Question about "Special Rate Type: WDW Marathon - Magic Your Way"

[homerjay316]

Is anybody running the marathon in January?
There is a link under "travel details" on the marathon web page at http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/wdw-marathon/ where you can make your hotel reservation. The website also states:

Package Details
Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend Dine Plan Packages will be available in August to be added to your travel package! If you book your travel before August, then you can call 407-WDW-IRUN to modify your package once dine plans are available and add on this great value!​

When I made my reservation using the link on this page, I was given a special rate type on my confirmation = "WDW Marathon - Magic Your Way". The reservation was the same price as when I priced it out without the special rate, so I assumed I was entitled to a dining discount come August. I called in the beginning of August to add my Marathon Weekend Dining package and nobody knew what I was talking about. I called again today (9/1), spoke to both the regular reservations group and the sports group, and was advised it is just the regular dining plan at the regular rate, but that is still a savings of 30% yada, yada, yada.

I fully recognize that no discount is actually promised anywhere, but I think its fair that between stating that a "Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend Dine Plan Package" would be made available in August and stating that I was given a Special Rate on my room reservation that some sort of discount was implied. If I wanted the DDP at the standard price, I could have booked that before August.

Has anybody else ran into this? What were your findings? Is this discount smoke and mirrors? Is it the regular free dining available to everybody that weekend, but not when I check in the Wednesday prior? If it is regular free dining and is not valid on my check in date, why would it give me the Special Rate?

If you haven't seen this, is their somebody at Disney Sports or Reservations that I could email an inquiry to? I have a great deal of respect for Disney Cast Members, but I can't shake the feeling that the ones I have spoken with might be missing something here.

 

[vinotinto]

So, is your package price the same price as rack rate on the room + cost of dining plan? Or did you get a discount on the room portion? If you get a discount on the room, you will not get a discount or free dining, that is you have to choose one discount. If you did not get a discount on the room, have you tried booking a new Free dining reservation and then cancelling your previous Marathon package?

 

[Luv2Roam]

Did something actually read you were given a special rate? ""WDW Marathon - Magic Your Way" is your package type. That is not stating you have a special rate.
And I guess "special" doesn't necessarily have to mean discounted.
I have not heard of any special dining plans just for the marathon, or anything else really. It would be the same dining plan as any other MYW package.
You may want to price out other packages and see what benefit you have been the marathon MYW and another. If there is none, and another has a lesser rate, then book that and cancel the marathon package.

And good luck at the marathon!

 

[homerjay316]

Thanks for the feedback.

Vinotinto - Right now I have booked room and tickets. I priced it with and without the special rate at multiple resorts and the rates were identical, so I am not saving anything on the room or tickets. The current free dining offer is from 12/10-12/15, and 1/8-1/12. My check in date is 1/4 so I am not eligible, but I do appreciate the ideas as I try to work thru this.

Luv2Roam - This is exactly what I am starting to think, that a special rate is not a discounted rate. The only thing I can't figure out is why in the world I had to wait until August and contact the sporting complex to add the exact same 'special dining' plan that I could have got atthe time I made my reservation. The words "free" or "discounted" were never used, so I don't feel ripped off. I do feel very mislead though. Thanks to you for your ideas, too.

I did find an email contact on the marathon home page and sent them an inquiry requesting clarification. If I get anything, I will post a follow up in case any other runners have this same question.

 

[RadioFanatic]

there is no marathon discount rate. I'm running the 1/2. I did the AAA rate for BCV bc there is no rate. I also bought tix from another source. Depending on how things go, I very well not get dining plan.

 

[figment82]

homerjay316, I understand your confusion! But as previously mentioned, there is no discount rate for the marathon - they pretty much know just about everyone down there that weekend is there for the marathon events so they don't need to offer a discount specific for the runners! (This is not true of the other RunDisney events, where you can generally get some decent discounts on the "host" hotels).

The reason the rate was described the way it was is that the package rates for 2012 do not typically get released until the middle of the year. So, if you want to book a package earlier in the year so you can start planning, even though packages aren't available yet to the general public, they give the marathoners the ability to do that. They must have been conservatively estimating August as the date when they would have the full package prices released, though obviously they came out much sooner than that this year.

The "30% discount" they talk about for the dining plan is what Disney estimates the dining plan saves you over paying for your food out of pocket - which could potentially be true if you were planning on eating the exact same amount of food as what you get on the plan, and you do your homework. However, this isn't actually a discount rate on the price of the dining plan, or your package.

If you wait a while, they *may* release discounts for marathon weekend and then you can always get that applied to your package. It's questionable this year, though, since the free dining rate excluded marathon weekend. You never know, though - just keep your eyes open!

 

[homerjay316]

A quick follow up on this; I've made a few more phone calls and got a reply to an email I sent to runDisney. There has been some more confusion, such as the email stating that the dining plan is only available for Marathon Weekend and not other runDisney events (huh?).

I did get a hold of Laney, a CM in Sports Travel who is part of a team that specializes in the marathon reservations. She seemed to know exactly what I was talking about and basically said exactly what Figment82 says above, its a different name for the same old DDP.

This was very confusing, but I'm glad I have an answer. I'm a little disappointed. The wife agreed that if I could get free dining, I could upgrade from a value resort to the savannah view at AKL I've always wanted. Oh well, another time maybe. Thanks to everybody who took the time to review my situation and offer feedback.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Radio -- I doubt you will want to switch to a dining package if you already have tickets. Depending on what package(s) you do/don't qualify for, you may have to buy tickets to meet a package requirement.