Free Dining

[Figment56]

Ok, I know I will get lots of comments about this, but here goes! We have been going to DW pretty consistently. We like our vacation at the end of August when most other people are heading home and back to school. We start back to school late in MA. We like the fact that it is less crowded and not quite so hot. Now enter the free dining and the place is totally booked-up, not to mention as a DVC member we don't even qualify for the free dining! It wouldn't hurt so bad if we also got the dining plan. We have had thoughts of canceling our ressies at BCV and trying to find a room to qualify for dining but I think the resorts are pretty full by now! Anyone else feel this way? We can't change dates-too late, plus we got great prices in flights and rental car. Just wondering if anyone else had the same thoughts!

 

[AmyBeth68]

It does sting a little that there is no way for us DVC folks to get the free dining other than NOT stay at our DVC resorts. But I'd still rather be in a DVC resort than anywhere else, so I'm willing to overlook this. I may be a bit peeved however when I'm paying the big bucks $$$$ and the table next to me gets up and leaves after having the same meal and pays nothing . That might hurt a little LOL!

 

[Mary Anne]

The sign up for the fall free dining ended on July 3rd I believe, so unless you have a room booked already with it you're out of luck anyway.

 

[JandD Mom]

Today Disney reinstituted the free dining from 8/21/05 to 10/4/05.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am ... NOT!

Our first DVC stay and we picked the end of August because schools in the South are back and it is not a terribly busy time. Looks like they will be filling up the place, and we won't even be able to get the benefit of the free dining.

 

[Figment56]

Unfortunately, they started it up again! They now can be booked up to August 20th. I really don't care so much about the free dining as I care more about the crowds. We have been there on the 4th of July and also at Thanksgiving and find that it is way too crowded for us! That is why we like the end of August. Oh well, I guess all good things must come to an end!

 

[Tagrel]

Actually, the offer has returned.

Offer valid for travel 8/21-10/4/05 w/ minimum 3 night stay and must be booked by 8/20/05.

We'll be there during this time as well, and like any other promotion I can't take advantage of I try to ignore it. Disney is just trying to fill empty rooms, but something for DVC members would be a nice option.

I just made sure to get ADR's for everything I wanted since the restaurants will most likely be very busy.

 

[Figment56]

I am just so glad there are others who feel the same way we do!

 

[AmyBeth68]

I just had to go and take a closer look at the plan to see if it would actually be "cheaper" for my 5 day trip to book it thru CRO with the My Way Plan. This is all hypothetical LOL! I've already got my OKW studio booked and I'm very content with that. But for comparison sake....

On Mousesavers she said the package which includes the stay at a Value Resort, 6 Day My Way Ticket (slightly longer than I need) and the free dining would cost my family a little over $1100.

We are staying at OKW in a studio WITH a kitchen (for ridiculously low points for this time of year), have access to one of the nicest pool areas on property, and are using our APs for the 3rd time this year. We also have credit from our Disney Visa which will easily cover all of our in park counter service meals and then some. We'll eat all our b'fasts in room before heading out to the parks. So my "cost" will be our dinners...which will probably cost my family $500 (and that's shooting high I think). But definitely less than $1100.

I am not slamming the dining plan or MyWay...I think it's wonderful. But I was beginning to feel bummed out so I did my own calculations . It works for me. NOW if I didn't have APs the story would be VERY different and I'd not be a happy camper . But luck is on our side this time.

 

[marathonmommy]

I had a previously scheduled regular reservation at POP with the dining plan for August 23-28. However, I just joined DVC yesterday and cancelled my existing ressie to get a one-bedroom at BWV. I had to give up the meal plan to do that - I hope I won't regret it. The dining plan was great!

 

[Mary Anne]

OK, didn't realize that it had started up again. This is what I was planning on doing when I was thinking of it.

We're 4 people with two almost adult children.

Book one room at Pop, six days, five nights, with free dinning and a ONE DAY PASS for Disney. You do not have to have the park days equal the room days, so if you have passes or an annual pass this works fine. This one day pass is non expiring and can be used to trade into an Annual Pass at any time. Cost for this = approx $600.

We can no longer just stay in one room, my kids are too big and we need space. I was then going to book a studio at one of the DVC places, and we'd use both rooms, the one at pop and a DVC room.

Best of both worlds.... free food (kinda), points for only a studio instead of a two bedroom (far cheaper), and TWO BATHROOMS.

Sadly, I just couldn't get cheap enough air fare, however, if they've now opened up the window to book, I'll just keep looking in case something just happens.

 

[CarolMN]

Note to self - repeat the following until you believe it!

FL is HOTduring the free dining promotion!
FL is HUMIDduring the free dining promotion!
Florida is FL is HOT and HUMID and it is hurricane season then. And the parks are crowded and it is usually too hot to eat anything except Mickey bars. Did I mention hot????

Minnesota is nice in the summertime.
Minnesota is nice in the summertime.
Minnesota is nice in the summertime.
Minnesota is NICE in the summertime.


OK. So how come it is so hard to see or hear or remember anything except the F R E E part? LOL!

Best wishes-

 

[Mary Anne]

It's the Disney Selective Hearing gene, Carol LOL

 

[AmyBeth68]

OK, didn't realize that it had started up again. This is what I was planning on doing when I was thinking of it.

We're 4 people with two almost adult children.

Book one room at Pop, six days, five nights, with free dinning and a ONE DAY PASS for Disney. You do not have to have the park days equal the room days, so if you have passes or an annual pass this works fine. This one day pass is non expiring and can be used to trade into an Annual Pass at any time. Cost for this = approx $600.

