Likelihood of Free Dining - Fall 2010

[twokids0204]

What are your thoughts?

 

[metsno1]

I hate to jinx anything.

But given the fact that the current dining promo ends on August 14, Disney continues to struggle to fill rooms, and the economy isn't exactly bristling, I'd say there was absolutely no way they won't offer FD in some form. It would not surprise me to see them limit FD at the values to QSDP, with the regular plan being reserved for the Mods and the Deluxes.

I know that we're among a large group of families that probably won't stay on site without FD, or (perhaps more likely) we'll shorten our stay from 13 nights to about 8 or 9. And we probably won't go during value season paying full rack rate either. We'll use a PIN to go when the weather's better.

My best guess is that the folks at Disney know that if they want to fill rooms during Aug-Sep, they still have to offer something pretty significant! And one other thing, the fact that they offered the bounce back FD bodes well too. Obviously, nothing's a guarantee, but I'd say that all of the signs point to FD. I sure hope I'm right!!!!

 

[g3pak]

I have been in full agreement with the PP's theory, but I read something last night that made me a little nervous. The offer on the UK's site (if I read it right) for Aug/ Sept is no FD for the values, QS for the mods, and full FD for the deluxes. I think in the past the UK offers have been at least as good as what came out later in the US. If that is true this year, then that means no FD for values.

Like I said, up until now I believed that they would follow the bounceback offer- full FD for all levels, or be similar to recent offers and have QS at the Values and full FD for all others. I still think that will be what happens, but I am not as confident as I was 24 hours ago.

Either way, we should know in a week or so.

 

[Madformickey]

I hope they continue offering this for a long time. With out it im sure alot of us wouldnt eat at as many nicer resteraunts and would do burgers and chicken for 7-10 days.

On another note, i saw a special on the uk site were they could get free dining and a good discount at saratoga springs or old key west!!! That would be awsome.

right now it says dine for free and 14 day tickets for the price of seven.

 

[TDC Nala]

Depends on what you mean by "fall." Do you mean the August/September/possibly first few days of October offer that has been out for booking by the general public every year since 2005? Or do you mean the October-December general public offer that was only available in 2009? The August/September public offer is more likely than the October/December public offer for 2010 in my opinion. The big question (besides whether there will actually be a general public offer) is whether or not quick service dining will be offered free for value resorts on 2010 general public offers.

I don't think UK was ever offered free dining for values. British visitors tend to stay longer and spend more, so their offers are different. They can also get a maximum 21 nights of free dining, while US visitors are limited to 14 nights. The British offer is also good for July through November this year. You can't use the UK offers to anticipate what the US offers might be, they're just too different.

 

[twokids0204]

depends on what you mean by "fall." do you mean the august/september/possibly first few days of october offer that has been out for booking by the general public every year since 2005? Or do you mean the october-december general public offer that was only available in 2009? The august/september public offer is more likely than the october/december public offer for 2010 in my opinion. The big question (besides whether there will actually be a general public offer) is whether or not quick service dining will be offered free for value resorts on 2010 general public offers.

I don't think uk was ever offered free dining for values. British visitors tend to stay longer and spend more, so their offers are different. They can also get a maximum 21 nights of free dining, while us visitors are limited to 14 nights. The british offer is also good for july through november this year. You can't use the uk offers to anticipate what the us offers might be, they're just too different.

Yes....

 

[jenga1030]

I'm positive they'll offer some sort of free dining. But I have a feeling it will be free QSDP for the Values. But who knows!

(I'm glad we booked BB last year for AS Music, and we always will for as long as it's offered! )

 

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

I can't wait to find out what the deal is. Last year we had free dining, so I am hoping to modify my ressie this year to reflect that!

 

[su_A_ve]

PINs and BounceBack already were out for August 14th to Sept. 29th. I expect public and/or DVR offers will be the same and would come out in a week or so.

For the late fall, it depends on occupancy levels...

 

[luvdisney00]

I am so glad that so many people seem to think that FD will be offered similar to previous years. We booked POR Aug. 22-27 at rack rate not counting on FD, but hoping that some kind of discount would be offered. I fully intended to go with or without FD, but we just found out that we need a new furnace AND finished our taxes to discover that our refund is significantly smaller than expected.

SO without a good offer I might either postpone the trip or stay(and eat) offsite. COME ON DISNEY GIVE US FREE DINING!!!!!!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I posted this in another thread but I think it is worth repeating here.

This is the slowest season at WDW. They started this promotion before the economic downturn because they just weren't filling the rooms even during good times. Late August through late September or early October will be the last time of year to lose promotions because of this. Free dining this time of year has been highly successful for them so I really doubt they won't offer it in some form this year again.

