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Old 24 Mar 19, 05:11 PM  
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joolsleeds
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Is free DDP really free? (If offered!)

We’re currently pricing up a proposed 2020 holiday to see the mouse.

Last year we got the free DDP offer and really enjoyed the perk of the food.

I understand that Disney are announcing their next promotion on 11th April which may or may not include free DDP.

However, we wondered whether Disney inflate their prices to cover the “free” food?

Anyone know if this is the case?
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Old 24 Mar 19, 05:14 PM  
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loves2plan
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I've been tracking prices since 2012 and Disney do not inflate prices to cover free dining. What's showing now, should pretty much stay the same. There may a be a slight increase here and there, but some prices have even been known to go down!
Last year it did look like Disney had increased their prices as they did their annual price increase at the same time they released free dining. Normally it's done beforehand when prices for that year are released. However, the increase was still nowhere bear enough to cover the value that free dining saves you.
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Old 24 Mar 19, 05:48 PM  
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JessBlu
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Yes it’s free.
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Old 24 Mar 19, 06:37 PM  
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GezzasGem
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After booking ours for this year I did then look at equivalent costing without free DDP and was definitely a substantial saving having booked the offer 👍
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Old 24 Mar 19, 09:33 PM  
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joolsleeds
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Great news! Thanks all!

Here hoping they keep the offer for next years bookings! 🙂🙂
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Old 25 Mar 19, 01:17 PM  
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PoohBears#1fan
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I've always thought of it as a way of encouraging you to stay on property, therefore you're likely to spend more on souvenirs / any extras etc. than you would if you were routinely going offsite to eat.

Meal prices have definitely inflated since DDP, making gratuities high so do factor that cost in also.
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Old 25 Mar 19, 06:05 PM  
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SteveC
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When we stayed onsite a couple of years ago there was no DDP on offer (we bought it instead) but we did get 7 nights for the price of 5 so it seemed that there was one offer or another available a lot of the time.
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Old 25 Mar 19, 08:59 PM  
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scoobydooby
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It is more complicated than some of the above answers. Whilst not all room rates increase, they are also not discounted usually. OKW and Saratoga Springs used to be at the same time as free dining. So. If you are a party of four, especially four aged 10 plus, free dining may be a very good value option. However. If you are a party of one or two staying on site then a 30% room discount and buying your food may be an equal or better deal. Same answer I always give. Don’t be evangelical about any offer. Do the maths. Never pay rack rate with no kind of offer.

Also. Will you eat all that food? Would you rather eat appetisers? Can you afford the tip on free Table Service dining? Could run into £500 for a family of four for two weeks. You could eat off site for that...

If I go with just my daughter we like a deeply discounted deluxe resort room. With the whole family free dining tends to be a better deal. Personally I’d rather have the freedom to eat what I want which is often appetisers and rarely deserts.

Edited at 09:02 PM.
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Old 25 Mar 19, 09:11 PM  
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Me too. I've got 4 free nights at CBR which are not offered once DDP comes in free.
So swings and roundabouts. It is free, but at the same time there aren't any other offers available while DDP is
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Old 25 Mar 19, 09:30 PM  
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loves2plan
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Originally Posted by FlorayG View Post
Me too. I've got 4 free nights at CBR which are not offered once DDP comes in free.
So swings and roundabouts. It is free, but at the same time there aren't any other offers available while DDP is
For the UK market there are basically 3 options:
1. Full rack rate
2. Rack rate with free dining
3. Rack rate with free nights
Free dining is the first offer of the year, which is then followed by free nights. You never get both together with the exception of a room discount at SSR and OKW when free dining is on, however, that has diminished over the years too. Which works out best depends on the resort and number of people in the room. For us, with 4 adults to feed, free nights never works out to be better value, however for solo travellers or couples, it can do. It does also depend on the resort as most only offer 2 nights free for a 14 night stay, with only a few offering 4 free nights.
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POFQ: Our 'once in a lifetime' trip, 31st Oct - 14th Nov 2012
SSR: 40th birthday trip, 2nd - 16th Jan 2014
SSR 2 bed villa: my mums first trip, 7th - 21st Feb 2015
POR: An unexpected Easter break, 2nd - 15th April 2016
CBR: Another unexpected Easter trip, 29th March - 12th April 2017
CBR: 18th birthday surprise trip, 21st October - 4th November 2019
Food report - the unexpected Easter QSDP extravagana! April 2017
What do we want? FOOD! When do we want it? NOW! QSDP food report, Oct 2019
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