell our kids the plan, and we all obsess over it for six months until the trip comes.

Spontaneity is great, but we're still going to hit each park multiple times, so who cares if its planned or not? It's just as fun to say, "We're going to Epcot the first day, MK the second, AK the third,..." as it is to wake up and say, "Hey, let's do MK today!" Of course, with the Park Hopper, you can still be spontaneous. We usually know where we're going to be for dinner, but for the mornings, we can go wherever we want. So we have ressies, but are still somewhat flexible.
Wow, we're the same exact way, except I'm the planner who then makes everyone obsess about it for 6 months. :blush: And like you guys, we then enjoy throwing all our plans out the window for the day if we change our minds and then changing it up, although we usually do keep our ADR's. It's a nice mix of spontanaity AND planning! :)

[BrerGnat]

Just out of sheer curiosity, what does everyone think would happen if Disney STOPPED taking ADR's. Walk ups only. Everywhere.

Or, same day reservations only?

Personally, I'd love it!

[Melanie]

Personally, I'd love it!

Me too!! :thumbsup:

[JPL]

I would be happy if they went back to the 80% ADRs and 20% Walk-ups like it use to be before the current inception of the DDP.

[Dsnygirl]

I would be happy if they went back to the 80% ADRs and 20% Walk-ups like it use to be before the current inception of the DDP.
I agree -- I really like being able to do my ADR's before we leave, I enjoy the anticipation and planning aspect of it. But, if we were to change our minds and want to head somewhere else (after we cxl our ADR, of course... ;)) or not have ADR's for a particular meal and decide we'd like to pop in somewhere, it'd be nice to know they've set aside some of their tables for just that sort of thing!

[jpH/keD]

I LOVE the dining plan!! In fact, for our next trip I am trying to plan it around the FREE dining time frame! I am with you when you said if they are giving you something free what is NOT to like?? Some folks just dont like following the rules. Maybe they have too many issues. I love the challenge of trying to make the system work best for my family! We do not have unlimited $$ so any perks are well appreciated!! I have heard some grumblings about the crowds and I sooo hear that!!! We went the week of Thanksgiving and it was WAY too crowded! I just wont choose that week again!! Happy DINING PLAN!!!:beer:

[MomTo3Tiggers]

Yes, it was in that area. It was located just to the left of the Guest Relations building. It was our first stop every time we entered Epcot!

Ours too. It was a small adventure to find out what was open if you happened to sleep in that morning. It was also just plain kind of fun doing it via the kiosk.

[TheVBs]

Just out of sheer curiosity, what does everyone think would happen if Disney STOPPED taking ADR's. Walk ups only. Everywhere.

Or, same day reservations only?

Personally, I'd love it!

I think walk ups only would work just fine. I would love that too!

With same day reservations only, I imagine the mad rush, day of, that you now see 180 days out. Of course, the ADRs work best for Disney I imagine. People are a lot less likely to pass on a reservation they had to make so far in advance, and in some cases, work hard by continually calling to get.


I would be happy if they went back to the 80% ADRs and 20% Walk-ups like it use to be before the current inception of the DDP.

I think this would be ideal. :mickey:

[brivers222]

But as DVC members, we do not receive free dining.

Which in turn also makes me angry because I am paying full price for my plan and had a harder time making ADRs.

Did they change that since 06? When we went as DVC member then we could add the Dinning plan up until the day we checked in at the resort... it was slightly lower price too...


PS... I LOVE the dinning plan... but staying offsite, its impossible to get :(

[MNNHFLTX]

Having gone to Disney off and one for about 20 years, I really do miss the days when you could walk into Epcot and make your reservations that morning at a kiosk.I loved that system! It seemed so new-age at the time and it was nice to speak "face to face" (via the monitor anyway) with a cast member who was helping you!

I don't hate the DDP, but would never do it again, free or not. It wasn't a value to us. Now, if they allowed you to choose whether you wanted an appetizer or dessert along with your entry, it might be slightly more appealing. We just aren't big dessert-eating people and so would typically decline it after our meal at WDW. After talking to friends and family who have used the dining plan I think that a sizeable number of other people do the same, which increases Disney's profits. Just my opinion, anyway. ;)

And having to make those ADR's just to ensure a table certainly does take away from any spontaneity. I think the idea of going back to a percentage of tables kept open for walk-ups during peak hours is a good one.

