Free Dining Plan Pin # from Disney

[gaffney09]

Hey fellow DIS'ers! My mom just got a pin # in her email from Disney for free dining!! It was for a couple weeks in November or Dec. 14-22. At first I was super excited. But here's the story (and please, feel free to post advice about this)- I have already made reservations through AAA for Dec. 7-13. So I went to my AAA agent to see what she could do because I was willing to change my dates to Dec. 11-17 (we have to be back by the 18th unfortunately). And she got on the phone with Disney to see if we could do half of the week with the free dining and the other half of the week with me paying for the regular dining plan. Disney said that in order to take advantage of the free dining, you have to purchase at least a one day base park ticket for each person in your party for the free dining to become valid. This seemed like quite a rip-off to me. And also, you have to purchase park tickets in order to get the regular dining plan. So since I was doing half free dining and half regular dining plan, it would've had to have been done as two separate reservations. And once we got everything figured out, it would've only saved me $186!! Doesn't that seem a bit odd? I felt a little cheated. I was really hoping Disney would work with me a little about the dates since I already had reservations, but they didn't help out at all. Does anyone have any experience with this or know how to get around having to buy tickets twice?? I hope this made sense, because the people I talked to at Disney had me so confused...

[kaytieeldr]

Doesn't that seem a bit odd? Not at ALL. That's the way any Free Dining promotion (well, really, any promotion) works.

It happens to the August/September free diners all the time. If your trip dates don't coincide with the promotion dates, they cannot get it to start earlier than their prechosen dates.

[Allison]

There is no way to get around buying tickets twice if you want to have 2 different plans. Each plan/reservation requires the purchase of a ticket.

[mbanks21]

You want disney to modify the dates of a discount pin code just for you? Should they add another night to the Christmas party as well? To get the DDP you have to have a package. To have a package you need at least a one day base ticket. This is so people dont get a value resort for $50 a night and get the dining plan and disney loses money out the wazoo. Disney has NEVER been able to modify the dates of a promotion for ANYONE, its impossible. And if you have two differant codes you will have two differant reservations with two differant deposits

[ReneeA]

I priced out the same scenario for late August since I started back to school on 8/27 this year. It ended up being more money due to having to purchase 2 sets of tickets than the package I purchased with a "30% off" pin code.

[Luv2Roam]

Disney would work with me a little about the dates since I already had reservations
Whether it be Disney, the Hilton or Best Western, I am not sure why they would "work with" you to circumvent dates and policies all others have to follow.
At least you were given correct information and can decide what works best for you.

[TDC Nala]

It has always been the policy that free dining is available only with a room/tickets package.

Indeed, even with paid dining, only DVC members and annual passholders can get the dining plan without adding a ticket purchase.

Make two reservations, and buy the one-day base ticket for one of your reservations. They never expire, and you can use them to upgrade to another ticket in the future.

The chances that they will alter the free dining promotion date to coincide with your preferred reservation dates are probably 0%.

[gigi1313]

here's my advice, and what we did when we faced a similar dilemma... if the free dining is the first part of the trip, then it will work...

go for free dining, use the pin code, stay as long as you can on the free ddp and buy tickets for your entire length of stay... for the second half of your trip, go w/room only and hope for a discount of some sort (AAA?)... you will have tix from the beginning of your trip (because adding days is significantly cheaper than buying a new ticket) and you can do the more expensive meals w/the free ddp and plan your less expensive meals for the second half and go oop... you can stockpile snacks from your free ddp days and save them for when you are going oop...
do the math... you may end up even further ahead :)

[kaytieeldr]

Look at it this way - it's not Disney's responsibility that you can't coordinate your visit with their promotion dates. If you could, you'd be welcome to take advantage of Free Dining for your entire stay, with one ticket purchase (per person).

[seasheller]

It has always been the policy that free dining is available only with a room/tickets package.

Indeed, even with paid dining, only DVC members and annual passholders can get the dining plan without adding a ticket purchase.

Make two reservations, and buy the one-day base ticket for one of your reservations. They never expire, and you can use them to upgrade to another ticket in the future.

The chances that they will alter the free dining promotion date to coincide with your preferred reservation dates are probably 0%.

When we were at Disney last year and used the dining plan, the one-day base park ticket was only good for the days of our reservation. It's right on your room key.

