Free Dining Fall 2015? (and a whole lot more)

[lazer]

I don't have much fear of that personally. At least for September.

They could probably eliminate later months without much of a hit.

Our last September trip with free dining was sooo crowded (2013), POR was a nightmare parks, boat wise, bus wise and especially the food court. We actually skipped the parks on our last day. Times have changed and will continue to, October used to be perfect and now it's pretty crowded due to so many fall breaks.

I'm hoping there's free dining in November, but we are going regardless!

 

[lazer]

I did a test run and was able to get good reservations at all of the venues I tried (including BOG), only 4 months out which would be in the middle of the busy summer season.

Our last trip BOG was never available in September and I tried 190 days, same for CRT and Ohana dinner. I checked all the way leading up to (and on) our trip. Glad to see that might be changing, but meals my kids want to go to and meals I'm planning to go to regardless of free dining or not...I'd rather book as soon as possible. To each their own, this is what works for us.

 

[aaarcher86]

Our last September trip with free dining was sooo crowded (2013), POR was a nightmare parks, boat wise, bus wise and especially the food court. We actually skipped the parks on our last day. Times have changed and will continue to, October used to be perfect and now it's pretty crowded due to so many fall breaks.

I'm hoping there's free dining in November, but we are going regardless!

We went last year. I felt like September was pretty low crowd for the most part. The Halloween party was a sold out nightmare!

We definitely felt the increase in crowds once October hit though! I think we will suck up the higher crowds to avoid September rain. Awful!

 

[lazer]

We went last year. I felt like September was pretty low crowd for the most part. The Halloween party was a sold out nightmare!

We definitely felt the increase in crowds once October hit though! I think we will suck up the higher crowds to avoid September rain. Awful!

Yeah, it didn't help that it was HOT! And we had just had a really hot summer!

 

[Honeybee83]

Our last trip BOG was never available in September and I tried 190 days, same for CRT and Ohana dinner. I checked all the way leading up to (and on) our trip. Glad to see that might be changing, but meals my kids want to go to and meals I'm planning to go to regardless of free dining or not...I'd rather book as soon as possible. To each their own, this is what works for us.

If you can't get it as soon as it opens try again a month or two afterward. It seems like everyone rushes to get the reservation right at 180 days, then once they finalize their plans they cancel and make new ones leaving more open for others. Granted, I was looking at lunch reservations, which are new so maybe not everyone knows about them. Just keep trying.

 

[pinkle]

Booked BOG for lunch today. We have a party of 10 August 22-30. The best I could do was get one lunch for 2 people on August 28

 

[LouFapp]

I'd guess not. Its probably cheaper to just buy him his own meals when he needs them.

When I had the dining plan and my son was 2 he ate free. Didnt pay a dime for him.

 

[Honeybee83]

We went last year. I felt like September was pretty low crowd for the most part. The Halloween party was a sold out nightmare!

We definitely felt the increase in crowds once October hit though! I think we will suck up the higher crowds to avoid September rain. Awful!

We had one of those surprise showers hit right after we stepped into a bathroom. We were stuck in a bathroom for 30 min but didn't get wet. Hoping October will be nice and cool bc September last year for us was soooo hot.

 

[LouFapp]

3/27/15 on H2 at 9:00 PM (eastern) "Modern Marvels - Walt Disney World"

 

[ABCastillo]

What's this podcast?

The Dis Unplugged podcast hosted by the same team behind these boards. It's a great weekly show.

 

[ammag]

I feel like I should know this but what do you mean 180+10 for booking ADR?

 

[DisMama5]

I feel like I should know this but what do you mean 180+10 for booking ADR?

You can start making your first dining reservation at 180 days out but since there is the +10 rule you can make up to 180 plus the following 10 days (so if your going for a week for example you can make all of your dining reservations) because of the 10 day rule. Instead of making each one as the 180 day comes out for that date of your trip. Hope that made sense

 

[ammag]

Ok, thought that was it but then I second guessed myself..need to make sure my ADR date is accurate

 

[Don Disney]

FD will most likely happen,but as OP says,the dates/availability will probably get tighter and tighter as time goes on....We have been spoiled rotten with 4 FD 10 night trips,and will be hard pressed to vacation at Disney without it....that being said,IF we do decide to go to WDW,we will definately stay off property without FD,and get a much bigger room,free breakfast,queen beds,kitchen etc...and more than likely much cheaper than even the value resorts....so,if Disney wants to play that game,we'll play...maybe even go to the"Dark Side"while we're at it....This is my usual spiel about this subject.

 

[Gena001]

3/27/15 on H2 at 9:00 PM (eastern) "Modern Marvels - Walt Disney World"

Awww, I missed it! Will it be on again? Was it a newer one or a repeat? Wasn't it Travel Channel that was showing WDW stuff from 1998? ...even a few years ago? Boy, how the Travel Channel has changed...

 

[LouFapp]

Awww, I missed it! Will it be on again? Was it a newer one or a repeat? Wasn't it Travel Channel that was showing WDW stuff from 1998? ...even a few years ago? Boy, how the Travel Channel has changed...

Its a repeat from 2005, but it still gets me excited to go. If you Google it their are sites that have a list of when it is airing

 

[Honeybee83]

So much has changed in the last ten years. It's time for a remake!

 

[ThistleMae]

Also consider though if you wait to book you could end up inside your 180 days and miss out on dining opportunities. We are going in November no matter what discounts come out. I'm booking in the next week or two so that I can take advantage of my 180+10 when it comes up. To me, it's not worth it to wait and book to help the chances of free dining if I miss out on the ADR's that I want. What good is free dining without the right dining?

What is the 180 days plus 10? I thought if you stay onsite it is 180 days to book ADR's. Am I missing something?

 

[donp]

What is the 180 days plus 10? I thought if you stay onsite it is 180 days to book ADR's. Am I missing something?

From above:

You can start making your first dining reservation at 180 days out but since there is the +10 rule you can make up to 180 plus the following 10 days (so if your going for a week for example you can make all of your dining reservations) because of the 10 day rule. Instead of making each one as the 180 day comes out for that date of your trip. Hope that made sense

 

[lazer]

FD will most likely happen,but as OP says,the dates/availability will probably get tighter and tighter as time goes on....We have been spoiled rotten with 4 FD 10 night trips,and will be hard pressed to vacation at Disney without it....that being said,IF we do decide to go to WDW,we will definately stay off property without FD,and get a much bigger room,free breakfast,queen beds,kitchen etc...and more than likely much cheaper than even the value resorts....so,if Disney wants to play that game,we'll play...maybe even go to the"Dark Side"while we're at it....This is my usual spiel about this subject.

side tracking here, but we skipped the 'motherland' last year and did 'dark side'. It was so, so, so fun and my kiddos (2 and 6 LOVED it). We'll definitely be back in the future..when they're a little older.