We leave on Friday...how's the free dining going?

[tinkarooni]

Just curious for anybody who might be there now or who just got back....how crazy busy are the parks? How about eating? Are they turning away everybody at TS and are you waiting in line forever for CS?

Thanks for your help!

 

[wolf2961]

We were there from 8/19-29. Had ADRs for all TS meals, which were all pretty busy. Had to wait 15-20 minutes to be seated a number of times. CS meals, however, were a different story. Never a long line, always able to find a table easily.

 

[CrabbyPatty]

We just got back last night, and found that the restaurants weren't wild n' crazy crowded. Kona Cafe was busy and we waited a while, most of the other TS meals we were either seated immediately or a very short wait.

We had breakfast the last day at WWC at the WL, and we were the only people in the restaurant (we had a 10:50 a.m. resv) and when the restaurant started their lunch service at 11:30, there was NOBODY there. We left and walked around the lodge a bit later and then noticed a handful of tables at lunch. Strange - because it was an excellent meal and lovely restaurant.

CS meals weren't too bad either - short waits - no problem.

 

[momeejenjen]

Thanks for asking this, we are heading down tonight!

 

[da big r]

Yeah, great question, thanks!!

 

[JeffreyY]

The parks were not crowed at all. We made ADR but didn't alway want to eat when or where we had planed so we did call in the morning and were able to get alternate reservations so I'm guessing not everything was fully booked. We didn't wait for any of the restaurants and sometimes we were seated before our ADRs.

 

[marciemi]

We were there from the 24th to the 30th, and noticed a marked decrease in crowds over the course of the week. When we arrived Sunday night, there was a 120 minute wait for Test Track, and we saw Soarin' at 95 minutes. On our subsequent days there (26th and 29th), Test Track was normally at 30 minutes and Soarin' at 45 during peak times.

We were amazed we NEVER waited for an ADR. Several times we had the earliest time available (noon for a lunch or 4:30 for a dinner) and we would check in early and wait a bit while they prepared to open and then seated everyone at once at that time. But we checked in early for many meals (sometimes more than an hour early) and were always seated within 5 minutes.

We also didn't ever encounter lines at any of the CS places, but faced our longest line of the trip waiting for slushes one hot afternoon around 3pm in the MK. DS16 was like "Isn't there a FP for this?" I did notice the vendors running the carts seemed very confused on the dining plan and each transaction would take a good 5 minutes, so if there were several people in front of you, it was a lengthy proposition. Not sure if it was the actual CM's or if their systems there are different (know we got a different type of receipt).

We also ended up with an extra 2 TS credits on Friday night (party we were with insisted on paying for our dinner) and were able to book 50's Prime Time for Sunday for the time we wanted at that point, so definitely there were things available. Also, I think the waits pile up when you go later in the meal. I know when we went into Le Cellier at noon, they were seating people right away. When we left around 1:30, there were people milling around all over the place. We also did WCC and I agree that even at dinner it never got full (we had 5pm ADR's). I did see people seated without reservations at WCC and Les Chefs. They were turned away at Le Cellier (what a surprise!).

 

[Shenanigoat]

This is a great question- I'm glad someone asked. I'm also glad that it seems the posters so far had a good time with free dining.

 

[Chevyscool]

Thanks for posting this! With all the talk about people not being able to get into the restaurants they want or having trouble with snagging ADR's during Free Dining, it's good to hear some positive feedback!

 

[cmcvean]

Thanks for posting this! With all the talk about people not being able to get into the restaurants they want or having trouble with snagging ADR's during Free Dining, it's good to hear some positive feedback!

I agree! Thanks for the information!!!!

 

[pixiebran]

We arrived on 8/26 and those first few days were pretty crazy as far as wait times at the restaurants go. We actually had a low blood sugar episode with my daughter at Tusker House breakfast because we had to wait so long beyond our ADR time. But the past few days have been MUCH better! The parks are definitely less busy for the past few days as well.

