Way back on my first trip in 2003, I was a such a newbie. I was in love with Disney my entire life, but trips like that were "luxuries". It wasn't something for everyday people like us. Maybe, someday, if we hit the lottery. Then suddenly, our chance was here. Let's take the plunge now in case we never get the opportunity again. OK, I'm in!
I had no idea what I was doing. Back then, we had just gotten our internet connection. I didn't even want it. The job I was doing at the time made it a requirement. I had a dial-up modem. I hadn't heard of social media and could barely navigate to a website to find flights. But we were making the trip with some relatives who had been there MANY times. No problem, just do what they tell you to do. Seems easy enough. So we stayed off-site in a condo, rented a mini-van for the week to drive back and forth, bought our tickets and made ONE dining reservation. We soon realized that maybe they had been there TOO many times and they were not quite as anxious as we were to get to the parks and take it all in. So we soon struck out on our own, and I was immediately hooked. But the one thing I can still thank those relatives for is something cousin Colleen told me that stuck: if it's something you want to do for your family, you find a way to make it happen. And for the first time, I believed, maybe this is something we could do again! It wouldn't be easy, but when I want something, I find a way to get it. Three years later, we were off on our second trip. By working a little harder, trip number three happened just two years after that.
Now, I have a few years and a few trips under my belt and I'm totally Disney obsessed. It's all about trying to find ways to make another trip happen. I'm even getting pretty good at this internet thing and learning more every day. Now it's 2009 and everyone is talking about Facebook. Yeah right, I'm going to be 40 years old this year. Facebook is for kids. I do NOT need to be on Facebook telling everyone I know what I had for dinner or where I was going that night. But there was a situation in our community causing some concern and an acquaintance innocently told me "Oh yeah, they are talking about it on Facebook.". Hmmm...so maybe it's time for me to check it out. Once I was all set up, it didn't take long for me to start looking for my favorite subject: Disney. Soon, I found a fabulous community fan page. This was my version of heaven. People as nuts about Disney as I was talking about it all day and night! I was finally home. I was on every free minute of the day and night soaking up all the tips and tricks I could. And before long, there it was. Disney's truly magical word: promos. Promos? What's a promo? Tell me more. Wait, what? There are times of the year that you can actually go to all those wonderful Disney restaurants and NOT pay for the food??? I can't be hearing this correctly. But, sure enough, it was true. There was such a thing as "FREE DINING". And, it had generally been offered at times of the year when I was there. Did I miss out on this just last year?? Yes, I think I did.
Well this changes everything. Totaling up all the receipts that I had saved for the food we purchased, I saw the numbers rise higher and higher. I just could not believe that we could actually take the same trip without spending all this money. With this kind of savings, maybe we wouldn't have to wait so long to go back again. So armed with all my new-found Disney knowledge, I was able to take advantage of free dining for trips 4 and 5 and it was great. So easy and convenient to know it's all pre-paid. No carrying around extra cash, no credit card bills to come home to, and the best part of it all....FREE! Now, I know this promo has it's naysayers. They will say free dining isn't really "free". They prefer room discounts and other promos. But, for many families, this is a really great deal and saves a ton of money. For someone like me who paid full price for 3 trips in a row, it was a miracle.
But with the growth of social media and a multitude of fan groups, this hidden gem of Disney magic has now become common knowledge. And in the midst of all our well intentioned excitement of wanting to share this fabulous news with the world, WE are responsible for causing serious injury to this promo, and possibly, even extinction. Day after day in every single fan group I belong to, I see the same question being repeated more and more often: WHEN is free dining offered? WHEN will they announce free dining dates? WHEN will I get free dining? And sadly, I see the same advice being repeated over and over again. "Don't worry about it. Go ahead and book your trip. You can add it on "when" it's announced." While that information is technically correct and we believe we are being helpful by letting them know, let's think for a minute about what we are really doing.
I know most people like to believe that because it's Disney, it's non-stop magic all the time. But we can not forget that at the heart of it, Disney is a business. And the purpose of a business is to generate profits. And these promos are offered with that in mind. Sadly, Walt Disney World does not offer free dining to it's guests every year just to be nice guys. The purpose behind this (and every other) promo is to fill empty rooms, get people on property and generate the most profit possible. So from a business standpoint, if all the rooms are filled anyway, there is no reason to offer people an incentive to book. They must be happy with the price they got!
The evidence of this theory can be seen across the board in all their promotional offerings. Room discounts of up to 25 - 35% have been reduced to 15-25%. Promos like Buy 4 days, get 3 free haven't been seen in years. And the most glaring evidence is the cuts made to free dining. Last year saw the promo cut back to the least amount of days ever and more resorts NOT included in the list. Now the excluded list includes fan-favorites like Port Orleans and All Star Movies and nearly the whole month of October. Ask yourselves why. October becoming a more popular travel time due to Halloween activities and these resorts being consistently booked because people like them. It's simple math. Full resorts = No promotions. So by encouraging fellow travelers to book rooms without waiting for the promo to be announced, we are effectively telling Disney "don't bother offering us incentives, we're coming anyway" So the question on everyone's mind should not be "when" will it be offered, but "IF" it will be offered.
My trips are still not as frequent as I would like. I make sure to save enough to cover all costs at full price before I say I'm ready to return. That way, if a promo comes along, it will be a happy surprise and maybe I can splurge on a few extras, like a tour or a dinner show. I never consider taking a trip if I can't do it without a promo and neither should anyone else. If everyone books a trip counting on getting a promo, you are actually making it more difficult for you and everyone else to get one.
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