FREE DINING UPDATE- RUMOR and SPECULATION / Update Page 80 !

[kwitcherkicken99]

All that and we're still going! I'm but I have made allowances for no discount. Guess we won't be upgrading to CBR... maybe next time! (unless it's a good enough new promo...

Thanks for the update!

I can't for the life of me think what could top free food!

 

[sweetdana]

There will be a promotion. Maybe FD maybe, free QS at values or worse everywhere, maybe 30% off, maybe kids play and eat free and adults at full price. There will be something.

I think the QS at values resorts, or kids free (current promo or similar to it) is way more likley, and needing park tickets for the whole stay. This is my guess.. maybe I am making up rumors here.

Here is an observation.

1) The resturaunts fill up, and over fill with free dining. Meaning non-resort guests who just randomly come in, or those that do not plan 180 days in advance cannot get into CP, or Norway. It would be ideal for profits of a business to have room for guests who pay for a meal as well as ones that paid full price for the resort and pay from the meal in the package. A business would love to add FD to bring people in, but not at the cost of turning away a paying customer either, or giving something extra for free that they didn't have too.

2) I think adding in paying for adult dining plan, adding full amount of days of park tickets, and maybe even some other fee some how, would benefit them more as a business. More $$ for the FDers, in that some people may take the 30% off room instead and leave the dining for someone who may pay for it. IDEAL for PROFITS. They still eat at QS, and do TS 1-2 times per week instead of daily, and they still bring in $$ to buy stuff.

As a customer who goes for a discount, I would want FD with no strings.. but would settle for paying for part of it, or adding more days ect.
As a customer using DVC I would love to get a ressie for a dining plan I paid for. (And wouldn't cancel dining plan if I could get ressies)
As an AP holder who just decided to go and use my TIW card, I would love to be able to go to CRT and pay 80% of it without being turned away. (Disney would like this too.)

A good mix to help all these to be happy is to option to help keep everyone happy (and bringing in $$) is to offer free dining with strings (helping FD and not filling up all TS), and have other discounts as well (to help others who want a hair cheaper Vac).


And .. we will wait to see.

 

[Incredimom3]

We've been blessed to visit during free dining during the previous two years and we've booked this year in hopes of free dining. Perhaps we're "spoiled", but having had it, it is very difficult to imagine being there without free dining and staying at a non-Disney resort (which is what we did happily for many years). If they don't offer dining, there is a very strong likelihood that we will cancel our reservation and stay offsite somewhere that offers a free breakfast. This would save us money that we could spend on food. We've managed to get an incredible deal on tickets, so we'd probably still go, but our family of 5 could stay in a resort with much more space, though without some of the magic. I can't help but think that many other families would make a similar decision. Surely, a mass exodus wouldn't look good to the corporate folks, either. Yet, what do I know? I'm just your average Disney mom with no connections to info except what I read here. By the way, I'm really hoping for QS dining as I'm more of a snacker than a fill-er-up at the buffet kind of girl.

 

[Sugar Jones]

What do you all think? What realistic offer .. could beat F/D?[/QUOTE]


Someone had mentioned book 7 nights pay for 4 or 5 nights offer. If that included park tickets & dining, I'd be all over that! That seems a little too good to be true though.

 

[jlk806]

There will be a promotion. Maybe FD maybe, free QS at values or worse everywhere, maybe 30% off, maybe kids play and eat free and adults at full price. There will be something.

I think the QS at values resorts, or kids free (current promo or similar to it) is way more likley, and needing park tickets for the whole stay. This is my guess.. maybe I am making up rumors here.

.

I pray it is not Kids play and eat free - we have a 2 year old who is free anyhow and my 16 year old sister who is too old. That offer means NOTHING to us and many other people with babies & toddlers, teenagers, and all adult parties.

 

[Bugsmom73]

I am hoping for some sort of discount that is better than 20% off our room rate. If not, we are still going and we will have fun.