[Basket Mommy]

Did they change that since 06? When we went as DVC member then we could add the Dinning plan up until the day we checked in at the resort... it was slightly lower price too...

DVC members do not get the free dining if they use DVC points on the room. We could get free dining if we booked a MYW room/ticket package, but we prefer to use our DVC points (already paid for) and pay for the dining plan. Part of the magic of the parks is eating in the restaurants, and with a family of 6 (3 under 10) it makes more financial sense for us. It's just hard to get the ADRs we really, really want. I haven't eaten @ Le Cellier in 3 years because it's impossible to get in there!

[jillluvsdisney]

I've taken 2 trips in the past 9 months and had free dining both times. I LOVED it!! We had made ADRs for both trips before we knew we would get free dining. We usually plan our park days around TS. We are not walk up people. I think that's was CS is for. I think even if you had to pay for it, it's still a good deal.

My counter service meals at Seasons and The Mara were always right around 15 dollars. Ordered entrees at TS that were around 25 to 28 bucks. Deserts were usually around 6 bucks. I used my snack credits on frozen slushies that are 4 bucks. If I'm paying OOP, I'm breaking even.

We actually got in early for a few of our ADRs this past trip last week. The service was top notch in every place.

[DisneyDINK]

I used to plan my trip based on what parks I wanted to visit, EMH, etc. Now I plan my trips based on ADRs.

Oh well; time marches on; things evolve/devolve; we adapt.

[darthmacho]

Here's my opinion.

When we originally booked, I payed for the dining plan, and it cost about $1000, for 2 adults and 2 kids for 9 nights worth of sit-downs, snacks, and quick serves. That's about $100-$110 per day.

Looking back at how much we actually would have spent on food, it would have come to about $2000. Most of the sit-downs were expensive, about $100 (some more) and the quick-serves and snacks came to about $50-100, if we had three meals each day.

I figure the dining plan saved us about $1000.

Then they gave it to us for free.

Sure, sometimes it limited our choices, especially for the kids, but hey, we only brought $2000 in cash for the trip, i would have hated to shave spent it all on food.

Thank you WDW, for the free meals, and PLEASE, do it again for our next visit.
If you do, maybe we can even afford to upgrade to a deluxe resort! :mickey:

[BklynChick]

I will be honest - I received a PIN for free dining, and after some thought and discussion w/family, I decided NOT to redeem it and take a chance on Disney releasing discounts for my trip dates (which they did!!!!) or sending another PIN.

I know some people would probably have killed for that free dining PIN. However, I don't want to have to hassle with keeping track of credits and pressure to "use it all". I also don't like that you can only have dessert with dinner, and not an appetizer (even in lieu of the dessert). We have Disney Visa cards and we'll use the rewards towards our dining costs.

[Goes4FastPass]

I won’t go so far as to say I hate the “Free” Dining Plan – I just it could all be a lot less crazy.

It seems like the ADR Wrangler in each family has to calculate 180 days from the start of the first day of resort check-in or something then sets an alarm to be caller number 7 so when a reservationist answers, the excited vacationer is ready to fly through a list of restaurants and dates and times s/he has been charting on a spreadsheet for the past 2 weeks!...

If first choices aren’t available, s/he calls back and checks online day after day, time after time until a reservation becomes available. Then the victorious ADR seeker dances around singing, Zip-a-dee doo dah, zip-a-dee-ay, Lucky me, I got Le-sell-ee-ay!

And darn it, I like free dining. I book stays during free dining. But please, just because the Disney Travel Company calls it "free" do we have to call it "free" during this discussion? We book a WDW stay far in advance and agree to pay rack rate for rooms and purchase MYW admissions and pay for the whole thing 45 days before we arrive and for this we get, during specific times of the year, included dining.

It's fun but it sure ain't free.

[Disney4us2]

I won’t go so far as to say I hate the “Free” Dining Plan – I just it could all be a lot less crazy.

It seems like the ADR Wrangler in each family has to calculate 180 days from the start of the first day of resort check-in or something then sets an alarm to be caller number 7 so when a reservationist answers, the excited vacationer is ready to fly through a list of restaurants and dates and times s/he has been charting on a spreadsheet for the past 2 weeks!...

