How does Free Dining usually work?

[roomthreeseventeen]

This is completely speculative, since we don't even know what the promotion is going to be, but...

Does free dining usually come when you book a package? Do you need to sign up for a dining plan, and then it's free? I'm thinking of running the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, and I priced the runner's package out today and it came to $1100 for two people for a long weekend (staying at the Poly, 2 days of park tickets with a hopper), but I couldn't add a dining package on to that.

So, do I need to book a package without the runner's discount to take advantage of free dining, or does it work like you just make your ADR's, and it's free food?

TIA

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

You have to have a package to get free dining. You pay rack rate for your room, you have to have at least a 1day ticket, and you get the dining plan for free. The whole package is booked with a promotional code...just like the gift card promo that is currently running.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

You have to have a package to get free dining. You pay rack rate for your room, you have to have at least a 1day ticket, and you get the dining plan for free. The whole package is booked with a promotional code...just like the gift card promo that is currently running.

Ah, gotcha. Thank you. Free Dining doesn't do anything good for me then. Rack rate?

 

[mking624]

You need to book ta package and pay rack rate for it (discounts/pins do not stack). Free dining doesn't "usually come" with it because it's only a limited time thing. It has not been released yet and when it is released, it's typically good from mid to late August through September (or the VERY beginning of October...usually 10/2). When you book the package, mention you want the free dining. Some CMs have asked for the code, which many people will have posted here, others just say ok and don't bother asking.

 

[mking624]

Ah, gotcha. Thank you. Free Dining doesn't do anything good for me then. Rack rate?

Paying rack rate may seem silly to some, but you'd have to calculate the discount that would work out better. In our case, we get to eat at many more restaurants for free that we wouldn't have been able to afford...which in the long run saves us more money (and we get more food) than if we used another discount. For others, using another discount is much more beneficial. All depends on the person/family.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Paying rack rate may seem silly to some, but you'd have to calculate the discount that would work out better. In our case, we get to eat at many more restaurants for free that we wouldn't have been able to afford...which in the long run saves us more money (and we get more food) than if we used another discount. For others, using another discount is much more beneficial. All depends on the person/family.

Yeah, totally understood. If we went in October, it would only be for two nights, and so we're talking MAYBE three TS, most likely two.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I'm running the Wine and Dine half too. I rented points to stay at AKV Kidani Savannah View which makes it $160 night (no tax and what not when you're just paying a person, but cost of the room varies on how much you pay per point from the DVC member) and added the dining plan (which you can do without buying tickets with DVC). Now I'm contemplating buying discount tickets through the runner's program. Of course, AKV/AKL is not a "host" resort like the Poly is but I'll have a car. BC is a "host" resort if you were interested in renting points to stay at BCV. Just an idea! I wanted to stay at the Poly this time too but since I'm really only going for 5 days, not planning to do much at the parks other than maybe MNSSHP, and to run the half, I decided against it. Also, you may want to crunch the numbers again if they offer a room only discount code for that time frame, it may be a better discount (especially at the Poly) than the runner's package.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I'm running the Wine and Dine half too. I rented points to stay at AKV Kidani Savannah View which makes it $160 night (no tax and what not when you're just paying a person) and added the dining plan (which you can do without buying tickets with DVC). Now I'm contemplating buying discount tickets through the runner's program. Of course, AKV/AKL is not a "host" resort like the Poly is but I'll have a car. BC is a "host" resort if you were interested in renting points to stay at BCV. Just an idea! I wanted to stay at the Poly this time too but since I'm really only going for 5 days, not planning to do much at the parks other than maybe MNSSHP, and to run the half, I decided against it. Also, you may want to crunch the numbers again if they offer a room only discount code for that time frame, it may be a better discount (especially at the Poly) than the runner's package.

Thanks. At the moment, the Poly discount is a bit over 50%, so that'd be hard to beat.

 

[Pills]

One minor thing -
If you're booking a regular package online with a discount offered on the web page, go to the Special Offers page first, click the "Book Now" or "Check Availability" button that's in the specific offer's link. That will automatically attach the code to your reservation. If you don't do this, you will have to call to attach the offer to your reservation.