Free Dining?

[VINN127]

Does anybody have any opinions or inside info about the possibility of Disney offering free dining again this September?

 

[DVC Sadie]

I doubt that Disney will offer free dining anymore. They tried it out last year to get the restaurants and CMs use to Dining Plan. I would not be surprised if Disney increases the DDP next year.

 

[tkldisney]

I agree with DVC sadie. This is something new and they were just trying to give guests an introduction to this. Some saved a lots of $$, so they will use in future even paying because it saved them $$ on meals.
I tried it but, not for free and it works. We saved on meals with the dp.
I'm sure as time goes on it will keep increasing in price, just like everything else.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

The dining plan is not new- we used back in '97 and '2000.

 

[MEK]

The free dining was definately a genius marketing tool. I was totally skeptical of the dining plan and did not want to purchase it because my kids were 10 & 12. We jumped at the chance to get free dining and it was phenomenal. It added a whole new experience to our visit, since otherwise we eat off site and try to save $. We loved it so much we will purchase it when we go this fall. My kids tried all types of new foods and really enjoyed the experience. I can't wait to plan my ADR's.

______________________________________________

Max is my favorite cat!

 

[Ishy]

Now keep in mind, the worst recent hurricanes, Katrina and Wilma happened in 2005. Since Free Dining packed the resorts inspite of Charlie, Jeanne, ect ect in 2004, it is still a possibility that if bookings are down, they come up with something as close. They opened free dining incentive for Aug/Sept in June of 2005 and closed it (book by)July 3rd 2005. Two weeks later they offered it again because bookings for Aug/Sept were still down with the incentive.

Sooooo, it is still a wait and see thing, but I would venture to say there is still hope.

 

[noseybuddy]

Now keep in mind, the worst recent hurricanes, Katrina and Wilma happened in 2005. Since Free Dining packed the resorts inspite of Charlie, Jeanne, ect ect in 2004, it is still a possibility that if bookings are down, they come up with something as close. They opened free dining incentive for Aug/Sept in June of 2005 and closed it (book by)July 3rd 2005. Two weeks later they offered it again because bookings for Aug/Sept were still down with the incentive.

Sooooo, it is still a wait and see thing, but I would venture to say there is still hope.

I do hope they do it again. I went Sept. 2005 Labor Day weekend and took advantage of the free dining. It was great! It turned out to be much better than I expected.

 

[dansyr]

Planning on going in Oct. and hoping for some kind of discount. Don't they usually offer some kind of incentive during the sept/oct time period??

 

[eblack0409]

DH and I are planning a trip back to Disney in September...we are hoping for free dining.....that would be GREAT!!!!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Maybe they will do something like BOGO (buy one, get one free) dining? At least half of your party would eat free that way.

 

[SueEllen]

I wouldn't expect an exact offer like before (free dining) but I would think that Disney may have a good offer again for the fall that could be similar. Only time will tell for sure though, but I do expect to see a good package offer again (soon.)

Sue Ellen

 

[Pixiedust34]

So, when do you think that the "September Deal" will be released?

 

[maddhatir]

The dining plan is not new- we used back in '97 and '2000.

we used the dining plan in Oct 1996!

it was great- those were the days that you didnt need ADRs, you can actualy WALK UP to alfredos- Coral reef- etc and get right in!

i remember we got "vouchers" and we did not use them all before we left and just handed the un-used vouchers over to a young couple at our resort- they looked dumbfounded- we explained how to use them-- hopefully they did!

 

[SueEllen]

we used the dining plan in Oct 1996!

it was great- those were the days that you didnt need ADRs, you can actualy WALK UP to alfredos- Coral reef- etc and get right in!

i remember we got "vouchers" and we did not use them all before we left and just handed the un-used vouchers over to a young couple at our resort- they looked dumbfounded- we explained how to use them-- hopefully they did!

Those older plans were nice as well, but not as economical of a value as the new plan. It certainly was nice to have those vouchers (and nice of you to share.)

The current dining plan (Magic Your Way Plus Dining) was just introduced last year (2005) and is a bit different (and VERY economical for those that will be eating at sit down restaurants during their stay.) I love the dining plan and highly recommend it to most people. It is definitely not suitable to everyone, but it's an excellent plan.

We had a counter service left over on our last day and were headed to the airport, so while getting our luch to go at Earl of Sandwich, I used our last counter service for the person in line behind us. They were quite surprised and it made me feel great to be able to do that.


Sue Ellen

 

[maddhatir]

Those older plans were nice as well, but not as economical of a value as the new plan. It certainly was nice to have those vouchers (and nice of you to share.)