If first choices aren’t available, s/he calls back and checks online day after day, time after time until a reservation becomes available. Then the victorious ADR seeker dances around singing, Zip-a-dee doo dah, zip-a-dee-ay, Lucky me, I got Le-sell-ee-ay!

And darn it, I like free dining. I book stays during free dining. But please, just because the Disney Travel Company calls it "free" do we have to call it "free" during this discussion? We book a WDW stay far in advance and agree to pay rack rate for rooms and purchase MYW admissions and pay for the whole thing 45 days before we arrive and for this we get, during specific times of the year, included dining.

It's fun but it sure ain't free.

I like your terminology about the "included" dining. I booked my August 2011 trip before "free dining" was announced. My date just happened to fall into the right time frame. Kathy at MJ applied it to our trip and the rate didn't go up at all. Like you mentioned, I am already paying rack rate with MYW tickets.

My April trip is another story.... won't be any discounts at that time since it is the week before Easter.

Our December 2010 trip also has included dining. This is a first for me. I have had the dining plan prior as well. Just like having it paid up in advance:mickey:

[Kaps]

Family of Five and free dining always saves more than room only discount. We save anywhere from $800 to $1000 on a ten day trip.
ADR's can be a problem but if you know your going then pick early so you get what you want.

[January-2007]

We enjoy free dining so much. We've had it once while there were still appetizers and included tips. This time we have it as QSDP and are pleased as punch because our son will be a little over a year old and won't want to sit still in restaurants anyway. Wolfgang Puck Express, here we come!

[In my dreams]

My thoughts about Free Dining are this:
It's just another option for someone to use when planning their WDW vacation.

Some will choose the 30-40% off the rack rates
Some the Free Dining
Others have Annual passes
Others get Florida resident specials. So in other words- anyone that books a trip and doesn't get a "special" on something hasn't done their homework or has a bad TA.

I figured out right away that Free Dining makes $$ sense best for 4 people in a room with good appetites ( teenagaers).

[Tinkerbella16]

I don't hate the free dining plan because its money saved for us per night and when you look at what Disney charges for food...it works out great even buying the plan, but even better if its free. Yes, it is a hassle when trying to make reservations and getting your favorite restaurants at certain times. But its still a great deal.

Now, I can also see why people dislike the free dining plan. It used to be so much more relaxing in WDW before the DDP was even introduced...you were able to walk up to any restaurant and be able to get a table without a reservation. The DDP has made it harder bc you can barely ever walk-up ANYWHERE and get a table nowadays. Restaurants are more crowded now. And they are offering Free Dining during more months instead of just aug-sept.

[disneymom2000]

I would be happy if they went back to the 80% ADRs and 20% Walk-ups like it use to be before the current inception of the DDP.

This sounds better than every seat being taken at the 180 (+) day mark. At least it would give people a chance to be a little spontaneous again.

[Dsnygirl]

And darn it, I like free dining. I book stays during free dining. But please, just because the Disney Travel Company calls it "free" do we have to call it "free" during this discussion? We book a WDW stay far in advance and agree to pay rack rate for rooms and purchase MYW admissions and pay for the whole thing 45 days before we arrive and for this we get, during specific times of the year, included dining.

It's fun but it sure ain't free.
Aw, don't spoil the fun..... I really want to keep believing! ;) (and honestly, for us, although the ENTIRE amount may not be "free" b/c we're paying rack rate for our room, which we never have, we aren't paying a penny for our food... so the difference b/w what our room savings could have been w/a discount and the cost of what we would have paid for our food is still over $1000. So, I still consider that to be "free" -- if I don't pay for it, what else could it be, right?? :D)

[TheVBs]

So, I still consider that to be "free" -- if I don't pay for it, what else could it be, right?? :D)

That would be the definition! :mickey:

Ok, so we're paying rack rate to get the QSDP free next fall. That's approx. $33 per night more for the hotel room because we're paying rack rate.

Would that $33 per day meet or exceed the cost of 8 counter service meals (family of four with 2 CS per day) 8 snacks per day, not to mention the refillable mugs we'll all get? No way.

