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

[smitty0705]

Is this going to run into September? It's gray'd out??

Those dates haven't been released yet. Not sure how long it will continue but hopefully past Sept. There is another thread on that dining package- maybe if you post there someone will know.

 

[goldnvalli]

I went to a chinese auction last night and won 4- 1 day park hoppers. I was very excited!!

On a different note, I was only able to snag WL and AKL for FD for the dates we want to go. If you had the choose, which would you choose? I am having a hard time. We really wanted BC or Poly, but Poly not available and all that is available for bc was a 2 bedroom suite for 15,000. I'll pass on that one. lol

 

[heath92681]

I went to a chinese auction last night and won 4- 1 day park hoppers. I was very excited!!

On a different note, I was only able to snag WL and AKL for FD for the dates we want to go. If you had the choose, which would you choose? I am having a hard time. We really wanted BC or Poly, but Poly not available and all that is available for bc was a 2 bedroom suite for 15,000. I'll pass on that one. lol

I haven't been to either, but I'd probably choose WL for the boat to MK.

 

[Greg36]

Did you feel like there was a difference in crowds for the first week of your stay? Or was it consistent? Thanks!!

Yes, I think so. Second week felt a little more busy. Pop Warner was going on as well the second week. I would say to just plan smart. We like being at the parks for long days so we do tend to pick the parks with EMH, but if you are looking for lower crowds you may want to pick ones without the EMH's. We also found the party days at MK to be significantly less busy (before 4:00). Don't get me wrong, they were far from empty, but definitely less busy compared to the days MK was open late with no parties. We also found that Disney significantly expanded their park hours maybe a month or so before our trip last year. Hours got extended at MK and HS. They got significantly extended at MK (in the am and pm). It was a welcome surprise but I think it really reflected their anticipation of higher crowd levels. Regardless though, it is a great time to visit Disney.

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

I went to a chinese auction last night and won 4- 1 day park hoppers. I was very excited!!

On a different note, I was only able to snag WL and AKL for FD for the dates we want to go. If you had the choose, which would you choose? I am having a hard time. We really wanted BC or Poly, but Poly not available and all that is available for bc was a 2 bedroom suite for 15,000. I'll pass on that one. lol

What are you dates? I like WL better than AKL and especially if it's around the holidays, probably one of the most beautiful resorts around the holidays!!!

 

[Atinsley22]

If anyone sees 12/8-12/16 at Pop let me know, I'm booked 12/9-12/16 but want to extend a day.

 

[Shelbizzles]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their help in how to get free dining. I was able to get free dining for POP from 9/30 to 10/06. My original reservation (which I still have at the moment) was from 9/30 to 10/07. I am calling later to finalize. I hope to be able to extend the vacation with free dining to 10/07. Otherwise, I guess I will try to get the last day as a separate vacation. Has anyone else done this? What do you suggest? Thanks in advance!

My original reservation was for the 21st-30th of September. When I was able to book FD at 7am on Monday (stupid work prevented me from checking earlier)
I was only able to book the 22nd-30th. The next day they had availability for the whole trip but I could not modify it. So I just canceled and rebooked.
I would just keep checking, you never know what might become available!

And I also wanted to say thanks to everyone for the information on this thread!
It was a great help

 

[Sadiemae76]

If anyone sees 12/8-12/16 at Pop let me know, I'm booked 12/9-12/16 but want to extend a day.

You could add a room only day 12/8 -12/9 or 12/16 -12/17. If you are purchasing your tickets with the other package I would add the extra day at the end.

 

[DisTXMom]

If anyone sees 12/8-12/16 at Pop let me know, I'm booked 12/9-12/16 but want to extend a day.

Consider calling if you have not already done so. They may be able to add the day.

 

[Lisa J]

Omgoodness!!! I really didn't want a pirate room at Caribbean but I would have settled for it. I figured it would be fine at least we would be at Disney. But instead of just letting it go, I took people's advice on this board, I kept checking. I had very low (read: NO) expectations of being successful since I needed two standard rooms. I kept checking anyway.

Well, I just booked TWO STANDARD CBR ROOMS for my original dates!!! (9 Dec - 16 Dec)

I checked at 11:58...there was nothing. I figured I would call in the morning but I checked one more time before going to bed. At 12:34 and I saw one available switched to that one and went to my other res and was able to change that one too!!! I'm super excited!!! Now I have to call in the morning to verify my gift card is still there...my reservation numbers are the same but I just want to confirm.

Thank you guys so much!!!

I'm trying to do the same thing. I've never modified online. When I get to the reservation it says change. Then do i go into vacation offers or dining? It looks like the dining is just to add a dining plan. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a great fear of screwing up my entire reservation. Also do you have less problem with Chrome over Explorer? Thanks everybody

 

[Mbuksa]

Everything I had I can get but BOG. We are from Illinois so humid here and we are used to it. its not so much the heat that im worried about.

