Free Dining 2015?

[firecatgirl]

This is ludicrous. Thirteen hours after the phone lines open the wait time is STILL over 90 minutes. Hopefully we will be able to modify our BB and not have this FD madness effect us.

i was finally able to modify my existing reservation online .. it took all day but it finally came up on my reservation around 8pm (earlier it woulnd't let me) now if i can just get thru to cancel the duplicate reservation that would be great ...hopefully tomrrow it won't be such a wait

 

[draybook]

I spent 3 hours on hold. Yes, 3 hours on hold, from 7:30pm until 10:30pm. But I must say, thanks to Wanda, it was worth it. At first she thought I was wanting to switch our BB to a FD room at POR and the savings was only going to be $400 due to the new requirements of having PH tickets. Then I explained that we were told we could switch our resorts via BB offer and she said that there weren't any openings at POR but I asked her to check the other mods. She then said "well, how about a room at the French Quarter"? Um, YES PLEASE! So, we're set with a nice garden view room there and we're saving $930 on top of it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pass out and enjoy my little 5 hours of sleep before work tomorrow.....

 

[wdisneyw2000]

So if it is true what I read that I have Reservations check in is Oct. 1st. that means i'll get free dining correct.

 

[UberPlannerMom]

Sooooo..... all that pouting for nothing! And frankly, all that time on hold burning up the cell phone minutes for nothing. Hubby could tell that I was a little bummed about sports (sorry sports lovers, just not my cup of tea) so he told me I should check every day in case someone cancelled. Being the smartypants that I am I decided to show him how depressing that would be... and sure enough, nothing good. BUT since I had the website all pulled up I decided to mess around with the dates a little more. Imagine my surprise when I was able to get Caribbean beach by moving my trip forward by two days! WooHoo! I could have even gotten Riverside but I didn't want to pay the few hundred extra dollars! Ahhh, I will sleep better tonight with that taken care of! *happy dancing in my sleep*

 

[Tuvalu]

So if it is true what I read that I have Reservations check in is Oct. 1st. that means i'll get free dining correct.

If you are booked under the free dining promotion (Disney does not apply promotions to existing reservations; you must make the change yourself) and you arrive October 1, you will receive free dining for the duration of your stay.

 

[Kingoglow]

I spent 3 hours on hold. Yes, 3 hours on hold, from 7:30pm until 10:30pm. But I must say, thanks to Wanda, it was worth it. At first she thought I was wanting to switch our BB to a FD room at POR and the savings was only going to be $400 due to the new requirements of having PH tickets. Then I explained that we were told we could switch our resorts via BB offer and she said that there weren't any openings at POR but I asked her to check the other mods. She then said "well, how about a room at the French Quarter"? Um, YES PLEASE! So, we're set with a nice garden view room there and we're saving $930 on top of it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pass out and enjoy my little 5 hours of sleep before work tomorrow.....

Nice work Dray.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Wasn't POFQ excluded from the bounce back?

Nope, only :

• 3-Bedroom Villas
• Grand Floridian Villas
• Polynesian Village Villas
• Art of Animation – Little Mermaid Rooms
• Fort Wilderness Campground Campsites

 

[draybook]

Nope, only :

• 3-Bedroom Villas
• Grand Floridian Villas
• Polynesian Village Villas
• Art of Animation – Little Mermaid Rooms
• Fort Wilderness Campground Campsites

Hmm, I guess we originally picked AKL because our daughter wanted to try it.

 

[Annalise Davis]

We were finally able to book Oct 25-30 at Coronado Springs for the free dining offer yesterday afternoon (phew - just in time to make reservations 180 days out!).

Isn't it usually standard that the offer is rolled out to Disney Rewards Cardholders first then announced to all? Anyone know why that didn't happen with this roll out of free dining (or maybe I missed it)?

 

[draybook]

We were finally able to book Oct 25-30 at Coronado Springs for the free dining offer yesterday afternoon (phew - just in time to make reservations 180 days out!).

Isn't it usually standard that the offer is rolled out to Disney Rewards Cardholders first then announced to all? Anyone know why that didn't happen with this roll out of free dining (or maybe I missed it)?

The rumor swirling around is that they're working on phasing it out entirely or having rigid requirements and limited dates and availability.

 

[Kingoglow]

Disney Rewards Cardholders were given a 30% off Aulani stay (5 days or more). I received the email yesterday in the middle of the FD chaos.

 

[Magical Dreamer]

I gave up on the modification yesterday and booked a new reservation on line...after it went through I then cancelled my initial booking through my Disney Experience....all went smooth.

 

[Annalise Davis]

The rumor swirling around is that they're working on phasing it out entirely or having rigid requirements and limited dates and availability.

But they're offering it earlier (late April as opposed to early or mid May) because they're not meeting numbers? Uhh, that makes a lot of sense... #saidnooneever

 

[draybook]

But they're offering it earlier (late April as opposed to early or mid May) because they're not meeting numbers? Uhh, that makes a lot of sense... #saidnooneever

Only a week earlier, and the available rooms are much fewer than in previous years along with the new ticket requirements.

 

[wdisneyw2000]

Had to change my dates & Resort but i'm now saving $ 1600.00 with the switch & free dining. I was able to get ticket switched for the MNSSHP to different date so I didn't lose that money. All set now for Sept. 22nd- Oct 2nd.

