Newbie-Just locked in date! Frustrated and need advice

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

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.

You need to request CONNECTING rooms. Connecting and adjoining mean 2 totally different things in the Disney computer system. Connecting rooms have a door in between the rooms and adjoining means next to or close to.

You can use your dining credits any way you want and you can pay out-of-pockets for any meals you want.

And I'm not sure what you mean by unethical for your child to be booked at another resort with your friend's family. We have gone to Disney with my brother-in-law's family and have booked one of their kids with us because we have to have 2 rooms and had room for one of their kids. They are a family of 5 so could only fit 4, their kid's took turns sleeping in our second room with our kids.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

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.

You can't book 2 connecting rooms on-line, you have to call Disney reservations. Also, your deposit will transfer if you change resorts. Nothing is cancelled or changed and you even keep your same reservation number.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

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).

If your children are very small that might seem more appealing, but if your children are over 10, then it seems VERY unappealing to be in one room with one bathroom. Now that our kids are older we need that second bathroom and extra space, plus our kids really prefer the value resorts because of the fun Disney theming. I prefer them because of the price - so it's a win-win situation

 

[hsmamato2]

awww....you know,if your kids are small and don't eat much,you should just pay OOP,IMHO- I don't think you'll spend too much different,and think of this, if they send a room only discount how great that would be!

 

[hsmamato2]

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.

...wait a minute..... do you have a room with a free dine package already? I thought you didn't get one.....

BTW,If I were traveling with another fam,and they could put one of my kids in their room,I'd do it,why is that unethical? In fact,I know of extended family trips, with a grandma,2 parents,and 3 kids- they put one or two of the kids names on Grandmas room....but it's all paid for so what's the problem? 2 rooms,8 people= within the rules.....

 

[Simba's Girl]

...wait a minute..... do you have a room with a free dine package already? I thought you didn't get one.....

BTW,If I were traveling with another fam,and they could put one of my kids in their room,I'd do it,why is that unethical? In fact,I know of extended family trips, with a grandma,2 parents,and 3 kids- they put one or two of the kids names on Grandmas room....but it's all paid for so what's the problem? 2 rooms,8 people= within the rules.....

Agreed. As long as the other family is up for that (they may not be). If they were I would try and switch to the same resort they are in and have both of you request adjoining or nearby rooms. But you will still have to pay for the other child's ticket-I only mention this since you are looking at the FD offer and that requires purchasing park passes and with the "extra" kid the price of your friend's stay will increase.

 

[davedmaine]

Don't beat yourself up over losing free dining - truth is you really don't save that much. Keep an eye out on discounts, you may see a room discount pop up for that time - if you do, jump on it..

 

[TheRatPack]

I'd definitely keep checking back. I know for our family it's cheaper to book 2 connecting rooms at the POP Century versus the AOA Family Suites. We have 4 children traveling with us this year though, we had 5 children traveling with us but one moved out LOL.

If you really want AOA, keep checking back. People will start canceling at that 45 day mark, and then more rooms will open up. But if you're not opposed to another resort, check on the prices at other resorts using the connecting rooms

We had a 30% off code earlier this year when we booked, then when free dining came out it saved us about 700.00 (we were actually paying for the dining plan on our other reservation). We've went with the dining plan and without it before and we love the ease of having everything paid for in advance and knowing we'll have to stop during the day and use our dining credits makes sure we'll have a break

 

[Sunnywho]

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?

As a family of five, the cheapest option is port-orleans riverside, then adjoining rooms at a value, then the all stars suite, then the AOA suite. I'm not sure if a cabin is more or less than a suite but that's an option too.

If you take quick service, you would have to pay out of pocket for the whole meal for a table meal. They will not accept quick service credit as partial credit at the table service places.

enjoy your trip!

 

[okw2012]

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.

Did you think about renting points from a DVC member? A 1br villa can accomodate 5 and there's availability at OKW and SSR. Don't know what you're paying at AOA but you could likely rent a deluxe villa for 250$ to 350$ per night (no taxes) where all 5 could sleep (with access to dining plan). We're staying at OKW, the cheapest option and the larger rooms by far.

 

[pdnorm]

Did you think about renting points from a DVC member? A 1br villa can accomodate 5 and there's availability at OKW and SSR. Don't know what you're paying at AOA but you could likely rent a deluxe villa for 250$ to 350$ per night (no taxes) where all 5 could sleep (with access to dining plan). We're staying at OKW, the cheapest option and the larger rooms by far.

Thanks. I will have to look into this. I know nothing about it. I am guessing you get the same perks as staying on site?

