2016 Free Dining Watch ~ Part 2

[Isabel]

If the Nov. 15 date holds true, we will need to do a split stay since we arrive on Nov. 14. Which would be the easiest (or least likely for me to mess up, lol) way to book - on the computer or by phone?

 

[black562]

Yes! I am trying to decide which deal would work better for our family!

Well it isn't concrete, but will show you where my mind goes when I dig into these sort of things. The resort percentages and dates may be off a bit. But it is how I think things are going to shake.

 

[SJSloan]

dup

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

I always vote for more time over closer accommodations. What's a little walking?! Here's a map. You could request close to the bus stop to help with the walking, or if you're driving I think it'll be less of an issue.

Wow your a keyboard ninja! That was fast! Thanks. I'm kinda thinking the same thing. More time on vacay. is always a good thing.

 

[aaarcher86]

If the Nov. 15 date holds true, we will need to do a split stay since we arrive on Nov. 14. Which would be the easiest (or least likely for me to mess up, lol) way to book - on the computer or by phone?

I'd probably book the FD room online as soon as possible and then go in and try to book the RO portion second, if it's all out before the phones open.

If not, I'd book the FD online or do whatever I could online WHILE waiting on hold for a CM to do the opposite.

 

[madlove4disney]

Would anyone like to see my extreme detailed thoughts on the room discounts?

yes, please!

 

[aaarcher86]

Wow your a keyboard ninja! That was fast! Thanks. I'm kinda thinking the same thing. More time on vacay. is always a good thing.

For sure. We were far away from the QS area at POR and we did end up not going and using our mugs as much as we would've liked, but I'll still deal with that over losing a whole day.

 

[SJSloan]

Would anyone like to see my extreme detailed thoughts on the room discounts?

We want to hear anything you have to say!

 

[Canadisney Fly]

Maybe we should recap just for the new folks, since this info has been floating for quite a while now.

Free Dining is should be available April 25.

For bookings of
August 23 - October 1
November 15-21
November 26-28
December 10-21

Deluxe and Moderate Resorts will receive the regular dining plan, while Value Resorts will receive the quick service dining plan.

Excluded Resorts:
Grand Floridian Villas, Polynesian Bungalows, Bay Lake Tower, Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation, Campsites at Ft. Wilderness, 3-bedroom Villas, All Star Movies, Port Orleans French Quarter. Note: Riverside excluded after October 1.

Minimum 3 night stay, with a 14 night maximum and at least two days of park tickets with an add-on (Park Hopper or Waterpark option) is required.

So...(she says, hopefully), given that Disney "accidentally" posted the dates as November 11-21st, does anyone hold out a Tinkerbell glimmer of hope that Nov 11-14th might, maybe, could be, possibly if the stars align, be included in the FD promo? Maybe?

 

[MissRee]

I can only speak for myself here but canceling one or two cards per year has never negatively impacted our [excellent] credit score. But.... DH and I have a 30 year history of responsible credit use so that may be why. For others, with different circumstances, the impact may be more significant.

Yes because they take into account AAOA (average age of account) and that also changes up your Utilization which is 35% of your credit score

 

[jcmaro]

Is anybody else looking at everyone's count down tickers to see who their competition is for the FD dates?! I want everyone here to get what they want, but I also am stressing out. I think I aged a year in the last 2 weeks!
I can't believe this could all be over tomorrow. You all have been super helpful and supportive. I hope this thread keeps going on strong as we celebrate that we all got FD!!!!!

LOL! I think you and I have similar dates!

 

[margievis]

Would anyone like to see my extreme detailed thoughts on the room discounts?

Why not, we have time

 

[natb]

I have cbr booked for dec 17-23 because I'm going regardless of discounts and we are 5. Disney doesn't like families of 5 for some reason. So please don't be mad that I already booked. My question is... Should I look to modify or start new reservation tomorrow? Which will be faster?

 

[black562]

Here's my thoughts on how the Room Discounts may lay out. This is an exercise of my mind and the level of detail I enjoy digging into. Remember there may be some resorts that flip into different percentages and those date ranges may Be off a bit. But lets just see how close this shakes out shall we?

