2007 Free Dining Details - "Your Next Disney Vacation"

[keliblue]

Keliblue, congratulations on booking the Bounceback Deal. I'm absolutely thrilled to have been able to take advantage of this offer. I had booked my trip several months ago so we were going, Free Dining or not. This deal is basically the icing on the cake for me because even if I had paid for the Dining Plan, it still would've been a savings. We like to have one sit down meal a day and 3 teen boys eat a lot.

As for booking a room only the first night, it just makes sense for us. I remember last trip being exhausted by the end of day 1 because we went straight to Epcot after checking in.

I seem to remember being totally spent after the long day of travel too. What part of Cali are you from ?? And which airlines to you use ?

 

[pta-mom]

Silly question....suppose they do offer free dining to the public & I want to take advantage of that, but say the free dining ends Sept 30....if I book a 10 day stay with DW that runs from Sept 29 to Oct 7, how many days of free dining do I get? The full ten or only the two that falls within the parameter of their free dining rules?

 

[bicker]

.if I book a 10 day stay with DW that runs from Sept 29 to Oct 7, how many days of free dining do I get? The full ten or only the two that falls within the parameter of their free dining rules?

The full ten. Word is that they even pulled-in the end-date for free dining in 2006, to account for the ten days that vacations might extend into October.

 

[Castillo Mom]

I seem to remember being totally spent after the long day of travel too. What part of Cali are you from ?? And which airlines to you use ?

I'm from So Cal near LA. Last trip we flew with Delta, this time AA because they have the times I wanted. On the trip out we depart at 8:25 a.m. We're going on a Disney Cruise after WDW I booked the return flight for 1:20 p.m., perfect timing for us.

 

[Albertan mom]

Absolutely. And booking a room now in anticipation of free dining provides you no benefit. To get free dining, there must be a room available in the free dining inventory. So while you might not notice it, when you "add free dining" to your reservation, you're effectively cancelling the reservation you made in advance and making a new reservation. Your "chances" of getting free dining are no better whether you have an existing reservation or not.

Yes, this is what I am worried about, that so many people will book, that they won't offer it.....

Now, if I was to book a trip, hoping for the free dining, would I add the dining package, then call back to get it free, or not put on the dining plan at all?

 

[Castillo Mom]

Albertan Mom, technically you can book either a room only reservation now or a package that includes dining. But again, there's no advantage to that unless you're definitely going to WDW during Aug./Sept. regardless of Free Dining. If you're basing travel on whether it is offered, then I would suggest waiting and then book as soon as the word is out. Watch these boards carefully over the next few months. If you book a room only now, then you would essentially need to cancel that reservation and rebook the package. That is what I had to do. I had 11 nights room only already booked then when I was able to book the Future Stay promo, I put down the $200 deposit. Today I received a refund on my cc from the original room only reservation. I turned right around and called WDW today and applied the refund to the package.

I suspect that if it is indeed offered, it will be very limited due to the good response to the Future Stay promo.

 

[bonzarella]

I suspect that if it is indeed offered, it will be very limited due to the good response to the Future Stay promo.

I posted earlier today on another thread=The CM I spoke to last week regarding a change to our BB ressie stated they had already "reached their 100% goal". Appears the program is highly successful even without much promotion.

 

[Cruiser1969]

[/B]
I posted earlier today on another thread=The CM I spoke to last week regarding a change to our BB ressie stated they had already "reached their 100% goal". Appears the program is highly successful even without much promotion.

I wonder what "their goal" was, though. Maybe they have planned to leave some leftovers to appease the crowds waiting for an April announcement One can only hope!

All this fuss over free dining has me thinking . . . I want what I cannot have!!!

 

[ADP]

I wonder if ticket prices will go up on 1/1/07? If that happens then the price of this package will increase.

If this package price increases on 1/1/07 then the folks who booked in November and December will have booked at a cheaper rate than those who book in 2007 (if offered, of course).

 

[bonzarella]

I wonder what "their goal" was, though. Maybe they have planned to leave some leftovers to appease the crowds waiting for an April announcement One can only hope!

All this fuss over free dining has me thinking . . . I want what I cannot have!!!

I wondered the "goal #" myself. I've been throwing pixie dust all over these boards. Here's yours

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

Hi All,

Is there anyone still planning a "last hour" trip down to book free dining? I can only imagine the crowds this close to New Year's, but it would certainly be worth it...

