Free Dining 2014 Discussion ~ Part 2

[wdwmaw]

Should I upgrade to deluxe dining now or wait till I finalize my adr plans? We already applied the FD yesterday. I hope we won't lose it if we decide later.

It really is not important when you do it. I would finalize my plans first, it is easier to pay money to Disney than get a refund if you change your mind.

I would upgrade it if youo are going to... upgrade code is D255F. Its diff then the reg free dining code. That one doesnt allow you to upgrade to deluxe. I always make sure what i have is what i want now. I upgraded yesterday I wanted to get it done before the GP release

You don't need a code to call Disney Travel. Codes are for booking within the system and not for public use. Some CM are quick on the computer system and some are not, just be patient with the CM. Letting them know the code really doesn't help since they still have to move through the computer screens. GP release will have no impact on your ability to upgrade your dining, you will be able to upgrade your dining even after the promotional booking ends.

 

[bdillahu]

Any insight? We got DDP staying at CSR. Our ADRs include CRT and Crystal Palace so right off the bat we will deplete our TS and have some out of pocket dining costs. Is it worth it to upgrade to deluxe? We have 3 Disney adults and 1 child. Trying to crunch the numbers is making my head spin!

We always wind up not doing the park the day we get there (arrive late) nor day we leave (drive all day), but you get dining for each nights stay, so that gives us extra. Depending on how you eat, we wind up with extra. Even with some 2 credit meals, other days just a snack covers. We usually wind up with leftover credits.

At the start of the week I always say we'll run out, then at the end, can't eat that much

 

[wdwmaw]

Anyone can see their remaining balance on MDE?

No and I would not worry about it. This is very typical when a new promotion comes out, seems like it always take a few days for the system to cool down,

 

[fallen_angel727]

If pop is sold out for you visa card holders...I'm worried what that means for us GP people

 

[Grimlock34a]

Why is it showing no availability for 3rd week of September at CSR on the website? I mean not a single room. Are they holding them back for the general release?

There is a convention there 09/21 - 09/23.

Look at the csr thread for all known convention dates.

 

[kad153]

A story I thought some on here might appreciate as much (well almost as much) as we did...

We have 2 boys - 6 and 3, and with my 6 year old starting 1st grade we are falling into that bucket of needing to do summer vacations, or other expensive travel times, to avoid pulling our kids of out school. However, living in NJ, there is a week each year in early November where there is election day and the annual teacher's conference, and we can go away for 8-9 day vacations and only miss 2 days of school. That week isn't too big of a secret for Disney World though, so getting free dining at that exact time is typically hard without a pin code...and cheap flights are also difficult to come by when we need them.

Anyhow, this year we went back and forth flying to Disney Sat to Sat (Nov 1 - Nov 8) or Sun to Sun (Nov 2 - Nov 9), but eventually booked our flights Nov1 - Nov8 at really cheap prices (Jet Blue is the best), so I just knew there was no way free dining would also cooperate....until Joe posted those dates and wouldn't you know it Nov 1 was in (and everything else was out, so if I would have booked Nov2-9 I'd be really bummed out right now). Everything was perfect...the only issue was my Disney Visa card still hadn't arrived. And this is why I'm making this post.

I've been calling Chase for days now wondering where my card is..being promised rushed delivery, Saturday delivery, UPS delivery and just about everything else other than them giving me my card number over the phone (which they will not do under really any circumstances). I've probably spoken to at least 8 different people, and this is all shame on me anyway since I should have ordered this card weeks ago but didn't think ahead and waited too long. So called one more time again today and was told my card should be arriving at the middle to end of next week, right around the time this offer would be open to the public and I wouldn't need the card anymore. I'd basically given up hope and was preparing to wake up really early Wed morning ...and that's when it happened. I got a wonderful chase supervisor on the phone that understood Disney, free dining, and was in the mood to make a customer's day. So what did she do? She could not give me my credit card number...but she did take down all my reservation info and everything else about our trip, along with my phone number, and told me she would call me back in 30 minutes. Then she called her Disney rep on my behalf, confirmed I was a Disney Visa card holder, gave the merchant my card number for my deposit (which I still don't know), and then conferenced me back in for Disney to tell me I'm all set with free dining on my reservation this November.

