******Official 2017 Free Dining Plan Watch, Wait, and Dream

[Susan Doeberl]

I forgot to turn my alarm off from yesterday morning my husband was very unhappy when it went off early this morning.

 

[mousefan73]

Completely agree regarding law enforcement. Also that as a parent we have the best interest of our children in mind always.

Unfortanetly that is not alwaysthe case.. you have parents who shouldnt be parents and thank God there are laws and institutions that also look at a child as an individual and not property of some parent. I always hear " my child is a straight A student so I can pull then out".. well who is to stop a parent form pulling a child out who is maybe struggling?? Is is that parent's right to dictate when said child can go on vacation ( regardless of the how many weeks a kid gets off a year????) or the child's right to be given an education?

 

[battynanny]

![/QUOTE]

I would go ahead and book extra day- it's no problem to remove a day but to add a day can sometimes be a problem

I know last year we wanted to drop a day aT the end when I found a great airfare deal and was told that I couldn't as you can't just drop days anymore you basically had to do a new reservation and there wasn't anything available for my room type and dates

 

[mousefan73]

For those freaking out on the 4am thing. It's not like buying concert tickets.. Sold out doesnt mean sold out! Rooms open up later and people change their reservations.. So don't give up and try again a few days later or a week or two later. As you get closer to the final payment date, some reservations get cancelled too. FD is a package so you have that final payment date cut-off. ROs you only pay the first night as a deposit.

 

[mousefan73]

We flew down on Thanksgiving day because it was cheaper than the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after on Southwest.

I wasn't complaining because it got me out of cooking and cleaning! We are doing it again this year!

As an airliner I can say that the actual Holiday of any given Holiday is usually a great day to fly if you are looking a open space and cheaper flights.. Most people traveling for said holiday are already there and are not leaving.. The weekend before or after a holiday or Thursdays are really booked.

 

[ThistleMae]

I can understand people being sad to visit Disney differently. To have to stay off Disney property when they've been used to staying in the heart of the magic! But I can also tell you that there a some wonderful resorts, and vacation homes or condos in the area. We have some great memories of spreading out in our own rooms and enjoying our own private pool and hot tub. Many times the prices are so much less than even Disney value resorts that we've been able to lengthen our stay significantly. I know it's an adjustment, but if your family is willing to try something new, I really recommend looking at staying off property when the time comes. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Some very good points indeed. Change is trying, even it it's positive. I think with all the support in here, we'll all be okay.

 

[ThistleMae]

You can't use the dining plan at Shula's but oh my gosh those steaks just melt in your mouth and the soufflé is the best ever.

Where is Shula's?

 

[ThistleMae]

Can you suggest the best of the not so good food at BOG for lunch? Got lunch reservations for 7 in September celebrating a 50th anniversary with family. Will be first time there. Thx in advance

I always get the prime rib sandwich. It's just okay, nothing to write home about, but not awful. I don't eat any of the desserts. And someone posted a pic of the roasted pork, which looked really good.

 

[Disneylover99]

That would work for a family of 4 with kids that aren't teens.. my kids are 11 and 12 and still are ok in the AOA murphy bed.. but a room with f4 adults in that set-up forget it.

It's still an improvement for Pop. Before you had two doubles. Now you'll have a Queen and a Double.

 

[Kindermouse]

Some very good points indeed. Change is trying, even it it's positive. I think with all the support in here, we'll all be okay.

I was sad the first time I stayed in a non-Disney hotel in Disneyland...now I almost never stay at one of the Disney hotels. There are too many offsite options for a fraction of the cost that are still walking distance. It does loose a bit of the magic but when you go several times a year you get plenty of magic in all without the Disney decor and can often still watch the fireworks from your hotel at 1/3 of the price.

Where is Shula's?

I believe swan or dolphin. Prior to my ADR day I was on a TS research mission.

 

[markpenske]

So, I've seen a few posts on this board about the Quick service plan will being offered at Moderate resorts during the 2017 free dining. Is this fact? or only rumor?
Are we still aPRIL 24th as the drop date?

 

[Disneylover99]

So, I've seen a few posts on this board about the Quick service plan will being offered at Moderate resorts during the 2017 free dining. Is this fact? or only rumor?
Are we still aPRIL 24th as the drop date?