A room discount offer should be available April 25, for stays between August 1 and November 5.

Up to 30% - Animal Kingdom Lodge (Standard/Pool View), Boardwalk Inn, Grand Floridian, Polynesian Village Resort, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club, Boardwalk Villas, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs.

Up to 20% - Animal Kingdom Lodge (Savannah/Club Level), Beach Club, Contemporary, Animal Kingdom Villas (Jambo and Kidani), Beach Club Villas, Villas at Wilderness Lodge, All Star Music, All Star Sports, Pop Century, Art of Animation Family Suites, Port Orleans French Quarter (8/26-10/1 only).

Up to 25% - Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Cabins at Ft. Wilderness, Port Orleans Riverside (25% from 8/26-10/1, and 20% from 10/1-11/5.)

Up to 15% - All Star Movies, Campsites at Ft. Wilderness

Excludes: Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation, Bay Lake Tower, Polynesian Villas, and Grand Floridian Villas.

 

[CandiceF]

Would anyone like to see my extreme detailed thoughts on the room discounts?

Love too! The kids and husband are pretty set on POR so we will probably be now looking for RD.

 

[jannalynn_11]

So...(she says, hopefully), given that Disney "accidentally" posted the dates as November 11-21st, does anyone hold out a Tinkerbell glimmer of hope that Nov 11-14th might, maybe, could be, possibly if the stars align, be included in the FD promo? Maybe?

Yes!!! Because our preferred date is 11/12, but we are willing to push it to 11/15 in order to get FD! Although our fantastic sources here on this board never said 11/11, it was always 11/15; not sure where the 11/11 came from (well, I know where it came from, but not where they got their info).

 

[damskipi13]

Is there anyone here who has gotten the free dining plan that is military? We have two rooms(and will be adding a third) traveling with my dad, who is retired Army and brother, who is a Navy vet. I told them when I made the reservations that I was watching for free dining, and they said when/if it comes out, just call back and they can see about adding it to our rooms.

My question is this...Do you pretty much lose the military priced tickets? The leak I read says you have to buy park hopper tickets and you can't have a discounted room, which I do have now. So, if anyone who is military that's ever done free dining could give me some tips or idea of what happens, i'd much appreciate it. We have gone with the discount before but not with free dining. It may end up costing less to do it without dining.

Sorry for the late response, it took me awhile to catch up with the posts! This thread will be the death of me. Also sorry because this is going to be a long post.

How many people do you have in each room and how long are you staying? I am going on my first solo trip but just for kicks and future planning I decided to price out a trip with 2, 3, and 4 adults in each room to see where the break even point would be. The results were pretty crazy in favor of the military discount. This is for a 5 night/6 day trip with the 4-day Armed Force Disney ticket at ASSports. I also priced out 7 night stays adding in Universal tickets and the results were basically the same.

For the FD promotion, you have to pay the regular price for tickets and rack rate for the rooms and then of course get your food for free. For OOP, I priced out buying cereal and bowls/spoons at home, milk at the hotel store, one QS breakfast, an average QS lunch (no dessert), a snack, and an average QS dinner (no dessert). This is how I eat, I wouldn't be getting a dessert at every meal. Basically I allocated $35/person/night for food.

For a solo trip, I am saving $213 using the military discount.
For 2 people, the military discount saved $333 over a 5 night trip.
For 3 people, the military discount saved $391.
For 4 people, the military discount saved $449.

It's all about the huge savings from that military ticket. If you book a longer trip and need two AFS tickets per person, the savings go down. In that case, I started seeing FD having the advantage once I booked 4 people per room. If you stay at SOG everything gets even more skewed because you can get a huge room for very cheap but you lose out on some of the benefits of staying onsite. If you needed more than 8 days of tickets, you would probably be better off going with FD. And of course your results will vary based on how much people eat, whether you are willing to eat breakfast in the room, and which resort you stay at.

I hope this helps! There are a lot of factors when you start comparing normal discounts to military discounts, but the military discount is sooo generous that I think it's worth doing the work. Good luck!

