Free dining dates rumour...so stressed

[trixiemuffin]

Booking for free dining for Disney Visa Card holders started today. I just called and upgraded, my 3 reservations to free dining. I had to ask the cast member that was helping me to look for the promotion. When I ask, they told me they had seen nothing on free dining. I had booked 8 nights at POFQ starting Sept 14th several months back and had made my dining reservation at the 180 day out window. BTW, the dates are Sept 2-25th.

Actually, booking started on Monday for Disney Visa cardholders

 

[KNovacovschi]

no offense, because i think discounts are great and all...but i'd really love for disney to change their discounts...make them a little more random. I think too many people "expect" all these great discounts and upgrades...and then instead of being happy when they happen, get upset when they don't. We always plan full price for a trip, and then a discount becomes an added bonus.

I'm really not trying to be mean, or for anyone to be offended. I just think that sometimes we forget Disney is a business, and people who constantly "expect" disney to do all these magical things...makes it tougher for disney to do just that.

Our best trips have been special little extras...simple things...like a wave or comment from a parade character, playing hide-n-seek during a meet and greet, etc. The trouble is, it isn't magical or special when someone pushes in front of you, or complains about waiting 10 minutes in a line. OR abuses the current systems, etc.

Sorry. Rant over.

I agree with this. Last year we went in Oct and most of the week we were there it was blacked out. The Thursday of our trip it became available, I knew this prior to leaving but didn't bother switching. I hope for it but definitely don't book my trip based on it. It would be nice but not going to ruin my vacation if I don't get it.

 

[heidihoho50]

WhooHoo Just got a pin code for FREE DINING for November!!! So excited!!! Now I won't have to be a nervous wreck until July!! LOL

 

[mm1971]

WhooHoo Just got a pin code for FREE DINING for November!!! So excited!!! Now I won't have to be a nervous wreck until July!! LOL

Congratulations! We only got a room discount for our trip, but that is better than nothing since we were going regardless.

I have also heard from others that there are some PIN codes that are backing up the FD date this summer to 8/25. The announced 9/2-9/28 dates were already made public. For those where the travel dates are in August, keep an eye on your emails.

 

[Chkultr]

WhooHoo Just got a pin code for FREE DINING for November!!! So excited!!! Now I won't have to be a nervous wreck until July!! LOL

I am hoping for a pin code as well!

 

[skier_pete]

Congratulations! We only got a room discount for our trip, but that is better than nothing since we were going regardless.

I have also heard from others that there are some PIN codes that are backing up the FD date this summer to 8/25. The announced 9/2-9/28 dates were already made public. For those where the travel dates are in August, keep an eye on your emails.

True - for those that didnt see it on other threads:

Hello again D***** Family,

Since you’ve been here before, we wanted to make it easy for you to come back and see us again. That’s why we’re serving up this scrumptious special offer! We’re even giving you lots of dates to choose from. It's the perfect way to enjoy a trip right before school starts!

You can receive FREE DINING when you purchase a non-discounted 5-night/5-day Walt Disney Travel Company room and ticket package at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels!

For arrivals most nights 8/25–10/2/13,
10/18–10/31/13, 11/11–11/23/13,
11/30–12/4/13 and 12/15–12/22/13.

Book by 8/14/13.
The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. Tickets are valid for one Theme Park per day and must be used within 14 days of first use.
See Important Details below

or call 407-939-1810 or your Travel Agent.
Be sure to mention your unique
PIN: *************

Disney Resort hotels can fill up fast...especially with offers like this. So book your stay today!

For those of us holding out hope for late-fall free dining, this is a good sign. Their has only ever been ONE year where they have had targeted free dining (PIN and Disney Visa) and NOT general public Free Dining during that time. I believe it was 2008.

 

[EllieBride]

Hello. Can someone please share what a PIN code is, or how you find one? I have Disney Visa and have been thinking about booking a trip for mid-November, but have been waiting to see what kind of discounts might be offered.

Any thoughts on whether it makes sense to book a room-only reservation now, and then ask for an upgrade later on if a discount is offered? Thanks!

 

[skier_pete]

Hello. Can someone please share what a PIN code is, or how you find one? I have Disney Visa and have been thinking about booking a trip for mid-November, but have been waiting to see what kind of discounts might be offered.