Everything is a rumour until the promo drops. But yes, April 24th is the rumoured drop date.

 

[JackieO]

So, I've seen a few posts on this board about the Quick service plan will being offered at Moderate resorts during the 2017 free dining. Is this fact? or only rumor?
Are we still aPRIL 24th as the drop date?

It's ALL rumor right now, QS, the 24th, all of it. But yes, that's what we're hearing.

 

[ThistleMae]

SO....y'all realize that this time next week, we could all have FREE DINING!!

At least the madness will have ended (as far as worrying about FD) and life can go back to just making plans/packing/etc. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you all.

I have a logistics question on how I should attack this on Monday. I am currently holding a reservation at SSR & it will be my backup in case I don't get FD. Because we are going whether we get it or not.
BUT I do NOT have a change/modify button at all. So I see this happening one of two ways. Please let me know what you believe to be the way I should go:

1- I make a new FD reservation online on Monday, then call to make any changes/upgrades after it's died down. Yes, I do realize by doing this I'll have to do another $200 dep.

2- I take my chances and wait until 7am EST to call, hoping there will be something available for my dates.

I really hate there is no way to make changes to my res online. It just complicates things (in my mind).
I just want this to go smoothly...for me, for us all.

From everything I've read from last year, and this thread, the easiest thing to do is to book a new reservation online as soon as FD drops, which seems to be at 4 a.m. eastern time, when you can access the website.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

A bit off topic but I'm not sure where else to post and everyone here is so helpful... I am travelling with 4 adults, 1 child and 1 under 3... Should I reserve for 5 or 6 ppl for TS? We will have DDP, and I know they charge 18% gratuity for parties of 6, just not sure if we would be considered 5 or 6.

Your reservations should be for the total number of people in your party, including the child under 3. The infant will not be charged for, but they do require a seat on the reservation.

 

[ThistleMae]

Question about space in a value's room...
Since my kids became older teenagers we have only done mods because we need the larger beds. My son is over 6' and my daughter is 5'8". They won't share a double bed and I wouldn't expect them to. That's our only reason for going mod. We spend no time in our room except to sleep. So my question is- Is there space anywhere in a value room for a twin sized blow up mattress? We would inflate/deflate each day so I'm not really concerned if it's against policy because it would never be seen by staff. The dates we're looking at have shown no availability at a mod for weeks now and with the possibility of QS only anyway definitely thinking it's not worth it.

I'd say no.

 

[McFlea]

Just popping in to say good morning. I've been following this thread since the beginning, and it's been fun waiting on FD with you all!
I've also been thinking about this possible change to QS for the mods. While I do think it stinks - you're getting "less" for the same $$ (more, actually) as past trips - I'm beginning to warm to the idea. My family of 5 always stays at POR, and it's still the least expensive option. I need to re-do my spreadsheets for QS and see how FD shakes out, but my guess is, for us, it is still worth it. I'll pay for one or two TS OOP that we really want to do, but for the rest of the time, I'm starting to like the idea of QS dining freedom. Can you tell I'm talking myself into it? Darn you Disney, just keep increasing prices and giving less and I still love you

 

[Disneygurl84]

From everything I've read from last year, and this thread, the easiest thing to do is to book a new reservation online as soon as FD drops, which seems to be at 4 a.m. eastern time, when you can access the website.

How do you add free dining if you already have a reservation? What if my reservation is for October 1 but I wanna add an additional day (9/30) to get the free dining?

 

[ThistleMae]

I didn't know POP had Murphy beds. Is this in every room?

They are doing renovations at POP, and the rooms will have a murphy bed, there are photo's in the Pop Century thread. So, not sure how that will change the space, but from my stays there....there is hardly any space from the bed to the wall away from the door, nor hardly any space in between beds, just large enough for that night stand in between. I have squeezed a ECV in there by the door and the table, but there was barely enough space to get around it.

 

[ean]

Latest rumor on the country I live (SA country), by this Sunday (April 23rd) a major newspaper will show lots of publicity pages about the Disney Free Dining promotion (paid by the major TAs down here). Fingers crossed.

I read most of you are going on November, no one is joining us on September ? We are going from Sep 4th to Sept 14th.