2016 Free Dining Watch

[dizneygirl55]

I just reread this two times and I don't see where it could have been a joke. The 'is it legal, am I losing it' may have been but the question sounds legit, not a joke at all.
Who knows, but my point is it was said.

It was a joke!

I say lots of crazy things. It doesn't always mean it's true. It doesn't matter what was said. The at the end of the comment makes it a joke IMO.

Definitely a joke!

 

[Schilltastic4]

Just called and got a really sweet cm,he told me it should be "soon" but said soon wasn't today. I asked about deals being released early to disney visa card holders and he said the rewards for card holders constantly changes. Nothing concrete except that today is not the day we're waiting for.

 

[ajay3]

I'm planning to go Sept 17-24 based on the low low low crowd predictions and the fact that F&W will already be a couple days old by then. I plan to be in the park Sept 19-22. I'm surprised you think the crowds were so crazy in Sept 2014. I was there at the same time and felt like crowds were very low. Or did you mean crazy like "these people are nuts!" Because I can see that being true

Ha! We felt like Magic Kingdom was especially busy and the people were so pushy and rude! Way way more than normal. And the MNSSHP was absolutely nuts! Although to be fair, we were used to almost no crowds for the MNSSHP, so maybe we were expecting too much.
Anyway, we're going the 16-24 this year. It's been 2 years and I can't wait!! Hoping for lower crowds.

 

[EllyBelly]

This wait and lack of sleep is driving me nuts lol! I forgot to take out my kid's school clothes last night, slept with my contacts on and forgot to put away leftovers. Lol yeah, I'm tired!

 

[lancgirl]

Thanks to all who called and checked this AM! The waiting game is hard but adds to the excitement!

 

[KearneyFam02]

Of course FD will include the PH. Free dining isn't really free. It's more like freeish dining. LOL

It wasn't a requirement when we went 3 years ago. Haven't been since so it's new to me. And won't be utilized as much as what it's worth, not by choice but by the request of the littlest little.

 

[sahm2two]

I don't think I've ever wished away a weekend before buuuut come on Monday!!!

 

[Jeaniec]

I also called this morning. The CM told me to be sure to call back next week. I also always ask if there is a code attached to my name or the name of anyone that I'm traveling with. That worked last year for a November trip. So far this year, there does not appear to be any codes available for fall.
I'll just keep calling!

 

[vrajewski10513]

I called and the CM I had did not seem to be the most friendly. He kept telling me that this can be found on the website and giving me the address. I kept thinking to myself, no duh.

I had a rather short CM this morning too. This FD craziness is probably wearing on them as well lol

I don't think I've ever wished away a weekend before buuuut come on Monday!!!

Haha I'm actually wishing away my whole summer because I WANT TO BE AT DISNEY WORLD!!

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

I don't think I've ever wished away a weekend before buuuut come on Monday!!!

Yeah, I can't wish away this weekend, it's my son's birthday!

 

[BookGirl305]

I have a question for those who have done this before. I asked on another thread but didn't phrase it right so trying again-
I have my hotel booked for 8/22-8/26 at the Pop. I got a great rate. I intend to (promo or not) purchase 4 day Park Hopper tickets. I didn't book as a package because 1) it kept trying to sell me 5 day Park Hopper instead of 4, 2) I had heard about this possible deal and wanted to wait to book tickets in case I needed to upgrade it as a whole, and 3) at the time of booking I wasn't sure if I was going to need to cancel.
So- in light of this possibly dropping on Monday, do I need to go ahead and book my 4 day Park Hopper now and then see if my current room rate and dates qualify for the dining or wait and do the whole thing at once if they do? I am traveling solo, so it may well turn out that I come out better sticking with my current rate and buying food or I might get lucky. Any opinions welcome!

 

[vrajewski10513]

I also called this morning. The CM told me to be sure to call back next week. I also always ask if there is a code attached to my name or the name of anyone that I'm traveling with. That worked last year for a November trip. So far this year, there does not appear to be any codes available for fall.
I'll just keep calling!

You know, I got a rather strange email yesterday. A few months ago I got a pin code for a room discount in the summer months, and I just received that same pin code again yesterday. It was a bummer because it definitely got my hopes up when I saw the Disney Destinations email lol

 

[vrajewski10513]

I have a question for those who have done this before. I asked on another thread but didn't phrase it right so trying again-
I have my hotel booked for 8/22-8/26 at the Pop. I got a great rate. I intend to (promo or not) purchase 4 day Park Hopper tickets. I didn't book as a package because 1) it kept trying to sell me 5 day Park Hopper instead of 4, 2) I had heard about this possible deal and wanted to wait to book tickets in case I needed to upgrade it as a whole, and 3) at the time of booking I wasn't sure if I was going to need to cancel.
So- in light of this possibly dropping on Monday, do I need to go ahead and book my 4 day Park Hopper now and then see if my current room rate and dates qualify for the dining or wait and do the whole thing at once if they do? I am traveling solo, so it may well turn out that I come out better sticking with my current rate and buying food or I might get lucky. Any opinions welcome!

Unfortunately whatever rate you booked at will be void of you get free dining. You will have to rebook at whatever the current rate is. With that said, you don't need to add the tickets either because you'll pretty much be modifying your current package when you book free dining, or booking a new package completely.

 

[wdw4rfam]

For those of you who were able to just modify your reservation, did you only have a deposit on it? Or were some paid off?

I just had the deposits on mine last year. I modified both reservations and no additional deposit was needed.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Yes! This! That's why I love Free Dining too! My husband is too cheap to appreciate it unless it's "free". Lol!

