I have a "free dining" theory

[Pedler]

My DH made this observation on our last trip. We had no reason to go off site for meals or Orlando attractions because we had "locked" ourselves into Disney. No rental car, most meals paid for, we spent our vacation dollars on Disney property in Disney stores and restaurants. He though that the market strategy was amazing.

The people that came up with these packages are ensconced in the Disney Marketing Hall of Fame right next to the person that came up with Pin Trading. (Hmm... lets get this right. If we tell people to trade them and have CM's where them they will buy even more of those high margin pins? Brilliant! Ka Ching, Ka Ching!)

 

[FogliaFamily]

I'm sure my questions have been answered a hundred times on this forum, so please forgive my redundancy.

1) If I add DDP to my existing package, do I have to pay for it in full now or is it just tacked on to the total price due later?

2) If I have DDP on my package and I call for ADR's for Cinderella's Royal Table and Hoop Dee Do, do I still pay for them in full right then?

3) If I do pay for these things and then free dining is offered later, do I get my $ back?

Thanks

If you already have the DDP on your reservation, they will take your cc# for certain restaurants, such as Royal Table, Hoop Dee Do, Akershus Norway and a few others. They will only charge your credit card if you don't show up. You have 48 hours before the meal to cancel it with no charge to your cc. If you show up, then no problem - you won't be charged at all. Just remember to cancel at least 48 hrs in advance if you don't plan on going. Have fun!!

 

[mirthmaiden]

I booked HDDR and we are on the dining plan. I was charged over $200 but was told that it would be refunded when we arrived for our adr.

I'm going to post another thread about CRT since I got ressies today for that. BUT... we are also on the DDP and my cc# has been pre-authorized for the entire cost of the meal, depsite the reservations person telling me three times that my cc would not be charged, only used to secure the reservation in case we didn't show. I was not prepared to be charged $229+ today

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Lest us not forget that in order to get the DDp, free or not, you pay rack rate for your resort (unless DVC) and also at least a 1 day park pass per person, with no dicounts allowed at all.

Sorry, this is not true.

Yes, with free dining you pay rack rate (you discount on the package comes from the dining portion, not your room rate).

But Disney has offered discounted packages (usually a portion off the room rate equal to the general public room only rates) where you are able to add the dining plan to the discounted package (I had discounts on both my Dec 05 and my Oct 06 packages - on the room portion - and I got the DDP as well).

 

[princess aurora]

I think the confusion comes when DDP is FREE. There also has to be a "package" purchased (rooms & tickets) to add the DDP to your stay. You can get a room rate reduction and add the DDP but I believe you can not get a rate reduction and also take advantage of FREE DDP if/when it happens late August through Sept.
Disney allows only 1 promotion at one time.

 

[FamilyGuy]

But Disney has offered discounted packages (usually a portion off the room rate equal to the general public room only rates) where you are able to add the dining plan to the discounted package (I had discounts on both my Dec 05 and my Oct 06 packages - on the room portion - and I got the DDP as well).

Was this booked through AAA (or CAA in your case)?

I recall reading that the only way to get the DDP (free or not) with a discounted room rate, was when booking via AAA...

This might, just might, be different for residents of Canada too. I do know that there are some discounts offered from time to time to residents fo Canada that do not extend to American residents.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

The discounts were offered directly through Disney and they were available to all (not just Canadians).

For my Dec 05 trip I had originally booked through CAA for the package discount (and added on the DDP) but Disney came out with a better deal so I switched to that discount instead.

Last October I saved $600 off my package (room portion) at the beach club which was about $85-$90 a night I believe. Again, this was directly through Disney in a general public code for packages.

Yes, with the free dining you have to pay full price for your room but really since you are talking packages, it is simply a different method of calculating the discount on the package (you are still saving $$ overall if you were going the package route).