Disney Can't Honor Free Dining? Really?

[T16]

I imagine this question has been posted here before, and so my apologies if this is redundant…I haven’t had much luck with the search feature.

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been to WDW, and this will be the first year back for me, DD9 and DD5 post-divorce. We’re pretty excited. My ex and I were both serious Disney Dorks, and while she did all the meticulous planning for our previous trips, I’ve learned the ropes pretty well, I think. I mention this mostly because I believe we encountered this situation before, and Disney resolved it in our favor after she talked to the right people.

Earlier this year, I made non-discounted reservations, including DDP, for September 15 – 20. Subsequently, Disney came out with a free dining offer valid during that time. Apparently, the offer expired on 7/31, however, and when I called a few days after this, I was told that Disney would not/could not honor the free dining offer (and provide me a refund, as I had paid in full) since I hadn’t called and asked for free dining prior to 7/31. Hmmm. I asked if they could make an exception and honor this anyway – again, I feel that this exact thing had happened to us a few years back, and Disney made good, as I thought was their standing policy on honoring later discounts – but I was told it was essentially against some sort of law.

So, what better place to get the scoop on this than Dis boards? If this is truly a no-go, it won’t impact our vacation one bit, and we’ll have a magical time and enjoy the dining plans we’ve paid for. However, if there’s a way to get Disney to not penalize me for making my reservation a few months too early and give us the free dining everyone else is getting, it’s certainly worth a call or two.

 

[TDC Nala]

You called after the expiration of the offer. The expiration date wasn't any secret. Having a reservation previously booked is no guarantee of getting a promotion, as promotions are not automatically added to existing reservations. I'm afraid I don't understand why you would expect them to honor it after it expired.

 

[gskywalker]

The offer is still on, so I am guessing they are telling you that you can't add it within 45 days of your arrival, I would think you should be able to add it with the worst outcome being a change fee, but hopefully others should be able to confirm this.

 

[TDC Nala]

The offer is not still on for the OP's stay dates. The offer for those September dates expired on July 31.

 

[gskywalker]

here is the link to the offer, showing you can book it up till Sept 15.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/

 

[TDC Nala]

September 15 is the last day to book it. However, there is no provision in that offer for free dining if you check in on September 15. The earliest check-in date covered by the current offer is September 29.

 

[gskywalker]

you need to look at the link, there are two offers, one starting sept 29, one going from sept 2-25, I am looking at the page now that says free dining sept 2-25

 

[TDC Nala]

That offer expired on July 31. It is not current. And actually I am not seeing it on the linked page at all. The only free dining offer I see is the fall one for dates starting September 29.

 

[gskywalker]

again I say look at the link, if you have looked please say you have looked, if you haven't stop assuming you know, when I am looking at the page.

http://bookwdw.reservations.disney....romotionCode=fy13q4dineCA&market=fy13q4dineCA

 

[TDC Nala]

Post removed as it is pointed out below that the page linked above is for an offer for Canada only. Can't tell if the OP is Canadian but it doesn't appear so.

 

[Happy99]

again I say look at the link, if you have looked please say you have looked, if you haven't stop assuming you know, when I am looking at the page.

http://bookwdw.reservations.disney....romotionCode=fy13q4dineCA&market=fy13q4dineCA

this page you linked is for Canadians only not US or anywhere else

 

[gskywalker]

this page you linked is for Canadians only not US or anywhere else

That would explain it because I just went through and was able to see if I could do a booking and I could, but if its just for Canadians..... it must be because Disney likes us more

 

[T16]

Thanks for your responses. I'm mostly interested if others have had any success with similar experiences. To clarify...

I'm afraid I don't understand why you would expect them to honor it after it expired.

I don't EXPECT Disney to do anything. I've had consistently positive experiences with Disney customer service over the past decade or so, and so I'm interested in REQUESTING AN ACCOMODATION, in the interests of goodwill, above-and-beyond customer service, or whatever Disney wants to call it.

Ever have a store honor a coupon after it expired? You probably didn't expect them to do so, but were no doubt happy when they did. Ever been upgraded at check-in? Unexpectedly? Or because you simply asked?

I understand quite well that promotions have expiry dates, and Disney has policies - so no need to go into the mechanics of this, or the "if Disney let everyone" rationale. They've exceeded my expectations before, so I'm interested if they might possibly do it again...

And no, I'm not about to complain to someone if I don't get my free DDP.

 

[TDC Nala]

It would never occur to me to ask a store to honor a coupon after it expired. Upgrades are not comparable. Disney is also not known for offering upgrades free just for asking. They do offer them sometimes, but asking is not the best way to get them. The tone of the first post appeared to be a complaint because they refused to honor the offer after it expired. I woudn't expect them to.

I don't know of anyone who was able to get free dining after it expired just because they didn't call while the offer was still good. Not that there isn't anyone out there but I don't recall seeing it on the boards.

 

[Happy99]

So, what better place to get the scoop on this than Dis boards? If this is truly a no-go, it wont impact our vacation one bit, and well have a magical time and enjoy the dining plans weve paid for. However, if theres a way to get Disney to not penalize me for making my reservation a few months too early and give us the free dining everyone else is getting, its certainly worth a call or two.

I would say it is a no-go
this is one of the reasons we use a TA. While we are on these boards we aren't on here daily and I don't have to worry about missing a discount

 

[bdklein]

this page you linked is for Canadians only not US or anywhere else

What if your relative played for the Canadiens? Would that get you the discount still?

 

[T16]

No, not complaining at all. I missed the deadline, so I'm merely curious, not feeling cheated. The "legal" explanation offered by the CM seemed odd, but hey...

I do remember getting a free DDP after-the-fact a few years ago, in a similar situation. I must assume that my ex had called while the offer was still valid, but again, Disney's done some cool things for us over the years.

(Oh, and FWIW...I frequently DO ask a vendor to honor a particular coupon after it's expired. And they often can, and happily do. I just don't EXPECT them to...)

 

[scard192]

However, if there’s a way to get Disney to not penalize me for making my reservation a few months too early and give us the free dining everyone else is getting, it’s certainly worth a call or two.

You didn't "make your reservation a few months too early", if you had called by 7/31/13 and there was availability for your dates/resort you could have applied the FD to your reservation or perhaps had the option to move to another resort to get FD. Many people make reservations in advance and wait for discounts to come out but you still need to have the discount applied before the offer expires.

Sorry that you missed out on the FD, for September it was announced in early May and expired 7/31. Any chance you can change your dates to later in the year, there are Fall promos out right now for October-December.

 

[Disneylover99]

No, not complaining at all. I missed the deadline, so I'm merely curious, not feeling cheated. The "legal" explanation offered by the CM seemed odd, but hey...

I do remember getting a free DDP after-the-fact a few years ago, in a similar situation. I must assume that my ex had called while the offer was still valid, but again, Disney's done some cool things for us over the years.

If I were you, I would call back again and explain the situation. If that doesn't work, I would call again and ask. At least call a few times. You never know, it can't hurt. Sometimes you get cm's that seem to be willing to bend over backwards for you and other times you will get cm's who make you feel guilty for asking a simple question. You know what I mean? It can't hurt to check and then double check. At least then you can feel that you've done your best to get the fd, even if it doesn't work out in your favour.

Good luck!

 

[T16]

I would say it is a no-go
this is one of the reasons we use a TA. While we are on these boards we aren't on here daily and I don't have to worry about missing a discount

And the lesson I've learned is to spend more time on these boards.