New free dining offer yeaaah

[lmbcdb]

Despite all the naysayers, and that my preferred resort didn't sell out the first day, I still HAD FUN!

Yeah, I'm a little weird. The anticipation was fun, even waiting on hold was fun. Reading the drama on the thread was even fun!

I enjoyed every minute of it!

 

[gothtinkerbell]

You are exactly right. You can pick the tickets up for your package up to 3 days in advance of your package IF you are already staying on-site. This pick up might be able to be done at your hotel (if you are at the same hotel) but definitely can at the parks (or DTD).

THIS IS FOR EVERYONE ON THIS THREAD: Be aware that if you check in before free dining and have to re-check in to the hotel the day FD starts, there will be dozens if not hundreds of others doing this, and the check-in lines on those first days can be very long...so take that into account in your planning! In the past when we did this, I went down very early and had no problem, but by 9 AM the wait was > 1 hour. This was also for the August FD, which was very widespread.

I just called Disney on this and a CM told me that there was a memo that went out that stated you WILL NOT be allowed to pick up tickets early that go with your package. So I don't know if I was told something off by a CM that didn't know what was going on or what, but I am not counting on picking up my tickets a day early. If it happens great but if not, oh well.

 

[buckeev]

I just called Disney on this and a CM told me that there was a memo that went out that stated you WILL NOT be allowed to pick up tickets early that go with your package. So I don't know if I was told something off by a CM that didn't know what was going on or what, but I am not counting on picking up my tickets a day early. If it happens great but if not, oh well.

Same here. ..ah well. Anytime time there is conflicting info given by phone reps....we're always gonna end up at the mercy of the GS person we're face-to-face with in Orlando.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Technically, it isn't. The cm that books it could get in trouble. We'll probably get an advisory in a couple of days to remind us that they must have a Canadian address. This happened with a previous room only discount. Will Disney take it away if you have it booked? While they could, they won't.

I have no doubt that an offer will come out for domestic FD for late summer/early fall though. They told us it would not come out again for August/September this year. Because they said the offer that had to be booked by December, and they said it was the last chance. That we legally could not offer it for those dates again. The Memories package is technically a different offer.

I will admit that I will not book it for a domestic guest though. As much as I love making guests happy, I love having that job and being able to create magic a little bit more.

You say you have no doubt that there will be FD offered for laste Summer/early Fall. Do you know/think they will offer it at the end of May again? I sure hope so as it saved us a ton of money this year.

**edited to add: Or any type of discount for the last week of May through the first week of June.

 

[skier_pete]

I just called Disney on this and a CM told me that there was a memo that went out that stated you WILL NOT be allowed to pick up tickets early that go with your package. So I don't know if I was told something off by a CM that didn't know what was going on or what, but I am not counting on picking up my tickets a day early. If it happens great but if not, oh well.

Same here. ..ah well. Anytime time there is conflicting info given by phone reps....we're always gonna end up at the mercy of the GS person we're face-to-face with in Orlando.

There are other threads on this on the main page...

Here's an example: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2687237


(1) You are not talking to Guest Services CM and so are not aware of the situation with tickets and what is allowed and
(2) You are only allowed to pick up the tickets early if you are in fact a resort guest. Therefore, when the question is asked "can I pick my tickets early" they might not realize that you are staying on-site. Or they might not realize the difference between staying on-site and staying off-site.

Finally...I can't imagine that Disney is going to change this policy without a major, major announcement. Could you imagine the FURY of guests when they show up to get their tickets and are told they CAN'T. I personally would be furious and rightly so after having several CM tell me that I can do this.

SP

 

[keishashadow]

Same here. ..ah well. Anytime time there is conflicting info given by phone reps....we're always gonna end up at the mercy of the GS person we're face-to-face with in Orlando.

not if you insist on speaking to their supervisor who will know that you can pick up the tix early or will be more willing to make a phone call to verify it.

 

[pilferk]

how does the free dining work for those of us who are dvc members? i have a 2bd,and 4 studios booked for old key west in december 5-11th. how can we get in on the free dining or is it even avail for us? we will be buying or tickets before we get there. any help would be great.

No free dining for DVC members.

HOWEVER, what you can do is book a room (in addition to your villa) and get free dining that way (in other words...book the room, get your tickets, check in to the hotel..but dont' actually USE the room).

In some cases (depending on your party make up and dates of travel) this can actually be a bit cheaper than simply paying for the dining plan.

Keep in mind: Disney gives "free dining" to fill up underutilized hotel rooms. AND you have to pay rack rate for those rooms to get free dining.

Neither of those make any sense when looking at DVC members.

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

This is a terribly long thread and I'm sure this has been answered before so feel free to point me to the correct spot, but can I do a split stay to receive free dining? We were planning on arriving the 10th of December and leaving the 16th. Could we do a room only reservation for the 10th and then a package for the 11-17th or is that frowned upon? TIA!

