Free Dinning Questions

[tpettie]

We have only been once in the first week of Dec. Did the non promo basic dinning package loved it.

How does the free dinning affect crowds?
Is it about the same as Dec time of year or busier now that there is dinning offer?

We are going to be going as a very large group 15 or more looking at 2011 so the free dinning looks like a great deal.

How is the weather in Sept/Oct compared to that in Dec? I'm worried about too much rain.

Is it now that much harder to get ADR's because of the dinning offer?

We had such a great time in Dec we don't want to go again and now be disapointed by picking a time of year that is less enjoyable for the sake of dinning offer.

 

[mom2faith]

How does the free dinning affect crowds?
Is it about the same as Dec time of year or busier now that there is dinning offer?

I cannot compare to December, but last year there were very low crowds. Daily we could walk on to nearly every ride. The only really busy times were Spectromagic night and PM EMH night at Magic Kingdom. The rest of the time we arrived at the parks early and got everything in long before we noticed crowds.


How is the weather in Sept/Oct compared to that in Dec? I'm worried about too much rain.

Again, I cannot compare to Dec, but last year we had one really rainy morning when Huirricane Hanna was hitting the coast. And then we had 2 downpours that did not last long in the afternoons. We were there for 12 days.

Is it now that much harder to get ADR's because of the dinning offer?

This year I called on my 90 day mark and got everything I wanted on the first try - O'hanas, Spirit of Aloha, Whipsering Canyon, Cinderella's, Akershus, and more....

We will only go during Free Dining and are planning a big gathering in Sept 2011 (hopefully there is still Free Dining then) with all of my family (15 of us in all!!) It allows us to have a great vacation and not worry about food or the cost of food. We also get in a lot of character meals so it alleviates the character lines in the parks.

Amy

 

[cuppycake]

We have only been once in the first week of Dec. Did the non promo basic dinning package loved it.

How does the free dinning affect crowds?
Is it about the same as Dec time of year or busier now that there is dinning offer?

We've gone in early December (once) and for the last 4 years in Sept. The crowds are just as light in Sept during free dining as they were for us when we went in December. If you are up and at 'em early, you will be walking onto many rides! We were even walking right onto Space Mountain!!

We are going to be going as a very large group 15 or more looking at 2011 so the free dinning looks like a great deal.

How is the weather in Sept/Oct compared to that in Dec? I'm worried about too much rain.

Well, beyond the obvious temperature difference and no need for sweaters....when we've gone in Sept, the rain has been hit or miss. A couple of the years, we only saw a shower here or there...one year we had an afternoon shower EVERY SINGLE DAY we were there (6 days). The good part was that we brought ponchos and simply charged on....many people leave the parks and afterwards it is a bit more empty!!

Is it now that much harder to get ADR's because of the dinning offer?

We've never had a problem getting what we wanted very close to the times that we wanted. I haven't made ADRs for this year yet (Saturday!!), so I'm not sure what the new 90 days (instead of 180) will do to that. It seems like most people are getting what they want (so long as their times and days are a bit flexible if it's a super popular place).

We had such a great time in Dec we don't want to go again and now be disapointed by picking a time of year that is less enjoyable for the sake of dinning offer.

All in all, we will keep going in September (hopefully with free dining!) until my girls are into middle school and we won't want to take them out of school for a week.

Hope you enjoy your trip no matter your decision!!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I've never been in September, just March and May. But for next year we are planning a September trip. I've heard it rains sometimes daily but only for short periods of time. I've also heard that the crowds are quite low and a lot of rides are walk ons. Everything sounds good to me!!! We just gotta hope for no hurricanes!!!! Here's to hoping for good weather