The real reason POR is being excluded from Free Dining

[JohnDaleswife]

Do you think the reason the POR is being excluded from Free Dining is because many of their rooms sleep 5, and not so much the fact that it might be booked up already? I do. Just a thought.

I think it is great that Disney is releasing Free Dining this early, room numbers must just not be where they need them to be! But I also am seeing more and more value in having my Disney Visa too! Not planning to go for free dining, but these are just my thoughts.

I bet that if they offer bounce backs this year, they may get a lot more bites at that too.

 

[20yBWDW]

Do you think the reason the POR is being excluded from Free Dining is because many of their rooms sleep 5, and not so much the fact that it might be booked up already? I do. Just a thought.

I think it is great that Disney is releasing Free Dining this early, room numbers must just not be where they need them to be! But I also am seeing more and more value in having my Disney Visa too! Not planning to go for free dining, but these are just my thoughts.

I bet that if they offer bounce backs this year, they may get a lot more bites at that too.

It does seem like POR is far and away the best deal for families of 5 when it comes to free dining. It may be too good of a deal for Disney to keep giving.

I wish they would start offering bounce backs that correspond to the dates you are there, to encourage the annual vacation at the same time of year. The only bounce backs we ever had a chance at were at a different time of year than when we go.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

No one has CONFIRMED that POR is excluded from free dining.

FWIW I can see AB rooms at POR open for every week of Sept. So they aren't booked up yet or weren't yesterday.

 

[2009CAN]

No one has CONFIRMED that POR is excluded from free dining.

FWIW I can see AB rooms at POR open for every week of Sept. So they aren't booked up yet or weren't yesterday.

I was told my a CM today that POR was NOT on the list and that I should have another resort in mind when I call back tomorrow. I guess we'll know for sure tomorrow.

I also wonder if POR will get the S/P/D special and NOT the FD special. I thought awhile ago someone (Black maybe?) said they were trying to play around with a new combo of promotions to see if they could start moving away from FD. Who knows but it sounds like that might be worth considering.

 

[TeamBlack]

My first thought(if POR it truely is excluded) is that they want to fill up the, harder to sell, Allstar suites and see if the "Family of 5'ers" book POR anyway, without FD. And if 5'ers dont book POR, release the rooms with FD at a later date.

 

[Melany502]

I was told my a CM today that POR was NOT on the list and that I should have another resort in mind when I call back tomorrow. I guess we'll know for sure tomorrow.

I also wonder if POR will get the S/P/D special and NOT the FD special. I thought awhile ago someone (Black maybe?) said they were trying to play around with a new combo of promotions to see if they could start moving away from FD. Who knows but it sounds like that might be worth considering.

Such a bummer I really hope they offer a discount of some sort. I really don't want to change resorts.

 

[jhaig]

This is an experiment by Disney to see where they can get the most cash out of their loyal customers, nothing else. Yes, it's a cynical view, but money talks.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

A number of people in the FD thread admit that they have already booked rooms at POR in hopes of landing the FD deal. They now plan on changing resorts. We will never know with certainty, but I would bet that the booking percentages at POR played into the decision.

 

[2009CAN]

My first thought(if POR it truely is excluded) is that they want to fill up the, harder to sell, Allstar suites and see if the "Family of 5'ers" book POR anyway, without FD. And if 5'ers dont book POR, release the rooms with FD at a later date.

That also sounds very plausible. Maybe that's why they are releasing Sept - Nov now instead of staggering them.


Melany502 but keep in mind, the CM I talked to could be wrong.

 

[g3pak]

A number of people in the FD thread admit that they have already booked rooms at POR in hopes of landing the FD deal. They now plan on changing resorts. We will never know with certainty, but I would bet that the booking percentages at POR played into the decision.

I am seeing this, too. I wonder if a bunch of rooms will open up at POR in the next few weeks as people move over. I don't think it will cause Disney to put POR into the FD promotion, but I bet they see a lot of people switch over.

Like Black (and others) keep saying....don't book before the promotion is released. It looks to me like enough people ignored that advice to cause POR to be excluded.

 

[Misjanuary1]

This is an experiment by Disney to see where they can get the most cash out of their loyal customers, nothing else. Yes, it's a cynical view, but money talks.

Sure...those with 5 have to about their plan at POR and book 2 rooms or suite. We are a family of 4 but 10 year old twins like own beds. We are more flexible on resorts and beds and I will make them share if it saves us $1500!

