2011 Free Dining is Extended! New dates as of 8/3

If you do the room only res for a day or two to get you into a free dining date, and then check in again under your package, do they make you actually change rooms? What exactly does the check out check in really require?

My situation is vacation is Nov 12 to Nov 19 so we are missing the rumored free dining by one day. Also we already have the vacation booked so how hard it is to modify it by a day? The reason I ask is I very foolishly let the cm include the over priced trip insurance when booking and then completely forgot to cancel it within ten days. It is non refundable so if I have to actually cancel and rebook I would lose that. Free dining is still better but if all I have to do is modify res, I think I am good on the trip insurance. No lectures, I realize how foolish I was, just hate saying no to people and cm had been so helpful in booking, he snookered me into agreeing to it. :sad1:
 
Well now i guess I will be looking for some kind of room discount, since I will not arrive on the fd, I have always gone to Disney on a Sunday, was talked into Wed, because airfare was cheaper. Just hope I can get something, every little bit will help.
Good luck to everyone this week.:cheer2:
 
forbinsgirl said:
If you do the room only res for a day or two to get you into a free dining date, and then check in again under your package, do they make you actually change rooms? What exactly does the check out check in really require?

My situation is vacation is Nov 12 to Nov 19 so we are missing the rumored free dining by one day. Also we already have the vacation booked so how hard it is to modify it by a day? The reason I ask is I very foolishly let the cm include the over priced trip insurance when booking and then completely forgot to cancel it within ten days. It is non refundable so if I have to actually cancel and rebook I would lose that. Free dining is still better but if all I have to do is modify res, I think I am good on the trip insurance. No lectures, I realize how foolish I was, just hate saying no to people and cm had been so helpful in booking, he snookered me into agreeing to it. :sad1:
Click to expand...

Call and ask your vacation be shortened to Nov 13 - 19th (or Nov. 13th - 20th if you are willing to just move your week over by one day). Then book a seperate one day room-only reservation for Nov 12th. You will have to pay for your Nov 12th meals out of pocket.
You can pick up your park tickets for your Nov 13th reservation at guest relations at the parks (not at your resort) up to 3 days early.
Don't forget to tell the CM at the front desk when you check-in on the 12th that you have another reservation that starts the next day and if at all possible you would like to be in the same room.
Hope this helps:goodvibes
 
Brandilovesdisney said:
You can pick up your park tickets for your Nov 13th reservation at guest relations at the parks (not at your resort) up to 3 days early.
Click to expand...

Please confirm ... park tickets can be picked up 3 days prior to the FD portion of our trip (the first 3 days of our trip are blacked out) at the parks, not at the resort? :confused:

TIA
 
goNsoon2WDW said:
Please confirm ... park tickets can be picked up 3 days prior to the FD portion of our trip (the first 3 days of our trip are blacked out) at the parks, not at the resort? :confused:

TIA
Click to expand...

You can pick up your park tickets 3 days before you check-in - you will have to bring your confirmation to guest relations at the parks.

For example:
You book Sept 29thth - Oct 2nd as a resort only reservation, and you book another reservation with resort, tickets for 10 days and FD from Oct. 2nd -9th. You can go to guest relations at the parks with your Oct. 2nd -9th reservation confirmation on Sept 29th and pick-up your 10-day pass. The resort can not do this - only guest relations at the parks or at Downtown Disney.:goodvibes
 
sher92 said:
This is true, we have done it many times, along with thousands of other people here on the Dis. The free dining guidelines are that if your check in date lands on any of the free dining dates, even the last day of the promo, you can receive the free dining discount for your entire vacation, up to 14 nights. They don't give partial credits in any capacity - it's all or nothing.
Click to expand...


Princess Tiffany". I see that you are going in November...have you been before during that time, if so, what is the weather typically like then? We normally go in Sept and Oct and it's still scorching hot. This time, we are thinking of going Nov 3-10 and am curious as to what the weather will be!

Thanks![/QUOTE]

Actually part of WDWnut61's post was quoted in that post, and she is going in November. We have been in late November when it has been warm and when it's been cold. Overall November typically has nice weather - early November should be comfortable.
 
forbinsgirl said:
If you do the room only res for a day or two to get you into a free dining date, and then check in again under your package, do they make you actually change rooms? What exactly does the check out check in really require?

