2015 FREE DINING THREAD _ All Questions HERE!!

[MacDMom]

this board it<s the right place to help you, have you made you adrs because end of september, a lot will be full

Yes, I actually manged to do that! I even linked both reservations. However, I'm wondering if the dining plan is even worth it. There are 3 adults going and 3 children (Ages 3,5, and 9) I just did the math and the dining plan comes to $1,437 for us. I just don't see us eating that much food!

 

[PhoenixWright]

Thank you! Although I'm bummed about not getting the deal, I'm still super excited for our first trip to Disney! Lol 6 of us with no idea what we're doing

Haha, but that's so much fun! Research, find some things you want to do. Do your Fastpass+ stuff so you can visit the extremely popular characters and rides that would otherwise take hours, but after that just explore! The place is grand and I miss I could be doing that for the first time again!

 

[kalz0ne]

I hope everyone is able to get what they and their family wants! We were lucky enough to get it last year and this year too! I had set my alarm for 6am and woke up before it went off, checked the special offers page on my phone, saw the word "delicious" and grabbed my laptop. I was able to modify our reservation for Pop 11/14-11/21 in less than five minutes and was reading the boards soon after. I was surprised to see what issues everyone else was/is having.

 

[cath1979]

Yes, I actually manged to do that! I even linked both reservations. However, I'm wondering if the dining plan is even worth it. There are 3 adults going and 3 children (Ages 3,5, and 9) I just did the math and the dining plan comes to $1,437 for us. I just don't see us eating that much food!

that a lot of money..but if with your children age.I think you will make a lot of caracter dinner and those one are expensive.. really thing that you 3 anbd 5 years old can split plate because it s huge portion

 

[vicarrieous]

People keep checking! Someone posted on CBR page they canceled their reservation they made today for CBR 10-19 for Free Dining Promo. I bet there will be many more who have post high regret.

 

[cath1979]

Yes, I actually manged to do that! I even linked both reservations. However, I'm wondering if the dining plan is even worth it. There are 3 adults going and 3 children (Ages 3,5, and 9) I just did the math and the dining plan comes to $1,437 for us. I just don't see us eating that much food!

one thing that was a treasure for us (almostg 3 and 6 years old where dancing party with disney caracter, there were one in HS and one in MK ..it was a big suprise and the kid realllyyyy love it

 

[msteffen]

Well Im glad most of you were successful in getting FD. Me however, not so lucky. MY TA tried very hard but no success. So back to the drawing board to refigure everything. But still very excited about my First Disney Trip!!

 

[MacDMom]

that a lot of money..but if with your children age.I think you will make a lot of caracter dinner and those one are expensive.. really thing that you 3 anbd 5 years old can split plate because it s huge portion

That was the plan. We did ADR for CRT and a bunch of character meals. However, the more I think about it im not sure that was a smart idea. Taking my kids out to a restaurant is pure torture! Lol they act like wild animals, especially my 3 yo son. So maybe we should ditch our ADR and stick with mostly quick service. I really don't know what to do! I want to give them an awesome experience with the character meals but I'm honestly not sure my son will sit long enough for anyone to enjoy it.

 

[MacDMom]

Haha, but that's so much fun! Research, find some things you want to do. Do your Fastpass+ stuff so you can visit the extremely popular characters and rides that would otherwise take hours, but after that just explore! The place is grand and I miss I could be doing that for the first time again!

I've been reading up on disney almost every day! Lol I just wish we had one person wit experience coming with. It all seems a little overwhelming.

 

[amberlina29307]

I used a TA and had my reservation before 6:30 this morning. Then again, she knew about the rumors and was on top of it! It would be a big bummer for me if I had a TA and they weren't on top of it. Its hard for me to let go of that control though. The thing that helps is that I knew she knew her stuff and she is a friend

For those who missed out because their TA didn't know about the crazy release, that does suck.

My TA is on vacation until Monday. I had to use another TA from the company. Didnt get any resolution until 6 pm. I felt bad for her


side note---anyone do school groups of 16-20? I need help creating this for next school year

 

[wdw4rfam]

Because those that were trying to modify seemed to have more trouble? And congrats, BTW!!

I think I was one of he few that thought it was simple. I hit modify, added the promo, my exact room I already had booked was available, added the water park option, done. I did both reservations in under 5 minutes I don't think it had much to do with a new or modify as much as what was available. Think I just got lucky that what I had booked happened to be available.

