The " My Dates didnt fall within free dining dates" thread

[dolce]

ok am i the only one that is missing free dining by a few dates?
dont get me wrong, congrats to the people who are able to get it
my dates are aug 14-21...why couldnt school start after labor day :confused3

[n2mm]

No you're not alone. We are just sitting here reading the other threads. We are Aug. 10-20, but knew my chances were slim when I choose those dates. (I missed it last year too).

[bas71873]

I missed it too, but hoping for even lighter crowds (first weekend of Oct) :yay:

[pooksma]

Another one bites the dust.:lmao:

Sometimes its not fun being the :teacher:

Guess we'll have to hope for a code in June like last year.

[dolce]

so do you think i have a chance for lower crowds now?
im assuming many people will change their dates for FD

[The Brain]

so do you think i have a chance for lower crowds now?
im assuming many people will change their dates for FDDecent crowd size around the week of the 20th.

[jadedbeauty14304]

I booked aug 14-21 hoping to miss the free dining crowd crazies! YaY! It worked.

I did free dining a few years ago and saving the money is just not worth the extra people everywhere!

[disneysnob]

so do you think i have a chance for lower crowds now?
im assuming many people will change their dates for FD

That's what I'm hoping for, too:thumbsup2
We're Aug. 10-23.
....Here's hoping that alot of people change their dates for the free dining....:rolleyes:

[angeleigh]

ok am i the only one that is missing free dining by a few dates?
dont get me wrong, congrats to the people who are able to get it
my dates are aug 14-21...why couldnt school start after labor day :confused3

We are missing the dates too. Our reservation is from 8/17-8/24.

[taximomfor4]

ok am i the only one that is missing free dining by a few dates?
dont get me wrong, congrats to the people who are able to get it
my dates are aug 14-21...why couldnt school start after labor day :confused3

We wre lucky this year, the kids' school starts after Labor Day for once! Then< I checked DH's calendar for his district (he's a teacher). Of COURSE he goes back on 8/25. Maybe I will take the kids without him. Humphhhh.

[DisneyMomx7]

I would have loved to be able to take advantage of free dining. We're taking our whole family - and paying for them - in July. 4 rooms, 15 people!!!!

Unfortunately two ds will be in law school (1 3rd year, and 1 1st year) so they absolutely couldn't go during that time frame.

Congrats to all who were able to take advantage of the FD. Now I have to hope for a decent AP discount for July.

[jrasmom]

We're taking our youngest two kids for 4 days at the end of September...the last weekend. I was waiting for this to see if we were going to luck into free dining. Looks like we missed it.

So...now I have a question. Will there be some sort of room only code do you think from September 21st --- Octboer something since free dining ends September 20th?
And if there is it probably won't come out until June sometime or later right?

What if I book now (well in a few days) can I call back later and change or would I have to cancel and rebook later so I may as well just wait?
Sorry so many questions, we've only been one other time in Sept 2006 and lucked into a free dining ad booking in May that time

[kldmom2000]

This is our 2nd year in a row that we leave 2 days before it starts.... I'm hoping it's like last year in that the crowds were a bit less because schools had gone back in the south already and free dining was not happening yet.... PLUS, mid June last year, an offer came out (ZJZ) for deep discounts on some deluxe resorts for August until the free DDP offer was happening, so we actually saved what free dining would have saved us while staying at the YC... I think our total savings was approx. $700 for the week which is what the DDP cost us anyway (2 adults and 2 kids). Right now I have the AA discount saving us almost $400... but if a better code comes out like last year, I'll hop on that one instead :banana:

[DVCJEN]

WE have never made it for free dining. Our dates are 8/10 - 8/17. But I am really hoping that this will reduce the crowds!

[cdel73]

We are going from aug 10-22. We miss it too, but I am ok with it as long as the crowds might be lighter. We went the last two years and it was fun. This year I have a room discount that doesn't save as much as free dining, but a few hundred dollars. I just didn't want to take my kids out of school. I did last year, it was only Kindergarten, but I felt bad about it. I am glad fot the peole who do get it though. Disney's prices are so ridiculous that this is the only way some people get to go. I am happy for them.:goodvibes

[KikiFan]

Count me in too! We're going from Aug 9-23. I'm okay with missing the free dining if I miss the crowds. I would really like a better room rate though!

