Have seen a bit on the boards here about free dining but have no idea how it works
Do you book a package with dining and then it is announced that certain dates are 'free' or the other way around, its announced that there will be free dining so people then book - or prehaps something else all together
Would appreciate it if someone could explain or point me in the right direction to find out.
The Free Dining chat currently applies to Walt Disney World....and I can't remember if you were going to WDW or DL. If you're going to WDW....
I assume that you are staying on-site at one of the WDW resorts. If this is the case, what most people do is make a room only booking so that they have accommodation locked in. You could make the booking using the existing discount that is offered.
You could alternatively book a package with dining today and hope for free dining...and you can use the existing room discount for this; but for the package, you'll need to add the park tickets and a dining plan.
They make a booking so that they have their accommodation all set and the earlier this is done, the earlier they can confirm the accommodation of their choice (standard, preferred, concierge lounge, etc).
Digressing slightly here - Room only bookings are booked on a separate IT system to the package bookings. So, the T&C for each are different. The major differences being that for Room only bookings you can cancel up to 24 hours before arrival without penalty and you only need to pay for one nights accommodation before arrival to secure this booking.
For package bookings, you need to have completely paid off the ENTIRE amount 45 days before arrival.
Because they are booked in separate systems, if you want to convert a room only booking to a package booking, any prepayment that you've already made CANNOT be transferred over to the package system. Disney will refund $ to your credit card; which for us Aussies, can be a pain because the exchange rate may have changed and you aren't refunded the transaction fee you've already paid and you may be charged a new transaction fee for the dollar conversion. You then need to pay the deposit for the new package booking in line with their requirements e.g., one night payment to secure booking; and then full payment before 45 days. The other requirement of a package booking is that you need to purchase a minimum of 1 day park ticket before you can purchase a Dining Plan.
There is speculation on the boards that there is a new offer coming out Monday or Tuesday American time but what the offer is no one is sure. One thing that the rumour mills seem to be "sure" about is that this offer will NOT include free dining. The speculation then seems to be that IF free dining is going to be offered, it may come out mid to late May...so that Disney can check what offers Universal Studios are going to do for HP opening...and it will give them time to see what effect HP will have on their forward bookings. The speculation is that if you are staying at a Value resort, you will be offered Quick Service Dining plan ($32 for adults per day; $10 for kids per day); and for Moderates and Deluxe, you'll be offered the Basic
Disney Dining plan ($42 for adults pd; $12 for kids pd depending on when you go). There has traditionally been an upgrade fee of $10 per day per person if you want to upgrade QS to
DDP.
If and when free dining is announced to the general public, you can then call up and convert your reservation for free dining. But the % discount offer for the room will be removed. Disney traditionally only allow ONE discount per reservation (with only the Brits being able to do better).
If you are staying off-site, then free dining won't apply to you.
In any case, 180 days out from your check-in date, you can make dining reservations either on line or by calling Disney:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/
I highly recommend you check out the Indicative Menus can be found here:
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm
You can then work out where you might want to eat and make reservations for the days/times that you wish. Because of Free Dining, the restaurants are all BOOKED out months in advance and there are heaps of people that get up early on the 180 day mark to ring and lock in their preferences. You can always cancel a reservation at a later stage; which is why most people prefer to lock in a reservation early.
Another digression - under the Dining subforum, you'll find threads like this one here...where people post their cancellations in case someone else can use it...so you might want to see if there is one set up for the month that you're planning on going.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2321369
I'd work out which dining plan you want to get; then check the restaurant menus and work what you might want to eat and then work out whether the dining plan is worth it or not. It would also pay to compare the average cost of the dining for you and your party (based on where you might eat and what) vs the room discount offer and make a decision based on this.
And if you haven't done so and want to eat at a particular restaurant, I'd be calling to see if you could book in an ADR.
There are also other special events that can be booked at the 180 day mark:
http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showcat.php?cat=80
The ones that get booked out early are the (sunset) Specialty Cruises to coincide with Wishes or Illuminations...check the schedule for when these are running and book 1 hour beforehand. (If you choose to book for Wishes - make sure you book a pontoon that includes music). And the Wishes Dessert Party, which right now is only booking through the end of May.
I hope this makes sense. If not, I'm sure someone else will provide their input.
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to the DisBoard and it's great you found us! The more the merrier! 