 

[GrimGrinningGhost15]

We booked Sept. 5th- 13th at Coronado about 3 weeks ago, with the idea that commonly French quarter and riverside are excluded from FD (CBR just doesn't look like my cup of tea). While I am bummed that riverside was an option and we could have done that, I found that would have ran us another $400-500 to stay there. Thinking "well that is practically our airfare" I decided to not even try to switch our room this trip and stick with Coronado. That being said... after my 3 hour wait on the phone... we got free dining added to our existing reservation no problem. Took all of 10 minutes. In the end we are saving almost 1,000.

Here is what I struggle with, and let me tell you before hand that I am the cheap-o in our family, we stayed at a value resort and paid for our dining plan last year, and it was still about $800 cheaper than our stay this year. I know, it is a nicer hotel, but how much nicer for (if we were paying for dining) almost 2,000 more? Mind you it is just two adults traveling, so I am sure it would be different if we were sharing the room with children. I dream of staying at boardwalk/poly/contemp but DH and I will need to triple our income in order for that to ever feel justified. Having never stayed at anything but value, we will see if it is really worth the extra or if we just go when ever we want, pay less and stay at a value. You get what you pay for I suppose. Maybe I will love the moderate so much more that I won't care and spend thousands to stay where ever I want next time haha!! Or maybe I will get a giant promotion... an even bigger haha!

Disney is a very expensive addiction to have. Rant over.

 

[draybook]

We booked Sept. 5th- 13th at Coronado about 3 weeks ago, with the idea that commonly French quarter and riverside are excluded from FD (CBR just doesn't look like my cup of tea). While I am bummed that riverside was an option and we could have done that, I found that would have ran us another $400-500 to stay there. Thinking "well that is practically our airfare" I decided to not even try to switch our room this trip and stick with Coronado. That being said... after my 3 hour wait on the phone... we got free dining added to our existing reservation no problem. Took all of 10 minutes. In the end we are saving almost 1,000.

Here is what I struggle with, and let me tell you before hand that I am the cheap-o in our family, we stayed at a value resort and paid for our dining plan last year, and it was still about $800 cheaper than our stay this year. I know, it is a nicer hotel, but how much nicer for (if we were paying for dining) almost 2,000 more? Mind you it is just two adults traveling, so I am sure it would be different if we were sharing the room with children. I dream of staying at boardwalk/poly/contemp but DH and I will need to triple our income in order for that to ever feel justified. Having never stayed at anything but value, we will see if it is really worth the extra or if we just go when ever we want, pay less and stay at a value. You get what you pay for I suppose. Maybe I will love the moderate so much more that I won't care and spend thousands to stay where ever I want next time haha!! Or maybe I will get a giant promotion... an even bigger haha!

Disney is a very expensive addiction to have. Rant over.

Did you have park hoppers last year? That makes a decent difference in price as well.

 

[GrimGrinningGhost15]

Yep, we always do park hopper and when weather allows, water parks as well. last year we did just park hopper, can't remember what that ran us but this year we Park hopper/ water parks and that only added about $190 to our total, which I think is worth it for our group of 2. We go to several parks a Day if we feel like it or if one closes early than others. We have a day planned this trip where we go to a water park and 2 other parks.

When the group gets bigger though, I can see why people wouldn't want to get park hopper. It adds up quick. @draybook

 

[JennSmith]

Hi!! Dumb, new person here
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to start a new thread. I have searched existing threads for the info I am looking for and found nothing. Can someone either help me start a new thread, (is that even an option for a newbie?) or answer my question? I am staying at Art of Animation and am curious as to what time the pools are all open until 9/18-9/26. I have called Disney several times and oddly enough no one knows. They can only tell me what they "think" the hours will be. I am a serious PLANNER so I really would like to know
Sorry for posting this in a thread that has nothing to do with my question. I posted in this thread already though so it was the easiest thing for me to just go back to. Thanks, everyone!!

 

[smi727]

We booked Sept. 5th- 13th at Coronado about 3 weeks ago, with the idea that commonly French quarter and riverside are excluded from FD (CBR just doesn't look like my cup of tea). While I am bummed that riverside was an option and we could have done that, I found that would have ran us another $400-500 to stay there. Thinking "well that is practically our airfare" I decided to not even try to switch our room this trip and stick with Coronado. That being said... after my 3 hour wait on the phone... we got free dining added to our existing reservation no problem. Took all of 10 minutes. In the end we are saving almost 1,000.

Here is what I struggle with, and let me tell you before hand that I am the cheap-o in our family, we stayed at a value resort and paid for our dining plan last year, and it was still about $800 cheaper than our stay this year. I know, it is a nicer hotel, but how much nicer for (if we were paying for dining) almost 2,000 more? Mind you it is just two adults traveling, so I am sure it would be different if we were sharing the room with children. I dream of staying at boardwalk/poly/contemp but DH and I will need to triple our income in order for that to ever feel justified. Having never stayed at anything but value, we will see if it is really worth the extra or if we just go when ever we want, pay less and stay at a value. You get what you pay for I suppose. Maybe I will love the moderate so much more that I won't care and spend thousands to stay where ever I want next time haha!! Or maybe I will get a giant promotion... an even bigger haha!

Disney is a very expensive addiction to have. Rant over.

1st time posting but I've lurked for a long time. Your points are exactly why we stay at a value every trip. We stayed at CBR in 2009 before we had kids and hated it! Huge resort, too spread out, had a horrible experience with buses. The extra amenities at moderate and deluxe just don't justify the extra cost esp now that we have kids. One year we'll blow it out and stay deluxe (maybe for our 25th anniversary in 11 years!) but until them it's value for us.