Free Dining Oct-Dec Is Here!! Dates Confirmed!!! ~ Part 2

[NightShiftMomOf5]

I know this is a little off topic, but since people are discussing the advantages of each resort, which of the Pop rooms/buildings have the best view of fireworks? I tried asking on the Pop board, but didn't get a response. Thanks so much!!
This board has been a life saver for me while trying to schedule our first Disney World trip!

 

[sweetnjmom]

Now I have to figure out how many days to wait before calling to cancel my 2nd reservation. I want to release it soon!

 

[chester629]

For those worried about the CBR - don't be!

It is my sentimental favorite of all WDW properties. Yes, it's big - but I have never felt like it took a long time to walk to the food court. The theming is fantastic with all of the bold colors and the music playing all through the Port Royale complex. I think it has the best pool complex of all the mods, and if you've got little ones in the 5-6 and under range, they will love it.

Yes, there are a number of bus stops within the resort, but honestly - when I stayed at BWI last spring every bus ride involved stops at least 1-2 other resorts as well. In the end, 4 other stops within the same property or driving to another resort for additional stops feels like it kind of balances out. It does, at times mean the bus may be crowded by the time it gets to you.

My only complaint - the CBR is the only mod that is still waiting for queen beds, and that can be an adjustment if you're used to a king at home!

Give it a chance - if you enjoy a tropical feel, the CBR might just surprise you.

Eric is completely right! CBR is AWESOME! They are also great about honoring village requests too. Every time I've stayed there I've requested a specific village and they granted it. I personally recommend Martinique or Barbados. Both are close to Port Royale and early stops in the bus route (less worry about getting on the next bus and early drop at the end of a long day). But like Eric said they really go over the top with the theming there. Everywhere you go you hear the awesome sound of steel drums and can even catch a live steel drum performance some nights at Port Royale. The pool is great and the food court is the best!

 

[KNovacovschi]

I know this is a little off topic, but since people are discussing the advantages of each resort, which of the Pop rooms/buildings have the best view of fireworks? I tried asking on the Pop board, but didn't get a response. Thanks so much!!
This board has been a life saver for me while trying to schedule our first Disney World trip!

We always stay at POP but we have never watched the fireworks from POP. That being said though everything I have read regarding where to watch it has most been said 50's building 3, top floor. You can also request illuminations view when you put in a room request.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Weird. I booked 2 rooms at Coronado yesterday, but today I decided to try back and see if maybe we should go 1 deluxe room or a villa instead and I am getting about 0 availability at any hotel for our dates: 10/2 through 10/14.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

The CM is spoke to just now was freakin hilarious

She was very positive in saying to let things die down and to call back every few days if you didn't get what you wanted.

She said they had a huge influx of cancellations due to switching resorts/not getting the dates. She said most cancellations went into rack rooms, as they were originally booked as rack rates. She said they have an overload of rack rooms and to be on the lookout for rooms being added back in.

****She also made mention of how different free dining is going this fall. She said the CMs at her place were very suprise with no DV, and with so many exclusions.

She said she worked on the day that DV's were calling, she said that when she got there at 7:00, there were over 400 calls on hold and they ended up having a big meeting about it,

She did say that the CMs thought it was a headache to NOT have DV, and that they should have done it

 

[fairestoneofall]

We have a double booking now, because of the one I did online and the one my TA did for us by phone (not linked to MDE). She managed to switch us to WL with FD (as did I) so now I need to cancel the one I made online. Of course I can't do that until next week when the phone line craziness dies down.

we have a double booking and my first reservation was done by me. there are no TAs involved in either booking.

i added the FD Pop booking yesterday versus staying on hold for hours. DS had a doctor's appointment. it took me about 10 minutes to get it done online.

i will cancel the other booking (RO Little Mermaid room) once i can get through the phone lines.

also, i did get an email confirmation right away. it has the free dining offer listed at the top of the information and then QSDP listed under my resort/travel information.

