Free Dining?

[PaDisney02]

HI, what exactly is free dining? I have heard rumors of free dining being offered in August. Is it the complete dining plan free? or are there restrictions? Also, when and how will I know if free dining becomes available to book? Will my travel agent know if I called them? Is a trip hard to book durring free dining? Thanks

 

[disneyfanUSA]

For free dinning you get 1 counter service meal 1 table service meal and one snack per person per day. (tip is not included for TS also no appetizer's you get an Entree beverage and dessert.) You can get milkshakes, smoothies and floats as a drink if you like. You get credits for every night you stay. You could use all your credits in one day or you can use them through out your whole trip. The fancier TS meals such as Cinderella's Royal Table, and Narcoossee are worth 2credits.

Your travel agent should already be aware of Free Dinning Disney has offered it for a few years. I have never had problems booking FD you should be fine. Last year it was not busy at all when we went.

Here is a list of the included restaurants.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/me...09 Disney Dining Plan - Walt Disney World.pdf

p.s you can get more then just popcorn and chips for your snack. It is usually anything under $4.00.


Also, to get free dinning you must on Disney property and by at least a one day MYW ticket per person.

It is a really good deal and I would recomened booking it.

 

[thepwa]

Free dining for the general public is usually offered from late August through September when attendance is typically low.

When it is offered, you get the Disney Dining Plan added to your hotel plus Magic Your Way package at no additional charge.

It really is a good deal, and I have taken advantage of it the last two years.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Also note, Free Dining in essense is really nothing more then a discount. You must pay rack rate for the room as part of the package (including at least one - one day ticket per person registered in the room and enrolled in the dining package).

 

[Goofy22]

Just and FYI incase you didn't hear! Free Dining is suppose to become available for Disney Visa Card Holders on March 26th and General Puvlic on March 30th! That's still a rummor but if it is so we should definitely know by tommorrow I would assume or even midnight tonight!

 

[running0485]

What would be the chances that with the economy the way it is that they would continue the free dining into October? We are going 10/8-10/13 and would love free dining and there is no way we can get there any earlier due to our vacation times at work.

 

[thepwa]

What I am hoping for is that the combine the current 7 for 4 deal WITH the free dining! That would be sooooooo sweet!

 

[hardingk]

Just and FYI incase you didn't hear! Free Dining is suppose to become available for Disney Visa Card Holders on March 26th and General Puvlic on March 30th! That's still a rummor but if it is so we should definitely know by tommorrow I would assume or even midnight tonight!

If you have the Disney Visa card how do you find out? Also, what happens if you are checking in before the 15th? Will they still give you the free dining?

 

[RMulieri]

What would be the chances that with the economy the way it is that they would continue the free dining into October? We are going 10/8-10/13 and would love free dining and there is no way we can get there any earlier due to our vacation times at work.

Always a possibility but I wouldn't bank on it.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

If you have the Disney Visa card how do you find out? Also, what happens if you are checking in before the 15th? Will they still give you the free dining?

They will not give you the free dining discount if your check-in day is before the start of the promotion, not even if it's one day earlier. If some of your dates fall in the free dining dates, then you would have to do a split stay to receive the free dining for the portion of your vacation that falls within the free dining dates.

Sometimes you will get an email from Chase Disney Visa about special offers and sometimes you won't. I ususaly see the codes here on the DIS or on Mousesavers before I get any info from the Disney Visa folks.

 

[kevgraub]

They will not give you the free dining discount if your check-in day is before the start of the promotion, not even if it's one day earlier. If some of your dates fall in the free dining dates, then you would have to do a split stay to receive the free dining for the portion of your vacation that falls within the free dining dates.

Sometimes you will get an email from Chase Disney Visa about special offers and sometimes you won't. I ususaly see the codes here on the DIS or on Mousesavers before I get any info from the Disney Visa folks.

Is there a difference between checking in prior to the free dining starts, and checking out after it ends? I have heard from several people that Disney has allowed you to get the free dining for your entire stay, even if it extends beyond the end of the promotion by a few days. Does that not hold true on the front end?

It does not really matter to us, we are going toward the end of September, and my concern was more with the end of the promotion rather than the start of it. Just curious more than anything.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Is there a difference between checking in prior to the free dining starts, and checking out after it ends? I have heard from several people that Disney has allowed you to get the free dining for your entire stay, even if it extends beyond the end of the promotion by a few days. Does that not hold true on the front end?

It does not really matter to us, we are going toward the end of September, and my concern was more with the end of the promotion rather than the start of it. Just curious more than anything.

In the past, you have always been able to check in on the last day of the FD promo and get the discount for your entire stay. But they have never given the discount for the entire stay if you do not check in by the first day of the FD offer.

 

[kevgraub]

In the past, you have always been able to check in on the last day of the FD promo and get the discount for your entire stay. But they have never given the discount for the entire stay if you do not check in by the first day of the FD offer.

Good to know. Like I said, it won't affect us this year since we are at the tail end of the rumored deal anyway, but I assumed it probably worked at the beginning of the offer as well. I'll keep that in mind in future planning!

 

[MIChessGuy]

Also note, Free Dining in essense is really nothing more then a discount. You must pay rack rate for the room as part of the package (including at least one - one day ticket per person registered in the room and enrolled in the dining package).

Is it possible to combine Free Dining with the room-only reservation that I've already made using a PIN-based discount code? I assume not, given the reference to the rack rate. Since I don't have tickets yet, I was wondering whether there was some way to add tickets to the room-only in order to qualify for Free Dining, but it sounds like that wouldn't combine with the PIN code for the room. Oh well.

 

[Goofy22]

What would be the chances that with the economy the way it is that they would continue the free dining into October? We are going 10/8-10/13 and would love free dining and there is no way we can get there any earlier due to our vacation times at work.

It's a very good possibility!! I believe they did offer it a week in October last year!

What I am hoping for is that the combine the current 7 for 4 deal WITH the free dining! That would be sooooooo sweet!

That won't happen Disney doesn't double stack discounts or codes etc.. You would only be able to use one so you would have to figure out which one is the better deal for you!

If you have the Disney Visa card how do you find out? Also, what happens if you are checking in before the 15th? Will they still give you the free dining?

Disney Visa is suppose to notify you but from what I understand they don't! So what you need to do is check this website after midnight if your up or first thing in the am! ( Disney reservations open up at 7am !)Dreams unlimited will have it posted on the home page!! You can book through them or you call call disney and book on your own just have your visa card ready for the deposit! If you check in a dy early what you do is a room only ressie then have them link that to your free dining ressie and more than likely you will not have to change rooms just run to the front desk and check out of your room only and check in to your FD !!!

 

[PaDisney02]

Also note, Free Dining in essense is really nothing more then a discount. You must pay rack rate for the room as part of the package (including at least one - one day ticket per person registered in the room and enrolled in the dining package).

What do you mean by paying "rack rate" for the room? Does the room rate change because of free dining? Thanks

 

[TillyMarigold]

What do you mean by paying "rack rate" for the room? Does the room rate change because of free dining? Thanks

Rack rate means the standard rate for whatever season it is ... it means you can't get a discount on the room AND free dining, you have to pay the full standard price for the room.

The room rate does not change but you also cannot use any coupons or codes for it. So if you had a really good discount on the room, you might be better off using that instead of free dining (or you might not).

 

[LisaNJ25]

What I am hoping for is that the combine the current 7 for 4 deal WITH the free dining! That would be sooooooo sweet!

You can do one or the other.. not both.

 

[thepwa]

You can do one or the other.. not both.

What I meant was..I was hoping that Disney would be so desperate to get business that they would combine both offers for the fall.