Newbie-Just locked in date! Frustrated and need advice

[pdnorm]

Hi there. We are a family of five and have been saving and waiting for the right time to go back to disney. First trip we were a family of 4. I just booked Art of Animation for the first week of November.
My biggest gripe is that I waited too long to book and missed out on any open free dining plan rooms. I understand that a family of 5 has limited options for resorts and rooms. My biggest frustration is knowing that I COULD have had free dining and I missed out on it. That is like a $1000 penalty for us. I wish I never knew in the first place about the free dining.
The rep on the phone said I had until 9/17/12 to change my booking and people may cancel and we may find a free dining resort.
Any suggestions? This is a LOT of money for us and $1000 could really help us.

Thank you in advance for any ideas.

 

[Metro West]

Welcome!

 

[disneyfan123]

My only suggestion is to keep calling a few times a day. We just booked a last minute trip and could not get any ADRs we wanted, but after a few weeks of checking everyday we have all of our ADRS. So hopefully the same can go for your room booking!

 

[disneychic2]

I agree to keep calling. Any chance of staying at PORiverside? They can sleep 5 in one section of the resort. Five is definitely a tough number. Good luck to you and welcome to the DIS!

ETA: Depending on how old your youngest is, you may be able to get away with a regular room and add a pack and play or a roll away bed. It would be tight quarters, but for free dining, may be worth it.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Moving to the Discount Codes and Rates Board.

How old are the kids?

Did you check for any Family Suite rooms at All Star Music that might still qualify for the Free Dining Plan?

 

[ctl]

If your littlest one is a toddler, maybe a pack and play or a sleeping mat on the floor with a little sleeping bag would work. The All-Stars sleep 4 , but you could put 5 in if your kiddies are small (If the smallest one is 3 or under, they don't have to pay for a ticket or food, they can share from your plate, no matter where you eat). Hope this helps.

 

[Masonmj84]

I agree to keep calling. Any chance of staying at PORiverside? They can sleep 5 in one section of the resort. Five is definitely a tough number. Good luck to you and welcome to the DIS!

ETA: Depending on how old your youngest is, you may be able to get away with a regular room and add a pack and play or a roll away bed. It would be tight quarters, but for free dining, may be worth it.

Agree with this.

Even if the POR free dining rooms are booked, I'd keep checking. People cancel.

For example, we currently have a room booked at POR with FD in mid-December but may switch resorts once room discounts are announced. I suspect others may be in the same boat.

 

[vicki_c]

If your littlest one is a toddler, maybe a pack and play or a sleeping mat on the floor with a little sleeping bag would work. The All-Stars sleep 4 , but you could put 5 in if your kiddies are small (If the smallest one is 3 or under, they don't have to pay for a ticket or food, they can share from your plate, no matter where you eat). Hope this helps.

It's not 3 or under - it's 2 or under. If the child is 3, they have to have a ticket and count towards room occupancy.

 

[pdnorm]

I feel like I am getting penalized for having the 3rd child since there are still free dining plans for families of 4.

Riverside is booked for now with free dining.

All Stars Music was less than $100 cheaper than Animation.

My kids just turned 4,9 and 11. They barely eat anything. They are very picky. Should I skip meal plan and go with cash?

I have also been a Disney Visa cardholder for a while. Does that help me other than the 0% finance?

I will keep calling and checking. Very time consuming as you all know but well worth saving 600-1000 dollars!

Thanks for your help. With airfare I am at almost 5000!

 

[bwolfe]

We've found that paying OOP for the meals has worked better than the dining plan. There are opinions all over the places on the topic. For us, we are now playing OOP. We've done the dining plan too, we now just choose to pay OOP. If your kids are not big eaters, it may save you money. Enjoy Your Trip!

 

[Waltgirl]

Keep calling. You have plenty of time before your vacation and chances are something will come up.

We don't participate in the dining plan. Every year we do the numbers and every year it doesn't work for us. If it was free and there was no room only discount available it would be different. But if we had to pay for it, nope, we just cannot make it work for us. We don't order dessert with each meal and our meals never add up to enough to justify the cost for the four of us. And frankly, we are not light eaters. I don't know how people make it work for them.

 

[DMRick]

I believe it's under 3, not under 2.

It's not 3 or under - it's 2 or under. If the child is 3, they have to have a ticket and count towards room occupancy.

 

[vicki_c]

I believe it's under 3, not under 2.

Which is what I said.

 

[DMRick]

Which is what I said.

Sorry, I read it fast and thought you said under 2. The good thing is, if they turn 3 while there, they still don't need a ticket.

But either one won't help the OP, since her children are older.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

First, I would keep checking for free dining at AOA and POR. Next, you may want to consider getting rid of the dining plan if you don't think it is worth it for your family. Check out the menus on all ears and see what you would spend out of pocket.
We just went in June and stayed at POP but ate quite a few meals at AOA and it was pretty good. We had free quick service but didn't miss the sit down restaurants for this trip. My kids are 15 and 11 and they preferred to be on rides/shows more than eating table service.
You may want to consider eating more counter service and paying OOP. POP also has a lot of kid friendly meals and it is fun to walk over the bridge.

 

[woody5]

How about getting two rooms at a value resort that has openings? Request adjoining rooms. Yes I know you stand a chance of not getting them but two rooms at value is almost always cheaper than suite and you still would get free dining.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

I feel like I am getting penalized for having the 3rd child since there are still free dining plans for families of 4.

Riverside is booked for now with free dining.

All Stars Music was less than $100 cheaper than Animation.

My kids just turned 4,9 and 11. They barely eat anything. They are very picky. Should I skip meal plan and go with cash?

I have also been a Disney Visa cardholder for a while. Does that help me other than the 0% finance?

I will keep calling and checking. Very time consuming as you all know but well worth saving 600-1000 dollars!

Thanks for your help. With airfare I am at almost 5000!

Really, all you have to do is book 2 connecting rooms at any of the other value resorts. All-Star Movies, Music and Sports, along with Pop Century still have free dining availability. Also, 2 connecting rooms is about $100.00 per night cheaper per night than the family "suites" at All-Star Music and Art of Animation. So, that's another $700.00 discount on top of the $1,000.00 you will save on the dining plan and food.

 

[pdnorm]

I will check on adjoining rooms.

We have a deposit on AOA with free quick dining and the plus upgrade. Can you take the quick service for the family and pay the difference in cash if you do a table service meal?

We are traveling with another family. (family of 3) We joked about one of our kids booking with them. I am guessing this is not allowed and not ethical. Can we use this to our advantage any other way? They are staying at coronado with the free plan.

 

[pdnorm]

I just checked online for allstar. It was about 2200 for 1 room as opposed to 3500 at AOA. I wasnt sure how to book 2 rooms. I will call.

 

[Masonmj84]

Really, all you have to do is book 2 connecting rooms at any of the other value resorts. All-Star Movies, Music and Sports, along with Pop Century still have free dining availability. Also, 2 connecting rooms is about $100.00 per night cheaper per night than the family "suites" at All-Star Music and Art of Animation. So, that's another $700.00 discount on top of the $1,000.00 you will save on the dining plan and food.

I'd book this as a placeholder but, afterward, I'd keep checking POR (while this is largely my personal taste, I'd much prefer 1 room at POR with FD over 2 rooms at a value with free QS dining).