New free dining offer yeaaah

[PrincessTiffany]

Random observation- one of the groups of dates goes until November 19. My kids are out of school the week of Thanksgiving. If that date is correct, we could go down Friday evening or even Saturday and get FD for the week of Thanksgiving. That sounds crazy. Would Disney have it like that?

Yes, if you check in by the 19th you could apply the discount to your entire stay, up to 14 nights.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm not sure what how long I've been a member of this forum has to do with anything. I manage a very successful multiple-million dollar business, so I think I've got a pretty good grasp on how business and marketing works. In November of last year I could still book pretty much any room I wanted under the FD or room discount promos and they were announced in July. I'm pretty confident the rooms will book at the same pace as last year. There are no new attractions on economic conditions to make me think otherwise. There are still lots of rooms left under the current promos. If you want to get up at 5am to book your room go ahead. I was merely making a lighthearted comment that I thought it was funny how a bunch of people were freaking out like they had to book a room in the first hour on Wednesday. Some people thought my comment was funny and everyone who didn't ignored it except you.

I didn't ignore it:

I think that 1) Disney tried hard to get everyone convinced this wouldn't happen, so there is much excitement and relief that it finally did and 2) those looking for a very specific room category in a very specific value or moderate resort do know that those go quickly.

Besides, does it matter if some stranger on a discussion board wants to get up at 5 AM?

You have absolutely no way of knowing how many rooms Disney has set aside for this promotion compared to previous promotions. Maybe they had more people take them up on the PIN codes they sent out and have fewer rooms left that they are willing to let go at a sale price. We all know they are trying hard to move away from the discounts. It seems to me the first step would be to cut back the NUMBER of rooms available on each promotion.

And like I said before, why do you CARE of someone is excited and wants to get the long-awaited details of their trip worked out at 5 AM?

 

[g3pak]

More about my random observation- I understand that as long as you check in by the last day of the promotion you get it for your entire stay. We are going Sept. 29- a day earlier than I wish but I am getting FD on last year's promotion and Thursday the 29th is the last day.

It just struck me as strange that Disney would make it that easy for people to have FD over Thanksgiving week, one of their busiest weeks. Have they had FD during the same week in the recent past?

 

[simonmunro]

I am a newbie trying to make all my ADR's I booked in June work. We had originally planned to be at Disney December 10-16. We had not planned to do much on the 10th so it does not bother me to book a room only night at our resort (CSR) and loose that night in the parks. My concern is that our first ADR is for Donald's Breakfast Safari in Animal Kingdom at 8:30. Will I need to use online check in to have everything I need to get into Animal Kingdom that early on the first day of our package? Or will I be able to get all that I need for that when I check in on the 10th at Coronado Springs?

Is my question making sense? This is my first Disney trip to plan and book and I thought I had done such a great job of figuring out all the tricks and then my dates didn't match up!

Also, when I call to book with the CM be helpful in figuring all this out or do I need to know exactly what I want when I call?

You can pick up your tickets at any guest services window at the parks
not the hotel the day of your room only. When you check into your package
the next day you’ll get your dining credits put on your room key but not your tickets
cuz you'll have them already.

 

[richkorn]

Maybe they had more people take them up on the PIN codes they sent out and have fewer rooms left that they are willing to let go at a sale price.

Good point! I'm currently on a 35% off at a mod for one of those dates, but I with a family of 4 would definitely cancel that % off for a free DDP. And I will!

 

[lilandvisma]

It figures my dates won't be included in this....Oh well, looks like unless we get a pin soon I won't be staying on property for my honeymoon...I'm depressed I just can't justify spending that much on a moderate w/ no discount for us.

 

[I<3theMouse]

Yes, if you check in by the 19th you could apply the discount to your entire stay, up to 14 nights.

This is exactly what we'll be doing. I made our ressies a few months ago and included check in on Nov 19th. My hope was that I'd be able to just squeeze in at the end of a free dining offer and end up with free dining the week of Thanksgiving! If this all goes as Danny25 states, I did good because I also went ahead and booked or table service meals the whole week in anticipation of taking advantage of free dining. (yippee!).
I'll be one of the "crazies" up at 5am on the phone w/ Disney at 6am. I'm not risking rooms selling out just so I can sleep another half hour!! Knowing I have our vacation completely arranged after Wed. Morning will be wonderful .

 

[rosanne91]

I was wondering if free dining would be offered for any more dates this year!!

 

[pixiedaisy]

This is exactly what we'll be doing. I made our ressies a few months ago and included check in on Nov 19th. My hope was that I'd be able to just squeeze in at the end of a free dining offer and end up with free dining the week of Thanksgiving! If this all goes as Danny25 states, I did good because I also went ahead and booked or table service meals the whole week in anticipation of taking advantage of free dining. (yippee!).
I'll be one of the "crazies" up at 5am on the phone w/ Disney at 6am. I'm not risking rooms selling out just so I can sleep another half hour!! Knowing I have our vacation completely arranged after Wed. Morning will be wonderful .