[PrincessBelle23]

I'm so bummed about the dates! My trip overlaps free dining, so if the crowds are bad I get hit twice by not being able to take advantage of free DDP, but still being stuck with all the people who are eating for free! :sad2: We're going August 19th - 28th, but there's no way to get around it because flights are SO expensive labor day weekend, it's like a difference of $88 each for me and my BF - not worth the work IMO. I wish they could have started it just one week sooner!! :headache:

[n2mm]

I'm so bummed about the dates! My trip overlaps free dining, so if the crowds are bad I get hit twice by not being able to take advantage of free DDP, but still being stuck with all the people who are eating for free! :sad2: We're going August 19th - 28th, but there's no way to get around it because flights are SO expensive labor day weekend, it's like a difference of $88 each for me and my BF - not worth the work IMO. I wish they could have started it just one week sooner!! :headache:

Why not do a split reservation. You can do a room only for 8-19 to the 24th, then book a Free ddp package for the 24-28th? You can even stay at the same resort and even stay in the same room.

[The Brain]

from what I've always noticed, the crowds have been better during free dining than in early august.

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We are missing the dates too. Our reservation is from 8/17-8/24.

Ouch! Going home on the day free dining starts stings, doesn't it? That happened to us one year.

We're going Aug. 1-17 so we already knew our dates were probably too early. It's OK. We had "free" dining last year and would have been better off taking the AP discount on the room.

[letstalkboutdisney]

We just miss the dates too. We are going Aug 16th to 23rd. We too are hoping the crowds will be lighter. Does anyone think Disney will offer a room discount for August. When would they do that in June?

[disnut1149]

Hi
I'm so disappointed about the dates. We'll be there from 8/15 to 8/22. We've had free dining three times and was hoping that it would be the last two weeks in August. My DD is a teacher, and has to be back the last week. We did get 30% off our room at POFQ, so that does help.

[Darcy03231]

I'm booked for the third week of October with a 40% off room code. When I checked this afternoon about changing my reservation to go during free dining as my dates are flexible I found:

#1 - the cost savings weren't that big as I'd have to pay rack rate for my room to take advantage of free dining; and

#2 - All the TS restaurants I want to dine in were already full for prime time reservations (earliest available time was 8 pm or later) or I couldn't get in on the night I wanted at all.

I decided I was better off just keeping my October reservation. With all the people that will be there for free dining I'm hoping the October crowds will be lower and the restaurants won't be anywhere near as busy!

[beeayekay]

from what I've always noticed, the crowds have been better during free dining than in early august.


I agree. We went the first and second years of free dining during the week beginning Labor Day and there were NO crowds. Hot, but heat can be seemingly tolerated better if the parks are empty!

Babs

[Disneyland_Mama]

I'm so bummed about the dates! My trip overlaps free dining, so if the crowds are bad I get hit twice by not being able to take advantage of free DDP, but still being stuck with all the people who are eating for free! :sad2: We're going August 19th - 28th, but there's no way to get around it because flights are SO expensive labor day weekend, it's like a difference of $88 each for me and my BF - not worth the work IMO. I wish they could have started it just one week sooner!! :headache:
I have the same dates as you (sort of 8/20-8/29). I was hoping to be out of there before the free dining madness, but I guess not. :rolleyes: I got the 40% off code, and booked a 2 bdrm at SSR - free dining doesn't save me as much as the code.
from what I've always noticed, the crowds have been better during free dining than in early august.
Really? We went last year before free dining started and I notice a huge jump in crowds. :confused3

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

We will be there just past the deadline, which I expected, since the F&W Festival will be going on then. I am just hoping to catch a couple of our days available with the Bounceback offer, when I am at WDW in less than 2 weeks!

[nikandboys]

I am booked Sept 26-Oct 3. Knew it was a long shot anyway. Does any one know if there will be a discount offered for that time frame? I am looking for anything as I got a code too but could use that due to the dates also.

[lugnut33]

Hi
I'm so disappointed about the dates. We'll be there from 8/15 to 8/22. We've had free dining three times and was hoping that it would be the last two weeks in August. My DD is a teacher, and has to be back the last week. We did get 30% off our room at POFQ, so that does help.

