Upgrade for Free Dining

[Lindsy1052]

You ask - how can you upgrade from FREE??

Well Disney is doing it!!

Here is your basic Free Dine Package

• 3-14 nights at a select Disney Resort
• MYW tickets
• FREE Disney Dining Plan
• 3 night minimum length of stay 14 night maximum length of stay
Booking Dates: 4/10/08 – 6/22/08
Travel Dates: 8/24/08 – 9/20/08

If you already have the basic dining for a minimal charge you can upgrade to the Deluxe Dining Plan.

3 Meals: On the new Deluxe Dining Plan in 2008 you'll receive 3 meals each day of your stay. The 3 meals can be any combination of sit down or counter service so you have the choice of eating at any Disney restaurant on the list. If you choose a table service meal that will include one appetizer, one entree, one dessert (lunch and dinner only) and one non-alcoholic beverage OR one Full Buffet. If you choose a counter service meal that will include one entree (or complete combo meal), one dessert (lunch or dinner only), one juice (breakfast only) and one non-alcoholic beverage.
2 Snacks: In addition to the 3 meals you'll also receive 2 snacks every day. A snack includes one of the following: frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle, fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single serving box), single serving grab bag of chips, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, medium fountain soft drink or juice, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea.
Wine and Dine Option: For an extra $39.99/day you can add a daily bottle of wine to your package.e deluxe!!!!

For the ridiculous price of $32.00 per adult & $10.00 per child (3-9 year of age) you can upgrade to the Deluxe Dining package. This is less than the regular 2 meal a day Dine Plan.

If you haven't made your reservations yet, we would be happy to help you set it up. If you are already booked, you may want to contact your travel agent for this upgrade. If you booked it on your own and are having a problem getting the upgrade, e-mail any one of us and we will try to help you.

Kelly at [email protected]
Brad at [email protected]
Kristen at [email protected]
Linda at [email protected]

Dates of travel, how many adults are going, ages of children at time of travel and of course your e-mail address so we may get back to you with a quote. You can also go to our web site and fill out the form, let us know you found us on Mice Chat.

This special is selling out fast and I wanted you all to be in the loop. Last selling date for this package is June 22.

[Iluvdisney]

Hi everyone I just wanted to add that I did the deluxe dining just a few weeks ago and it was really great. We had some amazing dining experiences at the California Grille, Brown Derby, Yachtsmens Steakhouse and many others. It was alot of food but I would do it again in a heart beat.

[Lindsy1052]

And they certainly give you enough food to eat. You absolutely do not leave any restaurant hungry.

[Hakuna Makarla]

I wish mine was free. I am going in November so no free dining... and the delux is way to expensive for me.

[Barbaraann]

I don't get it. If you can eat for free, why would you upgrade to a plan that you have to pay for? I have done the dining plan, and it's plenty of food. No need to pay for more.

[Lindsy1052]

I don't get it. If you can eat for free, why would you upgrade to a plan that you have to pay for? I have done the dining plan, and it's plenty of food. No need to pay for more.

Well, some people like to know they have 3 meals a day for their entire vacation. Plus, they are getting many more "table service" meals than on the regular Dine plan. It's just what you need to fit your families needs. I know 2 meals a day is fine for me, but for some it's just not what they are used to. I usually only have 2 meals a day anyway. But it is a good price for the Deluxe Dine package.

[Hakuna Makarla]

2 meals are fine for us to. and the snack makes up for breakfast. there are so many choices for the snack its not funny.

[nbodyhome]

I don't get it. If you can eat for free, why would you upgrade to a plan that you have to pay for? I have done the dining plan, and it's plenty of food. No need to pay for more.

When I worked as a TA, I talked all guests out of the Deluxe plan. I think I might be doing the free dine with friends this year, not sure if it was booked or not. But the regular dine is so much food - I'd pay OOP if I needed anything else.

Most guests will find the deluxe overkill. There are a few who will want it. But with the regular dine, you already get the snack, counter and table. That is so much for me in a day!

[Jerren]

I don't get it. If you can eat for free, why would you upgrade to a plan that you have to pay for? I have done the dining plan, and it's plenty of food. No need to pay for more.

Simply put the basic dining plan covers you for:

• 1 Table service per person per night
• 1 counter service per person per night
• 1 snack per person per night

As you can see above this is what Disney is giving you for free during the free Disney dining plan promotion. It doesn't cover all your meals like it did in the past and is somewhat rigid in that you must both TS and CS options to get the most of the plan, some folks don't like that restriction and if your at a value resort you have no TS option in our resort so your forced to eat out at dinner or use the TS for breakfast or lunch.

