BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Offer is currently open to Disney Visa cardholders.Rumor has it this offer will open to the general public on March 5th.From the Chase site... Savor every moment with a Free dining plan.Get a FREE dining plan when you purchase a non-discounted 5-night/6-day Magic Your Way room and ticket package at select Walt Disney World® Resort Hotels for stays most nights 8/25 – 9/29/2012!As a Disney's Visa® Cardmember, you can treat your family to a great Disney vacation complete with meals. Take advantage of this special offer. Plus, when you stay at a select Disney Resort Hotel, you'll enjoy an array of special Disney touches that lets you do things like:Spend more quality time with your family and friends with a benefit where a Theme Park is open extra time each day to enjoy select attractions! (Valid Theme Park admission and Resort ID required.)Get around with ease - thanks to complimentary motorcoach transportation between Orlando International Airport and your Disney Resort Hotel AND throughout Walt Disney World® Resort, as well.Experience amazing entertainment for everyone - fantastic pools included! 1. Important Details: No group rates or other discounts apply. Excludes suites and campsites. Advance reservations required. With the Disney dining plan, children ages 3-9 must choose from children's menu if available. Excludes gratuities and alcoholic beverages. Some table service restaurants may have limited or no availability at time of package purchase. Deposit must be made at the time of booking with your Disney's Visa Card.Offer made by Disney. Chase Bank USA, N.A. and its affiliates are not affiliates of Disney and are not responsible for offer fulfillment. Walt Disney Travel Company: CST# 1022229-50SM, © Disneyhttp://www.disneyrew...freedinemarch12 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marilyn 19 Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 Too bad it's never available for campsites. GaDawgFan.....Kelly 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lil Lisa 53 Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 I called yesterday when I got it and this one doesn't apply to the campsites either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 Nope... they actually put it in the fine print this time. The reason I hear most often is that it's because you are technically allowed 10 people on a campsite and people would book the cheapest site just to get free dining. If they could manage to get their reservation system under control (wishful thinking) they could very easily limit this to 4 or 6 people on a campsite and offer it.Ah well.... a girl can dream... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lil Lisa 53 Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 Nope... they actually put it in the fine print this time. The reason I hear most often is that it's because you are technically allowed 10 people on a campsite and people would book the cheapest site just to get free dining. If they could manage to get their reservation system under control (wishful thinking) they could very easily limit this to 4 or 6 people on a campsite and offer it.Ah well.... a girl can dream...I missed the fine print on this one. Darn! I could have saved myself a phone call. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campingpixi 11 Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 darn!! they could have saved me thousands!! LOL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeymouse1 25 Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 I wish they would do away with free dining so they would beable to bring back good food on the menus and get rid of the dumbed down versions they use now! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marilyn 19 Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 They could also charge for every person on the reservation and then give free dining. Which is better is hard to say. Personally, we are going to eat at the campsite from now on-with an occasional meal out. The food choices are good but the prices keep going up and we can eat at the motorhome, relax, and visit in the loop. It's a win, win IMO. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campingpixi 11 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 What really burns me is that they assume that it is only campers that would take advantage of the free dining and abuse it. I heard from my sister that someone at her work booked a package with 1 day of tickets at the poly and said they had 4 adults on the reservation (added her parents names) just to get double the free dining credits then when they got there they bought the extra tickets they needed for their trip and enjoyed being able to have 2 table service, 2 counter service, and 2 snacks for each of them for 2 weeks for FREE!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 No matter how I do the math, I cannot get it to work out as "free", and in fact when I add it up and compare to what I pay for my trip including food and dining at the restaurants we want, I come out way ahead doing it my way. Now for my plug for healthy eating. Now I am no health food nut, but I gotta tell ya, folks, these dining plans, free or not, encourage high sodium, high fat over eating. Not to mention your vacation is suddenly being planned around where you are going to eat, whether you want to admit it or not. DEATH TO THE DINING PLANS!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doodlebug....Cherie 461 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Agreed, Jim We did the "free dining" once, never again! We felt like all we were doing was eating and it wasn't even great food! Give me a campsite and a grill any day! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campingpixi 11 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 I am very different when it comes to that. When I am on vacation I am NOT cooking or grilling and I like being able to pay for my meals upfront and not have to pay out of pocket at every place I eat. The food may not be gourmet at most locations but it is far better then the fair we get at home so I get the dining plan and run wild but do not schedule my parks around my dining it is very easy to cancel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hotmamac aka Misty 11 Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 I just switched my Beach Club reservation to include the free dining. I had originally booked it with a 30% discount on the room. Taking away the 30% and adding the free dining plan will tack on around $790 which is less than $100 a day for the four of us. While my kids are not big eaters, I figured $100 a day in Disney world for 4 people is a bargain, plus the dining plan now includes the refillable mug for each of us. And I love the idea of it being paid for in advance so that the only pocket money I need is for shopping! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 It depends on the mood of the cook. First time we stayed at All-Stars with the plan. Last time he said no dining plan (he worked during the day and we were at the Fort so he cooked dinner) the kids and I enjoyed a quick service meal at the parks... next time he doesn't want to cook! I liked it better last time but we did miss eating at Rose & Crown & Y&Yeti table service... so it all depends on the cook. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeymouse1 25 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 You would think they would includ campers along as they were in a prefered sight and had four or less in the party, or if your party had more than four make them book an additional sight or pay a sir charge per head Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeymouse1 25 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Mabey with the new fast pass system they are also working on acomplet all-inclusive program where they tell you what to do what time to do it what time to eat for one fat fee. (flat fee)Like a Disney sandles resort Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 People will take advantage any chance they get. I read in "other" places a couple years ago about folks booking rooms at a value so they could get free dining, park and use the pool. Then they would rent a house in Windsor or wherever. I also saw what Jess talked about too. I can only imagine how they would work the system if the campsites were included.I imagine what it boils down to is cold, hard cash with Disney.The mark-up between any discounts and the rack rate of campsites during value season is not enough for them to offer free dining for even 4 people, much less more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Lots of locals book the values for Free Dining and dont use the room, just stay at home Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 I am very different when it comes to that. When I am on vacation I am NOT cooking or grillingI thought you said that's why you take your hubby with you, we've seen some of the cooking that man does!!!!!!! :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 ...booked a package with 1 day of tickets at the poly and said they had 4 adults on the reservation (added her parents names) just to get double the free dining credits then when they got there they bought the extra tickets they needed for their trip and enjoyed being able to have 2 table service, 2 counter service, and 2 snacks for each of them for 2 weeks for FREE!! Unless you want to eat a TON of food (and I mean a TON)... I'm not sure how anyone makes out adding people to their reservation like this. DH and I are "good eaters" and we couldn't finish what they gave us with ONE TS/QS/Snack per day.The dining credits (no matter how many you have) are tied to the number of nights you book the package with, which means even if you extend your stay once you get there, your dining credits are going to expire on the original package end date. In other words, you can't book a week for 4 people, then get there and extend it for another week and keep using the original dining credits up.And also you have to buy the 2 day minimum park tickets for everyone on your reservation to get free dining. That means they're buying $300+ in park tickets just to get a bunch of extra food I can't imagine anyone could possibly eat?Unless I'm missing something (very possible) it sounds in this case like they *think* they're scamming the system, but I'm not so sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Some folks were using the extra credits for signature meals every night, and this is weird, but we might could actually use extra dining credits. We are more two table service a day type people.Sit down breakfast about 10:30 - 11:00 am (usually Trails End), then sit down dinner around 7 - 8 pm, sometimes Signature.So with the dining plan for just the two of us, we have a hard time using all the counter service, and pay cash for some extra sit down.That's why we only get the dining plan every once in a blue moon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campingpixi 11 Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I thought you said that's why you take your hubby with you, we've seen some of the cooking that man does!!!!!!! :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: LOL nope he is on vacation too.. so no cooking for him either :)Unless you want to eat a TON of food (and I mean a TON)... I'm not sure how anyone makes out adding people to their reservation like this. DH and I are "good eaters" and we couldn't finish what they gave us with ONE TS/QS/Snack per day.That's the truth.. we had 10 counter service and 16 snacks left at the end of a 14 night stay so we went to the contemp and used them up to stock the fridge for the ride home.The dining credits (no matter how many you have) are tied to the number of nights you book the package with, which means even if you extend your stay once you get there, your dining credits are going to expire on the original package end date. In other words, you can't book a week for 4 people, then get there and extend it for another week and keep using the original dining credits upto me that would be stupid to extend your stay a whole week while on the dining plan when you can just go in and book another trip right then and there that would include the dining plan. Talk about a duh moment.. if they got the room to give you I am sure they would have no problem with taking your money for extra tickets and dining plan. And also you have to buy the 2 day minimum park tickets for everyone on your reservation to get free dining. That means they're buying $300+ in park tickets just to get a bunch of extra food I can't imagine anyone could possibly eat?Unless I'm missing something (very possible) it sounds in this case like they *think* they're scamming the system, but I'm not so sure.The only thing I can think is that they thought that they could dine in all signature dining for their stay but I am sure the tips they had to pay when they got there is what made the idea so stupid! Oh well to each their own.. I would never try and do it.. Disney already got everyone by the round hairys the second you book a room/package Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 The only thing I can think is that they thought that they could dine in all signature dining for their stay but I am sure the tips they had to pay when they got there is what made the idea so stupid! Oh well to each their own.. I can almost see doing this if you wanted to do a ton of signature dining, but you're right - you're still going to have to fork over the gratuity. And the few times we do signature dining, 2 of us without drinks usually clocks in at $100-$150. If we go nuts and get drinks, apps and desserts, it might be even more. Considering adult beverages, apps and tip isn't included in DDP, you could easily still have to cough up $50+ a meal out of pocket.And yeah, last time we did DDP we ended up with so many QS credits leftover, that on the last day we "bought" lunch for 6 of our friends! Not to mention had a fridge full of desserts.Plus these days, more often than not we like to share a few appetizers to try new things, and maybe split an entree. DDP definitely doesn't work for that.But as you say... to each his own! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Update: Disney has just added the Art of Animation to the Free Dining offer. Same terms apply. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Wow, initial bookings not up to expectations? Maybe they overpriced it.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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