Free Dining 2014 Discussion ~ Part 2

[Momof626x3]

I was worried after reading that Pop was selling out so I just called...and I was able to book two preferred rooms for our family of 5 at Pop from Sept. 9-18 with free QS dining! So excited! Rooms are still available...don't give up hope!

 

[TNDisneyNut]

Its is and it isn't. Still less than what we would have pd at POFQ without free dining. I'm convinced.... DH not so much

turning into a Disney fanatic

I've done POFQ and WL and love both, but between the other mods and WL it's no contest. Room wise, I don't think you get much of an upgrade for the price, but the more tranquil atmosphere and location are worth it to me! I love being able to come back from the parks and not have to walk so far to get around. Every night we spent on the lake beach watching the electric parade. We rode the boats on the lake and the bikes over to FW to see all the animals. It was like a vacation within a vacation. It looks and feels like a lodge, but you're in the middle of the Disney magic! (Can you tell I love WL?).

 

[Smurfgirl]

What room discount t did you get at POFQ

I got 20% off.

 

[bolz296]

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.

Do you by any chance know this manager's name? This is actually the exact problem I've been having except I did order mine weeks ago and they can confirm it was mailed Monday and I still haven't received it. I called for probably the 5th time today fearful I won't get it in time. They transferred me to a disney chase related woman who told me there was nothing she could do and that unless I received the email with the code that I wasn't eligible. I told her that she was incorrect and it's open to all visa holders as long as they had their card info. She was very rude and said in sorry, I can not help you. I'm actually very frustrated with Chase right now. Maybe if I have the name of the person you dealt with, she's be willing to spread some more magic!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Someone tell me that the QS plan is awesome and I don't need to upgrade.

It's ~$415 to upgrade to the regular plan for our family from a value (which is still cheaper than booking a mod) and a part of me just wants to be frugal and save the $415 for other things.

It will be myself, husband, 16 year old sister, 7 year old son, 3 year old daughter and 15 month old daughter.

With the QS plan, we can still keep one or two of our ADRs, but we won't have to be tied down every day which makes it a lot easier to just take it easy and do what we want to do... especially with the younger kids.

But then a part of me really thinks I'll miss doing the character meals, etc.

AHHH planning a trip is so difficult sometimes! But so fun!

 

[mkacar24]

I know this has probably been asked, and I am sorry to ask again but I can't find the answer. My brother has a reservation booked for the same time as us, but no Disney Visa. Can I call with his reservation number and add the dining by putting $200 on my Disney Visa?

He is at POP and I am concerned about them running out before the general public offer starts.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I know this has probably been asked, and I am sorry to ask again but I can't find the answer. My brother has a reservation booked for the same time as us, but no Disney Visa. Can I call with his reservation number and add the dining by putting $200 on my Disney Visa? He is at POP and I am concerned about them running out before the general public offer starts.

Yes u can!

 

[NokOnHarts]

Someone tell me that the QS plan is awesome and I don't need to upgrade.

It's ~$415 to upgrade to the regular plan for our family from a value (which is still cheaper than booking a mod) and a part of me just wants to be frugal and save the $415 for other things.

It will be myself, husband, 16 year old sister, 7 year old son, 3 year old daughter and 15 month old daughter.

With the QS plan, we can still keep one or two of our ADRs, but we won't have to be tied down every day which makes it a lot easier to just take it easy and do what we want to do... especially with the younger kids.

But then a part of me really thinks I'll miss doing the character meals, etc.

AHHH planning a trip is so difficult sometimes! But so fun!

We've done the dining plan 3 times now (twice with free dining) and only one time was the regular dining plan, the other 2 were QS. I think the age of the children is a huge part of the decision (especially now with having to make FP+ ressies, etc), it gets to be a lot of planning for young kids who aren't always able to stick to the touring plan for the day. I personally think the QS is a great option! You don't have to worry about being penalized for canceling dining plans last minute, either. The times we have done QS is when our kids were real small and we wanted to be able to change up plans easily. My youngest will be almost 3 this time, so we will be doing a split stay with FD - getting in our character meals with FD and then doing a room only reservation so we can have some days with just counter service OOP and more "freedom." We have loved the QS plan and think its a great option (especially when it's free.) Throw in a character meal or 2 and you get the best of both worlds. With the ages of your kids, I think it's a great way to go.

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

I know this has probably been asked, and I am sorry to ask again but I can't find the answer. My brother has a reservation booked for the same time as us, but no Disney Visa. Can I call with his reservation number and add the dining by putting $200 on my Disney Visa?