I honestly don't understand why Disney isn't like everyone else in the modern world who just announces when all their discounts will be.

The way they do it now encourages rumors, leaks, and speculation....which ties up their phone and website with people checking and not booking. They somehow think they can control the internet, which is never going to happen. All the other theme parks and resorts announce their promotions early and don't hide anything....it's so much easier that way. As with anything, if no information is out there, people will speculate, look for leaks, or even flat out guess. Either way, hundreds of folks calling on Thursday to check did nothing but tie up lines and prevent operators from getting sales.

It just could be so much easier if they quit trying to fight the internet and used it to their advantage instead.

I am pretty sure there is a theory out there that discusses how people will get caught up in excitement of the rumors and end up making less-than-great financial decisions just to be able to partake in a "limited release" event. FOMO and all that. I forget what the phenomenon is called, but I think that's why Disney would want the internet to go crazy with rumors. You end up with people booking packages they never intended to book because they get so excited to be part of the promotion.

Evidence: 1) people like me who have been following this board all along even though the math shows my military discounts are a way better deal and 2) several posters who have chimed in saying they weren't planning to go to Disney this year but once FD fever hit they changed their plans and are now going. We are all suckers for a good marketing campaign

 

[aaarcher86]

Here's my thoughts on how the Room Discounts may lay out. This is an exercise of my mind and the level of detail I enjoy digging into. Remember there may be some resorts that flip into different percentages and those date ranges may Be off a bit. But lets just see how close this shakes out shall we?

A room discount offer should be available April 25, for stays between August 25 and November 5.

Up to 30% - Animal Kingdom Lodge (Standard/Pool View), Boardwalk Inn, Grand Floridian, Polynesian Village Resort, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club, Boardwalk Villas, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs.

Up to 20% - Animal Kingdom Lodge (Savannah/Club Level), Beach Club, Contemporary, Animal Kingdom Villas (Jambo and Kidani), Beach Club Villas, Villas at Wilderness Lodge, All Star Music, All Star Sports, Pop Century, Art of Animation Family Suites, Port Orleans French Quarter (8/26-10/1 only).

Up to 25% - Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Cabins at Ft. Wilderness, Port Orleans Riverside (25% from 8/26-10/1, and 20% from 10/1-11/5.)

Up to 15% - All Star Movies, Campsites at Ft. Wilderness

Excludes: Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation, Bay Lake Tower, Polynesian Villas, and Grand Floridian Villas.

You think campsites are going to be included? I didn't think they were ever included?

 

[catlady7]

Calling all Coronado aficionados!

Off topic question here but I could use your advice. 8days/7nights at CSR resort in December. Traveling with DW,DD(8),DS(22mo.). Was planning on booking "standard" room due to budget constraints but have noticed that CSR is HUGE! I would like to be close to ElCentro as we will be doing QS breakfast at Pepper Market most mornings. Also I've read that preferred rooms in Casitas1,2or3 are near the first bus stop. (It's actually bus stop "#4" but buses goes there first) Or so I'm told. Pool is not really a factor because we are going in Dec.

Considering upgrading to "preferred" room in Casitas 1,2 or 3. If we do this it means we would have to reduce our trip by 1 day to stay within budget. What would you do? Upgrade to preferred and cut a day off trip or "just rough it" and book standard room with 8th day included?

Thanks in advance.

I would take a standard room but when you get there make sure they do not put you in the ranchos secton. That is the farthest away from el centro.

 

[Jeaniec]

If you go to your MDE account and click on reservations there should be a chance reservation button. If it says to call try hitting refresh. From there you can select edit your package and then it should give you the option of applying a new discount.

If you don't see the change reservation option after a couple refreshes I would try booking a new one.

Thank you so much you all are awesome [/QUOTE]

Would anyone like to see my extreme detailed thoughts on the room discounts?

I have noticed a decrease in the room rate that begins Oct. 31st. So, if I can get a room discount on top of the lower rates, I'm not sure I'm saving enough with FD to make me change from POR to CSR. I really enjoy staying at POR.