Please help a DIS newbie!

[Phatoomch]

Hello everyone

I have been lurking for a couple of weeks and feel the warmth from you guys So I was wondering if you could help a new member.

I last went to Disney in 1988 as a teenager and I am currently planning my first trip with my husband and daughter who have never been, we are booking the Caribbean Resort. I am SO excited.

Obviously though, budget is a big thing and I never knew about all the discounts til I found this forum.

I'm really interested in the Free Dining you guys talk about so I need to know whether it is something that will be advertised on the Disney site or if its something I have to ask about when booking?

Any other discount tips will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and I am glad to be a part of this place

 

[marcielm]

Welcome to the Dis!

Free dining (FD) is something that Disney has historically offered in the fall. You might have seen some commercials last year on tv or the radio for the promo... folks at a resturant & something like Mickey comes out with a covered plate. Anyway, no ever really knows what offers Disney will give, and many on these boards are speculating that things like FD will be offered again.

If you hang around here enough, you will see when discounts come out. Also, if you book with a Disney Specialist TA (travel agent) they will keep their eye out for any great deals that Disney offers, and will call and have the applied to your ressie, pending availability (much like you can do if you book on your own & then an offer comes out). TA's do not cost you any extra money, as Disney pays the commission. They can also make recommendations and park plans & such, as well as dining reservations (ADR's) when the time comes.

Onother discount that is being mentioned is a PIN code. These are specific to YOUR FAMILY and can only be used by you. You can book up to 3 rooms with these (so if you wanted to drag along some friends or family, you can). One way to get these is to go to the Disney website & create a free account. Be sure and check the box to receive promotional emails from Disney. Then, price out some vacations, and save them (this isn't BOOKING a trip, just a pricing/planning tool). Play with the dates/resorts for a few days/weeks, and after a few weeks or so, many people post that they receive a PIN for a % discount off their resort.

You can always book with these codes, and then if a better offer comes out, make a switch.

And be sure and ask lots of ??s here! It's a great way to gain information for your trip!

 

[Phatoomch]

Ooooh, you're good Marcie Thank you so much for that info, it has helped loads!!

So glad I joined this community, its really going to add to my whole disney experience

 

[rt2dz]

One of the best places to find discounts is at Mouse Savers. It’s the most comprehensive sites for discounts out there, and it’s all together. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter! Speaking of newsletters, sign up for the All Ears newsletter, too. Lots of great tips! Can I also recommend getting a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World?

As far as “free” dining is concerned, it is generally offered in the fall. No one knows for certain when, and if, it will be offered again though. It depends on Disney’s marketing strategy. They do away with things all the time, and add different things all the time. There are lots of people with bounce back free dining booked right now, so there is a decent chance it will be offered again. However, Disney announced as 2010 goes on, discounts will be cut back. Will they actually? No one knows. All I can say is watch for it and hope for the best.

I do want to point out, “free” dining isn’t really free. What it means is that you get the dining plan when you pay rack rate for your room (room only discounts are typically also offered during this time) and you pay full price for your tickets (v. from a discount ticket broker). Sometimes, the extra you pay for the full price would be more than what you would pay for dining if you paid for it out of pocket. Especially when you consider where you eat—some restaurants are 2 credits, appetizers aren’t included in basic dining, those that stay value will most likely only get the QS plan, tips aren’t included, and it might not fit the way you eat in general. So in the long run, you may pay more, you may break even, or you may get a discount. The important thing is to look at all the numbers bottom line. Look at what out of pocket dining would cost you; you can always have that prepaid feeling by putting those costs on a gift card and call it your dining card. Look at the bottom line and not what it would cost you if you paid for a package at all rack rate with dining not being offered by Disney. My SOURCE might make it a little clearer.

Using a TA (Disney Specialist) was mentioned as a way to have them keep an eye out on discounts for you. Most good TAs will do that. However, TAs generally don’t make changes for you if it would change your resort or dates without you telling them to do so first. They only track the discounts for you at your resort or your dates. Sometimes, if you change your resort, you can get a much bigger discount, even if upgrading resorts. Been there, done that. Other times, if your dates are flexible, by changing them you can get a bigger discount. Been there, done that. A TA will not change your dates. Even if they let you know, by the time it’s all said and done, you may have missed the discount, so don’t stop checking things for yourself. Discounts are limited. I have nothing against TAs; just don’t depend too much on them. Quality varies. Never use a non-Disney Specialist, and even then, some are better than others.

 

[cjlvsccm]

...
I'm really interested in the Free Dining you guys talk about so I need to know whether it is something that will be advertised on the Disney site or if its something I have to ask about when booking?

Any other discount tips will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and I am glad to be a part of this place

In case your travel plans don't work out with FD dates, check out the Quick Service Dining plan. DH & I were amazed at how well it worked out for us and my 11yo DNephew. It covers 2 meals and 2 snacks a day. May or may not be suitable, depending on the age of your daughter, any food limitations, etc, but if so...

Many folks use a snack credit for bfast, or have a poptart/granola bar to start the day. But we preferred to tank up on a hot bfast at our food court every day (with fruit substituted for the second bfast beverage), then our late lunch/early dinner kept us going into the late nights of June.

We had scoped out hearty combo meals from the online menus ahead of time to know what would we might like, no matter where we found ourselves at dinnertime. It was fun going to some of the other resorts to try their counter service options too. That makes a great break if you need to get away from the hubbub of the parks for just a little while.

We didn't even use all our snack credits until the last day for goodies to take home! And we only had one meal outside the plan, at T-Rex. Didn't need a QSDP meal that evening, so we had a spare credit which we used the morning we left.

Whatever options you end up with, happy planning and have a great trip!!

 

[mlittig]

to the boards, Phatoomch and I hope you enjoy planning for your trip This is a super place to learn a lot and for me the planning and anticipation is half the fun

 

[ds99]

Welcome to the DIS! The free dining is a good value if you are going to stay a value resort. However, like posted above, the discount you could possibly get on a room at a higher level resort could be more than the cost of the dining plan. With that being said, my family has stayed at value resorts (POP is our favorite) many times and have taken advantage of the free dining offer. It's great to be able to go to so many different character meals, but we did end up going to more expensive places to eat because we had the free dining that we would have not went to if we didn't have it. Either way you choose, you'll have a great time!

 

[Phatoomch]

Thank you everyone for your informative and helpful advice. I had no clue about PINS, GP discounts or the possibility of Free dining til I came here.

And yes!! Planning is half the fun and I am so glad to have this place to share my excitement with