Disney package question

[LTNLISA]

If I am in the wrong place to ask this.. I am sooo sorry... but here is my situation...

I used a local travel agency to book our vacation to WDW this December 10-17... we got the dining plan and all that and our total is 5800.00... ok so today I find out there is free dining when we are going to be there but it is only from the 10th to the 17th so they said i have to shorten my trip by a day and by doing that my airline tickets go up.. so I would only save 400.00.. and my flight time would be afternoon flights which in my opinion suck cuz then I lose a whole day.

So I am depressed that I cant save money on that plan.. then she calls me back and tells me we could try taking away another day so then I would only be going 5 days instead of 7 and it would save me 700.00 but it is a lot of trouble to cancel and rebook.. blah blah blah..

So I guess my question is.. would any of you look into another travel agency to see what they can offer.. or do u think its just to late in the game and just keep the situation I have... I cant go at a different time cuz I bought MVMCP tickets for that tuesday night.. and its for my sons b day...

sorry Im just frustrated... I just cant seem to find anything to help save money on this trip.. I only have 1900.00 left to pay on this...

so what would u guys do? thanks for listening! (its a southwest vacation package I have now)

 

[QVCshopper]

Have you thought about booking the free dining plan room separately and staying in another room for one night, keeping the flights the same? We've done that before, and it works out pretty well. I don't use a travel agent, though. We usually do everything on our own.

 

[auger]

If I am correct, I believe the issue is that FD starts on their 2d day, the 11th.
You can book a room only res for the 10th and the FD for the 11-17th.

Edit: Just noticed you said it's a SW vacation package.
Not sure how that will work.
Maybe someone else has experience w/ that and whether they will split into 2 reservations for you.
Try calling the TA and asking if that is possiblle.

Or rebook the whole thing through WDW or AAA.

 

[TiggerStac]

I just sent you a message, check your inbox.

Free dining does not start until 12/11, but you could do room only first night and then change to package w/FD 2nd.

 

[clanmcculloch]

The free dining promotion is blacked out until 12/11 so the problem is the first day of your trip. Here's my recommendation. Book your first day as a room only reservation and then book the rest using the free dining promotion. Don't attach any tickets to your first night. You can go to Guest Relations outside of any park and pick up your tickets up to 3 days before your package begins so that means you can attach tickets for the duration of your trip to the free dining reservation and still use them that first day. You'll have to pay OOP for your meals that first day but at least you'll get some kind of promotion for the rest of your trip.

If your TA didn't contact you before the promotion was officially released to present this option to you then you REALLY need a new TA who is a Disney specialist.

I just noticed where you said this is a Southwest Vacation package. What's their cancellation policy? You're subject to their policies rather than WDW's policies unfortunately. In the future, unless it's a HUGE savings to book through them (very rare) then I'd stick with a Disney specialist TA. There are lots of them out there including this website's sponsor who seems to get good reviews (I've never used them myself so I can only go with what others have said).

 

[LTNLISA]

I can still cancel all my stuff right now with no penalties.. Hubby is saying I should cancel and start over.. we are in a small town with a small TA.. but I am scared I will lose all my dining reservations.. Im just upset over all of this.. I just get nervous on who u can trust to book your vacation.. I dont want to get taken for my money... We are working our butts off to pay this off.. we started at around 5000.00 two months ago with a 200..payment ..now we only have 1900.00 left.. so I am nervous..and confused.. lol

And I emailed my TA this morning about the dining plan and she emailed me back saying I was basicly crazy cuz she knows they dont ever offer free dining in Dec.. so I found it online and called her back and then she wanted to act like she knew it all and she would call me back later...... frustrating..

 

[mistysue]

Cancelling your reservation does not effect your dining reservations. If it does, that means your TA called and specifically cancelled each one.

ETA: Call your TA and explain exactly what you want to do. Get a 1st night room only, then package the rest of the nights. Tell her that you can pick up your tickets early so she doesn't try to sell you an extra one day ticket. Tell her not to change your dining ressies (unless you want to drop one from the first day because you won't have dining until your second day)

 

[hrslvr142]

Would definitely cancel and start all over again. Do as the above posters suggest and book a room only for the first day you are there (this was actually recommended by both Disney and the TA I was working through) and then the package the rest of the week. We will be there the same time as you, just a shorter time so can't have the dining plan but it is okay, it is only two of us and I got a good deal at Port Orleans.

Vacations should be fun and so should the planning. I was stressing about all of the changes, etc, etc, etc and thought-just stop. Your dining reservations are fine and will not be affected by your changes.

Have a Magical vacation!

 

[ktkerber]

I suggest you can cancel with the travel agent and call Disney directly. I would call and ask Disney if they would honor the free dining for your dates. I have received free dining in December on black dates in the past just by calling Disney directly and asking for it. Good Luck and Have a Great Trip!!