See, i'M the cheap one here. For al of us last year it was $260 more for park hoppers. We have NEVER bought them before. We add them because we had to, but we only used them once the entire trip. So for me, if they would have made us upgrade from standard rooms, and add the hopper, we would have been inched toward saying maybe free dining isn't a deal for us. But we did keep standard rooms, so I bought the park hoppers, but wasn't happy about buying something we don't use.

 

[vrajewski10513]

See, i'M the cheap one here. For al of us last year it was $260 more for park hoppers. We have NEVER bought them before. We add them because we had to, but we only used them once the entire trip. So for me, if they would have made us upgrade from standard rooms, and add the hopper, we would have been inched toward saying maybe free dining isn't a deal for us. But we did keep standard rooms, so I bought the park hoppers, but wasn't happy about buying something we don't use.

For us, we always have to have hoppers lol Our touring style has us at atleast two different parks each day.

 

[ELSA711]

Unfortunately whatever rate you booked at will be void of you get free dining. You will have to rebook at whatever the current rate is. With that said, you don't need to add the tickets either because you'll pretty much be modifying your current package when you book free dining, or booking a new package completely.

This is exactly right and what I did last year. I modified my original reservation and everything including room category and discount went null and void to obtain FD. Still saved me almost 1500 so it worked out well for me.

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

For us, we always have to have hoppers lol Our touring style has us at atleast two different parks each day.

See, i'M the cheap one here. For al of us last year it was $260 more for park hoppers. We have NEVER bought them before. We add them because we had to, but we only used them once the entire trip. So for me, if they would have made us upgrade from standard rooms, and add the hopper, we would have been inched toward saying maybe free dining isn't a deal for us. But we did keep standard rooms, so I bought the park hoppers, but wasn't happy about buying something we don't use.

We have never done park hoppers, but I'm ok with it if we have to. Actually now that my kids are older, I'm a little excited to try it out. They never would have made it when they were younger.

 

[Wood Nymph]

While we are all wasting time, DH & I were tinkering with the idea of upgrading to APs for various reasons if we get FD for this fall. So I have a few questions:

If we purchase PHs for the FD package, would upgrading the APs be their cost minus what we paid for tickets and PHs in our FD package?

Also, FD is a really good deal for our family; if I could squeeze in another trip the following year before the APs expire, would it be better to get a room discount with the AP (I have no idea what kind of offers they have) or might FD still be a better deal?

If FD were a better deal still, and our APs were still active, how would we save the new tickets in the package for later?

TIA!

1. The cost to upgrade to an annual pass would be the current price of the PHs minus the current cost of the AP's. You would use your tickets at least once before doing the upgrade.
2. There are good AP discounts for moderate and deluxe resorts. The room only discounts for value resorts are usually pretty low. But you really can't count on AP discounts because they are random and unpredictable. We've gotten some good AP discounts for trips in January and February but discounts that were no better than the general public discounts for the more popular months.

And no mention of PH!

I'm sure they will require park hoppers. They required them last year for both the gp and bb offers.

LOL! Yes it is! I think the FD will be a better option for our group than a straight RO discount. I have been waffling back and forth about the PH for this trip, and yesterday just talked my cheap self into springing for them because it makes sense given our resort choice is the BC>

It is really a good idea to have park hoppers when staying at an Epcot resort. We find ourselves walking into Epcot almost every day during our trip, even if it is only to eat or listen to a concert.

This wait and lack of sleep is driving me nuts lol! I forgot to take out my kid's school clothes last night, slept with my contacts on and forgot to put away leftovers. Lol yeah, I'm tired!

The offer isn't supposed to drop until Monday. I think it is safe to get some sleep.

I have a question for those who have done this before. I asked on another thread but didn't phrase it right so trying again-
I have my hotel booked for 8/22-8/26 at the Pop. I got a great rate. I intend to (promo or not) purchase 4 day Park Hopper tickets. I didn't book as a package because 1) it kept trying to sell me 5 day Park Hopper instead of 4, 2) I had heard about this possible deal and wanted to wait to book tickets in case I needed to upgrade it as a whole, and 3) at the time of booking I wasn't sure if I was going to need to cancel.
So- in light of this possibly dropping on Monday, do I need to go ahead and book my 4 day Park Hopper now and then see if my current room rate and dates qualify for the dining or wait and do the whole thing at once if they do? I am traveling solo, so it may well turn out that I come out better sticking with my current rate and buying food or I might get lucky. Any opinions welcome!

You can find out the price of your free dining room by booking a room with tickets. That will give you the cost of the free dining reservation. Compare it to what your current discount is.

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

I have a question for those who have done this before. I asked on another thread but didn't phrase it right so trying again-
I have my hotel booked for 8/22-8/26 at the Pop. I got a great rate. I intend to (promo or not) purchase 4 day Park Hopper tickets. I didn't book as a package because 1) it kept trying to sell me 5 day Park Hopper instead of 4, 2) I had heard about this possible deal and wanted to wait to book tickets in case I needed to upgrade it as a whole, and 3) at the time of booking I wasn't sure if I was going to need to cancel.
So- in light of this possibly dropping on Monday, do I need to go ahead and book my 4 day Park Hopper now and then see if my current room rate and dates qualify for the dining or wait and do the whole thing at once if they do? I am traveling solo, so it may well turn out that I come out better sticking with my current rate and buying food or I might get lucky. Any opinions welcome!

I've never run into this problem before, but I think I'd wait just in case you don't get the free dining. It is also likely that a different discount would work out better for you anyway.