2015 FREE DINING THREAD _ All Questions HERE!!

[AnnaW]

Is it that they couldn't offer you rooms at another Disney resort room only for the first and last day, or is it the pricing didn't work?
We did off site the first and last day one year, and it worked nice because it was a change of environment, cheaper and less crowded at the pool.
BUT we also had our car to do so.
You could stay off site and go to another park for the day. Those parks have nice hotels near them too.

I'm not trying to take away from the Disney experience, but trying to paint an Orlando experience picture to maybe help with the disappointment.
What time are your flights? If they don't give you a full day at the resorts anyway, it might be worth staying at the Hyatt right at the airport. Then you don't have to rent a car and can still use Magic Express to get back and forth from the resort to the airport.

I think a lot of people book and end up canceling for one reason or another. A lot of times flights definitely make a different. But yes it is harder to adjust your Resort stay based on the flights you end up with. There are ways to make it fun. I try to at least. Life is too short and best plans can be messed up if the adventure isn't embraced.

Hope it ends up being the best vacation ever.

I couldn't even get a room only reservation. We don't mind having to move for the last night. The reason we added a day at the beginning was to settle in and have some time at the resort. I'll keep calling, hopefully something will open up.

 

[tooh8ful]

The southwest sale released yesterday is their anniversary sale which is the best sale of the year so make sure check your flights!

I saw the sale yesterday and got $90 in credits, but we can't use them before they expire. Arrg!!

 

[themommy]

I couldn't even get a room only reservation. We don't mind having to move for the last night. The reason we added a day at the beginning was to settle in and have some time at the resort. I'll keep calling, hopefully something will open up.

You can always stay at a different resort on property. We did this last Christmas when we added a day. Our first night was at POFQ and then we moved to CBR. We didn't mind at all. It gave us a chance to check out a resort we had never stayed at. Good luck!

 

[Disneymom2kiddos]

Last year we booked a pretty decent rate at the 6 month mark through Southwest, and ended up getting a $30 credit on top of that for calling because they lowered the rates on us around the 60 day mark before our trip. It was a nice surprise! Not counting on it this year though.

 

[gskywalker]

k I am dying waiting....yes I am pitiful. Sept 27 can't come soon enough, after all by then it will be a whole year. 11 days of Disney food, hotel and park bliss. Saved $750 by booking the bounceback instead of the current FD. Definitely going to book the bounceback again and hope we can do it again next year.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Releasing sticky thread since the wait is over

 

[DisneyDeter]

Hello everyone!
This is my first time posting so I apologize if this is an obvious question or previously answered. We just booked a trip to stay at Wildnerness Lodge December 12-20th (DFTW and disneymoon EEEEK!!). We ended up breaking our reservation in to two stays in order to take advantage of the FD but are hoping to stay in the same room the whole time. My question is if we can use our dining points earlier in the week, ie our FD technically doesn't start until the 15th, would we be able to spread them out and use them on the 13th 14th once we are checked into our other reservation? I tried calling the reservation line but the person was not helpful nor confident in their response. Worst Disney call yet. I am assuming no but figured I would ask. Thanks in advance!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Hello everyone!
This is my first time posting so I apologize if this is an obvious question or previously answered. We just booked a trip to stay at Wildnerness Lodge December 12-20th (DFTW and disneymoon EEEEK!!). We ended up breaking our reservation in to two stays in order to take advantage of the FD but are hoping to stay in the same room the whole time. My question is if we can use our dining points earlier in the week, ie our FD technically doesn't start until the 15th, would we be able to spread them out and use them on the 13th 14th once we are checked into our other reservation? I tried calling the reservation line but the person was not helpful nor confident in their response. Worst Disney call yet. I am assuming no but figured I would ask. Thanks in advance!

No, free dining doesnt start until the 15th, you wont be able to use them until then.

 

[PoohsHunnyBee]

Hello everyone!
This is my first time posting so I apologize if this is an obvious question or previously answered. We just booked a trip to stay at Wildnerness Lodge December 12-20th (DFTW and disneymoon EEEEK!!). We ended up breaking our reservation in to two stays in order to take advantage of the FD but are hoping to stay in the same room the whole time. My question is if we can use our dining points earlier in the week, ie our FD technically doesn't start until the 15th, would we be able to spread them out and use them on the 13th 14th once we are checked into our other reservation? I tried calling the reservation line but the person was not helpful nor confident in their response. Worst Disney call yet. I am assuming no but figured I would ask. Thanks in advance!

First,
Second, you cannot use dining credits until you are checked in to that reservation (which you can do first thing in the morning and have credits available for early breakfast even if you have to switch rooms and the new room is not available yet). So no credits available before December 15 unless you purchase a plan for your earlier reservation. However, you can use the credits up until 11:59 pm on December 20 even though you will check out before that.
Finally, they won't guarantee that you will be able to stay in the same room, but as long as you are booked for the same room category and note the request, you will likely be able to.

