Availability at POP during Free Dining?????

[ShellyLynn3630]

Ok, so I booked two packages for my family and in-laws yesterday at All Star Sports for the month of September. We will have to get the free dining during then (assuming it will come out) or theres no way we will go during the hot month of September and take our kids out of school!!! Anyway, my 17-year-old sister-in-law really wants me to change our Resort to POP if I am able to. I really don't think that there will be that much availability at the POP during this with the bounce back and all. And even if I was able to change it before we arrived, I believe that POP might be waaaaay
to crowded. I am wrong in my thinking?? Anyone out there agree or disagree with me?

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

anyone???

 

[kaytieeldr]

ANY advance/speculative bookings for any given resort, may tend to reduce the likelihood of a promotion being offered - or at least widely-available - at that resort.

Promotions are intended to increase occupancy. The following is for example ONLY; we do not have access to Disney's actual figures.

Let's say Disney's occupancy goal is 85% per night/room/resort (standard is 70%-72%).
Right now, they have bookings for Labor Day weekend for 75% of the rooms at All Star Sports, or 1,440 rooms.
They have reservations for 83% of the rooms at Pop Century, or 2,394 rooms.
To achieve the 85% goal, they need to sell 198 rooms at ASSports, but only 54 rooms at Pop Century.

But if nobody reserves now at Pop Century in the hopes that Free Dining will be offered, that resort too only has a 75% reservation rate - meaning Disney will designate 288 Pop rooms for that promotion that weekend.

 

[n2mm]

My DIL had several rooms booked at Pop w/package prior to the announcement of free DDP last year. When the free DDP promotion started, she tried to call and modify her Pop packages, but the promotion was not available there for her dates, so she had to switch to A/S Music.

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

Ya, thats what I am assuming is that there will be little or no availability there and even if there is, I bet the crowds there will be awful.

 

[wilde_oscar]

ANY advance/speculative bookings for any given resort, may tend to reduce the likelihood of a promotion being offered - or at least widely-available - at that resort.

Promotions are intended to increase occupancy. The following is for example ONLY; we do not have access to Disney's actual figures.

Let's say Disney's occupancy goal is 85% per night/room/resort (standard is 70%-72%).
Right now, they have bookings for Labor Day weekend for 75% of the rooms at All Star Sports, or 1,440 rooms.
They have reservations for 83% of the rooms at Pop Century, or 2,394 rooms.
To achieve the 85% goal, they need to sell 198 rooms at ASSports, but only 54 rooms at Pop Century.

But if nobody reserves now at Pop Century in the hopes that Free Dining will be offered, that resort too only has a 75% reservation rate - meaning Disney will designate 288 Pop rooms for that promotion that weekend.

tattoo this on your foreheads...

speculative booking of rooms in anticipation of free dining reduces the chance they will offer it again.

 

[wilde_oscar]

if you have booked a room in speculation of free dining, do you realize that in order to get the free DDP you have to rebook, from scratch! they do not just add it to your room, you have to rebook. So if you have an existing reservation, and if they do announce free DDP... the odds that you will get to keep the same resort are slim to none.

 

[wilde_oscar]

If only you could realize how rare it is for kaytieeldr and I to agree on anything... those that are speculating on free DDP and booking rooms are screwing it up for the rest of us.

 

[kaytieeldr]

tattoo this on your foreheads...

speculative booking of rooms in anticipation of free dining reduces the chance they will offer it again.

I'm impressed - you boiled down to one, completely comprehensible sentence, what it took me fifteen minutes to calculate and write! GREAT job!

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

if you have booked a room in speculation of free dining, do you realize that in order to get the free DDP you have to rebook, from scratch! they do not just add it to your room, you have to rebook. So if you have an existing reservation, and if they do announce free DDP... the odds that you will get to keep the same resort are slim to none.