[disneyfan55]

When we were at Disney last year and used the dining plan, the one-day base park ticket was only good for the days of our reservation. It's right on your room key.

As long as you don't use the one day ticket, it is good forever and can be used or upgraded in the future. You can even have them take the ticket off of the room pass, I believe.

[mbanks21]

If you dont use the one day ticket it never expires. They CAN take it off the room key and put it on a paper ticket for a future use or upgrade

[kaytieeldr]

Or, you can just save your room keys with the one-day tickets on them. Keep them in a zipper compartment in your 'Disney luggage', and remember (a) that they are there and (b) not to loan out the suitcase :)

[AJackson]

You want disney to modify the dates of a discount pin code just for you? Should they add another night to the Christmas party as well?

That was a little hostile and quite overboard.
As another newcomer to Disney and all of these codes, free dining, etc, I know how confusing it can all be. Just because someone asks a question to try and get things clarified, I really don't think that gives you a reason to jump their butt. Yeah, maybe after you've been around for a while you may think it was a stupid question (as you obviously did), but I really see no point in being so rude to someone :confused3

[TDC Nala]

When we were at Disney last year and used the dining plan, the one-day base park ticket was only good for the days of our reservation. It's right on your room key.

The ticket may be encoded on your room key, but that does not mean it expires when you check out. They will deactivate the card as far as room access and charging, but the ticket remains encoded onto the card. Keep the card and you can use the ticket anytime. A one-day park ticket does not expire until it is used.

[gaffney09]

That was a little hostile and quite overboard.
As another newcomer to Disney and all of these codes, free dining, etc, I know how confusing it can all be. Just because someone asks a question to try and get things clarified, I really don't think that gives you a reason to jump their butt. Yeah, maybe after you've been around for a while you may think it was a stupid question (as you obviously did), but I really see no point in being so rude to someone :confused3

Thank you AJackson! I agree with you. I've never planned a Disney trip before and I come to the boards looking for a little help and maybe some suggestions- I didn't come here looking for someone to jump up my butt about a question.
But anyway, I think I've figured out a way to use part of the free dining! So Yay! Since I already have reservations with AAA for the 1st half of my stay, I'm going to keep it, but get no dining plan. And for the second part of my stay, I booked through Disney with the free dining and went ahead and bought a six day hopper. So it's 3 days with no dining plan and 3 days with a dining plan.
My only question is (and no jumping up my butt about this...) even though I bought the 6 day hopper with the 2nd half of my reservation, can I still use 3 of the days on the hopper for the 1st half of my stay? From what I understand, there's no specific dates on the tickets, right? (although I didn't get the no expiration option, but don't worry, they'll be used up in time). I hope this makes sense. Now all I have to do is change around some reservations, hoping restaraunts are still available!

[kaytieeldr]

No, you can't. A better (albeit more expensive up front) action would be to buy the six day ticket 'a la carte' - from AAA or another authorized ticket reseller, or directly from Disney - before your trip, and pay for the one day base pass as part of your package, then put it somewhere safe to be used on your next trip, or even applied toward the purchase of an upgraded ticket at that time.

[gaffney09]

No, you can't. A better (albeit more expensive up front) action would be to buy the six day ticket 'a la carte' - from AAA or another authorized ticket reseller, or directly from Disney - before your trip, and pay for the one day base pass as part of your package, then put it somewhere safe to be used on your next trip, or even applied toward the purchase of an upgraded ticket at that time.

Kaytieeldr- what did you mean 'no you can't.' Can't what? Did you mean I can't start using my 6 day hopper 3 days before I technically 'check in'? That doesnt make much sense, especially when you can buy park tickets online and not have to put in a specific date as to when you'd be using them... Is this what you meant?

[kaytieeldr]

Yes, sorry, that's what I meant. You won't even GET those tickets until you check in for your package; there's no way you can start using them before that day. They're PART of your package, one of the requirements to qualify for the package.