 

[sjs314]

You have peaked my interest CanadianGuy even though I am already booked for November with a good discount and about the only discount that might interest me is a 4/3 deal, not a big savings but enough considering it would increase my time in Disney by 2 days....that being said I am sure since "test Marketing" the various discounts during the previous year/years and the timeframe falling into the last quarter for Disney, their need to "cut back" on promo discounts, they know which will be most profitable, which fill the most rooms in which catagory. We have already seen they do not seem to have trouble filling the value resorts since they offer free upgrades to OKW and SSR and from reading the boards it seems to me that FD benefits people who stay in the value resorts the most. Just my thoughts but I tend to agree it will not be FD after all once they get you there, You and Your family have to eat no matter what.

 

[leahjade]

The only deal that would convince us to book if free dining isn't offered is 40% off a package deal or stay 7 nights package and pay for 4. With 4 teens, nothing else would be budget conscious for us to book a trip. We can rent great beach condos and buy our own food and still eat out for dinner every night for 1/2 the price of a Disney trip.

 

[2littleprincesses]

Canadian guy, I certainly hope that the #2 scenario is what will happen. I guess we will hope, pray, beg, grovel, loose sleep, obsess over the computer until that happens.

 

[TheRatPack]

We've been blessed to visit during free dining during the previous two years and we've booked this year in hopes of free dining. Perhaps we're "spoiled", but having had it, it is very difficult to imagine being there without free dining and staying at a non-Disney resort (which is what we did happily for many years). If they don't offer dining, there is a very strong likelihood that we will cancel our reservation and stay offsite somewhere that offers a free breakfast.

That is how we feel. We've been going for free dining since 2005....missing 2 years, last year and one year so we could save to adopt We have really enjoyed it....but before we did stay off site at much roomier places, and ate off site. We spent much much less....and we only visited Disney MK and one other park...usually MGM/Hollywood Studios. We spent 2 or 3 days at Universal, always saw the car show at Old Towne and then headed off to the beach for 2 or 3 days. We still had fun....but we do really really enjoy staying onsite now that we've done it for so long. And Disney gets 100% of our money that way....every year we say we're going to go to Universal and every year we don't LOL because we get so wrapped up with things to do onsite. We buy all of our souvenirs onsite, buy extra snacks, drinks....etc.

And I realize that 'free dining' isn't really free....but it does cut our 2 rooms with dining down to around 1500.00.....when I price it out without the FD part and us paying for our dining plan it's double that so whatever deal they offer for our travel dates....it would have to be of equal or greater value for me to see any reason to continue to stay onsite.

 

[yellownovawife]

Thanks for summing it all up - I look forward to finding out which scenario is true so I can start talking my DH into a November/December trip!

 

[Gymbomom]

I think it is VERY safe to say - there WILL BE some kind of discount. Last time we booked at 30% off and when free dining came out it saved us an additional $500. Is that make or break for us?
No.
I will be happy with 30% off or more off a moderate.
We will still be going regardless.

 

[G&J's Mom]

And I won't lie, part of that is that I don't want to mod the boards in the 'aftermath'..

WHAT? No bailing on us allowed.

I just wish they would go ahead and get it over with, say what's up, so we all know how to act.

Denise

 

[CanadianGuy]

WHAT? No bailing on us allowed.

I just wish they would go ahead and get it over with, say what's up, so we all know how to act.

Denise

Denise - I envision you hovering over a computer monitor with one hand over a large "panic" button with the other over a huge "relax" button.. awaiting instructions on how to act.

Too funny.. Thanks for the morning smile!

We've had big drama here before on these matters and I'm sure we will again.

I hope Disney comes thru on this one for everyone.

 

[pigletto]

Excellent points all.. and you made me think of something else - what *if* whatever is offered isn't 'free dining' -- but still works out to be a really good deal?

I hadn't even considered the possibility that a new offer could meet or exceed the excitement of F/D. I can't even imagine what that might be...