We already started booking our ADR's.

Kids are super excited.

 

[20yBWDW]

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!

I thought the free dining was still available with Cars suites or Lion King suites? I booked mine fairly recently, and I just did it quickly on the website through the special offers paged, and it still showed it as available for check in on November 1.

ETA: never mind, I just saw that you do have AoA with free QS dining. That's what we did, and paid for the upgrade to regular dining, which is $17/day for adults and $1/day for the kids, I believe.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

Don't beat yourself up over losing free dining - truth is you really don't save that much. Keep an eye out on discounts, you may see a room discount pop up for that time - if you do, jump on it..

Really? Free Dining saved about $1,700.00 off rack rates for our upcoming 9 night trip to WDW. A room only discount would have only saved us about $700.00 off full price rack rates. $1,000.00 is a pretty big discount to me. And, really, unless the OP decided to upraged to a deluxe, a free dining discount is going to save them more money at a moderate or a value resort for a family their size.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

Thanks. I will have to look into this. I know nothing about it. I am guessing you get the same perks as staying on site?

We already started booking our ADR's.

Kids are super excited.

We have looked into renting points twice and it is still MUCH more expensive than getting 2 connecting rooms at a value or one room at POR - like $2,500.00 more per week. Also, you can't even get a free dining discount if you are renting points from DVC.

 

[TDC Nala]

Remember connecting rooms aren't guaranteed, but if you want them you need to specifically request connecting (not adjoining) rooms. Disney will meet the request if at all possible but you do need to remember it's a request and not guaranteed.

I was going to mention that the suites at AOA are eligible for free dining and then I see the OP already has free dining in the AOA suite. If the whole reason for changing resorts was to get the free dining, why do so if you have free dining already? Unless what you are looking for is a cheaper alternative to the family suite. If you want regular dining instead of the quick service, you can upgrade the dining plan by paying the difference.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

Remember connecting rooms aren't guaranteed, but if you want them you need to specifically request connecting (not adjoining) rooms. Disney will meet the request if at all possible but you do need to remember it's a request and not guaranteed.

I was going to mention that the suites at AOA are eligible for free dining and then I see the OP already has free dining in the AOA suite. If the whole reason for changing resorts was to get the free dining, why do so if you have free dining already? Unless what you are looking for is a cheaper alternative to the family suite. If you want regular dining instead of the quick service, you can upgrade the dining plan by paying the difference.

Free dining is sold out for the OPs dates at AoA, so she is looking for a cheaper alternative for her family of 5 than paying full price at AoA.

 

[MMS1125]

I'm confused does OP have FD at AoA or no? What are the exact dates?

 

[MMS1125]

oh I just thought of another option

If you google Magical Vacations Travel they have an Agency Exclusive for Jersey Week (nov 3-10) if your dates fall into there somewhere. You could request a quote they have room blocks with dining plan and tickets for

Disney's Polynesian Resort - Garden View, Garden Club
Disney's Beach Club Resort - Garden View
Disney's Art of Animation - Little Mermaid Standard Rooms, Cars Family Suite and Lion King Family Suite

Family of 5 will fit at any of those resorts so it might be worth pricing out. If you go to the site click the top where it says agency exclusive then jersey week and you can request a quote from there. I got a Labor Day quote from them in a timely manner but we decided to wait this year. You can search Dis for people that have used them with confidence.

 

[TheRatPack]

We have looked into renting points twice and it is still MUCH more expensive than getting 2 connecting rooms at a value or one room at POR - like $2,500.00 more per week. Also, you can't even get a free dining discount if you are renting points from DVC.

For us too....although one year I was pricing out vacations a few weeks prior to leaving, just to check out other resorts online. And SSR came up and wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought it would be. It was actually something we could probably swing.....when I went back to check it again the next year it was really really expensive. I wondered if it was a glitch in the online system when I'd checked before or maybe I was hallucinating LOL

I wish renting points was a good deal for our family though, I'd like to try it once

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

For us too....although one year I was pricing out vacations a few weeks prior to leaving, just to check out other resorts online. And SSR came up and wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought it would be. It was actually something we could probably swing.....when I went back to check it again the next year it was really really expensive. I wondered if it was a glitch in the online system when I'd checked before or maybe I was hallucinating LOL

I wish renting points was a good deal for our family though, I'd like to try it once

Was it in 2008? I believe it was in 2008 that SSR not only offered free dining, but a 30% discount on the room portion of the package. As far as I know, that is the ONLY time Disney has ever "stacked" a discount. It was only for SSR and only for August/September free dining dates.