(Update: See Pages 3 & 4) WDW 4/3 & 5/2 Promo Announcement on 9/28!

[Colleen27]

The UG site is reporting the 4/3 will be back for booking next week, with a slightly less attractive 5/2 offer for value resorts.

 

[IMACM]

NO stone throwing if I am wrong......hehe

 

[Colleen27]

I have a trip planned for the last week of October and based upon limited anecdotal evidence, I think business is slow. This past weekend I added 2 ADRs to our schedule just 5 weeks out and had no problem getting good times. Booked a 12 noon lunch and had a choice of 5:20 or 6pm dinner another time. I looked at other restaurant options and everything I plugged in came back with open slots during prime dining hours. That's at restaurants like Sci-Fi, Yak & Yeti and Plaza Restaurant.

That seems to go counter to most of the "free dining" periods and has lead me to think that the promotion hasn't been terribly successful this time around. Perhaps all of the usual free dining crowd stuck to their normal Aug-Sept vacation window.

I tend to agree about the fall/winter free dining not going over as well as Disney had hoped. I was playing around with availability, thinking about pushing up our stay from Jan to Dec, at at the deluxe resorts there is still a ton available for every set of dates I looked at from mid-Nov right up until the week before Christmas, even over Thanksgiving. And ADR availability doesn't look too bad either, except at the usual hard-to-get locations.

 

[WDWKOOK]

NO stone throwing if I am wrong......hehe

The UG site is reporting the 4/3 will be back for booking next week, with a slightly less attractive 5/2 offer for value resorts.

Yep, this is what Len Testa posted today:

TOURINGPLANS.COM BLOG

Disney’s Buy-4-Get-7 Deal To Return Next Week

by Len Testa on September 24, 2009:

Details are still being worked out, but we’ve heard from multiple, usually-reliable sources that Disney’s Buy-4-Get-7 deal will return next week. The announcement may be made as early as Monday, but could be as late as Thursday. Value resorts will have a slightly different “Buy-5-Get-2″ deal. Travel dates, we hear, could be October 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010. Book by December 20, 2009 (we think that’ll be extended). And you must purchase Magic Your Way tickets to match the number of nights of your stay.

Take all of this with a grain of salt, in particular the announcement dates.

 

[Haley/Hayden Mom]

The UG site is reporting the 4/3 will be back for booking next week, with a slightly less attractive 5/2 offer for value resorts.

I hope they bring the 4/3 back we did that this past spring for our first every Disney trip and DD's, DH and I loved it. So much so that DH has me already planning another trip for next May as soon as DD's get out of school.

 

[WDWKOOK]

I tend to agree about the fall/winter free dining not going over as well as Disney had hoped. I was playing around with availability, thinking about pushing up our stay from Jan to Dec, at at the deluxe resorts there is still a ton available for every set of dates I looked at from mid-Nov right up until the week before Christmas, even over Thanksgiving. And ADR availability doesn't look too bad either, except at the usual hard-to-get locations.

I just checked some Deluxes and BLT, and even over Christmas there is widespread availability, even in the Garden Wing at the CR which usually sells-out first. Given that, I'm not sure how WDW can afford to have Christmas blacked-out if there is a 4/3 promo announced.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I hope they bring the 4/3 back we did that this past spring for our first every Disney trip and DD's, DH and I loved it. So much so that DH has me already planning another trip for next May as soon as DD's get out of school.

We are traveling to Disney as soon as our school is out of school too. I wanna deal for May 27th through June 6th!

 

[Haley/Hayden Mom]

We are traveling to Disney as soon as our school is out of school too. I wanna deal for May 27th through June 6th!

How awsome!!!!! Another group that gets out when we do. Some people seem amazed we get out earlier than others but when you go back on Aug the 10th it happens. We get out on the 28th and want to leave as soon as we can like last year. They got out on Wed the 27th last year and we left on Sat the 30th for 7 fun filled days at Disney.

 

[mickeystoontown]

How awsome!!!!! Another group that gets out when we do. Some people seem amazed we get out earlier than others but when you go back on Aug the 10th it happens. We get out on the 28th and want to leave as soon as we can like last year. They got out on Wed the 27th last year and we left on Sat the 30th for 7 fun filled days at Disney.

This year, our school started on August 15th which was our last day in Disney so our son missed his first day of school. It really didn't matter since it was just one of those days where you see where your classes are and meet your teachers. We know the school officer supervisor and were able to take our son to school the week before we left for Disney so he could look around.

For the last two years, we have gone to Disney in August because we didn't have much choice. Our favorite time is the last week of May through the first week of June. We usually leave a day or two after school lets out.

This year, school lets out on the 24th or 25th of May and we're off to Disney on the 26th. But, like you guys, our school starts back up the second week of August.

 

[DisMomme]

from the DVC Members website:

Member Services adjusts operating hours on Monday, 9/28/09
To accommodate Members who wish to book a 2011 Disney Cruise Line voyage, Member Services will open at 8 am EST on Monday, September 28th, one hour earlier than regular operating hours. During this additional hour, Member Services will only be booking reservations for 2011 Disney Cruise Line itineraries. For all other transactions, Members can call Member Services during our standard operating hours of 9 am to 5:30 pm EST, Sunday through Saturday.


It sounds like they're planning to add some sort of incentive for cruises?? Also with the added booking hours, that would explain the added CMs.

 

[doconeill]

Will they announce the opening of bookings for the Alaska cruises maybe? Or for the new ships?

 

[Happy99]

Will they announce the opening of bookings for the Alaska cruises maybe? Or for the new ships?

That has already been announced - 2011 cruises except for the new ship which will be announced Oct 29

 

[Cobra B.]

Hoopla for all of the investigative work... but still hoping it is the Adventurers Club reopening date.

___________________________________________

up or down
north, south, east or west
an adventurer's life is best

 

[Condorman]

Hoopla for all of the investigative work... but still hoping it is the Adventurers Club reopening date.

___________________________________________

up or down
north, south, east or west
an adventurer's life is best

It's not coming back. It's going elsewhere. Please check this thread:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33714498#post33714498

 

[Tricia1972]

Still no update....you all will probably know before me anyway!!! I am starting to hear chatter about a new promo on 9/27 but NO ONE is talking! I still feel it's 180 dining though, I could be wrong but it will be the 1st time as far as Disney goes

Thanks, IMACM, for checking-in with us over here

We'll be sure to keep you updated if we hear anything

Hmmm, I'll be interested to hear what the big announcement is today.

From the looks of online dining, it's not back to 180 days. (Had to check when the baby got up, because if the dining rumor was true, my window would have opened. )

Maybe it'll open later on today....

We'll keep you posted IMACM

 

[doconeill]

The web site hasn't changed noticeably. But it wouldn't be the first time Disney IT lagged behind a big announcement...

 

[Tricia1972]

No kidding! You'd think with a company as large as Disney that their IT would be leading the pack, not lagging so far behind.

I did just call in to make sure that it wasn't IT lagging on opening the reservation window, and the CM confirmed that it's still 90 days today.

I'm going to have to make sure to keep my eye on Twitter today. I follow enough Disney things that I usually get announcements pretty early, and I am really curious about what (if anything) is going on.

 

[disneyfan2]

some are posting the announcement might not come til Oct 1st

 

[katieam1]

I read on allears like a month ago they are going back to 180 days dining starting October 26 or 27, so hopefully the announcement will be a good deal!

 

[hygienejean]

any news yet?