Any thoughts on whether it makes sense to book a room-only reservation now, and then ask for an upgrade later on if a discount is offered? Thanks!

A PIN is basically a code that is mailed/e-mailed directly to you and is coded to you/your household. These are often sent out by Disney prior to General Public discounts and are sometimes (but not always) better than the General Public discounts.

There is no sure fire way to get on the list to get a code. The only way I've ever heard that worked (at one pont) was to order a Disney Parks DVD to a name/address that isn't in the Disney system. However, we tried that and it didn't work for us. In my case, a friend of ours accompanied us 6 years ago and has never been back since. They keep getting codes sent to them, but not to us. This year Disney let me use that code, but never before! Basically, the codes are to tempt people that don't go regularly.

November there are typically two types of discounts. A "free dining" discount that covers certain weeks, and a room only discount that covers most of the month except Thanksgiving week - and sometimes even then. Both discounts usually come out (if they are going to) for the general public in late-July or Early-August, though one year they were much earlier. I wouldn't expect that to be the case this year.

To answer your second question: Booking early does nothing to help you with discounts. Some argue that this discourages discounts because if people book rooms then why would they give out discounts. I am not one of those people, though.

If you are really booking a "room-only" deal, there is no reason to book right now, unless you are dead-set on a particular resort/room type - for example: You want to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter in a water view room. This room might not be available if you wait, and also it might not have a room discount apply to it when they come out. However, if you are flexible about wanting the best room discount, then you might as well wait and book when they come out.

If you are planning on booking a package with a minimum of room + park tickets, I would tell you to book it now. The main reason to book early is the increase in ticket prices coming soon. If you are booking a room/ticket package through Disney or your TA, and you book right now, you will get current ticket rates. If you wait until after the ticket price increase that is likely to be coming in the next month, then you will pay a higher price for your park tickets. Exactly how much the increase will be will depend on the type of ticket you get, but you can bet it will be at least 5 %. (There will be typically only 1-2 days notice when tickets are going up.)

If you book a package today, and let's say they announce a free dining discount or a room discount on a package come August, you can call and apply that discount to the existing package. In doing so, you will retain the "old" ticket price from when you booked the package, but will still get the discount applied. (Note, you don't have to book dining on your original package, and can add that later as well, even if it is free dining. Note also, this doesn't apply if you had a "room-only" reservation, and you later convert it to a package with tickets/dining, you won't get the old ticket prices.)

I know there was a lot there and maybe I made it more confusing but if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[joshsmit56001]

A PIN is basically a code that is mailed/e-mailed directly to you and is coded to you/your household. These are often sent out by Disney prior to General Public discounts and are sometimes (but not always) better than the General Public discounts.

There is no sure fire way to get on the list to get a code. The only way I've ever heard that worked (at one pont) was to order a Disney Parks DVD to a name/address that isn't in the Disney system. However, we tried that and it didn't work for us. In my case, a friend of ours accompanied us 6 years ago and has never been back since. They keep getting codes sent to them, but not to us. This year Disney let me use that code, but never before! Basically, the codes are to tempt people that don't go regularly.

November there are typically two types of discounts. A "free dining" discount that covers certain weeks, and a room only discount that covers most of the month except Thanksgiving week - and sometimes even then. Both discounts usually come out (if they are going to) for the general public in late-July or Early-August, though one year they were much earlier. I wouldn't expect that to be the case this year.

To answer your second question: Booking early does nothing to help you with discounts. Some argue that this discourages discounts because if people book rooms then why would they give out discounts. I am not one of those people, though.

If you are really booking a "room-only" deal, there is no reason to book right now, unless you are dead-set on a particular resort/room type - for example: You want to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter in a water view room. This room might not be available if you wait, and also it might not have a room discount apply to it when they come out. However, if you are flexible about wanting the best room discount, then you might as well wait and book when they come out.