 

[DisneyDeter]

Thank you for the help! I think we will just skip the dining plan for the first few days and pay out of pocket.

 

[NicoleLarson]

Hello everyone!
This is my first time posting so I apologize if this is an obvious question or previously answered. We just booked a trip to stay at Wildnerness Lodge December 12-20th (DFTW and disneymoon EEEEK!!). We ended up breaking our reservation in to two stays in order to take advantage of the FD but are hoping to stay in the same room the whole time. My question is if we can use our dining points earlier in the week, ie our FD technically doesn't start until the 15th, would we be able to spread them out and use them on the 13th 14th once we are checked into our other reservation? I tried calling the reservation line but the person was not helpful nor confident in their response. Worst Disney call yet. I am assuming no but figured I would ask. Thanks in advance!

Did you run the numbers cause I highly doubt FD is a better option for you. Depending on view, you are probably paying about $450/ night. The DP is $60/pp so you are only saving 120/night, I assumed you only have 2 people in your room since it's your honeymoon. A room only discount would most likely be better for you. Plus you can save on tickets by a) not purchasing hoppers and b) getting them through undercover tourist. Then you won't have to worry about switching rooms, etc. Also, look at sites like orbitz and cheaptickets you can usually find a code that will save you even more than the 30%

 

[DisneyDeter]

Thanks for the info Nicole. I will definitely look in to that!

 

[tazleiten12]

Does anyone know if they are still not letting you drop days from your reservation if its not available? We have a free dining reservation at CBR, which is no longer available and need to drop a couple day's at the end.
THANKS!

 

[RedWolf95]

Does anyone know if they are still not letting you drop days from your reservation if its not available? We have a free dining reservation at CBR, which is no longer available and need to drop a couple day's at the end.
THANKS!

That's what they've been saying, but it never hurts to call and give it a shot.

Has anybody seen any official announcement from Disney regarding the changes to the dining plan? Seen lot's of unofficial sites indicate the changes were definitely happening but I haven't seen any updates on the Disney website confirming the changes.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

That's what they've been saying, but it never hurts to call and give it a shot.

Has anybody seen any official announcement from Disney regarding the changes to the dining plan? Seen lot's of unofficial sites indicate the changes were definitely happening but I haven't seen any updates on the Disney website confirming the changes.

Nothing official from Disney yet. I'm surprised that I haven't seen any reports from Disers that have used the DDP since the soft opening.

 

[NickyDD]

I have a question, DD is 10 and DS is 9, they sometimes like to order from the adult menu and sometimes the child menu, can I use the child TS credit for both when they both order from the child menu and save the adult TS credit when they both want to order from the adult menu?

 

[vrajewski10513]

I have a question, DD is 10 and DS is 9, they sometimes like to order from the adult menu and sometimes the child menu, can I use the child TS credit for both when they both order from the child menu and save the adult TS credit when they both want to order from the adult menu?

I don't know if I'm understanding the question correctly.. for verification purposes your DD 10 is on the adult dining plan and your DS 9 is on the childrens? I dont see a problem with them "sharing" their credits. Especially with them still being younger. I dont have first hand experience with this, but I dont think there would be an issue with it.

 

[Funfire240]

Does anyone know if they are still not letting you drop days from your reservation if its not available? We have a free dining reservation at CBR, which is no longer available and need to drop a couple day's at the end.
THANKS!

It's possible but I would call just to see. We recently added a day on to the front and when I called the response was that "we will have to see if it is available" (which I knew it was for us because I had checked online). Not sure if dropping days would be the same as adding.

 

[wdw4rfam]

It's possible but I would call just to see. We recently added a day on to the front and when I called the response was that "we will have to see if it is available" (which I knew it was for us because I had checked online). Not sure if dropping days would be the same as adding.

I noticed that the website was not showing availability for us but they did let me add a day anyways. A week later I tried to remove and they would not let me remove it. Which was ok, we will just stay but I noticed they are much more likely to add than remove. I didn't think they would let me add the day, because it was not available to book as a new reservation online with those dates, but they did.

 

[NickyDD]

I don't know if I'm understanding the question correctly.. for verification purposes your DD 10 is on the adult dining plan and your DS 9 is on the childrens? I dont see a problem with them "sharing" their credits. Especially with them still being younger. I dont have first hand experience with this, but I dont think there would be an issue with it.

Yes, DD is on the adult plan but she sometimes prefers the kids menu, so I was just wonder when she order from the kids menu, can I use the kids credit. Essentially is that when both kids order from the kids menu, can I use 2 child TS credits and when both kids order from the adult menu in a different TS place, I can then maybe use the adult credits for them. I am hoping as long as I have the dinning credit in the account, they would let me do it that way but just not sure.
Thanks!