AP and free dining?

[adventure_woman]

I am thinking about upgrading my ticket to an AP when we are there in Jan. The next time I'd want to go back down is then probably during free dining (assuming of course....). How does that work if you have an AP? Do I need to buy a 1 day park ticket to be able to get the free dining added onto my room? Also, my DD will be almost 3 - I'm assuming that I could buy her a 1 day park ticket too and say that she is 3 for the room so I could also get free dining for her. Also, can you get an AP room discount AND the free dining? Thoughts?

Thanks

 

[mrsksomeday]

A vacation package like the free dining or the 7 for 4 promotion going on right now includes at least a 1 day base ticket. If you book a package like that, keep your Keys to the World card with the ticket you didn't use and you can turn that in towards money off on an AP renewal.

I don't think you can combine an AP rate and the free dining package. There are AP rates that come out with dining, but not for free that I am aware of.

 

[disneyin2008]

We have an AP......we booked a room only for our first 9 days (Nov 16 to Nov 24) and then they came out with the free dining for that period. We were required to buy a ticket for each person in the room....we bought the 1 day of course and will use it our next trip after our AP expires (we won't be renewing simply because we will have several months in between visits and the approx $25 renewal discount isn't enough)....so we'll enter the park with our 1 day and then upgrade to a AP.

However, our next segment of our visit (starts tomorrow 11/30 through 12/14) we booked an AP room only. Because there is no free dining offered this time, we had to upgrade and pay for the dining. BUT....because it was an AP rate we do NOT have to buy another ticket.

I've yet to hear of an AP getting free dining without having to buy a ticket.....but really, even if we didn't use the $79 tickets it's a small price to pay for "free" dining. $79 for a week or more of food is still quite a smashing deal!

 

[TDC Nala]

No free dining on an AP package. If you are purchasing a free dining package, you must purchase tickets with it, as free dining is available only with a full price room/tickets package - no other discounts will be given for the room. If you really want the free dining, you can buy a one-day base ticket for everyone in your party and save it. And you can, technically, say that your 2 year old is 3, buy her a park ticket, and get the dining credits. I still can't get it straight whether or not it could be a problem in the future to have her in their system as older than she really is.