The current dining plan (Magic Your Way Plus Dining) was just introduced last year (2005) and is a bit different (and VERY economical for those that will be eating at sit down restaurants during their stay.) I love the dining plan and highly recommend it to most people. It is definitely not suitable to everyone, but it's an excellent plan.

We had a counter service left over on our last day and were headed to the airport, so while getting our luch to go at Earl of Sandwich, I used our last counter service for the person in line behind us. They were quite surprised and it made me feel great to be able to do that.


Sue Ellen

THAT IS VERY NICE OF YOU-- I WONDER HOW MANY PEOPLE DO THAT?!

i would rahter do that than have my last counter service go to waste!

 

[brilliantseas]

My personal experience from traveling last October during the free dining plan period were mixed. Personally, I thought they worked great, and it saved us about $2000 over 10 days. Granted we knew how to use the plan and definately used it to our advantage. Even so, we still had enough quick service and snack credits left at the end of our trip that we cleared out $90 worth of drinks, cakes, brownies, etc. from the food court before we left.

The problem I found with it was not actually a problem for our party, but for several other families traveling that did not plan in advance. We saw many families that apparently did not make advance reservations and found themselves without any place to use their table service credits. With a few exceptions, if you had a party of 3 or more, you could not get into any table service restaurant if you tried to make reservations on the same day. Even calling 3 or 4 days in advance, availability was spotty and only available during off hours, such as 2:30-4:00 pm and after 8:30 pm.

I personally saw more than one family in guest services complaining because they were being forced to spend their valuable table service credits on quick service meals because they simply could not get into any of the table service locations because they did not plan well in advance.

Although it is possible that a free dining plan offer could be offered again, I don't think it is likely. I think future promotions will be more along the lines of the Spring Magic Your Way offer which gives free park hopper and water park fun & more add-ons to your Magic Your Way base tickets if you book by March 30th and travel by June 3rd. Another possibility would be a "kids eat free" plan which would be appealing to families with young children and offer free kids meals (ages 9 and under) with the purchase of any adult meal.

Now that more people know about the dining plan and how it works, I think that if Disney does offer it again, the available packages will book very quickly. My guess would be that most dates will be gone within the first day or two. Those people that missed out on the free dining plan in 2005 are going to be watching a lot more closely for this deal and will not miss out on it again.

 

[keishashadow]

Although the "free" dining was successful in both introducing people to the plan & filling the rooms during hurricane season I don't think they NEED to offer it this year.

*Oct. is no longer designated Value Season, it's now Regular...WDW must think they can move the rooms @ higher prices.

*I was unable to book the room I wanted @ CR/AK/WL in October several months ago!

Since the tourism dollar is flowing freely thru WDW this year = less desireable promos.

 

[maddhatir]

i read on another thread that disney may ofer a fall special, i did a lot of research to come up with a time of year that may be less crowded at disney because all of my favorite times in the past are now more crowded-- i am now going to try sept- we usually go in oct and early dec---

This may sound totally CRAZY - and maybe kind of selfish but i am hoping there is no special so that the crowds stay low in sept! as much as i would loooove for all of you to save money- i am not sure if i would want the trade off!

if there was a special- i think i would just move up to a deluxe to use up the money that i would be saving anyway- but i would be much happier paying what i am paying, stay at a mod and have lower crowds.

but thats just me!

 

[RedRuby]

Although the "free" dining was successful in both introducing people to the plan & filling the rooms during hurricane season I don't think they NEED to offer it this year.

*Oct. is no longer designated Value Season, it's now Regular...WDW must think they can move the rooms @ higher prices.

Actually, October was designated Regular season last year -- with the exception of the first few days of the month. I believe October 4 was the last day for checking in at value rates and also to get the free dining deal.

We did hear a number of people comment that the resorts, restaurants and parks were all busier than the same time at previous years. (We were there Oct 1-10).

 

[thatduffgirl]

Our first visit to WDW, my FIL gave us a week's vacation for our honeymoon. He was a salesman and had earned the trip as a bonus.

We went for three days at Disney, saw what we wanted to see, then wanted to go to the beach, Universal, etc... we went to the front gates to see if we could get a refund or use our tickets at a later date...NOPE.

So as we were walking away, we saw another young couple get off the bus. We asked them if they had already bought their tickets, nope they had just arrived that day. We asked them if they wanted the rest of our week's pass, and the husband got this really wary look on his face and said, "well..." We just handed them the tickets and said, "You're welcome!" as we walked away.

That was an awesome feeling. We were totally broke, and could have probably sold those tickets somehow and gotten money that we could have desperately used at the time, but sometimes you just wanna feel generous, you know?

I love to hear stories like that, it is so awesome!