Free Dining For Annual Passholders?

[TinkOhio]

We received the flyer in the mail today about the Disney Visa free dining promo. Because we already had a short stay booked during the promo time period, I called to see if there is some sort of credit for the required ticket purchase because we already have annual passes. The CM said that you are basically stuck with the tickets in the DV special offer, and that they don’t give you credit for the ticket cost towards pass renewal (which they used to a while ago.)

The flyer says that the early DV discount is good through tomorrow, and that the public will have access to free dining starting on the 27th. Is there a chance that AP holders can take advantage of the free dining and receive some sort of credit for the mandatory ticket purchase then?

Thanks for any help!

 

[summerlvr]

I hope the CM you spoke to was mistaken. The last time I did a free dining package, I had guest services prioritize my tickets so that I was using my AP rather than the package ticket. Then when it was time to renew my AP, I was able to apply the credit for that ticket to my AP renewal. I just booked this current promotion for September, and plan to do that again, although this time I will be purchasing a new AP because my current one expires in June. In the past, date based tickets that haven't been used, and are technically "expired" have always retained their value.

 

[TinkOhio]

Thank you. I’ll try again this morning and see what the next CM says.

 

[TinkOhio]

Thank you. I’ll try again this morning and see what the next CM says.

Just off the phone with a knowledgeable CM. Now that we are Florida residents, we make payments on our annual passes monthly. Apparently, the only way to apply a credit from mandatory free dining ticket purchase is if you pay for your annual pass in full at time of purchase/renewal. So free dining will not save us money. Next time we renew, we’ll pay in full so that we can take advantage of free dining special offers.

 

[focusondisney]

Just off the phone with a knowledgeable CM. Now that we are Florida residents, we make payments on our annual passes monthly. Apparently, the only way to apply a credit from mandatory free dining ticket purchase is if you pay for your annual pass in full at time of purchase/renewal. So free dining will not save us money. Next time we renew, we’ll pay in full so that we can take advantage of free dining special offers.

That makes sense you can’t use them on the monthly payment. Why can’t you book free dining now, then hold the tickets until your next renewal? Then you can use those tickets & pay in full for your renewal? It wouldn’t save you money in the moment, but would at your next renewal.

 

[lanejudy]

You do have to buy the minimum ticket requirement. The expired PH ticket can be used as credit towards an AP — maybe a renewal but definitely towards a new AP.

Check your math and see if this is really the best offer for you. There may be room discounts that save more, especially since you have an AP on a monthly payment plan. If you do go with the "free dining" (which isn't free because you have to pay rack rate for the resort plus the ticket) make sure your ticket value doesn't exceed whatever FLR AP you plan to purchase next year. No refunds if the credit is more.

 

[TinkOhio]

You do have to buy the minimum ticket requirement. The expired PH ticket can be used as credit towards an AP — maybe a renewal but definitely towards a new AP.

Check your math and see if this is really the best offer for you. There may be room discounts that save more, especially since you have an AP on a monthly payment plan. If you do go with the "free dining" (which isn't free because you have to pay rack rate for the resort plus the ticket) make sure your ticket value doesn't exceed whatever FLR AP you plan to purchase next year. No refunds if the credit is more.

Thanks for this. I asked the more knowledgeable CM about that this morning, and she put me on hold to speak with guest services. She came back to say that the rules seem to change daily, and that guest services said it doesn’t work that way now. Seems like you can ask 10 different CMs the same question and get 10 different answers.

 

[lanejudy]

She came back to say that the rules seem to change daily, and that guest services said it doesn’t work that way now.

The rules about upgrading a fully-unused but expired ticket haven’t changed in years so I’m not sure what is causing their confusion.