free dining rules??

[lissa42886]

ok i have seen several diff pieces of info from various sites...

beginning stages of planning a fall 2015 ( lesser crowds would be best ) disney trip for a soon to be 10 yr olds Bday..

it would be very helpful and cost saving if we went during free dining... whats the minimum night stay to qualify for that.. i have read 6 nights.. 5 nights.. thought no nights at one point...

2 adults 1 child..

also i noticed that the resort level you stay in effects what free dining you get... ?? we really are looking specifically for the pirate rooms at art of animation..

i have visited Disney several times but only stayed on property 2 nights total... sooo this is all a lil new..

thanks in advance and sorry if this was posted.. i looked and didnt see

 

[Allison]

There are no pirate rooms at the Art of Animation.

 

[LuvGoofy6]

ok i have seen several diff pieces of info from various sites...

beginning stages of planning a fall 2015 ( lesser crowds would be best ) disney trip for a soon to be 10 yr olds Bday..

it would be very helpful and cost saving if we went during free dining... whats the minimum night stay to qualify for that.. i have read 6 nights.. 5 nights.. thought no nights at one point...

2 adults 1 child..

also i noticed that the resort level you stay in effects what free dining you get... ?? we really are looking specifically for the pirate rooms at art of animation..

i have visited Disney several times but only stayed on property 2 nights total... sooo this is all a lil new..

thanks in advance and sorry if this was posted.. i looked and didnt see

The pirate rooms are at the Caribbean Beach Resort which is a moderate resort. If free dining is offered during the dates of your trip then you would receive the Disney Dining Plan rather than the Quick Service Dining Plan. The free dining listed for August 31- December 23 states 6 nights/7 days. However, someone else stated that you could book for less nights and still get the discount. Another thing to remember is that you just need to check in before the free dining ends and still get it for the entire trip. For example: the date for free dining in December states that it ends on December 23, but if you check-in on the 23rd and stayed until December 30th, you would be given free dining for your trip even though the bulk of the dates are past the free dining window. As far as setting your dates for free dining you could look on this site which gives historical Disney discounts. It will give you an idea of when free dining may happen in 2015.

http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/

 

[POOHsie]

ok i have seen several diff pieces of info from various sites...

beginning stages of planning a fall 2015 ( lesser crowds would be best ) disney trip for a soon to be 10 yr olds Bday..

it would be very helpful and cost saving if we went during free dining... whats the minimum night stay to qualify for that.. i have read 6 nights.. 5 nights.. thought no nights at one point...

In Disney advertisements, they will show the example of 5 or 6 nights. But those are just examples. However, lots of people believe they are minimum FD requirements. In actuality Free Dining requires minimum stay of 3 nights, along with minimum 2-day base tickets per person in a resort room.​

2 adults 1 child..

also i noticed that the resort level you stay in effects what free dining you get... ?? we really are looking specifically for the pirate rooms at art of animation..

At Art of Animation (Value resort), there are Little Mermaid standard rooms, Lion King suites, Cars suites and Finding Nemo suites.
At Caribbean Beach (Moderate resort), they have regularly-decorated rooms and specially decorated Pirate rooms.
When Free Dining is announced, the offer usually breaks down to QSDP for Value resorts, and DDP for Moderate and Deluxe resorts. A few years back there was a Free Dining offer where the Moderate resorts had QSDP. Since that time, Moderates have reverted to DDP.​

i have visited Disney several times but only stayed on property 2 nights total... sooo this is all a lil new..

thanks in advance and sorry if this was posted.. i looked and didnt see

 

[lissa42886]

Awesome thanks so much. 3 night min is good because i don't think we planned for a 6 night.. Also i dunno where my friend saw the pirate room.. Maybe it was a moc up before the art of animation actually opened..

 

[MakiraMarlena]

There never were, and never were planned to be, any pirate rooms at Art of Animation. Just Caribbean Beach.

 

[JaimeK]

I believe the main free dining deal open to the public for this fall has a 6-night min. But there is was also a pin code deal with different dates/resorts and I think a 3-night min. So it depends on the deals offered. Hard to count on what they may be next year.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I believe the main free dining deal open to the public for this fall has a 6-night min.

All free dining plan offers in the US have had a 3 night minimum and a 14 night maximum. If you see anything else, it's an example for advertising purposes (although the ads almost never make that clear.)

 

[lissa42886]

thank everyone.. i just "pretend booked" and we MUST get free dining.. the cost of the basic dining plan cost MORE then our hotel and park admission combined for 3 people.. insane..

hotel & tix aprox 1700..
Dining added 2300$

i honestly dont even know how we would spend that amount of $$ on food reguardless.. so its huge.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Without free dining, you will be better off going without the dining plan unless your child is under 10 and you want to do a lot of buffets, character meals or family style all you can eat places.

It'll work if your child turns 10 during the trip, but if he or she turns 10 before the trip, then you're paying the adult price.

 

[lissa42886]

ok so im an idiot... as i was typing out that last reply im thinkin that its not possible to cost 2300 for dining.. sooo i went back to look at my pretend booking.. i was wrong.. it went from 1700 to 2430 when dinning was added.. soo it added about 700$.. STILL free dining would be mega..

 

[lissa42886]

Without free dining, you will be better off going without the dining plan unless your child is under 10 and you want to do a lot of buffets, character meals or family style all you can eat places.

It'll work if your child turns 10 during the trip, but if he or she turns 10 before the trip, then you're paying the adult price.

we are going for her 10th Bday BUT she wont be 10 till after the trip... so she pays the child rate ur saying correct? i forget last time we all went was 2 years ago..

 

[amomma23]

If she is under 10 when you check in, she is a "child". Even if you are there on her birthday, she will still be a child for the whole trip. No one has to grow up at Disney.

 

[lissa42886]

Can you add free dining later or change a reservation if it becomes available after you book?? Does disney allow for things like that to take advantage of promos???

 

[aaarcher86]

Can you add free dining later or change a reservation if it becomes available after you book?? Does disney allow for things like that to take advantage of promos???

Yes. It will depend on if there is availability at your resort in your room type with the discount. Having a reservation at full price won't guarantee it will be available discounted.