Why does UK get free dining?

[leahjade]

Does Universal offer these great deals for UK customers too or just Disney? Maybe I should use my friend's address in England and have her book for me (just kidding -don't attack!).

 

[2Tiggies]

Maybe it's deluxe they can't upgrade to. I thought I saw that British customers couldn't upgrade free dining.

Correct. You can't upgrade free dining in the UK to Deluxe - at least not with Disney UK. Unless it has been changed very recently.

Can upgrade to both regular and deluxe.

Upgrade from standard to deluxe is £20 per adult per day

Was this with Complete Orlando? I saw when their prices came out a few weeks ago that it offered the option. It doesn't bother me because I would never use it, but on the Disney site if you do a dummy booking, there is an option to upgrade QSDP to regular, but although deluxe is shown, there is no option to select - it displays the full price of around £47 or so.

Whether UK free dining is the best deal really depends on your party's habits, needs and who makes up the group. Also if you waive the option of FD, you don't get a discounted rate. I know the SSR and OKW deals are ridiculously good, but they are probably the last resorts I would pick - an example of personal preference. I also know that I paid more for myself and my 8 year old daughter than others paid at the same time for the same period for SSR and OKW. Am I happy? Sure! I am staying where I want to Well, okay, I wanted WL but can't downgrade to QSDP which is the plan I wanted. However with the pins I have recieved from Disney US it costs up cheaper for me to book direct with Disney US for my specific needs and desires, and I am going prepared that I may book next year's trip while I am there this time. It is all relative. For me, a big factor is that the UK charges per person - the US charges per room. As a single parent with a young child, I have always ended up paying two full adult prices.

At the end of the day, it's true what they say: You can please some people all the time and all people some of the time, but you will never keep everyone happy all the time.

I do hope there are some good deals for those in the US. I want my old schoolfriends to be able to meet up with us there sometime if possible. I want all the wonderful people I have met on the DIS to get a good deal too, and I do agree, it's only fair that Disney should spread the love - or the pixie dust in this case!

 

[PinkRhombus]

Iam in the UK....You guys in the US are sooo lucky to not have the travelling costs we have...Iam sure we'd all give up free dining in a second if we only we could DRIVE to disney!!

Trust me...don't begrudge us free dining..you have it WAY better!...The dining plan is peanuts to what it costs us per person to even get across the atlantic.

Our airfare this August is aprox $6000...

I think, though, you in the UK have an easier time touring Europe and etc. We don't get the cheap airfare to those areas. I have a friend in London. She and her husband are constantly driving/flying/taking the train Paris, Italy, Dubai, South Africa....cannot stand looking at her facebook it's so depressing.

 

[amacspad]

Will do Luke, it was thanks to them I've got 7 nights in Kissimmee Ramada Plaza Gateway, inc flights & car hire for £1194 2 adults, 1 teen so pretty chuffed with that!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Maybe it's deluxe they can't upgrade to. I thought I saw that British customers couldn't upgrade free dining.

This past August while in the Atrium Club lounge at the Contemporary my family and I started talking to this family from the UK, well it turns out they were confirmed for the free dining package offered to them only and they were upgraded to Club Level and got to keep the free dining. So yes it's true that they could get free dining.

 

[leahjade]

is this travel agency just for UK customers? Sounds like some great deals going around!

 

[luke]

Correct. You can't upgrade free dining in the UK to Deluxe - at least not with Disney UK. Unless it has been changed very recently.



Was this with Complete Orlando? I saw when their prices came out a few weeks ago that it offered the option. It doesn't bother me because I would never use it, but on the Disney site if you do a dummy booking, there is an option to upgrade QSDP to regular, but although deluxe is shown, there is no option to select - it displays the full price of around £47 or so.

Yeah you're kinda right, I misread a bit.

You can't upgrade from QSDP to Deluxe, you just get the option to add it for the full price.

You can upgrade from regular DDP to deluxe DDP tho.

Just tried a dummy booking with Disney UK

 

[Elise79]

Also we get no free dining in the values and only the QSDP in the mods.

Also we don't get any general room discounts as a rule (excluding the OKW?SSR offer).

We also have a 5 day minimum premium ticket to buy to get the free dining.

 

[luke]

is this travel agency just for UK customers? Sounds like some great deals going around!

It's Disney's official website (UK version)

http://wdtc.disneyinternational.com/

May let you on, but sometimes if I try to go on the US site it doesn't let me and sends me straight to the UK one

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

This is nothing new .. Disney offers different packages for different geographic areas to encourage attendance. Back when the Canadian dollar was severely down vs. the US dollar.. Disney offered a Canadian Dollar is equal to the US dollar which was like a 25 or 30% discount off everything. They didn't offer that to US guests and everyone complained.