While we're paying a higher room rate, we are still getting food that we did not pay for. Therefore it is free. I'm puzzled by the declarations that it's not free. If you get something you don't pay for it is free. Yes, we're paying to be there, but I think the room and ticket rates are good deals, so we would be paying for them anyway. If we didn't get the free dining plan we would be paying for that food anyway. So, just in case my point eludes anyone, we would gladly pay out of pocket for all of the expenses, which means anything we get that we don't pay for is - you guessed it, free. :thumbsup: :mickey:

[Septbride2002]

I'm not a fan of it because I do believe it's popularity is the direct result of all the menus becoming the same unless it is a signature resturant. Now that it is being offered for almost an entire year it is pratically fact that they flat lined the menus for the most profit out of the free dining.

I miss the variety I use to get at the resturants.

Also we are DVC members - so free dining doesn't apply, we like to travel in the off season and suddenly it was packed to the gills with free dining. I hate not being able to get a reservation - anywhere. Use to be that CRT was the only ADR you needed a battle plan for - now it is all the popular resturants.

~Amanda

[darthmacho]

I'm not a fan of it because I do believe it's popularity is the direct result of all the menus becoming the same unless it is a signature resturant. Now that it is being offered for almost an entire year it is pratically fact that they flat lined the menus for the most profit out of the free dining.

I miss the variety I use to get at the resturants.

Also we are DVC members - so free dining doesn't apply, we like to travel in the off season and suddenly it was packed to the gills with free dining. I hate not being able to get a reservation - anywhere. Use to be that CRT was the only ADR you needed a battle plan for - now it is all the popular resturants.

~Amanda

Curious, because I respect your opinion as a poster I've recalled in the past. Do you have an example of what you mean by "flatlining the menus?' I was there recently for ten days and did not encounter this. I swear I didn't have two meals that were alike all week. Even items I chose to have more than once were quite different. For instance, the ribs I had at Whispering Canyon were different from the ribs I had at Chef Mickey's and both where different than the one's I had at Cosmic Ray's.
The children's menus, on the other hand, were painfully streamlined at most places, though in World Showcase had a little variety to them. You can't win with kids. They always want what's not on the menu. :mickey:

[LVT]

My vacation times are not flexible so I have to beware of FREE DINING for planning purposes. It will be way more crowded. If I ever got it (which has not happened) I would use it an make lots of reservations. I Know the trip would be very altered by crowds and lack of dining choices due to crowds. Now I am missing the free dining for May and hope that the crowds are lower due to it.
The regular dining plans have not yet made financial sense for us. So, I dislike free dining because I am jealous and have never had a chance to try it.

[Septbride2002]

Curious, because I respect your opinion as a poster I've recalled in the past. Do you have an example of what you mean by "flatlining the menus?' I was there recently for ten days and did not encounter this. I swear I didn't have two meals that were alike all week. Even items I chose to have more than once were quite different. For instance, the ribs I had at Whispering Canyon were different from the ribs I had at Chef Mickey's and both where different than the one's I had at Cosmic Ray's.
The children's menus, on the other hand, were painfully streamlined at most places, though in World Showcase had a little variety to them. You can't win with kids. They always want what's not on the menu. :mickey:


Hi Darth! Good to see you! :thumbsup:

Obviously this is just my opinion but for me some of the menus have been trimmed. Can you still get the mushroom risotto and filet as Le Celleirs - yes you can, but the maple glazed fillet is no longer. It's like every menu (except signature) has the same standard: Beef, Chicken, Fish, blah blah blah. It just seemed that the menus use to offer a lot more variety. I am happy to see that Ohana's got back the shrimp - we quit going there for a spell because it came off the menu. The children's menus are terrible - don't get me started there. Thankfully my kids aren't picky eaters.

The Counter Service foods have also gotten to be pretty standard and since we've expanded in family size we tend to do more counter service then before. Epcot being the exception to the rule - I feel like in Magic Kingdom I'm stuck with Burgers, Hotdogs, and Chicken strips. The Pirate CS is seasonal, The noodle place is seasonal. So in MK my dining options are extremely limited. Same with Studios - no variety at all. Animal Kingdom with the addition of the Yak and Yeti CS and my personal favorite Flame Tree BBQ has more options.

