Free dining & 2 packages

[Terk-1]

Quick questions for all you experts. I am staying at the same resort for the entire trip, so no resort hopping. Have the same package for both reservations.

I start the first part of my upcoming vacation during one of the possible FD weeks. If this is true, it would be great & save me about $200+. After the first 5 days, I start another package when my brother & sister join me. Disney has linked my two trips together (according to my AAA TA), to avoid having to check in/out/in/out of one of the 2 rooms.

The possible FD ends on the Saturday I am there and then does not start again until the following Sunday. As I am already there during the FD period, I understand that it goes until my checkout date. So here are my questions:

1. If the reservations are "linked" together, does that mean my dining is linked? What I mean is does that mean the FD would continue until I check out the following Sunday?

2. Can you make one package with one reservation number, but have it in pieces, such as 5 days for one person, then a week for the others?

3. If the free dining follows me, would that also include the family member that I am sharing a room with when they join me on that Sunday?

So confused!!

 

[Lehuaann]

Ok, I'll try to tackle this if I understand your trip correctly.

Package #1: 5 nts by yourself (falls within FD dates)
Package #2: ? nts at the same resort with family joining (outside of FD dates)

Correct?

Quick questions for all you experts. I am staying at the same resort for the entire trip, so no resort hopping. Have the same package for both reservations.

I start the first part of my upcoming vacation during one of the possible FD weeks. If this is true, it would be great & save me about $200+. After the first 5 days, I start another package when my brother & sister join me. Disney has linked my two trips together (according to my AAA TA), to avoid having to check in/out/in/out of one of the 2 rooms.

The possible FD ends on the Saturday I am there and then does not start again until the following Sunday. As I am already there during the FD period, I understand that it goes until my checkout date. Yes, up to 14 nts of checkin date. So here are my questions:

1. If the reservations are "linked" together, does that mean my dining is linked? What I mean is does that mean the FD would continue until I check out the following Sunday?

You currently have 2 separate reservations. They are only linked in the system as a notation to resort CM's that you have a rolling reservation.

Your ADR's are not linked to your resort reservation. They are tied to a lead name/phone number/confirmation#.

2. Can you make one package with one reservation number, but have it in pieces, such as 5 days for one person, then a week for the others?

3. If the free dining follows me, would that also include the family member that I am sharing a room with when they join me on that Sunday?

You cannot add people in the middle of a FD reservation or have it broken up in pieces, it must be consistent throughout. FD requires a minimum 3 night stay with the same number of people purchasing the same type of ticket (minimum 2 day base).

If your initial dates qualify for FD and you want them to also enjoy FD, then they would need to be added at the beginning.

Make sense?

So confused!!

.

 

[mickeynut1]

Quick questions for all you experts. I am staying at the same resort for the entire trip, so no resort hopping. Have the same package for both reservations.

I start the first part of my upcoming vacation during one of the possible FD weeks. If this is true, it would be great & save me about $200+. After the first 5 days, I start another package when my brother & sister join me. Disney has linked my two trips together (according to my AAA TA), to avoid having to check in/out/in/out of one of the 2 rooms.

The possible FD ends on the Saturday I am there and then does not start again until the following Sunday. As I am already there during the FD period, I understand that it goes until my checkout date. So here are my questions:

1. If the reservations are "linked" together, does that mean my dining is linked? What I mean is does that mean the FD would continue until I check out the following Sunday?

2. Can you make one package with one reservation number, but have it in pieces, such as 5 days for one person, then a week for the others?

3. If the free dining follows me, would that also include the family member that I am sharing a room with when they join me on that Sunday?

So confused!!

I'm not sure I quite understand what you're asking, but I'll try to help ,

First I want to say that even though your 2 ressies are linked, you still have to check in/check out/check in again. Having them linked is a way of telling the CM at check in that you have a continuing reservation and want to keep the same room. But you will still have to check in for the 2nd ressie and get new KTTW cards.

1. If you're asking if you can have 2 reservations with one starting during free dining and the other starting after free dining has ended and have free dining carry through the second ressie.....the answer is no. If your check in date is at least by the last day of the promo, free dining will continue for the entire trip IF it's all one ressie. But if it's 2 separate ressies and the first one starts on or before the last day of free dining and the second one starts after free dining has ended, you will not have free dining for the second ressie, regardless of them being linked.

2. Everyone on the reservation must have the same package components for the same length of time. You cannot split it up and only have certain people have dining for only so many nights and others for a longer time.

3. If you have free dining and a family member joins you in the same room, that person will have free dining as well.....but they will have it for the entire time as well as have to have the same park tickets.

Hopefully I've helped a little .

 

[okstate_angel]

Even if the 2nd portion of your trip was in the free dining period, I believe you'd have to purchase an additional 2 days worth of park tickets as well to qualify for free dining. (rather than just extending the tickets from the first stay)

 

[robinb]

If you want your family member to have free dining when she arrives, I think you need one reservation (and not two) and you have to add her to your reservation from the start. You will want to buy passes with the number of days she needs and then you can upgrade your pass to the number of days you need. You will have extra meals to use once she gets there. The only downside is that Disney may require your family member to physically be there with you at check-in.

 

[staceyhzoo]

Not all members have to be there at check in. Unless this has changed since last year.

Last Oct during FD we checked in on 10/2, my grandmother joined us on 10/6 and we already had her KTTW card.

 

[aubriee]

I start the first part of my upcoming vacation during one of the possible FD weeks. If this is true, it would be great & save me about $200+. After the first 5 days, I start another package when my brother & sister join me. Disney has linked my two trips together (according to my AAA TA), to avoid having to check in/out/in/out of one of the 2 rooms.

The others addressed your other issues, but I just wanted to address this one. Just because the ressies are linked does not guarantee you will be able to stay in the same room. One year because of the way the AP discounts fell I had to do two ressies at CSR. When I first made the ressie, I asked the CM to link them so I wouldn't have to change rooms. When I checked in I again asked and was told they couldn't guarantee anything. Sure enough when I checked back in the next morning for my second ressie, I had to switch rooms. Also I know MissyTara who posts on here alot has had to change rooms over at PORS when she had to do a split stay there because of the way some discount fell.

There is no reason to be confused. Each reservation must stand on it's own as far as meeting requirments for a specific discount. It doesn't matter if it's in two different resorts or the same resort, Disney does not recognize split stays. To them they are two different ressies which each stand alone and the requirement for each discount must fall within that ressie's dates. Also if park tickets (and/or that $99.00 Memory book) are required for a promotion then you would have to buy park tickets and the memeory book for each stay to fill that requirement. If the last date for free dining falls before the second stay starts, you would not qualify for it for the second ressie. The CM may link them in the system so that the room assigner knows that you want to stay in the same room, but they are still two separate reservations with different confirmation numbers and each ressie must meet the requirements for its' dates.

In fact, with the computer now making room assignements I wonder how that will work as far as being able to keep the same room?

 

[BrerMama]

Just have to add that doing two consecutive packages -- with or without free dining -- doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You have to buy tickets for each package, and the first day of tickets is the most expensive. It would make far more sense to do the second as a room only (with your relatives), buying a ticket during your first package that would cover the entire trip. Have your relatives buy their tickets separately. The only reason I can think for doing two packages would be to take advantage of the dining plan and you'd have to really price it out to be sure that the dining plan is a deal vs. out of pocket.

I don't know how to handle it to get free dining for everyone, but what it looks like is you'll get free dining for the solo portion. You won't get it when your relatives arrive unless they manage to arrived during free dining dates. Either way, if you're doing two separate package, you'll end up buying tickets twice.