 

[Bertie131]

Yes, you can do a split stay to get the free dining, however, crunch the numbers first. For me, it only saved me about $150.00 for the whole trip to do it that way, and that wasn't worth not being able to get into the parks the first day or the messing around with the possibility of having to move rooms. It is all in what works for you. Good luck!

 

[Grumpy Grandma]

This is a terribly long thread and I'm sure this has been answered before so feel free to point me to the correct spot, but can I do a split stay to receive free dining? We were planning on arriving the 10th of December and leaving the 16th. Could we do a room only reservation for the 10th and then a package for the 11-17th or is that frowned upon? TIA!

Yes you can do that .... might want to add a day onto your package tickets to cover your room only reservation. You can pick up your park tickets up to 3 days early at Guest Relations at any of the parks or DTD. The lead person on the reservation will need to be there to pick up the tickets and have the fd dining reservation number. Some of CMs on the phone are saying you can't do this but so far the Guest Relations CMs are posting that you can still do this.

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

Yes, you can do a split stay to get the free dining, however, crunch the numbers first. For me, it only saved me about $150.00 for the whole trip to do it that way, and that wasn't worth not being able to get into the parks the first day or the messing around with the possibility of having to move rooms. It is all in what works for you. Good luck!

The moving of the rooms is a huge concern. We don't need tickets the day we arrive because we normally just hit DTD and try to get to bed early so we can enjoy the next day. Would we necessarily have to move rooms if we stayed within the same resort?

 

[jamiesmom07]

The moving of the rooms is a huge concern. We don't need tickets the day we arrive because we normally just hit DTD and try to get to bed early so we can enjoy the next day. Would we necessarily have to move rooms if we stayed within the same resort?

When fd came out on Wednesday I had the same situation you have. I told the cm what I needed and she explained I could do the split stay, checking out and back in on the first day of fd. When I asked the question about moving rooms she said to make sure that I tell them at check in for the first reservation that you have a second reservation and would like to stay in the same room, she said that they typically like to keep people in their rooms. She was pretty confident about us being able to stay in our room BUT, as this thread shows the cm's aren't always spot on with their information. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have to move. Good luck!

 

[mom2rtk]

This is a terribly long thread and I'm sure this has been answered before so feel free to point me to the correct spot, but can I do a split stay to receive free dining? We were planning on arriving the 10th of December and leaving the 16th. Could we do a room only reservation for the 10th and then a package for the 11-17th or is that frowned upon? TIA!

That's what we're doing.

Yes you can do that .... might want to add a day onto your package tickets to cover your room only reservation. You can pick up your park tickets up to 3 days early at Guest Relations at any of the parks or DTD. The lead person on the reservation will need to be there to pick up the tickets and have the fd dining reservation number. Some of CMs on the phone are saying you can't do this but so far the Guest Relations CMs are posting that you can still do this.

There are a couple of threads in the theme parks forum about this. Here's one:

http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2772089&page=7

Typically it has not been a problem to get your tickets a couple days early, but some CM's are reporting that just as free dining was announced they made a point of telling people they would no longer do this. It remains to be seen if this is actually the case. We were hoping to go into the MK that first night, but will have some alternate plans in mind just in case. Hopefully we'll hear enough feedback from others going ahead of us to know ahead of time.

The moving of the rooms is a huge concern. We don't need tickets the day we arrive because we normally just hit DTD and try to get to bed early so we can enjoy the next day. Would we necessarily have to move rooms if we stayed within the same resort?

They do try to keep you in the same room, but will not guarantee it in advance. The one other time we did this we didn't have to move.

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

Thanks everyone for answering my question about the split stay!

Now one more question, do I need to call Disney to book the split stay or can a travel agent do it? Should I use an agent at all? The TA I've trusted and used for years has recently changed positions, and now I'm leery of using anyone else because she was absolutely awesome. Would I be better off booking it myself?

 

[surfergirl602]

Thanks everyone for answering my question about the split stay!

Now one more question, do I need to call Disney to book the split stay or can a travel agent do it? Should I use an agent at all? The TA I've trusted and used for years has recently changed positions, and now I'm leery of using anyone else because she was absolutely awesome. Would I be better off booking it myself?

I've booked several split stays (I'm a disney ta) and my clients have never had any problems. It's easy peasy and should be painless for you.

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

I've booked several split stays (I'm a disney ta) and my clients have never had any problems. It's easy peasy and should be painless for you.

Thanks! Knowing that it's not difficult to do, makes me feel a lot more comfortable booking it through a different TA.

 

[surfergirl602]

Thanks! Knowing that it's not difficult to do, makes me feel a lot more comfortable booking it through a different TA.

You're welcome!! Glad I could help.

 

[kanderson89]

Booked our ADRs for our Feb stay. Yippee Soooooo looking forward to Jiko.

 

[islandgirl_di]

Danny25 thank you so much, I am late posting this, but the heads up on free dining was a huge help for me!! You are the man!!!

 

[danny25]

Danny25 thank you so much, I am late posting this, but the heads up on free dining was a huge help for me!! You are the man!!!

You are welcome, and you will have a Magical vacationand eat a lot of delicious things with the FD, enjoy