We are not buffet people - but they all look the same to me. If I want a truly different breakfast I have to go to Kona or Kouzzinas. Boma is the only buffet I truly seek out because you can at least get different stuff there. We are going to Chef Mickeys on the next trip (haven't been there in like 5 years) so it might be different then what I remember.

I guess my biggest complaint is with CS and with the kids menu. If you are willing to spend a few more bucks for the signature resturants you can still get some great food. CA Grill, Artist Point, Jiko, are all wonderful.

Again JMO - YMMV.

~Amanda

[Goes4FastPass]

Chef Mickey? Oy! We LIKE WDW buffets but if school cafeterias had characters walking through the seating area posing for pictures they'd ALL be Chef Mickeys.

March 2010: Lousy food. Crowded and noisy like no other restaurant I've been to at WDW was noisy.

[Septbride2002]

Chef Mickey? Oy! We LIKE WDW buffets but if school cafeterias had characters walking through the seating area posing for pictures they'd ALL be Chef Mickeys.

March 2010: Lousy food. Crowded and noisy like no other restaurant I've been to at WDW was noisy.

LOL - that was our assestment when we went as well. However we are going to Disney with some 1st timers and they want a character meal w/Mickey - and they are picky eaters. So Chef Mickeys was pretty much our only option. ;)

~Amanda

[Goes4FastPass]

Hi 'Manda,

Garden Grill (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/garden-grill/) - Interesting space, (How many restaurants in Peoria rotate overlooking the Land?), great character interaction (starring Mickey) and very picky eater friendly food.

[Daisy'sMom]

We did the free dining last fall when we took our nieces to Disney for a week. We have APs, so we had to buy two one day passes that we used later on to renew our APs. This year we took the 42% discount offered to APers. When I called, the CM checked and we would have had to pay 500 more for the "free dining", for the two day passes and rack rates for the room.
We also didn't want the hassle planning our day around our ADRs. It is just not for us. But for those who like it, enjoy. :mickey:

[Septbride2002]

Hi 'Manda,

Garden Grill (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/garden-grill/) - Interesting space, (How many restaurants in Peoria rotate overlooking the Land?), great character interaction (starring Mickey) and very picky eater friendly food.


I suggested this - but they liked the cheaper price of the breakfast, plus they had issues with the menu. :drama: This has been a hard trip to plan...

[EpcotFanatic]

Personally I love free dinning. Years ago I would have never thought to do it.

I recently went down with some friends who were getting it, and I figured what the heck. To me, it's worth it if you actually eat.

If you live off counter service for a week, it's probably not worth it. But for the week that I was there I got to enjoy the dining by eating like a king and not worrying about the bill. :thumbsup:

We never had a problem with reservations either. 90% of our table meals were walk-ups with a 30-40 minute wait. A small price to pay and didn't "lock" us away from the rest of the parks.

One of the only places we reserved in advance was Rose & Crown for 8:00 pm. By the time we started eating our food, Illuminations was about 15 minutes from starting. By the time it was over, so was our dessert. Worked out perfectly. :mickey:

[brystonmama1975]

We are going at the end of the month and with 7 people it made sense. My BIL crunched numbers and weighed room discount vs food plan and the dining plan was best for us. My husband and I are still budgeting for food since we don't want to be restricted by the plan. We are using the plan for %80 of our food and paying for any extras too. This way we don't spend all our time worrying about the food plan and we can enjoy our dining experience.

[princessgirls]

You've just brought back an old memory of doing just this. It was in the exit area of Spaceship Earth, right?

Remember that when you could walk up to the monitors and see and speak to someone. Back in the 80's when Epcot opening that was AWESOME!!!

Seriously, when I went back in 1997 after many years away I was sad to see that they had done away with that. They were located on the left side of Spaceship Earth.

Ahhh...memories!! Good ones!! Now it's ADR's 180 out.
Julie:mickey:

[PittFan]

We LOVE the Free Dining !!! As I stated in another post, It's a no brainer for us. With 6 adults ( now that the kids are teens) eating for 14 days it outweighs any other discount we've seen. And I must say that Disney's Free Dining promotion is working. The purpose was to increase park attendance during the off peak season and it worked. I know for a fact that we couldn't return every fall without such a discount. :cloud9: