2013 Free Dining Watch

[TheDisney411]

Originally Posted by sweetcarolinamoma

.

we stayed at AOA Little Mermaid last year at Thanksgiving and got free dining.

You may have gotten a pin code for free dining for those dates in those rooms, but you did not get free dining on those rooms under a general public free dining code, as there was not one available.

[mickey2000]

Originally Posted by TheDisney411

You may have gotten a pin code for free dining for those dates in those rooms, but you did not get free dining on those rooms under a general public free dining code, as there was not one available.

In December the BB also excluded the LM rooms for this August. Only the AoA suites . Thus I moved to POP standard .....

[SlightlyocdDisneyfan]

Originally Posted by Team Bunch

Love how helpful everyone is. Thoughts on adr's. 1st time at disney. 3 girls ages 6,3,2. Want to do mostly character meals dinner or lunch. What not to miss?

We have three girls too (now 7, 7, 9). Their top three are Akershus, Garden Grill, and Crystal Palace. Akershus is a great way to see princesses and is less hurried than other princess meals. Garden Grill has Mickey and friends and is quieter and less busy than many character meals. The characters seem to have plenty of time to visit, and since it is table service (not buffet) you don't have to time your sprints to get food between the characters you want to see. (Priceless!) Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends is bright and airy and (like Akershus) encourages the kids to get up and parade around the restaurant with the characters during set times.

One trick we've learned with character meals is to position where your kids sit to have easy access to the characters and good photo shots. We typically sit our daughters on the outside, were they will be right next to the characters without needing to get in and out of their seat all throughout the meal. This also puts their backs to the rest of the room, so that they really do EAT some of their meal rather than watching each character come and go at the tables around us.

[Wood Nymph]

Originally Posted by Team Bunch

Love how helpful everyone is. Thoughts on adr's. 1st time at disney. 3 girls ages 6,3,2. Want to do mostly character meals dinner or lunch. What not to miss?

We went with my daughter and her family. The kids were age 5 and 3. We did three buffet meals, two family style and one menu meal. My daughter found the buffets annoying, because she had to spend so much time getting the food for kids from the buffets. Her favorites were the Liberty Tree Tavern and the Coral Reef, because she didn't have to get up and down. We ate at 'Ohana and the kids had a great time with the dancing and games, but my daughter found that annoying, too, because she wanted them to eat their dinner and they were distracted.

But the rest of us loved the restaurants we choose. The meal at "Ohana was very good. The breakfast buffet at Tusker House was a lot of fun, plus good food. We had one of our best meals at Cape May dinner buffet. The Coral Reef was good, too. We enjoyed 1900 Park Fare - Cinderella buffet. The food was good. Cinderella spent a good amount of time with our granddaughter. It was cute.

We also did Hoop Dee Doo, but we did that out of pocket. The kids loved it, and so did we. She plans to do that again next time they go back.

[MagicKingdomMommy80]

Actually free dining was offered for the LM rooms to the general public just after opening. We went end of Sept and got free dining. I think it came out separately from the earlier FD offer and sold out fast but it was available to the general population.

[smitch425]

Originally Posted by MagicKingdomMommy80

Actually free dining was offered for the LM rooms to the general public just after opening. We went end of Sept and got free dining. I think it came out separately from the earlier FD offer and sold out fast but it was available to the general population.

Correct. The LM rooms opened ahead of schedule and Disney offered free dining to fill them quickly. It didn't take long to sell them out.

[TheDisney411]

Originally Posted by MagicKingdomMommy80

Actually free dining was offered for the LM rooms to the general public just after opening. We went end of Sept and got free dining. I think it came out separately from the earlier FD offer and sold out fast but it was available to the general population.

And other than those couple of weeks at opening, that was the first, last and only general public discount that Disney has had on those rooms. They have managed to keep them booked solid since then with no discounts. I think AAA has had a couple of instances of 5 or 10% off, which doesn't even cover the taxes.

[buckeev]

We actually had the FD pin code that was including the A of A...all room types, but couldn't work out scheduling parameters.
So next month...it's off to Orlando with POOP D....( Pay Out Of Pocket Dining!) boooooooo!

[Mckymousefn]

Originally Posted by navywifetill2002

"Free Dining" is a promotion Disney runs. In 2012 it was "free" QS with a value resort and the regular dining plan with Moderate or Deluxe rooms. For some "Free Dining" comes out better then a room only discount for others it doesn't, you'll have to run the numbers to see which is best for you.

It is often available to Disney Visa card holders first then opens to the general public.

There is no need to already have a reservation booked (if you do you can add a promotion to your package at any time if your room qualifies for the deal), once free dining is released you just need to make your reservation.

I am a Disney Visa card holder... how would they notify me? Snail mail or email?? I have never gone during the times they offer free dining, so not sure how that works.

[black562]

Originally Posted by Mckymousefn

I am a Disney Visa card holder... how would they notify me? Snail mail or email?? I have never gone during the times they offer free dining, so not sure how that works.

You would get an email that morning. However, you'll hear about it here much sooner.

[TheDisney411]

Originally Posted by Mckymousefn

I am a Disney Visa card holder... how would they notify me? Snail mail or email?? I have never gone during the times they offer free dining, so not sure how that works.

They may or may not ever notify you. The Disney Visa free dining codes will be listed here on the Dis long before Chase contacts you, if they do at all.

[TheDisney411]

Originally Posted by black562

You would get an email that morning. However, you'll hear about it here much sooner.

Chase Disney Visa is notorious for not letting members know about discounts until after they have gone to the public. We have had a Disney Visa since 2007 and have gotten that early "heads up" email one time from them.

[black562]

Originally Posted by TheDisney411

Chase Disney Visa is notorious for not letting members know about discounts until after they have gone to the public. We have had a Disney Visa since 2007 and have gotten that early "heads up" email one time from them.

Lol yea mine usually come around 10am that morning. By that time the reservation has been booked.

[supe3]

how long would you wait to book a stay at CBR? We REALLY need free dinning and are planning to stay for 14 days sometime between Sep. 24th and Oct. 20th. We are waiting to see what day (if it happens) free dining will be for a check in during that time frame. SOOOO, how long would you wait before booking. We also want rooms close to the main pool at CBR too so that adds to the mix.

[black562]

Originally Posted by supe3

how long would you wait to book a stay at CBR? We REALLY need free dinning and are planning to stay for 14 days sometime between Sep. 24th and Oct. 20th. We are waiting to see what day (if it happens) free dining will be for a check in during that time frame. SOOOO, how long would you wait before booking. We also want rooms close to the main pool at CBR too so that adds to the mix.

Those dates are going to be tough for free dining. You may get lucky, but it's looking like the date window will be shorter this year.