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Ian
03-30-2009, 02:03 PM
File this under "I should know this, but ... "

We're staying at SSR in late August/early September and planned on adding the DDP.

Now that free dining is out for that time period, is there any way we can take advantage on a DVC stay? Or are we out of luck?
Mickey'sGirl
03-30-2009, 02:16 PM
The short answer is nope. Here is a link to a thread I started last year hoping for a different answer.... Click here (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=141063)
DizneyRox
03-30-2009, 02:45 PM
No, you would need to purchase it. Same rules apply, everyone on the reservation needs to get it, etc. but you don't need to buy a MYW ticket.

I don't know if it would be cheaper to book a room at the cheapest hotel with everyone on the reservation than to pay outright for the plan at your DVC resort. Check the math...
JPL
03-30-2009, 03:28 PM
Nope you are out of luck :(

I wish they would offer something to DVC Members even discounted dining would be nice. And since rack rate apply to the rooms for free dining even booking a room at a value and not staying wouldn't work out cheaper.
GothMickey
03-31-2009, 12:57 PM
I am not a DVC member, but, seriously, a DVC member cannot get free or discounted dining? You can pay more than a Magic Your Way package, and Disney cannot have the decency to give you free or discounted dining? What a joke.
DizneyRox
03-31-2009, 01:38 PM
I am not a DVC member, but, seriously, a DVC member cannot get free or discounted dining? You can pay more than a Magic Your Way package, and Disney cannot have the decency to give you free or discounted dining? What a joke.
Not staying on points. If you are paying cash and buy the normal package, yes, they can get "free" dining. But when you use points for your stay, each room (DVC and not) as a point count based on the season, and that's what you "pay". No, 7 for 4, or "free" dining, or whatever the promotion is.
Ian
04-01-2009, 07:18 AM
That's what I figured, but I wanted to check anyway.

Thanks, guys.
tjstrike
04-03-2009, 01:26 AM
Whose bell do you have to ring at Disney to get them to run some specials for DVC members. I always hear the same ol' junk about " They've got your money, they're not going to give you any special deals ". Surely there's somewhere or somebody we can complain to to try and get the DVC special ball rolling ?
DizneyRox
04-03-2009, 05:26 AM
Whose bell do you have to ring at Disney to get them to run some specials for DVC members. I always hear the same ol' junk about " They've got your money, they're not going to give you any special deals ". Surely there's somewhere or somebody we can complain to to try and get the DVC special ball rolling ?
The person of which you speak is deaf, blind and dumb... It will all go unanswered. There is no business need to offer DVC members any sort of discount. Count your AP discount as a lucky miracle.
TheRustyScupper
04-03-2009, 09:45 AM
I am not a DVC member, but, seriously, a DVC member cannot get free or discounted dining? You can pay more than a Magic Your Way package, and Disney cannot have the decency to give you free or discounted dining? What a joke.


Whose bell do you have to ring at Disney to get them to run some specials for DVC members. I always hear the same ol' junk about " They've got your money, they're not going to give you any special deals ". Surely there's somewhere or somebody we can complain to to try and get the DVC special ball rolling ?


1) We bought a timeshare.
2) We did not buy a Disney Discount Program.
3) Discounts are meant to draw people.
4) If you are staying on points, who needs to draw you.
5) Discounts have been requested before, with few results.
6) After all, we get
. . . free parking
. . . free pool hopping
. . . discounts AP's
. . . sense of community
LynneM
04-03-2009, 10:00 AM
I am not a DVC member, but, seriously, a DVC member cannot get free or discounted dining? You can pay more than a Magic Your Way package, and Disney cannot have the decency to give you free or discounted dining? What a joke.

What Rusty said. :D

And because the effective discount we get on lodging is far, far better than free dining. I just stayed in a gorgeous savannah view studio at AKV. Working out the cost of my points per night, figuring in the initial purchase cost, and maintenance fees....my cost per night for that room was $93. No tax. Free internet. Free valet parking. Actually, since I've long since paid off the initial purchase price, and broken even, and all I pay now are maintenance fees, my actual cash outlay was more like $65-70 a night. I could have paid for the dining plan for every night of my stay and still saved over $100 a night.

Oh, but you're saying we should get FD in addition to that savings. Why? A surprising number of people seem to be under the impression that Disney gives away hundreds of dollars worth of food just to be nice.

Disney offers free dining to make more money. Their gamble is that people will come and pay full price for their resort room, and spend enough money on tickets and souvenirs that they'll make back the cost of the dining, and still come out ahead.

So, considering that we don't actually give Disney any money for our resort stays (maintenance fees go towards the operating costs of our home resort), how are they supposed to make back the cost of the food they'd give us?
Ian
04-03-2009, 11:09 AM
Bingo. Which is exactly why I expected the answer to be no.

Free dining is an incentive program to draw people down and convince them to spend more money.

No need to offer that to DVC members.
DizNee143
04-03-2009, 11:49 AM
Bingo. Which is exactly why I expected the answer to be no.

Free dining is an incentive program to draw people down and convince them to spend more money.

No need to offer that to DVC members.

totally agree!..but it still stinks..
but it would be nice to be able to participate in a discount like this every once in a blue moon..
VWL Mom
04-03-2009, 01:18 PM
totally agree!..but it still stinks..
but it would be nice to be able to participate in a discount like this every once in a blue moon..

Or at least set aside a small percent of ADR's for those that cannot participate.
LynneM
04-03-2009, 03:56 PM
Or at least set aside a small percent of ADR's for those that cannot participate.

I'm not sure why that's necessary. People who get free dining have no advantage when making ADRs, they get the same 90+10 access that the rest of the Disney resort guests do. There's no unfairness.

At any rate, Disney's not going to leave a percentage of restaurant tables unbooked on the off-chance that non-free-diners might possibly want to book them. The restaurants are full, their goals are met. There no incentive for them to do otherwise.
tjstrike
04-04-2009, 03:24 AM
So they do it to draw in more people so don't you think if they offered stuff like that to DVC members it might draw more people to buy in ? Probably not as long as there's enough people that are satisfied with all the "freebies" us DVC holders are already getting and don't want anything else.
DizneyRox
04-04-2009, 04:36 AM
They are currently able to lure them in with the developer points, free cruises, etc. A seasonal incentive isn't necessary. And the above mentioned stuff is pretty cheap for Disney, the rest of the DVC membership already paid for the developer points (at least the construction of the resort anyway) and the ship is going to sail regardless, so filling up the unsold rooms is smart!

Remember, once you buy in, you're stuck. You can sell it, but someone else needs to buy it. You can't just return it. Tempting someone at the time of purchase is all they need to do.