Bounce-back Offer Hints at 2013 Free Dining Dates at Walt Disney World…and at Changes in Price Elasticity?
By Dave Shute
2013 FREE DISNEY WORLD DINING DATES?
A “bounce back offer” is a deal offered to Disney World hotel guests that they can only take advantage of if they book it during their current stay.
As I write this, I’m in Disney World’s All-Star Music Family Suites (review here!) and the offer in my room is for free dining beginning 8/18/2013.
However, there’s a wrinkle: the end dates of the free dining offer vary depending on what resort type you reserve.
2013 FREE DINING AT THE DELUXES LASTS LONGER THAN AT THE MODERATES?
The end of the offer is noted (see the image above) as 9/13/2013 for moderates, and 9/26/2013 for Deluxes.
I can’t recall a recent late summer free dining offer that had different end dates by resort type, so this is interesting in itself, and even more interesting if it truly is a guide to the general public 2013 late summer free dining offer.
The difference, though, does tie to some other differences between 2013 Disney World price seasons and its practices in prior years.
As noted here, the 2013 late summer/early fall value season at the value and moderate resorts ends two weeks earlier in 2013 than it had in prior years–on September 13, rather than the more typical September 26.
However, the late summer/early fall value season at the deluxes continues to run through September 26, as it would be expected to do based on prior years.
So the end dates of the offer tie to the now-different end dates of the value season.
So if this bounce back is in fact a predictor of the final general public 2013 free dining offer, then the last two weeks of September are going to be really expensive for those pursuing moderate resorts and (probably) value resorts compared to the same dates in 2012.
First, they are now in a more expensive price season (Fall instead of Value), and second, free dining–which can save a family of four on the order of $120-200 a day–may not be available to them those weeks.
WHY WOULD DISNEY SHORTEN FREE DINING AND RAISE PRICES IN THE SECOND HALF OF SEPTEMBER?
Keep in mind that while the price season changes for 2013 are set, the end dates of the 2013 general public free dining program are just an informed hypothesis.
But regardless, Disney has some reason for increasing effective prices at the values and the moderates the last two weeks of September 2013, and it’s interesting to speculate why.
The first possibility is that Disney has reason to believe that people are in fact less sensitive to prices in this period than it had believed in the past.
Disney World sets its overall program of base hotel price seasons and accompanying discounts to maximize overall profits in both the short and long term.
The short-term issue is filling more beds in its hotels at the highest achievable price; the long term issue is not discounting so much that the perceived worth of the brand is harmed.
Over the course of the year, Disney World hotel prices go up and down. Prices go down to draw more people into the hotels; prices go up to capture more value from people who have firmly decided they are going to be in a Walt Disney World resort hotel during those dates regardless.
(In technical terms, lower prices shape behavior in response to elastic demand, and higher prices take advantage of inelastic demand.)
Getting this right is important, as otherwise money gets left on the table. You can tell how important it is by one of the free books that Disney gave away last week at its 2012 Disney Analytics and Optimization Summit.
This summit was attended by 550 people, 400 of whom were Disney analytic and decision science staff, and many of the presenters were their peers. It was kinda Disney talking to Disney in a way that few substantive public conferences are. (See this for more thoughts from the Summit.)
Conference attendees could get one of a dozen so books for free, and one of the books offered was Robert Cross’s Revenue Management
… “Hard Core Tactics for Market Domination,” as the cover says…
Why Disney might think demand is less elastic these two weeks I have no idea; this could even be an experiment to test to see if demand then is inelastic.
Another possibility is the Disney World has plans for these dates that it expects will intrinsically increase demand for them.
Possibilities that come to mind include lengthening the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival and opening it in mid-September, opening the Seven Dwarf Mine Train ride then, or both.
All speculation…but there is a business reason underneath all of this, somewhere!
And for some more recent speculation, see this.
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78 comments
Hello Dave, my family and I have never stayed on Disney grounds, we usually use timeshares. Our vacation time is July 21-27….I am tryig to understand This free dining DEAL, we are well familiar with the $175-200 per day meals. We have bought parkhopper passes; so now if I could only put it all together to save on the back end. You seemed like a good resource to start with. Thanks for any input.
