Free Dining 2008 Watch

[Disneymommy2006]

I was just going to mention that I specifically asked a CM about the GG situation mentioned above by Haley'sMom. We also have a September GG with 4 different rooms and I was told any discount (including free dining -if it is offered) would only apply to 3 rooms. We have the Disney Visa and put all room deposits on that card but my sister in law also got a Disney Visa so she could call and try to get the free dining for her room as well (when/if offered). Hope this makes sense- just didn't want one of your rooms to be left out.

 

[maddhatir]

I just called and made ressies for the Coral Reef with no problem at all!

Aug 24th- I wanted 7- but they had 6:30 or 7:20. I was surprised I did have a choice!

I have had a choice with all of my ressies for the last week of Aug.

 

[mom2faith]

I have had incredible luck and have been able to get all that we want:

Sept 2 - Cape May Cafe Breakfast
Sept 3 - BBB for "makeover"; CRT for Breakfast and California Grill for dinner at 9 pm so we will be there for the fireworks (I know I used 4 TS DDP's in one day )
Sept 4 - Universal Confisco Grill (Spiderman and the Cat in the Hat) Breakfast
Sept 5 - Coral Reef dinner
Sept 6 - Tusker House Breakfast; Rainforest Cafe Dinner
Sept 7 - Chef Mickey's Breakfast
Sept 8 - Sea World
Sept 9 - Akershus Royal Dining Hall - Lunch
Sept 10 - Discovery Cove
Sept 11 - Crystal Palace Breakfast; 1900 Fare Dinner

 

[maddhatir]

I am wondering since I have been so lucky that my dining times are open for the end of Aug.....

I would like to go to Cape May Cafe for breakfast- but later in the morning...I wonder if we walked in about 10:30 if we would have a problem just getting a table w/ no ressies.

 

[Michele926]

we have resv 9/17-9/27 @ Coronado Springs and have heard the Pepper Market or Maya Grill are not included in the 2008 DDP.. Is this true? I went on Disney site and cannot find the current plan. Thanks!

 

[maddhatir]

we have resv 9/17-9/27 @ Coronado Springs and have heard the Pepper Market or Maya Grill are not included in the 2008 DDP.. Is this true? I went on Disney site and cannot find the current plan. Thanks!

AllEars says they are!

http://allearsnet.com/pl/packages08a.htm

 

[ShhhQ]

we have resv 9/17-9/27 @ Coronado Springs and have heard the Pepper Market or Maya Grill are not included in the 2008 DDP.. Is this true? I went on Disney site and cannot find the current plan. Thanks!

Well we ate Maya Grill on the DDP last year, of course that doesn't mean it is included this year so I checked... I opened up the DDP guide on the Disney website, and for Coronado Springs it list

Cafe Rix (B,L,D)
Pepper Market (B,L,D)
Siestas Cantina (L)
Maya Grill (B,D) ☎

Sooo, according to DISNEY both are included in the 2008 DDP

 

[stepdisney]

Well, this is sure exciting news for all those wanting free dining! Good luck!
Flametamer, were you finally able to extend your nights? How many nights did you extend it to?

Hello Faindrops. Were going the same time this year. Are there any meets planned this year?

We didn't know about the bounceback, wasn't offered to us at WL, but I kept calling and mentioning that we didn't get it until we got a 30 or 40% (depending on where you book) discount. I still know that the dining will be better so...here I sit waiting when I could have booked last year had I known. ANYWAY....I'm glad you'll be there this time again. What do your ADR's look like?

 

[HALEYSMOMMOM]

I was just going to mention that I specifically asked a CM about the GG situation mentioned above by Haley'sMom. We also have a September GG with 4 different rooms and I was told any discount (including free dining -if it is offered) would only apply to 3 rooms. We have the Disney Visa and put all room deposits on that card but my sister in law also got a Disney Visa so she could call and try to get the free dining for her room as well (when/if offered). Hope this makes sense- just didn't want one of your rooms to be left out.

Ok, thank you so much! I will have to be sure and pass this info along. Good thing I have the Disney Visa too! Thanks!

 

[pinktales]

Questions: What age does the children have to be to get the free dining for them? And 2 of us have annual passes, will we all still have to buy park tickets with the free dining package to be able to get it? If we have to buy park tickets can we buy just 1 day park tickets even if we are staying 5+ nights and qualify for the free dining? Are those tickets already activated and coded to each of us? Can they be upgraded? I've never done the free dining and am definetly thinking about it for this year. But not too sure how it works. Thanks for your help!

 

[pinkerbell]

Questions: What age does the children have to be to get the free dining for them? And 2 of us have annual passes, will we all still have to buy park tickets with the free dining package to be able to get it? If we have to buy park tickets can we buy just 1 day park tickets even if we are staying 5+ nights and qualify for the free dining? Are those tickets already activated and coded to each of us? Can they be upgraded? I've never done the free dining and am definetly thinking about it for this year. But not too sure how it works. Thanks for your help!

My understanding is you must buy at least a one day Ticket.. it is not "activated" untilyou use it in the parks... HOLD ON TO IT.. it cam them be upgraded in the future. otheres have said they have done this with no problems.

