New free dining offer yeaaah

[dshouse4]

Thank you Danny for the info! Now waiting for my confirmation email!

 

[Josh'sDad1974]

I have tried every phone number I could get my hands on today. Was on hold for over 1 and half hours this morning had to hang up. Tried around 11 a.m. and was on hold for an hour only to be disconnected when I gave the live CM my reservation number. Tried another time for 40 minutes only to hang up to be able to call the 407-939-7532 number. My wait time was 2 minutes! Seriously, 2 minutes! Amber answered the phone, asked what I wanted to do and promptly took care of my reservation and the reservation for the party traveling with me. Only took 6 minutes for the whole thing! I thought others were just BSing with this number but HOLY COW! Use this number until you get through!!!

 

[Motherof3wifeof1]

TA just confirmed no FD for Campers
BUT....We would shave almost 500.00 to stay at a moderate resort & get FD!

 

[pilferk]

TA just confirmed no FD for Campers
BUT....We would shave almost 500.00 to stay at a moderate resort & get FD!

LOL!

Do you think you can manage to "rough it" like that?

 

[sjs314]

You're right (provided your math is right...that I don't know). You can't stack discounts.

40% off would work out to around $35 a night for value (if you're staying value, remember to figure the "upgrade" to the regular DDP from QSP, into your math), $70 a night mod, and $120 a night deluxe (roughly).

Dining would run you $135 a night (assuming regular DDP).

Dining is a better deal, every way you figure it, but HOW good a deal depends largely on which resort type you're staying in.

That is so true paying rack rate at a deluxe and the additional tax incurred(12.5%) at most of the resorts can definately take away from the FD savings.

 

[KatieCollette]

I called around 11:00 and was only on hold for 5 minutes YEAH! FD FD FD!!!

 

[daizieduck]

Okay, my ressie is fixed. I called back. Got thru in about 25 min this time. The CM discovered that when I called the first time, the other CM accidentally checked the "no expiration" box for my park tickets, causing my refund to only be $292.80. Now that that is fixed, my total refund is $735.84. She said it is now too big a dollar amount to put as a credit to my Key to the World Card so it will be refunded to my credit card instead. I'll take it!

P.S. Thanks to everyone for their input earlier.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Hi everyone!

Just heard the good news about Free Dining. We are going down in Feb. 2012, checking in Feb. 9, checking out Feb. 17. Will FD apply for our whole vacation, or just part of it?

I know that this question has been asked before, and that I have heard it answered before, but I just can't remember the answer! Thanks so much for your help

Beth

P.S. I did see above that it should apply for our whole stay...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2771101

FREE DINING FACTS AND INFORMATION


The Free Dining Promo/Discount was first introduced in the fall of 2005 and up until the fall of 2009, was, basically, just offered during the timeframe of mid August to the first of October (height of hurricane season) and included the Basic/Plus Dining for all levels of WDW resort. Starting in the fall of 2009, they offered a second Free Dining Promo/Discount that covered dates between October 1st and the third week of December and they also started including the Quick Service DDP for Value resorts and the Basic/Plus DDP for Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. With the popularity of the Free Dining Promo, last year, for the first time, WDW offered multiple Free Dining discounts during this year that included many value season/low crowd weeks.

To take advantage of a Free Dining (FD) discount you must be booked at a Disney-owned resort and purchase a Magic Your Way Package that includes room, tickets and dining with a 2 day base ticket purchase. The FD promos have a 3 day booking minimum and a 14 day booking maximum. You can not include Annual Passes or previously purchased tickets for Disney or any other outside ticketing agent.

