Question about Free Dining Promo

[mshanson3121]

I was looking at past dates for Free Dining, and so for example, the latest promotion ran until December 23rd, but was blacked out on Nov 21-24, Nov 28-Dec 8...

So, is my understanding correct that, what that means is:

You could have booked the Free Dining promo, with an arrival date of November 25, 26, or 27th, even if you stayed until December 2nd (a blacked out date), because your arrival date fell in between the black out dates? So basically, the eligibility for Free Dining is based on your arrival date, not stay dates per se?

Also, is Port Orleans Riverside normally included in Free Dining?

And, do the Room Only discounts work the same way (so if I had booked a trip arriving say November 25th, would I have gotten the discount for my entire stay, or just the nights that weren't blacked out)?

 

[Lynne M]

Moving this to the Discount Codes & Rates board.

 

[kaytieeldr]

1.You could have booked the Free Dining promo, with an arrival date of November 25, 26, or 27th, even if you stayed until December 2nd (a blacked out date), because your arrival date fell in between the black out dates? So basically, the eligibility for Free Dining is based on your arrival date, not stay dates per se?

2. Also, is Port Orleans Riverside normally included in Free Dining?

3.And, do the Room Only discounts work the same way (so if I had booked a trip arriving say November 25th, would I have gotten the discount for my entire stay, or just the nights that weren't blacked out)?

1. Yes, but past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

2. Probably, some Dates, if Disney needs to offer incentive to book there.

3. If the % discount is available for your whole stay.

 

[Disneylover99]

I was looking at past dates for Free Dining, and so for example, the latest promotion ran until December 23rd, but was blacked out on Nov 21-24, Nov 28-Dec 8...

So, is my understanding correct that, what that means is:

You could have booked the Free Dining promo, with an arrival date of November 25, 26, or 27th, even if you stayed until December 2nd (a blacked out date), because your arrival date fell in between the black out dates? So basically, the eligibility for Free Dining is based on your arrival date, not stay dates per se?

Also, is Port Orleans Riverside normally included in Free Dining?

And, do the Room Only discounts work the same way (so if I had booked a trip arriving say November 25th, would I have gotten the discount for my entire stay, or just the nights that weren't blacked out)?

Yes, Fd is typically based on your arrival date. So if you check in on Nov. 27th, you could get FD for up to 2 weeks.
Riverside only offers some Fd dates. I think November/December dates were excluded this year.
For Room only discounts, all dates you want to stay must fall within the room discount dates offered.

 

[mshanson3121]

Yes, Fd is typically based on your arrival date. So if you check in on Nov. 27th, you could get FD for up to 2 weeks.
Riverside only offers some Fd dates. I think November/December dates were excluded this year.
For Room only discounts, all dates you want to stay must fall within the room discount dates offered.

Any suggestions for rooms that can hold 5 that wouldn't "typically" (I know it's always subject to change, lol) be excluded from free dining in Nov/Dec?

 

[Disneylover99]

Any suggestions for rooms that can hold 5 that wouldn't "typically" (I know it's always subject to change, lol) be excluded from free dining in Nov/Dec?

I'm thinking CBR, Or AofA suites, maybe Fort wilderness cabins?

You might want to look at getting 2 rooms at a value resort. Sometimes, that works out to be cheaper than one room at a moderate. It's getting much harder to get FD in a standard room at a moderate.

 

[mshanson3121]

I'm thinking CBR, Or AofA suites, maybe Fort wilderness cabins?

You might want to look at getting 2 rooms at a value resort. Sometimes, that works out to be cheaper than one room at a moderate. It's getting much harder to get FD in a standard room at a moderate.

What is CBR? That's good to know. Yes, we did price two rooms at AS Movies, but it was the same price as the POR room. But if we'd have a better chance of getting FD. I mean, it's not the end of the world we don't get it, it won't make or break anything, but we'd like to plan accordingly to increase our chances of it.

 

[bigbabyblues]

CBR is Caribbean Beach. They have some rooms that will hold 5 people (2 queen beds and a pull down trundle type bed like POR has).

 

[Disneylover99]

What is CBR? That's good to know. Yes, we did price two rooms at AS Movies, but it was the same price as the POR room. But if we'd have a better chance of getting FD. I mean, it's not the end of the world we don't get it, it won't make or break anything, but we'd like to plan accordingly to increase our chances of it.

Look at other combinations. I randomly checked the dates Nov. 27 - Dec. 3.

Two standard rooms at All Star Music came to $236 compared to one standard room at CBR (for a family of five) was $299. A huge savings! And both these resorts offered FD last year. I think Movies was excluded from FD this year.

 

[mom2rtk]

What is CBR? That's good to know. Yes, we did price two rooms at AS Movies, but it was the same price as the POR room. But if we'd have a better chance of getting FD. I mean, it's not the end of the world we don't get it, it won't make or break anything, but we'd like to plan accordingly to increase our chances of it.

Even if the price was the same, I would prefer 2 rooms when traveling with other adults (not in my immediate family) needing to share a bathroom.

