Free Dining 2014 Discussion

[mouserrificmom]

Thank you! Hopefully they'll let me book them all at one time. That would make my life SO much easier! Is there a penalty if you change a bounceback? My husband and I are currently booked with a bounceback but I thought I might have to cancel it and book a new package when I book the other 3 rooms we'll need (for the rest of our party) with the Visa offer. Does anyone know how they handle that?

I don't think there is a penalty per se, but any changes made need to fall under the terms of the bounce back. You should be able to cancel it and book a new reservation all together

 

[EveClark]

I wouldn't count on what you see on the website as being gospel on what will and won't be available. Often times things go missing when they are making changes to the site. If you absolutely want a garden view CR room, you were right to book it to hold it. It is true that if there is not FD availability for that particular room category, you will not be able to get the free dining, but it is very likely that a room only discount could become available which may yield similar savings because you are in a deluxe hotel. Room discounts in the deluxe category are usually very good - they cost more AND get greater percentages off which can tip the balance in favor of the RO discounts. For us, it seems no matter where we stay, FD works best because we are a family of 5, and the 'children' are all 'Disney adults' in terms of ticket and dining prices. There is so much variability when it comes to FD.

What I am trying to say is don't panic!! Run numbers on a few scenarios, and find what fits best for your family! You'll be going to DISNEY!! And Mickey will take care of you one way or another

Thank you!
I will cross my fingers and hope FD works out and if not, then I'll see what RO discounts may be available. Hopefully those will come out soon as well. I'm sure there is someway I can make it all work out
Thanks again!

 

[EveClark]

I think CaraMiaBelle said it best: "If you have your heart set on FD, be prepared to be flexible. If have your heart set on a specific date and/or resort, be prepared to go without FD."

Each resort and each room category that are not already excluded have certain allotments for FD and if those rooms are booked without it, there is no rooms to give FD too. This is why there are certain resorts that are not excluded but within that resort there are room categories that are excluded.

As mouserrificmom stated IF a RO discount comes out definitely try to have that applied to your reservation (I am not exactly sure if the allotment/stipulations are the same as FD). It is definitely worth a try and "Room discounts in the deluxe category are usually very good - they cost more AND get greater percentages off which can tip the balance in favor of the RO discounts."

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks!!
I appreciate all the help! I'll have a couple of back up plans in case things don't work out. This thread has been so, so helpful... I'll be better prepared if we takes trips in the future!

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

Thank you! Hopefully they'll let me book them all at one time. That would make my life SO much easier!



Is there a penalty if you change a bounceback? My husband and I are currently booked with a bounceback but I thought I might have to cancel it and book a new package when I book the other 3 rooms we'll need (for the rest of our party) with the Visa offer. Does anyone know how they handle that?

We just rebooked a bounceback offer and only had to pay a change fee (like $50) but we were not booking multiple rooms.

 

[Haneyman]

For those ages, I would recommend POP. With AoA a short walk across the bridge, you get double the food choices, double the resort shopping and tons of great photo ops. This year will be our 6th year in a row at POP (my kids are 9 and 11), and we all absolutely love it. The transportation is great there, too.

My kids grew up at POP and they still love it. I will say that out of all the places we have stayed- POP does have the best buses.

 

[youngoddessa]

We are headed to POP, Oct 22-29. 1st family vacation to WDW. Family of 4. Kids, 13/4. Hoping for FD. I make my ADRs next week and am soooo excited about the whole trip. FD would be fabulous! We were thinking if its offered to jump to a moderate, but easy transportation comes first. We are all really tall and its a hard choice with the mods having queen beds.

 

[plutospalforever]

We are headed to POP, Oct 22-29. 1st family vacation to WDW. Family of 4. Kids, 13/4. Hoping for FD. I make my ADRs next week and am soooo excited about the whole trip. FD would be fabulous! We were thinking if its offered to jump to a moderate, but easy transportation comes first. We are all really tall and its a hard choice with the mods having queen beds.

Hello and
Just so you are not surprised in case you do switch to a mod, the two Port Orleans resorts have queen beds and CSR, but not CBR But wherever you chose to stay, your adventure will be magical!

 

[g3pak]

Hello and Just so you are not surprised in case you do switch to a mod, only the two Port Orleans resorts have queen beds. But wherever you chose to stay, your adventure will be magical!

CSR also has queen beds, right?

 

[plutospalforever]

CSR also has queen beds, right?

Yep! Thanks!

Every time I see your post I picture you speaking like Sheldon.

