Free Dining Oct-Dec Is Here!!

[mkymouse40]

I've been getting my free pictures for years, yet, I still learned something new here today.

I didn't know they had extended the hours, FINALLY!!!!!!!. It was so hard to always fit it in during this time period and now that the word has spread about this freebie, the line is always so long.

It was so nice when we used to just walk up and get right in, it was such a secret back then. We felt so special to be able to get this photo, now everyone knows about it. We've met some really great people in line though!!

 

[Kat016]

I've been getting my free pictures for years, yet, I still learned something new here today.

I didn't know they had extended the hours, FINALLY!!!!!!!. It was so hard to always fit it in during this time period and now that the word has spread about this freebie, the line is always so long.

It was so nice when we used to just walk up and get right in, it was such a secret back then. We felt so special to be able to get this photo, now everyone knows about it. We've met some really great people in line though!!

I thought the line would be really long when we did it last year but we were the 2nd family in line. I hope we luck out again this year.

 

[mkymouse40]

My question is, since all of this is theoretically speculation, where and when is the best place/time to find out exactly what the offer is and when to call if you have the DV? Does that make sense???

I think I read somewhere on here that the Visa website releases it later in the day, so where will be find the information the earliest?

 

[smitch425]

My question is, since all of this is theoretically speculation, where and when is the best place/time to find out exactly what the offer is and when to call if you have the DV? Does that make sense???

I think I read somewhere on here that the Visa website releases it later in the day, so where will be find the information the earliest?

Someone should post here that they were able to get the deal sometime between 7:05am and 7:15am. It happens every time a discount is realease. The boards will be on overload with people reporting in.

 

[kddisney502]

When: Offered daily, 1 PM to 7 PM

It's nice to see that they have extended the hours. Now we have more time to take advantage during our trip. And more chances to avoid the line

We got our free pic for the first time last year and we really enjoyed the character interaction. It was one of our favorites for the trip. I took my mother last year and she hadn't seen Mickey (or Goofy) in 20 years. Her reaction was priceless

 

[arbeywolf]

I apologize if this is answered in the 51 pages of this post that I missed but if I already have the exact dates already booked and this Free dining does come to pass, can I just call and have it added to my existing reservation or is this only for newly booked trips starting July 29th?

 

[FrugalFashionista]

I apologize if this is answered in the 51 pages of this post that I missed but if I already have the exact dates already booked and this Free dining does come to pass, can I just call and have it added to my existing reservation or is this only for newly booked trips starting July 29th?

You can call and have them apply it!

 

[kddisney502]

I apologize if this is answered in the 51 pages of this post that I missed but if I already have the exact dates already booked and this Free dining does come to pass, can I just call and have it added to my existing reservation or is this only for newly booked trips starting July 29th?

Yes, you can get FD whether you have an existing reservation or not. You may have to change resorts or room based on availability of the deal, but just call to get that all figured out. If you have a Disney Visa (credit or debit) you can call on July 29. If not, it will open to the public on Aug 1. Good Luck.

 

[HBGdancermom]

My Disney debit card arrived today!!! I ordered it last Tuesday for anyone waiting to get theirs!

Yeah!!!!

 

[HBGdancermom]

Here is a pic from Halloween last year...

http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/smitch425/media/visa_zps6b829d70.jpg.html

Great pic Smitch!!!

 

[aym4Him]

Well, we're also staying at Pop. It basically comes down to which you think is a better deal. There are just 2 of us, DH and me. A Room Only discount on a value is typically low. 10-15% off rack rate of a value. For us, FD is a better deal as RO would only save us a couple hundred but food would cost us around $500. So FD is a better discount for us. You might want to do the math to see which is better for your family. Also, depending on how many TS meals you are planing, at a certain amount it would be cheaper to upgrade QSDP to DDP than pay OOP. Hope that helps

Just for comparison sakes, we are staying at AoA and a room only would have saved us $273 dollars. Even with upgrading to the basic dining plan which was $450, we still are saving $1000 with free dining.