The current FD promos have included the Quick Service Dining Plan for Value Resorts and the Basic/Plus Dining Plan for Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. You can not downgrade to the Quick Service Dining if you are staying at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort - there have been reports that, once in the parks, guests have been able to trade/convert Table Service (TS) credits for Counter Service (CS) credits, but this is not advertised on the WDW website and should not be considered WDW "policy." You can however pay the monetary difference and upgrade to the Basic/Plus DDP or the Deluxe DDP if you are staying at a Value Resort and can upgrade to the Deluxe Plan if you are staying at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort. The Deluxe Dining Plan has never been included in any free dining promos. Here is a breakdown of FD upgrade costs for 2011:

2011 Upgrade from Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Basic/Plus DDP $45.99/$11.99
$11.00 per adult 10+; $0.00 per child 3 - 9

2011 Upgrade from Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Deluxe DDP $78.99/$21.99
$44.00 per adult 10+; $10.00 per child 3 - 9

2011 Upgrade from Basic/Plus DDP $45.99/$11.99 to Deluxe DDP $78.99/$21.00
$33.00 per adult 10+; $10.00 per child 3 - 9


2012 Upgrade from the Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Basic/Plus DDP $51.54/$15.02
$16.65 per adult 10+; $3.03 per child 3 - 9

2012 Upgrade from Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Deluxe DDP $85.52/$23.79
$50.53 per adult 10+; $11.50 per child 3 - 9

2012 Upgrade from Basic/Plus DDP $51.54/$15.02 to Deluxe DDP $85.52/$23.79
$33.98 per adult 10+; $8.77 per child 3 - 9

Your check in date must fall within the dates of the FD promo to apply the discount to your reservation. If your check in dates do not fall within the FD dates, you can not apply the discount - even if every single night of your vacation falls within the promo, except for your check in date, you can not take advantage of the FD promo.

If any of your vacation dates fall within a FD promo dates you can receive the FD discount for your entire vacation stay, up to 14 nights, even if you are checking in on the last day of a FD promo, you can still recieve the discount for up to 14 nights.

If your vacation starts a couple of days before a FD promo, it's possible to do a Split Stay - meaning, you can do a room only reservation for 1 to 3 nights at the beginning of your vacation, pay for your food out-of-pocket for those days, and be allowed to pick up your PACKAGE TICKETS up to 3 days early at guest relations at any of the four parks or at Downtown Disney (For further info on picking up tickets early, please see Diser, CheshireFigment's, Ticket Sticky on the top the Themeparks Board.)

If you already have an existing reservation that falls within the dates of a FD promo, you can call and have the FD code added to modify that reservation. You can not add the FD code on line, you will need to call WDW Reservations, 407-W-Disney. You do NOT have to rebook, your reservation number does not change and there is not a fee - if you are within your 45 day window, they can charge you a $50.00 change fee, but, most FD promos come out before the 45 day window, so this shouldn't be an issue. If you have already paid your package in full, WDW will refund you the monetary difference - this can take up to 2 billing cycles or about 2 months. Each resort is only allotted so many FD rooms, so if you call and your resort is sold out of FD promo rooms, you can change your resort and do not have to cancel or pay a fee and your reservation number stays the same. If your existing reservation is a room only reservation, then you would have to cancel and rebook under a Magic Your Way Package to receive the FD discount. If you booked with a Travel Agent, then the TA must call and add this discount to your existing reservation. The TA owns your reservation and Disney will not change the discount/code for without going through your TA.

Typically, in the past, other than last's August FD announcement, Disney Visa holders ere given the FD Promo Code three (3) days before it opens to the general public. In the past, all you had to do to get the Disney Visa FD discount was put $200.00 down with your card, the balance did not have to be put on the Disney Visa. If you are already booked with a Disney Visa, you will simply have to put another $200.00 deposit down to apply the code. If you have paid the trip in full with a DV, they will still refund the monetary difference and you will not have to re-apply any money.

If you already have Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) changing or modifying a reservation does not effect or cancel your ADRs. You would have to go on-line or call WDW Dining to cancel ADRs, even if you completely cancel a vacation/reservation. Remember, anyone can make ADRs, even offsite guests and don't have to be linked to your reservation in any way. If you have already booked and paid for any restaurants and/or dinner shows, and then a FD promo/discount is released, you can contact Disney Dining once you modify your reservation to include the FD code and give them your reservation number, and they will credit you the amount you pre-paid. This type of refund also takes 2 billing cycles or about 2 months.

