Disney doesn't want my money?!?!

[AngiTN]

Book all four people on your reservation, that way they all get free dining and EMH etc. Then book a room at the Hilton right across from Disney Springs. Have two people stay there at night. Just have them take the bus at the end of the night to DS and use the pedestrian bridge. Easy Peasy. Yes you will have to pay the extra person fee.

Curious, why would they want to split their group up to two different resorts? Is there a compelling reason to do this?
That makes it "easy peasy" over being in the same resort, that is

 

[kaytieeldr]

Then book a room at the Hilton right across from Disney Springs. Have two people stay there at night. Just have them take the bus at the end of the night to DS and use the pedestrian bridge.

You do realize the Hilton et al have their ow, reliable, scheduled bus system?

OP isn't booking FD on a new reservation. She is trying to add people to an existing FD reservation. The new, second reservation is a room-only.

Yes, I understand now - well, as of yesterday She wants to add three people to her room to all get free dining (additional $15 pp/pn plus tax) and make a separate, rack rate reservation for two of those people.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Curious, why would they want to split their group up to two different resorts? Is there a compelling reason to do this?
That makes it "easy peasy" over being in the same resort, that is

Because In read the thread. They have one room that is booked with free dining. They have to all be listed as guests in that room to qualify for the free dining. But they want to spread out. The resort will not let them also have another room with the same names. So, without lying and making up false names, I gave them a way to do it. Hope you are OK with that.

 

[jaggies]

I'm hoping someone can explain this to me.. Back in January, I booked a trip in September with free dining @ POP, with 5 day hoppers. At the time, I wasn't sure if I would go alone, or add people to go with me. Well, I have 3 other ladies going with me now, which is awesome, but we don't want to share beds for 6 nights! So, 1 of other ladies booked a room only, online. (Rack rate) When I called to link the ressies together, and add the 3 names of other for free dining, they said no one person can be listed on 2 rooms at the same time. I need to have all 4 names associated in the free dining room. But we are all early 50's.. we want to sprawl out in our own space at end of each day!!
Is there anyway around this? I'm not trying to cheat anyone! We are paying rack rate for 2nd room. That's almost another $1000 for Disney. I don't understand why. Can someone explain to me?

Thanks!!

You insist you aren’t trying to cheat anyone, but you are trying to get free dining for people who will not be staying in the room that has the free dining offer, which does kind of violate the spirit of the offer. I’m not saying this to express judgement – I’ve played a little loose with who will be staying in which room to get as many people as possible free dining too – but merely to suggest that you shouldn’t be surprised if Disney isn’t inclined to make it easy. It has nothing to do with Disney not “wanting your money” or whatnot, so maybe drop that shtick. You are trying to game the system a little bit, and that’s fine. Just own it.

 

[cmwade77]

Because In read the thread. They have one room that is booked with free dining. They have to all be listed as guests in that room to qualify for the free dining. But they want to spread out. The resort will not let them also have another room with the same names. So, without lying and making up false names, I gave them a way to do it. Hope you are OK with that.

No need for a false name, just use a middle name for the room with free dining.

 

[nkereina]

You insist you aren’t trying to cheat anyone, but you are trying to get free dining for people who will not be staying in the room that has the free dining offer, which does kind of violate the spirit of the offer. I’m not saying this to express judgement – I’ve played a little loose with who will be staying in which room to get as many people as possible free dining too – but merely to suggest that you shouldn’t be surprised if Disney isn’t inclined to make it easy. It has nothing to do with Disney not “wanting your money” or whatnot, so maybe drop that shtick. You are trying to game the system a little bit, and that’s fine. Just own it.

Not really. The free dining room has capacity for four adults, so they aren't gaming the system. If OP lists all four of them on that room for free dining, that's well within their right and they would be paying for it because of the extra per person charge per night for the extra two adults in the room. If OP wants to book a separate room in addition to that, the reason is irrelevant. That's their prerogative since they are paying full price for it. If they didn't add the second room, they'd be in the same boat - four in one room, with free dining. So what's the difference?

 

[jaggies]

Not really. The free dining room has capacity for four adults, so they aren't gaming the system. If OP lists all four of them on that room for free dining, that's well within their right and they would be paying for it because of the extra per person charge per night for the extra two adults in the room. If OP wants to book a separate room in addition to that, the reason is irrelevant. That's their prerogative since they are paying full price for it. If they didn't add the second room, they'd be in the same boat - four in one room, with free dining. So what's the difference?

