Free Dining August Visit..how was it?

[6loversofdisney]

I have taken advantage of the free dining promotion many times but have not done August for quite some time. If they are still offering that as an option in 2019, I plan to go for a week in August.

How has it been for those who've done it recently?

When we were just there for Christmas time and prior to that for Thanksgiving, the crowd levels were pretty high due to the free dining promotion and it being close to the holidays.

Thanks for any input!

 

[heidia]

We were there for the last few days of August and first few of September for free dining at POR and thought it was FANTASTIC. We usually go in October and March, but have also been in May and December, and this last trip was by FAR the lowest crowds we have ever experienced. I'm Canadian and have always sworn I could never do summer at disney, I thought for sure I'd die of a heat stroke, but it was actually quite manageable. I'm considering doing the same thing next year since my daughter doesn't want to miss school for trips anymore (insert mom's very sad face here).

 

[IrishNYC]

We were just there during Free Dining for September. We noticed no difference than any other time. We were able to get everything we wanted at 180 days, change some things after, waited for some using TP's reservation finder, and then I continued to change things on the fly while we were there, including getting new reservations.

 

[DisDreaming4116]

The only difference I noticed was we weren't as hungry as other times of the year. We had the QSDDP and that was too much food. Thankfully we drove and had a cooler. We bought a ton of snacks at the resort on our final day to bring home.

 

[DisneyFive]

Disney only offers Free Dining during weeks that it predicts will be low crowds. So my bet is that any time when Free Dining is offered, and not blacked out, will be lower than typical crowds.

We've done free dining late September for all of our stays since 2010, except one, and have noticed crowds increasing each year. We went last year in early August without free dining and were pleasantly surprised by the crowds. Busier than free dining? Maybe a little, but not by much.

Dan

 

[mousefan73]

We are always there the last week Aug and first Sept... This year we felt crowds were more spread out due to mainly the Pandora rush. The past 2 years were packed and we were frustrated.. Headliners still had for us longer wait times. 40-70 minutes. Everything else is not bad at all. IMO there really is no low season.. the wait times on the APP for our time was not that much different that July for example.. though I heard that this summer was low.. Maybe people are getting sick of the heat.. Also many schools are still out during this time.. Also you have the Brits and many other international guests who are more and more increasing each year. Just look at how many new international direct services MCO has each year. Don't expect super low, walkons. during the day those times are over. If you are willing for go morning or late evening EMH than you get walk ons... though 7DMT still had longer lines or SM...


Also you can never 100% plan to have FD... they keep reducing the offer and dates... so Plan without the FD and hope for the best.

 

[mousefan73]

ONe more point.. I did seem this year the crowds were lower than years past during the same FD period... My gut feeling and also many have commented is that many people are holding off until 2019 when things really start to get interesting. Also the construction this year was everywhere.. The DIS podcasts have often commented that this year was unheard of when it came to resort discounts, esp. in this summer. Also how AP holders were getting dining discounts etc...

I think this year and maybe next year may be the calm before the storm. We have been thinking about what to do for 2018..... I have a feeling once Epcot gets their new rides and Star Wars opens,, the game has changed and discounts might be few and far .

 

[DisneyFive]

ONe more point.. I did seem this year the crowds were lower than years past during the same FD period...

Personally, I also think it may have to do with how reduced the offer was. Moderate resorts only getting the quick service package is a MAJOR change. It severely reduced the value, and made other offers at other times of the year more attractive than they used to. That change alone is about a $900 reduction in value for our family of 5 (all of us are 10 and over ), with our typical 8 night stay.

Dan