When you upgrade to Deluxe dining you get:

• 3 meals per person per night -- (CS or TS your choice!)
• 2 snacks per person per night
• 1 Resort Mug with unlimited refills on Fountain drinks, Coffee, tea, etc per person. (for use at resort only not in parks)

Notice there is no restriction on how you eat with this plan, you can do all counter or all table service if you want and you get 2 snacks instead of one. This is the plan I usualy reccomend for people who want to try to cover all the food costs of the vacation up front. It's also much easier to save a lot of money with this plan especially if you plan on more table service meals. But basically this plan comes about as close as you can get to the old meal plans they had in effect about 10-12 years ago.

PLEASE NOTE - There is also an option to add wine to either package if you enjoy wine with your meals for both plans. please contact any of us at Magical Travel for more information!

Hakuna Makarla - I would suggest you take a look at your dining plans, go and check the online menu's on other sites and figure a rough amount of how much you think you may spend, then compare that against Both plans. The basic plan isn't as good as it used to be and admittedly is harder to get your money's worth than it was a year ago, but the upgraded plan can often save you a lot of money over pay as you go especially if you plan a lot of sit down dining. (remember to add 10% or so to the online menus if your gong during the peak holiday seasons they raise the food prices during those times...)

This is something I typically do for my clients to see if the DDP will be a good deal for them or not, and yes it CAN save you money if you know how to work the system it just takes a bit of time and effort Disney claims you can save up to 30% with the DDP I have helped folks save over 20% in the past with it, so yes it is possible.

[Lindsy1052]

Very valid points Brad. The fact that they are offering all of this for $32.00 for adults and $10.00 for kids is amazing. I am a firm believer in the Dine plan. Considering it can cost you almost $10.00 to get a hot dog, french fries and a soda, even on the regular Dine Plan your ahead of the game. Deduct that $10.00 for lunch and what are you really paying for dinner. Plus a snack alone is going to cost you anywhere from $2.50 - $4.00. You can't go wrong on the Dine Plan and you do have to eat...

[nbodyhome]

I consider the regular dine plan iffy. Again, I was a TA for 6 years until late last year - only Disney. Last year, I would have recommended it. This year, not as much.

If someone was going to get a character breakfast, and a $10.00 counter service meal - you are only up to about $28.00. There are no $10.00 snacks. Without the gratuity, I'd have a hard time justifying buying it (not that I ever did, I only tried the free dine). I did not do the bounceback in September because I wasn't sure that the value was even there for "free" .

When I worked at DRC, I don't think I ever booked one Silver package or Gold (this is going back to earlier in the decade). I didn't believe in those packages at all, and talked guests out of them. I would do the same with the regular dine plan in most cases, unless the guest was really going to get good use out of it (not character breakfasts or other inexpensive table service meals). I never sold up, and overall I find the deluxe plan a bad value. (that is not in EVERY case, there will always be exceptions - I just never found any guests who were the exception).

The most important thing for anyone is to do their homework. I had a rough time trying to eat on the free dine plan, a lot of food came home with me. I would never pay for it, it's just too much food in my case.

[Jerren]

Very valid points Brad. The fact that they are offering all of this for $32.00 for adults and $10.00 for kids is amazing. I am a firm believer in the Dine plan. Considering it can cost you almost $10.00 to get a hot dog, french fries and a soda, even on the regular Dine Plan your ahead of the game. Deduct that $10.00 for lunch and what are you really paying for dinner. Plus a snack alone is going to cost you anywhere from $2.50 - $4.00. You can't go wrong on the Dine Plan and you do have to eat...

Yup as long as you use up all your meals you generally come out ahead, the only time it doesn't work is when you don't use them all, which lets face it doesn't happen that often if your flexible and persistent you can get ADR's for all your table service meals. I've traveled over Thanksgiving week with less than 4 weeks notice and still managed to get them all in AND find a great spot for dinner on Turkey Day!

And folks NEVER leave those snacks behind! The mickey mouse rice crispy treats make great gifts for the kid who takes in your paper while your out as well as something to leave in the break room at the office when you get home. Nothing says you have to use them on Soda and popcorn!

[Hakuna Makarla]

ok, so I had to purchase my dining plan, basic one at that. the delux dining plan cost double the basic one ! so if I get the delux, its 160.00 a day for us 3. that adds up to over 1,100 for 7 days! as of now we pay around 600.00

[Hakuna Makarla]

Argh, on top of the dining, you have to pay gratuity out of pocket. it used to be included so if we did all table service dining we would be paying a lot out pocket to!

[nbodyhome]

Argh, on top of the dining, you have to pay gratuity out of pocket. it used to be included so if we did all table service dining we would be paying a lot out pocket to!

Yes, gratuities really add up (which is why I'd not personally recommend EITHER plan for most guests). No appetizer, no gratuities included - it makes the dining plans much less valuable.