I'm just confused about why Disney offers the free DDP promotion during the summer months. It seems to me that the park is always crowded during this time and will always be crowded because summer time is when people take their vacations. I would think that they would want to offer the free DDP during the value season so as to attract more customers and generate more revenue during this time. A lot of people come during the value season to save money. If the DDP was offered for free during this time, you would attract more people to stay in the parks and since they'd be saving money on food, they'd probably spend more money elsewhere. It was just a thought that my DH & I were discussing this morning.
If Im not mistaken the dining plan was offered in October last year (because I helped friends from church plan their trip) and then this year in Sept/Oct. It isnt during the summer months. Sept is slow because kids have gone back to school and no one wants to have to take the kids out right after school has started back. It is also hurricane season and therefore a slower time of year.
In 2005, the free dining promotion was available to Guests checking in between August 21 and October 4 (and valid for up to ten nights' stay). In 2006, the same deal was offered to Guests arriving between August 13 and September 30 - aka starting a week earlier and ending a few days sooner than the year before. Why? Well, most schools in the south are back in session around mid-August, and pretty much all schools are back up in full operation by the beginning of September. In addition, September always IS "value" season. Disney offers various promotions at different times, and this is what they chose to do and when they chose to do it.
