Update on Military Discounts

[BridgetBordeaux]

Yippee..............just got off the phone and made our May/June reservation for 2013 at POP.

[crostorfer]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelles

Can someone please make sure I'm getting this correct!!! We are going 12/8-12/15. It will be my father (Ret. AF) my mother, me, DH, DD (4) & DS (3). We will need 6 tickets each and we will not be park hopping. So is it better to just get all the tickets on base or is it cheaper to get the promotional tickets and then the rest on base??

We are currently booked at AoA in a suite with the free dining but I wonder if it would be better to take the 30% room discount? We have the following ADR's.

12/8 TRex Cafe
12/9 50's Prime Time & Sci-Fi
12/10 Tusker House & HDDR
12/11 Crystal Palace
12/12 CRT & 1900 Park Fare
12/13 Akershus & San Angel
12/14 Chef Mickey's

We have a lot of ADR's b/c my kids are the only two grandchildren and Dad wants to do as much as possible. He has extremely aggressive Stage 4 Prostate cancer due to Agent Orange exposure and this may be our only trip all together. I really want to get the best possible deal and make this trip great for Dad, so any help/advise you can give is GREATLY appreciated!!!

I normally tell people that you are better off with the room discount than free dining staying anywhere but a value, however, in your case with so many character meals you are better off keeping the free dining as its going to save you money in the end. Have you upgraded your free dining to deluxe so that all of that is covered? Also, with free dining you have to pay for full price tickets, so you don't need tickets at this point? I'm confused as to how your military ticket question fits here.

[SouthernBelles]

No, we didn't upgrade to deluxe. We were just going to pay OOP for a couple meals. The bad part is that the kids really never eat and will share every meal unless we they are buffets and we have to purchase two meals for them. Also, my Mom and I don't eat a lot and we'll share where we can as well.

For the free dining, I had to purchase two tickets per person, so that's all I did thinking we would just get the rest on base at cheaper price or had fingers crossed for FL resident ticket discount. Here's a breakdown of the park tickets that we need for each day.

12/8 DTD all day...no ticket needed
12/9 ticket
12/10 ticket
12/11 MVMCP tickets already purchased (no need for regular ticket b/c we'll get there at 4pm)
12/12 ticket
12/13 ticket
12/14 ticket
12/15 ticket

Thanks so much for your reply!

[DCTooTall]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelles

Can someone please make sure I'm getting this correct!!! We are going 12/8-12/15. It will be my father (Ret. AF) my mother, me, DH, DD (4) & DS (3). We will need 6 tickets each and we will not be park hopping. So is it better to just get all the tickets on base or is it cheaper to get the promotional tickets and then the rest on base??

We are currently booked at AoA in a suite with the free dining but I wonder if it would be better to take the 30% room discount? We have the following ADR's.

12/8 TRex Cafe
12/9 50's Prime Time & Sci-Fi
12/10 Tusker House & HDDR
12/11 Crystal Palace
12/12 CRT & 1900 Park Fare
12/13 Akershus & San Angel
12/14 Chef Mickey's

We have a lot of ADR's b/c my kids are the only two grandchildren and Dad wants to do as much as possible. He has extremely aggressive Stage 4 Prostate cancer due to Agent Orange exposure and this may be our only trip all together. I really want to get the best possible deal and make this trip great for Dad, so any help/advise you can give is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Well first off.... Looks like 12/8 is a Free Dining blackout day according to the Disneyworld Website. Arrival would need to be 11/23 -29 or 12/10-20 to Qualify for Free Dining during your stay. (Since they just announced the FLE opening on 12/6, That would explain the large early-Dec blackout). I Also don't know if AoA would be a resort offering Free Dining rooms to begin with since it's usually used to fill rooms that would otherwise be empty, and as a new resort, they may figure there would be high enough demand to not have the offer available this round at the AoA.

and 2nd... As a previous posted mentioned, ANY dining plan requires a complete package booking, meaning tickets, room, and Dining plan all under the same package reservation... So if you are thinking of separating any of those 3 items from your package (using the room discount, or getting tickets separately), You won't be able to get Free Dining.


With all those TS meals, Something you MAY want to consider depending upon your budget, and what you plan on doing during this trip.... as well as if you are thinking of going again sometime in the next year.... Would be to get at least 1 AP so that you can then get the Tables In Wonderland Card. The TiW would provide a 20% discount on up to 10 people in your party at all tableservice meals, including any adult beverages you may decide to purchase. One advantage over the DDP with the TiW (besides the ability to have your discount also include a glass of wine, a beer, etc during your meal), is that you will have a bit more freedom in your dining since you won't be locked into the Entree/Dessert routine for every meal, and can instead easily get a single Entree at some meals to split... or an Appetizer and Dessert.... or basically whatever and however much you decide you are in the mood to eat at that meal. From a purely meal standpoint, You might find (especially with a 3&4yr old who may not always be hungry for a full meal on your double TS days) that you can come out ahead with the TiW discount vs. paying for everyone's Deluxe Disney Dining. [for those who lke the idea of pre-paying for their meals, the usually advice is to just put the money on Disney GiftCards which you can use to pay for the meals].

The biggest question at that point would be if the additional cost of the AP over whatever tickets you are thinking of getting currently would be justified.

[DCTooTall]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelles

No, we didn't upgrade to deluxe. We were just going to pay OOP for a couple meals. The bad part is that the kids really never eat and will share every meal unless we they are buffets and we have to purchase two meals for them. Also, my Mom and I don't eat a lot and we'll share where we can as well.

For the free dining, I had to purchase two tickets per person, so that's all I did thinking we would just get the rest on base at cheaper price or had fingers crossed for FL resident ticket discount. Here's a breakdown of the park tickets that we need for each day.

