Free dining question

[_auroraborealis_]

We are pretty flexible, I'd like to do 7 nights, any week starting on a Sat, from 11/26- 12/17, but I'd rather not run into those crazy busy days over winter break. If what people are saying is true about the FD being available to fill rooms, I guess that wont be an issue. If they offer it in that time period at all.
Another question, and please forgive me if I am asking in the wrong thread.. Someone said that they may not offer it for the resort I am looking at.... how do you know which resorts will offer it, when it's available. Do you just have to go through the booking process for all the places you are willing to stay to find out?
TIA

They'll list which resorts it's an option at. Depending on dates and room types, even if you're at the "right" resort it may not be available, though. Like, POR often attach it to the Royal Rooms, not Standard rooms.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

When the offer is released, they will tell you which resorts are excluded.

From the last general public offer, the fully excluded resorts were: Little Mermaid Buildings at Art of Animation, Port Orleans French Quarter, All-Star Movies, Fort Wilderness campsites, Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, Grand Floridian Villas, and all 3-bedroom villas. Port Orleans Riverside was excluded for all dates after 10/25.

From your previous post you are looking to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter. That resort will probably be excluded, so you might have to pick a different resort if you want free dining. You may also find that even if your resort is included, it is offered in limited room categories (such as excluding Standard rooms, so you have to move up to a more expensive room to get the offer).

 

[sharonabe]

We are pretty flexible, I'd like to do 7 nights, any week starting on a Sat, from 11/26- 12/17, but I'd rather not run into those crazy busy days over winter break. If what people are saying is true about the FD being available to fill rooms, I guess that wont be an issue. If they offer it in that time period at all.
Another question, and please forgive me if I am asking in the wrong thread.. Someone said that they may not offer it for the resort I am looking at.... how do you know which resorts will offer it, when it's available. Do you just have to go through the booking process for all the places you are willing to stay to find out?
TIA

I think most of the time, the excluded resorts are stated. However, the number of available rooms for any resort is a mystery. The difficulty I foresee for you is your Saturday check-in date, but you may get lucky for either the 26th of Nov or Dec 10.

 

[Crystalp]

What type of room do you normally have to move up to?

 

[sharonabe]

What type of room do you normally have to move up to?

No one will know until and if the offers come out. Last year, most people reporting here were saying they had to upgrade to a preferred room of some kind at the resorts that had rooms available. Some resorts had NO rooms available.

The going theory is this year's offer (IF there is an offer) will be even more limited with fewer rooms.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There are a lot of periods in September and October where if you look for a Saturday-Saturday week, you already can't get a Standard room. So that's not a sign of "needing to discount to fill rooms," really. Not sure if it's really that booked, or if enough people are booking HOPING for a discount that it's finally going to backfire.