Question about booking early?

[barnaby]

Say I book a trip for the end of August 2009 before the free dining (assuming it is offered) becomes official - Can I add the free dining special when it comes out to my trip if I book early?

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Yes, you can, if there are spots available for the dates and the resort you want.

I would book with Magical Journeys, they will automatically add new discounts as they come out, so you don't have to worry about it!

[barnaby]

Yes, you can, if there are spots available for the dates and the resort you want.

I would book with Magical Journeys, they will automatically add new discounts as they come out, so you don't have to worry about it!

Thanks! :)

We used Wendy from MJ last trip and definetely plan on using her again.

[goofiecrazy]

thats if they offer it again,but they should since they have the last few years.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

There is no guarantee that they'll offer it but if you book with MJ they WILL keep an eye open for any special deals and will snag them for you. They'll also remind you to sign up for DME and any parties etc that may be scheduled while you are there.

[CleveRocks]

Say I book a trip for the end of August 2009 before the free dining (assuming it is offered) becomes official - Can I add the free dining special when it comes out to my trip if I book early?The answer is MAYBE.

The free Disney Dining Plan is offered as a promotion to boost sales. It is not offered as an across-the-board thing ... it's only offered for room categories that aren't selling well-enough for any given date.

For each room category, they have a super-secret target occupancy rate. If the occupancy rate is equal to or higher than that target, then the special promotion won't be offered (they figure that if rooms are already selling well enough then they don't need to offer any special promotion to sell them).

In other words, if your room category has an 80% target occupancy rate, and 90% of the rooms have been sold for those dates, then Free Dining will NOT be available for your room.

What this means for you today is that reserving a room now does NOTHING to get your foot in the door for Free Dining if it is offered for August 2009. The fact that you already have a room reserved gives you ZERO advantage over someone who calls up or goes online the first day that free DDP becomes available for booking.

The interesting thing is that if EVERYONE booked ahead of time in hopes of snagging the free DDP, the free DDP would never be offered because the occupancy rates would already be high enough!!!

If you definitely want to stay at that resort in August no matter what, then go ahead and make your reservation. But if you will go there ONLY if Free DDP is offered, then it's truly a waste of time to make the reservation now.

If this doesn't make sense, PLEASE post again and ask for clarification.

[barnaby]

Thanks for the responses.

CleveRocks, understood, good explanation. :)

I plan on booking early moreso to insure we get the resort and week we want as opposed to booking in hopes of the dining plan.
Also, plan on booking early to get my ADRs the earliest I can. I know they are in the process of redoing the ADRs, so whatever the new ADRs may be.