 

[Montog]

We arrive on Monday, so so glad you asked, and figure it will only be less crowded by then. Thanks!!

 

[tnd]

We were there from 8/26-8/30 and it seemed fine. We waited between 5 and 15 minutes to be seated past our check in times for most TS meals, the longest being CP lunch. It really wasn't bad. We didn't do a ton of CS meals, but they were all okay with the exception of the Mexican place in Epcot. It was super slow and didn't have nearly enough tables.

The ride waits on the other hand were awesome! We waited 30 min. for Soarin', but other than that, we didn't wait more than 15 min. for anything.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Glad to hear! This will be our 5th time using free DDP during Sept. and every year guests get so worried about crowds and dining. We've always found the crowds to be manageable and have even been able to get new ADRs on the same day.

 

[Bete]

I'm glad it's not too busy.

Please, be aware we are in unusual times and this will not be the norm in the future; I'm sure.

I'll be asking the same question in late November when we are on our way.

 

[michygoomy]

We were there 8/21 - 8/30.

Park crowds defintely decreased mid-way through trip. The Epcot experiences posted by the previous poster were on par with our experiences.

TS was mostly fine for our ADRs--the one exception was Kona at 8pm, though we didn't even wait as long as they said we would, and I don't normally make ADRs for that late but I wanted to try it.

Had a strange experience at The Wave--got there and found out there were two ADRs under my name, one for 5:55 and one for 6:00. That was not my intention, I don't know how it happened, and I apologized. The next person behind me was trying to do a walk-in and was told it would be a 45 minutes to an hour. He insisted that the Disney Dining line told him he could come right in, which was a little hard to believe. I had to wonder why he couldn't just take my ADRs? Oh, well, I didn't ask.

CS was mostly good. The only bad wait was at the ABC Commissary, right at lunch rush. Crazy, that place! We didn't wait much anywhere else, and we often ate lunch at the resort (ASMusic then ASMovies) and didn't have lines at all. I never understand why people say the food courts at the values are so crowded--we've always gone in summer, and I've never had a problem with Pop or any of the All-Stars.

Oh--one more crazy place was Goofy's Candy Company! Huge lines! And they changed what was available for a snack credit and had some frustrated people.

 

[PebblesMK]

Has there been any word yet about trading in TS credits for CS or snack credits? We leave in 24 days and know for a fact we'll have extra TS credits? So far the CMs have said that it won't happen at all? Is that true?

 

[Montog]

Has there been any word yet about trading in TS credits for CS or snack credits? We leave in 24 days and know for a fact we'll have extra TS credits? So far the CMs have said that it won't happen at all? Is that true?

I did a search on this earlier today on the boards because we're leaving soon and I wanted to know too. It looked like the consensus was nothing special was being offered yet, but you could do even exchange and give up one TS for a CS. I'm hoping someone will chime in with some better news.

 

[disneynuts777]

Were there from 8/27-9/04 and there was no special offer this year for trading in a TS for a CS. Last year when we traded in a TS for a CS we also got 2 extra snacks.
Not this year. No trading down and getting any freebies.
The parks toward the end of our stay were really slow and even our TS were not crowded as in previous years at the same time. Wait times at the MK on wed were so low That they did not even have the fast pass machines opened at some of the rides.

 

[marciemi]

Has there been any word yet about trading in TS credits for CS or snack credits? We leave in 24 days and know for a fact we'll have extra TS credits? So far the CMs have said that it won't happen at all? Is that true?

I asked one of the cashiers at Pop (didn't want to stand in line to ask at the front desk) and they told me the same thing. That you could trade a TS for a CS. I asked if she knew of anything else and she said not that she knew of. Of course you may get different answers from different CM's and I'd read in the past that asking at the concierge desk vs. just a cashier would be more likely to get you more. Since we were able to get the extra TS ADR while we were there it didn't end up being an issue so I didn't ask any more about it.