He is at POP and I am concerned about them running out before the general public offer starts.

Yes, you can! Disney treats each one (Disney Visa FD and GP FD) as two different promotions, so more rooms should open up at Pop if they happen to sell out with the Visa offer.

 

[Dawn Dis]

I've done POFQ and WL and love both, but between the other mods and WL it's no contest. Room wise, I don't think you get much of an upgrade for the price, but the more tranquil atmosphere and location are worth it to me! I love being able to come back from the parks and not have to walk so far to get around. Every night we spent on the lake beach watching the electric parade. We rode the boats on the lake and the bikes over to FW to see all the animals. It was like a vacation within a vacation. It looks and feels like a lodge, but you're in the middle of the Disney magic! (Can you tell I love WL?).

Thanks but its CBR for us. DH SD next trip either WL or AKL. Something to look forward to.

turning into a Disney fanatic

 

[My2Kidzmom]

Someone tell me that the QS plan is awesome and I don't need to upgrade.

It's ~$415 to upgrade to the regular plan for our family from a value (which is still cheaper than booking a mod) and a part of me just wants to be frugal and save the $415 for other things.

It will be myself, husband, 16 year old sister, 7 year old son, 3 year old daughter and 15 month old daughter.

With the QS plan, we can still keep one or two of our ADRs, but we won't have to be tied down every day which makes it a lot easier to just take it easy and do what we want to do... especially with the younger kids.

But then a part of me really thinks I'll miss doing the character meals, etc.

AHHH planning a trip is so difficult sometimes! But so fun!

We've done the dining plan 3 times now (twice with free dining) and only one time was the regular dining plan, the other 2 were QS. I think the age of the children is a huge part of the decision (especially now with having to make FP+ ressies, etc), it gets to be a lot of planning for young kids who aren't always able to stick to the touring plan for the day. I personally think the QS is a great option! You don't have to worry about being penalized for canceling dining plans last minute, either. The times we have done QS is when our kids were real small and we wanted to be able to change up plans easily. My youngest will be almost 3 this time, so we will be doing a split stay with FD - getting in our character meals with FD and then doing a room only reservation so we can have some days with just counter service OOP and more "freedom." We have loved the QS plan and think its a great option (especially when it's free.) Throw in a character meal or 2 and you get the best of both worlds. With the ages of your kids, I think it's a great way to go.

I second everything just said. QS is great & flexible. Add a character meal or two OOP and it's a fun, stress free trip.

 

[CalSea12]

Someone tell me that the QS plan is awesome and I don't need to upgrade.

It's ~$415 to upgrade to the regular plan for our family from a value (which is still cheaper than booking a mod) and a part of me just wants to be frugal and save the $415 for other things.

It will be myself, husband, 16 year old sister, 7 year old son, 3 year old daughter and 15 month old daughter.

With the QS plan, we can still keep one or two of our ADRs, but we won't have to be tied down every day which makes it a lot easier to just take it easy and do what we want to do... especially with the younger kids.

But then a part of me really thinks I'll miss doing the character meals, etc.

AHHH planning a trip is so difficult sometimes! But so fun!

Honestly I think it would be worth it to upgrade, so you at least have that one table credit a day. Character meals are a lot of fun, and add to the ambiance of Disney.

Personally I need the DxDP even, last trip in November my DH want to try the regular DP and I was miserable. I told him never again, I need my DxDP. Lol

 

[Aubrav]

But really, if it's $415 to upgrade, and you just want to do a couple of character meals, wouldn't it make more sense to take the QS dining plan for free, and then pay for the couple of meals OOP? As long as they didn't add up to more than $415 of course.

 

[jennthompson111]

Don't be surprised if its not midnight. It likely will be 6am (that's when you can do dining reservations for 180+10 days out), or another time during the night that the special offers are updated on the Disney website to allow you to book FD.

