Thought I’d share this in case anyone else is in the same situation. Right now, we have a room-only reservation booked. However, we are hoping to be able to score Free Dining once it is released (obviously this is never guaranteed!). We are committed to our dates whether or not we get Free Dining, so it made sense to book the placeholder room-only reservation in advance.
My mother called Disney today to ask whether, if we were to modify our room-only reservation to a package once Free Dining is released (likely/hopefully in late April), we would be subject to the new resort parking fee. She was told that we would be. Basically, changing a room-only reservation to a package makes it a “new” reservation in Disney’s system and since that “new” reservation would be made after March 21st, it would come with the new parking fee.
However, if we were to book a package now, before March 21st, and then modify the package to add Free Dining, that would not be a new reservation in Disney’s system, and so would not be subject to the resort parking fee. In essence, what she was told was that room-only to package = a new reservation = parking fee, but that package to package = only a modification = no parking fee if the initial package was booked before March 21st.
Yeah – I would think that’s more evidence that changing a room-only to a package really amounts to cancelling the room-only reservation and booking a new package reservation. Otherwise why refund the initial one-night deposit and then charge $200 for the package rather than just charging (or refunding) the difference between the two?
From what I’ve read and seen on TA vlogs, this is business as usual for Disney. There is no advantage in “holding a room” with a room only booking only to later convert it to a package because ultimately the room must be cancelled. It is never “converted”. So, in the time between when you cancel the room and then book the package, there is always the risk that someone else can come in and get the room out from under you before you manage to reserve the package instead.
However, at least one TA told me that if you register a package and then later the Dining Plan discount comes, they must ALSO cancel the reservation and then make it again to get the Dining Plan. But this is in contradiction to what was stated here. So I’m not sure which is accurate.