If you are planning on booking a package with a minimum of room + park tickets, I would tell you to book it now. The main reason to book early is the increase in ticket prices coming soon. If you are booking a room/ticket package through Disney or your TA, and you book right now, you will get current ticket rates. If you wait until after the ticket price increase that is likely to be coming in the next month, then you will pay a higher price for your park tickets. Exactly how much the increase will be will depend on the type of ticket you get, but you can bet it will be at least 5 %. (There will be typically only 1-2 days notice when tickets are going up.)

If you book a package today, and let's say they announce a free dining discount or a room discount on a package come August, you can call and apply that discount to the existing package. In doing so, you will retain the "old" ticket price from when you booked the package, but will still get the discount applied. (Note, you don't have to book dining on your original package, and can add that later as well, even if it is free dining. Note also, this doesn't apply if you had a "room-only" reservation, and you later convert it to a package with tickets/dining, you won't get the old ticket prices.)

I know there was a lot there and maybe I made it more confusing but if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

This is exactly what I did for my upcoming trip in December. Hoping for free dinign at that time and might upgrade to a moderate resort depending on discounts.

 

[EllieBride]

If you book a package today, and let's say they announce a free dining discount or a room discount on a package come August, you can call and apply that discount to the existing package. In doing so, you will retain the "old" ticket price from when you booked the package, but will still get the discount applied. (Note, you don't have to book dining on your original package, and can add that later as well, even if it is free dining. Note also, this doesn't apply if you had a "room-only" reservation, and you later convert it to a package with tickets/dining, you won't get the old ticket prices.)

I know there was a lot there and maybe I made it more confusing but if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks! This makes a lot of sense. The other option I've considered is renting DVC points, but I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to do that AND take advantage of any FD offers that might come out later this summer. We will be travelling with two 15-month old babies, so I'm not sure how much we would enjoy the dining plan anyway. Perhaps I would be better off if I focused my efforts on getting a 1-BR for us. Decisions, decisions...

 

[skier_pete]

Thanks! This makes a lot of sense. The other option I've considered is renting DVC points, but I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to do that AND take advantage of any FD offers that might come out later this summer. We will be travelling with two 15-month old babies, so I'm not sure how much we would enjoy the dining plan anyway. Perhaps I would be better off if I focused my efforts on getting a 1-BR for us. Decisions, decisions...

You are correct. Renting on DVC points (or DVC period) does not allow for Free Dining adder. If you want to stay at a deluxe and don't care about the dining plan, DVC points will generally be less money than any discount will give you.

I give you a lot of credit for going to Disney with two 15-month olds. You couldn't pay me to make that trip.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I wouldn't suppose there's any point to me saying that the demand for free dining has gotten completely out of hand, huh?

 

[skier_pete]

I wouldn't suppose there's any point to me saying that the demand for free dining has gotten completely out of hand, huh?

Look back a page or so LOL, that discussion already took place.

I would continue to argue that most people don't "demand" it (like myself) it just allows us to afford to do more with our dollar. I would never be truly "mad" at Disney if they didn't have it, or if they have ANY discount I can't use because of my dates. If I can't change, that's MY fault, NOT Disney's.

 

[Datha1019]

Have they ever offered FD in Dec. ? Planing to go 12/6-13 -- 12/13/13 thanks

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Look back a page or so LOL, that discussion already took place.

I would continue to argue that most people don't "demand" it (like myself) it just allows us to afford to do more with our dollar. I would never be truly "mad" at Disney if they didn't have it, or if they have ANY discount I can't use because of my dates. If I can't change, that's MY fault, NOT Disney's.

oh good then...i can move on

 

[Spacedog1975]

So I'm curious. I have already received this offer. I've been pondering it for days and thinking about possible dates.

Should I be worried that the publication of the offer will speed bookings and make dates and resorts less acessible? My possible dates are still available at my prefered resort, but while poking around, there were a couple resorts that were instantly not available.

Just wondering how Johnny-on-the-spot I need to be.

 

[skier_pete]

So I'm curious. I have already received this offer. I've been pondering it for days and thinking about possible dates.

Should I be worried that the publication of the offer will speed bookings and make dates and resorts less acessible? My possible dates are still available at my prefered resort, but while poking around, there were a couple resorts that were instantly not available.

Just wondering how Johnny-on-the-spot I need to be.

I would advise book it. Its only a$200 deposit that is fully refundable. They are do you limit # of bookings.