2011 Free Dining is Extended! New dates as of 8/3

[KELLY]

Everytime we have used the free dining discount it has saved us between $1,200 and $1,500.00. I also think the complaining over the $90.00 photo book is a bit much. I'm just glad they actually came out the the FD discount. They could have skipped it completely and given more of those measley 10 and 15% room discounts.

I agree. I'm just glad they re-released it for my dates. I only saved 268.00. But if I did have the kids free promo before that so really if I paid full price I would be saving 768.00 for 10 days. Plus we are getting a wonderful book that is the way I look at it.

 

[Toeknail]

For those saying they are saving close to $1,000, is it safe to assume that savings is compared with a package that did not include any special pricing (such as kids stay and play free or the 40% room discount)? Both those offers had previously been available and covered the dates of the newly released free DDP.

Also, I have gone back through many of these posts and don't really see what I would characterize as "complaints" re: having to purchase the photo book. Many people (myself included) have said they would have preferred to save the money vs having to buy the book. That to me seems like an opinion and not a complaint. Complaints have focused more on the limited offer dates or the previous confusion regarding whether the photo book was included in the package price.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

For those saying they are saving close to $1,000, is it safe to assume that savings is compared with a package that did not include any special pricing (such as kids stay and play free or the 40% room discount)? Both those offers had previously been available and covered the dates of the newly released free DDP.

Also, I have gone back through many of these posts and don't really see what I would characterize as "complaints" re: having to purchase the photo book. Many people (myself included) have said they would have preferred to save the money vs having to buy the book. That to me seems like an opinion and not a complaint. Complaints have focused more on the limited offer dates or the previous confusion regarding whether the photo book was included in the package price.

Kids Stay & Play Free is a joke, kind of a slap in the face, when all or most of your kids are 10 years or over (of the promo actually included all kids ages 3 - 17, that would be a good deal) and 40% room discounts are now very rarely offered at the value resorts, so for a lot of people Free Dining is the best discount you are going to get - there is no better discount for our family of 6 who needs 2 connecting rooms.

 

[Aroura]

I had previously had the Kids Stay and Play Free promo applied to my package. It saved me $300 which I thought was fabulous at the time, even though it only applied to 1 of our 3 children, as the others are too old. How come this promo saved me over $900 while others very little?? With this promo it took my vacation, NOT including my airfare (which I was also SUPER lucky on, and booked before gas prices jumped) for a family of 5, 7 nights at POR, non park hopper option, 5 day park tickets was LESS than $3000... I almost had a heart attack and fainted. with this promo, my ENTIRE trip was 2900.... my trip in 04' staying at a value resort I dumbly paid rack rate for and it cost almost $5000.. lol, lets not even mention food.. I was so happy I REALLY almost cried. And not that I have to defend myself, but there was a comment about everyones financial situations being the same, I am broke as a joke. My husband and I live paycheck to paycheck with very little to be able to put aside for our kids for something like this.. So I wasn't attempting to insult anyone with using the world "complaint", I just didn't understand that some people got a heck of a lot less from this deal than I did. Cause when I posted, I was doing cartwheels around my living room.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I had previously had the Kids Stay and Play Free promo applied to my package. It saved me $300 which I thought was fabulous at the time, even though it only applied to 1 of our 3 children, as the others are too old. How come this promo saved me over $900 while others very little?? With this promo it took my vacation, NOT including my airfare (which I was also SUPER lucky on, and booked before gas prices jumped) for a family of 5, 7 nights at POR, non park hopper option, 5 day park tickets was LESS than $3000... I almost had a heart attack and fainted. with this promo, my ENTIRE trip was 2900.... my trip in 04' staying at a value resort I dumbly paid rack rate for and it cost almost $5000.. lol, lets not even mention food.. I was so happy I REALLY almost cried. And not that I have to defend myself, but there was a comment about everyones financial situations being the same, I am broke as a joke. My husband and I live paycheck to paycheck with very little to be able to put aside for our kids for something like this.. So I wasn't attempting to insult anyone with using the world "complaint", I just didn't understand that some people got a heck of a lot less from this deal than I did. Cause when I posted, I was doing cartwheels around my living room.

I totally get your JOY!!!! Free dining, and mega discount it give us, is the reason we are now able to go to WDW yearly! I love it too!

 

[GreatGranny]

Hmm...I should ask my travel agent if I paid the extra for the shipping as well! She never mentioned anything but I don't want to double-pay. I guess I could just have it shipped to family in the states if it comes down to it...

$90.90 was included in the package price to cover the cost of the photobook and shipping, regardless of where you live.

The book is $79.95, domestic shipping is $10.95.
International shipping is normally $19.95 but under this package everyone pays $10.95.

I read somewhere that the shipping cost is included to ship the book to the address that you used for booking the package.

