Is this the death of free Disney Dining Plan (DDP)? - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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This is actually one of the better discounts we've gotten for our usual travel dates in late June. But we're a family of 6 Disney adults (3 adults/2 late teens/1 tween) staying in a suite at AoA so I know we're the exception rather than the rule. We'll have 42 "free" meals to use over our 7-day stay. Without any effort at all, this deal will save us $600. With judicial use of these meals, we will be able to save at least $700. Our meals at BOG and WPE usually end up costing us $150+ each, so using the meal credits for those 2 meals alone will save us $300.
Out of our last 6 trips, this is one of the highest dollar amounts we'll save through a discount. One year we got free dining (I believe that was a PIN/UOC) which saved us about $1200 that trip. And last year we got a PIN/UOC for a room discount and adding the PH option to our tickets for free which saved us a total of about $800. Any time we've gotten a room-only discount, it saved us $300-400.
This looks like a marketing trial to see if one free meal will induce people to buy rooms. With three adults, an average CS meal running around $12-14 would save us $36/day at least. If we pay $125/night for the room, we are still saving, even over a 20% room discount. The whole point of freebies is to induce a purchase; Disney is smart to try different price points to see what gives them the best balance (from a profit standpoint) of occupancy rates vs. greater or lesser discounts. Nothing ratty about it; just business.
Well, I'm definitely not well-versed in all things Disney, but for us, we are saving $400 and we had the dining plan already on our package. I'm just happy to get that!! I thought for sure I wasn't going to be able to get an offer at all for our dates. I'll take what I can get!
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Last edited by mickeyears16; 01-20-2016 at 09:43 AM..
Reason: clarification
No, they can't. They are calling this deal today the Disney Summer Quick-Service Meal Plan and the terms to book are that you book a non-discounted room and ticket package. No other dining plan can be included in that package and you can't buy the dining plan separately to make it be 3 meals. : If you try to change the dining to try and add any other package, it converts it to a normal package with dining.
I didn't see anything in the specifics of the deal saying you can't add a dining plan. Did I miss something?
I didn't see anything in the specifics of the deal saying you can't add a dining plan. Did I miss something?
I think what they're trying to say is that you can't add a dining plan on top of the free meals to give you 3 "prepaid" meals a day. I know for a fact that if you book the deal you can upgrade to the full QSDP for a reduced rate of about $26/adult/night or the DDP for about $45/adult/night if you want to.
I don't think this is a move to replace the Free Dining deal, because Free Dining was never a summer discount. I think Disney is recognizing how attractive people find the word "free" as opposed to "discount." Based on the number of people in your room, it's a reasonable savings. You'd probably only get 10 or 15 percent off a Value room in summer, which is only about $15 per night (which might get you 1 QS meal). If this was offered for a Moderate or Deluxe hotel, a room discount would be MUCH better. Maybe that's why it's only being offered for Values.
I think they key here is really that it's a summer discount when free dining is typically offered in the fall. The summer is rarely discounted as much as the off seasons since Disney doesn't typically need a lot of incentive to get people to come when school is out and people want vacations It's great that people are being able to save any type of money at all and we can just keep our fingers crossed that free dining still remains around September as the "slow" season creeps back in!
I think they key here is really that it's a summer discount when free dining is typically offered in the fall. The summer is rarely discounted as much as the off seasons since Disney doesn't typically need a lot of incentive to get people to come when school is out and people want vacations It's great that people are being able to save any type of money at all and we can just keep our fingers crossed that free dining still remains around September as the "slow" season creeps back in!
Do you think they are discounting summer because fall is now so much busier than it was?
I think what they're trying to say is that you can't add a dining plan on top of the free meals to give you 3 "prepaid" meals a day. I know for a fact that if you book the deal you can upgrade to the full QSDP for a reduced rate of about $26/adult/night or the DDP for about $45/adult/night if you want to.
Yes, that is exactly what I was saying.
When you go to book, you are given the choice of the Free Summer Meal Plan or the Quick-Service plan or the regular dining plan, etc. You can not book another dining plan in addition to this deal but you can "upgrade" to the Quick-Service dining plan for a reduced fee, etc. You will only get the 2 meals that normally come with the Quick-Service or standard dining plans, however.
I think this is a lousy deal, too. Come on Disney, how much money do you really need to make?
simple they want to sell rooms without having to give you a deal. Free dinning only came about because they had empty rooms once poel started booking room waiting for it and then canceling/ changing their reservations because of it it got to the point that they didn't need it anymore. Remember Disney is a business if the rooms are booked they don't see and to offer a discount.
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Free dining has saved us oodles.... I hate the idea of it going away.... or going to just one meal.... Our last trip we stayed for two full weeks- we checked in right at the end of the free dp period and we were able to get the dining plan for our full two weeks there.... we were in 2 rooms because we are a large family- it provided our meals for the entire trip, great savings!
We must remember that Disney is a business, first and foremost. All of the discounts offered over the years have not been for the purpose of rewarding us, it has been for the purpose of increasing their profits. We just were able to benefit from that. That is exactly what Disney wanted--more people coming to Disney. They now have a large group of people who experienced free dining that now think the "only" way to experience Disney is with a dining plan. They will now go back, and if free dining isn't an option, they will still purchase a plan. I know more than one family that thinks that way. The convenience of prepaying, .... etc. They don't bother to do the math, like we seasoned "pros" do, to see if it is really a savings. By the same token, many people have stayed at higher priced resorts than they would normally because of a room discount. Many of them are now "hooked" on that resort. Like it or not, Disney is a business, and, just like any other business, profit margins are first and foremost for them. They just happen to be a business that we love.
How many of us who've gotten a great discount spent more money on whatever else--ticketed event, tour, pricier restaurant, more soovies--than we otherwise would have? THAT'S what Disney knows from examining marketing data will typically occur when anything is "free" or discounted.
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: If you try to change the dining to try and add any other package, it converts it to a normal package with dining.
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