Hi Jazmin, there’s no free dining deal (or any other deals) out for July. One may come out later…if it does, you’ll be able to find it here: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/03/29/walt-disney-worlds-latest-spring-and-summer-deal/ If I had to bet, I’d say there won’t be a free dining deal for July, so probably you should plan as though there won’t be one…
We just booked out vacation in March 9-14 however, they said the hotel didn’t have a military discount because of blackout dates…. But they don’t match up with the website dates?
Crystal, which hotel, and how did you book?
Me and my husband are going to disney world july 28-august 2nd 2013
and i was wondering if there are any discounts available
For those times yet.we are planning to book end of april
Hi Jessica, the discounts out now only cover into mid-June. If one does come out, I’ll post about it, and link to it here: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/03/29/walt-disney-worlds-latest-spring-and-summer-deal/
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My husband daughter son inlaw and 2 yr old grandaughter and I are going to WDW June 15-22 2013. Any help with any tips on savers Etc would be do helpful. It is a first time for everyone and we hear that there might be free dining offers etc. we are booking thru AAA and the agent said there might be PIN numbers? We would appreciate any help
Monica, there are no deals out right now with arrival dates after June 14. If any do come out, they’ll be noted here: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/03/29/walt-disney-worlds-latest-spring-and-summer-deal/ For additional ideas, see the material that begins here https://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/10/03/introduction-to-the-tightwads-guide-to-walt-disney-world/ and also here: http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-disney-world-vacation-discounts-and-deals/
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Hi Dave! We will be visiting Disneyworld in May 19th thru the 25th. I would like to know if and when they offer free dining how to find out about it(how do i do this?). We have made our reservations already. And if there are discounts for our hotesl(all star sports resort). Ty for all of your great info!!.
Hi Barb! If free dining comes out for those dates–which I highly doubt it will–it’ll be here: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/03/03/summary-of-current-walt-disney-world-deals-and-discounts/
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Hi Dave, we are planning our Disney trip for 9/21-9/27 but after reading this I’m wondering if I should move it up 2 weeks because I was hoping to take advantage of free dining if it I’d available, based on what you have seen and heard do you think I should? We were going to stay at the Art of Animation in a family suite. Another question does your entire stay have to fall within the time period Disney I’d offering free dining or is it just the check in date? By the way, your site is extremely helpful! Great job!
Hi Brianne! On your second quesiton, eligibility for a deal is almost always governed by arrival date–so your whole trip doesn’t need to be eligible, just the arrival date. Re moving your dates…if the earlier dates work almost or just as well for you, then why not?
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Hi Dave. Thank you for the suggestions and helpful tips. Planning another WDW trip in November 2013. Hoping for free fall dining. Anything in the rumor mill for free Fall 2013 dining? In looking at the fall free dining dates for 2012, the week immediately before Thanksgiving was excluded, which of course, is the week we are currently planning. May have to change dates to two weeks before in the hopes of hitting a date in the free dining promo. Also was planning with the week before Thanksgiving because I really want to do Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Hopefully, both free dining and a date for MVMCP will work out. Any insight on either would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Hi Jennifer! Last year, you could get free dining the week before Thanksgiving for arrivla dates well into that week–up until the Thursday before Thanksgiving. See this: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2012/07/12/free-dining-plan-disney-world-fall-2012/
So far this year there has not been a free dining offer, so I’m skepticla thta we’ll see a lot of free dining the rest of the year. See this: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2013/02/07/2013-free-dining-mymagic-implications-disneys-q1-2013-earnings-call/
The Christmas Party should kick off sometime between November 8 and November 11.
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Hey Dave, this site is awesome for planning my first trip with my family to disney world, but if a free dinning offer were to come does it apply to vacations made through travelocity? I want to book my entire vacation from hotel, tickets, and flights through travelocity during August 28-September 2
Millia, I don’t know–but I’ll see if I can find out!
Hi Millia, I’ve checked in on your question, and the answer is no. To convert a reservation to any deal Disney releases, the original reservation must have been booked through Disney or a travel agent.
