Question about Free Dining and Extra days at Hotel

[IcePrincess467]

What I would worry about is that your room is actually available for the extra 2 nights...I'm sure that the rooms with FD probably filled up rather fast and you wouldn't get the FD? I don't know, I am kinda new at the whole FD thing!

 

[gigi1313]

my concern would be the ethical issue first and the practical matter of DME second (if you were planning to use it)...

 

[Pumbaa_]

I don't really see an ethical issue here. You were not planning on booking 10 days, using all the credits, then trying to check out early and get the last 2 nights of the hotel refunded.

 

[gigi1313]

how is this different than phantom guests?
it's phantom nights... no?

 

[odaddy!]

We originally booked 7 nights, We arrive at the airport at 7 AM, so we booked an extra day on the front end, we can check in as soon as we arrive at 8AM or so, it gave us the extra day of dining, and we have the 2 adults, 2 child adults, so big savings for us! As long as you pay for the room, you should get what comes with the room. Free dining!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

odaddy!, call back and change your reservation back to the original one.

Guaranteed rooms - which is what you have, either by paying one night's room cost in advance or paying for a package in full - are held until 6 AM the following day. If you're arriving after this, even if you've notified the property, it's most likely that you will be considered a no-show and your reservation cancelled.

 

[odaddy!]

Thanks, I did not know that! I will call AM!

 

[iamalittlegoofy]

Some of you people are unbelievable. If I pay for a room, I am entitled to what comes with it. There are no extra people staying there. No phantom guests. That is just smart planning. No dishonesty, no cheating. If they WERE staying the nights or not, Disney is getting the same amount of money. Sheesh! Free dining comes with 3 night minimum plus tickets. This does not violate the rules or the spirit of the rules. And why should someone else be entitled to a room I paid for?

 

[gigi1313]

Some of you people are unbelievable. If I pay for a room, I am entitled to what comes with it. There are no extra people staying there. No phantom guests. That is just smart planning. No dishonesty, no cheating. If they WERE staying the nights or not, Disney is getting the same amount of money. Sheesh! Free dining comes with 3 night minimum plus tickets. This does not violate the rules or the spirit of the rules. And why should someone else be entitled to a room I paid for?

i'm not looking for an argument, but i am not sure i agree with you...

disney is giving free dining for a reason... to get all those other dollars that a guest spends when enjoying the free dining... souvies, cocktails, park tickets, etc... it goes way beyond the cost of the hotel room... disney is getting NOTHING except the cost of the hotel room if the guest leaves two days early... disney is not a benevolent organization, they are offering free dining for a REASON! maybe there's not "rule" that says you cannot do what the OP suggested, but it's pretty obvious disney's intent is not to have the guests eat and leave...

same thing for DME... they offer a free airport shuttle not because they are benevolent and care about their customer's bottom line, but because money otherwise spend off-site and on rental cars will now be spent at disney!

 

[odaddy!]

I called, and was told I can check in in the AM, they noted it, and said I also have to call the hotel 48 hours. Thanks, the person said I would have been a no show had I not gone through these steps

 

[Pumbaa_]

how is this different than phantom guests?
it's phantom nights... no?

If you are paying for the nights they are not phantom nights. They just chose not to sleep there that night(s).

In September, we are booking 2 nights at a hotel when we only want one. But I want the room available to me when I check out of our other resort. (5 nights in 1 resort, then moving to another)

So we will check in on Thursday, stay in our original resort Thursday, and then Friday morning after we check out, we will have our room ready to go so we aren't homeless for the better part of the day.

This is not a Disney resort so free DDP is not involved. Even if it was, when you pay for the resort night, you are entitled to all benefits that go with it.

 

[Pumbaa_]

i'm not looking for an argument, but i am not sure i agree with you...

disney is giving free dining for a reason... to get all those other dollars that a guest spends when enjoying the free dining... souvies, cocktails, park tickets, etc... it goes way beyond the cost of the hotel room... disney is getting NOTHING except the cost of the hotel room if the guest leaves two days early... disney is not a benevolent organization, they are offering free dining for a REASON! maybe there's not "rule" that says you cannot do what the OP suggested, but it's pretty obvious disney's intent is not to have the guests eat and leave...

same thing for DME... they offer a free airport shuttle not because they are benevolent and care about their customer's bottom line, but because money otherwise spend off-site and on rental cars will now be spent at disney!