 

[KELLY]

I had previously had the Kids Stay and Play Free promo applied to my package. It saved me $300 which I thought was fabulous at the time, even though it only applied to 1 of our 3 children, as the others are too old. How come this promo saved me over $900 while others very little?? With this promo it took my vacation, NOT including my airfare (which I was also SUPER lucky on, and booked before gas prices jumped) for a family of 5, 7 nights at POR, non park hopper option, 5 day park tickets was LESS than $3000... I almost had a heart attack and fainted. with this promo, my ENTIRE trip was 2900.... my trip in 04' staying at a value resort I dumbly paid rack rate for and it cost almost $5000.. lol, lets not even mention food.. I was so happy I REALLY almost cried. And not that I have to defend myself, but there was a comment about everyones financial situations being the same, I am broke as a joke. My husband and I live paycheck to paycheck with very little to be able to put aside for our kids for something like this.. So I wasn't attempting to insult anyone with using the world "complaint", I just didn't understand that some people got a heck of a lot less from this deal than I did. Cause when I posted, I was doing cartwheels around my living room.

I had the kids free promo also it saved me 268.00 over that promo. But both of my kids are disney kids. So I had 2 free tickets. Where you only had one. I had the QSDP for 2 adults and 2 kids. Where you had to pay for 5 adults and one kid. That is why you saved more. The prices of the adults vs.kids price of the dining plan is huge. So that makes for huge savings for you!! Congrats.

 

[englishrose47]

I mis the 2007 free dining which was FREE at all resorts and included appies and tip !!!Now that was a deal !!!Even tough DDP is not the bargain it was !!!I LOVE not having to worry about the bill just the TIP!!!!

 

[sunny_stace]

$90.90 was included in the package price to cover the cost of the photobook and shipping, regardless of where you live.

The book is $79.95, domestic shipping is $10.95.
International shipping is normally $19.95 but under this package everyone pays $10.95.

I read somewhere that the shipping cost is included to ship the book to the address that you used for booking the package.

Good to know! Thanks for the info! I was so overjoyed at free dining that I didn't even think of the book until the discussion started around here!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Yeah, it's not that the new FD doesn't save money, it's that in the past we have stayed at a Value and gotten Free Disney Dining (reg. plan) INCLUDING tips and appetizers.
Then they took away the tips and appetizers, and people said "well, just be happy you are still getting the dining plan free."

Then they bumped it down to QSDP. And people said "well, just be happy you are getting ANY free dining, and that it's cheap to upgrade."

Now they tack on a photo book to the last downgrade, basically raising the price ANOTHER $100 PER ROOM, and people are saying "Just be happy you are getting a wonderful photo book with your plan!"

So, yeah, I'd be thankful for any discount, but it really does start to affect whether we can go at all.
I know we are blessed to have gone several times, and I know it's our choice to have a big family.
It just gets discouraging when one pays for three rooms and keeps getting downgraded on savings.

I know Disney wouldn't have to offer savings at all. I know I am not entitled to ANYTHING!

It's just that once you've had such great deals, you start to hope that the magic remains for you to go again!

 

[Aroura]

*nods* I do understand that. If you're not getting the most out of it, it would be frustrating. To me, I am getting this amazing Disney Magic, due to the fact that the last time we went I was a total novice and paid rack for EVERYTHING.. This morning I looked at my ORIGINAL confirmation email the day I booked. Here's what it looked like

PAYMENT SUMMARY
TOTAL $4220.33
TOTAL PAID AS OF 02/20/2011
$1000.00
AMOUNT DUE BY 08/04/2011
$3220.33

Here's what it looked like as of the day after I added Free Dining

PAYMENT SUMMARY
TOTAL $2939.58
TOTAL PAID AS OF 05/05/2011
$1000.00
AMOUNT DUE BY 08/04/2011
$1939.58

Sooo, I have been saying 900, but that is because I was thinking of what they orig took off me for the kids stay and play free, forgetting the original total... BUT, as I figured out today I ACTUALLY saved $1280.75--- say WHAT NOW!!!

I guess it is because I am the opposite of some of you.. I am SOOOOOOO not used to this.. hahahah.. I haven't been to my most favorite place on EARTH since 2004 because I thought I could just NEVER do it... I dropped close to $7k when you added food on my last trip...(and I stayed at a value... how SAD is that!!) If I could do something like above EVER again, I could almost go down EVERY STINKIN YEAR for that... lol.. Which would be nice.. But I know that something like this may not be around much longer..

