Should I change my dates to get free dining at disney???

[Tara2004]

Hi everyone, I was just needing some help. WWYD?.


I had disney planned for the second part of out holiday, so we could come over to the USA with empty suitcases, and buy up all our clothes at the outlets. DH said he wanted it in the first part, so I backed down and let him win. I still would of liked it the second week. More christmas decos would of been up and we would have bought a cheap stroller etc.

Do you save much money with the free dining plan? I just found out if we go in the second week I get free dining. I have no idea till yesterday about this deal coming up. Is it worth causing a fight with DH to change the dates for free dining? He hell bent it willl be too busy the week before thanks giving. There are a few days from the 15th November marked in the crowd calander with 2/10 and then closer to thanksgiving its 8/10. We are going from the 5th November atm and we miss the dining plan all together. Should I change it to the 15th we go to be a PITA????

All feedback helps.

Oh, we have booked charater dining too. Its very hard to get into as you know. If we get free dining we will probably miss out on getting a good time for charater dining.( Thats if we get in at all.)

 

[battymum]

They wouldnt offer free dining if they thought it was going to be busy!

It also depends on your group, how many adults / children, and where you are staying - do you have any other sort of room discount sometimes a discount off your room can be worth more than free dining.

 

[Tara2004]

There are 4 of us. 2 adults and 2 kids. We have booked pop century resort from the 4th Nov - 11 Nov, but would have to change our booking to a week ahead to get the free dining. (14th-21st Nov)

the NEW FREE DINING OFFER, it will be available for all in AUGUST 3 .

these are the dates and the conditions of the new offer

Bookings Between August 3, 2011 - December 17, 2011
Travel Dates
October 2, 2011 - October 8, 2011
October 23, 2011 - November 5, 2011
November 13, 2011 - November 19, 2011
November 27, 2011 - December 3, 2011
December 11, 2011 - December 17,

Free Quick Service Dining for values and regular dining for moderates deluxe and villas

Minimum Stay: 3 Nights – Maximum Stay: 14 Nigths.

 

[Franrose]

I'd set myself up on the Disney website and start looking for reservations now and see what is out there. I've only been doing that for the past week and have managed to snaffle lots of the things I was after, and that's for a September visit. So you may find you are still able to do ok, and from what I have read some of these meals are going to cost (we don't have free dining) it sounds like you could save a bundle!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Tara - Are you ARRIVING and checking in to Pop BEFORE the 5th November?
I assume that the free dining offer runs the same as most others i.e., it's your arrival date that matters. If you arrive before this date, then I believe free dining runs for your entire booking period.

If you've booked with an American TA, I would ring them up and get them to cost out your package with free dining and compare it against your current booking price. That way, you get to keep all your ADRs.

If you've booked direct with Disney, then ring them up and ask them to cost it out for you.

 

[Tara2004]

This deal isnt up yet, Its new and we shouldnt know about it yet. Shhh.l It wont be up for a few day yet. Thats why Im trying to work this out before the new deal starts.

Princess in oz, yes our first night is on the 4th.

Im so new to this. Its my very first trip to the USA.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I haven't checked on-line with the Disney website....but the Disboard has been talking about this for a couple of days now. I suspect that it is already up and running.

 

[Tara2004]

Really. It shows how new I am to this then. So you think I could get this offer?

 

[PrincessInOz]

This deal isnt up yet, Its new and we shouldnt know about it yet. Shhh.l It wont be up for a few day yet. Thats why Im trying to work this out before the new deal starts.

Princess in oz, yes our first night is on the 4th.

Im so new to this. Its my very first trip to the USA.

I'm pretty sure (but not 100% positive) that the free dining deal applies from your arrival date. I don't know if you've booked directly or with a TA. If you've booked with a TA, then ask them the question.

If you've booked directly, ask the boards to confirm...but I'm 99.9% sure that this is the case.

I just took a quick look at the Disney website and the offer isn't up yet. So I'm guessing that someone internal to Disney has provided the information on the Dis.

Do you have a current discount on your Pop booking? If you've paid full rack rate, then the answer is a no-brainer. The FD will save you money.

If you've got a room-only discount, then you'll need to run the numbers yourself. Check out what the prices of various items are on the establishments that you will be eating at and start a spreadsheet. AllEars usually have a good menu and $ section.

Once you've tallied up how much you're likely to spend on food (and include snacks and drinks), add that to you current package and then compare it against the FD pricing. That should tell you whether it is worth it or not.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I should also ask - with your current package, if you've gotten the room-only discount, did you buy any dining package with that? Because if you did, then all you need to do is compare you current cost with that of the FD cost.

 

[Tara2004]

Thanks so much princess in oz, you have helped a help. We have no other deals on our stay. We just booked the rooms only at POP on line , thats it. I will wait till the 3rd (our 4th) of Aug for the deal to be added.

Should I ring them or email? Not sure what to do.

Cheers K

 

[mickeyd78]

Hi Tara2004.

November is a great time to visit WDW.

Discussions of the Disney Dining Plan can get complicated.

Obviously, if you can get free Dining you are going to save money vs paying for the DDP or paying out of pocket as you go.

How much you will save is hard to say. It depends on a number of things, such as:

• Which resort you stay at. The value resorts offer the Quick Service Dining Plan free, while Moderate and Deluxe resort offer the Standard Dining Plan.
  
• How many sit down / counter service meals you would normally do.

At this stage, you are in the 180 day window to book ADR's for November, so you may have some difficulty getting reservations at the most popular places, but you should still be able to get good ones.

