Free Dining Fall 2015? (and a whole lot more)

[BStew]

I did not know this!! Thank you so much...I will be watching fares that morning then. I think SW has pretty similar fares as JB, the only diff is that with SA we have to pay that extra boarding fee to be in the A group so we can guarantee seating together and that stinks because it adds another 200.00 to our fare cost. Does anyone else pay for this or just take the risk and hope if the need arises that a stranger will give up their seat so you can sit next to your kids??

Depending on your kids ages you will get to board the plane right after group "A" anyway. We have never paid the priority booking and never have had an issue with this- nobody wants to sit next to our kids all flight w/o one of there to watch over. Trust me, I would LOVE them to take them for a couple hours, lol.

 

[smitch425]

Any idea on any FD UOC's being released?

Never any warning. Last year they released the same day. Once the first batch goes out, subsequent waves go out every 2-3 weeks or so.

 

[alievans719]

Not a deal, just Southwest in general. Some people are waiting for November flight calendars to come out. Southwest has frequent sales, like almost every Tuesday, but the best time to purchase flights a lot of times is as far out as possible on one of their sales because of the way they run them. The closer it gets the less of a discount they give, generally speaking.

So if the November dates update on May 14 and there is a sale on May 20 for those dates, They can book their flights on that sale. If the price dies happen to go down, Southwest allows you to change your flight to reflect the lower cost and gives you a credit for the difference.

So I'm wondering if I would do better to wait until the sale or just book the first day and get the credit if it happens. I didn't have any intentions of flying in the next year(it's from the date of original purchase right?) So I don't know what's better...

 

[Aubrav]

So I'm wondering if I would do better to wait until the sale or just book the first day and get the credit if it happens. I didn't have any intentions of flying in the next year(it's from the date of original purchase right?) So I don't know what's better...

Why do you want to book as soon as it comes out? Do the flights normally sell out for you? In my experience I can book a flight up to two weeks out and there are still available seats on the plane. If you aren't planning on flying within a year then the credit is useless really because it's non transferable.

I would recommend just writing for the first sale. You've got nothing to lose.

 

[nat8199]

Am I reading right that the rumor is that FD will become available on Monday April 27th?

 

[PrincessNelly]

POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY A TA:

 

[Aubrav]

Am I reading right that the rumor is that FD will become available on Monday April 27th?

Yes

 

[Aubrav]

POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY A TA:

That looks like what we've seen so far.

 

[piglet1979]

14 hours is a long time. I cut off traveling by car at 8 hours lol

I can't get my husband to fly. Our drive is about 20 hours straight through with only stopping to eat and to us the bathroom.

 

[alievans719]

Why do you want to book as soon as it comes out? Do the flights normally sell out for you? In my experience I can book a flight up to two weeks out and there are still available seats on the plane. If you aren't planning on flying within a year then the credit is useless really because it's non transferable.

I would recommend just writing for the first sale. You've got nothing to lose.

Good point. My concern is just getting the best price for it. And I don't exactly know how Southwest does their sales; so my fear is I miss out on the best price for the flight. Savings paranoia, I suppose.

 

[smitch425]

Am I reading right that the rumor is that FD will become available on Monday April 27th?

The Disney Visa offer is likely for Monday.

 

[Drnifer]

We booked SW flights the third day after Sept. dates were released and the price went up $30 by that day. I've been checking occasionally and prices have even increased since then.

 

[alkc71]

Thanks Smitch. I know that was the case, but hopefully they open it up to everyone. Does Canada have its own booking site like the UK does?

In Canada these are the options we have to pick from:

i know we can book either Canada or US promos, not sure about booking UK or Japanese promos.

 

[Aubrav]

Good point. My concern is just getting the best price for it. And I don't exactly know how Southwest does their sales; so my fear is I miss out on the best price for the flight. Savings paranoia, I suppose.

Their sales run on Tuesdays and are usually 3 day sales but sometimes longer. They start out with the highest discounts and gradually decrease the discount amount with each sale. If you buy when it's not on sale then you aren't getting a deal at all. Just remember, the earlier the better but ONLY if they are having a sale. Sign up for their emails to get alerted as soon as sales come out (they're pretty frequent).

 

[5kidsmommy]

I can't get my husband to fly. Our drive is about 20 hours straight through with only stopping to eat and to us the bathroom.

When you drive straight through do you do parks on your first day? We usually drive to Jacksonville or thereabouts and check into a hotel (or campground when we have the trailer) for the night and then get up a little late, have breakfast and drive the 2-1/2 hours in. I just worry driving straight through I would be spent by the time we got there.

 

[DisMama5]

So I'm wondering if I would do better to wait until the sale or just book the first day and get the credit if it happens. I didn't have any intentions of flying in the next year(it's from the date of original purchase right?) So I don't know what's better...

We frequently use southwest and I've never been able to get a better price then the price I get when they first release, even with the sales they offer here&there. But I suppose it depends where you are flying out of and to also.

 

[smitch425]

We always book Southwest the morning flights are released. We've never seen them cheaper for our dates, and nonstops sell out quickly.

 

[PirateD]

I think we're going to try for DVC rental also if the free dining dates for December stay true to this rumor. I had contacted DVC Rental Store back in January to inquire about renting points. They seemed pretty confident that there would still be availability at the 7 month mark. So it might not be too late as long as you're flexible on resorts.

Thanks! That's good to know. We are also now looking at The Swan and Dolphin since two of us are teachers. According to their website, the teacher discount would be good for our dates. Has anyone used this before? Could I book two rooms with that discount and my SIL (also a teacher) one room?

 

[StarDreamer]

I did not know this!! Thank you so much...I will be watching fares that morning then. I think SW has pretty similar fares as JB, the only diff is that with SA we have to pay that extra boarding fee to be in the A group so we can guarantee seating together and that stinks because it adds another 200.00 to our fare cost. Does anyone else pay for this or just take the risk and hope if the need arises that a stranger will give up their seat so you can sit next to your kids??

We didn't get early bird last September, we just went with family boarding after A, before B. But ours was B both times checking in right at 24 hours. So still not bad.

 

[nemorocks]

We frequently use southwest and I've never been able to get a better price then the price I get when they first release, even with the sales they offer here&there. But I suppose it depends where you are flying out of and to also.

I think y'all have convinced me to go ahead and book the day our fares are released (May 14th!) If the prices happen to drop, I will call in for a credit. It stinks that the credits are non-transferable though....I could use it to fly my MIL down to visit if that was the case.

So now I have all these dates to keep track of....FD release (hoping!), ADR date, SW fare dates, etc! I hope I don't forget something