12/8 DTD all day...no ticket needed
12/9 ticket
12/10 ticket
12/11 MVMCP tickets already purchased (no need for regular ticket b/c we'll get there at 4pm)
12/12 ticket
12/13 ticket
12/14 ticket
12/15 ticket

Thanks so much for your reply!

Silly me! I didn't realize you are a Florida Resident!

Since you are a Florida Resident, You wouldn't need the AP in order to get the Tables in Wonderland card.

With the way you describe your eating habits, I'm thinking that the TiW may be the best bet for you. [And since it's good for a year, If you decided on a day or weekend trip to the area, you could easily use it if you decided to hop over to DTD or a resort to have a nice meal, giving you use of the card/discount beyond this one trip]

[megandbrooke]

WooHoo!!! Just booked my CS stay at 35% off. Was actually more than 35% off from what the advertised price is on Disney's website. Thank you to everyone for keeping me updated. Thank you Disney for supporting your military. It really makes our day to know that people support what we do!

[Cheshire Figment]

For Ticketing, it is a new program, not an extension of the current one. See This Post http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2972608 for detailed information.

[SouthernBelles]

I am already booked at AoA in a suite for free dining. So for sure it is something that can be done. I think the confusion is that the Little Mermaid rooms are not included in the free dining. I have two reservations and two reservation numbers. The first is a room only reservation, the second reservation is for the 10th-15th which will include free dining and in order to get that I had to purchase tickets for 2 days.

I wondered about the TIW card and was trying to figure out if the $100 cost of the card would be worth it since it only saves 20% per meal. I'm just not familiar with it. I live in Jax, so we are close enough to go back on any weekend, but I know we would not go back at any time when it is hot!! Just cooler months so I figure Dec-March. We are also waiting to hear if my DH is going to get a job that will move us back to Panama City, FL. If we move back to PC I know we will probably not be back in a year.

As for the ADR's that I've made I'm thinking about cancelling HDDR and San Angel. I do need to cut them down a bit b/c I just think the cost will get out of hand!!

Thanks so much for all of the help/advise. Now I need to read up more on the TIW!!

[mmtska]

Originally Posted by GatorMama

Hi, mmtska!

lol hi darlin'!! Next month!!!!

[fitzy819]

YAY!!!

I was finally able to apply the discount this afternoon. We are saving about $2000 with the discount. I'm so excited!

[Mousemommy1]

Originally Posted by fitzy819

YAY!!!

I was finally able to apply the discount this afternoon. We are saving about $2000 with the discount. I'm so excited!

Now your moms birthday trip will be perfect!!!

Congrats!!!

[DCTooTall]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelles

I am already booked at AoA in a suite for free dining. So for sure it is something that can be done. I think the confusion is that the Little Mermaid rooms are not included in the free dining. I have two reservations and two reservation numbers. The first is a room only reservation, the second reservation is for the 10th-15th which will include free dining and in order to get that I had to purchase tickets for 2 days.

I wondered about the TIW card and was trying to figure out if the $100 cost of the card would be worth it since it only saves 20% per meal. I'm just not familiar with it. I live in Jax, so we are close enough to go back on any weekend, but I know we would not go back at any time when it is hot!! Just cooler months so I figure Dec-March. We are also waiting to hear if my DH is going to get a job that will move us back to Panama City, FL. If we move back to PC I know we will probably not be back in a year.

As for the ADR's that I've made I'm thinking about cancelling HDDR and San Angel. I do need to cut them down a bit b/c I just think the cost will get out of hand!!

Thanks so much for all of the help/advise. Now I need to read up more on the TIW!!

Ah... a dual reservation would do the trick since your 2nd reservation has an arrival day during the FD promotion. It means your first 2 days however won't include the dining plan.

And It's not TOO difficult at Disney prices to hit the break even point with the TiW... at least, for the usual $75 price for AP holders. It may be a bit more difficult with the Resident rate. at a 20% discount, the break even is at $500 in Food/Beverage purchases. Since you can see the menu and general pricing for the TS reservations you already have on the Disney website (and thru other Disney reference sites), you can figure out how close to that number you are likely to come during your upcoming stay. If you guys enjoy adult beverages at all, It can really add up to some decent savings. The TiW site has a list of all the eligible restaurants, including I believe the few CS places it's accepted at (usually at the Values where there isn't a TS restaurant).

[Mariellen102]

So is this correct if we purchase 6 tickets all 6 people have to be there and u have to activate all the tickets at the same time?? Bc my husband daughter and i arrive before the other people in our family and were going to meet them at the park....then when they arrive planned on having my husband ( sponser) go out front to activate their tickets???

[appleorchard]

Originally Posted by Mariellen102

So is this correct if we purchase 6 tickets all 6 people have to be there and u have to activate all the tickets at the same time?? Bc my husband daughter and i arrive before the other people in our family and were going to meet them at the park....then when they arrive planned on having my husband ( sponser) go out front to activate their tickets???

In the past, everyone has not needed to be there to activate the tickets. You do need to give their names, addresses and maybe birth dates, can't remember! This might change with the new promo, hard to say yet.

[JavArmy]

Originally Posted by Mariellen102

So is this correct if we purchase 6 tickets all 6 people have to be there and u have to activate all the tickets at the same time?? Bc my husband daughter and i arrive before the other people in our family and were going to meet them at the park....then when they arrive planned on having my husband ( sponser) go out front to activate their tickets???

I think what you have planned should work just fine. I wouldn't think that you would have to have all 6 activated at the same time, just maybe that the person who's ticket is being activated may need to be there.