******Official 2017 Free Dining Plan Watch, Wait, and Dream

[Disneylover99]

I have some questions about free dining and getting an AP. We, just my DD 14 and I, are going for a two week trip Dec 14 - 28. We have never been at Christmas and want to soak up as much atmosphere as we can. Free dining would be a huge cost saver for us. I plan on buying annual passes so we have park access every day and an excuse to go next summer and possibly Halloween. I want to have the AP at lest 60 days prior so we can make FP choices. If I book the required tickets and have the AP, can I remove the tickets once I arrive and keep them for another trip or will that void the dining? Will my AP work for fastpass selection for the entire 14 days even with the other tickets on my MDE? Can I remove the tickets at the same time as activating the AP?

This is what I would do.....book 10 day tickets and upgrade to an AP once you get there. That way you won't have extra tickets. You can make fp's for the other four days once you upgrade. We find it easy to add/change fp's even the week of Christmas.

If you really want to add the AP now, just get two day tickets. You can prioritize them with Guest services once you get there so your AP gets used instead of the 2 day tickets.

 

[neverenoughtime]

I am sorry if this has been asked, but I have already booked a vacation at ASM(including tickets) for late September but have not added any dining as of yet(still deciding which one to go with). My 180 days is coming up to book all of my dining reservations. I know once that first 180 day comes I can go ahead make reservations for my full stay(1 week). My question is, if or when free dining comes up and I go to "change" reservation will it mess up any of my dining reservations already made for that full week?

 

[Disneylover99]

I am sorry if this has been asked, but I have already booked a vacation at ASM(including tickets) for late September but have not added any dining as of yet(still deciding which one to go with). My 180 days is coming up to book all of my dining reservations. I know once that first 180 day comes I can go ahead make reservations for my full stay(1 week). My question is, if or when free dining comes up and I go to "change" reservation will it mess up any of my dining reservations already made for that full week?

No don't worry. Your dining reservations will not be messed up. They are not attached to your reservation.

 

[Christi0909]

School truancy laws are a joke (I've taught in MD and NY). Legally if you miss a lot of days you will receive a letter and possibly a meeting with a PPW. These laws encourage you to lie and say your child was sick so this way it's an excused absence. In all my years of teaching I've never actually heard of anyone being fined or sent to court for taking a vacation! As long as the parent makes sure that work is made up and the student doesn't fall behind vacation on!

Exactly. My mother, sad to say, has had 2 children drop out of high school and they sent her letters saying she would be sent to court if they didn't start coming to school, and it never happened. They eventually turned 18 and the school stopped bothering her. At least in OK, the law is a total joke.

 

[kindle&wine]

We live in PA and not sure if this is a state thing but might be worth looking into. We can fill out a form for a Family Educational Trip- up to 5 days per year. The kids need to get teachers to sign off on it ahead of time and then complete a daily journal entry of what they experience each day. As
you all know- there are A LOT of educational opportunities at WDW. If they do that not only is it considered excused, but they actually aren't even marked absent. My kids are both in high school low and we've done that almost yearly since they were in elementary school. We try to do something like overlap Veterans Day (when FD was available in the past) and days off after thanksgiving. Last year we went Nov 26-dec 5 and they only had to miss 5 days for a 10-day trip.

I did this for my daughter in middle school last year. Typed up a letter talking about all the educational opportunities and it was approved by the principal. We go labor day week so with weekends and the holiday she only missed 4 days of school anyway

 

[ThistleMae]

I did this for my daughter in middle school last year. Typed up a letter talking about all the educational opportunities and it was approved by the principal. We go labor day week so with weekends and the holiday she only missed 4 days of school anyway

It's great the some schools are flexible with this issue. You can't resolve educational issues by invoking hard and fast rules that don't make sense for kids doing really well in school.

 

[ThistleMae]

Back to stressing over FD! I wish I could just go to sleep and wake up at 4 a.m. the day it is released!

 

[neverenoughtime]

No don't worry. Your dining reservations will not be messed up. They are not attached to your reservation.

Thank you, I was just wondering how they are tied? For instance what stops someone from making a Disney resort vacation and being able to book all dining reservations at 180 days plus the rest of the stay then cancelling the Disney resort vacation (and then staying offsite)? Just wanted to make sure that the change in reservation and adding FD does not cancel anything. thanks

 

[heath92681]

I was happy to see you back on this thread again this year. What week are you shooting for? Week after turkey day again?