 

[GoofyTraci]

does anyone know the SUPPOSED dates for the free dinning with out the bouceback? I have not been up to date with this whole thing this year. But booked a trip yesterday for Sept 23-28 and wondered if i needed to be looking out for that. And wondered how busy the place would be if it is offered at that time. Thanks

 

[jns]

does anyone know the SUPPOSED dates for the free dinning with out the bouceback? I have not been up to date with this whole thing this year. But booked a trip yesterday for Sept 23-28 and wondered if i needed to be looking out for that. And wondered how busy the place would be if it is offered at that time. Thanks

I would like to know too

 

[disneyJMD]

I am a Disney Visa holder, and I have not yet been notified of an offer for free dining--and trust me...I have been checking on a daily basis! I have my trip booked already, but am traveling in September with a party of 8, so that would save me quite a bit. I went ahead and booked my ADR ahead of time (day 180 at 7am to be exact as my DD had to dine in the castle). I figured if I waited for the free dining to possibly be announced, I wouldn't be able to get any of the ADRs I wanted. I will keep my fingers crossed for the free dining for everyone...

 

[tiggerx3]

Questions: What age does the children have to be to get the free dining for them? And 2 of us have annual passes, will we all still have to buy park tickets with the free dining package to be able to get it? If we have to buy park tickets can we buy just 1 day park tickets even if we are staying 5+ nights and qualify for the free dining? Are those tickets already activated and coded to each of us? Can they be upgraded? I've never done the free dining and am definetly thinking about it for this year. But not too sure how it works. Thanks for your help!

The dining plan is offered to children ages 3-9, so if free dining becomes avavilable, they would be eligible, provided they have at least a one day park ticket. The dining plan is based on the nights of your resort stay, not the number of days of the park ticket. The ticket can be upgraded and is not considered activated until its first use.
For the two that are annual passholders, you do NOT need to buy a park ticket. I confirmed this with a CM last week. This is a change from last year.

I hope this information helps!

 

[The Brain]

Sept 10 - Discovery Cove

discovery cove RULES

 

[Mom2AAA's]

You shouldn't. We had free dining in 2006 with a Grand Gathering with 3 rooms, my parents paid for it all too!!!! All the rooms are connected through you GG number.

I called today to double check since there was some confusion about the number of rooms that could be included in the "FREE DINING". I was told ...
if an something is offered to the general public like free dining, then you can get it for all the rooms, if it is a code or pin, the number of rooms eligible is 3.

Hopefully the cm knew what she was talking about, I would hate to call a 6:59 on April 10th (I can only hope) and get a suprise!!

 

[DisneyDeeva]

The dining plan is offered to children ages 3-9, so if free dining becomes avavilable, they would be eligible, provided they have at least a one day park ticket. The dining plan is based on the nights of your resort stay, not the number of days of the park ticket. The ticket can be upgraded and is not considered activated until its first use.
For the two that are annual passholders, you do NOT need to buy a park ticket. I confirmed this with a CM last week. This is a change from last year.

I hope this information helps!

It is true that you can be an AP holder and book a package with the DDP without adding park passes. This option became available just a few short weeks ago and the booking and refund rules for packages apply. However, I would be VERY surprised if you could get an AP package AND free dining. Most likely you will need to get a park pass for each person in the room to qualify for free dining (if it is offered this year).

I'm an AP holder and have participated in the free dining promo for the past couple of years (and booked the bounceback for this year). We get a 1 day / 1 park pass for each person in our room. When we check in, those who don't have an AP upgrade their tickets to cover the number of days they need. I save my 1 day ticket and apply the value to my AP renewal. It doesn't expire. So, I don't lose anything by getting the ticket at all.

I called today to double check since there was some confusion about the number of rooms that could be included in the "FREE DINING". I was told ...
if an something is offered to the general public like free dining, then you can get it for all the rooms, if it is a code or pin, the number of rooms eligible is 3.

Hopefully the cm knew what she was talking about, I would hate to call a 6:59 on April 10th (I can only hope) and get a suprise!!

Don't bet the farm on it. The free dining promo has always used a code.

 

[OlinFroid]

Don't bet the farm on it. The free dining promo has always used a code.

how/where on here will the code be?

 

[thunderbird1]

how/where on here will the code be?

Welcome to the DIS!

Oh don't worry--that code will be right up at the top of the DISboards the moment it's released to the public. And the first day of booking, you can expect to see an extremely active thread of folks waiting on hold to book and announcing once they have booked.

I really enjoyed that thread last year. The reservations line opens at 7 am ET, but we're on the west coast so I was up before 4 am to get in the queue. I was probably on hold for 45 minutes before getting through to someone, and reading all the posts really made the time fly by. Of course, every time someone posted that they booked at my first choice of resorts I panicked, thinking they got the last room, and every time someone posted that they booked somewhere else I cheered (silently, so as not to wake everyone else up). The hardest part was not running through the house screaming with joy after I booked (because it was still only 5 am). My dh finally started to stir around 6, and I was right up in his face with all the details!

Ah, the memories. It almost makes me want to get up early this year, too, just to experience the joy all over again. Almost. . . .