[AJackson]

Thank you AJackson! I agree with you. I've never planned a Disney trip before and I come to the boards looking for a little help and maybe some suggestions- I didn't come here looking for someone to jump up my butt about a question.
But anyway, I think I've figured out a way to use part of the free dining! So Yay! Since I already have reservations with AAA for the 1st half of my stay, I'm going to keep it, but get no dining plan. And for the second part of my stay, I booked through Disney with the free dining and went ahead and bought a six day hopper. So it's 3 days with no dining plan and 3 days with a dining plan.
My only question is (and no jumping up my butt about this...) even though I bought the 6 day hopper with the 2nd half of my reservation, can I still use 3 of the days on the hopper for the 1st half of my stay? From what I understand, there's no specific dates on the tickets, right? (although I didn't get the no expiration option, but don't worry, they'll be used up in time). I hope this makes sense. Now all I have to do is change around some reservations, hoping restaraunts are still available!


I am glad you figured out a way to get part of the free dining! I just wish I could get that magical email :wizard: lol
As far as the tickets, no, you cannot start using them before your second reservation begins. I am not a ticket expert, but I am sure someone here can suggest a way to get the ticket part in order, too.

[gaffney09]

Thanks for the info guys. I do appreciate it. I guess it looks like I'm going to have to give in and just buy the 1 day base ticket for 5 ppl, and also buy a 4 (maybe 5) day park hopper through AAA for the 1st part of my stay.
When I first called Disney about this and I was asking a few questions, they asked me if I'd possibly be visiting DisneyQuest and we said probably not. Since they asked me that, does that mean that it could possibly count as buying a 'ticket'? If so, I'd do that. I'm sure we could go to DisneyQuest for awhile at least. It looks like I'll just call Disney back and clarify and ask them about that.

[kaytieeldr]

Nope, DisneyQuest - the whole Water Parks Fun & More add-on - doesn't count as a ticket purchase for your package. It's an optional add-on, for about $60 no matter how many days' worth of base tickets you have.

[gaffney09]

Hmm, ok. Only a couple people in my group wanted to go to DisneyQuest anyway... even with having to buy a one day base (and then buying a 4 day hopper) I'd still be saving money since Disney has blessed me with FREE DINING! I've been sitting here all night doing some number crunching! And I called and changed some of my reservations- I was able to get most of the ADR's that I wanted- I got Trail's End, Whispering Canyon, Plaza (which I may change again... lol) and Coral Reef! I was surprised Coral Reef had openings for a party of 5. And I cancelled Garden Grill, Liberty Tree Tavern, tony's Town Square, Mama Melrose's and Whispering Canyon (for a diff. date) for the week of 12/7-12/13 if anyone was looking for openings!
So do they just choose people at random for free dining? I feel special :goodvibes Thanks again everyone for all the help!! :cool2:

[disneyfan55]

Thanks for the info guys. I do appreciate it. I guess it looks like I'm going to have to give in and just buy the 1 day base ticket for 5 ppl, and also buy a 4 (maybe 5) day park hopper through AAA for the 1st part of my stay.
When I first called Disney about this and I was asking a few questions, they asked me if I'd possibly be visiting DisneyQuest and we said probably not. Since they asked me that, does that mean that it could possibly count as buying a 'ticket'? If so, I'd do that. I'm sure we could go to DisneyQuest for awhile at least. It looks like I'll just call Disney back and clarify and ask them about that.

If I were you I would just buy the 6 day since the price difference between a 5 and 6 day pass is small. I would buy the one day to satisfy the requirement for the free dining and just keep them for the next trip and upgrade them to what ever type of pass you want then. JUst an idea instead of wasting it (1 day costs almost $80 each, the additional day is a couple dollars for each)

[gaffney09]

Yea I thought about buying the 6 day hopper through AAA with a discount and then just getting the minimum 1 day base, but I'm not sure when we'll actually go back- it may not be within a year, so I'd almost have to add the no expiration option. Would it be worth it? :confused3

[disneyfan55]

Yea I thought about buying the 6 day hopper through AAA with a discount and then just getting the minimum 1 day base, but I'm not sure when we'll actually go back- it may not be within a year, so I'd almost have to add the no expiration option. Would it be worth it? :confused3

If you don't use a ticket it doesn't expire. Just hold on to the tickets or have the actual park tickets removed from your room keys so they don't accidently get used. You do not have to buy the no expiration option. Keep them for your next trip whenever it may be. It's kind of like a down payment on the next trip and if ticket prices go up, when you upgrade, WDW will use the current price! ( Make sure when you go the next time to actually use the ticket and then upgrade so to get the price at the time of use)