Now I can guarantee this isn't part of their normal process, but this Chase manager told me she wanted to give me some "magic" today, and "spread some pixie dust" (to be honest she sounded more like a Disney rep than the Disney rep on the phone did)...and calling downstairs to tell my wife we got absolutely everything we thought was a long shot but were hoping for was just an amazing feeling. Those Chase Disney people have a customer for life.

I hope your day is as good as ours is. Good luck to everyone else out there.

 

[wdwmaw]

That is amazing! POP always has rooms. I guess that is the result of excluding POR! Does anyone think they might eventually open POR to free dining? I would switch in a second.

This is my hope, I know I am dreaming here but you really just never know what Disney will do.

In the early years when FD first started POP was one of the first resorts sold out. Back then you got the regular dining plan and 2 rooms at POP was cheaper than one at POR so it was very POPular

 

[cassiejo2711]

How long are you staying? I honestly always think DxDP is a great option, especially if you plan to do two credit meals.

We are staying 5 nights. We get there in the evening so we will have that meal before DP starts. Have never had the DxDP before and it seemed like a lot to upgrade until I started adding things up. Ack! I think I'm making myself crazy!

 

[wdwmaw]

A story I thought some on here might appreciate as much (well almost as much) as we did...

We have 2 boys - 6 and 3, and with my 6 year old starting 1st grade we are falling into that bucket of needing to do summer vacations, or other expensive travel times, to avoid pulling our kids of out school. However, living in NJ, there is a week each year in early November where there is election day and the annual teacher's conference, and we can go away for 8-9 day vacations and only miss 2 days of school. That week isn't too big of a secret for Disney World though, so getting free dining at that exact time is typically hard without a pin code...and cheap flights are also difficult to come by when we need them.

Anyhow, this year we went back and forth flying to Disney Sat to Sat (Nov 1 - Nov 8) or Sun to Sun (Nov 2 - Nov 9), but eventually booked our flights Nov1 - Nov8 at really cheap prices (Jet Blue is the best), so I just knew there was no way free dining would also cooperate....until Joe posted those dates and wouldn't you know it Nov 1 was in (and everything else was out, so if I would have booked Nov2-9 I'd be really bummed out right now). Everything was perfect...the only issue was my Disney Visa card still hadn't arrived. And this is why I'm making this post.

I've been calling Chase for days now wondering where my card is..being promised rushed delivery, Saturday delivery, UPS delivery and just about everything else other than them giving me my card number over the phone (which they will not do under really any circumstances). I've probably spoken to at least 8 different people, and this is all shame on me anyway since I should have ordered this card weeks ago but didn't think ahead and waited too long. So called one more time again today and was told my card should be arriving at the middle to end of next week, right around the time this offer would be open to the public and I wouldn't need the card anymore. I'd basically given up hope and was preparing to wake up really early Wed morning ...and that's when it happened. I got a wonderful chase supervisor on the phone that understood Disney, free dining, and was in the mood to make a customer's day. So what did she do? She could not give me my credit card number...but she did take down all my reservation info and everything else about our trip, along with my phone number, and told me she would call me back in 30 minutes. Then she called her Disney rep on my behalf, confirmed I was a Disney Visa card holder, gave the merchant my card number for my deposit (which I still don't know), and then conferenced me back in for Disney to tell me I'm all set with free dining on my reservation this November.

Now I can guarantee this isn't part of their normal process, but this Chase manager told me she wanted to give me some "magic" today, and "spread some pixie dust" (to be honest she sounded more like a Disney rep than the Disney rep on the phone did)...and calling downstairs to tell my wife we got absolutely everything we thought was a long shot but were hoping for was just an amazing feeling. Those Chase Disney people have a customer for life.

I hope your day is as good as ours is. Good luck to everyone else out there.