 

[Toeknail]

*nods* I do understand that. If you're not getting the most out of it, it would be frustrating. To me, I am getting this amazing Disney Magic, due to the fact that the last time we went I was a total novice and paid rack for EVERYTHING.. This morning I looked at my ORIGINAL confirmation email the day I booked. Here's what it looked like

PAYMENT SUMMARY
TOTAL $4220.33
TOTAL PAID AS OF 02/20/2011
$1000.00
AMOUNT DUE BY 08/04/2011
$3220.33

Here's what it looked like as of the day after I added Free Dining

PAYMENT SUMMARY
TOTAL $2939.58
TOTAL PAID AS OF 05/05/2011
$1000.00
AMOUNT DUE BY 08/04/2011
$1939.58

Sooo, I have been saying 900, but that is because I was thinking of what they orig took off me for the kids stay and play free, forgetting the original total... BUT, as I figured out today I ACTUALLY saved $1280.75--- say WHAT NOW!!!

I guess it is because I am the opposite of some of you.. I am SOOOOOOO not used to this.. hahahah.. I haven't been to my most favorite place on EARTH since 2004 because I thought I could just NEVER do it... I dropped close to $7k when you added food on my last trip...(and I stayed at a value... how SAD is that!!) If I could do something like above EVER again, I could almost go down EVERY STINKIN YEAR for that... lol.. Which would be nice.. But I know that something like this may not be around much longer..

Wow! That is an amazing deal for you!!!

 

[Tikitoi]

*nods* I do understand that. If you're not getting the most out of it, it would be frustrating. To me, I am getting this amazing Disney Magic, due to the fact that the last time we went I was a total novice and paid rack for EVERYTHING.. This morning I looked at my ORIGINAL confirmation email the day I booked. Here's what it looked like

PAYMENT SUMMARY
TOTAL $4220.33
TOTAL PAID AS OF 02/20/2011
$1000.00
AMOUNT DUE BY 08/04/2011
$3220.33

Here's what it looked like as of the day after I added Free Dining

PAYMENT SUMMARY
TOTAL $2939.58
TOTAL PAID AS OF 05/05/2011
$1000.00
AMOUNT DUE BY 08/04/2011
$1939.58

Sooo, I have been saying 900, but that is because I was thinking of what they orig took off me for the kids stay and play free, forgetting the original total... BUT, as I figured out today I ACTUALLY saved $1280.75--- say WHAT NOW!!!

I guess it is because I am the opposite of some of you.. I am SOOOOOOO not used to this.. hahahah.. I haven't been to my most favorite place on EARTH since 2004 because I thought I could just NEVER do it... I dropped close to $7k when you added food on my last trip...(and I stayed at a value... how SAD is that!!) If I could do something like above EVER again, I could almost go down EVERY STINKIN YEAR for that... lol.. Which would be nice.. But I know that something like this may not be around much longer..

That is a great deal. What resort are you staying at?

 

[lisaisanurse]

there is nothing wrong with complaining, everyone has a right. Blaming and expecting things from a buisness is hysterical and ridiculous! People are actually angry that Disney "dissed" them and their families. IT IS A BUISNESS!

If you go to the grocery store, and something isn't on sale, do you go and complain to the manager or do you either just "buy" the item not on sale, or do you wait for it to go on sale to buy it? Disney is the same.......its a buisness people.....................I booked my trip NOT EXPECTING FD, but did hope for any discount possible, but we were going either way. It did save us $2070 for our group! (2 rooms DXDP), so we lucked out and were flexible with our dates, I know some are not...that is life. If you cannot go to Disney without a discount, then you cannot go to Disney. If you cannot buy an Escalde without a $10,000 manufacturor's rebate, then you don't buy an Escalade! I understand some are venting but some are really thinking Disney "dissed" them!

 

[D.DUCKMENOW]

Yeah, it's not that the new FD doesn't save money, it's that in the past we have stayed at a Value and gotten Free Disney Dining (reg. plan) INCLUDING tips and appetizers.
Then they took away the tips and appetizers, and people said "well, just be happy you are still getting the dining plan free."

Then they bumped it down to QSDP. And people said "well, just be happy you are getting ANY free dining, and that it's cheap to upgrade."

Now they tack on a photo book to the last downgrade, basically raising the price ANOTHER $100 PER ROOM, and people are saying "Just be happy you are getting a wonderful photo book with your plan!"

So, yeah, I'd be thankful for any discount, but it really does start to affect whether we can go at all.
I know we are blessed to have gone several times, and I know it's our choice to have a big family.
It just gets discouraging when one pays for three rooms and keeps getting downgraded on savings.

I know Disney wouldn't have to offer savings at all. I know I am not entitled to ANYTHING!

It's just that once you've had such great deals, you start to hope that the magic remains for you to go again!

