When did the free dining plan expire?

[Luv2Roam]

I think anyone who has been on the Dis for any length of time knows if the guest does not mention a code or special to the res CM, they most likely will not offer that information.
With Disney it really pays to research and be an educated consumer, if a guest cares about saving $.
There are times the CM can and will offer discounted information. But I certainly would not bet on getting it without asking.
And not all room views are included with all discount rooms/packages. Often they are limited. And needless to say can go fast. Rooms sell out on a regular basis, let alone when there is a good deal.

 

[tinker-kyle]

Stay, play, and dine was advertised in our newspaper's sunday travel section for several weeks with the statements "ask for booking code YMP" and "must be booked by july 3, 2005"

so i guess disney feels that it was out there for the general public if they looked for it .. also on disney website under special offers and of course "fan" websites, such as this and mousesavers, and allears.

sorry your friend missed out ... i'd be pissed

we changed a DVC points stay to a cash stay to get the free dining

 

[Beauty]

I wouldn't have known about it if not for this board but once I read about it here I was able to go to the official disney sight and find it and read about the participating restaurants etc. I was also asked for a code which was listed here as YMP. I'm so sorry your friend didn't find out about it in time. I also agree with the above poster that Disney isn't usually going to offer you anything more than what you ask for. Some of them don't even know about the deals until they enter the code.

 

[calgarygary]

I learned a while back that it pays to visit mousesavers and disboards before booking the trip. The info. gained will save tons. This year, we adjusted our late Oct/early Nov. trip to an arrival on Oct. 2nd. By using left over days on old passes, only had to book 1 day of park to get free meals for 7 days for the 6 of us.

 

[LoraJ]

For some reason, this post really confused me for a minute! I didn't remember posting it, and then I noticed the lack of a J.

 

[maxaroni]

We have made 2 prior trips to WDW as a family and missed out on lots of great info and money saving tips from these boards. This year, I found the boards and it's been great. We had our trip booked w/dining and changed the dates by 3 days to coincide with the 'free' dining. I wouldn't have known about it, if it wasn't for the disboards. We had to cancel and rebook but we called our AAA rep, the night it was announced here, 6/1 (I believe) she said she hadn't heard of it and the promo was to starte 6/2. She called us first thing 6/2 and had us all changed and things were all taken care of for us. She called later in the day, thanking us for giving her a heads up as she walked into the office 6/2 and it was mayhem with all the calls.

 

[GrumpyBa*D]

I actually saw it on tv watching my soaps.... and then found it on the wdw website... it's the only reason i'm going OK twist my arm... it was just too good of a deal and a great excuse I had no intention to go anywhere having been to alaska and florida twice supporting a bunch of friends on a local hockey team this year

 

[Lora]

For some reason, this post really confused me for a minute! I didn't remember posting it, and then I noticed the lack of a J.

Sorry about that. I guess when I signed up as "Lora", I didn't have to worry about adding anything to it. I don't meet many "Loras".

 

[UrsulasMyHero]

The offer was a mass offer, given over the internet and thru print ads. It was a limited time offer, and was successful.

yes it is quite possible that when your friend calld for it it was already booked up for those dates as they offer only a limited number of them. This is where it pays to be a member of these forums.

As for CM's not offering to you, that's part of Disney's requirements. Unless you ask for it, you're likely not going to get it. And you'll be booked at rack rate. It's not the CM's doing.

 

[LeesyUD]

I actually received an email about it a few months ago which had a promotion code but didnt think I was going to be able to save up so soon even with free dining. Then I noticed the offer was showing on Disney's website, which really suprised me. I didn't think they would open the offer so wide. My DBF and I were planning on going on April but finally caved and decided we couldn't refuse the offer. Anyway when we booked we inquired as to whether we needed the code, and the rep said no. Apparently when the offer first started it was only available to those that received the promotion code, but they decided to extend the offer to others as well. But, as other posters have also said on here, there was only a certain amount of room packages available for each resort. And after working out my finances I have enough to go and even stay at AKL w/ the money I'll be saving!!! First time staying in a deluxe yay!!
Sept 29 - Oct 4th

 

[icetcheng]

I don't usually post... too lazy, hah! But I've received so much valuable info from these boards it seems selfish to not pass on the following good news.

My friend had booked a trip from 9/3/05 to Disneyworld without knowing about the free dining plan. It wasn't automatically offered to her even though she booked it before 7/3/05. She found this out later but decided to try her luck with reservations anyway. The first CM she called told her it was too late. She decided to try again a day later and found a CM that was sympathetic and after a short 'hold' on the phone, gave her the dining plan for free. According to the CM, you DO have to mention the code or the plan, for it's not policy to offer it when you do the booking.

Well, I was going on the same trip but booked on 7/5/05, not knowing about the free dining plan beforehand. So I was kinda bummed that I had missed the cut off by a few days. But now it's back! Check in between 8/21/05 and 10/4/05 for a Magic Your Way vacation package of 3 nights or longer at a Walt Disney World resort and get the Dining Plan added at no extra cost!
You must book by 8/20/05 to qualify.

When I found out about the 'new' offer, I called WDW reservations, figured I had nothing to lose. Long story short, I got the free dining plan. So OP, tell your friend to try again. And in any case, if first you don't succeed, try again.