******Official 2017 Free Dining Plan Watch, Wait, and Dream

[Neeky78]

@Neeky78 - Stunning! NZ has had the WORST not-actually-a-summer Summer in years. And Autumn is continuing in its footsteps. Sigh. I would LOVE Disney to build in Oz, I love visiting Australia!

Our summer has been horrible. Extreme heat and humidity interspersed with torrential rain. We spent a lot of time inside in the aircon!
So April seems like it will be our summer.

NZ is still on our to-do list! So close!

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

I'll be getting me some of this on my Free Dining plan later this year!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Felicis]

Our summer has been horrible. Extreme heat and humidity interspersed with torrential rain. We spent a lot of time inside in the aircon!
So April seems like it will be our summer.

NZ is still on our to-do list! So close!

True, we have had a couple of your cyclones come calling - that is how close we are! At least you will be Orlando ready for heat and humidity So much terrible flooding here - not in Aklnd where I am, but on places which really didn't need to be hit again by cyclone cook after the previous one - entire towns were evacuated, and one has been almost decimated with flooding after a river breached So sad for them all.

I love Sydney, have been there twice (have been to Melbourne more, because of family stuff, and the Bowie exhibition, but prefer Sydney). Went there for my 10th wedding anniversary, stayed in a harbour view room at the 4 seasons - the bridge and opera house framed in our window. Amazing food at various places at The Rocks, stunning weather, one of our favourite holidays ever

 

[Kindermouse]

I may be planning a universal (in Ca) trip for next year now LOL

I was there last year in march to visit the Wizarding World when it was in soft opening-It was awesome. Granted I havent seen the Drlando one yet and it doesnt have the Diagon Ally expansion but it still impressed me. The rest of the park was ok-more standard theme park stuff but the Wizarding world was on point. The details were flawless and the CMs stayed in character and had fun with it and really seemed dedicated to providing excellent customer services and magic for each guest. It is now my new measuring stick for what I expect in a new immersive park experience. It still remains to be seen if Pandora can do what Wizarding World has done in terms of immersion-and if I even care enough about the theme in Pandora to be moved one way or the other with the themeing.

 

[Lesley Wake]

So I think I have a plan. My first choice will be to keep our POR booking and add free QSDP with upgrade to DDP. I have a feeling that it will be a similar exclusion situation as last year, with POR available in Aug/Sept, and not available Nov/Dec. At least, that's what I hope. People keep throwing out the RO discount may be better for moderates, but I guess that depends on your eating habits. For one person, the FD comes out that same as RO; once you start adding in other people I don't see how the discount would be better...

Now, IF POR is excluded entirely, I am leaning towards getting the Premier AP and going with AKL! I just think it would turn into an awesome experience!

I will probably still get a Premier AP no matter what. It looks like my sister and her bf are going to get APs for DL, so that gives me an excuse to get one too. He says he may wait until closer to her birthday in September but I know them well enough that they are feeling the Disney withdrawal, so will probably end up getting them sooner rather than later. So if I do get FD, I will end up getting the signature DL AP now and use the WDW tickets to upgrade to Premier when I arrive, that way we can use the discount on any food OOP, merchandise, and memory maker.

 

[mousefan73]

i would look into value whose theming nay appeal more to a 4 year old. Saves you money, gives you more options and you can use the savings to UPG to DDP if the FD really does exclude DDP for mods.

Don't switch yet based on rumors - also just because you switch, if that resort is included, it doesn't mean that you will automatically get free dining. You still have to go on and modify or call and then only will get free dining if it is available. not every category in every resort will be available for all dates. And, if everyone starts switching now, guess what? Those rooms will be filling up and there will be no need to offer discounts there anyways[/QUOTE]
That I agree with never switch based on Rumors. Just generally consider a value and upg food if character dining is a must and one is price sensitive. A 4 yr okd may like ASMu more than POR. Now the parents may appreciate POR

 

[mousefan73]

View attachment 231610 I'll be getting me some of this on my Free Dining plan later this year!!!!!!!!!!

Where is that meal?

 

[X96msm]

Happy Easter everyone!!!!

 

[smallworldnh]

Since we have over a week until FD but I still like hanging out with all of you I'm going again:

Is anyone planning to go to Universal while in Florida? We LOVE the Wizarding World but I'm just not ok with spending over $1,000 for the 4 of us to go for two days. Any wonderful secret discounts???