Thank you both!

Yeah. Unless we are planning to go TS crazy, it seems like the QS FD plan should be the better deal. Even if the RO was at the top end (for values, I'm assuming) 15%, we'd still save by going with FD. To upgrade, it would be $384. I think that comes to 4.5 table service meals we'd need to do to come out even. We wish we were foodies but our budget does not allow . DS would rather go go go than sit still for a meal, anyway. (Personally, I would LOVE to be able to try a lot of different restaurants!)

We will do one character meal, for sure. Right now, we are thinking Chef Mickey. Of course, I'm still reading up on all the various ones. CM seems to be the most expensive, unfortunately. Has anyone done that or Hollywood and Vine? Did you prefer one over the other? I've heard Cape May is good, too, but it seems like more characters are at CM.

I'm going to go search around for threads on character meals . Sorry to keep kind of going off topic here!

 

[SlightlyocdDisneyfan]

Since this is our 1st time to stay on property, I didn't know about holding out for certain packages or that discounts come up from time to time. We thought the opposite- that prices could go up or rooms could fill up so I just booked what worked for us at the time (also b/c of airfare). When the CM told me that they could adjust everything if a discount came along, I was relieved (I'm typically a bargain shopper)!

I have been eagerly awaiting news on FD b/c I thought that was going to be the deal of the century. Now that I've read more and more, I wonder if a RO would be better. That said, after reading further, I wonder if it won't b/c we are booked at a Value (Pop) and it seems the better discounts are for mods/deluxe.

Just to recap, here are our stats:

Dates: 11/11-11/19
Where: Pop (MYWP)
Who: Me, DH, DS4
Character meals? One. Maybe two (if we figure out he reallly wants to see Oso- this is a surprise so it's hard to gauge). We have several booked with the idea that we can cancel before we head out there. (Chef Mickeys, Cape May, Hollywood and Vine (all breakfast) and Crystal Palace (lunch).
Tickets: 5 day PH
Extras: Planning on MVMCP 11/11.

Whatever $ we save will go towards transportation towards going to Give Kids the World for a day. Still working on that one.

Please feel free to give your opinion while we all wait on 7/29!

For us, a RO and FD are almost the same savings (presuming we could get each for every day of our trip). But, our stats are different than yours.

What I did to best figure out a comparison, was to look at the menus for the restaurants where we plan to eat and pick out what we would likely chose to eat if we were paying out of pocket, plus make some guesses about snacks and extras each day. Then I compared that to what would be covered on the DP. IMHO, that's the only way I can get a true value of the meal plan. If you wouldn't otherwise purchase the DP, the quoted "value" may not even be ballpark to what your true value would be.

It's a lot of work, but since we're all just killing time anyway... Plus, it was a fun pre-trip tease for the family to poke through the menus!

 

[aym4Him]

For us, a RO and FD are almost the same savings (presuming we could get each for every day of our trip). But, our stats are different than yours.

What I did to best figure out a comparison, was to look at the menus for the restaurants where we plan to eat and pick out what we would likely chose to eat if we were paying out of pocket, plus make some guesses about snacks and extras each day. Then I compared that to what would be covered on the DP. IMHO, that's the only way I can get a true value of the meal plan. If you wouldn't otherwise purchase the DP, the quoted "value" may not even be ballpark to what your true value would be.

It's a lot of work, but since we're all just killing time anyway... Plus, it was a fun pre-trip tease for the family to poke through the menus!

When we called to book our package and they presented the QS plan to us at "just $40/day per adult" we balked b/c we don't think we'd spend $40/each. It is very likely that DS and I would end up sharing most of our meals and we planned on bringing a small soft-sided cooler with snacks (maybe even a PB&J or two). We'd drink water with the exception of DS who drinks chocolate milk (at home, fueled by Ovaltine) as if it's his morning coffee ;-).