 

[matynurse]

Quick! What should I do!!!! Yesterday I was going to switch resorts to CBR Pirate room to get FD, about an hour later my TA emailed me to tell me there was no avail at POR for FD or RO for preferred rooms. I had already emailed her to switch to CBR. When she emailed FD was gone at CBR, but RO was still avail. I asked her to please try and get RO, it was avail at 8pm. She emailed me at 9pm and said she couldn't get it. I am online now and they are avail. Should I book these myself and just cancel my reservation through the TA? I know I will probably lose my dining reservations, I'm guessing probably the PL reservation I have. Will she also return my MNSSHP tickets and I'll have to repurchase? TIA! The only thing I'm really nervous about is losing the PL reservation, cause it was hard to get an appt 180 days out!

I think you should call her and let her get it for you. I promise you she will be glad to know. As someone who spent all day yesterday trying to get whatever my clients wanted. I would be heartsick if someone cancelled today because it came available and they did it alone. Would make it feel like they didn't appreciate the CRAZY amount of hours we spent on hold just trying. Just my 2cents

Hey guys..

Do you think it's unreasonable to email my TA again today? I emailed her Wednesday night about the fd and then yesterday morning telling her that I had heard it's crazy and to try Por if not, try Poly.

Like I have posted on here , I haven't heard from her since Wednesday Morning. I don't want to be a pest..but I have no idea if she got me a reservation...or if I should be trying to do it myself....or what the heck to do.

I know she is probably crazy busy...Do you think its ok to shoot her an email asking how its going...or should I just wait and see if I hear from her sometime today?

Not at all!! Crazy busy or not , you should of been kept in the loop. Letting you know she was trying.

 

[4funwithmickey]

So, this is my first post on the dis, BUT.....I've been lurking here for years!! That being said, I want to send out a HUGE "THANK YOU" shout out to all you good dis-ers!! I've received invaluable info from these boards, learned a lot, and saved a lot!! So many, many thanks to all of you!!!

My family and I have been to Disney many times now (this fall will be trip #12!!). When I saw the start of this thread ("fall dates are confirmed") I got so excited-but the Disney excited, you know the kind where you can't sleep, you obsess on the computer, planning out alternate resort options (1,2,3,4....!!) and double checking yourself. When the DV offer didn't come through I got that pit in my stomach....oh no I thought....it's not going to happen...no free dining?!.....but then I thought, nah, it's not August 1st yet, lets just wait and see. Well on Thursday morning I woke up at 4am. Of course I grabbed my phone and tried to get on my Dis app....couldn't get through. I panicked, went down to my desk and got on the computer. And there it was. The deal had been released AND was already available. That I think was a first-being available and on line at midnight. So I went right onto WDW.com. My dates and resort WERE available for the FD!!! I did it....I double booked. Never booked online before. I already had a reservation from back in march (yes, I figured I was going NO MATTER WHAT!!!). So I almost didn't book online. Actually left the site twice. But then I just went ahead and booked. Good thing I did. I called promptly at 7am, waited for 1 hour 57 minutes, got through to a lovely CM. She looked up my prior reservation and it was a no go. I told her that I just booked one online 3 hours earlier...gave her the reservation number, and asked her if she could verify it. I just couldn't believe it was real until she did so. And it was all GOOD!! She cancelled my first reservation and we kept the new one with the FD!!

I'm really sorry for the double booking. I panicked and just did it online. However, I also stayed on the phone for over 2 hours to cancel the first one. Lesson learned-don't book ahead of time. I now see how it creates this false positive shall we say for Disney. They think they have a higher number of guests coming and wont release the deals properly. Next year I shall wait!

Wow! Sorry for the long post!! Thanks again to everyone. This is such an amazing and fun site!! Best of luck to everyone still waiting for their pixie dust!!

 

[fairestoneofall]

what i learned:

we were going anyway and were fine without any discounts. i already knew to check DisBoards for discounts since here seems to always know what's coming up. that was completely solidified for me this week.

not only did we get the FD offer for our October trip, we got the military room discount for our January trip (will be traveling with ILs).

 

[chester629]

I know this is a little off topic, but since people are discussing the advantages of each resort, which of the Pop rooms/buildings have the best view of fireworks? I tried asking on the Pop board, but didn't get a response. Thanks so much!!
This board has been a life saver for me while trying to schedule our first Disney World trip!