Hopefully this info will give everyone an overview of the current Free Dining Guidelines.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

TA just confirmed no FD for Campers
BUT....We would shave almost 500.00 to stay at a moderate resort & get FD!

The Ft. Wilderness Campsites have never been included in a FD promo.

 

[cmf06]

Not sure if anyone knows, but I currently have the kids play free code, my check in is Sept. 29, the earliest check in for free dining is Oct 2. Can I use the kids code for my first three days, and the free dining for the remaining 6 days?

 

[aprilp]

I asked this on another thread and got no response....I also tried looking the answer up myself on the disney website but had no luck....Am hoping that perhaps someone here can help? I did my reservation online this morning. I am either going with my BFF or my parents if BFF cancels on me (which is a 50/50 possibility, I should know within the next week or two). I did the reservation for myself and my BFF right now. Should I go ahead and add two more people now so that everyone is on there, then just cancel out whoever decides they can't go later on? Or should I just wait and cancel BFF out/add parents later? Either way, I am the main person on the ressie and I'll be on there no matter what, so is one of the ways better than the other or does it really not matter? OR, does cancelling/adding a person mean they have to redo the reservation and thus should I book another reservation separately and cancel one of them later when I find out for sure? I hate to pay two deposits if I dont have to, but if I need to do it I will. Thanks in advance...

 

[pilferk]

Not sure if anyone knows, but I currently have the kids play free code, my check in is Sept. 29, the earliest check in for free dining is Oct 2. Can I use the kids code for my first three days, and the free dining for the remaining 6 days?

Yes (provided you meet the minimum stay requirements for kids stay free...not sure of that). You'd just need to book 2 separate packages.

However, you'll have to buy tickets for each package, seperately....which will probably cut into some (maybe a good chunk) of your savings.

You could book ONLY 2 day base tickets for the 2nd (FD) segment, and use those tickets to upgrade your 3 day tickets to 6 day tickets..but they'll definitely be some money left on the table.

You could also just upgrade the 3 day tickets from the first package to 6 day tickets (once you're there...or maybe even as part of the initial package) and pocket the extra 2 day base tickets for a future visit.

 

[Minnie_Mom]

Just got off the phone (whoo hoo! Only about 15 minutes on hold!!!). Booked our stay. We've added a room only for 2 nights before the FD kicks in. I bought tix for the whole time, and the CM said we couldn't use them until the package check in date.

I know I've heard differently, but can someone reassure me?

There is a sticky on the Theme Parks board that list all the policies. Whenever there are changes, disboarder Cheshire Figment, a CM who works in ticketing, will update the sticky. It states in post 15, section I the policy on picking up tickets early. I would check here before panicking.

If it changed, Cheshire Figment would have posted about it and updated his sticky. He's a ticketing CM with the patience of a saint when it comes to keeping the DIS apprised of changes in ticketing policies, and was way ahead of Mousesavers and other sources in letting us know about the recent change to upgrade rules.

Remember CRO are call center employees, many outside of FL and some of whom have never even been to WDW. They're there to book packages and dining for you and aren't always the most well-informed when it comes to other aspects of Disney travel. In most cases, if there is a conflict of information between reputable and long-time DISers (or even just the DIS consensus) and something a phone CM said, the DIS will be right and the CM wrong.

Hey Guys, can you help me out and verify this information. The CM I talked to this morning was very blunt and not helpful at all.

After staying on hokd for an hour and 45 mins I finally got through to have FD applied to my reservation (We are checking in on Dec 10, one day before the promotion is offered. Thanks to you guys I was educated enough to know to request a room only reservation for my first night then a vacation package for the rest of my stay to get FD).