 

[mshanson3121]

Ut

Even if the price was the same, I would prefer 2 rooms when traveling with other adults (not in my immediate family) needing to share a bathroom.

See that doesn't bother me in the least. We travel with MIL every year. Though I would definitely want more space is we were going to be there longer, definitely. But for a few days, it's fine. I'll admit I'm nervous about the values. At first I though AS Movies would be great, the kids would love the theming/decor. And while we're far from fussy, I read some pretty negative recent reviews that made me hesitant. And since it cost the same for the dates we were traveling, I figured we'd go with the "nicer" resort, especially since this was her first experience of Disney.

I'd be content to rent a condo at Windsor Hills (etc) since it's cheaper, but MIL really doesn't want to have to rent a car, do the driving, and cooking etc... since it's a short trip. I think she feels like this is kind of a "special occasion" trip, especially now that her sister is joining us (her sister has been through a REALLY hard time the last couple years, and is just the sweetest woman you could ever meet), so we all want to make it special for her. So with that, MIL really wants to "splurge" and more "relaxing/luxurious", if that makes sense. And I'm fine with that. But, it's easier for her - she's only paying for 1. I need to pay for 3 of us, so I'm trying to create a "special, relaxing, luxurious" Disney trip - on a very small/tight budget.... LOL. I really need to keep tickets (including a day at SW), lodging and food to absolutely no more than $1500 US for the three of us.

 

[ottawamom]

The Values are just fine. There are a lot of very picky people who do resort reviews. If you are comfortable in a Holiday Inn Express or a Hampton Inn the Values will be good. They don't have the same amenities as the moderates but I find we're hardly in the room. We're at Disney and spend the majority of our time in the parks.

The buses are fine. It does get a bit crowded at park closing but it is totally doable.

 

[mshanson3121]

The Values are just fine. There are a lot of very picky people who do resort reviews. If you are comfortable in a Holiday Inn Express or a Hampton Inn the Values will be good. They don't have the same amenities as the moderates but I find we're hardly in the room. We're at Disney and spend the majority of our time in the parks.

The buses are fine. It does get a bit crowded at park closing but it is totally doable.

Good to know. I do love the looks of ASM. AoA is my "dream" (do they still do Animation Academy there?) but again, by the time we paid for two values, it was actually more than POR.

 

[mom2rtk]

Good to know. I do love the looks of ASM. AoA is my "dream" (do they still do Animation Academy there?) but again, by the time we paid for two values, it was actually more than POR.

You wouldn't need 2 rooms if you got one of the suites.

And the only non-suites at AOA (LM rooms) aren't typically included in free dining.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

What is CBR? That's good to know. Yes, we did price two rooms at AS Movies, but it was the same price as the POR room. But if we'd have a better chance of getting FD. I mean, it's not the end of the world we don't get it, it won't make or break anything, but we'd like to plan accordingly to increase our chances of it.

Unfortunately, there's really no way to "plan accordingly" when it comes to these discounts. Even if the resort you chose is included in a promo, it doesn't mean it will have availability for your chosen dates.

IMHO, there are two ways to approach this. You can either book the resort you think you will like now and then attempt to modify the reservation when the promos come out (and be prepared to switch resorts/room categories if the promo is not available for what you've booked). Or simply wait until the promo is released and book ASAP (we usually create a list of our preferences in order, so we have a sense of what we would be happy with when we go in to book). Quite honestly, if you know your dates and you are planning on booking a package with tickets (and/or dining), I would probably book that soon as WDW ticket prices typically increase in February. If you book the package now, you will lock in current ticket prices. Just know, if you modify that package in any way (including adding a free dining promo), that change will be subject to the new ticket prices. I've run into situations where locking in that ticket price actually trumped the free dining promo once the ticket price increased. I hope that makes sense.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Good to know. I do love the looks of ASM. AoA is my "dream" (do they still do Animation Academy there?) but again, by the time we paid for two values, it was actually more than POR.

I would price out the AoA suites. It may price out around the same as one room at POR and you would have much more space.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And while we're far from fussy, I read some pretty negative recent reviews that made me hesitant.

What was the ratio of positive to negative reviews?

 

[disneydreamer1979]

My family is a fan of POP Century. We've stayed there many times and always enjoy it. I've stayed at AOA once and although I loved the theming on the grounds, I still like POP better.

 

[mshanson3121]

I would price out the AoA suites. It may price out around the same as one room at POR and you would have much more space.

I'd have to go back, but it was almost $100 more per night than POR.

What was the ratio of positive to negative reviews?

I'm honestly not sure overall. I just know that as I was going through the recent reviews (the last few months or so), they were noticeably more negative than positive.

 

[su_A_ve]

I used to go for a mod instead of a value, during FD, because, you would get the fridge, coffee-maker and upgraded dining plan. Fridges are available at all resorts, and the refurb rooms at POP now have coffee-makers. And the latest FD promo only includes QSDP.