In my post here I talked about the cost of going to Disney World. I also mentioned how I could not find any current offers for free Disney Dining for comparison. Then, like Disney Magic, I received a pinned offer today for arrivals most nights 4/23–8/13/11.
In the offer, we would receive free…
FREE Disney Dining Plan when you purchase a non-discounted, 5-night/5-day Magic Your Way vacation package that includes Theme Park tickets and accommodations at a select Disney Deluxe Resort or Disney Deluxe Villa Resort!
or
FREE Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan when you purchase a non-discounted, 5-night/5-day Magic Your Way vacation package that includes Theme Park tickets and accommodations at a select Disney Value Resort or Disney Moderate Resort!
So I decided to run a comparison of Travelocity’s current promotion of up to 35% off the room rates, plus 4 free days of tickets versus Disney’s free dining promotion. Both scenarios were run June 7-12, 2011 at the Disney Yacht Club Resort.
Travelocity’s Offer
Garden View Room (30% off) = $1,574.21 after taxes
Three Day Magic Your Way Ticket + Park Hopper + 4 Days = $592.14
Disney’s Magical Express Service
Total = $2,166.35 + We are responsible for all of our own food costs.
Disney’s Offer
Garden View Room
5-Day Magic Your Way Base Ticket
Disney’s Magical Express Service
Total = $2,785.26 includes Magic Your Way Package Plus Dining .
Therefore, the true cost of the “free” meal plan directly through Disney is $618.91 ($2,785.26 – $2,166.35). That means my family of four would have to eat $123.78 worth of food every day just to break even. Everyone claims how expensive it is to eat at Disney, which it is not in reality if you are used to eating at better than average establishments. However, $124 worth of food is a lot of food every day. Therefore, which option is best for your family?
My wife and I always tell ourselves how we would love to try the free dining plan one time. However, with this scenario, I can not prove anything to win the discussion. In this instance, it makes no financial sense to go through Disney to book the free dining offer. Travelocity is the clear winner! I have proven to myself that by comparing the options, it again is not worth the effort to go through Disney’s plan. If we were to book the Travelocity plan, we would save $619 to be used towards food, plus have two extra days worth of park passes + park hoppers. At the end of trip, we could easily add on extra days to our tickets and upgrade to the non-expiration tickets to help come out ahead for future travels to the World.
Now in reality, if we were interested in going again, the clear winner without me even running the numbers would be to book one of the on-site Disney hotels, plus get tickets through UnderCoverTourist via Mousesavers newsletter link, and we would easily come out ahead of all these options even after factoring in the cost of purchasing our own food and transportation to and from the airport.