How does one get "free dining"?

[RNtheRN]

I've read here and there some great stories about free dining, how it really helps when planning and budgeting a trip. Just how does one get free dining? We've been going to WDW consistantly for over five years now, we are in the DVC, and get some pretty good package deals when we plan through Disney.
But the term "free dining" never pops up when we book a trip or talk to somebody from Disney when planning. Can someone explain what exactly free dining is, how or where you can get it, who gets it, etc? I'm a bit stumped on the subject.

[purplepixiedust]

I do not know how you "get it" but when I booked my trip they did not have any special codes associated with my name and then when we came back from vacation and I picked up my mail at the post office, low and behold I had recieved a post card with a free quick service dining pin valid the first day of my trip (ironically!) and available until July of this year. Well I can't afford to go back again and it just annoyed me that they would send that to me while I was there instead of just offering it to me when I booked my trip two weeks prior to when I actually took the trip.

[3happydancers]

IF you go to disney on DVC points, free dining is not available. IF you are looking for free dining, for the past several years Disney has had a promotion that is usually put out around the beginning of April. It is first offered to Disney Visa Card holders then after a few days it has been opened to the public. You must book a package which includes your hotel at rack rate and a purchase of park tickets for at least a one day pass. Usually the free dining is for stays between mid August throught most of September, sorry no exact dates. They have on occassion extended those dates but it is never guarenteed nor is it guarenteed that free dining will even be offered this year or in the future. It is a year to year thing but they have been consistant. When you call to book your reservations you must give a code which you can usually find here on the boards under discounts.

Hope this helps.

[3happydancers]

Oh, I did forget to mention that recently I received a card in the mail offering free QSD with a pin code during I believe the dates between July and August 15th. But again, you cannot use this if you're using DVC points. You can bank your points and book a package.

[Big_Disney_Fan]

have not seen the offer for free dining yet? The last couple of years the offer came out in late spring for the fall season.

[jcarwash]

Nope, a 2010 Aug/Sep free dining promotion has not been announced yet. We are thinking maybe late next week (3/25-3/26) or the following week, as that is when it was released to Disney Visa and then general public in 2009.

Some people like myself did reserve free dining for the Aug/Sep 2010 period via a bounceback offer in our rooms during last year's free dining package.

[TDC Nala]

There have been a number of PIN codes for free dining (usually free quick service dining) released in 2010, but no free dining offer that can be booked by the general public has been released by Disney yet. If they do, it is anticipated (but not confirmed) that the offer will be for check-ins between August 15 and October 2 (or thereabouts).

You must book a package with at least a one-day park ticket for each party member, paying full rack rate for the room, to apply free dining. Your check-in date must be within the promotion period. You cannot combine free dining with a room discount or any other discount, and DVC members staying on points are not eligible. Annual passholder ticketless packages are not eligible for free dining, you must buy a ticket. There has traditionally been a minimum 3 night and maximum 14 night stay for free dining.

Also be aware that the number of free dining packages offered at each resort is limited. Value resorts usually sell out first. If your first choice of resort has sold out of promotion packages for the dates you want, you will need to choose a different resort or different dates to get the promotion.

A general public free dining offer has been released for various dates in August and September (sometimes in the beginining of October but not usually past the first weekend) since 2005. In 2009, there was a second free dining public offer for dates between September 27 and December 17. This was the first time a general public free dining offer was in place for those later dates.

[Elisa]

I thought the maximum allowable days for free dining package was 10 days. Can anyone confirm this? I wanted to do 13 but decided to shorten my trip a bit so as not to have to bother with the whole 2 ressies and possiblility of having to move rooms and such.

[Elisa]

This is an example that shows the 10 day limit.

Walt Disney World has announced an extension of the the “Free Dining” promotion for 2009. With the “Free Dining” promotion, Disney resort guests who book a Magic Your Way package that includes both your Disney resort room and your Magic Your Way park passes will receive one of the Disney Dining plan add-ons for free for all guest three and older in your party. There are a few requirements:

■You must book at least a three night stay, and your stay cannot be longer than 10 nights
■You must include at least a one day Magic Your Way base ticket

[Bama_C]

This is an example that shows the 10 day limit.

Walt Disney World has announced an extension of the the “Free Dining” promotion for 2009. With the “Free Dining” promotion, Disney resort guests who book a Magic Your Way package that includes both your Disney resort room and your Magic Your Way park passes will receive one of the Disney Dining plan add-ons for free for all guest three and older in your party. There are a few requirements:

■You must book at least a three night stay, and your stay cannot be longer than 10 nights
■You must include at least a one day Magic Your Way base ticket


I have never never seen a 10 night limit, and for the past three years we have stayed for 11, 12, and 12 nights, respectively, with all nights including the free dining. Since there has been no offer yet for this year, I don't know what the deal will be. But we booked the bounceback last year and have the free dining again this coming September for all 12 nights of our stay.

pixiedust:

[tinka-belle]

The stay limit for the FD packages has been 14 nights, I've seen the 14 night limit on several promotions for US/Canada, not just on the FD one. UK and other international visitors have different promotions that allow a longer stay. Any more than 14 nights is a separate reservation. Now and then I've added a night or two as a separate room only res since I could get better flights if I stayed over the 14 nights.

