Free Dining 2014 Discussion ~ Part 3

[Dawn Dis]

WOW!!! She did it...My TA got me POFQ with FD for my dates for even less $$$$....I am through the roof excited!!!!! All of the ADRs I wanted are already booked!!! All my wishes have come true!!!! Can't wait to book FP+ that's all that is left....only 132 days left until Disney!!!!!

turning into a Disney fanatic

 

[camper06]

WOW!!! She did it...My TA got me POFQ with FD for my dates for even less $$$$....I am through the roof excited!!!!! All of the ADRs I wanted are already booked!!! All my wishes have come true!!!! Can't wait to book FP+ that's all that is left....only 132 days left until Disney!!!!!

turning into a Disney fanatic

Congratulations!!

 

[donp]

WOW!!! She did it...My TA got me POFQ with FD for my dates for even less $$$$....I am through the roof excited!!!!! All of the ADRs I wanted are already booked!!! All my wishes have come true!!!! Can't wait to book FP+ that's all that is left....only 132 days left until Disney!!!!! turning into a Disney fanatic

Great news!!

 

[merrittmom2]

Yes, you would just do RO from the 13-15th. The thing to keep in mind is that if you are booking a pirate room for the first 2 days, you will have to switch rooms on the 15th and you would not have FD those first 2 days, it would start with your package on the 15th. It's a pretty simple way to add more days if you need to, just be aware you won't be using FD credits on those first 2 days. We are doing a split stay with FD for the first part and then RO at the end of the trip so we can stay at the resort we had been wanting (POR). We will do our TS with our FD package and then just QS OOP with our RO reservation.

To get the free dining you must book a package with a hotel room at full rack rate for at least 3 nights and no more than 14 and buy at least a 2 day ticket. If you are a annual pass holder you can save that 2 day ticket for in the future. If by DVC you mean a vacation club member you can not use your points to qualify. If you meant Disney visa card it doesn't matter now because it is open to everyone.

Thank you both...we are going in the fall and in december. however, we will be using our DVC both times, so I guess no FD for us

Another question for future reference. If we are staying on at a resort and not using our points, can we do the FD, without buying a full package without buying tickets...we have AP's?

 

[mommycal]

WOW!!! She did it...My TA got me POFQ with FD for my dates for even less $$$$....I am through the roof excited!!!!! All of the ADRs I wanted are already booked!!! All my wishes have come true!!!! Can't wait to book FP+ that's all that is left....only 132 days left until Disney!!!!!

turning into a Disney fanatic

that's exciting! did you get a pin?

 

[WDW-A-RAMA]

I got a pin in my email last night that offered free dining, and POR was included! I didn't see it until 11:00, so I called first thing this morning. I was able to switch our three rooms at POP(booked through DV offer) to two rooms at POR with free dining for more days and at a lower cost! The only drawback is that I wasn't able to get two pool view rooms(due to a seemingly new or uninformed CM), so I got one pool view and one garden view. Does anyone have any idea if it will be possible to get these rooms in close proximity to each other via request, or is that something that is impossible given the type of room. So excited either way though!

 

[zabache]

I got a pin in my email last night that offered free dining, and POR was included! I didn't see it until 11:00, so I called first thing this morning. I was able to switch our three rooms at POP(booked through DV offer) to two rooms at POR with free dining for more days and at a lower cost! The only drawback is that I wasn't able to get two pool view rooms(due to a seemingly new or uninformed CM), so I got one pool view and one garden view. Does anyone have any idea if it will be possible to get these rooms in close proximity to each other via request, or is that something that is impossible given the type of room. So excited either way though!

What dates was the pin valid? I so wish I got one for POR.

 

[WDW-A-RAMA]

what dates was the pin valid? I so wish i got one for por.

8/25-10/3, 10/19-11/1, 11/9-11/22, 12/12-12/23

 

[Dawn Dis]

that's exciting! did you get a pin?

Yes it came to my email

turning into a Disney fanatic

 

[zabache]

8/25-10/3, 10/19-11/1, 11/9-11/22, 12/12-12/23

Just called and I have no pins

 

[aaarcher86]

Thank you both...we are going in the fall and in december. however, we will be using our DVC both times, so I guess no FD for us Another question for future reference. If we are staying on at a resort and not using our points, can we do the FD, without buying a full package without buying tickets...we have AP's?