I remember back then Sea World was also selling their tickets to Canadians at par, because we would always see it being advertised on their electronic sign when driving down Interstate 4. So they were not the only ones who would give deals only to Canadians.

 

[scojos]

Correct. You can't upgrade free dining in the UK to Deluxe - at least not with Disney UK. Unless it has been changed very recently.

goodvibes

OMG lee, i really am stalking you!!
thats what i thought too, though DDDp doesnt interest me....

Yep, just got it as close on the US site as ours (added dining) and it's about $4000 more for you guys than us. Ok we spent about that much on flights and car hire, but you guys still have to get there somehow!!

It's a massive saving isn't it!

well Luke (hi honey) i have spent alot more that $4000 getting my family over there, and that was with "cheap" flights

are all the brits hanging out over here now???

sorry, back to our american friends. yes, us brits generally come for along time (we are doing 22 nightsthis year) we bring lots of money to spend (yes, because we can buy things more cheaply so its a win-win situation)
i eat out because im on holiday and im not making sandwiches/cleaning up- so we support the hospitality industry.
we will spend $1500 on 1 day at DC eek
i have to "cram" everything into my holidays every 2 years, as i choose to have three children, and i chose to bring them with me, one thing i do love about wdw is they do cater for larger families, but its expensive, nect visit we ll go back to off site (unless we get free ddp again)
TBH the free dining clinched it, dont think we d be back this year otherwise, dh would not have said yes

 

[luke]

Also a lot more Brits tend to stay offsite (as mentioned before, quite a few see it as an Orlando/Florida vacation - taking in time at Universal/Sea World/I Drive/Busch/the beach etc) it seems to, quite a lot of the time in villas.

Disney see offering them free dining not only as incentive to keep them onsite for food but also for lodgings.

As I said, most people I know who've been to Florida recently have stayed in villas - so maybe this is a reason they're pushing the SSR/OKW deals to cater for that market?

 

[luke]

are all the brits hanging out over here now???

I saw the question on the main board so thought I'd rub it in that us Brits are getting a good deal on something, for once

Just be happy you don't pay things like our petrol (gas) prices - we filled up our hire car, a Dodge Caliber for about $20 last time we were there - it cost's me about $60 to fill up my Fiat Punto at home, a car so small that you guys in the US would probably think it was a toy

 

[scojos]

As I said, most people I know who've been to Florida recently have stayed in villas - so maybe this is a reason they're pushing the SSR/OKW deals to cater for that market?

i think so

 

[amacspad]

Nobody I know stays at a Disney Hotel, we stayed at Coronado Springs last time as my DH got a fab bonus, it does spoil you with the EMH and free Shuttles to DD and all the parks plus free parking, no more bonus now tho so have to economise and see what we can get x

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[luke]

Nobody I know stays at a Disney Hotel,

Yep I know! Before I came on here I thought it was only the super rich who stayed at Disney hotels

 

[amacspad]

LOL, as my title states, I am a Disneyholic, going DLP for Halloween and wanting to Sort WDW for next year, juggling with school hols!!! Def want to see WWOHP

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[sam portadown]

I live in Northern Ireland and not only do we have even more expensive flights than England we have less going out. only 1 operator flys direct from Belfast. I have to book 15months in advance and i still will not get free dining as we go in July and not Aug when the deals are on.The deals start in Aug as thats when the English schools quit for the summer, here they quit in Jul. Also we pay per person not per room so my holiday without food or spending money costs me around $8000. o please stop me now, i am depressing myself at how hard i will have to save to go in 2011

 

[amacspad]

Hi Sam, thats poop!!! One good thing though, it does work out a lot cheaper in July than Aug and from what I've heard it rains a whole lot more in Aug too!!! Just trying to think of ways to make it seem a bit better

 

[2Tiggies]

One good thing though, it does work out a lot cheaper in July than Aug

I think flight prices this year have had a lot to do with some of the additional Disney offers. Just looking at your reference to August, do you remember the Flight Prices thread? Quotes for August with VA were coming in as high as £3,000+ per person And yes, that was for ONE rear end in a basic economy seat! I flew two of us in Upper last Easter for less than that!!!

A lot of folk have decided not to book this year, not because of Disney but because of the cost and lack of availability of reasonable flights. I did actually wonder a few months ago when all the Disney deals came out for the UK (I have never seen this many before and over such long periods) whether it was their way of taking some of the fall to compensate for airfaires and make it look more achievable.

BTW, is this where all the UK DISers are hanging out now? I wondered where everyone has been. Wayne in Florida, teachers getting blamed for all kinds of things and TAs issuing vouchers instead of Disney tickets ..... I take it this is the escape?