The CM practically dismissed me right away saying "There is no availablity." After trying to reason with her that I was aware my check-in date doesn't fall during the promotion and I'd like to modify that (She wouldn't share any helpful information at all, If it wasn't for you guys I would've just hung up assuming I couldn't get the promotion. I was basically doing her job), she priced out my package (6 nights at Port Orleans Riverside with hoppers and Deluxe dining...me paying the difference of course for free dining with one night out of the 6 room only reservation).

She basically said It costs almost exactly the same with the free dining. I was kind of surprised, I thought I'd be saving SOMETHING (especially since everyone here appears to be saving considerable amounts of money). My original price is $2860 and with free dining split reservations its only $2854. Am I missing something here or did she screw something up? Your help is always GREATLY appreciated.

Just a few questions...

Did you have dining beforehand?

Did she misunderstand and also add the dining plan in to the first night? Causing you to have to pay for a one-day ticket and one night dining...

Did she have to upgrade your room to get the discount?

I'm not sure what happened. These are the only reason I could think of that might explain it. I would definitely call and asked another CM.

Good luck!

Okay, my ressie is fixed. I called back. Got thru in about 25 min this time. The CM discovered that when I called the first time, the other CM accidentally checked the "no expiration" box for my park tickets, causing my refund to only be $292.80. Now that that is fixed, my total refund is $735.84. She said it is now too big a dollar amount to put as a credit to my Key to the World Card so it will be refunded to my credit card instead now. I'll take it!

P.S. Thanks to everyone for their input earlier.

Glad you got it worked out. Even more glad you were paying such close attention!

 

[pilferk]

I asked this on another thread and got no response....I also tried looking the answer up myself on the disney website but had no luck....Am hoping that perhaps someone here can help? I did my reservation online this morning. I am either going with my BFF or my parents if BFF cancels on me (which is a 50/50 possibility, I should know within the next week or two). I did the reservation for myself and my BFF right now. Should I go ahead and add two more people now so that everyone is on there, then just cancel out whoever decides they can't go later on? Or should I just wait and cancel BFF out/add parents later? Either way, I am the main person on the ressie and I'll be on there no matter what, so is one of the ways better than the other or does it really not matter? OR, does cancelling/adding a person mean they have to redo the reservation and thus should I book another reservation separately and cancel one of them later when I find out for sure? I hate to pay two deposits if I dont have to, but if I need to do it I will. Thanks in advance...

Personally, I'd wait. That way you're not dealing with potential extra adult fees (do they still add those?) or calling a bunch of times. Once the discounts are added, etc, changing WHO is in the room seems to be easy to do as long as you're not blowing the occupancy rules (which has it's OWN thread...so we won't discuss them here).

 

[raider97]

Hey Guys, can you help me out and verify this information. The CM I talked to this morning was very blunt and not helpful at all.

After staying on hokd for an hour and 45 mins I finally got through to have FD applied to my reservation (We are checking in on Dec 10, one day before the promotion is offered. Thanks to you guys I was educated enough to know to request a room only reservation for my first night then a vacation package for the rest of my stay to get FD).

The CM practically dismissed me right away saying "There is no availablity." After trying to reason with her that I was aware my check-in date doesn't fall during the promotion and I'd like to modify that (She wouldn't share any helpful information at all, If it wasn't for you guys I would've just hung up assuming I couldn't get the promotion. I was basically doing her job), she priced out my package (6 nights at Port Orleans Riverside with hoppers and Deluxe dining...me paying the difference of course for free dining with one night out of the 6 room only reservation).

She basically said It costs almost exactly the same with the free dining. I was kind of surprised, I thought I'd be saving SOMETHING (especially since everyone here appears to be saving considerable amounts of money). My original price is $2860 and with free dining split reservations its only $2854. Am I missing something here or did she screw something up? Your help is always GREATLY appreciated.

Sounds like she did something wrong! Did you already have a code applied to your reservation? Did you just add the deluxe dining today?

If not, then I would get online and price the package the new dates without dining pkg, add in the difference in price to upgrade to deluxe dining and then add in the room only price and that should be your new price if it isn't call back and see what's wrong.

Good luck!

