Never again during free dining promotion

[Karnak]

Just got back yesterday, were there 8/13-8/19. We always go this time of year since I travel with a teacher! We have NEVER had any problems eating anywhere in the past 6 years. This time was different. The lines for the rides didn't seem to be any worse than usual, the longest we waited for anything without fast pass was 10 minutes... However, it was IMPOSSIBLE to get into TS places to eat. We generally eat an early dinner or late lunch to avoid the busy times, but you couldn't get ANYTHING. If you have more than 2 people in your party - make ADR's!!!

I would not plan any visit to WDW without making meal reservations way in advance. And I'm going solo.

Enjoy.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you are traveling during the free dining period you should already have your ADRs. If you don't, be prepared to find most table service locations full.

They have a big sign they put out at City Hall in the MK that says "no table service dining available" and suggests a few of the counter service places. I haven't seen that before last year.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Sometimes one person's extremely crowded is another person's "doable".

ITA- We went last Oct. and thought crowd levels were just fine. We never waited more than 15 min. standby for anything. If something had a 30+ minute wait we would grab a FP or skip it and try later. Other posters are saying - Oct. has been ruined by crowds... It is just a matter of perspective. I for one LOVE free dining and hope that we see it again and again.

 

[Evil Queen]

We went last year at the tail end of free dining, seem to be hardly any crowds. We didn't know about the dining plan then. But I went for it this year. We still had plans to go to WDW in September, before I knew about the dining plan. The only thing it changed for our trip is where we are staying, due to the room rates.

We are going in mid-September this trip, and hoping for low crowds, but we always go to WDW with the thinking of "It will be crowded".

I'd like to see them keep offering the plan, but maybe just make less plans/rooms available in the future, so others can sit and eat.

 

[lauritagoddess]

We'll be there 8/27-9/3. I hope with a lot of kids back to school already that the crowds will thin a little. If my son was starting his new school on 9/7, we'd go later in September. I actually had rescheduled this a few weeks ago from a trip in December and had no problem making ADRs only a few weeks out except for Chef Mickey's that only had breakfast or dinner times that were either very early or very late. I was so happy that they added the lunch and I was able to get the ADR for that.

 

[TDC Nala]

ITA- We went last Oct. and thought crowd levels were just fine. We never waited more than 15 min. standby for anything. If something had a 30+ minute wait we would grab a FP or skip it and try later. Other posters are saying - Oct. has been ruined by crowds... It is just a matter of perspective. I for one LOVE free dining and hope that we see it again and again.

I'd agree with this assessment - I don't wait in line longer than 20 minutes for anything and if the line is major I will get a fastpass. I don't remember problems in October except for Soarin', which has been exceedingly popular since it opened. (If you want to ride it, get a fastpass as soon as you can).

I went over Columbus Day weekend and I didn't try the MK on Saturday or Sunday. But at the end of the month, I had no line problems at MK.

I am afraid I can't consider October "ruined" yet.

 

[daisyjane]