Great comment.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

*nods* I do understand that. If you're not getting the most out of it, it would be frustrating. To me, I am getting this amazing Disney Magic, due to the fact that the last time we went I was a total novice and paid rack for EVERYTHING.. This morning I looked at my ORIGINAL confirmation email the day I booked. Here's what it looked like

PAYMENT SUMMARY
TOTAL $4220.33
TOTAL PAID AS OF 02/20/2011
$1000.00
AMOUNT DUE BY 08/04/2011
$3220.33

Here's what it looked like as of the day after I added Free Dining

PAYMENT SUMMARY
TOTAL $2939.58
TOTAL PAID AS OF 05/05/2011
$1000.00
AMOUNT DUE BY 08/04/2011
$1939.58

Sooo, I have been saying 900, but that is because I was thinking of what they orig took off me for the kids stay and play free, forgetting the original total... BUT, as I figured out today I ACTUALLY saved $1280.75--- say WHAT NOW!!!

I guess it is because I am the opposite of some of you.. I am SOOOOOOO not used to this.. hahahah.. I haven't been to my most favorite place on EARTH since 2004 because I thought I could just NEVER do it... I dropped close to $7k when you added food on my last trip...(and I stayed at a value... how SAD is that!!) If I could do something like above EVER again, I could almost go down EVERY STINKIN YEAR for that... lol.. Which would be nice.. But I know that something like this may not be around much longer..

Precisely!

We usually save between $1,200 and $1,500.00 with the free dining promotion and that's exactly why we are able to return to WDW on a yearly basis now.

 

[Mick West]

I am not a fan of the free dining plan. It's virtually impossible to do a non scheduled table service meal (stopped at Le Cellier last week and they were booked for 7 months!), the selections have changed and the quality has lessened. And being behind folks at the counter service sites while they get the plan explained to them by the cashier or they are arguing with the cashier in regards to the plan - I just wish it would go away!

 

[mickey2000]

I am not a fan of the free dining plan. It's virtually impossible to do a non scheduled table service meal (stopped at Le Cellier last week and they were booked for 7 months!), the selections have changed and the quality has lessened. And being behind folks at the counter service sites while they get the plan explained to them by the cashier or they are arguing with the cashier in regards to the plan - I just wish it would go away!

Why don't you use a car and eat off property! There are many great places to eat !

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I am not a fan of the free dining plan. It's virtually impossible to do a non scheduled table service meal (stopped at Le Cellier last week and they were booked for 7 months!), the selections have changed and the quality has lessened. And being behind folks at the counter service sites while they get the plan explained to them by the cashier or they are arguing with the cashier in regards to the plan - I just wish it would go away!

I'm sorry, but what is the point of this post. Le Cellier has been popular for YEARS and it's been hard to get an ADR there at 180 days out for YEARS, free dining or not. If you want to complain, join one of the MANY DDP complait threads already going and PLEASE not turn this thread into one of those "whiners."

 

[Celidh]

I had previously had the Kids Stay and Play Free promo applied to my package. It saved me $300 which I thought was fabulous at the time, even though it only applied to 1 of our 3 children, as the others are too old. How come this promo saved me over $900 while others very little?? With this promo it took my vacation, NOT including my airfare (which I was also SUPER lucky on, and booked before gas prices jumped) for a family of 5, 7 nights at POR, non park hopper option, 5 day park tickets was LESS than $3000... I almost had a heart attack and fainted. with this promo, my ENTIRE trip was 2900.... my trip in 04' staying at a value resort I dumbly paid rack rate for and it cost almost $5000.. lol, lets not even mention food.. I was so happy I REALLY almost cried. And not that I have to defend myself, but there was a comment about everyones financial situations being the same, I am broke as a joke. My husband and I live paycheck to paycheck with very little to be able to put aside for our kids for something like this.. So I wasn't attempting to insult anyone with using the world "complaint", I just didn't understand that some people got a heck of a lot less from this deal than I did. Cause when I posted, I was doing cartwheels around my living room.

I'm with you on this. There are six of us going, only one of which is classed as a "child" for Disney's purposes. Me, my partner, my mom and my three kids. We got 10 nights/11 days at POP (two rooms, hopefully connecting) with 10 day tickets including park hopper and water parks added on and upgraded dd to adult to give her more eating options. It was only an extra $25 or so to upgrade her so to me it was a bit of a no brainer if she has more food choices other than nuggets and mac n cheese. Our cost was $4500. I think this is pretty good since it includes our food. We have to get our plan tickets too but I won't get into the flight cost here though!

Now, the best room discount for Pop I have seen since I started planning this trip was 20%ff. That would give us somewhere around $340 off and we would have to pay for all of our food. If we got the QSDP and left dd8 as a child it would cost us $1879.40.

So, by paying rack rate for our room we are saving over $1,500.00. I know we could pay oop and probably eat for less than that but I doubt it would be a that much less. I would need to feed 6 people for 11 days at WDW, not cheap no matter how you look at it.

I am more than happy to get fd!! I am doing cartwheels just like the pp. Maybe doing some dancing as well.

I can see how people who have less people don't get the advantage or get 40% on a room discount on a $500.00 a night resort but for us, this is the best it gets and I am happy as a clam to have fd.