Room only doesn't allow a dining plan?

[Mollygirl21]

I am thinking of booking a room only reservation now for Feb 2017 with hopes of a discount or free dining later this fall. But if I click room only (without park tickets), it doesn't allow me the option of a dining plan?

Do you need to buy the package with park tickets to be eligible to buy the dining plan? We already have one adult ticket bought with air miles.

Thanks!

 

[siskaren]

To book online, yes, you have to buy tickets to get the dining plan. If you call, you can book a ticketless package with the dining plan.

 

[Mollygirl21]

Thank you!

Is there any downside to doing room only? Can we still get Magical Express and the Magic Bands and everything?

 

[Vijoge]

Thank you!

Can we still get Magical Express and the Magic Bands and everything?

Yes

 

[terri33inne]

Is there any downside to doing room only? Can we still get Magical Express and the Magic Bands and everything?

Not that I can think of... I often book the room only & add the dining plan right before the trip if I decide I want it. You will still get ME & your MB's.

 

[siskaren]

Thank you!

Is there any downside to doing room only? Can we still get Magical Express and the Magic Bands and everything?

Magical Express and Magic Bands are only dependent on staying on property; booking a package has nothing to do with it.

 

[plutolovr]

Even if you book a room and dining only, it becomes a package. If Free Dining does come out at a later time, you will have to add theme park tickets to qualify.

 

[Mollygirl21]

Even if you book a room and dining only, it becomes a package. If Free Dining does come out at a later time, you will have to add theme park tickets to qualify.

Oh no...so the ticket we already have will be useless if we have to buy park tickets to get free dining! Are you sure? (I ask with great respect)?

Free dining will not be available for a room only reservation??

 

[siskaren]

Oh no...so the ticket we already have will be useless if we have to buy park tickets to get free dining! Are you sure? (I ask with great respect)?

Free dining will not be available for a room only reservation??

This is correct. Free dining requires a minimum ticket purchase (I believe 2 days) and lately has also had to have either the park hopper or the water park option. You can always save the ticket you already have for a future trip since unused tickets don't expire.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Oh no...so the ticket we already have will be useless if we have to buy park tickets to get free dining! Are you sure? (I ask with great respect)?

Free dining will not be available for a room only reservation??

If you already have tickets, you may be better off booking a room with a room-only discount and then adding the dining plan and using the tickets you have. When the promos come out, simply price out all discount options and go from there.

 

[Sue M]

If there's no reason you need to book so far ahead I'd just wait till discounts come out to book. Especially if you want a room discount. Booking ahead (which many like to do) fills rooms and lessens the chance of a discount. Disney puts out discounts to fill rooms. If a resort has enough rooms filled, they exclude that resort from discounts or lessen the discount.

 

[mickeynut1]

I often book the room only & add the dining plan right before the trip if I decide I want it.

Just wanted to clarify that if you book RO now and add the DDP later, the RO will have to be cancelled/refunded and a package booked, requiring a new $200 deposit (or payment in full if you are 30 days or less from arrival). Since RO and packages are different reservation systems, money paid toward one cannot be applied to the other. Also, if the DDP is added later, it must added at least 3 days prior to arrival.

 

[Shanti]

I am thinking of booking a room only reservation now for Feb 2017 with hopes of a discount or free dining later this fall. But if I click room only (without park tickets), it doesn't allow me the option of a dining plan?

Do you need to buy the package with park tickets to be eligible to buy the dining plan? We already have one adult ticket bought with air miles.

Thanks!

Don't bother booking the room until the discount you want becomes available. Booking a rack rate room in advance lessens your (and everyone else's) chance that the room will ever be discounted at all, because Disney only discounts rooms that are not already reserved.

You have no advantage by pre-booking a full-price room that you don't really want, unless you're dead set on that exact room type, & won't mind paying full price on it if no discount comes out.

If a discount does come out for that room type and you had pre-booked that room type at rack rate, you'd still have the exact same chance as people with no reservation at all to get the room with the discount. There is no "insiders' advantage", as a rack rate room is a different room type from a discounted room, and you'd have to change your reservation to get a discount, and the change would be subject to availability.

I wish more people understood this. This "prebooking" of rack rate rooms by people hoping for a discount is reducing the number of discounted rooms available, and not helping the people doing it at all.

 

[Serenebean]

If I'm reading that right - you are hoping for a free dining deal for a Feb 2017 trip? Looking at the historical deals there has not been Free Dining during that time period. There will likely be Play Stay and Dine, however, that is not free dining. It is a package of room, tickets and dining that has each part discounted. I also agree with others, wait until the room discount comes out to book. I want to go in October 2017 and its killing me not to book, but as they point out, there is no advantage and it disincentives Disney to release a discount if the hotels are booked up. They'll still be there when the discount comes out

 

[Mollygirl21]

I really appreciate all the feedback. The only reason I am considering booking prior to the release of discounts is to get the ADRs we want...is there another way?

Thanks

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

I really appreciate all the feedback. The only reason I am considering booking prior to the release of discounts is to get the ADRs we want...is there another way?

Thanks

I think it does make some sense to book now so that you can make ADRs at 180 days, and then re-book with a deal once those discounts come out. (For example, there might be one of those "up to 25% off" deals or something similar.)

Something to remember is that anyone can book at 180 days, but people with a room booked can do 180 + 10. So, even without a room reservation, you can go online every day, beginning 180 days from your arrival date, and book one day at a time through the end of your trip.

Previous posters are correct that you need to call to add DDP to a room-only booking. I used to do this when we were annual passholders, and as a TA, I have done this with clients who are APs, too.

 

[bumbershoot]

I really appreciate all the feedback. The only reason I am considering booking prior to the release of discounts is to get the ADRs we want...is there another way?

Thanks

The only advantage to having a reservation is that you can book adrs at 180 days from checkin day.

If you don't have a reservation you book 180 days from the day you're making adrs for.

That's it.

Staying onsite gives you all the perks of staying onsite, no matter how you book.

Room-only bookings are room only.

Once you add things like dining it becomes a package. The deposit is different and you have a different "pay in full" schedule.

Free dining is different again, and you cannot have a ticketless free dining package. And you must buy the ticket when you book free dining (if FD is offered for your dates), as part of the package. Any previous ticket isn't useful for FD.

 

[Mollygirl21]

"Something to remember is that anyone can book at 180 days, but people with a room booked can do 180 + 10. So, even without a room reservation, you can go online every day, beginning 180 days from your arrival date, and book one day at a time through the end of your trip"

Thank you for this! I thought I had to have a trip booked to access the ADR booking online!

No reason at all for us to book a room only reservation now...we can wait and see what discounts are available. A little bit of a pain to go online each day but no big deal.

Thank you!!!

 

[maltdizzy]

You won't have to go online every day to check. Often there are heads up as to guesses when discounts will be released, either from feedback people here receive from CM's or based on past discount announcement dates.

http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/

For instance note almost all first quarter '16 discounts were announced in late Sept '15. Also note that there hasn't been a free dining ofer in the Winter time since 2012 (and I doubt there will be soon considering the promotion in the Fall gets smaller and smaller).

What you will find yourself, like all of us, doing is scavenging through all posts and blogs looking for any confirmation details with unwavering focus as the guessimated deadline comes closer and closer.