Another Free Dining Question

[Megsie1000]

If free dining comes out for our dates (doubtful, but I like to be prepared ) we would like to move around certain people within our party to maximize the discount.

My nephew already has an AP because he went earlier in the year with grandma. If we put him in a room with his mom and dad this time around (they don't have APs), will they have to buy him the same tickets as they get in order to take advantage of free dining?

In other words, can mom and dad get a 7-day ticket and only buy him a 2-day ticket and still get the free dining? Or does everybody in the room need the same number of days of tickets? I am assuming "yes" but I thought I would ask.

Right now my nephew is in a room with grandma. She isn't interested in the free dining b/c for just the two of them the room discount is a better deal. But if we move him in with his mother and father, we could get free dining for him.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

He would have to get the same tickets as everyone else. You could buy 2 day tickets for everyone and then add days to mom and dad's tickets at the parks.

 

[Megsie1000]

Ooooh good idea! He is over 10, too, so on the adult dining plan. Pretty sure buying 2 days of tickets for him would still be worth adding him on.

I wish they wouldn't do that to AP-holders, though (make them buy tickets to get free dining). It is such a bummer!

 

[disney-dreams]

My family of four also has APs and I hate buying the tickets to get the FD promotion, luckily with the FD pin we got this year, we only had to buy one-day park tickets, but the GP requirement is usually two. We just save the tickets for another trip or apply them to an AP renewal, so it all works out in the end. Remember, they don't expire until 14 days after their first use, so if you don't use the tickets to enter the parks, then they don't expire. Keep the tickets in a safe place and have the concierge at your hotel print you off a receipt for your ticket, just in case you ever loose the ticket itself.

Last year, we did just what you are thinking of doing. We stayed at AKL and I was the only one with an AP at that time. I purchased 7-day park tickets with the package, which only required two-day passes but we needed the extra days anyway, and then had the park hopper option added to my husband and two daughters tickets when we got there. We were actually able to do that right at the hotel with the concierge and it was really easy. I only had to upgrade the tickets I wanted to, not all the tickets on the package. You can also upgrade tickets at guest relations in any of the parks.

Good Luck!

 

[aubriee]

I wish they wouldn't do that to AP-holders, though (make them buy tickets to get free dining). It is such a bummer!

While I agree that I wish the two day park tickets were not a requirement, I can see why they do. Can you imagine a family of four getting the regular AP 35% off at a moderate, plus getting free dining for two adults and two teenage boys? or what if they stayed in a value using an AP room discount and all four got free dining? Disney would almost be paying them to come down there. As an AP holder I haven't used free dining since they switched from requiring a one day park ticket to a two day park ticket. Since you can only use one of those free dining tickets per year to upgrade to a new AP and I go several times a year during the free dining period, I still have some of those one day tickets. I just use one a year when it's time to get a new AP.lol

 

[Megsie1000]

While I agree that I wish the two day park tickets were not a requirement, I can see why they do. Can you imagine a family of four getting the regular AP 35% off at a moderate, plus getting free dining for two adults and two teenage boys? or what if they stayed in a value using an AP room discount and all four got free dining? Disney would almost be paying them to come down there. As an AP holder I haven't used free dining since they switched from requiring a one day park ticket to a two day park ticket. Since you can only use one of those free dining tickets per year to upgrade to a new AP and I go several times a year during the free dining period, I still have some of those one day tickets. I just use one a year when it's time to get a new AP.lol

But I thought when they offered free dining, you had to pay rack rate on the room? Isn't that the idea?

If you pay rack rate to get free dining and have an annual pass, there is no reason they should require you to buy additional tickets to take advantage of those discounts.

This time we found the AP discounts to be a joke, too. They were gone for our dates by the day of the afternoon they came out. All that was left were club level rooms, which tells me they must have only released a very small amount of rooms for that discount to begin with. I just don't think I will be buying an annual pass any more since the perks seem to be dwindling. That and all of the multiple issues that a family of 5 comes across when trying to stay on property are just frustrating me to the max. That just means we will go much less often and probably stay off-site. I don't think Disney cares since they appear to be booking plenty of vacations at full price without discounts.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

But I thought when they offered free dining, you had to pay rack rate on the room? Isn't that the idea?

If you pay rack rate to get free dining and have an annual pass, there is no reason they should require you to buy additional tickets to take advantage of those discounts.

This time we found the AP discounts to be a joke, too. They were gone for our dates by the day of the afternoon they came out. All that was left were club level rooms, which tells me they must have only released a very small amount of rooms for that discount to begin with. I just don't think I will be buying an annual pass any more since the perks seem to be dwindling. That and all of the multiple issues that a family of 5 comes across when trying to stay on property are just frustrating me to the max. That just means we will go much less often and probably stay off-site. I don't think Disney cares since they appear to be booking plenty of vacations at full price without discounts.

You do have to pay rack rate for the room for FD.

 

[aubriee]

You do have to pay rack rate for the room for FD.

True, but every time it comes out you see multiple posts here on the DIS asking if they can combine free dining with some other discount and then getting mad when told paying rack rate for the room is one of the requirements and Disney does not allow stacking of discounts.

 

[Megsie1000]

Just to clarify - I am not mad about not being able to book multiple discounts, I am just mad that if I already paid for an AP, I have to buy additional tickets to do free dining