Are you travelling with kids? I am a big fan of the DDP as I like to have everything pre-paid. It feels better not having to dip into your pocket at every meal (besides tips), so I enjoy the experience more. I just had a daughter and I am not sure if I would use the DDP with kids. On the basic plan, you need to have a sit down meal pretty much every day to get your moneys worth out of the plan. I'm not sure we would do that with little kids. Maybe the counter service plan would be better (although I think I'd get sick of CS meals after a week).

Having said all that, if you get the plan for free and don't use all of the meals, you haven't 'wasted' any money.

So, it's hard to say how much you will save - but potentially, you are saving up to $45.99 per adult per day and $11.99 per child per day.

I'm not sure how long you are planning to stay at WDW, but the week from 15 November onwards looks fine crowd wise up until about Tues 22 Nov, when the levels go up to 10/10.

If it doesn't upset you other plans, I would change for the free dining. Perhaps have a look and see what ADRs you can get for the 15 November onwards first before you decide to change.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks so much princess in oz, you have helped a help. We have no other deals on our stay. We just booked the rooms only at POP on line , thats it. I will wait till the 3rd (our 4th) of Aug for the deal to be added.

Should I ring them or email? Not sure what to do.

Cheers K

Tara - How many ADRs do you have? If the deals are running the way they have in the past, the FD deal at Pop will be for Quick Service meals (not including sit-down or character meals). QSDP (Quick Service Dining Plan) for adults is around $30 per day. QSDP for kids are around $10 per day. (and it's counted on the number of nights you're staying; not the number of days).

Are your kids under 9? Any under 3?

If you have more than 3 or 4 character meals and/or sit down dinners booked (both of which are classed as table service meals), then you might want to inquire about whether you can upgrade your QSDP to the regular dining plan, which covers 1 table service meal per night that you're staying.

Take the time to do some research on the various dining plans and the differences between each DP to see which one suits your family. Allears will have indicative menus from all the various table service restaurants and the various quick service establishments.

 

[mickeyd78]

Thanks so much princess in oz, you have helped a help. We have no other deals on our stay. We just booked the rooms only at POP on line , thats it. I will wait till the 3rd (our 4th) of Aug for the deal to be added.

Should I ring them or email? Not sure what to do.

Cheers K

Hi Tara2004.

Sorry, my reply above is out of date - I typed it this morning and tried to post it, but didn't realise that I hadn't logged in.

Anyway, I would call Disney. You can use Google Voice to call for free.

Do you know if you want the Quick Service Plan or the Standard Plan? Normally if you are staying at Pop they offe rthe Quick Service Plan for free - but you can upgrade to the Standard Plan by paying the difference. I am assuming that if you are going to do Character meals, you'll want the Standrard Plan.

 

[Tara2004]

Thanks for your reply mickeyd78

I have only 2 charater meals booked. Chief mickey and 1900 at the floridian. Its a nighmare to get a good meal time for dinner. Grrr. We are also looking at the drive in movie place. Where you sit in a car and watch a movie. It called Sci-fi dine in??? I dont want to book too many meals. I hate to rush around all the time to make it to reservations.

My son is 3.5 and daughter is 7.

Do you have any idea what up grade would be?

Princess in oz. Thanks so much. Im am so greatful.

 

[battymum]

It will cost $11 per day per adult to upgrade to the regular dining plan - this will give you 1 table service / 1 quick service and 1 snack per day.

Not sure of the new deal, but CS dining plan you used to get a refillable mug and an extra snack credit, you lose those on the TS plan, with only 2 table service meals planned, it might not be worth the upgrade, just pay out of pocket for those and you will have credit for extra CS meals.

Some people like to upgrade their kids to adults (when it is free) to get a better selection of meals - otherwise they are restricted to eating off the childrens menu (nuggets / maccheese) You will have to pay as adults for their park tickets but this is not much.

Pretty sure that you will be able to stay on your current dates AND get free dining if you are checking in on the 4th (thats how it has worked previously)

 

[Tara2004]

Battymum, DS a crappy eater. He is soooo fussy it sucks. I dont think either of my kids will eat adult meals. DAM YOU CHICKEN NUGGETS!

Not long for you to go. Thats awesome.

 

[battymum]

oh yeah, I know that feeling.

My kids are 13, 13 and 16 and would be happy to eat nuggets everyday for the week. - although they might need a couple of serves!

Fortunately we are on free dining and they have to order of the adult menu - hopefully they will broaden their pallettes a bit - even if they dont eat it all - it hasnt cost me anything!

 

[PrincessInOz]

For 2 TS meals booked, just pay for these OOP. You might be up for around $150 for those two meals. If you add any more table service meals, you might want to consider upgrading. For 7 nights, it will cost you about $160 - $200 ish to upgrade 2 adults and 1 child. I'm not really sure about the 3.5 year old as to whether they fall under the age for dine for free. I know it's around 3 but not sure if it is 3 or 2 (and under).

Have fun! And yes, I too am in the camp of call them, rather than send an email.

 

[DVCAustralia]

I would strongly recommend staying with the QS dining plan you get free with your POP stay, including leaving your children as children on the QS dining plan.
The main reasons for this are: -
1. You all get refillable mugs (great souvenirs even if you do not get that many drinks at the resort).
2. You all get two snacks per night that you can use any time during your stay (there is no distinction between children and adult snacks).
3. The children's menus are limited, but this seems to suit your children anyway and you can share/split meals.
4. The TS character breakfasts are reasonably cheap and not great value on the dining plan anyway