Yes, same week! My sister-in-law wants to go this year!

 

[Rusty2rules]

Exactly. My mother, sad to say, has had 2 children drop out of high school and they sent her letters saying she would be sent to court if they didn't start coming to school, and it never happened. They eventually turned 18 and the school stopped bothering her. At least in OK, the law is a total joke.

Howdy, neighbor! I've lived in OK for almost 4 years now. I've learned the entire OK school system is one sad, sorry joke for the most part. I'm just glad I don't have to worry about it and feel bad for those that do. With that said... OK, rant over. LOL

 

[ThistleMae]

Is April 1st here yet? Hoping for big news...along with everyone else! Why is Disney so complicated?

 

[Kiki_pa]

Anyone else flying Southwest? Have you noticed the $ & points jumping up a lot recently?? I was holding off hoping for new flights to be added or price to go down again but they just keep going up! Ugh.

We are booked at Disney last week in Aug.

 

[OlafSchmolaf]

Hi all, so are the modify button and the change button the same thing? My sister and her family (who are going with us) went in and used the change button for the hotel. When she made the changes it wanted to charge her more money when she had already paid the deposit on the original reservation. If this was just a modification, wouldn't the original deposit apply? She ended up just booking a new reservation with the hotel she wanted and canceling. Wondering if anyone has any insights on why they would charge another fee...I think it was $200 more they wanted??? Just trying to figure this out before FD drops.

 

[Jellybass]

Anyone else flying Southwest? Have you noticed the $ & points jumping up a lot recently?? I was holding off hoping for new flights to be added or price to go down again but they just keep going up! Ugh.

We are booked at Disney last week in Aug.

We are also going the last week in August and are flying SW. On the day the schedules were released, my total flight costs for 4 were 1079, next day it was 1280, third day it was 1380 (when I booked), now it is over 2300.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Anyone else flying Southwest? Have you noticed the $ & points jumping up a lot recently?? I was holding off hoping for new flights to be added or price to go down again but they just keep going up! Ugh.

We are booked at Disney last week in Aug.

when you price any airline, you should do it under the "incognito" setting on your computer. For some reason, the airline sites store info of you checking already and each subsequent time you check the price goes up. I read this on a travel site once, and it's true.

 

[scard192]

I am sorry if this has been asked, but I have already booked a vacation at ASM(including tickets) for late September but have not added any dining as of yet(still deciding which one to go with). My 180 days is coming up to book all of my dining reservations. I know once that first 180 day comes I can go ahead make reservations for my full stay(1 week). My question is, if or when free dining comes up and I go to "change" reservation will it mess up any of my dining reservations already made for that full week?

If ASM is All Star Movies (ASMo), just be aware that is has been excluded from FD for the last 4-5 years except for some years it was offered only in August. Have other resort options ready when FD drops.

All Star Music (ASMu) has not been excluded.

 

[heath92681]

Anyone else flying Southwest? Have you noticed the $ & points jumping up a lot recently?? I was holding off hoping for new flights to be added or price to go down again but they just keep going up! Ugh.

We are booked at Disney last week in Aug.

I booked the day flights were released last year. One way my flight doubled in price. The other way only dropped by $10.

 

[Jellybass]

Does anyone have the costs from last years free dining?

 

[sjs314]

What is the refund policy? I have my trip almost paid off. We are staying at CBR with the $75 incentive. I plan on booking with FD at a MOD, if available. Of course I'd like to get the GC and FD, but not sure that it will work out that way. I'd rather a resort with FD. So when FD comes, I want to go online and get that booked. If I cancel my old ressie, will I get a full refund?

I believe as long as you cancel within 5 days of your arrival date you get your entire amount paid back

 

[Disneylover99]

Thank you, I was just wondering how they are tied? For instance what stops someone from making a Disney resort vacation and being able to book all dining reservations at 180 days plus the rest of the stay then cancelling the Disney resort vacation (and then staying offsite)? Just wanted to make sure that the change in reservation and adding FD does not cancel anything. thanks

People do that. Booking your resort now just gives you the ability to book your 180 plus 10. Cancelling or changing your resort will not affect your reservations.