Who else is dissapointed by this so called "deal"?

[DonaldTDuck]

Well said. Comparing this deal to the free dining deal is utter folly. For the time of year this promo covers, it is indeed a HUGE deal. Just look at the history of deals during peak season. This is indeed one of the best deals during this time frame in years. You just can't compare a free dining deal in the fall offseason with this. One is OFFSEASON, one is PEAK Season.

I think those complaining don't understand the difference in time frames which is necessary to do to evaluate any deal

Since when is Jan4- Feb 28 peak season. Many of us are going then and hoped for free dining. I've been in Jan before, and it is DEAD. They could have done 2 different deals instead of the same deal with a $200 gift card for the non-peak time.

 

[CleveRocks]

Since when is Jan4- Feb 28 peak season.

In 2009, peak season starts Feb. 13.

 

[fbb]

Just as the dining plan encourages you to eat more than you normally would, the 7/4 encourages you to stay at a deluxe.

Either plan can be shown to be superior. The value of either is highly dependent on how much you tweak the plan.

 

[DisDarling]

Because this is the DIS, where people aren't allowed to vent their disappointment about ANYTHING without somebody getting their panties in a twist.

Let's say you spent a week in Disney, and they somehow ran out of all food except lima beans. So the only thing you ate all week were tons and tons of lima beans. You could come back to the DIS and post that while your week in Disney was wonderful, you were a little disappointed in the 24/7 lima bean diet.

I guarantee you there would be posters (you know who you are!) who would rip you a new one for daring to say you were disappointed.

Try not to take it personally. I'm used to it by now, but it still gets old.

.

AMEN!!!

Now, I have to go and eat some Lima Beans....

P.S. GREAT pics in your siggy, Legolas is HOT!

Ames

 

[lisa3383]

You just can't compare a free dining deal in the fall offseason with this. One is OFFSEASON, one is PEAK Season.

I think those complaining don't understand the difference in time frames which is necessary to do to evaluate any deal

The current free dining deal that I will be using (Disney Visa offer) is for the week of Christmas - it doesn't get any peak then that! It is giving me free deluxe dining and a discount on my deluxe room for a savings of nearly $3k. For that reason, I am saving more this December than I would save going peak with this deal next year.

 

[maverick61]

Since when is Jan4- Feb 28 peak season. Many of us are going then and hoped for free dining. I've been in Jan before, and it is DEAD. They could have done 2 different deals instead of the same deal with a $200 gift card for the non-peak time.

Peak season starts mid-Feb

Sounds like sour grapes to me. Disney is in business to make money - not to just make you happy by giving you discounts. Their discount plans are always to fulfill their strategic goals. Its obvious their goal is to extend stays, and by doing so, capture more ancilliary revenue. Free Dining doesn't accomplish that

 

[maverick61]

The current free dining deal that I will be using (Disney Visa offer) is for the week of Christmas - it doesn't get any peak then that! It is giving me free deluxe dining and a discount on my deluxe room for a savings of nearly $3k. For that reason, I am saving more this December than I would save going peak with this deal next year.

1. Comparing a GP offer to one that is very limited in its reach is even more of a stretch

2. I believe the Visa deal goes through 12/20. Perhaps you were able to get the rate for Christmas by checking in before 12/20, the deal doesn't per se cover the week between Christmas and New Years which is the REALLY peak time you refer to

 

[michael's mom]

I have to say that I think this is a great deal. I was able to benefit from in for our upcoming trip. I originally booked 8 nights w/3day park hopper + dining. I now have 8 nights (first night is a blackout date so I have 2 reservations). The final 7 nights were the buy 4 get 3 promotion. So now I still have 8 nights, 7 day park hopper no expiration (we won't do 7 days in parks) + 7 dining days AND I saved $560.

This may not be a good deal for some, but the monetary savings and the 4 additional PH days without expiration x2 people @ a few hundred dollars and I have a gain of about $1000. Not bad for a popular travel time.

 

[mousefan215]

I agree with the posters that say it's a GREAT deal...I also think that it's disney's way of filling up the Deluxes for the first half of next year...with the economy like it is, I bet that most people that usually stay at Deluxe resorts were probably looking at the mods and values.... but because of this deal, have decided to stay at a Deluxe....As for us...we decided to move from value to Deluxe because of it not being THAT much more of a price increase...Gotta hand it to Disney...they're always one step ahead!!!