Now that is some pixie dust

 

[mommyof3princess27]

A story I thought some on here might appreciate as much (well almost as much) as we did... We have 2 boys - 6 and 3, and with my 6 year old starting 1st grade we are falling into that bucket of needing to do summer vacations, or other expensive travel times, to avoid pulling our kids of out school. However, living in NJ, there is a week each year in early November where there is election day and the annual teacher's conference, and we can go away for 8-9 day vacations and only miss 2 days of school. That week isn't too big of a secret for Disney World though, so getting free dining at that exact time is typically hard without a pin code...and cheap flights are also difficult to come by when we need them. Anyhow, this year we went back and forth flying to Disney Sat to Sat (Nov 1 - Nov 8) or Sun to Sun (Nov 2 - Nov 9), but eventually booked our flights Nov1 - Nov8 at really cheap prices (Jet Blue is the best), so I just knew there was no way free dining would also cooperate....until Joe posted those dates and wouldn't you know it Nov 1 was in (and everything else was out, so if I would have booked Nov2-9 I'd be really bummed out right now). Everything was perfect...the only issue was my Disney Visa card still hadn't arrived. And this is why I'm making this post. I've been calling Chase for days now wondering where my card is..being promised rushed delivery, Saturday delivery, UPS delivery and just about everything else other than them giving me my card number over the phone (which they will not do under really any circumstances). I've probably spoken to at least 8 different people, and this is all shame on me anyway since I should have ordered this card weeks ago but didn't think ahead and waited too long. So called one more time again today and was told my card should be arriving at the middle to end of next week, right around the time this offer would be open to the public and I wouldn't need the card anymore. I'd basically given up hope and was preparing to wake up really early Wed morning ...and that's when it happened. I got a wonderful chase supervisor on the phone that understood Disney, free dining, and was in the mood to make a customer's day. So what did she do? She could not give me my credit card number...but she did take down all my reservation info and everything else about our trip, along with my phone number, and told me she would call me back in 30 minutes. Then she called her Disney rep on my behalf, confirmed I was a Disney Visa card holder, gave the merchant my card number for my deposit (which I still don't know), and then conferenced me back in for Disney to tell me I'm all set with free dining on my reservation this November. Now I can guarantee this isn't part of their normal process, but this Chase manager told me she wanted to give me some "magic" today, and "spread some pixie dust" (to be honest she sounded more like a Disney rep than the Disney rep on the phone did)...and calling downstairs to tell my wife we got absolutely everything we thought was a long shot but were hoping for was just an amazing feeling. Those Chase Disney people have a customer for life. I hope your day is as good as ours is. Good luck to everyone else out there.

Wow!!!! Congrats! Thats amazing!!

 

[TanJDis2014]

Living through everyone for tomorrow & hope
Everyone gets what they want. I can't wait until the 7th for GP. I somehow keep having the day off every year when it's available, I think my work knows or something. Lol

Thanks Black for everything!!!

So excited for everyone!
Do you know if we GP people can call at midnight on Tuesday? Online at midnight? Or will we need to do a 6 or 7am call on Wednesday morning?
Thnx

 

[wdwmaw]

And this is what I've been worried about. POP never has no availability.

Sept 6-20 can be booked on the Disney site at all levels at POP. When offers are released they offer so many rooms at a discounted price and that's it. Historically they will also offer rooms for the GP. Disney will also close booking for certain resorts to force people to book other resorts (all-stars or even moderates). As with other offers things can and usually change constantly during a promotion. Now is you try to book a rack rate room and all of those are gone, then you might have a problem. In that case rooms can still be found on the major travel sites.

 

[stephyamber]

We are staying 5 nights. We get there in the evening so we will have that meal before DP starts. Have never had the DxDP before and it seemed like a lot to upgrade until I started adding things up. Ack! I think I'm making myself crazy!

We are planning (if there are rooms left) To stay at POP and upgrade to deluxe dining. After adding up our OOP expenses for extra meals we want, it actually saves us almost $500! We are 2 adults, dd8 and ds2.

 

[wdwmaw]

So excited for everyone!
Do you know if we GP people can call at midnight on Tuesday? Online at midnight? Or will we need to do a 6 or 7am call on Wednesday morning?
Thnx

Call at 7am Online? Who knows as Disney has done everything from load discounts at midnight, through the night, or at 6am.

 

[cassiejo2711]

A story I thought some on here might appreciate as much (well almost as much) as we did...

We have 2 boys - 6 and 3, and with my 6 year old starting 1st grade we are falling into that bucket of needing to do summer vacations, or other expensive travel times, to avoid pulling our kids of out school. However, living in NJ, there is a week each year in early November where there is election day and the annual teacher's conference, and we can go away for 8-9 day vacations and only miss 2 days of school. That week isn't too big of a secret for Disney World though, so getting free dining at that exact time is typically hard without a pin code...and cheap flights are also difficult to come by when we need them.

