2016 Free Dining Watch

[vrajewski10513]

Typically the availability is limited and offers like free dining can save people a lot of money so I cannot say I blame them.

Exactly. We have 4 adults in our room for 10 nights. At $61.82/person per day, we're saving roughly $2,472.80 with free dining.

 

[Confederate Scott]

Exactly. We have 4 adults in our room for 10 nights. At $61.82/person per day, we're saving roughly $2,472.80 with free dining.

No doubt you will see a significant saving. I would be checking early every day also.

 

[5ofus]

Typically the availability is limited and offers like free dining can save people a lot of money so I cannot say I blame them.

Oh I get the savings, we're looking at saving over $2500 for our party and when our trip is already costing over $25K we kinda NEED free dining or it'll be instant noodles in the room for dinner every night Not to mention we're firmly locked in with our dates since airfares have been booked for months. But from what I understand of previous releases, although the first day is crazy, there is usually some FD openings in most room categories in at least some resorts in the days following the release as people move their bookings around - or at least that's what I've been reading here. I've enjoyed following along in here but losing sleep would take a whole lot of shine off my holiday planning.

 

[ELSA711]

I'm from Brazil and I just heard some news from my travel agent: our free dining promotions dates were released yesterday.

Here they are: 8/14-10/1, 11/15-11/21, 11/26-11/28,12/10-12/21. These are slightly different from the ones rumored.

Because english is not my native language, I'm used to just read the threads. I think this information may help someone at the boards, so I decided to share.

Can someone point me to the page about rumored US dates or don't we have them yet? I like the above dates but I know we are never that lucky to have such early August dates.

 

[jannalynn_11]

I am the opposite. We had stayed at POP and AoA before CBR and found the buses at CBR to be awful in comparison. We spent more time circling the resort and picking up people than on the actual road to a park. It's one of the reasons I am not confident about booking a moderate this time round.

We are also worried about this. Loved the buses at AoA, but want to go moderate this time around. What time of year did this happen? What was the actual time you spent waiting at the stop and then circling the resort?

 

[dizneygirl55]

2015 Free Dining required a 3-night stay, with the requirement that you add either Park Hopper or Water Parks & More to your tickets.

Value resorts received the Quick Service Dining Plan (2 QS meals + 1 snack per night of stay).
Moderate and Deluxe resorts received the Disney Dining Plan (1 TS meal + 1 QS meal + 1 snack per night of stay).

So we would have to pay to upgrade to the 1 TS meal + 1 QS meal + 1 snack per night of stay or pay out of pocket for the TS? Could we use 2 QS for 1 TS? (probably not)

 

[Jellybass]

I'm sure the answer to this question is somewhere but I just can't find it. Would the US dates for free dining in 2017 match what the UK offer will be next week?

 

[rsbh00]

Exactly. We have 4 adults in our room for 10 nights. At $61.82/person per day, we're saving roughly $2,472.80 with free dining.

We have 5 adults in our room for 9 nights so we are looking at a rough savings of $2781.90 so definitely worth losing some sleep over too!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Can someone point me to the page about rumored US dates or don't we have them yet? I like the above dates but I know we are never that lucky to have such early August dates.

Its Pete Werner's twitter account. Just search his name on there and it should come up. The free dining dates for Brazilians and Canadians usually start a week or two earlier than the US dates.

 

[ELSA711]

Its Pete Werner's twitter account. Just search his name on there and it should come up. The free dining dates for Brazilians and Canadians usually start a week or two earlier than the US dates.

Thanks, I don't know what to do with twitter?! LOL
I will try though...

 

[SunnieRN]

I've been excited enough that I woke up without my alarm at 4:30 to check. I guess it will be a continuing happening lol.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Thanks, I don't know what to do with twitter?! LOL
I will try though...

you could just google "Pete Werner twitter" and it may bring you right to his page.

 

[margievis]

Yep, same here-6 Disney adults in my party for 8 days-so a rough savings of 3000. A big deal!

