Need a DW Mathematician...!

zales127

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 19, 2008
I used to be able to do this for hours on end..but since epilepsy has taken over my brain the numbers just dont come as quick as they used to.

We have been going for years and always took advantage of the free dining that was offered at whatever resort. We werent too picky. But our family is growing (boyfriends..girlfriends etc). We now have 6 adults.

This year we stayed at AKL and upgraded the free dining offer to Deluxe (by accident on a bounce back program) Our trip cost was outrageous but we have always said that we wanted to do it at least once to see what all the hullabaloo was all about. (for future reference...AKL we didnt think was all it was cracked up to be).

That being said..after spending a lot of $$ on AKL Preferred Rooms (2) and the Deluxe Dining Plan..we really got to thinking that after all these years..we *think* we are good with going back to an All Star Resort! Big jump right?

So Im trying to do the math to see what is better for our family and I am completely coming out with brain toots..especially since the offers havent hit yet...

Currently we have booked on bounce back

2 rooms - Fort Wilderness Lodge -Preferred Rooms=-2 Adults in one 4 adults in the other... Deluxe Dining Upgrade (Regular Free Dining offered on bounce back)

September 13-23.

I guess what I am trying to figure out..is..for our family with all the same dates..room selections...would it be better to downgrade to All Star Movies with the free dining and upgrade to Regular dining... Or wait for the 25% off of room rate..

or

Downgrade to Moderate Resort (Like Port Orleans) with the Free Dining (regular) or wait for the 25% off of room rate.

I know this is assuming both offers will become available during our stays...I keep trying to fiddle the numbers and my head just cant wrap around it.

If you have a better # suggestion I would LOVE to hear it.
 

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Wow....that's a LOT of variables, I don't know that anyone can answer those questions for you.

Remember that All Stars don't get the 25% discount (they are usually 10-15%). The 25-30% discounts are only on Deluxes. I don't think the moderates go higher than 20% if a discount is offered from rack rate. That may affect your decision.

I'm not aware of whether you would be able to modify (downgrade) a bounceback and keep the free dining, or if you'd have to cancel and rebook (which may impact your ability to keep your free dining). That might be a question that needs to be answered before you can dive any deeper.
 
Keep in mind too that the moderates don't get regular dining for free, it is the quick service plan only so you would have to upgrade to the regular plan.
 
Not that its important, but are you booked at fort wilderness or wilderness lodge?

I don't think they will let you downgrade your existing free dining to port orleans, and if a new dining offer comes out they typically only get the quick service plan at the moderates. If you want to save money why not keep the deluxe room and downgrade to the regular dining plan instead of the deluxe. Another thing to keep in mind is sometimes just prior to releasing a discount, disney raises the hotel rates, so an offer may be released in the future, but it still may not save money.
 


Not that its important, but are you booked at fort wilderness or wilderness lodge?

I don't think they will let you downgrade your existing free dining to port orleans, and if a new dining offer comes out they typically only get the quick service plan at the moderates. If you want to save money why not keep the deluxe room and downgrade to the regular dining plan instead of the deluxe. Another thing to keep in mind is sometimes just prior to releasing a discount, disney raises the hotel rates, so an offer may be released in the future, but it still may not save money.

This is what I thought too - that if you wanted to modify your reservation to a different hotel you would basically be canceling the existing package and rebooking the new resort - which would cause you to lose any discount you had that wasn't still available. You may have been able to keep your BB offer and change hotels in the past, but I didn't think that was the case anymore.
 
When staying at an All Stars Resort, the "normal" room only discount is 10-15%. On rare occasions, it may be 20%. So a $200 "rack" room rate at 20% would be a $40 per night discount. 15% would be $30 and 10% would be $20. We have always found that the free dining offer, (then upgrading to the regular dining plan) is always a better discount for us. (2 adults and 1 Disney adult - age 10+).

A moderate resort is now only offering "quick service" as the free dining offer. So to upgrade to the deluxe dining plan, you are looking at approximately $70 per person, additional per night of your stay. (A 5 night stay, is $350 per adult, times your 6 adults, that's an additional $2,100).

As far as a room only discount, for a moderate resort, the "normal" room only discount is 20%. On rare occasions it may be higher.

When it comes to a deluxe resort, you really need to do some serious thinking. This is where sometimes the nightly room discount is greater than the "free dining offer". It depends on the rack rate, which is way more than I could ever justify! However, having 6 adults at a regular "free dining" is equal to approximately $450 per night.

The Deluxe Dining Plan is a lot of food 3 table services\ quick service meals. The table service meals each include: appetizer, entree, beverage and dessert per person, (times yoUr 6 adults) is a lot of food. Plus you get your two snacks per day!!! (Plus a lot of time, spent eating)

Whatever choice you make - I hope you enjoy making many magical memories with your family.
 
Thank you all. I know there are a lot of variables..thats why my head cant do the math lol. To clarify we are currently booked at the Wilderness Lodge. I know we cant downgrade on a bounceback...it would have to be a cancel and rebook altogether. I wasnt aware that they switched the moderates to quick service only. That might change things..and if we did regular dining on a deluxe resort that might change things at 20% discount too.
 


