Free Dining Oct-Dec Is Here!!

[black562]

a bout a bazillion pages ago...you Joe Black, were in a discussion with someone who said that a CM said that there had never been free dining...and that there wouldn't be free dining. Well...I know we all laughed at the CM..but ...I've always said..free dining isn't really free. You still have to book a room and ticket package at full price. You can often even save more with other discounts, depending on several factors, such as which discounts you qualify for...say military and you want a deluxe perhaps..or maybe you have a pin code. Maybe the dining plan really isn't even for you. But in any case, Disney is buying the food at wholesale, evening growing it..but Disney is giving you free food at cost...so its not costing Disney that much to give away food as long as they're getting rack rate for the room & tickets. Disney still has to make a profit. I think Disney gives away more by giving a room and/or ticket discount than the food. In fact, giving away free dining just may artificially keep the prices of rooms higher. Just my theory..but do you see where I'm coming from?

Of course, and this has been discussed for quite a while. You're trading off free dining for paying rack rate for the room and in some cases a room discount may save more. Typically this is the case for a deluxe resort more than a mod or value, one just has to do the math.

What the CM meant however was quite literally no free dining promotion, which clearly was wrong and he was probably a new hire for the benefit of the doubt. Every time it's released though there are a handful of people who call and are told "there is no free dining promo released today", even after dozens of posts about people calling and booking it. Usually the people call back and are able to get it but I always tell them to stay on the call and tell the CM to check again...as its usually someone who arrived at work and had not read the morning announcement yet.

But you do make good points, everyone has to do the math both ways and see which saves the most money for sure.

 

[smitch425]

a bout a bazillion pages ago...you Joe Black, were in a discussion with someone who said that a CM said that there had never been free dining...and that there wouldn't be free dining. Well...I know we all laughed at the CM..but ...I've always said..free dining isn't really free. You still have to book a room and ticket package at full price. You can often even save more with other discounts, depending on several factors, such as which discounts you qualify for...say military and you want a deluxe perhaps..or maybe you have a pin code. Maybe the dining plan really isn't even for you. But in any case, Disney is buying the food at wholesale, evening growing it..but Disney is giving you free food at cost...so its not costing Disney that much to give away food as long as they're getting rack rate for the room & tickets. Disney still has to make a profit. I think Disney gives away more by giving a room and/or ticket discount than the food. In fact, giving away free dining just may artificially keep the prices of rooms higher. Just my theory..but do you see where I'm coming from?

Free dining is free, but it is certainly not always the best deal. It just depends on the make up of your party, the way you want to eat on vacation, and the discounts you are eligible for at the time of your trip. You always have to do the math to see which is the best deal. We are eligible to stay at SoG, and get discounted tickets through the DoD, but even those deals don't hold a candle to what we save with FD. There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to booking promotions.

 

[lupp2217]

New to the December thing. I am checking details for a friend. If your vacation starts on the 22nd can you get free dining for your entire stay? Thanks.

 

[smitch425]

New to the December thing. I am checking details for a friend. If your vacation starts on the 22nd can you get free dining for your entire stay? Thanks.

Yes, provided they stay a minimum of 3 nights and purchase at least a 2 day base ticket for everyone on the reservation age 3 and up.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

What I like about the Free Dining promotion is that it makes me feel like I'm getting a good deal. Disney charges $37ish for the quick service plan. When I went last December without the FD package (first time in many years), I found that I don't eat anything close to $37 in food per day. Who really wants the nasty pre-packaged desserts that come with most of the QS meals? I had a great pin - 30% off at all resorts - so I probably saved more than I would have spent on food, and my friend who has an AP didn't have to buy a 2 day ticket.

I wasn't going to go to WDW this year (first time since 1995), but with the FD extension we are going to go 10/31-11/4. If they cancel the FD promotion, hopefully they will offer a room discount. Either way, I'm finally going to make it to the Food and Wine Festival.

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

Our thing with POR is that is just about the only place we can afford to stay.

As a family of 5, we depend on the AB section of POR.

We dont need 2 value rooms, the AoA is too pricy for a value, and Deluxe is out of our budget.

