confused

[babygirlamg]

so i just found out the last 6 days of our trip is offering free dinning with a magic your way package....i was planning on staying at the pop half my stay and then a moderate or deluxe the other half....i have a few questions ...will the free dining offer make the parks a lot busier??? also how does free dining work??? also i was planning on doing room only ??? what does everyone think i should do???

 

[aceys_h0ney]

To determine if Free Dining is a good offer for you, you just have to crunch the numbers. Try pricing your stay with the free dining, without and the split stay you were thinking of doing.

To qualify for free dining you have to purchase a package with minimum length of stay and tickets. If you are staying at two different resorts you will have to make two different reservations, so when thinking in terms of FD you will have to buy tickets for both packages and that will cost you more, since tickets are more expensive for the first three days. If I were doing two resorts I might try to do FD for the value part of your stay and hope for a 40% off code for the deluxe part, 40% off deluxe usually saves you more then dining. Kind of a mix and match situation.

RE The crowds, the restuarants are likely to be busier and reservations should be made as soon as you know your dates and are able to as the busy ones fill up fast but the parks as a whole are not that much more crowded. (That's what I have read here, I haven't been during a general public free dining time frame)

 

[tazlikesrobots]

I have a similar situation in that we arrive two days before the free dining starts. The CM told me that in order to qualify for free dining, your reservation has to start on a date when free dining is offered, therefore we cannot get free dining at all. I would call Disney and find out, since more than likely you will have to make two separate reservations in order to get free dining. The cost may not be worth it since you will need to buy hotel and passes at a non-discounted rate.

 

[Missytara]

I always go the week after Thanksgiving. It has been getting steadily busier each year since 2000. Little things like the Travel Channel doing a special called Disney on a Dime don't help keep that closely regarded secret.

Last year, they extended the free dining, much like they did this year and about six weeks before, people were reporting no availability in any of the values or moderates, except for suites.

I too panicked about how crowded it would be.

However, I took the opportunity to check a few sites for "off-site" hotels. Lo and behold, they were offering deep discounts, some up to 45% off their room rate.

A light went on.

Anyone staying off-site could now upgrade to a value; values upgraded to moderates, etc.

While the resort was definately busier, the parks were only a bit busier than I expected. Mind you, nothing like 2000, when I first started going, where many of the attractions were walk-on. Those days are gone. But nothing like the holiday week, just the week before.....