free ddp

[motherof4]

Does anyone know if disney has announced the free dp yet?

[Strmchsr]

No, they have not. No word on if they will. If/when they do it'll appear in the accommodations forum and on the front page of Intercot. Nanc from Magical Journeys always posts the deals as soon as she can.

[hlkeck]

generally they release to disney visa card holders before the general public. nothing yet. any day now...

[Guya103]

No free dining yet?!? I am getting nervous. Do you think they won't offer it this year?

[faline]

It's possible it won't be offered; it's possible they will offer it in a different format; it's possible it will be offered just as it was last year - only Disney knows what they will do!

[jonahbear2006]

Ya know, we took the 40% off rate on a room and paid for dining and when I did the math it is essentially the very same thing as getting free dining. I wonder if they just wont do free dining this year. I havent heard yet either, as a disney visa member and we typically find out first. I would say take a discount on a hotel. It is essentially the same thing or really close to it, if you are getting lesser than 40%, obviously it wont match up totally, but it all comes out in the wash.

[Strmchsr]

No free dining yet?!? I am getting nervous. Do you think they won't offer it this year?

There's no way to know. Iger has been on record saying he wanted to cut back on discounts. My guess is they want to see how many people are booking for September then decide if they need any discount. So, while it's been announced around the first of April the last few years it could be this year they'll wait longer. My guess is that they will offer a "free" DDP but it will be tiered (quick service for values and regular for moderate and/or deluxe). I don't think they'd cut the promotion cold turkey. I could be wrong. That's just a guess, but given the pin codes and bounce back offers that went out that is at least an educated guess.

[tink'72]

I received a mailing yesterday; if i book by 4/29I would get Free dining. I forget the dates though.

[#1donaldfan]

I received a mailing yesterday; if i book by 4/29I would get Free dining. I forget the dates though.

The free dining mailing you got was it for basic dining or quick service? The one my mother recd was for the quick service.

[the other micki]

A friend of mine received a code for free quick service dining. However, she ended up paying $200-$300 and adding on the reg. plan instead. So, even if they offer only free quick service dining, there's a possiblity you'll be able to upgrade it to the reg. ddp and still save $$.

[psychotekkie]

Ya know, we took the 40% off rate on a room and paid for dining and when I did the math it is essentially the very same thing as getting free dining.

When I did the math, it would have been the same if there were just one of us in the room, but because there are 4 of us, a room discount didn't add up to as much as 4 free dining plans. Then again, we are staying in a Moderate. The hotel discount for the deluxe is a lot more money, so maybe then...

[Strmchsr]

When I did the math, it would have been the same if there were just one of us in the room, but because there are 4 of us, a room discount didn't add up to as much as 4 free dining plans. Then again, we are staying in a Moderate. The hotel discount for the deluxe is a lot more money, so maybe then...

In general the way it has gone is with the values the "free" DDP is better than a room discount for a family of 4. In moderates with 2 adults/2 kids it's about even. With more adults the "free" DDP has the slight edge, with less than 2 adults the room discount is better. With the deluxe resorts the room discount wins hands down. In doing all the calculations you have to remember that with the "free" DDP you have to pay the full rack rate (not the seasonal rate). I just let Wendy at Magical Journeys figure it out for me, then I never question whether I'm getting the best deal or not.

[Goes4FastPass]

Since we're wishing and speculating, I'll bet if "free" dining is offered this year it will be tiered with different levels of dining plan tied to accomdation levels in order to encourage value folks to buy moderate and moderate folks to buy deluxe.

We like the simplicity of the DDP and if they offer whatever they currently call 1TS, 1CS and 1snack per guest per night I will book at the first opportunity.