So, that leaves us with POR, we always book a preferred room. We've booked a non-preferred once, and that was enough to get DH to agree to the preferred charge.

That's us too. If I cannot get preferred though, I hope to change to garden or river view. It's just with 3 kids 7/6/4, preferred is just sooo much nicer.

 

[Wood Nymph]

However, in both of these cases I always state the same...never make any non-refundable plans until the offer is released and on the table. The reason is that Disney can at any time make tweaks and changes up to the day it releases. In fact, Disney has often in the past even changed it a few weeks AFTER it was released, usually adding a few dates here and there. While I've never seen them pull something off the table completely, they obviously have that ability at any time, so why take the chance...especially when having a booking doesn't give any better chance of getting the promo when it does release.

I have to agree with this. I "found" the DIS this past September and began watching the discount releases. I never really knew about them before. Anyway, I remember that Disney added a few additional discount dates, for both RO discounts and free dining, some time after they initially announced the Oct-Dec discounts and the Jan-Feb discounts. People really need to just wait and see what happens.

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

Exact same reason that is where we stay! I wish Disney had more resorts with similar room offers where you could have 5 with one room and not need a suite or Deluxe.

Or they could at least offer more rooms there that sleep 5 since the preferred rooms sell out to non parties of 5 as well.

 

[black562]

I have to agree with this. I "found" the DIS this past September and began watching the discount releases. I never really knew about them before. Anyway, I remember that Disney added a few additional discount dates, for both RO discounts and free dining, some time after they initially announced the Oct-Dec discounts and the Jan-Feb discounts. People really need to just wait and see what happens.

Adding dates after the fact is always good. It makes me wonder how many had reservations for that first week of December in anticipation of free dining and will cancel. If Disney saw a massive cancelation that week, they could be quick to respond. On the other hand, it may be more likely that the PINs sold well during that week and the bookings or solid. That's a wait and see because in the past Disney has just snuck extra dates in there totally under the radar...it's not something anyone sits around and predicts of leaks, it just happens.

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

This leak came down the exact same as the September dates. With the exception of the UK, which has their own offers, Disney doesn't break out other countries like that. I got my info from the same source that I got the last free dining leak, as well as the room only discounts that released a couple months ago..both of which also had the "South America and Europe" distinction. To date, this source has never given me wrong information.

Just to clear some nerves, there are some differences as the dates draw near.

A "rumor" is generally based on historical information and fact finding, which is very much what Disney themselves do when they decide whether or not to offer a promotion....which is looking at bookings being up or down, as well as historical trends.

A "leak" is when a credible source(s) receives hard information from Disney themselves. This is much more accurate and prone to much less error for obvious reasons....it's coming from Disney.

However, in both of these cases I always state the same...never make any non-refundable plans until the offer is released and on the table. The reason is that Disney can at any time make tweaks and changes up to the day it releases. In fact, Disney has often in the past even changed it a few weeks AFTER it was released, usually adding a few dates here and there. While I've never seen them pull something off the table completely, they obviously have that ability at any time, so why take the chance...especially when having a booking doesn't give any better chance of getting the promo when it does release.

So at this point, it's best to relax, perhaps plan out your dining options, things like that...and once the date arrives, you'll get to book. These things don't sell out in the first hours, days, weeks...you can still book quite a bit for September free dining in fact. A few room choices and perhaps a resort or two may fill, but there will be plenty of options for each category (value, moderate, deluxe), so there's no need to panic if you call an hour after the lines open...plus they open up more rooms as time goes by so many people are able to call back and switch resorts later on anyway.

So lets all enjoy each other's company and talk some Disney....and to those who have been pixie dusted with free dining and already able to book it, I'm so glad for all of you that everything has worked out.

The problem is, for us families of 5, there really aren't a lot of reasonably priced options. Luckily I can be flexible with dates.

 

[black562]

The problem is, for us families of 5, there really aren't a lot of reasonably priced options. Luckily I can be flexible with dates.