I'm probably in the minority, but BOG was "OK", not enough that I would change my reservation dates over. Plus, if your really diligent, you might find a reservation later on. Pleople have reported good success with touring plans finding them some hard to get reservations

 

[OasterP]

If anyone sees 12/8-12/16 at Pop let me know, I'm booked 12/9-12/16 but want to extend a day.

Ive been trying trying to do the exact same thing since Monday!! I have 8th- on 14th and want 8-16. Ive called but no luck yet.

 

[Mbuksa]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their help in how to get free dining. I was able to get free dining for POP from 9/30 to 10/06. My original reservation (which I still have at the moment) was from 9/30 to 10/07. I am calling later to finalize. I hope to be able to extend the vacation with free dining to 10/07. Otherwise, I guess I will try to get the last day as a separate vacation. Has anyone else done this? What do you suggest? Thanks in advance!

Yes, I did this 2yrs ago, just added an extra night with "room discount" but just keep in mind, you can't carry over any of the dining or snack credits over for that last day. We made that mistake

 

[Mbuksa]

If anyone sees 12/8-12/16 at Pop let me know, I'm booked 12/9-12/16 but want to extend a day.

It's available right now. Standard and preferred. Good luck

 

[Kudmani]

Yes, I did this 2yrs ago, just added an extra night with "room discount" but just keep in mind, you can't carry over any of the dining or snack credits over for that last day. We made that mistake

You have until midnight on the day you check out to use the remainer of your credits.

 

[OasterP]

It's available right now. Standard and preferred. Good luck

I keep checking and don't see it. Jealous! I was able to book a second from 14-17 (we are getting annual passes upgrades anyway so not worried about extra two day) but I would love to find just one full trip. I'll keep refreshing.

 

[fishfam]

Did anybody actually get WL for Free Dining? I had a package booked there before it came out, but had to move to POR-Royal Room to get FD. I have been checking, but it never shows as available. I haven't stayed at POR since it was Dixie Landings, as our preferred Mod is POFQ. I still have a faint hope that FD might pop up for WL, and I even called, but no dice. I am just curious if anyone else was luckier than I.

I'm not going to complain, because I am thrilled to be going for 8D/7N, but I am still a bit sad not to be able to stay at my fave resort. First World problem I guess!

What dates were you trying for? I booked a new WL Free Dining reservation (Courtyard View) for 8/19-8/26 at about 6am the morning free dining dropped. I am actually going to cancel it this morning because my parents were able to get us all DVC villas that week. We have visited WL many times but only to eat at the Whispering Canyon Cafe and we would LOVE to stay there one day. When we stayed at Disney in 2012, we stayed at POR in a Royal Room with Free dining. We loved it! The resort is beautiful. We really don't mind the sprawling resorts, they feel more peaceful which is often needed after a long day at the parks. Our boys loved the pools at POR and POFQ (in 2012 you were allowed to use amenities at both resorts, not sure if that is still the case). POR's quick serve dining is the best we have had. I would not hesitate to go back. In fact we will have a car this trip and we'll be closeto POR, so we even stop in for a quick service meal there.

 

[Mbuksa]

You have until midnight on the day you check out to use the remainer of your credits.

Yes, until midnight on the day you check out of the free dining reservation. Our free dining week ended on a Sunday. We added on an extra night but under the RO discount (did not pay to add dining plan). All of our free dining credits actually expired on midnight of Sunday night. I had a few snack credits I wanted to use on our extra day, Monday, and could not. I just wasn't thinking about our extra day not actually being a part of the free dining package. It wasn't a huge deal, I just wanted to warn her not to make the same mistake I did.

 

[Mbuksa]

I keep checking and don't see it. Jealous! I was able to book a second from 14-17 (we are getting annual passes upgrades anyway so not worried about extra two day) but I would love to find just one full trip. I'll keep refreshing.

I just looked again, and it's gone. Maybe call. I think the system is glitchy sometimes.

 

[jods]

Beach Club was amazing! I don't think I'll like any resort as much!

Glad to hear it. It's such a big and crowded resort, I hope to still get that relaxed feeling.

I went to a chinese auction last night and won 4- 1 day park hoppers. I was very excited!!

On a different note, I was only able to snag WL and AKL for FD for the dates we want to go. If you had the choose, which would you choose? I am having a hard time. We really wanted BC or Poly, but Poly not available and all that is available for bc was a 2 bedroom suite for 15,000. I'll pass on that one. lol

Yay for the win! I would stay WL for the location. It's also very tranquil.