I really doubt that they'll offer QSDP at all resort levels. Does anybody remember last year how over booked the values were and how under booked the deluxes were? Disney was giving all sorts of free upgrades to OKW and SSR to people booked at values. By offering different levels of incentives as they've been doing for the past 6(?) months, this encourages many people to stay at higher end resorts rather than values because there's only a small difference in cost to upgrade. This helps spread the load out over all the resorts. I do see offering QSDP at values and basic DDP at mods and deluxes. Having to upgrade people for free to higher end resorts doesn't make as much financial sense as offering a bit less of a discount to those at cheaper resorts.

 

[Corjack]

I do see offering QSDP at values and basic DDP at mods and deluxes. Having to upgrade people for free to higher end resorts doesn't make as much financial sense as offering a bit less of a discount to those at cheaper resorts.

I think you can count on this also. Especailly since the had the buy 4 get 3 free but the values were buy 5 get 2 free. Makes sense that you would get less free at a value.

 

[Don Disney]

I think you can count on this also. Especailly since the had the buy 4 get 3 free but the values were buy 5 get 2 free. Makes sense that you would get less free at a value.

You could be right,but do you think Disney is really willing to roll the dice by offering LESS to people who stay at Value Resorts? There are a LOT of people(including my family)who stay on-property BECAUSE of the "Free-Dining" incentive-and that incentive has been filling rooms,Value and otherwise.So,how many rooms will they fill without that incentive? We'll gladly go back off-site to a larger room,free breakfast daily,evening cocktails during weekdays,and the ability to cook our own meals like we had before!! Our trips were MUCH cheaper,and just as enjoyable as being on-site,save the great meals at the Disney Restaurants we have become accustomed to!! I'm quite sure that the local hotels are PRAYING that Disney doesn't offer that great incentive we all know as"Free-Dining"-That will bode well for them,as I am also quite sure that many who have counted on FD in the past will decide to go back off property as well,especially since the economy is still in recovery mode!!! FD also tends to keep people"captive",along with their money,firmly on Disney Property-right where they want us!!!

 

[sdmom]

but I'd rather have a pin for 40% off a villa

 

[metsno1]

You could be right,but do you think Disney is really willing to roll the dice by offering LESS to people who stay at Value Resorts?

Yeah, I actually think they might in an effort to spread out the crowds and get the mods a bit more business during FD. If they offer only QSDP at the Values, I think a *lot* of people would consider upgrading to the DDP for an extra $10/night/person. That would be a $40 per day upgrade for a family like ours. That isn't much more than the difference between the rack rate at the Values vs. the Mods-and I'm pretty certain that the CM's taking ressies will point that out!

So unless you love the Value resorts, why stay value vs. mods for roughly the same price?

All that being said, I still *think* they'll offer DDP across the board, but as I've said, I wouldn't be shocked if they did it a bit differently this year.

 

[Don Disney]

$40/day/person=$400!!!! We stay for 10 nights!;besides,we don't go to WDW for the room!

 

[Corjack]

Free QSDP is still free food. It is not like they are not offering you a good deal still. I would be thrilled for free QSDP, I hope they do it at the very least. We don't go to Disney for the food so we mostly eat QS anyway.

Jackie

 

[Don Disney]

Free QSDP is still free food. It is not like they are not offering you a good deal still. I would be thrilled for free QSDP, I hope they do it at the very least.We don't go to Disney for the food so we mostly eat QS anyway."This is true,but it's still so much more fun doing free character meals!!!We live in New Orleans,so we're DEFINATELY not going for the food either!!!

 

[Sandisw]

I'm positive they'll offer some sort of free dining. But I have a feeling it will be free QSDP for the Values. But who knows!

(I'm glad we booked BB last year for AS Music, and we always will for as long as it's offered! )

This is my guess. They will scale it back at the values to QSDP. Even for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) for 7 nights, this adds around $170 to the cost of the trip over getting the regular DDP for free.

And, given the fact that last year they upgraded many value guests to SSR and OKW for free, many may be willing to take the deal anyway.

 

[metsno1]

$40/day/person=$400!!!! We stay for 10 nights!;besides,we don't go to WDW for the room!

Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that the upgrade isn't a lot of cash. I'm just suggesting that there are a bunch of people who think it would be worth it. Heck, we just went through our folder from the last trip, and came across the dining receipts. $250 for Coral Reef. Over $300 for Artists Point. And on and on. Those two meals alone would basically cover the cost of the upgrade for our family! And we really enjoyed those places, plus O'Hana, CM, Cape May, Boma, and so on. So for us, if we wanted to stay at a Value resort, the extra cash for two weeks of TS credits would be worth every penny. That would immediately lead me to a comparison of the cost of the Values vs. the Mods, and for another what $280 over two weeks, we could stay at our fav resort, CSR and get the full DDP for free. And for a two week stay, the upgrade to queen beds, a killer pool, and our favorite food court to boot makes it worth it. We only "do Disney" once every few years, so I don't mind spending a few extra bucks. In between, we mostly go camping so our other vacations cost next to nothing!!

And while I don't claim to be a connoisseur of fine food, we most definitely do do go to WDW for the food!