The difference is that the free dining promotion is tied to the room and is for the people who are staying in it. OP is trying to add people who will not be staying in the room to the reservation just to get them free dining. Again, no judgement, but I can see why Disney would balk. She says she “needs” them to all get free dining but they also all “want to spread out.” I can see why Disney might think she was trying to have her cake and eat it too.

Consider that Disney is willing to offer free dining for value resorts in part because they know four adults are not likely to want to squeeze into one value room.

She said she was confused and wanted an explanation for why Disney didn’t want to make this easy for her, so I gave her one. I’m sure she’ll be able to make it work, but I’m also sure that Disney’s position is that if she wanted a second room with free dining, she should have booked it when it was offered. Free dining is a limited time offer for a limited number of rooms for a reason, and the promotion ended months ago.

Again, I’ve done this exact same thing before, but let’s not pretend that getting people free dining by claiming they’re staying in a room where they aren’t isn’t outside the intention of the promotion.

I feel like every time I see a thread with a title like “Doesn’t Disney want my money?!?!” it’s someone trying to bend the rules of whatever promotions there and then getting upset that they’re getting pushback from Disney. It’s totally fine to push the limits, that’s your right as a consumer, but I could do without the feigned bafflement each time. Like, you know why Disney is telling you that the people who are going to be staying in another room can’t also be “staying” in your room at the same time. They know what you’re trying to do. They’re not idiots.

Recognize when you’re trying to game the system and own that. Not only will you be happier, your interactions with cast members will probably be more productive if they don’t feel like you’re insulting their intelligence.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Im curious if I booked a FD room by myself and later tried to add 3 guests to the same room, where they would then get FD as well, is that something Disney normally allows? I'm not even asking about the second room. Im just surprised Disney would allow you to add new guests after the fact when FD is involved.

 

[AngiTN]

The difference is that the free dining promotion is tied to the room and is for the people who are staying in it. OP is trying to add people who will not be staying in the room to the reservation just to get them free dining. Again, no judgement, but I can see why Disney would balk.

She said she was confused and wanted an explanation for why Disney didn’t want to make this easy for her, so I gave her one. I’m sure she’ll be able to make it work, but I’m also sure that Disney’s position is that if she wanted a second room with free dining, she should have booked it when it was offered. Free dining is a limited time offer for a limited number of rooms for a reason, and the promotion ended months ago.

Consider that Disney is willing to offer free dining for value resorts in part because they know four adults are not likely to want to squeeze into one value room. I’ve done this exact same thing, but let’s not pretend that getting people free dining by claiming they’re staying in a room where they aren’t isn’t outside the intention of the promotion.

But they CAN stay in the room, they just choose not to.
They are paying for them to stay there, in the extra fee
They are paying for the tickets required
They are not over capacity.
So they are NOT doing anything wrong and are actually trying to give Disney more money by booking the 2nd room on top of the room they are paying for, in essence paying for 2 of the guests twice. So there's simply wrong info being given by the reservation dept. Not the first time
She doesn't want a 2nd room with free dining.

The only time it would be gaming the system is if they tried to add too many guests to a room. What they want to do is way more legit than booking 2 rooms, only 1 with free dining and then spreading the dining plan among the guests in both of them. They are booking 1 room, 4 guests, paying for it ALL and then only having 2 of them use it. But still paying for it. Who's being gamed?

Because In read the thread. They have one room that is booked with free dining. They have to all be listed as guests in that room to qualify for the free dining. But they want to spread out. The resort will not let them also have another room with the same names. So, without lying and making up false names, I gave them a way to do it. Hope you are OK with that.

But in this case the resort is wrong and they will let them have a room with the same names in both. No need to lie period

 

[AngiTN]

Im curious if I booked a FD room by myself and later tried to add 3 guests to the same room, where they would then get FD as well, is that something Disney normally allows? I'm not even asking about the second room. Im just surprised Disney would allow you to add new guests after the fact when FD is involved.

As long as you do not exceed room capacity, yes

 

[ShellyMouse]

Hey all! Thanks so much for all the replies! Here's the exact way it went down.. I called the end of January to book the free dining offer, paid my $200 deposit. I asked the CM that if I had others (up to 3 others) that wanted to join on my trip, would I need to add them BEFORE the offer ended, or anytime, since I locked in the room. CM said I could add up to 3 more people anytime, even after the offer ended. Ok, great! My price alone was $1300-1400(w/o looking it up), with 5 day hopper. Then my sister jumped on board. I called to see how the $$$ would break down to let others know what it would be if they decided to go. Me alone was the 1300+. 2, 3, or 4 people, it would be $866 each. (that includes the extra adult fee) Ok! Next my step-mom jumped on board. Then my best friend. So, now we have 4 ladies going. I was talking to my sister and said.. ugh.. 6 nights all sharing 2 beds and 1 bathroom, were gonna be squished, I should have thought this out better. I went on WDW to check out special offers.. Room only, 20% off! Went to book it, no POP rooms left for that deal. Talked again with the ladies.. We all decided it was worth the extra money to spread out even w/o discount on 2nd room. So, my sister jumped online and booked that room. 2nd room, room only for 6 nights is just under $1000. So, we each pay the $866 + $250 for the trip, and we each get our own bed! AND 2 bathrooms!!! I called last week to add the 3 names to my original ressie (it still only had me listed) and they said my sister couldn't be listed in 2 rooms.. I just don't get why they care if we are ok paying $1000 more for extra space. Maybe we would all sleep in 1 room, and have the 2nd room for our dressing room! LOL! I mean.. the 4 of us are all getting free dining no matter what. Fair and square. They want to fill all the rooms.. I helped them fill another room! HAHA!

I'm going to take the advice and add sister to original room (FD room) with middle name. Thanks all for the help and advice!!! Can not wait until our trip!!!

 

[jaggies]

She doesn't want a 2nd room with free dining.

Of course not, she only wants free dining for guests who will be staying in a second room.

 

[ShellyMouse]

Also.. We upgraded to the Regular DP from QS. #justtakemymoneydisney

 

[AngiTN]

Hey all! Thanks so much for all the replies! Here's the exact way it went down.. I called the end of January to book the free dining offer, paid my $200 deposit. I asked the CM that if I had others (up to 3 others) that wanted to join on my trip, would I need to add them BEFORE the offer ended, or anytime, since I locked in the room. CM said I could add up to 3 more people anytime, even after the offer ended. Ok, great! My price alone was $1300-1400(w/o looking it up), with 5 day hopper. Then my sister jumped on board. I called to see how the $$$ would break down to let others know what it would be if they decided to go. Me alone was the 1300+. 2, 3, or 4 people, it would be $866 each. (that includes the extra adult fee) Ok! Next my step-mom jumped on board. Then my best friend. So, now we have 4 ladies going. I was talking to my sister and said.. ugh.. 6 nights all sharing 2 beds and 1 bathroom, were gonna be squished, I should have thought this out better. I went on WDW to check out special offers.. Room only, 20% off! Went to book it, no POP rooms left for that deal. Talked again with the ladies.. We all decided it was worth the extra money to spread out even w/o discount on 2nd room. So, my sister jumped online and booked that room. 2nd room, room only for 6 nights is just under $1000. So, we each pay the $866 + $250 for the trip, and we each get our own bed! AND 2 bathrooms!!! I called last week to add the 3 names to my original ressie (it still only had me listed) and they said my sister couldn't be listed in 2 rooms.. I just don't get why they care if we are ok paying $1000 more for extra space. Maybe we would all sleep in 1 room, and have the 2nd room for our dressing room! LOL! I mean.. the 4 of us are all getting free dining no matter what. Fair and square. They want to fill all the rooms.. I helped them fill another room! HAHA!

I'm going to take the advice and add sister to original room (FD room) with middle name. Thanks all for the help and advice!!! Can not wait until our trip!!!

They can. The person you called to speak to was wrong. I have personally been listed in 2 rooms at once, no problems at all. So call back and ask again. And again. Till you get someone who knows what they are doing. There are a few

 

[AngiTN]

Of course not, she only wants free dining for guests who will be staying in a second room.

Is she paying for the guests in the room with the free dining or not? Just answer this. Is anyone trying to not pay for some aspect of this room?
Besides, maybe they'll change their mind and have a big old slumber party one night. Then they'll all sleep in the 1 room.

