free dining and deluxe resorts

[LovinPooh]

Last year I booked the FD and it had to go with a moderate resort. Do you have to do moderate resort? Or can you just pay the room differnce for deluxe?

 

[plutolovr]

As long as there are rooms available for Free Dining at the Deluxes you can book them. Meaning each resort has a limited inventory of rooms that can be booked with Free Dining.

 

[catne]

before you book a deluxe room to get free dining, you might want to see what other discounts are available. Quite often, the room discounts at delxue rooms are worth far more than the Free Dining (so you get the room at reduced rates and get a package with tickets & dining.)

for example, if hubby & I want a deluxe room that is $350 a night and we can can get a 35% discount on the room, that would save us $122.50 per night...free dining for 2 adults is well under $100 per night so getting the room discount & paying for the dining plan would save us more money.

So your best bet is "do the math" for all discounts...general rule of thumb is at moderate resort the free dining is a bigger discount, but at Deluxe resort, it's usually better to get a room discount package instead.

 

[poppy jalopy]

In Sept. of 2010 family of six, 4 adults 2 children 5 & 3 booked a 2 br villa at the Beach Club using the 20% AAA discount. Subsequently promotions opened for 40% off villas or free dining. When my AAA agent attempted to take advantage of these promotions she was told there are no 2 br vilas available in the program at Beach Club. so the choice was keep the res at 20% or change location to Key West Or Saratoga. At that time a $100.00 difference. So I kept Beach Club.
This year for a March 2012 res made at Beach Club prior to rate change, was then unable to use AAA 20 % disc. when new rates were announced. AAA agent was told that no 2 br Villas are Available other than a limited number at Key West or Saratoga, So 6 nights at Key West with 6 day ph plus dining w/AAA disc. $7010.00 vs $9533.00 at Beach Club w/ no disc. Will wait for any other promotional rate, but now I have a firm Res. at a decent price.

 

[aubriee]

before you book a deluxe room to get free dining, you might want to see what other discounts are available. Quite often, the room discounts at delxue rooms are worth far more than the Free Dining (so you get the room at reduced rates and get a package with tickets & dining.)

for example, if hubby & I want a deluxe room that is $350 a night and we can can get a 35% discount on the room, that would save us $122.50 per night...free dining for 2 adults is well under $100 per night so getting the room discount & paying for the dining plan would save us more money.

So your best bet is "do the math" for all discounts...general rule of thumb is at moderate resort the free dining is a bigger discount, but at Deluxe resort, it's usually better to get a room discount package instead.

True, plus don't forget that in addition to paying rack rate and having to buy two day park tickets for everyone in the room, this year they are also requiring you to buy a $99.00 Memory book in order to get free dining. For me as a solo or even as a couple (if my husband decides to go), the room discounts easily beat free dining. We don't have to spend an extra $340.00 on tickets we don't need or an extra $99.00 for a stupid Memory book we don't want, plus with my AP we can usually get 35% off moderates and 40% off deluxes room rates. No way free dining is even close.