What do you all think? What realistic offer .. could beat F/D?

First off, I totally appreciate your wilingness to share your thoughts with us

My gut says something decent has to be offered. It would seem like lunacy to not offer something really good for what is traditionally their slowest time period, when there have been offers for every other time of the year.
I can't imagine what they might offer Another 4/3 deal perhaps?

Unfortunately I fall in the demographic of people where free dining is the best possible scenario for my family. So our vacation will change for certain. That being said, I appreciate the heads up to consider it might not happen so I can start planning other dates and possibly offsite to stay within our budget.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

But, I'm still asking the question of this: If they aren't filling up the rooms with the discounts that are out now; how are they planning to make up the short fall if they don't put out a discount (ie: FD) that will fill the rooms? Empty rooms equates to profit loss. I don't know of any business who likes those figures. The bottem line is; they still need to find a way to fill those rooms and cut the losses down to a minimum, and in this country's economic situation people aren't going on vacations frivolously these days. If they discontinue FD, will I still go to Disney, the answer is Yes, but I won't be able to go every year. My trips will be regulated back to every other year, so every other year, the room I now occupy will be empty. It all comes down to economics. Filled rooms, makes $$$, whether it be in tickets, room rates, food, and merchandise.

 

[maggiew]

Wow. Scenario #1 would really surprise me. But what do I know. I'm just an average mom with no insider information. But, if they had to offer so many discounts for the summer to get people to visit, I would have thought they needed to offer something at least as good for the autumn.

Also, I would have thought they would need to be aggressive with discounts because of Harry Potter at Universal!! I've already got my week long stay booked at Universal. But I was willing to switch to Disney if a good discount came out. Maybe I will be seeing Harry Potter this year after all.

In addition, a "kids stay and play for free" deal doesn't make as much sense during the school year. Does it??? I mean, I wouldn't take my kids out of school just for free kid food and tix. Does Disney feel that is enough of a draw?? Although it doesn't matter to me so much since my kids are Disney adults.

Maggie

 

[pigletto]

Already within 5 minutes my brain is going to a "Well how about offsite and Universal to see the new Harry Potter stuff" place.

Surely Disney has to know with that new attraction at Universal, not offering a decent discount would be a bad idea.

ETA.. maggiew.. we were typing at the same time.. same thoughts.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

Already within 5 minutes my brain is going to a "Well how about offsite and Universal to see the new Harry Potter stuff" place.

Surely Disney has to know with that new attraction at Universal, not offering a decent discount would be a bad idea.

I completely agree!

 

[CanadianGuy]

But, I'm still asking the question of this: If they aren't filling up the rooms with the discounts that are out now; how are they planning to make up the short fall if they don't put out a discount (ie: FD) that will fill the rooms? Empty rooms equates to profit loss. I don't know of any business who likes those figures. The bottem line is; they still need to find a way to fill those rooms and cut the losses down to a minimum, and in this country's economic situation people aren't going on vacations frivolously these days. If they discontinue FD, will I still go to Disney, the answer is Yes, but I won't be able to go every year. My trips will be regulated back to every other year, so every other year, the room I now occupy will be empty. It all comes down to economics. Filled rooms, makes $$$, whether it be in tickets, room rates, food, and merchandise.

See this is what I'm stuck on as well..

The way part of it was explained to me was that since they are still very much worried about July and up to mid August -- they are still focusing efforts there (as witnessed by the number of discounts ending August 14th).

That much makes sense to me.. from the standpoint that they want the offers for those dates to get as much as exposure and time to book for those dates as possible before offering anything for the fall.

I suspect the thinking is.. if the July August offers were competing with the fall promo -- more people might take the fall promo and ignore the July/Aug dates.

Anecdotally.. I work in a completely different business.. and in our business.. the last 2 months have been gangbusters with us selling nearly as much product as we have available. Perhaps the economy is also picking up elsewhere in big and small ways?

Dunno. Guess we'll see.

And