I totally understand that situation. There just isn't much out there in terms of accommodating five in a room...outside of POR and suites of course. I don't know if they will ever build more standard rooms for five, especially now with the suites doing do well.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Adding dates after the fact is always good. It makes me wonder how many had reservations for that first week of December in anticipation of free dining and will cancel. If Disney saw a massive cancelation that week, they could be quick to respond. On the other hand, it may be more likely that the PINs sold well during that week and the bookings or solid. That's a wait and see because in the past Disney has just snuck extra dates in there totally under the radar...it's not something anyone sits around and predicts of leaks, it just happens.

I remember one person last May who wanted to change her reservation and airfare, costing her hundreds of dollars, just so she could catch the end of the free dining from the Sept offer. Well, if she just kept her reservation and saved her money, she would have gotten free dining after all, since this new "leaked" free dining offer would have covered her original reservation.

 

[imabeimabe]

There are no standard or garden view rooms at POFQ for my dates 10/19 to 10/25. Also there are no standard or preferred at POR. Seems like there will be little availability.

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

I totally understand that situation. There just isn't much out there in terms of accommodating five in a room...outside of POR and suites of course. I don't know if they will ever build more standard rooms for five, especially now with the suites doing do well.

Yes, I am counting on the suites doing so well that it frees up POR!
I would be happy to stay at AoA but my oldest is on the autism spectrum and I think there would be way too much sensory stimulation for him there. : ( And of course, i would LOVE to stay at a deluxe, it's just not in the budget right now.
I've got the visa so here's hoping something will open up for me to book on the 29th! Otherwise, I'll be aiming for February.
Here's hoping for some pixie dust!

 

[gismo1554]

Does anyone know of any Travel Agent who will take requests early and then process them on the 1st of August when you can book or who will let you book now and then change nearer the date? I need to book but I'm not sure the easiest way as I'm away on the 1st so was hoping I could sort it out a different way. I've used Dreams before but never had to ask in advance. Is this even possible?

 

[ALD85]

There are no standard or garden view rooms at POFQ for my dates 10/19 to 10/25. Also there are no standard or preferred at POR. Seems like there will be little availability.

This makes me nervous.

 

[Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo]

There are no standard or garden view rooms at POFQ for my dates 10/19 to 10/25. Also there are no standard or preferred at POR. Seems like there will be little availability.

Don't give up hope, and keep checking! I just called last night to see if any FD rooms had opened up at POFQ for my current RO reservation of Sept 25-Oct 3, and Garden view was available, so I was able to change to the FD package. People change their plans all the time!

 

[LGTD]

Adding dates after the fact is always good. It makes me wonder how many had reservations for that first week of December in anticipation of free dining and will cancel. If Disney saw a massive cancelation that week, they could be quick to respond. On the other hand, it may be more likely that the PINs sold well during that week and the bookings or solid. That's a wait and see because in the past Disney has just snuck extra dates in there totally under the radar...it's not something anyone sits around and predicts of leaks, it just happens.

So lets say a ton of people change reservations to a free dining date vacating the first week in December and Disney sneaks in November 30+... How would we find out about it. It seems fairly well established the cm's might be clueless so calling daily could be pointless. I am assuming we would see it here. Would disney post it anywhere official?

 

[black562]

So lets say a ton of people change reservations to a free dining date vacating the first week in December and Disney sneaks in November 30+... How would we find out about it. It seems fairly well established the cm's might be clueless so calling daily could be pointless. I am assuming we would see it here. Would disney post it anywhere official?

Many TAs would post about it here and on other forums and Facebook. It would show up in their date lists. You'd know about it the day it happened for sure...no worries there.

 

[angelabrezovsky]

Likely the same as the current room only offer, they don't tend to change all that much. The dates are usually wider than the free dining dates, which should help a few folks who are caught in the middle.

I had leaked the last set of room discounts to fall the same day as free dining release, which they did....but free dining had so much attention, and still does, that nobody really even asked about them until a couple hours after the phones opened. I remember coming on the boards and asking if anyone had called asking...finally, someone did and got some discounts for August.

Do you think November 10 will be included in the RO ? I hope so! Fingers crossed!!!