Free dining vs Canadian offer and Room Discount

[Disneymom20]

With free dining announced now, looking at different options with our friends that are hopefully coming, if hubby can be convinced!

Free dining doesn't seem to be offered for Port Orleans for our date - Dec 19-27th...they could change to Caribbean by the looks...but...

Has anyone successfully booked the Canadian ticket offer with a room discount if that comes out?

That would save them some more $$ and keep the resort they were hoping for...any thoughts? Really appreciated! This would be their first trip!

 

[Hopefully]

In general it is either Free Dining or a resort discount but not both.
Free dining is predicated on booking a full price room

 

[Disneymom20]

True! But can you do the Canadian ticket discount with a room discount? I thought I remember reading some people were successful with that one...

 

[disneybree]

True! But can you do the Canadian ticket discount with a room discount? I thought I remember reading some people were successful with that one...

I am Canadian and I booked a discounted room and I could add discount canadian tickets. Free dining is/was not a better option for us since you have to pay a full price room (if I'm correct) with Park Hopper tickets, blahblahblah.

 

[disneybree]

Yup. I stand corrected. "Get a FREE dining plan when you purchase a non-discounted 5-night/6-day Magic Your Way room and ticket package with a Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus Option."

It ended up 1000$ US more expensive than our original MYW package with room discount + CAD discount. No thank you. And, the dollar isn't getting better...

 

[Disneymom20]

We are staying at the Fort Wilderness campsite for Christmas and I just saw someone posted that there was a summer deal that included the campsites..fingers crossed for the fall! I have the discount on tickets already on our package but it would be great to add the other one too! Fingers crossed! Working out better than free dining.

 

[vincent00]

For curiosity, I ran the numbers comparing my upcoming 5-day trip in May (Room discount, Cdn discount on park tickets, DDP added for convenience) to a 5-day trip in mid-September (w free dining, and upgrade to DDP) which is my other go-to time for WDW trips. The cost of my May trip is approximately $100 less expensive than the equivalent during free dining: 2 adults, moderate resort.

My 2 cents: For an adults-only trip, book w room discount and the Canadian park ticket offer. For a family trip with kids, free dining should be less expensive in the long run.

 

[Shrill]

One of our tickets is an Airmiles ticket so free dining wasn't an option. But there is no question that our 2nd Canadian ticket/ room only offer (Pop Century), with regular dining plan (plus upgrades for both tickets to hoppers) for 1 adult, one child, will be significantly cheaper.

 

[disneyshan]

So excited to see this offer this morning. We only wanted to do 2 park days, so the Canadian ticket deal wasn't good for us. This way, we can do our 5 night trip with only 2 day tickets (with hoppers) and get our meals included! We upgraded to the full dining plan for an extra 250$. We were planning on doing breakfast at Ohana and dinner at Be Our Guest which would have cost 250$ for the 4 of us. This way we'll get three extra sit down meals.

 

[Lynne M]

Moving to the Discount Codes & Rates board.

 

[rharper1496]

For our trip it was still significantly cheaper to stick with the original Pop RO discount standard room, Canadian ticket offer and paying OOP for food with 4 TS and the rest QS meals. For curiosity sake I priced a FD offer this morning and once I added in the extra cost for the preferred room (all that was available), the park hoppers that we don't need this time and the upgrade from QS dining to regular dining plus increased tips for the extra TS meals the savings were gone.

 

[soonerdog]

I just priced it out and it is significantly cheaper to use the room discount and Canadian passes. I've talked to many people who had no problem adding the discount passes. I was shocked at some of the free dining prices, especially at the deluxe. If you're willing to put up with construction at Pop and CBR the prices are fantastic!

 

[CanuckGirl78]

You can't combine Cdn ticket discount with room discounts anymore. We're going Dec 18-22 and I asked our travel agent on Friday. She said she "heard" that they can't be combined anymore (they can't confirm anything until Disney releases it), and lo & behold, yesterday when the fall room discounts came out, the fine print said they can't be combined with any other offer. I'm assuming the same will hold true when the winter room discounts come out

 

[cdnusagurl]

You can't combine Cdn ticket discount with room discounts anymore. We're going Dec 18-22 and I asked our travel agent on Friday. She said she "heard" that they can't be combined anymore (they can't confirm anything until Disney releases it), and lo & behold, yesterday when the fall room discounts came out, the fine print said they can't be combined with any other offer. I'm assuming the same will hold true when the winter room discounts come out

Seriously? I mean, I get it can't be combined with free dining, but that makes no sense that it can't be combined with a room discount. Especially since the room is being booked separately from the tickets. What's the difference in buying tickets off UT and buying the discounted Disney tickets straight from them and getting a room discount later, because I don't see any.

 

[dmunsil]

Seriously? I mean, I get it can't be combined with free dining, but that makes no sense that it can't be combined with a room discount. Especially since the room is being booked separately from the tickets. What's the difference in buying tickets off UT and buying the discounted Disney tickets straight from them and getting a room discount later, because I don't see any.

Perhaps they won't combine the discounts if you book them in the same package, but obviously if you just buy a room-only with the discount (or a ticketless package) and then buy the tickets separately, that's perfectly kosher. It's only an issue with Free Dining because you have to buy a package with tickets.

 

[Lesverts]

The lack of discount combination has nothing to do with combining offers and all to do with when the offers end. Canadian ticket discount ends on May 20. You can go to the Disney website now and book a package for dates before that and you will be shown the Canadian discount ticket offer as the ticket option for the package. If you want to travel after May 20 you have to work the tickets and the room separately. So you still get both, just booked separately.

Now as for FD vs. ticket discount. For me it was a wash. Same price either with 10% room discount/canadian ticket with DP, 10% room discount/canadian ticket OOP or FD. So I went with free dining because it gives me the most money towards an AP upgrade.

 

[cdnusagurl]

The lack of discount combination has nothing to do with combining offers and all to do with when the offers end. Canadian ticket discount ends on May 20. You can go to the Disney website now and book a package for dates before that and you will be shown the Canadian discount ticket offer as the ticket option for the package. If you want to travel after May 20 you have to work the tickets and the room separately. So you still get both, just booked separately.

Now as for FD vs. ticket discount. For me it was a wash. Same price either with 10% room discount/canadian ticket with DP, 10% room discount/canadian ticket OOP or FD. So I went with free dining because it gives me the most money towards an AP upgrade.

Ah, that makes more sense.

 

[CanuckGirl78]

If you book the room separately from purchasing the park tickets, are you still eligible to do the Disney dining plan, or do you you need to book them together as a package?

 

[dmunsil]

If you book the room separately from purchasing the park tickets, are you still eligible to do the Disney dining plan, or do you you need to book them together as a package?

There is a "ticketless package" that is just a room and dining plan, but you have to either call in or have a travel agent book it,

 

[CanuckGirl78]

There is a "ticketless package" that is just a room and dining plan, but you have to either call in or have a travel agent book it,

Thanks! I had no idea about this. I'm definitely going to ask my travel agent about this as an option!