How to book before Free Dining is announced??

[babybunny223]

I have been to Disney several times but have always paid full price for the Basic Dining Plan. I need a little help to figure out the best way to book since I am getting antsy to get planning and my 180 days for my ADRs opens this Sunday.

If I book in the next few days, before Free Dining is (hopefully) announced, do I go ahead and book the dining portion? Then, Disney will refund me the dining cost once I have a Visa dining promotion code? Theoretically, if I book a value resort and Disney decides to give values the QSDP, I want to upgrade to upgrade to basic. Do they refund me to QSDP price and I pay the difference between the two plans?

Any advice is welcomed!

 

[su_A_ve]

Last year I booked all of my dining without linking to my rez (I couldn't figure out how). When I got to the restaurant I said I had a dining plan.

Up to you - put the money now, and wait for a refund, or wait to pay later...

 

[Nutz4Dizney]

I always book my book my ressies then when FD comes out I just call up and have them add that to my ressies.

I booked CBR for 2 adults and 1 child in the Pirate room with Plus DIning option. If the FD plan comes out I will call them up and add that.
I did it last year the same way and it worked fine.

 

[jmpellet]

I ended up booking a package plus my ressies since I wanted HDDR and would have had to pay upfront.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I have been to Disney several times but have always paid full price for the Basic Dining Plan. I need a little help to figure out the best way to book since I am getting antsy to get planning and my 180 days for my ADRs opens this Sunday.

If I book in the next few days, before Free Dining is (hopefully) announced, do I go ahead and book the dining portion? Then, Disney will refund me the dining cost once I have a Visa dining promotion code? Theoretically, if I book a value resort and Disney decides to give values the QSDP, I want to upgrade to upgrade to basic. Do they refund me to QSDP price and I pay the difference between the two plans?

Any advice is welcomed!

All you have to put down when you book is $200.00. You can pay the balance when you call back to add the Free Dining code. Why bother with paying in full and then having to wait a while credit card cycle to get your refund?

 

[nikki&petey]

I thought I read somewhere that if you book your room now, and then if free dining is announced there is no guarantee you can add free dining to your reservation. That there has to still be a discounted room available at the resort you want.

Is that true? Otherwise I would book today and then hopefully add free dining when they announce it.

 

[mking624]

I thought I read somewhere that if you book your room now, and then if free dining is announced there is no guarantee you can add free dining to your reservation. That there has to still be a discounted room available at the resort you want.

Is that true? Otherwise I would book today and then hopefully add free dining when they announce it.

It is true that FD rooms/resorts would need to be available. But if your package is already booked and you call right away, you're very likely to get it. This is a method many people have used in the past, myself included. I'm doing it again this year. Package and ADRs already booked (with only $200 deposit down)...going to add FD when it's released.

 

[Pills]

I thought I read somewhere that if you book your room now, and then if free dining is announced there is no guarantee you can add free dining to your reservation. That there has to still be a discounted room available at the resort you want.

Is that true? Otherwise I would book today and then hopefully add free dining when they announce it.

Before we booked this time, I called and made sure that we could add any coming offer to the reservation. The CM on the phone told me that we could do that with no problem, so we should call when free dining comes out.

 

[disneyfan55]

Before we booked this time, I called and made sure that we could add any coming offer to the reservation. The CM on the phone told me that we could do that with no problem, so we should call when free dining comes out.

Yes, but your room type has to be included in the offer to do this. You always have to be flexible to change.

 

[Missytara]

I can give you an example.

I go the week after T-giving at POR every year. Last year, a friend (who has since gotten me hooked on these boards, because he read the code here) gave me the code to switch to the 4/3 deal.

I called right away and POR was already full - remember, discounts are made to fill rooms. If the resort is already full, then there won't be rooms available for your current ressie. So here is what they offered me:

1. For $800.00 more, I could upgrade to a savannah room at AKL; I was traveling with two college students and I had already paid for the entire room. I couldn't cough up the rest and I wasn't going to ask them either.

2. They offered me the savings, but over at CBR. I had already been to CBR once and it just wasn't my cup of tea.

3. They came back and offered me a small savings to upgrade to SSR in a studio.

I took SSR. Therefore, you have to be very flexible when getting any codes... they might not always be for the resort that you originally like to stay - it may already be booked solid - like POR - and you won't get to stay where you would like, but you could upgrade to something nice.....

 

[nikki&petey]

Agh, the wait is killing me. I might do what you guys suggested and just book it and hope for the best.

 

[DoodlesMom]

I thought that I was told last year that you would have to cancel your previous ressie & re-book with the code & take your chances? ARGH now I don't know what to do

 

[Missytara]

I thought that I was told last year that you would have to cancel your previous ressie & re-book with the code & take your chances? ARGH now I don't know what to do

No, you can use the same ressie number, but you may not be in the same resort as originally booked.

That may be what you are thinking of..... if the code doesn't apply to the resort you are already booked under, you may have to switch resorts to keep the code.

 

[mking624]

I thought that I was told last year that you would have to cancel your previous ressie & re-book with the code & take your chances? ARGH now I don't know what to do

This really depends on a couple of things...
First, if you are already booked under a discount/code, it needs to be canceled and rebooked under rack rate.
Second, if a package is already booked under rack rate, the free dining needs to be available at the resort/room you are booked in. If not, the package changes (not sure if it's actually canceled and rebooked, or if they simply switch resorts...I've booked a package before where I was able to switch resorts without canceling the ressie, but this was not with FD).