Yes, we are going for 3 days and staying at Cabana Bay Beach Resort - 9/21-9/24, then off to WDW from 9/24 -9/30. We've been to USO before, but first time we are doing both resorts in one visit and staying onsite at USO. We haven't seen Diagon Alley or Kong yet, so that's the draw for us! And it is more expensive now than it's ever been I think.

 

[smallworldnh]

Happy Easter everyone!!!!

Same to all of you and wishes for a blessed Passover for all of our Jewish friends.

 

[Felicis]

Is anyone planning to go to Universal while in Florida? We LOVE the Wizarding World but I'm just not ok with spending over $1,000 for the 4 of us to go for two days. Any wonderful secret discounts???

We are, going to do 4 nights at RPR, 3 days in parks. Massive Potter fans. The cheapest I have found tickets is undercover tourist - worth signing up for mousesaver newsletters too. Not cheap, but def cheaper! No way would I miss this!

 

[trucker den]

Ok, not that I am going to get answers here but here is our situation. We got moved from CBR to SSR instead of the gc offer. Now we upgraded from a mod to deluxe. If we upgrade to FD will it be as QS or ddp? Since they "price adjusted"our room, will we have to pay rack rate before FD is applied? Since we had 2 CBR rooms booked and was converted to a 2 bedroom villa. The rack Rate at SSR will kill and FD savings. Just some of questions I have for the cm when FD drops.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Couldn't disagree more with your post. Servers do rely on their tips. Thats how they make their money. They are not their to make minimum wage and go home.

Its's the nature of the industry, a server does their best and shows impeccable manners and customer service so they can get the best tip possible.

They rely on these tips for their income as the wage itself is not enough to live on.

Will they be affected by the possible FD change? Somehow i doubt it. People will book anyways and upgrade or pay oop.

My main point was that a server's tips are unlikely to see a negative impact by Disney not giving the regular DDP to moderates and it seems you agree with that. My comments about expecting a "bonus" were in reference to the poster I quoted saying that servers are expecting to receive higher tips during free dining, which pp said they will no longer receive if mods only receive qs DDP. I was saying that the restaurants are booked full anyway so their tips should not really be impacted by free dining. I was merely stating that servers should not be counting on receiving higher tips during a certain time of year because historically Disney has offered free DDP during that time period. Disney is not obligated to offer free dining and therefore servers shouldn't expect to receive higher tips at a particular time of year based solely off of a promotion such as free dining that has been offered in the past. There's never a guarantee that Disney will offer it or that it will increase a server's tips, or that those possible increased tips will be consistent.

I fully understand the nature of the beast that servers are in a way counting on tips to live. I just think it's unrealistic to have an idea in your head that you will make $xxx (especially if you are basing that figure off of a historical promotion that may not occur in the future) when there are so many factors that can affect how much you make in tips in a night. You can have two different nights serving the same number of tables ordering the same priced things, provide the same service but receive a drastically different amount of tips in each night. That's the nature of tipped positions. It most definitely can make it hard sometimes not having a completely guaranteed income (I've been a server myself), but all you can really expect for sure is to make the state/federal minimum wage. Yes, it is WONDERFUL to receive more, but you can't expect it and get mad at your employer if you don't receive $xxx in tips over and above minimum wage. Again though, the whole point of this is that offering Qs DDP to mods really shouldn't have much of an impact on a server's tips. Sure, people paying OOP might not rack up as high of a bill as those on the DDP so the tip will be less, but it should be similar to the rest of the year when free dining isn't offered anyway. Again, to recap, I'm not trying to debate whether servers make a living wage, I just have a problem with pp saying servers should be disappointed in Disney when they (according to pp) are "expecting" something (more tips with free dining) when that promotion is not guaranteed to come back.

 

[amandarose]

Where is that meal?

Looks like Be Our Guest

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Ok, not that I am going to get answers here but here is our situation. We got moved from CBR to SSR instead of the gc offer. Now we upgraded from a mod to deluxe. If we upgrade to FD will it be as QS or ddp? Since they "price adjusted"our room, will we have to pay rack rate before FD is applied? Since we had 2 CBR rooms booked and was converted to a 2 bedroom villa. The rack Rate at SSR will kill and FD savings. Just some of questions I have for the cm when FD drops.

