Trade Off for Free Dining?

[AJScooch]

Anyone else find it interesting that it seems as though because the free DDP offer begins on August 15th, it seems as though many other things will be ending. I am quite upset that not only will Summer Nightastic will end on August 14th but it seems as though more and more attractions will be closing for refurbishments on August 16th. Within just the last few weeks, they have announced that IASM (which was only completely overhauled a few years ago) at MK, TSM and OMD at HS will all be closed simultaneously when the free DDP offer begins. You would think with all of the extra people coming down to take advantage of the offer, they would want to keep as many attractions as possible open.

 

[AJScooch]

One more thing!

Since when does the summer and hence Summer Nightastic end in the middle of August????

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Since when does the summer and hence Summer Nightastic end in the middle of August????

In Disney's mind, summer usually ends the second or third week of August. Since a good amount of schools start to go back around that time (and the crowds thin out) the summer season ends around there.

 

[mickeysshoes]

Anyone else find it interesting that it seems as though because the free DDP offer begins on August 15th, it seems as though many other things will be ending. I am quite upset that not only will Summer Nightastic will end on August 14th but it seems as though more and more attractions will be closing for refurbishments on August 16th. Within just the last few weeks, they have announced that IASM (which was only completely overhauled a few years ago) at MK, TSM and OMD at HS will all be closed simultaneously when the free DDP offer begins. You would think with all of the extra people coming down to take advantage of the offer, they would want to keep as many attractions as possible open.

I agree with you 100%. We arrive late on the 14th and I had to switch or plans for the 15th and 16th so we could get to HS before TSM closed. I was so glad i was able to aslo switch our ADR for both days so we are not running all over the place. We were here last year for the same week and I dont remember this many rides being closed.

 

[joe80x86]

It should be noted that most Florida schools start again the 2nd or 3rd week of August. So as far as residents are concerned that would be the end of summer.

 

[Dukeblue1227]

Not to mention... they do the Free Dining because not a lot of people go down there regularly.

They can't leave things open year round without closing them down a few times to do some standard maintenance and what have you. Also they can't do their different parties for extended periods of time because it'll become too costly.

You're getting free dining..... repeat FREE DINING.

Of course there's a trade-off... They're not going to offer every single thing they have to offer to people AND try and increase vacation packages with free dining.....

That'd be horrible business.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Mid-August to late September is traditionally a very slow time at WDW - and while Free Dining is used to fill the onsite resort rooms, it does nothing to fill the offsite rooms - which is where the majority of park guests come from.

You can see this in their resort pricing seasons too:

At the value and moderate resorts, value season runs from Aug 15 - Sept 30.

Besides schools beginning their sessions, this is also the peak of hurricane season.

Logistically, they need to do refurbs during the slowest time of year to affect the least amount of guests.

 

[fosse76]

Anyone else find it interesting that it seems as though because the free DDP offer begins on August 15th, it seems as though many other things will be ending. I am quite upset that not only will Summer Nightastic will end on August 14th but it seems as though more and more attractions will be closing for refurbishments on August 16th. Within just the last few weeks, they have announced that IASM (which was only completely overhauled a few years ago) at MK, TSM and OMD at HS will all be closed simultaneously when the free DDP offer begins. You would think with all of the extra people coming down to take advantage of the offer, they would want to keep as many attractions as possible open.

What is OMD?

 

[DisneyJoe]

What is OMD?

One Man's Dream.

 

[DougK]

Free Dining is offered on those dates because it is a slow time of year, or at least it was slow before free dining came around. So yes it makes sense that it begins AFTER Summer Nightastic, why would they offer everything all at once? That's also why you pay full price for rooms if you get free dining, there is no reason for them to offer multiple incentives at once. We've been lucky the past few years, really since late 2001, to have had so many incentives and offers to choose from.

 

[RiversideBunny]

'Free Dining' isn't really free.

 

[Nemo14]

The purpose of free dining is to bring people in when they might not have come otherwise. It makes perfect business sense that refurbs would be done at this time.

 

[KnK]

September is our favorite time of year to go. We don't do free dining, but do enjoy get room discounts.

Yes, things are closed because of value season, but you can't beat the low crowds. It's a very rare occasion that everything is up and running during a year.

They have to do maintenance and upgrades at some point.

I'll agree, we've had our share of disappointments, Haunted Mansion close, Rock n Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, just to mention a few. We always tell ourselves it gives us something to look forward to next year..

Heck, this is the first year that the Riverboat is supposed to be open during our visit.

 

[Monty]

'Free Dining' isn't really free.

QFT! :lol:

 

[durangojim]

I'm hopeful that Disney will announce in August that the MSEP and possibly the fireworks "have been exteneded due to extraordinary demand" and allow them to continue through October. I have no evidence, but it seems like a simple thing to do to try to get more people to visit WDW.

 

[Mr.Skunkape]

The September free dining people that go to WDW every year will show up because they think they are getting a great dining value and are not going to cancel a trip over a few rides being closed for refurb

 

[dizzney]

we're DVC and not using free dining and am unhappy over the refurbs being announced. We're arriving 8/19 and the list of those attractions closed grows longer.

I never considered this time of year as that slow as we have been here before and not run into this problem, TSM is the one we're most disappointed in. Rode it for the first time this past January and were looking forward to going again, great ride!!!

 

[AJScooch]

I wasn't saying that I would cancel my trip because of the closings and refurbs but I am just disappointed with all the things being closed. We are taking our 16 month old (at the time) DD for her first trip and wanted to be able to do as much as possible with her. I'm probably most disappointed about IASW and the MSEP.

I'll have to look at it like KnK, and say that we can look forward to seeing those attractions that are closed on our next trip.

 

[Mr.Skunkape]

Ride refurbs are always a gamble you take when you go to WDW. The gamble is that most of us book out or trip months before we actually go and a ride that nobody is talking about getting a refub when you book your trip suddenly is closed for a refurb the week you arrive. Yes it can be bad luck but we have all been there when at least on ride is closed the good thing is that you still have many other rides, showes, parades and fireworks to enjoy

 

[stlbobby]

I think the last weeks of August are the worst at WDW. The summer events are over and the parks start the refurb process in earnest so they are up and ready for the Holidays. Even though the Florida schools are opening the crowd levels are still high as people try and squeeze in their vacations before Labor Day. So you don't get the full summer experience, but you also don't get the lighter crowds and fall pricing structure. It is kind of the worst of both worlds in late August.

I always recommend to either finish summer travelling by early August and enjoy the crowded parks in their full glory with all of the extra events and extended hours, or wait until after Labor Day for cooler weather and smaller crowds.