|
I'm hesitant to post this because it's not confirmed but I also don't want anyone to miss out. I'm hearing rumblings that free dining is coming for the fall and the booking will begin for Disney Visa card holders on Monday, gen pub on Wednesday. Again, not confirmed, but that's what I'm hearing. If anyone is interested in having me book them, send me a PM. I'm sending emails to anyone currently booked with me for that timeframe. Stand by.
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2015 14:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 18:44 |
|
|
Braksgirl posted:I'm hesitant to post this because it's not confirmed but I also don't want anyone to miss out. I'm hearing rumblings that free dining is coming for the fall and the booking will begin for Disney Visa card holders on Monday, gen pub on Wednesday. Again, not confirmed, but that's what I'm hearing. If anyone is interested in having me book them, send me a PM. Yay! Hopefully it happens or some other deal comes out. I hate waiting until summer time to sort that poo poo out. And Disney now offers the ability to alter my reservation online meaning I don't have to listen to hold music for 2 hours to switch it over and rack up a huge phone bill!! Now I just have to hope that the website doesn't crash! Just making sure, Wednesday meaning a week from now, not tomorrow, correct?
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2015 15:11
|
|
|
Yes, Wednesday next week.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2015 15:31
|
|
|
Could someone assume I'm really dumb and explain what "free dining" is? Like a gratis dining plan for booking during certain times or at certain places on property? I ask because my spouse has decided that she doesnt want to wait another year to go back as we had planned, and it would be nice to save a couple of bucks.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2015 22:40
|
|
|
Yep, you get a free dining plan based on your hotel. Value resorts get the Basic plan with 2 quick service and one snack a day Moderate resorts get the Plus plan with 1 quick service, 1 table service, and one snack a day Deluxe resorts get the Deluxe plan with 2 tables service and one snack a day The moderate/Plus plan is the sweet spot. You get a great hotel and a great meal each day and can snack the rest of the time. Two table services a day is just bonkers amounts of food and also takes up a lot of your time. I recommend Coronado Springs or Port Orleans for your resort.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2015 22:45
|
|
|
The moderate free dining is the best. I've rolled the dice on free dining every single year with friends and it'll never go away. You just have to be willing to go in September/October. Also when you're there, you can call a number to get a "Bounce Back" offer and lock in free dining right there (with a $200 deposit) so you don't have to worry about it the following year. (If you plan on coming next year.) We checked into the resort last September and booked our 2015 trip when we got into the room like a bunch of psychopaths.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2015 23:14
|
|
|
I'm booked at a deluxe resort in mid-September, and I bet I'm going to miss it by like a week.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2015 23:18
|
|
|
Loucks posted:Could someone assume I'm really dumb and explain what "free dining" is? Like a gratis dining plan for booking during certain times or at certain places on property? I ask because my spouse has decided that she doesnt want to wait another year to go back as we had planned, and it would be nice to save a couple of bucks. One thing to remember, nothing in life is "free". Free dining when I looked at it last year is really a choice between 30% (or so) off normal rate on the room or free dining. If you don't care for the DDP you should be able to take the room discount.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 00:43
|
|
|
WhiteHowler posted:I'm booked at a deluxe resort in mid-September, and I bet I'm going to miss it by like a week. It's usually starting around September 2nd. One thing to note is that even if your vacation goes outside the dates but has a day within it, you get it for your whole stay. Example: I checked in on 9/24/13 and it ended 9/25/13 and I got it for the whole stay.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 02:12
|
|
|
The NY Giants just released their schedule and they are playing in Tampa Bay on Nov 8th. Looks like I'll be planning a trip to WDW for my birthday weekend wrapping up with a side trip to Tampa for the football game.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 02:34
|
|
|
WhiteHowler posted:I'm booked at a deluxe resort in mid-September, and I bet I'm going to miss it by like a week. I've got my eye on it for you.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 04:27
|
|
|