If a deal comes out you can always book it and cancel your Travelocity ressie—but do be sure you know the Travelocity cancellation penalties first…
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hi Dave. I hope you haven’t answered this already. I would like to book August 24th thru the 30th, 2013, I would like to go ahead and book my hotel and adrs but kind of need the free dining. What do you think my chances are for getting this at this time and can I get it if I already book the trip?I am very aware there are no guarantees!
Hi Vicki, you can get it after you book, but it’s easiest to do so if you book a “package” not a room only deal. And I think the odds are high that we’ll see free dining these weeks as we have for years now…but the form may be different…
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Hello Dave. My family has taken advantage of the free dining plan for the last couple of years in the last week of August ( we find the crowd levels are very low this week). We are planning to return this year from 8/25 to 8/31. How good do you think the chances are of a free dining plan being offered again for this time period?
Hi Sam, I’d put them at much better than 50-50!
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Hi Dave, I wanted to offer a reason for Disney increasing room rates on late september : SPRING BREAK in South America. I am a travel agent in Buenos Aires, Argentina and for the last 5 years we have seen an enormous increse of people travelling to Disney on the 3rd week of september. The same happens in Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. There is also an important amount of “Quinceañeras” traveling in spring break. This are groups of 15 years old girls. Therefore, I guess that Disney has realized that it can charge more for those weeks.
Hope we can offer free dining this year for those weeks !!! We have no news yet. But we do know that next week we can start offering a “room only” discount HCJ for stays from june 13 till august 14.
Bye
J.
Thanks, J., that’s very helpful!!
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Hi Dave,
I’m looking to take my daughter(9) to Disney for her third visit in November. We’ve never been in November and I was looking at checking in the Thursday before Thanksgiving and checking out the day before Turkey Day. If a special offer is released and it’s not valid that week of thanksgiving, but is offered on our arrival date, will the offer apply to the entire length of our stay?
Thanks for your help!
Hello Dave,
I have a trip already booked in the family suites at the Art of Animation value resort. We will be there 10 days from August 21st to August 30th. Do you think it likely, that we would be able to snag the free dining based off of the dates scheduled?
Thanks for any input!
Hi Sheree, if the deal comes out, yes, I think your dates will work!
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Great site! I am trying to plan a vacation to Disney as a surprise to my husband and children, and was wondering if Disney gives a discount rate on hotels (Deluxe) at the end of August (8/21, or 8/24-9/3)
Hi Corie, that’s a low price time to start with, and yes, I do expect to see discounts then as well!
Boa noite, sou nova por aqui e estou tentando entender um pouco mais sobre esse site, pelo q estou lendo tem meses q dentro dos hoteis Disney ocorre jantares gratis? seria isso? estarei chegando no hotel art of animation no dia 19/08 e retornaremos ao Brasil dia 31/08 vc pode me dizer se tenho a possibilidade de ter esses jantares?Gostaria de saber como faco p me informar?? aguardo respostas.
this is what the post says: Good evening, I’m new here and am trying to understand a little more about this website, by q q’m reading has months within the Disney hotels is free dinners? would that be? I will arrive at the hotel art of animation on 19/08 and will return to Brazil on 31/08 you can tell me if I have the possibility of having these dinners? like to know how phaco p inform me? I await answers.
Dave, this is what our Portuguese friend is asking: ( As best as I can tell)
Good evening, I’m new here and am trying to understand a little more about this website, by I ‘m reading has months within the Disney hotels is free dinners? would that be? I will arrive at the hotel art of animation on 19/08 and will return to Brazil on 31/08 you can tell me if I have the possibility of having these dinners? like to know how, inform me? I await answers.
She said she read that during a few months, there are free dinners inside Disney’s hotels. And she asks where can she get more information about it,because she’ll be staying in the Art of Animation hotel from August, 19th until August, 31th and she’d like to know if she can has these free dinners.
Hi Valquiria, sometimes Disney offers free dining.
There’s no worldwide offers out right now. If one comes out, you’ll be able to find it here: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2010/03/29/walt-disney-worlds-latest-spring-and-summer-deal/
Disney also offers deals outside of the US which I can’t see, but if you search Google for “Disney World Special Offers” you’ll fins the right links for them!
Hope this helps, and thanks to everyone for helping with the translation!
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