Free DDP ?

[homeboycartel]

Not sure if I should post here or in the DVC realm, but if free ddp is being offered as an incentive to come to WDW, do DVC members also get it free?

 

[TDC Nala]

No, it's offered as an incentive to book room/ticket packages in order to fill regular resort rooms. DVC is very popular with its members and doesn't need an incentive.

 

[Pumbaa_]

That's correct. The free dining offered the past 2 years required booking of a package, inlcuding room and tickets to get the free DDP.

DVC'ers were not eligible when booking a reservation using points. bummer, huh?

 

[bicker]

I was pretty surprised, actually, back last April, when they started allowing us to pay for the Dining Plan.

 

[Becky G]

Are they doing the free DDP promotion this year?

 

[TDC Nala]

Are they doing the free DDP promotion this year?

It's been offered to targeted groups but not for the general public yet. Unconfirmed rumors say it probably will be, but on a more limited scale (for a period of 4 weeks late August/September).

If you use DVC points to make a reservation at a non-DVC resort at WDW, you are not even eligible to purchase the dining plan, "free" or not it's only available on a room/tickets package. To buy the plan, DVC members must stay at a DVC resort.

 

[paulh]

With DVC you dont have to buy any park tickets to get the DDP
Paulh

 

[bicker]

And with DVC you're ineligible for free dining.

 

[castleri]

And with DVC you're ineligible for free dining.

Unless you book the package at a non DVC resort and pay the going rate. Some people did this last year and then stayed at their DVC on points. So it still isn't really free.

 

[TDC Nala]

Unless you book the package at a non DVC resort and pay the going rate. Some people did this last year and then stayed at their DVC on points. So it still isn't really free.

I've heard those stories about folks who booked a reservation at a value to get the free dining, but instead stayed at a DVC resort on a points reservation and didn't stay in the value room.

I don't really get how this can be a good deal over just staying in the DVC and purchasing the plan, unless there were a lot of adults in the party. Maybe this was before DVC was allowed to purchase the plan.

And if they weren't going to use the value room, that would have just removed a room from inventory for somebody who would have used it.

 

[GrumpyOne]

That's assuming that the rooms were needed. If Disney was offering free food, they probably had rooms to spare.

If a Standard Value room in Value season is $93 per night (82 plus tax), that's $23 per person. Buying the DDP would cost more than that so I could see why someone would rent a room they weren't going to sleep in rather than buy the plan.

 

[castleri]

I've heard those stories about folks who booked a reservation at a value to get the free dining, but instead stayed at a DVC resort on a points reservation and didn't stay in the value room.

I don't really get how this can be a good deal over just staying in the DVC and purchasing the plan, unless there were a lot of adults in the party. Maybe this was before DVC was allowed to purchase the plan.

And if they weren't going to use the value room, that would have just removed a room from inventory for somebody who would have used it.

You are right about the number of adults - 4 adults would have paid 151.96 a day for the DDP last year if staying at DVC on points. The value room cost somewhere around $100 per night - thus a $45-50 a day savings. It was not cost effective to do it for less than 3 adults in my opinon or to do it at any resort other than a value. I wonder if the mousekeeping staff ever reported that the rooms weren't being used or were just thankful they had some rooms that didn't need cleaning every day? I can't imagine there were that many people that did it to take very many rooms out of inventory.

 

[Pumbaa_]

They also had to purchase tickets too. At least one day's worth