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Yesterday we learned that Walt Disney World is offering free dining to guests whose travel plans have been canceled due to the closure of the parks. Today we learned how this offer can be applied for guests with Walt Disney World Annual Passes.
Recently, we learned that both Walt Disney World and Disneyland were closing indefinitely. Guests with upcoming vacations were left wondering how their trips would be impacted.
Disney announced that guests who had vacation packages booked between March 16 and May 31 could now take advantage of a sweet new offer when rebooking their trip.
Eligible guests can take advantage of a package deal that includes Disney resort accommodations, park admission, and the Disney dining plan. It’s only valid for guests who booked to stay between March 16 and May 31 (even if the park opens before May 31).
The offer is valid for most nights between June 1 through September 30. It must be booked by May 31.
While this deal is exciting for many guests, Annual Passholders were left wondering why they were left out of the offer.
Since Annual Passholders do not usually book vacation packages that include a hotel room and park tickets, they were not eligible to take advantage of this free dining offer.
However, new details are now available that are very favorable for Annual Passholders!
As posted by Theresa of the No-Guilt Disney Podcast on Twitter, it looks like Annual Passholders can still benefit from the free dining deal when rebooking.
It looks as though in order for Annual Passholders to take advantage of this special offer, they must still purchase the minimum 2-day tickets required for the offer, but the cost of these tickets can be applied towards an Annual Pass renewal or purchase.
This is exciting news for Annual Passholders that had their Disney vacations impacted!
Are you an Annual Passholder who had their vacation impacted by Walt Disney World’s closure? Will you be rebooking with the free dining deal? Let us know on Kenny the Pirate’s Facebook Page or join our crew and continue the discussion.
Jamie Fonseca
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lissakay
Wednesday 15th of April 2020
I did the math, and the value of the AP discounts for room only are much more than the value of free dining, in most cases, or very close. Then factoring in the AP discount on dining, or TiW like we have, and “free” isn’t very free at all. The dining plans are never a good value for AP holders, even when they’re free.
Angi
Monday 30th of March 2020
We just paid the extra to make them Flex tickets, or whatever the phrase is, so they don't expire with your stay. Had no issues using them at all. Still got the full credit for the value of the ticket, including the upgrade to make them flexible.
Meg Mayo
Monday 30th of March 2020
Yes, it was that way, and easy to do in the past. But, everything changed with dated tickets. My daughter had an AP last summer, and she was invited to go to WDW with a friend's family. But, she had to buy a ticket to stay in their room because they had free dining. I called and was assured that I could apply the ticket cost to a future AP. Sounded easy, and I had done it before, so I let her go on the trip. And then the nightmare started. No one knew how to do it. I was also at WDW, and I spent about 15 HOURS while in the parks, on the phone trying to get the credit forwarded. The castmembers repeatedly told me that because the ticket was "dated", it expired on the last day, even though it hadn't been used, and had been positioned behind the AP (this also took about 4 hours on the phone.) I finally got someone who knew how to put the credit in her account, but it was a ridiculous amount of time, The helpful cast member put all kinds of notes in the file, but I'm still not sure what will happen when I try to use the credit. I'm not saying it can't be done, and a 2 day ticket is a lot less $ to put at risk than a 6 day ticket, but I'd still be concerned about the final outcome.
Jessica
Monday 30th of March 2020
Do you know how long the credit is good for? What if my renewal isn’t up until next year?
Angi
Monday 30th of March 2020
Yes, this has always been how it worked. If someone with an AP wanted to book free dining all they had to do was book with 2 day tickets (or whatever one they wanted) and use that towards renewal. I've done it a couple of times over the years. The only difference I see here is they've said it "out loud and in writing" when before, it was just done.