******Official 2017 Free Dining Plan Watch, Wait, and Dream

[pigletto]

How did you manage to spend $875 on a meal for 5 people? Even if each person got an app, entree and dessert, then you spent over $300 on alcohol?

Easily. The wine list. My father and brothers are wine enthusiasts. When we cruise together, or dine on vacations together the wine bill for 13 of us can be staggering. It's not where I choose to put my money, but others do, and really enjoy it. As long as it's not out of my pocket I don't care

 

[BuckeyeBama]

How did you manage to spend $875 on a meal for 5 people? Even if each person got an app, entree and dessert, then you spent over $300 on alcohol?

We had 2 bottles of wine.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Several pages back someone posted a link where you plug in where you'll eat and it tells you how much it will cost vs. cost of dining plan, also tells you what tip would be approximately. Useful link.

 

[KimBean]

How much was your bill for you to tip $175 I'm just curious if you don't mind telling us?

She might have already responded but with a very generous 20% tip it would be an $875 bill. For 5 people that is $175 a piece. The most expensive item is lobster at $72. So I don't know what each person spent over $100 on. We want to know!!! Lol

My experience for a Narcoosses was 3 dis adults and 1 child bill $250. Dh and I both got lobster, daughter got $40 pasta. We all had something to drink besides water, and all had dessert. I tipped about $40.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Easily. The wine list. My father and brothers are wine enthusiasts. When we cruise together, or dine on vacations together the wine bill for 13 of us can be staggering. It's not where I choose to put my money, but others do, and really enjoy it. As long as it's not out of my pocket I don't care

Absolutely. BTW - the Narcoossee's meal and dining experience was amazing and well worth it. But I find that most people forget to budget for the tips and they can add up quickly, even if you don't drink.

 

[KimBean]

Well, I tip 20%, so my math tells me that it was about $900. We bought a few apps and each had 2 glasses of wine, but the tip would have been at least $100 if we had only eaten what was covered by the dining plan. My point is that the tips get expensive if you eat in these places. I would budget at least $15/person/day for tips.

Your point is taken. Tips do add up. It is convenient if you are already doing the math on the DDP to remember to figure your tips then too.

 

[Dehmian]

Yes I booked at 7am at 180 day mark. I also made my daughters bibbity bobbity boutique reservation for her actually bday day for the first spot that morning

That’s great! Silly question, did you had a Disney Resort reservation? I’d like to make some dining reservation but I don’t have a Resort reservation yet, so I would be trying on the 180 day mark but without the +10 rule thingy. Would I really be at a disadvantage? Or does Disney keeps a percentage of occupancy free up until the actual 180 days (which seems unlikely)?

 

[cjbcam]

So far we've done QS once and TS twice. The time we did QS I really missed not having the TS. So this past November did TS and we decided it was annoying to have to be somewhere at a specific time. Next trip we decided we will do QS and pay for two TS during our 10 day stay. I hope that turns out better.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

I would definitely upgrade, especially if the FD is offered for your dates at a value. It's only like $ 21.00 per adult per day vs. the summer offer which is $ 40.00 per adult per day. Even at the $ 40.00 I would upgrade because most of our meals are going to cost at least that if not more. We like the character and buffet's at the resorts, so well worth it.

Talked it over with my friend, We decided to just stick with the quick service. Only because we don't want to have such a tight schedule. One of them is really not prepared for all the walking and we fear he will peeter out pretty early most days, and he isn't sure about the budget going up, so we decided to keep this one as lose as possible. We already have three ADR's and figure that might be enough. Two are lunch and one is a dinner on a non park day.

 

[KimBean]

Easily. The wine list. My father and brothers are wine enthusiasts. When we cruise together, or dine on vacations together the wine bill for 13 of us can be staggering. It's not where I choose to put my money, but others do, and really enjoy it. As long as it's not out of my pocket I don't care

Hey if you can afford it. Im fortunate that only my dh drinks so I will budget him about $225 for the 10 days and call it that.

 

[sharonabe]

I think it is high. I budget $ 15 - $ 17 for lunch (I think this is generous for me). I give myself about $ 5.00 for a snack, some are cheaper, some may be a bit more. So 2 snacks $ 10.00. That's roughly $ 25.00 a day. So for me, the quick service isn't a good deal if I'm paying for it. I'd rather pay OOP.

Well you do get TWO meals, so your total would be at least $40 and could be $44.

There are ways to get full value out of the QSDP, but it takes a lot of planning and you have to police what your family eats. There was a poster not long ago who said her husband got like a bag of chips, a bottle of water, and something else really small for three of his snack credits. That's all it takes to blow the cost of that plan out of the water.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

BOG and Wolfgang Puck express are great uses of QS credits. Also the counter service restaurants in world showcase.

 

[smallworldnh]

BOG and Wolfgang Puck express are great uses of QS credits. Also the counter service restaurants in world showcase.

I used Wolfgang Puck express during my last visit and loved it. Felt like a table service menu, food was delicious and plentiful!

 

[vever]

Well I have just come across this in my Twitter feed.
View attachment 228271

So they will be offering Free-Dining to UK Travelers

So that means firstly they are still doing it, and I'm sure (just me, in my complete knowing nothing way, as what I know about the travel industry is not a lot) it will probably happen in the US and other areas as well

Also can you all guess what I'll be doing on April 6th lol

Thanks for posting! Makes me hopeful that we will see FD drop soon!

 

[Neeky78]

Can you please tell me specifically how you got the BOG dinner? It's our top priority and I'm nervous about getting it. I'm still two months from my ADR date but was just wondering your strategy and how much dinner availability there was when you got it?