skipdogg posted:One thing to remember, nothing in life is "free". Free dining when I looked at it last year is really a choice between 30% (or so) off normal rate on the room or free dining. If you don't care for the DDP you should be able to take the room discount. Braksgirl posted:I've got my eye on it for you.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 06:24
|
|
|
What he means is that you can't stack discounts so a 30% off room discount may save you more money than free dining, depending on where you're staying because you have to pay full room price to get free dining. Typically, with a room discount you save the most money when you stay in a Deluxe resort. That savings may offset the dining costs, especially if you were planning to eat on the cheap and you don't eat much.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 13:58
|
|
|
WhiteHowler posted:Wait, do they charge you more than the offseason rate if you take the free DDP, or are you just saying you lose the customary room discounts they tend to offer a couple months out from the offseason? You lose the discount on the room. Say you're a family of 4 and you're staying at a moderate resort with a full price rate of 400 dollars a night. Disney is running their free dining promotion at this time. Option 1: Take free dining plan, and pay 400 dollars a night Option 2: Decline free dining plan, get 30% off room, pay 280 dollars a night. The normal DDP plan runs about 160 a day for a party with 2 adults and 2 kids so it would be worth it if you would use it. If you can eat for less that 120 a day or don't want to deal with the DDP, you're better off taking the room discount.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 16:41
|
|
|
Tim Whatley posted:It's usually starting around September 2nd. One thing to note is that even if your vacation goes outside the dates but has a day within it, you get it for your whole stay. Example: I checked in on 9/24/13 and it ended 9/25/13 and I got it for the whole stay. This used to be the case, but I'm not so sure anymore. I have a client going from June 10 - 17 and there's a room only discount for June 16 - August 27. Disney wouldn't let me apply it to her reservation even though she's there for that date. This was the first time I've ever had them not let me apply a promo due to dates.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 21:10
|
|
|
Have they started selling these bad boys in the parks yet? 
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2015 21:40
|
|
|
BlueBayou posted:Have they started selling these bad boys in the parks yet? They gave them away at the Annual Passholder preview of the Tomorrowland Sneak Peak in Epcot. Which, whatever, fine. I'm not bitter. Nope.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2015 02:38
|
|
|
TheBigBudgetSequel posted:They gave them away at the Annual Passholder preview of the Tomorrowland Sneak Peak in Epcot. Which, whatever, fine. I'm not bitter. Nope. The pin in the trailer is way fancier than the ones I have :[ I want a fancy one. Dammit Disney, sell me a fancy Tomorrowland pin dagnabbit!
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2015 22:50
|
|
|
Report and photos coming soon (still catching up on a week of missed work), but for now there's this... Remember what I said about Magic Bands being very, very bad? Very bad. This is not for the room or park tickets; it's just food, drink and souvenirs. Very bad.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2015 23:38
|
|
|
Yowch.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 00:49
|
|
|
Lincoln posted:Report and photos coming soon (still catching up on a week of missed work), but for now there's this... Have you been on a cruise before?
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 01:57
|
|
|
Lincoln posted:Report and photos coming soon (still catching up on a week of missed work), but for now there's this... Dole whips and turkey legs ain't cheap.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 02:08
|
|
|
And it was worth it right?
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 03:20
|
|
|
Once I got carried away with room charge when I did a mini-vacation. I spent over 150 dollars. You just made that seem insignificant.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 06:39
|
|
|
I just want to know what only cost $2 at the end there. That's cheaper than a bottle of water.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 06:44
|
|
|
Our last cruise on RCL was an 12-day Caribbean that hit 9 ports. Imagine what we racked up in booze, the deluxe restaurant dinners, souvenirs, shore excursions.. now double that
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 13:44
|
|
|
demonR6 posted:Our last cruise on RCL was an 12-day Caribbean that hit 9 ports. Imagine what we racked up in booze, the deluxe restaurant dinners, souvenirs, shore excursions.. now double that Easily done. Did a 10 day Panama Canal cruise and the bill at the end was over $1800 for 2. Mostly booze and shore excursions. "May I refill your poolside bucket of ice cold beers for $18 sir?"