 

[cath1979]

That was the plan. We did ADR for CRT and a bunch of character meals. However, the more I think about it im not sure that was a smart idea. Taking my kids out to a restaurant is pure torture! Lol they act like wild animals, especially my 3 yo son. So maybe we should ditch our ADR and stick with mostly quick service. I really don't know what to do! I want to give them an awesome experience with the character meals but I'm honestly not sure my son will sit long enough for anyone to enjoy it.

keeep your adr for the moment and wait..I,M sure you wiil get a fd one way or another :0 and caracter meals are wonderful for tornado kids...Ohana with stich is a must do , they take the kid around all the restaurant with maracas and they brings differents food to the table.. If you think CRT is too expensive, try arkhensus at epcot, is a diner with princess also and we really love it, it s only 1 credit on dinning plan

 

[smitch425]

Woo-Hoo! After 3 hours on the phone they were able to update my reservation for free dining and saved my family and I over 1000 dollars

My rep was super helpful and apologetic that we had to wait so long on hold. Good luck to everyone else!

Great news! Congrats!

 

[cath1979]

That was the plan. We did ADR for CRT and a bunch of character meals. However, the more I think about it im not sure that was a smart idea. Taking my kids out to a restaurant is pure torture! Lol they act like wild animals, especially my 3 yo son. So maybe we should ditch our ADR and stick with mostly quick service. I really don't know what to do! I want to give them an awesome experience with the character meals but I'm honestly not sure my son will sit long enough for anyone to enjoy it.

buffet caracter are probably the best thing for your family and probably early dinner, like 4h30 pm

 

[amberlina29307]

why does MDE not reflect 3 reservations? My TA called and Disney has 3 reservations listed but MDE still doesnt show. How long should it take before it updates?

 

[Aubrav]

My tiredness finally got the best of me and I fell asleep and now I've missed 10 pages so congratulations to everyone in those last 10 pages who got what they wanted!

Sidenote: My DV did come today! Yay! But since I was able to book online this morning and apply the reservation to the DV anyway, it didn't matter as much

 

[NoodlesMom]

For those who missed out because their TA didn't know about the crazy release, that does suck.

I'm a TA and knew about the crazy release. I was on the phone and online well before 6 cst and just finally got a reservation about an hour ago. It was a bad day for TA's but it really wasn't their fault. There were a lot of really upset TA's posting to the Disney Travel Profesional FB page today.

 

[MacDMom]

keeep your adr for the moment and wait..I,M sure you wiil get a fd one way or another :0 and caracter meals are wonderful for tornado kids...Ohana with stich is a must do , they take the kid around all the restaurant with maracas and they brings differents food to the table.. If you think CRT is too expensive, try arkhensus at epcot, is a diner with princess also and we really love it, it s only 1 credit on dinning plan

Thanks that makes me feel better! I promised my daughter CRT and we also made reservations at Ohana. I think I may be more excited than my kids!

 

[minerva78]

So, I am trying to figure what we learned today.
1). Traditional dogma was to not book early because you are depleting possible rooms in FD, shutting down resorts from being included, etc. Did that pan out to be true?
2). If one had booked early on, was it easier to add FD onto their promo? Or did it seem to be easier to be starting afresh with new booking?
3). Were you able to both start afresh AND/OR modify an existing ressie at 4:15 this AM, or was it just a modification with the online option?
4). Did booking with a TA end up helping most or hurting most for getting FD?

I know that some of this is still yet to be seen, but figure that we have a general gist by now.

For me personally, booking a new reservation at around 6 a.m. could not have been easier. I had absolutely no problems, glitches, or slow website, it just took a few minutes. I get a sense that modifying existing reservations either online or on the phone was not so easy. I think that for people who planned to go to Disney and stay onsite regardless of a discount, pre-booking made sense. But after the glitches today I think many people who are dependent on FD will think twice about pre-booking with the hopes they could easily modify their reservation online to "add" FD, it just didn't always sound that simple. Having a room booked already you needed to modify did not appear to give you an advantage, it may have ended up being a disadvantage for some because of how quickly people were able to make new bookings and take those rooms. I think a lot of the standard rooms at moderates weren't available for FD because those people who were not dependent on FD for travel booked those, since that was the most economical way they would NOT need FD. I'm so happy some people had positive experiences with TAs today, but I think it would have driven me insane! Just my two cents.

 

[donp]

I'm a TA and knew about the crazy release. I was on the phone and online well before 6 cst and just finally got a reservation about an hour ago. It was a bad day for TA's but it really wasn't their fault. There were a lot of really upset TA's posting to the Disney Travel Profesional FB page today.

Meaning, that you have been on the phone all day and only got to actual reservations one hour ago! Wow.