 

[BoricuaMicky]

Just book two consecutive 7/4 package from May 21 to June 4.
I had a 14 day + 10 days ticket package at CBR


After all the positive and negative in hotel cost and ticket cost I ended saving 600.00 plus and instead of having tickets for 10 day, I now have tickets for the 14 day

Bottom line is I am pay for 8 day and getting 6 free

 

[parmtoo]

Either free dining, or 7 for 4 are great deals in my book! I am happy for any deal that WDW wants to offer. That being said, we are going from Jan.10-17, and would have gone with or without a deal. So, to me, this a great gift b/c the deal saved me over $500.00.

 

[michael's mom]

Either free dining, or 7 for 4 are great deals in my book! I am happy for any deal that WDW wants to offer. That being said, we are going from Jan.10-17, and would have gone with or without a deal. So, to me, this a great gift b/c the deal saved me over $500.00.

I agree. with you Parmtoo! We were going 4/18-26 no matter what so this deal just made it a more affordable trip for us. We didn't extend our trip (I can't, I am a teacher and have to get home). The only changes to our plans were minimal

1: we had to split our trip into 2 ressies, one for the 18th and one for the rest of the week because the 18th is part of blackout time.

2: we bought one more park hopper to get 3 free and added a no expiration because there's no way we'd use all 7 days down there. No expiration only added $150 to the package I think.

But, in the end, I am still paying $560 less than I was planning on so for us, it was a great find. And, next time, we won't have to buy passes, which is good because this may be the last time we choose the dining plan so we hopefully won't have to even get a 1 day base next trip. I am going to really be figuring out whether or not the new dining plan is worth it or not now that they've taken out a.) appetizers (not a big deal though) and b. gratuity (bigger deal).

Oh well, I guess it depends on the size of your party whether or not this is better or worse than free dining. For us, this was better. Two adults on dining x 8 days is $640 versus the $560, but now, we also have 4 extra park hoppers without expiration. That will gets us through one more trip down with some leftover still. We spend a lot of time in the pools.

What I don't understand though, (please don't flame me) is why people are complaining. Disney didn't have to do anything at all. I think everyone should be grateful that they are getting some kind of discount to begin with, not complaining that it isn't the one you were hoping for.

 

[parmtoo]

I agree. with you Parmtoo! We were going 4/18-26 no matter what so this deal just made it a more affordable trip for us. We didn't extend our trip (I can't, I am a teacher and have to get home). The only changes to our plans were minimal

1: we had to split our trip into 2 ressies, one for the 18th and one for the rest of the week because the 18th is part of blackout time.

2: we bought one more park hopper to get 3 free and added a no expiration because there's no way we'd use all 7 days down there. No expiration only added $150 to the package I think.

But, in the end, I am still paying $560 less than I was planning on so for us, it was a great find. And, next time, we won't have to buy passes, which is good because this may be the last time we choose the dining plan so we hopefully won't have to even get a 1 day base next trip. I am going to really be figuring out whether or not the new dining plan is worth it or not now that they've taken out a.) appetizers (not a big deal though) and b. gratuity (bigger deal).Oh well, I guess it depends on the size of your party whether or not this is better or worse than free dining. For us, this was better. Two adults on dining x 8 days is $640 versus the $560, but now, we also have 4 extra park hoppers without expiration. That will gets us through one more trip down with some leftover still. We spend a lot of time in the pools.

What I don't understand though, (please don't flame me) is why people are complaining. Disney didn't have to do anything at all. I think everyone should be grateful that they are getting some kind of discount to begin with, not complaining that it isn't the one you were hoping for.

And I agree with you too! We will also be deciding whether or not dining is a good deal for us. This time we have 7 adults in our party, and 3 babies. So, not having to figure out a food buget was worth it to me. Next time we go, it will just be 3 adults, so things may be different. We'll see, as this time is our first time using the DDP.