Schedule BOG for as late in your trip as you can. For example, if you arrive on a Monday, that day will be someone's Day 2, or 3 or more (up to 10 days) as they're checking in before you. It will be within more people's "window" to book than the Friday will be.

So booking BOG for Friday will mean only a few people will have had access to it before you and is more likely to have availability.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

I find the other ways people tour so interesting. We do rope drop and use that advantage for short waits, plan FPs for after lunch when it starts to get busy and that in itself is slower paced because of downtime in between. We spend the later afternoon shopping, pin trading. Then we do dinner and the only thing I worry about doing after that is nighttime entertainment. So I just make sure we are going to get it for that. Usually fantastic night we will switch and do a sit down lunch and QS dinner and then go get a spot for Fantasmic. My dh rides tower and roller coaster while we hold spots. It's funny how you get a rhythm that works for your family and kind of fine tune it. Would be so hard to plan for other people.

We Rope drop and slam out a few rides, then first fast pass as close to opening as possible to get them out of the way and then keep scheduling them throughout the day. Then we lollygag through, maybe get lunch, pin trade, shop and hit a few slow rides as we wander over to the next one. Also it gives us the ability to switch parks when we find the one we are in gets too crowded.

 

[KimBean]

That’s great! Silly question, did you had a Disney Resort reservation? I’d like to make some dining reservation but I don’t have a Resort reservation yet, so I would be trying on the 180 day mark but without the +10 rule thingy. Would I really be at a disadvantage? Or does Disney keeps a percentage of occupancy free up until the actual 180 days (which seems unlikely)?

I don't know what disney does or doesn't do. So far out of the know. But I've only had 1 onsite ressie. All my other trips were at timeshares. Since the whole 180 day began I've never had a problem. It's annoying to have to do it everyday but doable.

 

[Kiki_pa]

I find the other ways people tour so interesting. We do rope drop and use that advantage for short waits, plan FPs for after lunch when it starts to get busy and that in itself is slower paced because of downtime in between. We spend the later afternoon shopping, pin trading. Then we do dinner and the only thing I worry about doing after that is nighttime entertainment. So I just make sure we are going to get it for that. Usually fantastic night we will switch and do a sit down lunch and QS dinner and then go get a spot for Fantasmic. My dh rides tower and roller coaster while we hold spots. It's funny how you get a rhythm that works for your family and kind of fine tune it. Would be so hard to plan for other people.

Haven't found the rhythm that works for us yet. Hoping after this trip we are getting closer to one. Last time we planned our FP in the AM and this time I'm planning to switch it up like you mentioned. Get on what we can early in the AM and do FP in Afternoon or even evenings. Also hoping seated meals at lunch help with time management too. We like to get pool time and naps in the afternoon which always seems to cause a problem when we have plans for seated dinner at night.

 

[KimBean]

We Rope drop and slam out a few rides, then first fast pass as close to opening as possible to get them out of the way and then keep scheduling them throughout the day. Then we lollygag through, maybe get lunch, pin trade, shop and hit a few slow rides as we wander over to the next one. Also it gives us the ability to switch parks when we find the one we are in gets too crowded.

Like this strategy. Might have to give it some thought since we probably will have park hopper. We never have before and I haven't put much thought into utilizing it.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Wow, I too find it interesting.
I RD almost every day. I will bang out 3-5 rides and then will use my fp+ (Thinking of booking another fp+ in a different park then get lunch in that park)afternoon is lunch or snack till dinner. Head to relax for the hour or two somewhere or will switch parks with the express bus, Then evening entertainment. (getting more fp+'s whenever we can using the app on my phone)

What I don't get, is ppl saying dining isn't worth it?
QS meals are about 15 each
you get 2 of those- 30 right there
You get 2 snack credits (don't use them for popcorn or ice cream use them for bigger snacks (5-7bucks each)
10-14 right there
You get the mug (12-17 week?)
15 right there

30 (qs)
10 (snacks)
15 mug
--
55 right there.

I know its pricey 15 for a burger fries and drink is like omg a lot but most Qs are in that price range. I added it up it makes sense for my family. My son is now 14 and eating like he is starving all the time. (no more sharing)

BOG (B, L, D), (Flame Tree), ( Library Inn) ( (Polly dinner show (first night we arrive if can make it work)) (CL meal deal in Epcot with the German buffet (I was born in Germany, so this was a must do for me)) (Tusker House buffet for rol) (Crystal Palace brunch buffet) and (Hollywood Vine buffet for F)
As you see I am planning most meals to save me time at some night time shows too. Or have an extra show during the time we are eating. To maximize our time.

These are the meals we want to do. We do not like a lot of spice, and we stick to a simple pallet with some small extra flavors. I like the buffets because we can sit down and be ready to get food. It takes less to eat, and we do try different things each time. This helps us try and open our flavor pallets.

My Husband has even decided that the extra (100 or so we may have saved if paid out of pocket. Is not worth the stress. He would rather know were fed the whole time and not need to save money for the big meals and then as qs meals happen we would be pushing to share them and being stressed.

Now if we can get free dining I think It would be worth it. Right now I'm paying a little more then I wish for 10 nights 8day hopper and dining plan. If I could save more, I would be happy. However, even if it did not work, I would be ok. If we can upgrade to a bigger room and get fd for right about what I'm paying already or a tiny bit more. To me, it would be worth it.

I know everyone is different and has to go for what they and their families would agree with.
I have a 14-year-old who still enjoys hanging with mom and dad, getting autographs and pics with characters and just having fun. He is not like some teens out there, but we asked him. "We know you will be 15, do you want an autograph book at wdw?" he said "of course I do Mom, why wouldn't I?
Dad and I were so proud LOL