My situation is vacation is Nov 12 to Nov 19 so we are missing the rumored free dining by one day. Also we already have the vacation booked so how hard it is to modify it by a day? The reason I ask is I very foolishly let the cm include the over priced trip insurance when booking and then completely forgot to cancel it within ten days. It is non refundable so if I have to actually cancel and rebook I would lose that. Free dining is still better but if all I have to do is modify res, I think I am good on the trip insurance. No lectures, I realize how foolish I was, just hate saying no to people and cm had been so helpful in booking, he snookered me into agreeing to it. :sad1:
Click to expand...
The best thing to do in your situation, if your check in dates is flexible, would be to modify your existing reservation. There is no fee, you won't lose anything and your reservation number will stay the same.
 
Maybe this will help with all of the reoccurring questions and misunderstandings that keep popping up about the WDW Free Dining Promotion and Promotion Guidelines (Of course, this info will be based on Free Dining Guidelines for the past 7 years, Disney can change their policies at any time.):

FREE DINING FACTS AND INFORMATION

The Free Dining Promo/Discount was first introduced in the fall of 2005 and up until the fall of 2009, was, basically, just offered during the timeframe of mid August to the first of October (height of hurricane season) and included the Basic/Plus Dining for all levels of WDW resort. Starting in the fall of 2009, they offered a second Free Dining Promo/Discount that covered dates between October 1st and the third week of December and they also started including the Quick Service DDP for Value resorts and the Basic/Plus DDP for Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. With the popularity of the Free Dining Promo, last year, for the first time, WDW offered multiple Free Dining discounts during this year that included many value season/low crowd weeks.

To take advantage of a Free Dining (FD) discount you must be booked at a Disney-owned resort and purchase a Magic Your Way Package that includes room, tickets and dining with a 2 day base ticket purchase. The FD promos have a 3 day booking minimum and a 14 day booking maximum. You can not include Annual Passes or previously purchased tickets for Disney or any other outside ticketing agent.

The current FD promos have included the Quick Service Dining Plan for Value Resorts and the Basic/Plus Dining Plan for Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. You can not downgrade to the Quick Service Dining if you are staying at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort - there have been reports that, once in the parks, guests have been able to trade/convert Table Service (TS) credits for Counter Service (CS) credits, but this is not advertised on the WDW website and should not be considered WDW "policy." You can however pay the monetary difference and upgrade to the Basic/Plus DDP or the Deluxe DDP if you are staying at a Value Resort and can upgrade to the Deluxe Plan if you are staying at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort. The Deluxe Dining Plan has never been included in any free dining promos. Here is a breakdown of FD upgrade costs for 2011:

Upgrade from Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Basic/Plus DDP $45.99/$11.99
$11.00 per adult 10+; $0.00 per child 3 - 9

Upgrade from Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Deluxe DDP $78.99/$21.99
$44.00 per adult 10+; $10.00 per child 3 - 9

Upgrade from Basic/Plus DDP $45.99/$11.99 to Deluxe DDP $78.99/$21.00
$33.00 per adult 10+; $10.00 per child 3 - 9

Your check in date must fall within the dates of the FD promo to apply the discount to your reservation. If your check in dates do not fall within the FD dates, you can not apply the discount - even if every single night of your vacation falls within the promo, except for your check in date, you can not take advantage of the FD promo.

If any of your vacation dates fall within a FD promo dates you can receive the FD discount for your entire vacation stay, up to 14 nights, even if you are checking in on the last day of a FD promo, you can still recieve the discount for up to 14 nights.

If your vacation starts a couple of days before a FD promo, it's possible to do a Split Stay - meaning, you can do a room only reservation for 1 to 3 nights at the beginning of your vacation, pay for your food out-of-pocket for those days, and be allowed to pick up your PACKAGE TICKETS up to 3 days early at guest relations at any of the four parks or at Downtown Disney (For further info on picking up tickets early, please see Diser, CheshireFigment's, Ticket Sticky on the top the Themeparks Board.)