No. It requires a 2 day ticket for everyone. You use them towards the cost of your renewal though.

 

[Nechville]

Just called and I have no pins

I made DH call this morning right away since he was working a night shift and we didn't either.
Do they come out in rounds or a slow trickle?
We are fine with how our trip turned out but it could be improved upon by getting rid of the split stay RO night (the day was included in the dates but sold out by the time we decided to add the day, and although at same resort, it is a different room category, increasing the chance we will have to change rooms, not to mention miss out on a day of free meals!). And I am totally fine staying at CSR again but would also go back to POFQ, or would like to try out Riverside, especially if they had a preferred room open!
Now I sound picky. Honestly, if the trip stays as booked, it's all good.

 

[WDW-A-RAMA]

I made DH call this morning right away since he was working a night shift and we didn't either. Do they come out in rounds or a slow trickle? We are fine with how our trip turned out but it could be improved upon by getting rid of the split stay RO night (the day was included in the dates but sold out by the time we decided to add the day, and although at same resort, it is a different room category, increasing the chance we will have to change rooms, not to mention miss out on a day of free meals!). And I am totally fine staying at CSR again but would also go back to POFQ, or would like to try out Riverside, especially if they had a preferred room open! Now I sound picky. Honestly, if the trip stays as booked, it's all good.

I was desperate for a pin last year. I signed up with multiple e-mail addresses on everything I could think of, I priced out trips and left them in my cart, I ordered the personalized maps, and I called every day, sometimes twice, but I still got nothing. This year, after I had already gotten free dining and booked at POP, I receive a pin. This is strange magic!

 

[Sunnyday3]

I was desperate for a pin last year. I signed up with multiple e-mail addresses on everything I could think of, I priced out trips and left them in my cart, I ordered the personalized maps, and I called every day, sometimes twice, but I still got nothing. This year, after I had already gotten free dining and booked at POP, I receive a pin. This is strange magic!

I thought that I'd never get a pin either. Here's what happened--I booked CBR with FD for our Nov 11-16 trip as soon as it was released to the general public. I called back later on 5/7 to switch to WL because of all the good reviews I read here. As I was talking to the CM, he said, "oh, you've got a pin here-let's price this to see what's better". Turns out the FD was a better deal, so we kept that deal. I never would have known if I didn't call.

 

[merrittmom2]

No. It requires a 2 day ticket for everyone. You use them towards the cost of your renewal though.

What do you mean use them towards the cost of the renewal??

 

[ToyStory3]

I called to ask about pins yesterday. Are they still coming out?

 

[aaarcher86]

What do you mean use them towards the cost of the renewal??

You can use the price you pay for the tickets towards the cost of the AP.

 

[aaarcher86]

I called to ask about pins yesterday. Are they still coming out?

They go out in waves so I'd give it a few weeks before calling again.

 

[lilsprstr]

We have been waiting for Free Dining to be announced. We booked at AoA for Sept. 8-12.

 

[ziravan]

Thanks for that.

I think the days of advanced notice for promos is coming to a close. With Disney possibly even going so far as to change dates to make all the internet rumors wrong, it could be doing a disservice to put them out there.

The goal is to be prepared for when the release day comes. Is it really THAT necessary to figure out what that day is? People call everyday anyway around the time when a promo is usually released. As long as everyone is prepared, when it happens you would know right at 7am when someone called to check.

All of these rumors on the internet may end up hurting more than helping. That's all I'm saying. I realize if I don't come here with info, someone else will....but maybe, just maybe no one should.

Am I making sense?

I strongly disagree.

1. They changed the date by one day. That's symbolic more than a practical deviation from their plans.

2. As the recent podcast discussed, this bit them on the rear in a few ways. It's bad press to 'fight the Internet". Also they didn't coordinate with Chase and that caused a mess. Plus, they jammed their phone lines for an unnecessary extra day.

3. The POR exclusion is likely because people didn't take your advice. Granted, not all prophets are heeded, but there is value in giving out the advice. In this case, your message will carry far more weight next year. "Remember what happened with POR last year!" will be a rally cry next year.

4. Most important, without your advice during the dark days of March and April, people would have given up, more would have taken the MM package, and less FD would be available now. There was and is great value in your constant refrain to be patient, it's coming. You had the voice to do that because of who you are.

I couldn't disagree with you more regarding the immense value that you bring to the board and to hundreds of families planning trips.