I also don't understand why people are complaining. Free dining is usually offered in the fall, so if thats what you want then go in the fall.
We could not take advantage of free dining this year b/c my DH was in Iraq. This trip we are celebrating his safe return and all of our kids, and grandkids are invited! This is when WE can go, and I'm very happy with the deal we got.

 

[beautifultomorrow]

The current free dining deal that I will be using (Disney Visa offer) is for the week of Christmas - it doesn't get any peak then that! It is giving me free deluxe dining and a discount on my deluxe room for a savings of nearly $3k. For that reason, I am saving more this December than I would save going peak with this deal next year.

I must be a little out of the loop... I didn't know you could get FREE deluxe dining with the visa offer! Can you point me towards more information about this? Thanks for your help!!

 

[abeyst]

This deal seems to be good for newbies, too, who already purchased a package deal from WDW. I told my mom's friend about it and she saved $800 by switching her reservation to the new code. They're going in June.

Newbies and those who see the commerical on tv just see it as half their vacation is free. They don't look at historical data or peak times like we do. So for that group of people (which seems to me would hook a lot of new people into being obsessed by Disney and needing future trips), this is a great deal.

Don't forget, Disney is a business and is out to make money. They wouldn't offer such a deal out of the goodness of their hearts. There's definitely something in it for them.

 

[lisa3383]

I must be a little out of the loop... I didn't know you could get FREE deluxe dining with the visa offer! Can you point me towards more information about this? Thanks for your help!!

No problem! If you have the Disney Visa card use code "QXZ" when you make your reservation. You have to pay using the card though. You can use this coupon code with any of the dining plans (it may actually be a different code for different plans, but the CM will take care of that)! With certain resorts it also saves you on the room reservation! Deals like this make it worth having this credit card.

 

[lisa3383]

1. Comparing a GP offer to one that is very limited in its reach is even more of a stretch

2. I believe the Visa deal goes through 12/20. Perhaps you were able to get the rate for Christmas by checking in before 12/20, the deal doesn't per se cover the week between Christmas and New Years which is the REALLY peak time you refer to

I don't believe just because a deal is only available to Disney Visa members it can be classified as "very limited." Unless you have the number of available rooms under each code you are making a big assumption. We all know Disney puts limits on all its codes. Furthermore, it is not at all difficult to get a credit card these days - just about anyone would qualify. In fact, when this deal came out I remember many people signing up to get this code.

The Visa deal goes until 12/20 unless your vacation begins that date or earlier. Lots of people here have been taking advantage of this option. So yes for my vacation (12/20-12/26) I am getting free dining and a room discount. I actually extended my stay by 2 days and am still paying less during peak holiday! On both my rooms (2 rooms at WL, 5 adults) I am saving almost $3,000 - this is a tremendous savings.

I'm not saying the current code isn't great for some individuals- it clearly is. But I don't think people need to get frustrated when they see others comparing this new 7/4 deal to the current fall code - its to be expected that this would happen.

 

[beautifultomorrow]

No problem! If you have the Disney Visa card use code "QXZ" when you make your reservation. You have to pay using the card though. You can use this coupon code with any of the dining plans (it may actually be a different code for different plans, but the CM will take care of that)! With certain resorts it also saves you on the room reservation! Deals like this make it worth having this credit card.

Thanks for the info! I do have the Disney Visa so I'm set on that part, I just never realized you could get the deluxe plan for free also -- this sounds like a really good deal. I just went on regular free dining in sept. though so I doubt I could swing another trip before the end of the year, but this is good to know!

 

[rlduvall]

Thanks for the info! I do have the Disney Visa so I'm set on that part, I just never realized you could get the deluxe plan for free also -- this sounds like a really good deal. I just went on regular free dining in sept. though so I doubt I could swing another trip before the end of the year, but this is good to know!

Only the basic DDP is free, but you can add on the Deluxe Plan for just the difference in price between it and the basic DDP. Still a good deal if you are interested in the Deluxe DDP.

 

[rlduvall]

It is giving me free deluxe dining and a discount on my deluxe room for a savings of nearly $3k. For that reason, I am saving more this December than I would save going peak with this deal next year.

Are you 100% sure you are getting Deluxe Dining for free? And not paying the difference between the basic DDP and deluxe DDP? I mean, if that's the case that's wonderful, but I didn't think it worked that way.