YOU Don't Get Free Dining, And YOU Don't Get Free Dining!

[jhaig]

So who out there got shut out from getting any type of discount from yesterday's frenzy of deals? Did anyone else feel like they were being penalized for having a previous reservation already booked, then not being able to get the FD or RO deal because of it? Oops sorry, you planned ahead by getting a room at the resort you wanted (garden wing at CR in my case), there is no "availability" for you. It's kinda like Directv giving all of their good deals to new customers only, while the loyal long time customers get squat. Why advertise great deals that not everyone can qualify for just because you already had a reservation? "No availability" to me means "We've already got your money. No reason to give you a break on anything". Well Disney, I spent 6 hours on hold yesterday to be finally told that we can't do anything for you.

Every year since FD has been offered I have been able to add the promo to my already-booked reservation with no problems with "availability". Now they've taken that away. And yes, I know all about pre-booking in anticipation of a FD deal. I have never looked at it that way. I'm a planner and like to get stuff done in advance. The FD is just a bonus if you can get it. I think by making it so difficult to get is the first step in eliminating FD for good.


Yes I'm venting

 

[Hopefully]

I'm not certain I understand your dilemma. If you couldn't apply either promo to your existing reservation why didn't you cancel that reservation and book a new one with the promo you wanted?
Was that not an option?
Folks are always clear here, that promos are limited and not all room types and categories are included. So you need to be willing to book what they offer - not necessarily apply a promo to what you have. That seems fair to me.
Am I missing something?

 

[AngiTN]

So who out there got shut out from getting any type of discount from yesterday's frenzy of deals? Did anyone else feel like they were being penalized for having a previous reservation already booked, then not being able to get the FD or RO deal because of it? Oops sorry, you planned ahead by getting a room at the resort you wanted (garden wing at CR in my case), there is no "availability" for you. It's kinda like Directv giving all of their good deals to new customers only, while the loyal long time customers get squat. Why advertise great deals that not everyone can qualify for just because you already had a reservation? "No availability" to me means "We've already got your money. No reason to give you a break on anything". Well Disney, I spent 6 hours on hold yesterday to be finally told that we can't do anything for you.

Every year since FD has been offered I have been able to add the promo to my already-booked reservation with no problems with "availability". Now they've taken that away. And yes, I know all about pre-booking in anticipation of a FD deal. I have never looked at it that way. I'm a planner and like to get stuff done in advance. The FD is just a bonus if you can get it. I think by making it so difficult to get is the first step in eliminating FD for good.


Yes I'm venting

Of course you are. Folks have said not to do that for years. Folks keep doing it. Every room rented without the promo means one less one offered on the promo.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Honestly, I've never thought it was a good idea to book in advance. You could've booked a new reservation yesterday and then just cancelled your original one. It may not mean the exact room or even resort you want, but then you have to decide what's more important, the room or the free dining. For us it was free dining, but we were only able to get our third choice when it came to a room.

 

[jhaig]

Honestly, I've never thought it was a good idea to book in advance. You could've booked a new reservation yesterday and then just cancelled your original one. It may not mean the exact room or even resort you want, but then you have to decide what's more important, the room or the free dining. For us it was free dining, but we were only able to get our third choice when it came to a room.

That's where my dilemma comes in. We like the Contemporary and realize that promos aren't always able to be used there simply because they never have a problem filling the hotel. I could have changed my room to a concierge suite at CR for about $13,000 - don't think so. In our case it's about the room and location. I always book in advance to get the resort and room I want and have always been able to add either RO or FD. It looks like those days are past. Just gotta suck it up I guess. We're still going to Disney so it can't be all bad.

 

[DisBuckMan]

That's where my dilemma comes in. We like the Contemporary and realize that promos aren't always able to be used there simply because they never have a problem filling the hotel. I could have changed my room to a concierge suite at CR for about $13,000 - don't think so. In our case it's about the room and location. I always book in advance to get the resort and room I want and have always been able to add either RO or FD. It looks like those days are past. Just gotta suck it up I guess. We're still going to Disney so it can't be all bad.

That's the difference in you and many of the FD people though....you're actually going to Disney regardless of whether you get the promotion or not. Staying WHERE YOU WANT, WHEN YOU WANT is most important to you, and I don't blame you for going ahead and booking that. If you can add FD to that, fine, if not that's fine too, and what many who only go if they can get FD don't understand. They want to pressure people not to book to increase THEIR chances of getting the promo...not realizing that FD isn't everyone's most important factor for going to Disney.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Promos exist to fill hotel rooms. Your hotel room was already booked. Why should they discount it?

 

[allysetraskos]

That's why everyone should wait to book a hotel... The more hotels booked the less Disney feels they need to offer free dining. If rooms are full there's no reason. I wouldn't be suprised if this is the last year for it.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Free dining is not a perk or a reward for loyalty, it's the exact opposite. It's meant to fill empty rooms. The problem with getting your own room booked ahead of time is that Disney figures with that category of room at that resort already sufficiently booked, they don't need to discount it in order to fill empty rooms. Free dining has been increasingly limited every year because they have fewer and fewer empty rooms to fill. This year it is even more limited than in prior years.

