Category — Disney Specials, Deals and Discounts

MORE FREE DINING FOOLISHNESS

My post last week where, inspired by my conversations with the Mysterious “B” about the recent flood of free dining pin codes, I inched back a bit from my prediction that we won’t see general public free dining in 2013 after September, has gotten a lot of reaction.

See for example this disboards thread starting at the bottom of the page on post number 2055, and of course the comments on the page itself, most fascinating, a few foolish.

I still don’t think we’ll see general public free dining after September, but I am not so firm on it as I had been, thanks to the delay in MyMagic+ and the resulting shortage of anything interesting for Disney World marketing to talk about to engender bookings in the non-holiday weeks of the fourth quarter of 2013.

What we are seeing, though, is a spate of pin codes, with word of more rounds of pin codes to come, a lot of hints dropped by Disney World cast members about upcoming deals (these hints could be referring to room rate deals, or free dining, or both), and some really interesting ways that people are getting pin codes.

HOW TO GET A WALT DISNEY WORLD PIN CODE

[Read more →]

MORE FREE DINING AT DISNEY WORLD IN 2013?

So I’ve forecast a number of times—most recently here—that I don’t expect to see any generally available free dining in 2013 beyond the current deal for September.

But the possibility that we won’t see Fastpass+ until January 2014 has me re-thinking this a little.

Not much.  Just a little.

There’s several possibilities, all framed around how well bookings for October to mid-December are already going:

• Bookings for October to mid-December are going fine (which is still my guess, based on how strong attendance has been so far this year): if so, then no more free dining
• Bookings for then are running a little behind expectations: then expansion of the current individualized pin-code offer, probably around 8/1
• Bookings for then are running a lot behind expectations: then expansion of the pin-code offer, possibly well before 8/1, and also a limited general public free dining deal, probably after August 6th

Here’s why I think this.

THE LOGIC OF MORE DISNEY WORLD FREE DINING IN 2013 [Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD DEAL ABOUT TO EXPIRE

There’s a Walt Disney World deal out right now that offers room rate discounts of 15% to 30% off certain Walt Disney World resort hotels.

This deal covers arrival dates from June 13, 2013 through August 14, 2013–but it needs to be booked by June 14, 2013. 

For more on this deal, see this.  For other current deals, see this.

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Disney World raised its theme park ticket prices over the weekend, with the most common ticket types going up 6-9%.

My friends at Undercover Tourist, a sponsor of this site, remind me that they still have an inventory of tickets priced based on the former prices, and will make these available until sold out.

These tickets don’t expire, so you can buy them at these old prices now–while they last–and use them on your next visit, whenever it is!

For more, see this.

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SPECIAL DEAL FOR AND ACCESS TO “MNSSHP” AND “MVMCP” FOR MILITARY FAMILIES

My friend Steve has posted about military discounts on the two late 2013 Magic Kingdom special parties, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP).

For his scoop on military family deals on the Halloween Party, see this, and for his scoop on the Christmas Party, see this.

Steve has also worked with Disney staff to make sure that these parties don’t turn military families away because of being sold out. The details are in the links–and thanks, Steve!!!

MEMORIAL DAY 2013

And on Memorial Day 2013–God bless our fallen defenders…especially those from our local 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines…

From a different war, I ran across this yesterday from a soldier’s last letter to his mom:

“How often you will have me near you when wood smoke drifts across the wind, or the first tulips arrive, or the sky darkens in a summer storm… Think of me today, and in the days to come, as I am thinking of you this minute, not gone or alone or dead, but part of the earth beneath you, part of the air around you, part of the heart that must not be lonely.”

–Caleb Milne, killed in the Tunisia campaign May 11, 1943, quoted in An Army at Dawn.

Thank you, and God bless…

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FALL FREE DINING MEANS SLIGHTLY LONGER LINES–BUT NOT ENOUGH TO MATTER

Every year shortly after the traditional fall free dining offer comes out, I start getting questions like Katie’s about whether free dining will make the parks more crowded than my forecasts.

The short answer is “no.” Free Dining this period has been happening forever, and is thus already built into the crowd forecasts.

The longer answer is a little more complicated, but still mostly no:

• Yes, free dining increases crowds more than they otherwise would have been (though, as noted, this is already reflected in the crowd calendars). But not much. If Disney sells 30% more of its hotel capacity because of free dining, that’s on the order of 30,000 more people in the hotels per night.  But divide this across four theme parks, the water parks, Downtown Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, and off days, and it’s a drop in the bucket!  And, to boldly repeat myself, this is already reflected in the crowd calendar.
• Because the free dining periods is shorter this year, it may have slightly more of a crowding effect in September 2013, as people who can do so–most can’t–move trips from the later August periods traditionally offered into September.  The effect of this is naturally capped by both the limited number of WDW hotel rooms, and resistance to taking kids out of school their first month back. Moreover, savvy travelers avoid going to Florida during the peak of the hurricane season–which (along with September being a tough time to take kids out of school) is exactly why Disney offers this deal!
• September crowds have been going up bit by bit for years now, principally because of growth in South American visitors on their “spring break” (recall that the seasons in South America are upside down). This actually has more of an impact than free dining, but it’s still small.
• Finally, because of the kick-off of Mickey’s Not-So-Halloween Party September 10, 2013 which days you go to the Magic Kingdom will really effect the level of crowds there.  See this.

Now when people like me talk about “crowds” we really mean “wait times.”

You may well see larger crowds in the streetscapes of the parks (you have larger street crowds during low-wait times, as not as many guest are in the lines!), and because of free dining, all the more fun restaurants will be booked solid.

But the wait times for rides will still be low compared to other times of the year. 

Now if you roll in at 11.30a, wait times will be high–as they always are by late morning.  Common sense and a good itinerary are still required. But wait times will still be much better than the equivalent times during the more crowded times of the year!