 

[bicker]

Regardless of whether they've reached their goal (for hotel occupancy for the Hurricane Season) yet or not, they may still try to offer the free dining as an affinity offering, i.e., only available to certain targeted groups -- Disney VISA cardholders, perhaps. Time will tell.

 

[Cookie Princess]

I must say that this has me worried. We had planned to do another free dining trip again in August. I hope that by reaching their goal, that doesn't mean that the program/room availability will be sold out. It isn't economically feasible for me to head down to WDW for 1 night now to book this future trip.

 

[bicker]

Well, I'd latch more so onto the chance that they may not have reached their goal, since if they have then that would tend to imply that they won't offer the promotion to the general public.

Regarding the idea of heading down to WDW for one night; the promotion ends 12/31/06, so there's not much time, and I suspect WDW is actually already quite full with holiday travelers.

Hang your hat on the fact that there are tens of thousands of hotel rooms, and a lot of people will be turned off by the prospect of visiting WDW during Hurricane Season. That's your best hope.

 

[momrek06]

OKAY GANG...I need help with all this...my DS and his DGF would like to head to WDW for Aug or Sept. Are they out of luck for the FREE DINING?? Also, can you book this early and get a room at the POP CENTURY and the DINING PLAN?? Do they still have ME?? They are both very hard working and love WDW but need to go when the rates will be best for them hence the decision to go late Aug/early Sept. ANY TIPS FOR THEM is so appreciated.

MANY THANKS, DISER's!

 

[bicker]

I wouldn't say "out of luck". Surely, their chances are reduced, as compared to last year.

Booking now won't give you any advantage with regard to getting free dining. If you won't keep the room if you don't get free dining, then you're better off waiting until after the free dining promotion is officially announced before booking your package.

 

[lgaston]

Guys have you all forgot what happened last year? Remember... The free dining plan was offer to the general public (including Disney visa cardholder) from april 4th to June 4th. It was then EXTENDED from June 2nd to June 25th.

That they so-reach-their-goal doesn't mean anything. In that time of year it's back to school and hurricane seasons. Some travellers and maybe the majority will be reluctant to travel with their kids in that time of the year. So I bet the free dining plan will be back indeed to all. Not to mention that Disney is celebrating the year of millions dreams even more reasons for them to offer it to the general public.

I'd like them to offer it sooner instead of waiting for April but I guess that this is the month when employees starts looking into vacation stuff oh well,

 

[willis37862]

Guys have you all forgot what happened last year? Remember... The free dining plan was offer to the general public (including Disney visa cardholder) from april 4th to June 4th. It was then EXTENDED from June 2nd to June 25th.

That they so-reach-their-goal doesn't mean anything. In that time of year it's back to school and hurricane seasons. Some travellers and maybe the majority will be reluctant to travel with their kids in that time of the year. So I bet the free dining plan will be back indeed to all. Not to mention that Disney is celebrating the year of millions dreams even more reasons for them to offer it to the general public.

I'd like them to offer it sooner instead of waiting for April but I guess that this is the month when employees starts looking into vacation stuff oh well,

I am with you....and I hope we are right.

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

The woman I talked to on the 29th when we booked our trip said that they indeed were around 100% of their goal and she found it to be extremely unlikely that it would be offered to the general public. Now, you can take that as you will really... and it's like I told my FH... just because it wouldn't be offered to the general public doesn't mean it wouldn't be offered to special interest groups like Disney Visa holders.

We're just glad we got ours! It meant we could upgrade to AKL instead of staying in a moderate again!

 

[bicker]

Now, you can take that as you will really... and it's like I told my FH... just because it wouldn't be offered to the general public doesn't mean it wouldn't be offered to special interest groups like Disney Visa holders.

I'd go one step further: Now that they've discovered how powerful this tool can be, as a conceptual bonus to target groups, I think it a lot more likely that they'll aim to target the offering from now on. Think about it this way: For many years, some people actually considered the AP discounts on hotel rooms as a significant incentive for purchasing the AP. Similarly, some people actually went down to WDW for a last-minute one-night visit last month, just to qualify for free dining later this year. The ability to get free dining, itself, is therefore clearly a perquisite, which enhances the value of other offerings. The more they limit availability of the free dining promotion to target groups, the more valueable being a member of those target groups (such as having a Disney VISA card) becomes.