Wait, so now we can call at 6am?? The time just gets earlier and earlier

 

[Goofypop]

Wait, so now we can call at 6am?? The time just gets earlier and earlier

They may be Central Time Zone people. Then they would have to call at 6am to reach Disney in the Eastern Time Zone at 7am.

 

[danceintherain]

More about my random observation- I understand that as long as you check in by the last day of the promotion you get it for your entire stay. We are going Sept. 29- a day earlier than I wish but I am getting FD on last year's promotion and Thursday the 29th is the last day.

It just struck me as strange that Disney would make it that easy for people to have FD over Thanksgiving week, one of their busiest weeks. Have they had FD during the same week in the recent past?

They have in the past. The rule for package discounts is that it only must apply on your check in day.
First of all, they know their crowd patterns. Most people don't change their travel dates based on discounts Disney offers. The busiest time of year is also the most expensive, and people willingly pay rack rate to go.
Also, just because Free Dining CAN cover those dates, doesn't mean that it actually will. I'm sure they have a certain number of rooms set aside that can have Free Dining applied, but once those rooms are filled, nobody else will be able to book Free Dining for those dates.

It is clear to me that Free Dining is a good discount for Disney. They wouldn't offer it year after year, especially past the "normal" time period if it didn't make them money. Unlike a room discount or a ticket discount, it is completely subjective. If I book a trip to Disney with a 40% off pin, I know exactly how much money I'm saving on that room. I can spend as little or as much money as I want on food while I'm there.
With Free Dining, I would pay rack rate in exchange for meals. If I don't use up every one of the meals included, the margin of savings gets smaller.
Those of us on the DIS know that in order to get the best value out of Free Dining, and the Dining Plan in general, we need to plan out every meal down to the last sip of overpriced soda.
The General Public doesn't do this. They also likely won't understand the loophole of locking in Free Dining a day early, so it may be completely irrelevant. Should they book Free Dining, they might not understand that there are other discounts available to them. They go into their trip looking at their meals as "free" and may leave many credits unused, or run out of a certain type of credit and pay OOP for other meals in that category. They might not make ADRs and end up eating counter service the entire time, because they try to walk up to restaurants when they're hungry at noon.
This is even more possible over weeks that are more crowded. Very few, if any, people will be able to walk up to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner and actually be able to use their TS credits without an ADR.

Bottom line, Disney knows what they're doing. They discontinue offering discounts that definitely lose them money (Buy 4, Get 3), and prefer free dining, because it is not a guaranteed discount for their guests.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

waiting---tapping foot

 

[SarahD]

It figures my dates won't be included in this....Oh well, looks like unless we get a pin soon I won't be staying on property for my honeymoon...I'm depressed I just can't justify spending that much on a moderate w/ no discount for us.

I suppose your honeymoon isn't a date that can be changed!

 

[SarahD]

Wait, so now we can call at 6am?? The time just gets earlier and earlier

I think online at 6am, on the phone at 7am. New reservation can be booked online (code should be up on website). To change an existing, you will have to call.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Just popping in to see if there is any new news.
When are we expecting to hear/see an official announcement? After we all call and book on Wednesday morning?

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I think online at 6am, on the phone at 7am. New reservation can be booked online (code should be up on website). To change an existing, you will have to call.

No, I think they are talking about living in a different timezone. Also, FD "codes" aren't listed on the Disney website. If you go under the "Special Offers" section on the website it should be on there and you can book through that link. But, please note, there have been instances when a discount, free dining or other may not be on the WDW site until later in the day. In fact, the first 3 or so years of Free Dining, the FD codes were out over 24 hours before the FD promo ever showed up on their site. If it's not there first thing in the morning, be prepared to call Disney Reservations directly.

 

[I<3theMouse]

Wait, so now we can call at 6am?? The time just gets earlier and earlier

Oops! I should have explained I am in Central time zone. Sorry to confuse you!

 

[Grumpy Grandma]

Oops! I should have explained I am in Central time zone. Sorry to confuse you!

And I'm in the Pacific time zone so I could really confuse you!!

 

[SarahD]

No, I think they are talking about living in a different timezone. Also, FD "codes" aren't listed on the Disney website. If you go under the "Special Offers" section on the website it should be on there and you can book through that link. But, please note, there have been instances when a discount, free dining or other may not be on the WDW site until later in the day. In fact, the first 3 or so years of Free Dining, the FD codes were out over 24 hours before the FD promo ever showed up on their site. If it's not there first thing in the morning, be prepared to call Disney Reservations directly.

I do remember the mad scramble a few years ago - the code was wrong on one site and correct on another and you couldn't book without it!

 

[SarahD]

Well, I thought I would spread the word and pass along that a little bird told me that these dates are correct.

I like to see this! Anyone else???