Can you add free dining after you book?

[schwaja3]

I'm thinking about a trip next Feb, during one of the slower times of the year. If I book the trip, and include the dining plan, and then they announce free dining for those dates, can I change my ressie and get the free dining?

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Faldred]

Assuming there is availability at the resort you want, yes. Essentially you will re-book the entire package.

Note that free dining is a package discount, therefore it will replace any existing package discount. Depending on your resort and party size, this may actually wind up costing you more.

 

[Amber1111]

Agree with the previous response. Last time I had to cancel my reservation and make a new one to get free dining, and we had to change resorts because or original one was full. I called as soon as they opened the morning free dining was released to the general public too.

 

[THEJOEL]

yes you can I did that exact thing last year. My room, ADRs and everything were left unchanged.
BTW even with a room PIN at POR I saved $412 on my original package when I chose the free dining over the room discount since I had already planned on going with the DDP.

 

[Cydsmom]

I had already paid for our dining plan and we were staying at all star movies. I called when the free dining was announced and got the ddp for free. I was also upgraded to pofq and got $200 back. They even included a photo album and 80 free photopass pictures. Can't wait for lil dd first trip.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Assuming there is availability at the resort you want, yes. Essentially you will re-book the entire package.

Note that free dining is a package discount, therefore it will replace any existing package discount. Depending on your resort and party size, this may actually wind up costing you more.

That is incorrect, you DO NOT have to rebook anything to add a free dining code to an existing reservation. Even if they do not have FD rooms available at your current resort and you have to move to another resort, you DO NOT have to rebook your trip and your reservation number will stay the same.

I have done this pretty much every single time free dining has been announced, as we always book early, and have NEVER had to rebook or change our reservation number. We have even switched resorts twice under and/or after adding a free dining code and did not rebook. If a CM tells you differently, asked to be transferred to customer service, as they apparently have not been trained properly and don't know what they are talking about.

 

[chrisw127]

OP, I'm sorry. It sounds like you're out of luck on this one. What you can do in the future is book a basic package. All the same rules apply for a basic package as they do for a regular package ($200 deposit, pay at 45 days, etc), but you don't add tickets or dining until you're ready, if at all. This is a nice opton for people who are booking an expensive room and don't want to pay a huge one-night's deposit, but it sounds like it could work in a case like yours as well.

If free dining comes out, you can always add the two-day (or whatever they require) ticket to your reservation and turn it into a package. Save those two-day tickets (make sure they're not added to your room card--have them give you a separate ticket and then put them away because it's just too easy to swipe one and then you're out of luck) and use them next time you visit. Your tickets are good indefinitely and can be used to upgrade up to a 10-day ticket or an annual pass). When you do upgrade, the worth of your two-day ticket is for that day, not the day you purchased them, so you'll probably save a little money too.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[Rychelle924]

this is what happened to us for our trip comingup in sept. We had the Kids Stay and Play Free package with dining added. thenthey announced Free dining for the dates we will be there.. I called and they just switched us to the Memories package so we could get the free dining. But not since the package switched and we had to pay for the kids hoppers on the new package, it only saved us like $30 getting the free dining hahaha but hey its $30 and thats a souvineer for the kids while there.

 

[aubriee]

I had already paid for our dining plan and we were staying at all star movies. I called when the free dining was announced and got the ddp for free. I was also upgraded to pofq and got $200 back. They even included a photo album and 80 free photopass pictures. Can't wait for lil dd first trip.

That Memories photo album cost you $99.00. It wasn't free. That silly Memories book is what had alot of people upset this year with the free dining offer. Three years ago, in order to get free dining you had to pay rack rate for the room and buy one day park tickets for everyone in the room. Then last year the requirements were rack rate room and two day park tickets. Then this year, the requirements are rack rate room, two day park tickets, and that $99.00 Memory book.

We used to do the free dining every Sept and once in both Sept and Dec. However, since they've changed the ticket requirement to two days and now with the $99.00 photo book being required, free dining doesn't work for us as well as the room discount. If you have a large family and stay in a value or moderate, free dining is still the better discount, but still alot less than it used to be. If you are a couple or solo staying in a moderate or deluxe and have an AP, the room discounts are alot better. I currently have the bounceback deal booked at CSR for Sept. I priced out free dining when it first came out and found free dining would cost me several hundred dollars more than I'm paying now, even figuring in TS meals 1-2 times/day and a few CS meals. With my current room only deal and using the TIW card, I can eat more TS meals than the DDP would allow me for quite a bit less.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

OP, I'm sorry. It sounds like you're out of luck on this one. What you can do in the future is book a basic package. All the same rules apply for a basic package as they do for a regular package ($200 deposit, pay at 45 days, etc), but you don't add tickets or dining until you're ready, if at all. This is a nice opton for people who are booking an expensive room and don't want to pay a huge one-night's deposit, but it sounds like it could work in a case like yours as well.

If free dining comes out, you can always add the two-day (or whatever they require) ticket to your reservation and turn it into a package. Save those two-day tickets (make sure they're not added to your room card--have them give you a separate ticket and then put them away because it's just too easy to swipe one and then you're out of luck) and use them next time you visit. Your tickets are good indefinitely and can be used to upgrade up to a 10-day ticket or an annual pass). When you do upgrade, the worth of your two-day ticket is for that day, not the day you purchased them, so you'll probably save a little money too.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

I think you have commented on the wrong thread. I would guess you were meaning to comment on the thread where the woman bought her tickets separately, not from Disney, and now wants to get free dining? That's another thread.

 

[chrisw127]

I think you have commented on the wrong thread. I would guess you were meaning to comment on the thread where the woman bought her tickets separately, not from Disney, and now wants to get free dining? That's another thread.

hahaha. It's true. How did that happen?

Oh well.

 

[schwaja3]

I think you have commented on the wrong thread. I would guess you were meaning to comment on the thread where the woman bought her tickets separately, not from Disney, and now wants to get free dining? That's another thread.

Princess Tiffany, thank you for posting that. After reading her post, I was starting to get confused.

Jack