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 15:32
|
|
|
$2300 including the Seiko watch that I bought one night when I was really drunk.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 17:20
|
|
|
Agreed, our 4 day Disney cruise in December racked up a lot more than our 9 day Disney stay the previous year, and both trips included dining. Totally worth it though. I'll post our video from the trip shortly, it was pretty great.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2015 17:24
|
|
|
Trip report after 5 nights and 47 miles walked. Caribbean Beach Resort - The room was acceptable. It's been many years since I stayed at one of the value resorts, but I'm not sure that our room was much of an improvement over staying at one of them. The outside theming consisted entirely of plants, and it didn't give off much of a Caribbean beach feel. The gift shop, restaurant, and pool area was much more nicely themed. We only ate breakfast at the food court area, and it was generally good and not terribly expensive, but it was incredibly crowded and the staff were not very friendly. The pools were very nice and had a separate play area for children under 48" with some small water slides and other really cool water features. The pools probably made up for my lack of enthusiasm for the rest of the resort. The parks were as excellent as always, although more crowded than I expected at this time of year. With the new fastpass system, we never waited for a ride. However, with a four year old we did not even attempt many of the high demand rides. I don't think the new system would work well for folks trying to hit all of the highlights of each park. We made our reservations the day fastpass opened up for our week and still had to settle for some bad times for high demand attractions, which meant we generally couldn't obtain new fastpasses after we used up our allotted three. After lunch, lines became so long that it generally wasn't practical to ride anything, particularly at the Magic Kingdom. My son (4 YO) had a great time just looking at everything. He didn't enjoy the rides as much as I expected, but he really loved the large play areas at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Boma Buffet - Delicious African themed buffet. The selection is large and varied and everything I tried was excellent. The desserts were not as good (save for the zebra domes and some small coffee/chocolate treats), but I'm not sure that I even care. They did have some fancy mini cupcakes with tiny chocolate mickey mouse pictures on them which my son loved. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is also amongst the most impressive of Disney properties in appearance and is worth a visit on its own. Tusker House Breakfast - Expensive, crowded, loud. The house juice is pretty good and the coffee was notably good. Everything on the buffet is fresh and there is a pretty good selection. We had four characters on the morning we ate; Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy. They spend about a minute apiece at your table and will take photographs and sign autograph books. The tables are so close together people were constantly having to move to get into their group pictures or out of the way of neighboring tables. Yak & Yeti Local Café - We ate here on what seemed to be the hottest and most crowded day of our vacation. We tried the chicken curry and the couscous wrap, and both were delicious. However, we were unable to sit in the shade and it was extremely difficult to eat hot food under the sun. Under better circumstances, this probably would've been the best restaurant other than Tangierine Café. Yak & Yeti Table Service - The food was decent, the portions were huge, and the service was good. The restaurant was nicely themed and had a good atmosphere. I got the steak and shrimp and it was the best of the entrees we tried. The fried wonton dessert was also delicious. ABC Commissary - Pretty standard burgers and fries. Lots of indoor seating and a lack of other compelling places to eat at Hollywood Studios led us to this choice. Tangerine Café - This is the second trip I've eaten here, and I think this place serves the best food at Disney World. I got the beef and lamb schwarma, and it is a delicious and massive platter of schwarma, hummus, bread, tabboulah. It is absolutely fantastic. Café Marrakesh - After Tangerine Café, we were really excited about Café Marrakesh. The food did not live up to our expectations. I got the beef couscous with prunes and it was quite good, but the dishes that my wife (an extremely dry chicken dish) and mother-in-law (vegetable couscous) ordered were not particularly good. The desserts were a step up (the fruit bowl in particular was about a pound of fresh fruit with ice cream) and the music and dancing was very good, but not enough to recommend this restaurant. Teppan Edo - My biggest disappointment of the trip. The service was excellent and the chef put on a good show. The food, however, was just decent. My wife got the steak, which was pretty bland. I got the scallops, which were better, but still not up to what I'd expect. We ordered a side of edamame which was unusually small for a Disney offering (my 4 year old ate the entire dish himself). The green tea cheesecake for dessert was good, but overall, I was pretty disappointed with this restaurant. Be Our Guest - Long line to enter, even with reservations. The theming is beautiful and the food was very good. I got the croquet monsieur, which was the highlight of lunch. My wife got the braised pork, which was good but had an unusually large amount of fat. We also got the French onion soup, which was just ok. I thought the dark room theming was pretty amazing, but the rest of family wasn't a fan so we ate elsewhere, but I'd certainly recommend walking around the restaurant to check out all the décor. Biergarten - German buffet with live entertainment and communal seating. We sat next to a couple celebrating their honeymoon, which was sort of neat considering we had celebrated our honeymoon at Biergarten so many years ago. The buffet has a large selection of sausages and various German salads, nothing too exotic. Everything was generally good. The house-made pickles were especially delicious. They were serving a grapefruit flavored beer that was absolutely fantastic (I like grapefruit more than I like beer, so take that with a grain of salt). There was nothing on the dessert buffet that any of us particularly cared for. The performers perform German songs and a couple of really cool displays that my son really enjoyed. There's also a moon projected on the ceiling that apparently moves. We also tried a number of snacks from the Flower and Garden Festival kiosks, and they were generally good to great (the burnt ends has from the American Pavilion probably being our favorite). The only restaurants I would ever pay for outside of a Disney setting are Tangerine Café, Boma, and Yak & Yeti Local Cafe. They are good enough to justify even the inflated price, and we will probably eat there again when we return. Teppan Edo and Marrakesh were pretty disappointing. Overall we had a great time and I'd love to go back anytime. Thanks to Braksgirl for making all of our arrangements!
