? about booking now in hopes of FD in October

[SABeasley98]

We are going to WDW 10/22-10/28 and (like many others!), I'm hoping for a room discount or free dining. If there is no FD offer then I will not get the dining plan. Should I book my package now with free dining and then cancel it later if no FD offer? Or should I just add it on if/when the FD offer comes out? Or does it not matter either way?

I only ask because there was some confusion when we added a discount on our last trip. We had booked a package with tickets and a dining plan in the hopes of FD. We ended up using the military room only discount instead. When we tried to apply that discount and remove the dining plan, the CM said that she would have to "re-book the whole reservation" in order to take the dining plan off.

I want to make sure I do it the right way this time
Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We are going to WDW 10/22-10/28 and (like many others!), I'm hoping for a room discount or free dining. If there is no FD offer then I will not get the dining plan. Should I book my package now with free dining and then cancel it later if no FD offer? Or should I just add it on if/when the FD offer comes out? Or does it not matter either way?

I only ask because there was some confusion when we added a discount on our last trip. We had booked a package with tickets and a dining plan in the hopes of FD. We ended up using the military room only discount instead. When we tried to apply that discount and remove the dining plan, the CM said that she would have to "re-book the whole reservation" in order to take the dining plan off.

I want to make sure I do it the right way this time
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Whenever anyone goes from a room only to a package, or the reverse, the reservation must be cancelled and a new one booked. That is because they are in different reservation systems and have different reservation numbers. It really had nothing to do with free dining.

 

[PictureJumpr]

If you want to book now, do a package with room and tickets.
Don't add the dining plan, yet.

If it comes out for free, then call in and have that applied to your reservation - no rebooking required.

If it doesn't and you don't want it, then do nothing and your original reservation stands. Or if this makes you decide to cancel altogether, then the room/ticket package gets cancelled and refunded.

If it doesn't and a room-only type promo comes out instead, have that one applied to the room/ticket package to take advantage of it and get your balance adjusted down.

If it doesn't come out free on your dates, but you decide later that you do want it anyway, you can always add it any point up to about a week before your arrival date and pay for it then.

If you book now with dining, and then want to remove it later because it doesn't become free, then there will be a whole refund/credit process involved which just opens you up to CM errors.

You do not have to have the dining plan booked to make ADRs.

 

[SABeasley98]

Makes sense! Thank you!