Free Dining is a promotion. Sure, they hope to keep folks on property and spending all their dollars on Disney, but the guest is already buying the package which includes tickets and the room. What if they plan on spending all day at Universal? Is that not allowed?

A lot of guests also have pool days, where they do not buy anything other than DDP food.

If the OP wants to book extra nights and then leave early, I still see nothing wrong with that.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

My family and I are going to Disney during free dining and we need some extra food credits because of 2 point TS places. Would it be wrong to book and pay for extra days at the hotel just to get the extra food credits? It would be cheaper that way than to just pay out of pocket for more food that we will need. Could we even do this? We would pay for 10 nights but check out after our 8th night. Would it hurt anyone? Would it be dishonest? What are your Thoughts???

It would be the same as if you checked out (left early) because of illness . There are no refunds on this pkg after you check in. Do what you feel is right and don't listen to anyone else. I have heard of some people booking value resort rooms also, and they stay offsite in a comfy condo and still get free dining. Great for them, so why not you also?

I don't think Disney cares when you check out if you have paid for your room and met all your other financial obligations during your stay. And the deal is as advertised for each night of your reservations. If you leave your credit card number you don't even have to physically check out, so I don't see the problem.

We have to leave our resort in September for an appointment at Shands Medical Center in Gainesville, but we will return later in the day. The resort room is our home as long as we paid for it, so I don't see the problem here, ethically or otherwise.

 

[ElizabethB]

Thanks to those who brought some sanity to this issue. Paid nights are not "phantom nights". They are paid nights. If a guest leaves early, Disney may not get souvenir purchases out of that person for the extra nights, but they also don't have to clean the room, change the linens, etc. for those extra paid nights.

There is absolutely no problem in booking a room during Free Dining and spending all your time off-site or at Universal (returning to WDW only to eat and sleep!) If the room is paid for on the Free Dining Package, Disney got what they bargained for. No one says that if you book Free Dining, you must spend a minimum amount on souvenirs. Disney hopes you will, but you don't have to!

 

[gigi1313]

so then what is the difference between phantom nights and phantom guests? if you put four people on your resort room that legally holds four, buy four park tickets, and get free dining for four people, for three nights but only two people use all the tickets and food, it's the same thing as putting two people for six nights and leaving three nights early, is it not? yet the disworld goes crazy when someone suggests a 'phantom guest' but sanctions 'phantom nights?'

i guess i don't see the difference...

 

[odaddy!]

Disney covers part of the cost of free dining by charging full room rate. Your "phantom" nights are fully paid for. For fun, I called reservations, they do not care if I book 10 days, go spend 3 days of it in a universal hotel and come back, they do not care if I check out 3 days early, I would not get a refund, but Disney gets full dollar for the room. I am not allowed to put 4 people on the dining plan, if only 2 are actually staying, but we are allowed to have 0,1,2,3, or 4 people stay any or none of the nights in the room while there. It is always nice to have permission ahead of time, and have a clear conscience

 

[Pumbaa_]

so then what is the difference between phantom nights and phantom guests?

i guess i don't see the difference...

Phantom guests are people who are not really there. There is no such thing as phantom nights as the OP is PAYING for the nights in question.

 

[gigi1313]

(no need to YELL!)

but the guest would be PAYING for the 'phantom guest' as well, if he buys it a park ticket and does not exceed room occupancy...

[not that i am in any way endorsing phantom guests 'cause i'm not, but i really don't see the difference]

 

[odaddy!]

Disney sees a difference.

 

[Krmrr]

I added an extra night for a similar reason. We are going down on the 9/22 and plan to come back on the 28th. But , I booked through the 29th. Going to Epcot LC for lunch on the 28 and could use the TS. Plan is to eat lunch, drive over to DTD, pick up CS for the trip home, if feeling adventurous might go to Boardwalk bakery to use up the SC, leave Orlando mid-afternoon.
The LC lunch and CS will more than the Hotel room. And if we want (don't feel like driving home, want to go to Universal, etc, we could stay the night but I'm not planning on it.