If you already have an existing reservation that falls within the dates of a FD promo, you can call and have the FD code added to modify that reservation. You can not add the FD code on line, you will need to call WDW Reservations, 407-W-Disney. You do NOT have to rebook, your reservation number does not change and there is not a fee - if you are within your 45 day window, they can charge you a $50.00 change fee, but, most FD promos come out before the 45 day window, so this shouldn't be an issue. If you have already paid your package in full, WDW will refund you the monetary difference - this can take up to 2 billing cycles or about 2 months. Each resort is only allotted so many FD rooms, so if you call and your resort is sold out of FD promo rooms, you can change your resort and do not have to cancel or pay a fee and your reservation number stays the same. If your existing reservation is a room only reservation, then you would have toTy cancel and rebook under a Magic Your Way Package to receive the FD discount.

Typically, in the past, other than last's August FD announcement, Disney Visa holders ere given the FD Promo Code three (3) days before it opens to the general public. In the past, all you had to do to get the Disney Visa FD discount was put $200.00 down with your card, the balance did not have to be put on the Disney Visa.

If you already have Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) changing or modifying a reservation does not effect or cancel your ADRs. You would have to go on-line or call WDW Dining to cancel ADRs, even if you completely cancel a vacation/reservation. Remember, anyone can make ADRs, even offsite guests and don't have to be linked to your reservation in any way. If you have already booked and paid for any restaurants and/or dinner shows, and then a FD promo/discount is released, you can contact Disney Dining once you modify your reservation to include the FD code and give them your reservation number, and they will credit you the amount you pre-paid. This type of refund also takes 2 billing cycles or about 2 months.

Hopefully this info will give everyone an overview of the current Free Dining Guidelines.
 
Princess Tiffany this is the 3rd thread in a row I've looked at tonight and here you are answering questions and helping everyone :worship::worship::worship:
 
:worship::worship:
PrincessTiffany said:
Maybe this will help with all of the reoccurring questions and misunderstandings that keep popping up about the WDW Free Dining Promotion and Promotion Guidelines (Of course, this info will be based on Free Dining Guidelines for the past 7 years, Disney can change their policies at any time.):

FREE DINING FACTS AND INFORMATION

The Free Dining Promo/Discount was first introduced in the fall of 2005 and up until the fall of 2009, was, basically, just offered during the timeframe of mid August to the first of October (height of hurricane season) and included the Basic/Plus Dining for all levels of WDW resort. Starting in the fall of 2009, they offered a second Free Dining Promo/Discount that covered dates between October 1st and the third week of December and they also started including the Quick Service DDP for Value resorts and the Basic/Plus DDP for Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. With the popularity of the Free Dining Promo, last year, for the first time, WDW offered multiple Free Dining discounts during this year that included many value season/low crowd weeks.

To take advantage of a Free Dining (FD) discount you must be booked at a Disney-owned resort and purchase a Magic Your Way Package that includes room, tickets and dining with a 2 day base ticket purchase. The FD promos have a 3 day booking minimum and a 14 day booking maximum. You can not include Annual Passes or previously purchased tickets for Disney or any other outside ticketing agent.

The current FD promos have included the Quick Service Dining Plan for Value Resorts and the Basic/Plus Dining Plan for Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. You can not downgrade to the Quick Service Dining if you are staying at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort - there have been reports that, once in the parks, guests have been able to trade/convert Table Service (TS) credits for Counter Service (CS) credits, but this is not advertised on the WDW website and should not be considered WDW "policy." You can however pay the monetary difference and upgrade to the Basic/Plus DDP or the Deluxe DDP if you are staying at a Value Resort and can upgrade to the Deluxe Plan if you are staying at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort. The Deluxe Dining Plan has never been included in any free dining promos. Here is a breakdown of FD upgrade costs for 2011:

Upgrade from Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Basic/Plus DDP $45.99/$11.99
$11.00 per adult 10+; $0.00 per child 3 - 9

Upgrade from Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Deluxe DDP $78.99/$21.99
$44.00 per adult 10+; $10.00 per child 3 - 9

Upgrade from Basic/Plus DDP $45.99/$11.99 to Deluxe DDP $78.99/$21.00
$33.00 per adult 10+; $10.00 per child 3 - 9

Your check in date must fall within the dates of the FD promo to apply the discount to your reservation. If your check in dates do not fall within the FD dates, you can not apply the discount - even if every single night of your vacation falls within the promo, except for your check in date, you can not take advantage of the FD promo.