Stephanie

 

[dbennett3899]

Alright so after a rough morning I had to take a break from everything Disney, but I’m better now so here is my rollercoaster ride in a nutshell… Friday I heard about the FD rumor and as Danny became more and more confident that FD was to come out I planned an emergency Disney meeting ( I’m the Disney Liaison for the family). I explained to them the situation and because we had originally planned to go on October 21st it was looking more and more likely that we needed to switch dates to the 23rd to take advantage of FD. So we made the switch, and changed our plans around a bit. We actually liked the new plans better than the old ones , we even saved money on flights. Fast forward to this morning. Woke up at 630AM. Jumped on to Dis and joined all you guys in the wait. Called at 7am, as I’m on hold Dis goes down. Now like all of you, I’m flying blind! I use your guys info all the time. Now I have to rely on other sites, which now are saying that my dates have been blacked out, now I’m freaking out. 2 hours later DIS is back up (kinda) people are saying that there getting FD for my dates and some people are saying that there are not, I finally get a CM who says that my dates are indeed blacked out. NOO! I hang up and notice that the Disney web site was updated and you could now book online. I also noticed my dates were included so I was very confused! I end up booking 3 brand new reservations w/ Free dining, call Disney AGAIN so I can find out what’s going on and to cancel the first reservations. After another 55 minutes on hold I get the NICEST CM I have ever had! She apologized that the first CM had no idea what she was doing over and over, told me that my dates were indeed included and added them to my original reservations, as well as cancelled the new ones that I just created! WOW, talk about your roller coaster ride. So after 4 hours of pure insanity…IM GOING TO DISNEY! And I’m EATING FOR FREE!!!

Thanks Danny for the heads up man!

 

[sug78]

Alright so after a rough morning I had to take a break from everything Disney, but I’m better now so here is my rollercoaster ride in a nutshell… Friday I heard about the FD rumor and as Danny became more and more confident that FD was to come out I planned an emergency Disney meeting ( I’m the Disney Liaison for the family). I explained to them the situation and because we had originally planned to go on October 21st it was looking more and more likely that we needed to switch dates to the 23rd to take advantage of FD. So we made the switch, and changed our plans around a bit. We actually liked the new plans better than the old ones , we even saved money on flights. Fast forward to this morning. Woke up at 630AM. Jumped on to Dis and joined all you guys in the wait. Called at 7am, as I’m on hold Dis goes down. Now like all of you, I’m flying blind! I use your guys info all the time. Now I have to rely on other sites, which now are saying that my dates have been blacked out, now I’m freaking out. 2 hours later DIS is back up (kinda) people are saying that there getting FD for my dates and some people are saying that there are not, I finally get a CM who says that my dates are indeed blacked out. NOO! I hang up and notice that the Disney web site was updated and you could now book online. I also noticed my dates were included so I was very confused! I end up booking 3 brand new reservations w/ Free dining, call Disney AGAIN so I can find out what’s going on and to cancel the first reservations. After another 55 minutes on hold I get the NICEST CM I have ever had! She apologized that the first CM had no idea what she was doing over and over, told me that my dates were indeed included and added them to my original reservations, as well as cancelled the new ones that I just created! WOW, talk about your roller coaster ride. So after 4 hours of pure insanity…IM GOING TO DISNEY! And I’m EATING FOR FREE!!!

Thanks Danny for the heads up man!

That was my exact scenario this morning! Glad I wasn't alone

 

[goofy14]

ok, so the 2012 dates through march were somewhat unexpected? and does that bode well for additional dates later in 2012 to be added later this year or could this be it? thanks!

 

[k_fawver]

I think the past few hours waiting on my confirmation email has been harder than waiting the past few days to see if FD would be offered!

 

[uagirl]

ok, so the 2012 dates through march were somewhat unexpected? and does that bode well for additional dates later in 2012 to be added later this year or could this be it? thanks!

This is what I am wondering. We were originally planning to go in Sept., but are now thinking February. If I really thought FD would be back for Sept., I would hold off.