If you're going with the discount or without it, and you want to stay a certain type of room or resort whether it is discounted or not, there isn't much reason not to book it as soon as you can (especially if the resort or room type is in short supply to start with). That is the way to ensure that you get what you want. But the reason it's not discounted is because it is already sufficiently booked (and you're part of the reason it's booked). It's not a "penalty" and you aren't being "punished" for having forethought.

In the last few years, if it was the resort and the category one were most interested in and they were not flexible about that, it was wisest to book that first and if free dining turned out to be offered and it fit, then it was luck. Someone who wasn't going to go without free dining, however, would have been advised to wait and be flexible regarding resorts and room categories.

 

[BusyP76]

We booked ahead of time because we are going regardless. I knew we wanted specific dates because it is a birthday celebration and I knew we wanted a specific resort (birthday girl's dream resort). I also added a dining plan because we like the dining plan. My hope was if FD dropped I could apply the discount. Yesterday morning, 30 min after FD was released, I was able to modify my existing reservation to get FD but only if I moved to club level. My total was $200 and change less by modifying it so I did and got the additional perk of staying CL. But if it hadn't been financially beneficial for me to do so, I would've stayed with my original reservation and hoped for a room discount down the line. It's all a matter of what is most important to you and what you're willing to pay for.

 

[AngiTN]

That's where my dilemma comes in. We like the Contemporary and realize that promos aren't always able to be used there simply because they never have a problem filling the hotel. I could have changed my room to a concierge suite at CR for about $13,000 - don't think so. In our case it's about the room and location. I always book in advance to get the resort and room I want and have always been able to add either RO or FD. It looks like those days are past. Just gotta suck it up I guess. We're still going to Disney so it can't be all bad.

I posted elsewhere it's a double edged sword
The economy is better (a good thing) so it means more people are taking Disney vacations. More people taking Disney vacations mean more rooms booked, less of a need to offer promos to bring folks in (a bad thing)

 

[BellsFam]

Is this post real? Like are these serious issues?

 

[AngiTN]

Is this post real? Like are these serious issues?

They did end with a just venting. So yes I think it's real but it's not real serious. If that makes sense.

 

[RasberriPie13]

I was on hold for only about 1 1/2 hrs yesterday trying to get the Disney Visa FD, I had a room only reservation, but in my case I have a special room (handicap rm with roll-in Shower) so they told me I would have to switch hotels and blah blah, so I wasn't going to do that, I have friends and family also staying at the same resort. But I got the 20% off discount on the room and I also get a discount on my tickets (gov), so I am actually saving $450, if I was to try to get the FD I would have to pay the 450.00 to get FD. So i am happy with what I already have. No biggie, the money I saved will be spent on the food.

 

[GillianP1301]

If you absolutely will not go on your trip unless you get free dining, then I see absolutely no point in booking a room ahead of the promo being released. If free dining is just a nice to have, but you would still take the trip, then I can understand wanting to book early to ensure you get the resort you want. The availability of FD rooms is totally dependent on the vacancy rate of the resort at the time the promotion is released, so the more rooms booked, the less rooms on promo until eventually there will be no need for the promo at all.

Personally, after all the drama of the FD release yesterday, makes me really happy that I always book that deal on the bounce back offer.

 

[AngiTN]

If you absolutely will not go on your trip unless you get free dining, then I see absolutely no point in booking a room ahead of the promo being released. If free dining is just a nice to have, but you would still take the trip, then I can understand wanting to book early to ensure you get the resort you want. The availability of FD rooms is totally dependent on the vacancy rate of the resort at the time the promotion is released, so the more rooms booked, the less rooms on promo until eventually there will be no need for the promo at all.

Personally, after all the drama of the FD release yesterday, makes me really happy that I always book that deal on the bounce back offer.

I'm glad we don't even want free dining. It's a circus every year and only seems to get worse

 

[jhaig]

Is this post real? Like are these serious issues?

Uh like, yeah, fer shur . Totally.

 

[jhaig]

I'm glad we don't even want free dining. It's a circus every year and only seems to get worse

I don't think it'll be around much longer anyway

 

[Lindaland]

I was in the same boat, I booked the resort I wanted when I wanted (DD birthday) and hoped for FD. When I got on the phone, I could have had it, but we didn't want to change resorts or dates. Apparently 9/29-10/4 is in the dead zone of promotions (noticed others with those dates being locked out as well) but it wasn't worth it for us to change and we didn't qualify for a RO discount either! Go figure! We had planned this quick trip for food & wine so we were most definitely going, but yeah, FD would have made it all the more magical. My DD doesn't even know I am planning to surprise her with a cake & champagne, so excited about this trip!!

Maybe next year...

 

[Jadyreen1282]

I'm not going to delay booking my vacation so you can have free dining. 180 plus 10 is good. You getting a discount is none of my concern.

We book bounce back to avoid the pain.