I am in the exact same situation- 2 CBR rooms switched to SSR 2 bedroom. We should not have to pay full price at SSR to receive free dining as the discount is seen as a good will gesture. I have applied the Summer Magic Promo to my reservation and retained the CBR pricing so really, free dining should not work any differently. To my understanding, the way it is in the system is they basically changed the rack rate of SSR to what we were paying at CBR so it's like what we are paying is considered rack rate at SSR (obviously just for those of us who received the free resort switch). In regards to whether we will receive qs or DDP, I can't say for sure but it's my guess that we should receive DDP. The discount I received under the Summer Magic Promo is based off of the discount offered for SSR even though I'm paying CBR pricing. Our reservation says SSR which would qualify for DDP so I'm assuming it will go off of what the reservation lists as resort staying at. I personally would recommend calling instead of trying to apply free dining online though as I don't know if that might mess things up. My TA will be taking care of mine for me and I will be sure to update on here when/if she can apply it and how it all goes down.

 

[Neeky78]

Ok, not that I am going to get answers here but here is our situation. We got moved from CBR to SSR instead of the gc offer. Now we upgraded from a mod to deluxe. If we upgrade to FD will it be as QS or ddp? Since they "price adjusted"our room, will we have to pay rack rate before FD is applied? Since we had 2 CBR rooms booked and was converted to a 2 bedroom villa. The rack Rate at SSR will kill and FD savings. Just some of questions I have for the cm when FD drops.

I don't think anyone can confirm this definitively until the offer drops, but my gut feel is they would allow you to keep your SSR room at the rate you are currently on and add on TS free dining. If you compare it to those of us who went with the gift card option (me! Possibly kicking myself now it seems mods will only get QS!), the consensus from CMs seems to be that we will be able to add free dining on and still keep our gift cards. If that's the case, it would only be fair to allow those who upgraded to keep the reduced rate upgrade and still add on free dining. And seeing as it is a mod resort, that would be the TS dining plan.

But that's only my theory.
If I were you, I wouldn't adjust my reservation online when the offer drops. I would call when the lines open and do it in person. Be a shame to muck up what seems like a great reservation!

Even if you only get QS dining, it would be no different than if you move to a moderate. But at least you have a deluxe room!

 

[Neeky78]

Where is that meal?

The Grey Stuff cupcake makes me think it's Be Our Guest!

 

[trucker den]

I am in the exact same situation- 2 CBR rooms switched to SSR 2 bedroom. We should not have to pay full price at SSR to receive free dining as the discount is seen as a good will gesture. I have applied the Summer Magic Promo to my reservation and retained the CBR pricing so really, free dining should not work any differently. To my understanding, the way it is in the system is they basically changed the rack rate of SSR to what we were paying at CBR so it's like what we are paying is considered rack rate at SSR (obviously just for those of us who received the free resort switch). In regards to whether we will receive qs or DDP, I can't say for sure but it's my guess that we should receive DDP. The discount I received under the Summer Magic Promo is based off of the discount offered for SSR even though I'm paying CBR pricing. Our reservation says SSR which would qualify for DDP so I'm assuming it will go off of what the reservation lists as resort staying at. I personally would recommend calling instead of trying to apply free dining online though as I don't know if that might mess things up. My TA will be taking care of mine for me and I will be sure to update on here when/if she can apply it and how it all goes down.

This is kind of a relief. It will be a full relief when it drops. I have been sitting here for a few weeks wondering if I made the right decision to move. When the dining rumors came out and I started crunching numbers, it didn't come out that I would save on the QS plan. Especially if they adjusted to rack rate for SSR. I'm glad that I see someone else getting at least a RO discount on the switch. Every little bit helps.

 

[trucker den]

The Grey Stuff cupcake makes me think it's Be Our Guest!

Exactly! It's the braised pork. That is the best dish for lunch there.

 

[Sharongal74]

I think the univerasal questions will also depend on how busy if it. We were there Labor Day week, 2 day ticket not park to park, or exprsss pass. We did everything including all the hp rides, and some other rides twice. The only one with a long line was King, 2-3 hour, but we didn't want to ride.