Anyhow, this year we went back and forth flying to Disney Sat to Sat (Nov 1 - Nov 8) or Sun to Sun (Nov 2 - Nov 9), but eventually booked our flights Nov1 - Nov8 at really cheap prices (Jet Blue is the best), so I just knew there was no way free dining would also cooperate....until Joe posted those dates and wouldn't you know it Nov 1 was in (and everything else was out, so if I would have booked Nov2-9 I'd be really bummed out right now). Everything was perfect...the only issue was my Disney Visa card still hadn't arrived. And this is why I'm making this post.

I've been calling Chase for days now wondering where my card is..being promised rushed delivery, Saturday delivery, UPS delivery and just about everything else other than them giving me my card number over the phone (which they will not do under really any circumstances). I've probably spoken to at least 8 different people, and this is all shame on me anyway since I should have ordered this card weeks ago but didn't think ahead and waited too long. So called one more time again today and was told my card should be arriving at the middle to end of next week, right around the time this offer would be open to the public and I wouldn't need the card anymore. I'd basically given up hope and was preparing to wake up really early Wed morning ...and that's when it happened. I got a wonderful chase supervisor on the phone that understood Disney, free dining, and was in the mood to make a customer's day. So what did she do? She could not give me my credit card number...but she did take down all my reservation info and everything else about our trip, along with my phone number, and told me she would call me back in 30 minutes. Then she called her Disney rep on my behalf, confirmed I was a Disney Visa card holder, gave the merchant my card number for my deposit (which I still don't know), and then conferenced me back in for Disney to tell me I'm all set with free dining on my reservation this November.

Now I can guarantee this isn't part of their normal process, but this Chase manager told me she wanted to give me some "magic" today, and "spread some pixie dust" (to be honest she sounded more like a Disney rep than the Disney rep on the phone did)...and calling downstairs to tell my wife we got absolutely everything we thought was a long shot but were hoping for was just an amazing feeling. Those Chase Disney people have a customer for life.

I hope your day is as good as ours is. Good luck to everyone else out there.

That's awesome!!!

 

[LindseyLou2222]

A story I thought some on here might appreciate as much (well almost as much) as we did...

We have 2 boys - 6 and 3, and with my 6 year old starting 1st grade we are falling into that bucket of needing to do summer vacations, or other expensive travel times, to avoid pulling our kids of out school. However, living in NJ, there is a week each year in early November where there is election day and the annual teacher's conference, and we can go away for 8-9 day vacations and only miss 2 days of school. That week isn't too big of a secret for Disney World though, so getting free dining at that exact time is typically hard without a pin code...and cheap flights are also difficult to come by when we need them.

Anyhow, this year we went back and forth flying to Disney Sat to Sat (Nov 1 - Nov 8) or Sun to Sun (Nov 2 - Nov 9), but eventually booked our flights Nov1 - Nov8 at really cheap prices (Jet Blue is the best), so I just knew there was no way free dining would also cooperate....until Joe posted those dates and wouldn't you know it Nov 1 was in (and everything else was out, so if I would have booked Nov2-9 I'd be really bummed out right now). Everything was perfect...the only issue was my Disney Visa card still hadn't arrived. And this is why I'm making this post.

I've been calling Chase for days now wondering where my card is..being promised rushed delivery, Saturday delivery, UPS delivery and just about everything else other than them giving me my card number over the phone (which they will not do under really any circumstances). I've probably spoken to at least 8 different people, and this is all shame on me anyway since I should have ordered this card weeks ago but didn't think ahead and waited too long. So called one more time again today and was told my card should be arriving at the middle to end of next week, right around the time this offer would be open to the public and I wouldn't need the card anymore. I'd basically given up hope and was preparing to wake up really early Wed morning ...and that's when it happened. I got a wonderful chase supervisor on the phone that understood Disney, free dining, and was in the mood to make a customer's day. So what did she do? She could not give me my credit card number...but she did take down all my reservation info and everything else about our trip, along with my phone number, and told me she would call me back in 30 minutes. Then she called her Disney rep on my behalf, confirmed I was a Disney Visa card holder, gave the merchant my card number for my deposit (which I still don't know), and then conferenced me back in for Disney to tell me I'm all set with free dining on my reservation this November.