The limit on MYW park tickets is 10 days, with or without a promotion, good for 14 days from first use if you don't pay extra for non-expiring tickets. Again, this is for US and Canadian residents.

[bluslag]

We are DVC members and have just gotten back from our last vacation in March. We were thinking about booking a fall vacation at one of the resorts and not using our DVC points until next march. We wondered if we would be able to get free dining but were not sure how to go about it. We have a Disney Visa rewards card and have had one from the start. We have a premium annual pass so we would not need to get passes. Would that take us out of the requirements for getting free dining. I know you have to pay full price for rooms but I don't think we would like to pay for passes when we have them already. This year they gave us 15 months for our passes so we were excited we won't have to pay for them for our next years vacation. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

[keishashadow]

We are DVC members and have just gotten back from our last vacation in March. We were thinking about booking a fall vacation at one of the resorts and not using our DVC points until next march. We wondered if we would be able to get free dining but were not sure how to go about it. We have a Disney Visa rewards card and have had one from the start. We have a premium annual pass so we would not need to get passes. Would that take us out of the requirements for getting free dining. I know you have to pay full price for rooms but I don't think we would like to pay for passes when we have them already. This year they gave us 15 months for our passes so we were excited we won't have to pay for them for our next years vacation. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

When FDP was announced for Dec. last year, i let my DS have a vacation on me;)and transferred/banked the points.

we stayed @ the PORFQ for a week & had a great time.:thumbsup2As a bonus there was a 'bounceback' offer in our room, 40% off any stay this year (from 1 to 10 nights, no tix or DP requirement) which i'll probably wind up using for quick trip this summer to try & see space shuttle launch before they disappear.

we did have to buy 1 night MYW tix, which i had removed from our room key & will keep & upgrade to AP (you just need to show ur DVC card for the standard discount). Believe u'd need to be @ park to use it toward renewal also :confused3

[Bama_C]

We are DVC members and have just gotten back from our last vacation in March. We were thinking about booking a fall vacation at one of the resorts and not using our DVC points until next march. We wondered if we would be able to get free dining but were not sure how to go about it. We have a Disney Visa rewards card and have had one from the start. We have a premium annual pass so we would not need to get passes. Would that take us out of the requirements for getting free dining. I know you have to pay full price for rooms but I don't think we would like to pay for passes when we have them already. This year they gave us 15 months for our passes so we were excited we won't have to pay for them for our next years vacation. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

Yes, as keishashadow said, you are required to buy at least a 1 day park pass per person in order to get the free dining package. It is a package deal if you pay rack rate for room plus ticket. And I have heard of others applying their 1 day tickets toward their future APs, so you're not really losing the money you spent on them. I was also told last year by a CM I talked to over the phone that we could do that because we were considering getting APs, and I didn't want to miss out on the free dining package. At this point, I think everyone is still hoping the free dining offer actually comes out. :confused3 I can't imagine that it wouldn't with the economy as it has been, but you never know.

pixiedust:

[madcam]

So if I am reading this right.....there was an addition Free Dining offered last year at the later nov/dec time.

Does anyone think they may do this again?

If they do, can I use it on an existing reservation?

The reason I ask is that I have booked the DDP but would like to upgrade to the DxDP without having to pay the addional $700 dollars :scared:. Our trip is Dec 6-13. I am still hoping to get the 20/30/40 pin but if not, this would be helpful.

Thanks!

[squirrel]

So if I am reading this right.....there was an addition Free Dining offered last year at the later nov/dec time.

Does anyone think they may do this again?

If they do, can I use it on an existing reservation?

The reason I ask is that I have booked the DDP but would like to upgrade to the DxDP without having to pay the addional $700 dollars :scared:. Our trip is Dec 6-13. I am still hoping to get the 20/30/40 pin but if not, this would be helpful.

Thanks!

Nobody knows if Disney will offer another Free Dining for Oct, Nov, and Dec like they did last year. That was the first time it was offered.

We can tell that the regular Free Dining time Aug.15-Oct.2 this year is more limited than previous Free Dining. There is now a two day park ticket required for each person over 3 and only QSDP for the value resorts, the regular plan DDP for the moderate and deluxe resorts. Right now this is open for Disney Visa members, but should open up for the General Public on Monday.

If they do offer Free Dining for your nights, you can add it to your reservation. You can't combine it with any other discounts though.

[madcam]

Thanks squirrel! I will be watching for it!! Hopefully, it will be a repeat of last year!!!:upsidedow

[TDC Nala]

Free dining has changed this year...you must book at least a 2 day park ticket.

And, there is quick service dining free at values.