 

[AngiTN]

Also.. We upgraded to the Regular DP from QS. #justtakemymoneydisney

I had another thought,
What if you cancel the room only reservation, long enough to add all 4 of you in your room.
Then go in and book a new room only reservation
This would only be a viable option if there are still openings at the resort for your date, for the room type you want. Don't do this if it shows as sold out/unavailable. You might lose your room. But if it's open, then just don't worry about that room right now. Cancel, rebook after you've got the 4 of you straight in the room you have. The other room can be booked online, without any issues. Won't matter if the guests in that room are already booked in another room too.

 

[Tigger's ally]

But in this case the resort is wrong and they will let them have a room with the same names in both. No need to lie period

Look, I gave them an option for a problem they had. I realize you don't like my answer (that appears to be a re-occurring theme ) but all I can do is ask you this.

Would my answer work? Yes, it would work. Is it an option for the OP? Maybe

Maybe she doesn't like it, I am fine with that. But I threw it out there so she can have options. Most people that ask questions like to have a multitude of options.

 

[AngiTN]

Look, I gave them an option for a problem they had. I realize you don't like my answer (that appears to be a re-occurring theme ) but all I can do is ask you this.

Would my answer work? Yes, it would work. Is it an option for the OP? Maybe

Maybe she doesn't like it, I am fine with that. But I threw it out there so she can have options. Most people that ask questions like to have a multitude of options.

I was honestly asking for what you saw that made this a valid option, that I was overlooking. I never indicated I didn't like the answer, only that I didn't understand it, hence asking for clarification. Guess it goes both way, you didn't like being asked why, for some reason. I was trying to learn, sorry.
You explained it and I only answered that it wasn't necessary to lie. Since so many seem to think it is.
They aren't trying to do anything nefarious or against the rules.
Simply have a segment of CM that are clueless on how to do things. Which is NEVER new

 

[Nancyg56]

The difference is that the free dining promotion is tied to the room and is for the people who are staying in it. OP is trying to add people who will not be staying in the room to the reservation just to get them free dining. Again, no judgement, but I can see why Disney would balk. She says she “needs” them to all get free dining but they also all “want to spread out.” I can see why Disney might think she was trying to have her cake and eat it too.

Consider that Disney is willing to offer free dining for value resorts in part because they know four adults are not likely to want to squeeze into one value room.

She said she was confused and wanted an explanation for why Disney didn’t want to make this easy for her, so I gave her one. I’m sure she’ll be able to make it work, but I’m also sure that Disney’s position is that if she wanted a second room with free dining, she should have booked it when it was offered. Free dining is a limited time offer for a limited number of rooms for a reason, and the promotion ended months ago.

Again, I’ve done this exact same thing before, but let’s not pretend that getting people free dining by claiming they’re staying in a room where they aren’t isn’t outside the intention of the promotion.

I feel like every time I see a thread with a title like “Doesn’t Disney want my money?!?!” it’s someone trying to bend the rules of whatever promotions there and then getting upset that they’re getting pushback from Disney. It’s totally fine to push the limits, that’s your right as a consumer, but I could do without the feigned bafflement each time. Like, you know why Disney is telling you that the people who are going to be staying in another room can’t also be “staying” in your room at the same time. They know what you’re trying to do. They’re not idiots.

Recognize when you’re trying to game the system and own that. Not only will you be happier, your interactions with cast members will probably be more productive if they don’t feel like you’re insulting their intelligence.

She is paying for what she is getting. She is actually adding more into what she is required to do. You are splitting hairs for some reason that I cannot fathom.

 

[nkereina]

The difference is that the free dining promotion is tied to the room and is for the people who are staying in it. OP is trying to add people who will not be staying in the room to the reservation just to get them free dining.

It makes no difference to Disney, or to anyone else, if the bodies of the registered guests on the room are physically in the room or not. There's no physical presence requirement on the free dining promotion or even the room reservation. The OP will be paying for the extra person charges to have those people listed on the room. Why would Disney, or anyone else for that matter, care if the people are sleeping elsewhere? And in this case, they are actually paying MORE because they will have a second room on property. So Disney is actually coming out ahead on this.

I think you're missing the entirety of the point which is as long as the capacity is there and OP is paying for the extra people as they should, that's all that matters. Their foot doesn't have to touch the carpet - no one cares if they are there, requires them to be there, or would even know if they are there.