If any of your vacation dates fall within a FD promo dates you can receive the FD discount for your entire vacation stay, up to 14 nights, even if you are checking in on the last day of a FD promo, you can still recieve the discount for up to 14 nights.

If your vacation starts a couple of days before a FD promo, it's possible to do a Split Stay - meaning, you can do a room only reservation for 1 to 3 nights at the beginning of your vacation, pay for your food out-of-pocket for those days, and be allowed to pick up your PACKAGE TICKETS up to 3 days early at guest relations at any of the four parks or at Downtown Disney (For further info on picking up tickets early, please see Diser, CheshireFigment's, Ticket Sticky on the top the Themeparks Board.)

If you already have an existing reservation that falls within the dates of a FD promo, you can call and have the FD code added to modify that reservation. You can not add the FD code on line, you will need to call WDW Reservations, 407-W-Disney. You do NOT have to rebook, your reservation number does not change and there is not a fee - if you are within your 45 day window, they can charge you a $50.00 change fee, but, most FD promos come out before the 45 day window, so this shouldn't be an issue. If you have already paid your package in full, WDW will refund you the monetary difference - this can take up to 2 billing cycles or about 2 months. Each resort is only allotted so many FD rooms, so if you call and your resort is sold out of FD promo rooms, you can change your resort and do not have to cancel or pay a fee and your reservation number stays the same. If your existing reservation is a room only reservation, then you would have toTy cancel and rebook under a Magic Your Way Package to receive the FD discount.

Typically, in the past, other than last's August FD announcement, Disney Visa holders ere given the FD Promo Code three (3) days before it opens to the general public. In the past, all you had to do to get the Disney Visa FD discount was put $200.00 down with your card, the balance did not have to be put on the Disney Visa.

If you already have Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) changing or modifying a reservation does not effect or cancel your ADRs. You would have to go on-line or call WDW Dining to cancel ADRs, even if you completely cancel a vacation/reservation. Remember, anyone can make ADRs, even offsite guests and don't have to be linked to your reservation in any way. If you have already booked and paid for any restaurants and/or dinner shows, and then a FD promo/discount is released, you can contact Disney Dining once you modify your reservation to include the FD code and give them your reservation number, and they will credit you the amount you pre-paid. This type of refund also takes 2 billing cycles or about 2 months.

Hopefully this info will give everyone an overview of the current Free Dining Guidelines.
Click to expand...


:worship: :worship: :worship: :worship: :worship: :worship: :worship:
You are the best!!
 
PrincessTiffany said:
If you already have an existing reservation that falls within the dates of a FD promo, you can call and have the FD code added to modify that reservation. You can not add the FD code on line, you will need to call WDW Reservations, 407-W-Disney. You do NOT have to rebook, your reservation number does not change and there is not a fee - if you are within your 45 day window, they can charge you a $50.00 change fee, but, most FD promos come out before the 45 day window, so this shouldn't be an issue. If you have already paid your package in full, WDW will refund you the monetary difference - this can take up to 2 billing cycles or about 2 months. Each resort is only allotted so many FD rooms, so if you call and your resort is sold out of FD promo rooms, you can change your resort and do not have to cancel or pay a fee and your reservation number stays the same. If your existing reservation is a room only reservation, then you would have toTy cancel and rebook under a Magic Your Way Package to receive the FD discount.
Click to expand...

Thank-you so much for explaining this in detail! So many people on here just simply reply and say "you can get the code applied" or "you have to cancel and rebook" so it's completely confusing to get two different responses. Now I know that I can make a package reservation online and can phone later and have the code applied and won't have to rebook (as long as there is availability with that promo at that resort). :)
 
PrincessTiffany said:
Maybe this will help with all of the reoccurring questions and misunderstandings that keep popping up about the WDW Free Dining Promotion and Promotion Guidelines (Of course, this info will be based on Free Dining Guidelines for the past 7 years, Disney can change their policies at any time.):
Click to expand...

:woohoo: Thank you SO much for this. Although we've been to WDW many times, I've never used a dining plan and don't know anything about free dining. I'm hoping we can use any new offer coming up for our upcoming trip with other family members and I'm the planner. Your post pretty much answered EVERY question that I have. :thumbsup2 SUPER HELPFUL!! Thank you! :banana:
 
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