 

[alktdknckmom]

A number of people in the FD thread admit that they have already booked rooms at POR in hopes of landing the FD deal. They now plan on changing resorts. We will never know with certainty, but I would bet that the booking percentages at POR played into the decision.

I am one of those families that booked POR. BUT I didn't book in hopes of FD, I booked because I wanted a moderate and I'm a family of 5 (ie; only option for mod ($300 less than suite, and $500 less than dlx for my stay). I wanted my 180+10 to make ADRs. That was the main reason I booked. I booked before I really started posting here and seeing all the recommendations not to book. But the bottom line is that there are still rooms available at POR, and if more people do jump ship, maybe it will open up. Black always says that anything can happen up to the minute they release.

Does anyone know if Visa offers ever differ from GP offers with regards to included resorts/dates/etc.?

 

[tinker&belle]

I've wondered if fd at POR is not profitable? If a family has 3 children that are disney adults the cost of the dining plan would be about 200/night. About the cost of the room itself; essentially a 50% discount. A value suite is about $100 more/night(for my dates at least) and then families would have to upgrade or just use qsdp.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I am one of those families that booked POR. BUT I didn't book in hopes of FD, I booked because I wanted a moderate and I'm a family of 5

Then you are not one of the people that I was talking about. If you booked POR knowing that you were going to stay there no matter what, you did the right thing. But there are a whole lot of people in that thread who said that they are now switching because FD was not offered for POR. Some had multiple rooms - one had 5 rooms booked. That is crazy.

Will they add POR at a later date? I would bet heavily against it. They might offer a room only discount.

 

[alktdknckmom]

Then you are not one of the people that I was talking about. If you booked POR knowing that you were going to stay there no matter what, you did the right thing. But there are a whole lot of people in that thread who said that they are now switching because FD was not offered for POR. Some had multiple rooms - one had 5 rooms booked. That is crazy.

Will they add POR at a later date? I would bet heavily against it. They might offer a room only discount.

Oh, I know. I just felt the need to mention that there are a lot of groups of 5 that were wanting a mod. In my case, the price difference is a no-brainer. FD would have been a bonus, and I'm still hoping against all hope, but I'm also realistic and looking at the price difference with RO discount.

Does anyone know if a RO discount is configured before or after tax? (before, I assume)
Mods are usually 25%, right?

 

[WDW1979]

Do you think the reason the POR is being excluded from Free Dining is because many of their rooms sleep 5, and not so much the fact that it might be booked up already?

Last year for the Sept to Dec 2013 free dining POR was included, but just for rooms that accommodate 4. I had checked early the first morning the deal was available and many times after. We did not book a trip for that time because we could not get POR with free dining for our family of 5 (there had been POR free dining rooms available for 4), and we will not have a fall trip now for the same reason. Best wishes to those who are able to take advantage of the current deal.

 

[RysMomma]

I know that I had a lot of issues getting a room only discount at POR for a standard room (for the summer promotion). I could have upgraded my room to get the discount and since I'm not the one paying, we decided to stay put. It wasn't worth the upgrade to get the discount for all the rooms we are getting. We didn't change our resort-we are excited to stay at POR since it's one of the moderates we've never stayed at before!

 

[jenniferma]

I wonder-- what is the price difference between POR and paying for dining or a deluxe like YC with free dining? I guess it depends on how old your children were.. but if I had three kids over 10-- I would upgrade to a deluxe. Our dining with one child and four adults (two kids over 10) is a $1584 value for six nights!

 

[Abra Cat]

I could just cry at this news. We're a family of five, and we've stayed at POR at least once at year with free dining since it started. This year's trip (November) was going to be special, because my eldest will be a senior, and will likely not be joining us on our yearly trips once she heads off to college. I guess we'll wind up booking a deluxe so we can still make the trip (cue up yard sales and wrapping coins!). And yes, I'm sure it's all about money for Disney-- we were getting pretty good value out of our stay, but it's awfully disappointing.

 

[mb3bm8]

Last year for the Sept to Dec 2013 free dining POR was included, but just for rooms that accommodate 4. I had checked early the first morning the deal was available and many times after. We did not book a trip for that time because we could not get POR with free dining for our family of 5 (there had been POR free dining rooms available for 4), and we will not have a fall trip now for the same reason. Best wishes to those who are able to take advantage of the current deal.

Not true I stayed at POR last year and got FD in a room for 5