I just called today to cancel my existing reservation so I can book online when the GP release comes out. The CM I spoke with seemed very knowledgeable about the free dining promo. I told him I would be rebooking when I saw what was available next week. He told me to be sure to start trying online around 6am or to call right at 7 if I couldn't get it to come up online. Just wanted to let anyone else wondering know what I was told

 

[SPOERLX3]

We've done the dining plan 3 times now (twice with free dining) and only one time was the regular dining plan, the other 2 were QS. I think the age of the children is a huge part of the decision (especially now with having to make FP+ ressies, etc), it gets to be a lot of planning for young kids who aren't always able to stick to the touring plan for the day. I personally think the QS is a great option! You don't have to worry about being penalized for canceling dining plans last minute, either. The times we have done QS is when our kids were real small and we wanted to be able to change up plans easily. My youngest will be almost 3 this time, so we will be doing a split stay with FD - getting in our character meals with FD and then doing a room only reservation so we can have some days with just counter service OOP and more "freedom." We have loved the QS plan and think its a great option (especially when it's free.) Throw in a character meal or 2 and you get the best of both worlds. With the ages of your kids, I think it's a great way to go.

We had done the DP every trip until the last one when we took the 3 of our 9 grandkids that were all turning 11. We thought it would just be too much to try and stay on a schedule with 3 kiddo's. We absolutely LOVED the QSDP!!! and we will be going with the QSDP again this year. It was so nice just to stop and eat when we wanted to instead of being on a schedule around a restaurant reservation. On the DP we found ourselves missing out on rides/shows trying to make sure we weren't late to a reservation and needing to check in 10-15 min early and having a sit down meal took us out of the parks for about and hour and 45 min-2 hours. We will have a character meal that we will pay OOP but saving the money on tips alone on the DP is a savings of another couple of hundred dollars or more. Whichever you choose, will be great!

 

[Ava]

Don't know if you all know the answer to this or not, but maybe someone can at least point me in the right direction.

I'm considering upgrading my 5yo to the adult DDP. I know I'll have to pay for an adult park ticket for her as well, but what about her MNSSHP ticket? Will she need an adult ticket for that too so all her tickets "match" or can I buy her a child's ticket since she is actually in the child age range? Has anyone run into this before? The price difference isn't much but I don't want to spend $ I don't need to spend.

 

[tinklvsu]

Don't know if you all know the answer to this or not, but maybe someone can at least point me in the right direction. I'm considering upgrading my 5yo to the adult DDP. I know I'll have to pay for an adult park ticket for her as well, but what about her MNSSHP ticket? Will she need an adult ticket for that too so all her tickets "match" or can I buy her a child's ticket since she is actually in the child age range? Has anyone run into this before? The price difference isn't much but I don't want to spend $ I don't need to spend.

I believe you can list her as 10, for the adult dining, but 10 is still a child for tickets... Both your package tickets and MNSSHP

 

[StarDreamer]

Someone tell me that the QS plan is awesome and I don't need to upgrade. It's ~$415 to upgrade to the regular plan for our family from a value (which is still cheaper than booking a mod) and a part of me just wants to be frugal and save the $415 for other things. It will be myself, husband, 16 year old sister, 7 year old son, 3 year old daughter and 15 month old daughter. With the QS plan, we can still keep one or two of our ADRs, but we won't have to be tied down every day which makes it a lot easier to just take it easy and do what we want to do... especially with the younger kids. But then a part of me really thinks I'll miss doing the character meals, etc. AHHH planning a trip is so difficult sometimes! But so fun!

I had/have the same dilemma. I'd love the convenience and savings of quick service, but I'd also love air conditioning and seeing characters dining instead of in line at the park. It's my girls' first trip, so the characters made me decide to upgrade.

 

[TanJDis2014]

How quickly does All Star Sports fill up? DB and his GF want to go with her DD and they want Sports. However they probably can't book until later in the week (not Wednesday with the rest of us). Will they still have a shot at Sports?

I have a room at Sports already booked, I'm worried I won't be able to add on he FD on Wed. I figured Sports wouldn't fill up.getting nervous.

 

[andrewilley]

I have a room at Sports already booked, I'm worried I won't be able to add on he FD on Wed. I figured Sports wouldn't fill up.getting nervous.

Technically you won't be "adding" free dining to your old booking, you'll initially be making a new booking and then cancelling the old one (although they'll probably be able to keep your existing reservation number).

Thus you may find you end up getting a different room category at some resorts, or even a whole new resort, to take advantage of the offer.

So what you have provisionally booked is really of no relevance at all. Quite the opposite in fact, as if a lot of people have already made provisional bookings at any given resort, or for a particular room category, then that will have used up a lot of the available room inventory which might otherwise have been assigned to the free dining offer if Disney felt it wasn't selling well.

I suspect that will have been partly the reason that POR and POFQ are not included; Disney saw that bookings there are already very healthy, so from a commercial point of view why give out freebies when they apparently don't need to?

Andre