 

[mandis77]

Think there is any chance they'll throw us a bone and release all the free dining dates for the rest of 2014? This waiting is driving me crazy, I just want to get plans in place! I'd prefer November/December, but could be swayed to move to September. My fear is I wait, hoping for November or December FD, and then miss out on September in the process, because we really could go any of those months.

I mean, unlikely....but that would make life SO much easier!

I hear ya! We go Oct 1 and looks like there is a slight (albeit unlikely) chance it will be included in the first round. So I am impatiently waiting for next week....

 

[wendybeth75]

O.K. I'm going to be the different one here and say, for your girls' ages and celebrations, POR-R with the upgrade to a royal (princess) room. In fact that is what i recommended to my sister who is leaving next Tuesday to celebrate her daughter's 6th bday. I think your girls would like it as well as a mermaid room at AoA, there's plenty of princess stuff in the room. I wish i could stay in one myself but no room for 5 there. : ( I love POR, it is more laid back than the values which works for our family, without losing the Disney charm. Some like more obvious Disney icons so it just a matter of preference there. I also like the more comfortable beds myself. And the boat ride to DTD which may be convenient if you do BBB for your girls there.
I did stay at a Cars suite at AoA, but although the extra room was nice, I still like POR better.
Good luck with your decision! To be honest, I'm sure you will be happy with whichever resort you choose. Happy planning!

I have to agree with you! We love POR! Also you wouldn't have to Upgrade in order to do the Table service meals which you would have to do at a Value. The price would probably end up being close by the time you upgrade the dining plan.

 

[ivey_family]

I have a crowd level question regarding early December. Not sure anyone will have a solid answer, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

We did the first week of Dec. w/ FD in 2012, and although it was not at all unpleasant, the crowds were a little higher than I'd imagined based on predicted numbers. I'm curious if that week was different in any way last year since it was excluded from FD?

We're going that same week this year. As much as we want FD, DH works for a company that administers benefits. Open enrollment means no vacation in Oct or Nov. So, I'm looking for "bright side" kind of thoughts like maybe even lower crowds than our last trip, even though we probably won't get FD. (Or a first ever PIN for us to cover those dates!)

Anyone there last year to give a report?
Regards,
C.

PS - We did consider moving later into December, but don't relish the idea of only days until Christmas when we'd get home, not to mention higher crowds and prices due to the Disney season.

 

[LGTD]

I have a crowd level question regarding early December. Not sure anyone will have a solid answer, but I thought I'd ask anyway. We did the first week of Dec. w/ FD in 2012, and although it was not at all unpleasant, the crowds were a little higher than I'd imagined based on predicted numbers. I'm curious if that week was different in any way last year since it was excluded from FD? We're going that same week this year. As much as we want FD, DH works for a company that administers benefits. Open enrollment means no vacation in Oct or Nov. So, I'm looking for "bright side" kind of thoughts like maybe even lower crowds than our last trip, even though we probably won't get FD. (Or a first ever PIN for us to cover those dates!) Anyone there last year to give a report? Regards, C. PS - We did consider moving later into December, but don't relish the idea of only days until Christmas when we'd get home, not to mention higher crowds and prices due to the Disney season.

. After winning a $10,000 Burger King sweepstakes that I specifically entered to be able to afford a trip to Disney we went Nov 30 - December 11, 2013. We were expecting low crowds based on touring plans crowd calendar and other websites and were surprised at how crowded it actually turned out to be. We had a great time and the Christmas decorations and mvmcp were awesome but the crowds surprised us. I think I should have suspected that with no free dining that the resorts must have been significantly booked. My new strategy will now be to follow the promotions and hope that is an indicator of lower crowds. If we can get free dining this year we are hoping to be able to go September 9 for a week.

 

[mrsap]

. After winning a $10,000 Burger King sweepstakes that I specifically entered to be able to afford a trip to Disney we went Nov 30 - December 11, 2013. We were expecting low crowds based on touring plans crowd calendar and other websites and were surprised at how crowded it actually turned out to be. We had a great time and the Christmas decorations and mvmcp were awesome but the crowds surprised us. I think I should have suspected that with no free dining that the resorts must have been significantly booked. My new strategy will now be to follow the promotions and hope that is an indicator of lower crowds. If we can get free dining this year we are hoping to be able to go September 9 for a week.

I have to agree... We always go the week of and after Thanksgiving. Last year, we went to MK on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and it was SSOOO crowded... We lasted less than 2 hours and left. We went every day from Sunday on, thinking slowly the crowd would subside. It did but not by much. We couldn't believe the size of the lines. Definitely the most crowded in a long time for the first week of December. People I spoke to thought it was because of a late Thanksgiving. I hope they are a little lighter this year. Let's keep our fingers crossed!!!!!!