On this same note, does anyone who has stayed at AKL have any feedback regarding the long bus rides and little kids? We are staying at AKL for the first time and I'm a little nervous about how long the bus ride is to the 3 far parks...especially if we try to take a mid-afternoon break back at AKL. Thanks all!

 

[mrsranger2131]

I am sooo new to this board stuff and not sure where to post this question. It is concerning whether or not to buy tickets to the Very Merry Christmas Party or to just wait and see all the shows, fireworks and parades on the 21st when it is included in regular admission? I don't know what the difference would be besides the cookies and cocoa. Any direction on where to post this or any help would be so appreciated.

 

[wdwgirl21]

On a side not, how do I get my ticket to show up? I copy and pasted the HTML link, but the link showed up, not the ticker? Any ideas?

 

[emsmommy323]

I am sooo new to this board stuff and not sure where to post this question. It is concerning whether or not to buy tickets to the Very Merry Christmas Party or to just wait and see all the shows, fireworks and parades on the 21st when it is included in regular admission? I don't know what the difference would be besides the cookies and cocoa. Any direction on where to post this or any help would be so appreciated.

I'd post this question over on the Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies board. You'll get the best information over there! Good luck!

 

[maryandtyson]

On this same note, does anyone who has stayed at AKL have any feedback regarding the long bus rides and little kids? We are staying at AKL for the first time and I'm a little nervous about how long the bus ride is to the 3 far parks...especially if we try to take a mid-afternoon break back at AKL. Thanks all!

Magic Kingdom is the longest bus ride. Our kids are past nap age, but we still break at the resort for pool time. We are renting a car for flexibility. I think the bus issue is overblown by many people in regards to AKL. We LOVE it there and the pros outweigh the cons. Your kids will love it there! Truly, the bus rides weren't any worse than other resorts we have stayed at. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Greenfield1984]

On this same note, does anyone who has stayed at AKL have any feedback regarding the long bus rides and little kids? We are staying at AKL for the first time and I'm a little nervous about how long the bus ride is to the 3 far parks...especially if we try to take a mid-afternoon break back at AKL. Thanks all!

We went several years ago and only had one DD at the time, but the bus rides were great. Never waited too long for a bus and we never found them crowded. We figured maybe its because more people who stay deluxe also rent a car as compared to people who stay at value resorts? We took afternoon breaks and never found the buses to be an inconvenience.

 

[samnbilly]

Just my humble opinion, but I honestly think it would've helped if not so many people were hanging onto multiple reservations (flaming myself, I know!) & calling to cancel a reservation the first day the promotion came out. Also, multiple ppl with travel agents were calling to try & modify their own reservations..I feel like this really complicated things, I know people want to blame it on the DV thing, but I didn't see an AP discount coming out first either? (I don't have either one) -Just my humble opinion into the disaster of yesterday! I do hope the ones that didn't get your resort to call often. Maybe late morning or dinner time, because I really think some availability is going to open up!

 

[mrsranger2131]

I'd post this question over on the Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies board. You'll get the best information over there! Good luck!

Ok. Thanks!

 

[Mom22girls56]

Hey guys..

Do you think it's unreasonable to email my TA again today? I emailed her Wednesday night about the fd and then yesterday morning telling her that I had heard it's crazy and to try Por if not, try Poly.

Like I have posted on here , I haven't heard from her since Wednesday Morning. I don't want to be a pest..but I have no idea if she got me a reservation...or if I should be trying to do it myself....or what the heck to do.

I know she is probably crazy busy...Do you think its ok to shoot her an email asking how its going...or should I just wait and see if I hear from her sometime today?

I would do everything possible to contact her. This is your hard earned money we're talking about and your families vacation.

 

[Twin Dad]

I logged into my reservation through myDisney Experience and looked at my reservations, and it doesn't mention free dining on the reservation. I was thinking about calling, but does anyone else have experience with this? Shouldn't FD show up on the reservation?

Thanks,
Terry