Now I can guarantee this isn't part of their normal process, but this Chase manager told me she wanted to give me some "magic" today, and "spread some pixie dust" (to be honest she sounded more like a Disney rep than the Disney rep on the phone did)...and calling downstairs to tell my wife we got absolutely everything we thought was a long shot but were hoping for was just an amazing feeling. Those Chase Disney people have a customer for life.

I hope your day is as good as ours is. Good luck to everyone else out there.

That's great!

 

[My2Kidzmom]

A story I thought some on here might appreciate as much (well almost as much) as we did...

We have 2 boys - 6 and 3, and with my 6 year old starting 1st grade we are falling into that bucket of needing to do summer vacations, or other expensive travel times, to avoid pulling our kids of out school. However, living in NJ, there is a week each year in early November where there is election day and the annual teacher's conference, and we can go away for 8-9 day vacations and only miss 2 days of school. That week isn't too big of a secret for Disney World though, so getting free dining at that exact time is typically hard without a pin code...and cheap flights are also difficult to come by when we need them.

Anyhow, this year we went back and forth flying to Disney Sat to Sat (Nov 1 - Nov 8) or Sun to Sun (Nov 2 - Nov 9), but eventually booked our flights Nov1 - Nov8 at really cheap prices (Jet Blue is the best), so I just knew there was no way free dining would also cooperate....until Joe posted those dates and wouldn't you know it Nov 1 was in (and everything else was out, so if I would have booked Nov2-9 I'd be really bummed out right now). Everything was perfect...the only issue was my Disney Visa card still hadn't arrived. And this is why I'm making this post.

I've been calling Chase for days now wondering where my card is..being promised rushed delivery, Saturday delivery, UPS delivery and just about everything else other than them giving me my card number over the phone (which they will not do under really any circumstances). I've probably spoken to at least 8 different people, and this is all shame on me anyway since I should have ordered this card weeks ago but didn't think ahead and waited too long. So called one more time again today and was told my card should be arriving at the middle to end of next week, right around the time this offer would be open to the public and I wouldn't need the card anymore. I'd basically given up hope and was preparing to wake up really early Wed morning ...and that's when it happened. I got a wonderful chase supervisor on the phone that understood Disney, free dining, and was in the mood to make a customer's day. So what did she do? She could not give me my credit card number...but she did take down all my reservation info and everything else about our trip, along with my phone number, and told me she would call me back in 30 minutes. Then she called her Disney rep on my behalf, confirmed I was a Disney Visa card holder, gave the merchant my card number for my deposit (which I still don't know), and then conferenced me back in for Disney to tell me I'm all set with free dining on my reservation this November.

Now I can guarantee this isn't part of their normal process, but this Chase manager told me she wanted to give me some "magic" today, and "spread some pixie dust" (to be honest she sounded more like a Disney rep than the Disney rep on the phone did)...and calling downstairs to tell my wife we got absolutely everything we thought was a long shot but were hoping for was just an amazing feeling. Those Chase Disney people have a customer for life.

I hope your day is as good as ours is. Good luck to everyone else out there.

Awesome!! Have an awesome trip!

 

[zabache]

FD isn't offered when you book through DVC, right?

 

[martinmont]

I would upgrade it if youo are going to... upgrade code is D255F. Its diff then the reg free dining code. That one doesnt allow you to upgrade to deluxe. I always make sure what i have is what i want now. I upgraded yesterday I wanted to get it done before the GP release

Ok, I ll finish my plans today, and call tomoro. As long as upgrade it before it's released to GP, it will be fine right, since we already have FD applied?

 

[lisafab]

Call at 7am Online? Who knows as Disney has done everything from load discounts at midnight, through the night, or at 6am.

My fingers are crossed for midnight! I'm in the UK and working a 12 hour shift meaning I can either book between midnight and 2am Orlando time or from 4pm. I'm convinced CBR will be sold out of standard rooms by then!

On another note - if I am lucky enough to get CBR which is actually my third choice and my first choice, POR gets released will it cost me to change? With UK WDTC there's only an amendment fee if your change will result in a cheaper booking. Is that the same with the US site?

Thanks