We just returned yesterday from our first visit to WDW, staying five nights at Wilderness Lodge. Not on the dining plan, no ADRs. This is my first post on this board so I hope I get all the names of things and lingo right; be patient with me.
The crowds in the parks varied. Tuesday at Epcot was tolerable in the morning--40 minutes for Mission:Space and my son went on twice--but got pretty wild by afternoon.
When we used our fastpass for Soarin, the people in line said they had been waiting for two hours and one man got very agitated to see us walking by, first asking us how long we had waited and then shouting out, "They let in three of us and 100 of you!" Others then started yelling too. My kids, age 11 and 15, were fairly freaked out by this display of what I guess you would call waiting line rage.
We did not have an ADR but were admitted to the Nine Dragons restaurant in the China section of World Showcase with no wait around 1 p.m. Maybe a lot of folks don't want Chinese? I don't know.
Wednesday at Magic Kingdom, on the other hand, was a breeze and an absolutely wonderful day. My son and I walked onto Space Mountain with no wait at a little after 10 a.m. and waits for other rides were posted at 20 minutes but turned out to be much shorter. Splash Mountain was the longest wait to use a fastpass--I think we got it around noon but couldn't go on until around 4. Definitely worth the wait though.
I had made an ADR for Liberty Tree restaurant for 12:55 p.m. through the hotel concierge staff the morning we went to the Magic Kingdom, no problem doing that. No wait when we got there and we enjoyed the food, the colonial setting and an extremely pleasant and friendly CM as waitress.
Thursday at Animal Kingdom there were just tons of people, it was very, very hot and humid, and we had to use fastpass a lot. We got our fastpass for Expedition Everest at around 11 but didn't get on until around 3. Waited about 25 minutes for the "It's a Bug's Life" show, no fastpass.
The lack of dining options at Animal Kingdom seems like a problem and I imagine it has been discussed here previously. We have been to Rainforest Cafe elsewhere and didn't care to do it again so we went to Tusker House counter service restaurant. The food was fine but service was scatterbrained at the pickup and there were way too few tables. In my humble opinion, Expedition Everest has really drawn a lot of people to this park and it feels very packed with too many people vying for too few attractions. We left by 4, just totaled by the heat and crowds.
On Thursday night again through the concierge I made an ADR for 1:05 p.m. Friday at Fifties Prime Time Cafe at MGM, again no problem there making the reservation, though when we got to the restaurant we waited about 15 minutes. They were not taking any walk-ins. It was extremely busy, and most people I heard talking to the waitress said they were on the dining plan.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We were just there (08/13-08/18) and I didn't think it was that crowded. We had no problems at the parks. Now, if you wait until the afternoon to arrive at the parks, you will have a problem. We were at MK on Tuesday and Wednesday. We walked onto Pirates and Haunted Mansion. My girls waited about 15 minutes for Splash. On Wednesday, we walked on Buzz and Space Mountain was about a 10 minute wait. We then hit Fantasyland and waited about 10 minutes for Peter Pan and walked on Small World. The girls had to get fastpasses for BTMR. I've seen it more crowded in June without free dining.

 

[disneypharm]

ITA- We went last Oct. and thought crowd levels were just fine. We never waited more than 15 min. standby for anything. If something had a 30+ minute wait we would grab a FP or skip it and try later. Other posters are saying - Oct. has been ruined by crowds... It is just a matter of perspective. I for one LOVE free dining and hope that we see it again and again.

I totally agree with you. It is just a matter of perspective. We went to WDW in Dec 2005 and paid for our DDP. We love the plan and hope that they would never stop it.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I think whoever thought of the free dining promotion needs a big hug and a raise.

The two crowded times for free dining are late august and that first week of October. And the reality there was it didn't really crowd up all that much until the Friday of Columbus day Weekend. And all those extra people arrived thursday night and into friday so they didn't get the free dining.

My sense is that disney will trim dates from the edges of the promotion in the future.

I'm sure you'll find if you can make a ressie for after Labor day in September, the crowds will be much lower.

As for the rest of October being ruined by free dining, the promotion ended the 4th last year. So beyond Columbus Day Weekend, the free dining didn't have much impact. What's making October busier is that many districts in the south now are on extended calendars where they go in some time in August and get a one or two week break sometime in October. The second and third weeks seem to be common. This year, Disney cut off the free promotion the 30th of September.

 

[TDC Nala]

As for the rest of October being ruined by free dining, the promotion ended the 4th last year. So beyond Columbus Day Weekend, the free dining didn't have much impact. What's making October busier is that many districts in the south now are on extended calendars where they go in some time in August and get a one or two week break sometime in October. The second and third weeks seem to be common. This year, Disney cut off the free promotion the 30th of September.

I had forgotten about the trend to fall school breaks in October. I go to WDW in the first and last weeks of October which is probably why I haven't seen the impact there. I have heard that a lot of districts now have breaks of a week or more in mid-October.