We can no longer just stay in one room, my kids are too big and we need space. I was then going to book a studio at one of the DVC places, and we'd use both rooms, the one at pop and a DVC room.

Best of both worlds.... free food (kinda), points for only a studio instead of a two bedroom (far cheaper), and TWO BATHROOMS.

Sadly, I just couldn't get cheap enough air fare, however, if they've now opened up the window to book, I'll just keep looking in case something just happens.

UGH....you ruined my dillusion LOL . I thought we'd have to buy the passes for x number of days. Yikes. We are getting ripped off with this free dining!! They are torturing us DVC members. Oh well...the wheels are in motion and there's no turning back. Our studio is booked!

So....is the dining plan for the number of days you are booked in a resort or based on the park tickets? Very confusing LOL.

 

[trampslady]

What I know....just couldn't resist first weekend of Food and Wine Festival (even though we will be back in November/December for Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities).

Three nights at value
One-day park hopper
Free dining

$461.76

Plan to change hopper to annual pass (that we need anyway!) and use DVC pricing to purchase them. Should mean we can get our annual passes for about 213.27 each after the application of the value of the hopper and the DVC discount. Not a bad deal!

That leaves room and meals to cost 259.94 (extracting cost of passes)

I think we may just have to do this!

 

[elgerber]

Minnesota is nice in the summertime.
Minnesota is nice in the summertime.
Minnesota is nice in the summertime.
Minnesota is NICE in the summertime.

Um, Carol, are you living in the same Minnesota I'm living in???

 

[Mary Anne]

So....is the dining plan for the number of days you are booked in a resort or based on the park tickets? Very confusing LOL.

The dinning plan is tied to the number of nights you stay. 5 nights = five free dining days. If you stay say 5 nights but are actually there 6 days you can spread the free dining over the six days but any unused points expire at midnight of the checkOUT day.

The # of days of park tickets you buy is not in the picture at all. Although, I can see disney changing that rule

 

[marathonmommy]

I had a previously scheduled regular reservation at POP with the dining plan for August 23-28. However, I just joined DVC yesterday and cancelled my existing ressie to get a one-bedroom at BWV. I had to give up the meal plan to do that - I hope I won't regret it. The dining plan was great!

Someone needs to make me feel better about my decision. After reading how really great this dining plan is, I having serious cancellation remorse. I am trying to think of the benefits to what I did. Let me see . . .
- I don't have to board a bus EVERY time I want to go to a park
- I have oodles of more space at the 1 bed BWV than at POP
- I got to use 2004 points, so I am only paying dues for one month of a year's worth of points
- I am in walking distance of EPCOT and MGM
- There is a gym at BWV (by the way, is there an extra charge to use this?)
- There's a big waterslide at BWV

Oh boy, I'm out of positives! Someone help - make me feel better!

 

[elgerber]

- I don't have to board a bus EVERY time I want to go to a park
- I am in walking distance of EPCOT and MGM

Oh boy, I'm out of positives! Someone help - make me feel better!

I think you did a great job with positives.

The two I left above are the main reasons I bought at BWV, and they are priceless! I think you did the right thing!

 

[Megangel31]

Ok, I know I will get lots of comments about this, but here goes! We have been going to DW pretty consistently. We like our vacation at the end of August when most other people are heading home and back to school. We start back to school late in MA. We like the fact that it is less crowded and not quite so hot. Now enter the free dining and the place is totally booked-up, not to mention as a DVC member we don't even qualify for the free dining! It wouldn't hurt so bad if we also got the dining plan. We have had thoughts of canceling our ressies at BCV and trying to find a room to qualify for dining but I think the resorts are pretty full by now! Anyone else feel this way? We can't change dates-too late, plus we got great prices in flights and rental car. Just wondering if anyone else had the same thoughts!

I feel exactly as you do and I'm glad you've started the thread (I typically read these forums at work during lunch and don't often have the time to write). We go every September as the children in our extended family are still under school-age (all seven of them- I have no children of my own) and we gladly trade the humidity and the bugs for sparser crowds. Last year, we were lucky enough to have booked between hurricanes, so we were not as inconvenienced as many others were. This is the first time since 1984 that all 18 of us are going together.

Now I understand that Disney is a business and using this promotion to both fill rooms during a low season (especially one that may have been affected by last year's actual weather and this year's predictions) and provide exposure to their restaurants to some that would not otherwise venture inside and perhaps will visit again the next time they're at WDW (paying with their own $$$). But still, it bothers me that DVC members cannot benefit in some way and those of us who plan our trips religiously and cannot take advantage of the offer during this time frame will suffer, especially at the counter-service restaurants (We always make our ADR's as soon as they're available and are booked at CRT and WCC (and Dine with Shamu at SW) this time around).

I suppose my only consolation is that maybe some of those who would have stayed offsite are now going to stay on property, just shifting the #'s a bit, and that September is still a slow month. I should probably be worried more about the weather!

 

[TheBeast]

Free dining is very expensive - here's why:

We used up all our points on cruise in April (this year and most of next)
Wife talks me in to going in August (~$600 Pop)
Gets great SWA flight deal (~$450 for four)
Decide to get 10 day non-expire tickets since we'll be back ($1200)
Plus airport parking, souvenears, extra food, etc....

This free dining will cost me over $2300!!!

This almost as expensive as the free flight I got when I was bumped (leading me to buy 3 plane tickets to Disney for rest of family, hotel, tickets...)