Free Dinning

[horse11]

Had free dining dates been announced for this year yet? What resorts are usually part of that package and what months is it usually? In the past has it been going on when they also had the Mickey not so scarry Halloween party

 

[rwdavis2]

No announcements yet.

 

[Disneymom1126]

Here's a thread to watch...speculation is that it might be released on Monday.

http://disboards.com/threads/2016-free-dining-watch.3465803/

 

[Evoga]

It was released today for the UK.

I didn't like how this time you had to pre-register via a phone call for old key west or Saratoga and it wouldn't be confirmed an allocation until 11 months.

 

[Mikie]

Had free dining dates been announced for this year yet? What resorts are usually part of that package and what months is it usually? In the past has it been going on when they also had the Mickey not so scarry Halloween party

Resorts- Port Orleans one side or the other is often excluded - I forget which! Art of Animation little mermaid rooms usually excluded, several of the villas often excluded. One of the all-stars is sometimes excluded. other resorts availability varies a lot. For example, my parents traveled to Grand Floridian in 2014 and I was helping them. I watched for the discount and called on the first day, but it was already unavailable.

Yes, you can get overlap with the Halloween party, but more likely the sept dates - a lot of Octiber us blocked out of free dining.

 

[BudgieMama]

@Evoga - I know! I was thinking of dropping from 2 weeks at CSR to 10 nights at OKW, but now... we'll stick with CSR!

 

[sharadoc]

UK offer appears to be for 2017. We're looking for 2016 fall and winter Free Dining! Evoga, all DVC are unavailable before 11 months out, so they can't confirm anything until then, it's not anything special for the Free Dining offer.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

There was an announcement today for the UK for 2017. For the US in 2016, if there is an announcement coming it may be sometime within a couple of weeks.

yes, 11 months is when they'll have the DVC rooms in inventory, they won't be available to book before that.

Exclusions in 2015 were: Port Orleans French Quarter, AOA Little Mermaid, All Star Movies, Fort Wilderness Campsites, all 3 bedroom villas, the Villas at the Grand Floridian, the Villas and Bungalows at the Polynesian. Port Orleans Riverside was also excluded for all check-in dates after October 2.

 

[seashell996]

Was there free dinning Oct 29 thru Nov 5

 

[seashell996]

Is it better to take free dinning or room discount ?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Here are the 2015 dates. No way to anticipate if they will be similar for 2016. Remember only your check-in date counts. If your check-in date was one of the promotion dates, you could have free dining for your entire stay (up to 14 nights). If you check in outside the promotion period, no part of your stay on that reservation is eligible for free dining.

August 28 – October 2, 2015
October 25 – October 31, 2015
November 8 – November 19, 2015
December 15 – December 21, 2015

Whether or not it is the best discount for you is going to depend on several things - size of your party, length of stay, type of resort, availability of room-only discounts.

 

[seashell996]

Thanks

 

[TiggerManiac]

Is it better to take free dinning or room discount ?

It totally depends on the rack rate at your chosen hotel and the discount percentage, plus how closely the dining plan would equal your without-plan regular dining habits, and number of people in your party.

The only way to know for sure is to number crunch: come up with a likely list of restaurants, go find the menus and prices online, figure up how much what you would order without the dining plan would cost you. Be sure to add in sales tax, since that's included in dining plan either way.

Tips are not including in dining plan. If you like, you could calculate tips for non-dining-plan and dining plan and add those to your totals. If you would eat differently on plan than paying out of pocket, and it's a significant $ amount, then calculate the tips for both options so your total numbers for each are more accurate.