 

[GEM]

We're going Sept. 17th-25th with free dining and I just totally redid my itenerary today and had to swtich days and times for almost all of my ADRs. I had no troule, at this late date, getting the days I wanted (and good times) for every place I was after - including Boma for dinner, Crystal Palace for breakfast, Ohana for dinner, Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner, San Angel Inn for dinner, and lots more. There seemed to be lots of availabilty for that timeframe. I even got the Wonderland Tea Party at the Grand Floridian for my 3 year old son. No problems at all. I'm figuring that crowds will die down, ADRs will be easeier to get, etc. in September than in August. That makes sense to me, with kids still being out of school and all. Even here in Arkansas they don't start back until tomorrow, and we start earlier than a lot of places.

Free dining is doing exactly what Disney wants it to do, it's enticing people like me to plan trips for a timeframe they never would have otherwise.

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

Regarding wait times for major attractions, we got to Epcot by 9:10 am on Wednesday, 8/16, and Soarin already had a 90 minute standby time. We were lucky enough to get fastpasses to ride at 10:30 and the ride was shut down right after. We did the single rider line at Test Track and had absolutely no wait at all but the standby line was 30 minutes.
On Wednesday evening, AK had EMH so we went there. We had a 50 minute wait for Kali River Rapids and a 40 minute wait for the safari. We didn't even attempt to do Everest. I don't know what the wait times were for that but the lines looked long.
Another think I noticed on this trip, many of the attractions did not post standby wait times. We would have to find a CM to get this information.

 

[Poohbear123]

I think whoever thought of the free dining promotion needs a big hug and a raise.

And Shot with a 22.

 

[Brianne]

We were there over the weekend. Be prepared for crowds.

Standby lines at MK were varied on Saturday but typically ranged around 40-50 minutes. We started to leave the park at about 9:45pm last night (Wishes started at 10)--Main St was literally wall to wall people. DH actually took a picture of it because he was so shocked---we normally go during off-season so we never see such sights.

At AK this morning, DH was in line for fastpass for Everest at about 9:15am--we ate breakfast in the park to get over there as quickly as we could. By the time he got to the front of the line for the passes, we had a return time of 10:40. The numbers were flipping by pretty fast & the lines were long.

I don't see the crowds decreasing until the promotion's over.

Edited to add: the rain on Saturday didn't clear the parks out like it normally does, btw!

 

[WeluvDisney2]

Who ever invented the Free Disney Dining Plan, needs to be shot!

Free Dining did exactly what they wanted it to do, draw people to WDW during a slower time of year.

 

[mrzrich]

On Wednesday evening, AK had EMH so we went there. We had a 50 minute wait for Kali River Rapids and a 40 minute wait for the safari. We didn't even attempt to do Everest. I don't know what the wait times were for that but the lines looked long.
.

There's part of your problem. Most DISers avoid EMH evening because the tend to be packed (with the possible exception of truly slow times)

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm going to jump in and suggest that no matter when you go, plan on fastpasses for Soarin' and Everest, and get them early.

I got a fastpass at Everest before 9 during a morning EMH and the return time was 11:30. Did FOTL and fastpassed the Safari before even reporting back to ride Everest.

No matter the time of year I have not seen Soarin' with less than a 60 minute standby line.

And I'm betting there will be a decrease in crowds after Labor Day, even with the promotion. I don't think it will be dead like it's been in years past in the week after Labor Day, though. I leave on Labor Day so I can't test that one out.

I'm doing the dining plan, but not free. I am staying at DVC and have to pay for it. I've had my ADRs for awhile, though.

 

[madcat]

we are going the last week of sept. and into the first week of oct. the 27th through the 3rd. I hope that the crowds are not too bad.yes we are doing the free dining plan, the reason why we are going during this time is because my son is in a year round school and they are the ones that have a break from the 3rd week in sept to the 2nd week in oct. I for one love the ddp, free or not. we went the last weekend of may last year and it was sooo crowded. I think not only from the holiday but also because it was a "star wars weekend" as well.

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

You're absolutely right Mrzrich. I usually don't do the evening hours. HOwever, during this trip, my husband allowed me exactly 2.5 days to do everything I wanted to do. This meant fitting two parks into one day.
Next time, I'll leave him at home.