We will be at POFQ from 8/17-8/24 on the 30% ($104 per night). My wife is a teacher who has to be back the last week. LOL.

From 8/9-8/17 we will be in So. Cal. and spend 3 days at Disneyland, 1 at Sea World, 1 at San Diego Zoo, and then we'll bum around San Diego.

[Allieloopy]

We will miss free dining too. I thought so as we are going Aug 12-21. Oh well. We will just order some sandwich and breakfast stuff for our room, do CS and only do one big dinner show. We really liked the dining plan for the Character meals but it was a lot of food to go through.

I think we will be lucky that we don't have to cancel. I got a new job so now I can better afford to go but I don't know if I will have vacation days! :rotfl:
If the trip has to be cancelled then that just means I was meant to save up to take a Disney cruise next year.

[disnut1149]

We will be at POFQ from 8/17-8/24 on the 30% ($104 per night). My wife is a teacher who has to be back the last week. LOL.

From 8/9-8/17 we will be in So. Cal. and spend 3 days at Disneyland, 1 at Sea World, 1 at San Diego Zoo, and then we'll bum around San Diego.

It sounds like you're going to have a great vacation. I'll be there with my DD and DGD (5). Can't wait. Have a great time!!

[lilyv]

I'm booked for the third week of October with a 40% off room code. When I checked this afternoon about changing my reservation to go during free dining as my dates are flexible I found:

#1 - the cost savings weren't that big as I'd have to pay rack rate for my room to take advantage of free dining; and

#2 - All the TS restaurants I want to dine in were already full for prime time reservations (earliest available time was 8 pm or later) or I couldn't get in on the night I wanted at all.

I decided I was better off just keeping my October reservation. With all the people that will be there for free dining I'm hoping the October crowds will be lower and the restaurants won't be anywhere near as busy!

Plus, you'll be at WDW during Epcot Food and Wine. :)

[poohs_hunny]

Count me in - my dates are Aug. 12-15. I have to go back to work on the 25th, so that's a no-go. I guess I have no right to complain, since I got free dining the first two years it was offered, back when it covered mid-August. But still, it would have been nice! I'm still hoping for a room discount or something, especially since the prices of flights this year are :scared: !

[pha1226]

Me too. I'm booked at Pop 8/22 - 8/30 with a 20% off room code. I tried pricing a split stay to take advantage of free dining from 8/24 - 8/30 but the park tickets are soooo much more expensive that we wouldn't save any money doing free dining. Oh well....I'm just glad all my dining reservations are made!

[PrincessBelle23]

Why not do a split reservation. You can do a room only for 8-19 to the 24th, then book a Free ddp package for the 24-28th? You can even stay at the same resort and even stay in the same room.

:sad2: I priced that, but we'd get hit with buying tix twice, and no matter how I work it it doesn't save enough to make it worthwhile. Thanks for the suggestion though!

I have the same dates as you (sort of 8/20-8/29). I was hoping to be out of there before the free dining madness, but I guess not. :rolleyes: I got the 40% off code, and booked a 2 bdrm at SSR - free dining doesn't save me as much as the code.

Hopefully it won't be too crazy! At least the 40% saves you more... ours is just at ASMo so free DDP would have been better, but hey, 40% is better than nothing so in the end I guess I can't complain too much :rolleyes1

[spalady]

We miss FD also. Our trip is Aug 10-17. I was really bummed this morning but am ok with it now. I am happy to be going to disney even without free dining.

[jerseygal]

Now with free dining announced from August 24th, thought that mid August that being August 10-August 24th would be a little less busy....

However, Disney has granted UK RESIDENTS last fall "free dining" bookings, which start August 10th-September 27th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For purposes of FREE DINING, YES, SAVING SOME MONEY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, since I'm traveling after the August 10th window, but before the August 24th window of free dining, those guests are EXCLUDED....

Perhaps Disney will offer some hefty discounts this June for that window of time as some posters have suggested..Apparently they did in 07!!!

Mid August travelers!!! Lets hope for some GENEROUS DISCOUNTS!!!!! :wizard: :wizard: :wizard: :wizard: :cheer2: :dance3: