Free Dining This Year

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I agree Pete, I don't think we will see free dining for a while. If we do, it will be for a very limited period when crowds are at their lowest. I think a lot of people will be disappointed.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I think it remains to be seen. The cast members I’ve been speaking with this week say there is something else (either a discount or free dining) happening in late summer, but they won’t know exactly what for a little while. I am very pleased with the 30%/20% packages over the summer. I would have thought that the FLE would have made summer discounts not possible.

 

[darrengs]

I definitely think we will see Free Dining again.

 

[DSNY4ever]

I hope we don't. I got all the ADRs I wanted for this trip I would prefer other types of discounts like hotel and ticket discounts (although I have never seen a ticket discount for WDW). But I would be stoked to see that over free dining that clogs up the restaurants.

 

[Heather.Mohler]

Man, I hope we still get it. I know not to count on it, but if it doesn't come out we'll have to REALLY change our plans. Without the cost of the dining plan our trip is right about $3500. With the dining plan (deluxe) it is over $8000. We just can't do that. While we don't feel that we are owed free dining like so many seem to whine about, we do hope for it each year. It makes a lot more possible for us on our limited budget.

 

[candyrn]

I agree with Pete as well. I think free dining is done. We just visited the World the end of January and had dining discounted but not free. We visit in January because of less crowds, typically cheaper and no matter how cold it gets in Florida, it's still warmer than home. (pa)

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I've been trying to think back to the promotions Disney has put out in the past 2 years or so, and it seems like free dining is getting less and less frequent. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, because I haven't kept a spreadsheet or anything.

But it seems like since Disney announced they were going to wean people off discounts, they have cut back on free dining.

The other rumor going around is that free dining will be the QSP for value and mods, regular dining plan for deluxe and deluxe villas.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I'm really curious to see what Disney does about Free Dining. I think they really took it too far and now people really expect it. If they discontinue it, I wonder if they will offer maybe discounts on it instead? Half off DDP maybe? The DDP has become so expensive, you really have to work to get your money's worth paying full price. If it isn't free and people aren't buying it...maybe getting QSP instead, (free or paying for it)...there are going to be some empty sit down restaurants at WDW.

 

[timmac]

I think a lot of people tend to get hung up on the "free" dining promotion, not realizing that often times a discount on the hotel room can be a better deal. Or, some people have APs already, and having to buy a package that includes tickets to get the "free" dining doesn't necessarily make sense. Don't get me wrong, in many cases it's a great deal, just not always.

With all of that said, I wouldn't be surprised if the free dining promotions start to fade out. Even the room discounts seem (in my limited observation) to be somewhat less impactful than they once were.

 

[candyrn]

I've always looked at free dining as a bonus. As I said earlier we vacation in January regardless of the dining promotion. I am now questioning whether or not purchasing DDP is worth it. I do like the convenience of having my meals pre-paid, but making sure you get your money's worth takes planning and work.

 

[candyrn]

I've always looked at free dining as a bonus. As I said earlier we vacation in January regardless. I am starting to wonder if DDP is worth it. I do like the convenience of having my meals pre-paid, but it takes a lot of planning and work to be sure you get your money's worth from the plan.

 

[SamSam]

Dh and I have never done 'free' dining or purchased any of the dinng plans. For the way we like to eat the TIW card works best for us.

Sorry for those that like free dining, but for us, no free dining makes it way easier for us to get reservations.

 

[smitch425]

I hope we don't. I got all the ADRs I wanted for this trip I would prefer other types of discounts like hotel and ticket discounts (although I have never seen a ticket discount for WDW). But I would be stoked to see that over free dining that clogs up the restaurants.

Every promotion this year has included some type of a ticket discount.

 

[Tigger1]

Man, I hope we still get it. I know not to count on it, but if it doesn't come out we'll have to REALLY change our plans. Without the cost of the dining plan our trip is right about $3500. With the dining plan (deluxe) it is over $8000. We just can't do that. While we don't feel that we are owed free dining like so many seem to whine about, we do hope for it each year. It makes a lot more possible for us on our limited budget.

How many days do you stay that dining would be $4500 more? How many is in your party and where did you stay to get Deluxe Dining for free.

I would love those saving if they came back.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Every promotion this year has included some type of a ticket discount.

REALLY!?!? Where/when are the ticket discounts? I have seriously never seen discounted WDW tickets. I know Disneyland occasionally does adults for the price of kids or buy 5 days for the price of 4, but I have never seen WDW do this (although I don't pay as close attention to their tickets). How do I find these?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

REALLY!?!? Where/when are the ticket discounts? I have seriously never seen discounted WDW tickets. I know Disneyland occasionally does adults for the price of kids or buy 5 days for the price of 4, but I have never seen WDW do this (although I don't pay as close attention to their tickets). How do I find these?

They are packages.

 

[DSNY4ever]

They are packages.

Ah, nevermind. I got all excited and started searching for these ticket discounts thinking I totally missed something.