Anyway, I'm going to go look at menus and shoot for a ballpark of what we'd pay. Thanks for the suggestion!!

You can't bank enough QS credits to pay for a TS meal can you?

 

[SlightlyocdDisneyfan]

You will get one free 5x7 for each account you have. The DV, DPV or the debit. We have the DVP and the debit, so for my free pics, I choose one of the whole family from the session and then one of just the kids with the characters. You can do this one time for each day that you go to EPCOT. Last year we did it twice, so we got 4 free photos. It has to be separate accounts though, so if you and your spouse each have cards, but the numbers are the same, you only get one free photo. They spend a lot of time with each family. Lots of pics to choose from.

Great photo! You have a very photogenic family, smitch!
If you pre-purchase photopass will they put all the photos on your CD?

 

[smitch425]

Great pic Smitch!!!

Thanks!

Great photo! You have a very photogenic family, smitch!
If you pre-purchase photopass will they put all the photos on your CD?

Thanks! All of the photos from your Visa session will be included on your Photopass CD.

 

[Sylkie31]

Great photo! You have a very photogenic family, smitch!
If you pre-purchase photopass will they put all the photos on your CD?

Disney PhotoPass[/B includes unlimited photopass photos in your account, ability to customize your photos with Disney borders, magic shot photo (photograpers "magically" add Disney characters to your photos and can set up poses so they match up with the characters). Pre-order price is $119.95 (price at park is $169.95.
PhotoPass+ includes all photopass benefits plus photos from select dining locations (such as CRT), photos from select attractions, photos from other Disney experiences. Guests will also receive a PhotoPass+ card and lanyard and a CD with 400 stock gallery photos. Pre-order price is $149.00 if ordered at least 14 days before your vacation (price at park is $199.95).

 

[Viva Las Disney]

What I did to best figure out a comparison, was to look at the menus for the restaurants where we plan to eat and pick out what we would likely chose to eat if we were paying out of pocket, plus make some guesses about snacks and extras each day. Then I compared that to what would be covered on the DP. IMHO, that's the only way I can get a true value of the meal plan. If you wouldn't otherwise purchase the DP, the quoted "value" may not even be ballpark to what your true value would be.

It's a lot of work, but since we're all just killing time anyway... Plus, it was a fun pre-trip tease for the family to poke through the menus!

I just did this and figured out free dining would cost me roughly $335 for 6 days while OOP would be roughly $285 and that's including deserts every night which I may or may not order if the entrée portions are large. Looks like I'll be cancelling the dining plan..
I love the idea of having my dining pre-paid so I don't have to think about it on vacation but $50 is $50.

 

[merimarie]

Woo! Have to watch my email for the early offer! We're planning on December and were waiting for free dining dates! So excited!

 

[BillyC123]

Sorry if this was asked before... I currently have a Nemo Suite reserved for my trip in Oct. I just checked the site and there are no more nemo suites available. Does this mean that I will need to reconsider my location once i call in for free dining? Or will the CM be able to add it to my current res. I totally understand they offer only a certain # for the discount. I just don't know if i need start resetting expectations. I can't lose, i have twins... and of course one wanted nemo and one wanted Lion King.

I hope everyone has a great day!

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Sorry if this was asked before... I currently have a Nemo Suite reserved for my trip in Oct. I just checked the site and there are no more nemo suites available. Does this mean that I will need to reconsider my location once i call in for free dining? Or will the CM be able to add it to my current res. I totally understand they offer only a certain # for the discount. I just don't know if i need start resetting expectations. I can't lose, i have twins... and of course one wanted nemo and one wanted Lion King.

The rooms for the FD promotion will come out of a different pool than the rack rate rooms. You can't just switch your current reservation, but that's not to say that a Nemo room won't open up. Go into the process with several choices (I haven't seen the rooms, but the Cars area is so cool!)