Thank you all. I know there are a lot of variables..thats why my head cant do the math lol. To clarify we are currently booked at the Wilderness Lodge. I know we cant downgrade on a bounceback...it would have to be a cancel and rebook altogether. I wasnt aware that they switched the moderates to quick service only. That might change things..and if we did regular dining on a deluxe resort that might change things at 20% discount too.

Gotcha, so at this point there are no free dining packages offered for September, if you think you want to downgrade I would book the room only discount that's out now (if it accomplishes what you want) and then keep a close eye on what pricing deals come out in the spring next year. The only free dining available right now is free dining for kids which wouldn't help you.

You can look at what the full-price cost of rooms are now, and if they don't raise prices again that plus tickets is what you'd be looking at for cost IF they do a Free dining offer. So for example, POFQ would be around $3010 per room for the dates you mentioned, plus the cost of tickets (FD requires park hoppers, but I don't know how many days you'd get park tickets for normally). - and it would be a QS dining plan that you could pay extra to upgrade to regular dining.

IF they offer a 20% discount at the moderates, you'd pay around $2400 per room for the dates of your stay, plus the cost of tickets and dining plan if you wanted to add that. But that's a big IF.

I don't know what you paid for your WL reservation, but if you would normally do 9 day park hoppers and a regular dining plan, this would be your approximate cost based on CURRENT pricing including tax (I had some extra time at work lol)

POFQ - 2 rooms, (6) 9-day parkhoppers, dining for 6 adults:
potential free dining offer: $6020 (rooms and free dining) + $3432 (tickets) + $1380 (cost to upgrade to regular dining)= $10,832
Potential 20% off room only discount: $5400 (rooms only) + $3432 (tickets) + $4680 (Reg dining plan for 6) = $13512

It's just an approximation but gives you an idea of what you'd be looking at for pricing.
 
Side note, AKL is a very mixed bag. I know some people absolutely love it and I understand why. Personally, it's not for me I'm not an animal person and AK is my least favorite park. Wilderness lodge on the other hand I absolutely love. The boat to magic kingdom is great. The resort isn't as big as some so its easier to get to the amenities. So you may feel differently about a stay there than you did AKL. POFQ is the only moderate that isn't very spread out and is often excluded from discounts. I would rather stay at pop or ASMo than any of the moderates other than POFQ. I know there are some that love the moderates, but like AKL everyone has different preferences and it depends how much you value amenities like the food court and proximity to the main resort pool.
 
We just werent impressed with AKL as a whole. When we first got there we were like OMG this is amazing...LOOK A GIRAFFE RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR DOOR...day 3..."Look a Giraffe" Day 4..".yeah..theres a Giraffe out there". The food court..was completely unimpressive..super small compared to anywhere we have stayed. We had to have mousekeeping come because we had ghost ants coming out of our light sockets. There were a whole slew of things (perhaps I should write a resort review in the appropriate section). It was just under 18k for the entire trip (room, upgrading dining, 10 day tickets with park hopper) and I regret spending all that $$ for what it was. Plus..I didnt feel like AKL had a disney feel at all. It had an Africa feeling..but Disney was somewhat removed.
 
We just werent impressed with AKL as a whole. When we first got there we were like OMG this is amazing...LOOK A GIRAFFE RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR DOOR...day 3..."Look a Giraffe" Day 4..".yeah..theres a Giraffe out there". The food court..was completely unimpressive..super small compared to anywhere we have stayed. We had to have mousekeeping come because we had ghost ants coming out of our light sockets. There were a whole slew of things (perhaps I should write a resort review in the appropriate section). It was just under 18k for the entire trip (room, upgrading dining, 10 day tickets with park hopper) and I regret spending all that $$ for what it was. Plus..I didnt feel like AKL had a disney feel at all. It had an Africa feeling..but Disney was somewhat removed.
The food courts are better at a value resort. They are also more in your face Disney. At the moderates you’ll find the same Disney adjacent theming verses the larger than life toy story characters at all star movies. If that’s the stuff you miss then I’d compare wilderness to a value in terms of cost and skip the moderate. I will say though that the wilderness food court has a little better selection than some of the other resorts for non-foodies like me still not as good as the values though.
 
The ability to sit on my balcony is important, ymmv. This is why we prefer deluxe or DVC resorts

You have a lot of variables. A TA would be a good help w this scenario plus the first to be aware of new discounts. Maybe a Dreams Unlimited agent could help.
 
I think the best way you can reduce your bill is to revisit the DxDDP option you chose. That is approximately $40 per day per person, so $240 per day over the length of your trip. That adds up. I will be honest. I love that plan, but it is not always cost effective for us. I would think about keeping it for the room with two people, and then sharing the additional credits with the entire family, and that may give you the extra food you need, and save you $160 or so per day.
 
Currently we have booked on bounce back

2 rooms - Fort Wilderness Lodge -Preferred Rooms=-2 Adults in one 4 adults in the other... Deluxe Dining Upgrade (Regular Free Dining offered on bounce back)


What does this cost? Would be a starting point.
 

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