Should I book? Or wait and book separately?

[Welly]

Disney haven’t confirmed any dates for dining though. Or even what this years offer will be.

I’d not be tempted by a carrot that has no substance.

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by Welly

Disney haven’t confirmed any dates for dining though. Or even what this years offer will be.

I’d not be tempted by a carrot that has no substance.

See more...

They've confirmed it to VH, hence them being able to do this. Disney would be down on them hard if it wasn't authorised. It's happened in previous years too. From what I can recall, Disney have never confirmed the offer to the public before release date, but have to TAs.

Plus, people really haven't got anything to lose. They either get the good price/price they're happy with if VH can confirm the room on 19th April, or they get a refund and can look elsewhere.

[tinkerbelll]

I’ll be waiting. My VH quote

15th July for 14 nights
POR with upgraded free qsdp to DDP
For 2 adults 2 kids
Disney tickets
No car

£9319

I just laughed. So will def be waiting

[Welly]

I’ve seen a post on another forum saying Disney have had no such conversation with VH?

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by Welly

I’ve seen a post on another forum saying Disney have had no such conversation with VH?

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Not according to VH. Plus, do you really think Disney would allow it or VH would even risk so many angry customers or annoying Disney with whom they do a lot of work?

The same thing happens every year - TAs with advance notice who let the public know, but there are always people who won't believe it until they hear it from Disney, which is fair enough. One independent TA has even put a double page as in their local paper about free dining. That would be a rather silly thing to do, and also for VH, on a whim or speculation. Approval for this would come from high up in VH, and I can't see them doing it without info and approval from Disney. Heads would roll if they're wrong. Still, as I said, people haven't really got anything to lose have they? I called for a quote but it was too high for me, so I'll be waiting and going DIY, but everything said and emailed matches other people's reports on here.

[Welly]

This is what I’ve seen on another forum:

“I spoke to our commercial manager at Disney direct and asked why a direct sell operator (virgin) had been given an exclusive on the offer as they were claiming. He responded with...
"They don’t! There is still no confirmed offer & I’ve asked the Account Management team responsible for that company to raise the matter with them."
"We can’t confirm anything as we have no offer to launch at present. Anybody who takes bookings is speculating that we will reintroduce the offer as we have done for the past few years. Should the offer either not be repeated or be significantly different to previous years, we risk causing appreciable guest dissatisfaction, which I’m sure you & we would both prefer to avoid."
So just to clarify, Disney have stated that Virgin have no exclusive offer on the free dining. Disney have also stated that there is no confirmed offer.
Free dining is a Disney promotion. Travel agents and tour operators get to sell the Disney promotion - alongside Disney themselves obviously.
If free dining hasn't been released by Disney, the offer that is being touted by Virgin and TUI or anyone else does not exist. If you book with anyone at the moment, you're not actually booking anything, you're just taking your deposit and handing it to someone else to look after, and to be honest, if that company is getting your money based on lying, I don't think they're a very reputable company to be handing your cash to.
No hotel room is secured for you and you have as much chance of getting that hotel room by booking now, as you do if you shop around if an early booking offer such as free dining is released and book then.
If your company claims that free dining can be added to your booking if it's released they're lying. They just haven't made a booking for you.
Disney have not confirmed the offer or released any details. As far as they are concerned you are booking an non-existent offer and companies offering it are risking their commercial agreements.
Also, don't forget that Disney are a business. The income generated from direct bookings is far higher for Disney than those made through their commercial partners, who they offer better rates to. Do you really think Disney want other companies selling a product before them?”

[MrsMoney]

Originally Posted by tinkerbelll

I’ll be waiting. My VH quote

15th July for 14 nights
POR with upgraded free qsdp to DDP
For 2 adults 2 kids
Disney tickets
No car

£9319

I just laughed. So will def be waiting

See more...

Mine was overpriced too - No thanks. I booked our very first Disney holiday through them a few years back when I didn’t know any better and haven’t made the same mistake since. Will be doing DIY like every other year if they’re going to keep throwing 12k quotes at me.

The girl I spoke to advised that Disney had confirmed free dining would be released on 19th April and that this was how they were able to offer this “save your spot” thing... how true that is I don’t know but she did say if the room choice couldn’t be honoured a full refund of deposit would be made so I can see why those that actually got good package quotes are tempted.

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by Welly

This is what I’ve seen on another forum:

“I spoke to our commercial manager at Disney direct and asked why a direct sell operator (virgin) had been given an exclusive on the offer as they were claiming. He responded with...
"They don’t! There is still no confirmed offer & I’ve asked the Account Management team responsible for that company to raise the matter with them."
"We can’t confirm anything as we have no offer to launch at present. Anybody who takes bookings is speculating that we will reintroduce the offer as we have done for the past few years. Should the offer either not be repeated or be significantly different to previous years, we risk causing appreciable guest dissatisfaction, which I’m sure you & we would both prefer to avoid."
So just to clarify, Disney have stated that Virgin have no exclusive offer on the free dining. Disney have also stated that there is no confirmed offer.
Free dining is a Disney promotion. Travel agents and tour operators get to sell the Disney promotion - alongside Disney themselves obviously.
If free dining hasn't been released by Disney, the offer that is being touted by Virgin and TUI or anyone else does not exist. If you book with anyone at the moment, you're not actually booking anything, you're just taking your deposit and handing it to someone else to look after, and to be honest, if that company is getting your money based on lying, I don't think they're a very reputable company to be handing your cash to.
No hotel room is secured for you and you have as much chance of getting that hotel room by booking now, as you do if you shop around if an early booking offer such as free dining is released and book then.
If your company claims that free dining can be added to your booking if it's released they're lying. They just haven't made a booking for you.
Disney have not confirmed the offer or released any details. As far as they are concerned you are booking an non-existent offer and companies offering it are risking their commercial agreements.
Also, don't forget that Disney are a business. The income generated from direct bookings is far higher for Disney than those made through their commercial partners, who they offer better rates to. Do you really think Disney want other companies selling a product before them?”

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Interesting, but I don't believe for 1 minute that Disney don't know what their 2019 offer is or a release date. Commercial businesses plan these things so far ahead.

Also, VH aren't saying it's a confirmed booking. They're giving you a quote, and if you're happy they will save your spot and confirm on 19th April. It would be strange for them to pull that date out of thin air.

Still, I guess we'll see in a couple of weeks. If VH have cocked up, then there will be heads rolling and people will get their deposits back. If they are right, then people will hopefully get their bookings confirmed. They've made it very clear that nothing will be confirmed until 19th April.

If people want to take a punt on a good quote then I really don't see the harm. It's not like it's 'Frank's Florida Holidays' people are taking up this offer with. VH are a big company, abta, atol protected etc. It's obviously not for you, but it suits others

[MrsMoney]

Originally Posted by Welly

If your company claims that free dining can be added to your booking if it's released they're lying. They just haven't made a booking for you.

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This is exactly the case - they are clearly just taking hotel and room requests with the intention of placing the bookings with Disney upon the release of free dining. I assumed people would be aware of this upon booking with VH though as it’s obvious given bookings made with Disney today would not qualify for free dining as the offer doesn’t currently exist for 2019.

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by MrsMoney

This is exactly the case - they are clearly just taking hotel and room requests with the intention of placing the bookings with Disney upon the release of free dining. I assumed people would be aware of this upon booking with VH though as it’s obvious given bookings made with Disney today would not qualify for free dining as the offer doesn’t currently exist for 2019.

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Yes, and VH are making it very clear that this is the case when you call to quote/book. Bookings will not be confirmed until 19th April.