Where to begin?

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

Ugh, I have asked a million questions and you guys on DIS are amazing!
But i still have many more questions to ask
I had to cancel our trip for free dining in April and moved my deposit to a random week in August, hoping for free dining dates to be released. My travel agent booked at the same hotel; although it would not have been my hotel of choice. We have stayed at all the Value resorts....Loved them...some more than others and have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside...very pretty, but the boys werent impressed....we used to go to disney a couple of times every year and my circumstances changed drastically and have not been back in almost 3 years....we once had a bounce back for Animal Kingdom, free dining...my dream resort....and had to ultimately cancel that a couple of years ago. My question is....what resort? Is animal kingdom worth it, for those that have stayed? I am thinking of some of the other resorts near ESPN, etc. We ususally stay for 8 days and visit all the parks, without park hoppers...so i am not sure transportation to a certain resort really matters to us? any suggestions, ideas? and any news on when/if free dining will be released for august? <its usually my boys first week of school >
And, are discount codes cheaper than free dining ususally?
Animal Kingdom may be out of my price range, not sure, yet....

 

[mickeynut1]

Free dining usually starts mid-August and runs through September. If AKL is doable, I think that would be a great choice. The resort is beautiful and it's great walking around watching the animals roaming the savannahs. As far as whether or not a room discount would be better than free dining, that depends on few things. Alot of people say that a room discount is better when staying at a deluxe and free dining is better at the values and mods. This is not cut and dry as it all depends on the time of year, how many people in the room, their ages, and which resort/room type you choose. We are a family of 4 (all adults) and we stay deluxe and sometimes free dining comes out to be the better deal for us over a room discount. You will have to run the numbers to see which one is the bigger savings for your family. In the past, free dining for August/September has been announced around late March/early April. Keep a look out here on the Dis as there are always rumors going around a few weeks before it actually comes out .