I will not have to totally rebook if they have openings at Sports. Just add the free dining code to my two existing reservations. And I do realize that booking ahead of time could possibly reduce the chance of free dining at some resorts, but I don't think that All Star Sports is really one of them. I wanted to be able to book all of our ADRS on the 24th of this month and be able to use the 180 plus 10. Also I could be wrong, but I would think that if there is a major number of reservations for the month of September that Disney will take notice and realize what people are doing. If they don't offer free dining there may be a major number of cancellations.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I will not have to totally rebook if they have openings at Sports. Just add the free dining code to my two existing reservations.

From your perspective, sure. In actuality, Disney WILL have to cancel your existing reservation and rebook you with the (any) package promotion code.

 

[n2mm]

tattoo this on your foreheads...

speculative booking of rooms in anticipation of free dining reduces the chance they will offer it again.

I absolutely agree with this, but gave up trying to convince anyone. I really don't think it's hard to understand.

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

I absolutely agree with this, but gave up trying to convince anyone. I really don't think it's hard to understand.

Its not hard to understand. Its true. It would be interesting to see just what Disney would do if they did'nt offer the free dining to the general public and had a good many number of cancellations. Like I said, I would never go during September for any reason other than free dining.

 

[luvtinkerbell]

i dont think you get free dining at values

 

[ajk912]

i dont think you get free dining at values

Yeah, the same speculation says no free dining at the values this year (that's what the UK and bounceback had to do). You need to be in mods and up.

 

[wilde_oscar]

I will not have to totally rebook if they have openings at Sports. Just add the free dining code to my two existing reservations. And I do realize that booking ahead of time could possibly reduce the chance of free dining at some resorts, but I don't think that All Star Sports is really one of them. I wanted to be able to book all of our ADRS on the 24th of this month and be able to use the 180 plus 10. Also I could be wrong, but I would think that if there is a major number of reservations for the month of September that Disney will take notice and realize what people are doing. If they don't offer free dining there may be a major number of cancellations.

you are absolutely 100% wrong in every way on this point... they don't just add the code. They may copy your information from an existing reservation... but you are rebooking from scratch to add this code. The odds that you will get the resort you want or already have booked, are slim to none. You are using specious logic to justify a position that is just not true.

 

[wilde_oscar]

Its not hard to understand. Its true. It would be interesting to see just what Disney would do if they did'nt offer the free dining to the general public and had a good many number of cancellations. Like I said, I would never go during September for any reason other than free dining.

we go, in sept... we go every year in sept. I would rather they not offer free DDP so the crowds will be lower and the ADRs easier to get. But all things change, and the offer is to put heads in beds... if the beds are booked why offer the incentive? If you booked the reservation, you probably already put in for the vacation time, you already have a deposit down, and probably made non-refundable airline reservations. So if they don't offer it, how many people are going to cancel? You are jumping in at a point where a lot of very smart people have already been over this with the powers that be. I would go into lengthy details on how the WDW discount system works, cause we have only been going in Sept for 35 years now. and have seen years where discounts are good and years where they are bad... and yet somehow we still go.

 

[wilde_oscar]

Yeah, the same speculation says no free dining at the values this year (that's what the UK and bounceback had to do). You need to be in mods and up.

this has to do with the layers of the offer to put heads in beds in sept. The UK and bounceback offers are basically getting the best deal as they are locked in to win, with a rate and free DDP... so they are getting slightly discounted room and free DDP. If they do this as they have in past years, the values pay rack rate and get free DDP, so both discounts turn out to be between $90 - $100 for room and meals. Give or take a few bucks.

 

[wilde_oscar]

I'm impressed - you boiled down to one, completely comprehensible sentence, what it took me fifteen minutes to calculate and write! GREAT job!

to take a complex equation and boil it down to a sound bite answer that is easily digestible...

tattoo this on your foreheads...

speculative booking of rooms in anticipation of free dining reduces the chance they will offer it again.

it also reduces the number of rooms to which the offer will be attached. but that is a whole different set of math and explanations.

 

[mom2LLN]

i dont think you get free dining at values

We were able to do the free dining bounce back promo last Sept for this year and we booked a value.