crowd levels?

[NYRN]

Is anyone worried what the crowd levels will be like now that free dining has been released? We are considering going the week before Labor Day, and one of our biggest cons are the crowds...
Can anyone who was there last year let us know how bad free dining made the park attendance levels?

 

[Simba's Mom]

I was at WDW last year from 8/22-8/28, and I just found out that there'd been free dining! I didn't even book my trip until mid-July, so my ADRs were booked after that. I had no trouble getting Sci-Fi (although they were packed and turning people away when I got there) or Chefs de France. And R&C I got for lunch with no ressies and no wait. The parks were pretty quiet-free dining had no noticeable effect.

 

[NYRN]

Thanks so much- I am feeling good about this trip!

 

[byoung]

The crowds will still be low during this time.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We went last September with free dining. The parks did not seem to be any more crowded than they have been in previous Septembers. What we did notice is that the TS restaurants were much more crowded - people were getting turned away from almost all the TS restaurants if they didn't have ADR's. I remember Disney opened a MK restaurant (I think it was El Pirata Y el Perico) as a buffet to accommodate the people with free dining who were complaining that they couldn't use their TS credits. I wouldn't worry about the crowds - remember that there will still not be many off-site guests - but I would make ADR's!