New Pilot Program for Aug-Sep. 2007....Looks like FREE DINING

[Cinderumbrella]

We are going in 10 days and want to do this since we were planning on going next September anyway.

Does anyone know if you have to be staying at one of the test resorts to get this? We are at AKL...

Thanks!!

 

[ga9497]

does anybody knows if there is a max number of days for 2007 free dinning? Thanks.

It will be either 10 or 14 nights max
This year it was 10 nights but next year they are booking packages for 14 nights which they didn't have this year

 

[ga9497]

Hi
The ASMusic Suites weren't included in the free dining this past summer. Does anyone know if you could stay there with the free dining next August?Thanks!

Probably not - Disney doesn't normally discount any room that has "suite" in its description

 

[Cruiser1969]

What's to stop a person from booking a vacation (with dining) NOW, securing a room and even making ADR's when the 6 month window opens up and THEN applying the free dining code when (and if) that is offered?

 

[n2mm]

What's to stop a person from booking a vacation (with dining) NOW, securing a room and even making ADR's when the 6 month window opens up and THEN applying the free dining code when (and if) that is offered?

Sometimes this works and sometimes this doesn't. Disney will not simply apply the discount. They have to pull up the exact reservation you have and it has to be available as part of the current promotion -- same resort, same room level, then they will give you the discount. If they pull up the resort you're booked in and it's sold out of discounted packages, then no, you will not get the discount. If you want to book a package with the intention of keeping it, that's great, but it no way guarantees you a discount for it. It actually hurts everyone's chances because you show disney that one more room is booked and therefore does not have to be discounted. Hope this makes sense. Of course, you can always book the room package you plan to pay for at full price and if that room is not available at the discounted price, you can always change it to another resort that is available.

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Color me confused. What is it with the 1 day MYW ticket thing? What am I missing?

 

[Cruiser1969]

Sometimes this works and sometimes this doesn't. Disney will not simply apply the discount. They have to pull up the exact reservation you have and it has to be available as part of the current promotion -- same resort, same room level, then they will give you the discount. If they pull up the resort you're booked in and it's sold out of discounted packages, then no, you will not get the discount. If you want to book a package with the intention of keeping it, that's great, but it no way guarantees you a discount for it. It actually hurts everyone's chances because you show disney that one more room is booked and therefore does not have to be discounted. Hope this makes sense. Of course, you can always book the room package you plan to pay for at full price and if that room is not available at the discounted price, you can always change it to another resort that is available.

Thanks for the clear explanation . . . I was only asking in theory as the question popped in my mind as I was taking in all the information on this thread. I could see how pre-booking would really screw things up overall if too many bookings make the resorts look full when in fact they are not.

 

[vero]

Does anyone know if there is a maximun of days for the free dinning offer in 2007?

 

[disneyjunkie]

Color me confused. What is it with the 1 day MYW ticket thing? What am I missing?

In order to purchase a package, you must buy park admission. In the past your had to buy length of stay passes. When Disney rolled out the Magic Your Way package, they allowed guest to customize packages to match their vacation style.

This way, someone could book a resort for 14 nights (10 max for free dining) yet only purchase a one day base ticket. This allows those with APs to get in on the dining packages.

 

[disneygirl29]

A CM told me to book room only, and then upgrade to package if/when it became available, or if I wanted to upgrade regardless. The CM said to downgrade from the DDP, etc, required the resv. to be cancelled and to start all over again. Is this true?

 

[wilda]

What I find odd is that the offer is for guest's staying onsite only. Never seen that before.[/QUOTE]


This is a marketing strategy similar to what the cruise ships do. There is always an area where guests can book upcoming cruises. They entice you with special promotions and incentives. If your having a good time and they can grab your attention while your "in the moment" there is a much better chance of closing the sale.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a "vacation specialist" representative in each resort for that very reason.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Am I the only one that doesn't see the "huge incentive" here? As an AP holder w/DDE, my discount rivals what I would save with this package. Especially if I wanted to stay at a Deluxe. Am I missing something here? I was so excited to hear that wdw was doing something like this, only to find out they are offering the same exact discount the same time of year. This is not "new and exciting." This is the same free dining, expect it needs to be booked on site months in advance. I would be hard pressed if this discount does not come out for the general public in april again. Give me a room discount and some other incentives and I'll come down in april, may, june, or even july.

We have APs and DDE, too. Here's the thing - for us (DH, DS10 and I) we're paying nearly $120 per night for dining plan. The deluxe rooms aren't discounted $120 per night during value season. The AP discount for deluxe rooms in Feb. is $80 per night. This saves us more money. Also, we will be there in December to book. Last year we were already completely locked in on our dates with airfare and DH's vacation time, then they offered free dining starting the day after we came home! There was no way to move it around. Also, DS started school the day after we came home so we couldn't have gone a week later. This year free dining starts on the 5th - last year it didn't start until the 13th. Luckily school starts later for us in 2007, so we have 3 weeks to work with.

This way we can book ahead and know we have free dining! AND if we can change dates? OMG! That is HUGE for us because I was going to have to book 3 separate weeks and pray DH could get ONE of them off. This way if we don't have his schedule in time to book I can just book one week and then switch it.

 

[Momto8]

Does anyone know if you can book more than one room to get this deal? DH and I were thinking about taking a trip in December before this came out and thought we could take advantage of this discount since we are definitely going next September. However, we are going with about 27-30 people. We will need anywhere from 7-8 rooms. If not, we will have to wait to see if they offer it to the general public. From reading on this site and Allearsnet, it looks like only those that go to Disney from now until the end of the year can book this deal.

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

normally you can book 3 rooms max. Not sure if that is the case or not though with this pilot program.

 

[maggiew]

Is there a minimum night stay for the trip where you BOOK the bounce back trip? We are going to Florida to visit the inlaws for Christmas and sadly have no Disney planned for this trip. But I might be able to work in one night just so we can book the package for our trip next summer.

Is one night too short or would I still be able to get the deal?

Maggie

 

[bonzarella]

No min. for booking. Our agent was telling us she had a customer flying in for one night JUST to book. Go spend a night at the values & arrange your trip

 

[SusanMomOf2]

If I'm at Shades of Green next week, will I be able to get this opportunity?

 

[bonzarella]

If I'm at Shades of Green next week, will I be able to get this opportunity?

My understanding is as long as you are on property(resort stay) you should be able to book. You may have to seek out the desks though

 

[MikeAidanEoinMom]

My understanding is as long as you are on property(resort stay) you should be able to book. You may have to seek out the desks though

I am still upset I did not know this while we were there . I would have booked our 20th aniversary trip in a second.

 

[bonzarella]

I am still upset I did not know this while we were there . I would have booked our 20th aniversary trip in a second.

IMO they are not doing an all out promo on this, very low key. Maybe try to call WDW travel & explain you were not informed. Sure they can verify you were on property somehow. Keep me posted