Please explain free dining to me. What is it and how does it work?

[fairytalelover]

I keep reading about this free dining and I was hoping somebody could explain what it is to me and how it works and how I can get it. Thanks

 

[Seahunt]

mousesavers lists all the current discounts so you can keep up with all the offers there

For a limited time, get a FREE dining plan when you buy a "Memories Vacation Package" at select Walt Disney World resort hotels. Offer is valid for stays most nights 8/28/11-9/24/11.

The Memories Vacation Package includes:

Accommodations in a select Walt Disney World resort hotel (3 nights minimum)
Walt Disney World theme park Base Tickets (2 days minimum; can be upgraded to include add-ons such as Park Hopper and/or Water Park Fun & More at an additional cost)
A Disney's PhotoPass Photo Book (note that this required item adds about $100 to the overall cost of this package)
Stay at select Disney Value resorts and get the Quick Service Dining Plan for FREE.

Stay at select Disney Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villas resorts and get the regular Dining Plan for FREE.

Book by 8/27/11. The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same package. Base Tickets are for one Theme Park per day and must be used within 14 days of first use. No group rates or other discounts apply. Offer is nontransferable. Advance reservations required. Excludes gratuities and alcoholic beverages. Children ages 3-9 must order from the children's menu if available. Some table-service restaurants may have limited or no availability at time of package purchase.

Thanks to Small World Vacations for info.

To book the FREE Dining "Memories Vacation Package", please contact a travel agent who specializes in Disney vacations and request code QUH for Value resorts; request code N23 for Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villas resorts.
http://www.mousesavers.com/wdw.html

You can also click on "Special Offers" on the WDW website to see what's being offered.

 

[dizneeat]

Basically it means that you book your room reservation at rack rate, include tickets to make it a package and you get the DDP as an added bonus for free.
It has been offered several times and I think it is currently offered for late August and September.

There are different DDPs offered for different resorts (eg. value resort receives quick service plan)

Depending on the number of people in your party and the resort you are going to stay at, sometimes a room discount can be better value!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

For all resorts except value level, you get 1 counter service meal, 1 table service meal & 1 snack per person per night of your trip.

The value resorts get 2 counter service meals & 1 snack/person/night I believe.

 

[Sunnywho]

Value resorts get the QSDP which is 2 counter service meals, 2 snacks per day per person, as well as a free refillable resort mugs per person.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thanks for clarifying sunny!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

If it's not clear on the other posts, free dining is just another form of a discount, so its wise to always look at things objectively and not just jump to conclusions that because it's listed as "Free" it's the best deal.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If it's not clear on the other posts, free dining is just another form of a discount, so its wise to always look at things objectively and not just jump to conclusions that because it's listed as "Free" it's the best deal.

True. You must pay rack rate for the hotel stay and buy a minimum of 2 days park tickets with your package. So people with non-expiring tix from a previous visit, APs &/or like to stay deluxe, it may not be the best deal.

For us, it ends up being close (about $70 difference) except that we'll be eating at places that we would normally consider too expensive with the free dining. 3 out of 4 of us already have tickets that don't expire so we'll be able to save the 2-day tickets that come with our package and use them later.

 

[Beth921]

mousesavers lists all the current discounts so you can keep up with all the offers there

For a limited time, get a FREE dining plan when you buy a "Memories Vacation Package" at select Walt Disney World resort hotels. Offer is valid for stays most nights 8/28/11-9/24/11.

The Memories Vacation Package includes:

Accommodations in a select Walt Disney World resort hotel (3 nights minimum)
Walt Disney World theme park Base Tickets (2 days minimum; can be upgraded to include add-ons such as Park Hopper and/or Water Park Fun & More at an additional cost)
A Disney's PhotoPass Photo Book (note that this required item adds about $100 to the overall cost of this package)
Stay at select Disney Value resorts and get the Quick Service Dining Plan for FREE.

Stay at select Disney Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villas resorts and get the regular Dining Plan for FREE.

Book by 8/27/11. The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same package. Base Tickets are for one Theme Park per day and must be used within 14 days of first use. No group rates or other discounts apply. Offer is nontransferable. Advance reservations required. Excludes gratuities and alcoholic beverages. Children ages 3-9 must order from the children's menu if available. Some table-service restaurants may have limited or no availability at time of package purchase.

Thanks to Small World Vacations for info.

To book the FREE Dining "Memories Vacation Package", please contact a travel agent who specializes in Disney vacations and request code QUH for Value resorts; request code N23 for Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villas resorts.
http://www.mousesavers.com/wdw.html

You can also click on "Special Offers" on the WDW website to see what's being offered.

I missed the Photopass part of this, if I booked under this, does it mean that I've already paid for the photopass book?
Thanks

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I missed the Photopass part of this, if I booked under this, does it mean that I've already paid for the photopass book?
Thanks

Yes, that's correct. It's a 20 page book. I'm guessing you still have to buy the pictures. You can upload your own also.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I keep reading about this free dining and I was hoping somebody could explain what it is to me and how it works and how I can get it. Thanks

Free Dining is a discount that WDW has been offering since the fall of 2005. Up until 2009 it was really just offered as a general public discount in mid/late August throught late September/early October. In 2009 they did a second free dining offer which included dates in October - late December. Last year they also had winter dates and then came out the another offer that included many slow weeks in 2011 up through the end of September. Free Dining is also sometimes offered through email pin code discounts. Those emails are random, name specific and non-transferrable. Up until 2009 the Free Dining Discount had always included the Basic DDP - 1 TS, 1 CS and 1 Snack per person per day. But with the introduction of the Quick Service Dining Plan, in 2009 the Value Resorts were offered that plan as part of the free dining promo. Under the terms of the free dining promo you may upgrade to the Basic or Deluxe plan and pay the cost difference. The cost difference between the Quick Service and Basic Plans is minimal and many people do upgrade.

The current free dining offer is for the dates of August 28 - September 24, 2011. You must book a Magic Your Way package that includes resort, tickets and dining to received the free dining discount. The fd package has a 3 night minimum and a 14 night maximum for booking and also requires a 2 day minimum ticket purchase. Also, if you check in by the last date of the promo you can receive the free dining discount up to 14 nights. Free dining discounts can be added when making a new reservation or can be added to an existing reservation by calling WDW reservations. If your trip is already paid in full when a free dining discount is released, you can still add the code later and WDW will credit you the difference - this can take up to 2 billing cycles. Each resort is usually only allotted so many free dining rooms, so if you call near the end of a free dining offer, some resorts may have limited FD rooms or can sell out of FD rooms. In this case, you can change resorts to receive a free dining discount and you do NOT have to cancel your original reservation.

The free dining discount is one of the largest discounts that Disney offers each year. If you are staying at a Value or Moderate Resort the free dining discount is almost always going to be your best discount. If you are staying at a Deluxe Resort a 40% room code can save you more money, but if you get a room discount code that is less than 40% then the free dining is probably going to save you more money.

 

[Beth921]

Yes, that's correct. It's a 20 page book. I'm guessing you still have to buy the pictures. You can upload your own also.

lol, excuse my stupidity on this... I haven't paid for the cd, though, right? It was just the book?

 

[PrincessTiffany]

lol, excuse my stupidity on this... I haven't paid for the cd, though, right? It was just the book?

Yes, it is just the book. You can purchase the Photopass CD separately and use those photos in the book when you return or you can just upload your own pictures to include in the book.