 

[SunnieRN]

So we would have to pay to upgrade to the 1 TS meal + 1 QS meal + 1 snack per night of stay or pay out of pocket for the TS? Could we use 2 QS for 1 TS? (probably not)

No, unfortunately you can not trade two QS credits for a TS credit. You can trade a TS for a QS however, which would be a terrible trade imho. If you are thinking of upgrading your dining plan, figure your costs at a value with QS vs a moderate with the BDP. It may surprise you that the difference may be nominal.

 

[CandiceF]

We are also worried about this. Loved the buses at AoA, but want to go moderate this time around. What time of year did this happen? What was the actual time you spent waiting at the stop and then circling the resort?

We stayed at CBR last year from Oct 30 - Nov 6 and the only time we had to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus was for Disney Springs.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

3 adults and one kid, so a savings of over $2,000. Without free dining we would have to take a shorter trip, no trip, or have a very strict budget for food and other miscellaneous stuff.

 

[vcmartin413]

Yep, same here-6 Disney adults in my party for 8 days-so a rough savings of 3000. A big deal!

I have to agree. We are 8 adults and the free dinning is a major saving for us as well. Its the whole reason we planned the trip at "low season".

 

[vrajewski10513]

So we would have to pay to upgrade to the 1 TS meal + 1 QS meal + 1 snack per night of stay or pay out of pocket for the TS? Could we use 2 QS for 1 TS? (probably not)

No, unfortunately you can not trade two QS credits for a TS credit. You can trade a TS for a QS however, which would be a terrible trade imho. If you are thinking of upgrading your dining plan, figure your costs at a value with QS vs a moderate with the BDP. It may surprise you that the difference may be nominal.

I agree with SunnieRN. We actually did the math and it was less than $100 difference to stay at CBR and get free DDP, than to stay at Pop and upgrade from QS to DDP. if you stay at the mod you get a larger room, and the beds are Queen sized instead of Double.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

Steve apparently has some well connected sources and has been very helpful in the past. On last years thread he called it spot on. I was on the thread when he called it and he was right. Not saying you were criticizing but I feel it is important, particularly as everybody is getting more and more anxious, to caution everyone that regardless of how good the inside information is there is always a chance Disney will change/delay plans at the last minute just because of leaks. An incredible inside source, black562, that helped many of us with great info and insight into Disney's plans was criticized heavily a couple years ago by some people when Disney delayed the announcement and that is probably partly responsible for why he no longer posts inside info here. I would say just trust the information that is provided and be thankful there are some insiders that are able to share.

Love this post, I could not find a clapping simile so I'll do this It is nice to see black mentioned again, I miss his posts about FD on the DIS. This isn't directed at anyone or anything that's been posted in this thread (just my general thoughts), but I feel the DIS has lost a lot of good tips and insider info over the past few years because of people picking apart rumors and taking rumors as fact and then getting upset about it being somewhat different. So I agree that any insider information should be appreciated, and basically trust what you can up to a certain point with the knowledge that Disney can change anything last minute. So don't bet the farm on a rumor, but you can start planning the farm

I have faith in black562 and thedirtysteve as they have both helped me with FD insider info in the past. In fact, when I saw black "like" thedirtysteve's FD rumor last year, that was a good enough stamp of approval for me. And he did not steer me wrong and I got up that next morning as rumored and booked my FD. So thank you thedirtysteve for taking the time to pass along your info with us. It's nice that you share the love of FD.

I personally don't have a dog in this fight this year, as I already have a FD BB booked, but I am watching to see what happens and enjoying the excitement from everyone. I hope everyone gets what they want and wish everyone the best of luck! I'll be watching and celebrating along with all of you. I have seen some ask about alternative phone numbers, and I have these from last year and a few tips to get to a real person sooner.

Phone Numbers to book: 407-W-DISNEY (407-934-7639) - 407-939-7639 * / (407) 939-7709 /

407-939-7675 / 407 939 4357 * Say “New Reservation” “Agent” to get through quicker on the phone

 

[SJSloan]

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