 

[martinmont]

Question, are RO discount dates usually the same with free dining? Same blacoit dates etc?

 

[FrugalFashionista]

Question, are RO discount dates usually the same with free dining? Same blacoit dates etc?

No they are usually slightly different.

 

[SPOERLX3]

I have a crowd level question regarding early December. Not sure anyone will have a solid answer, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

We did the first week of Dec. w/ FD in 2012, and although it was not at all unpleasant, the crowds were a little higher than I'd imagined based on predicted numbers. I'm curious if that week was different in any way last year since it was excluded from FD?

We're going that same week this year. As much as we want FD, DH works for a company that administers benefits. Open enrollment means no vacation in Oct or Nov. So, I'm looking for "bright side" kind of thoughts like maybe even lower crowds than our last trip, even though we probably won't get FD. (Or a first ever PIN for us to cover those dates!)

Anyone there last year to give a report?
Regards,
C.

PS - We did consider moving later into December, but don't relish the idea of only days until Christmas when we'd get home, not to mention higher crowds and prices due to the Disney season.

I wasn't there last year but if you have a subscription to touringplans they have all the historical crowd levels (a few years). They also show what they actual crowd levels were and how it compared to what they predicted. They also show average wait times for the rides and the peak times of day. If you don't have a subscription, it is $12.95 per year and you can also find coupon codes online that allows you to get it for under $10. It is really a wealth of knowledge. I have compared alot of the predictor websites and touringplans seems to be the most accurate. Hope this helps

 

[LGTD]

I wasn't there last year but if you have a subscription to touringplans they have all the historical crowd levels (a few years). They also show what they actual crowd levels were and how it compared to what they predicted. They also show average wait times for the rides and the peak times of day. If you don't have a subscription, it is $12.95 per year and you can also find coupon codes online that allows you to get it for under $10. It is really a wealth of knowledge. I have compared alot of the predictor websites and touringplans seems to be the most accurate. Hope this helps

I do like the touring plans and still pay for the yearly subscription. It is well worth the 10 bucks for all the info and their blog. Here is ,in their own words, a recap of the first week of Decmeber 2013.

"This year, crowds during the first week of December were at or below average but higher than we predicted. In some cases, much higher. We under-predicted every day by one or two index points. The first week of December is one of our favorite times of year to visit Walt Disney World. The crowds are usually below average, the parks and resorts are decorated for Christmas, but the fall heat has faded to a moderate temperature, perfect for touring. Given the levels hit this past week, it may be a sign that the first week of December is losing favor as a great time to visit, perhaps due to special events. The Christmas Day Parade taping at the Magic Kingdom brings hordes of visitors to Main Street, U.S.A., in early December, and the Pop Warner Football Championship brings thousands of ‘tweens and their families to the value resorts. If you can avoid the impact of these events, then the festive atmosphere and cool temperatures may make the first week of December a favorite for your family."

 

[ivey_family]

I have to agree... We always go the week of and after Thanksgiving. Last year, we went to MK on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and it was SSOOO crowded... We lasted less than 2 hours and left. We went every day from Sunday on, thinking slowly the crowd would subside. It did but not by much. We couldn't believe the size of the lines. Definitely the most crowded in a long time for the first week of December. People I spoke to thought it was because of a late Thanksgiving. I hope they are a little lighter this year. Let's keep our fingers crossed!!!!!!

That would be a slight bummer to have higher crowds than 2012! Oh, well, we'll still be at Disney! It never dawned on me that they may not have needed to offer FD that week last year due to booking levels. Since we had no trip planned, I avoided all the FD info and speculation last year.

I've never done TouringPlans, but might consider it this year. The ride times and FP+ issues are scaring me a little! I'm researching furiously to figure out our best strategies. I'm hoping the bugs are mostly worked out of the system by Dec!

Regards,
C.

 

[mrsap]

That would be a slight bummer to have higher crowds than 2012! Oh, well, we'll still be at Disney! It never dawned on me that they may not have needed to offer FD that week last year due to booking levels. Since we had no trip planned, I avoided all the FD info and speculation last year.

I've never done TouringPlans, but might consider it this year. The ride times and FP+ issues are scaring me a little! I'm researching furiously to figure out our best strategies. I'm hoping the bugs are mostly worked out of the system by Dec!

Regards,
C.

Hummm... just checked the dates for 2012, and Thanksgiving was Nov. 22nd - we did 14 days, but left Dec. 1st. The crowds that last week in November were great!! I agree with others that the late Thanksgiving may be to blame for the higher than expected crowds the first week of Dec. I had heard the week before Christmas is calm, but never been. We will still be there, crowds or not! Good luck deciding!