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2015 17:07
|
|
|
My pleasure! Sounds like you had a great time. I love the restaurant reviews! You listed a bunch of places I haven't tried yet so that's very helpful.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2015 01:58
|
|
|
Free Dining for Fall is available for everyone effective now on the Disney site. Have at it people. ETA: And in true Disney style, I can't modify my reservation online because "Something" on my reservation can't be modified online, so none of it can. and their phone lines are busy and there reservation system is down online so I can't even look up my reservation number. I love Disney World. I hate dealing with their archaic reservation system Happitoo fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Apr 27, 2015 |
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2015 12:06
|
|
|
The whole site is down. This happens EVERY time they release a promo and it's so frustrating. The phone lines are maxed out too. I managed to save one goon some cash so far. Once everything's back up, I'll be doing what I can to save some more.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2015 13:55
|
|
|
Update: I can think I've got almost everyone what they wanted. I'm still working on a few. Lest anyone question my dedication, I'm doing all this from my phone during a power outage.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2015 20:15
|
|
|
Is there a ideal time to start booking everything? Do you need to pay in full right away if you go through someone like you Braksgirl?
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2015 23:18
|
|
|
The ideal time to book is at least 180 days out so you can get the dining reservations you want. If you book through me it costs you nothing extra. There's a $200 deposit on a package with the total balance due 45 days before check in, same as if you booked it yourself.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2015 00:02
|
|
|
I have booked a last minute trip to the WDW area for a week starting tomorrow. I have done 0 research aside from reading this thread and skimming the last few pages of posts. I will be travelling with 2 others (all late 20's), the hotel we're staying at is not IN the park but very close. I'm looking for general information on what the best way to attack this would be as I am also interested in checking out some nearby attractions outside of WDW. A couple of dumb questions, apologies in advance if this has already been answered in the OP but I missed it.. If I book a multi day pass (using either park hopper or magic your way), does it have to be consecutive or can I check out the park on day 1&2, go check out other Orlando area sites on day 3&4 and go back to the park on 5&6? On the same note as splitting up days.. are there recommended days for checking out certain parks? I'm personally not a huge huge Disney fan, but my co-travellers are and so I want to make sure we don't miss something that only happens once a week that they might really dig. I've already yelped some other attractions in the area but if anyone has any recommendations on certain things to do outside of the park it would be appreciated. Epcot looks like the most appealing thing from the list of attractions at the park, but would you guys recommend anything else in that same vein that is more adult oriented? Like what is the most impressive zoo? I'm going to spend a good amount of time looking up the best bang for buck restaurants, I dont mind dropping good coin for good quality food. Also, I'm from Canada so are there USA only must have treats in the park that I should avoid missing? Lastly, are there any attractions or events that I would have had to book weeks ago just to see when I go there tomorrow? Did I f this up by not planning months in advance? Again sorry for the long post and dumb comments/questions, but this was sort of a last minute trip that I did not expect to happen.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2015 00:17
|
|
|
I'm driving for the next few hours but I'll think on it all and get back to you when I get home.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2015 02:50
|
|
|
Trying to make dinner reservations for the week of October 25. Should be available to book for our entire stay now according to Disney phone jockeys but it's not letting me  Is everything still FUBAR from the free dining release?
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2015 05:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 18:44 |
|
|
nimper posted:Trying to make dinner reservations for the week of October 25. Should be available to book for our entire stay now according to Disney phone jockeys but it's not letting me You can just have the phone reps do it for you, then make whatever changes you need to online.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2015 05:50
|
|