Wilderness Lodge and Free Dining Questions

[MyKidsDad3]

Ok, here's the scenario: I'm putting this together for my family. 12 members. I'll have to make the reservations for 3 rooms. We are looking at the last week in August 2020. I know, early. I'm hoping to get free dining, too. Should I make the reservations before free dining is announced ? Then add the free dining when you can. Or Make the reservations the first day that you can get free dining ?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Realistically, the more rooms booked, the fewer rooms they open for Free Dining. Add in the open of Galaxy's Edge, and there is likely to be very limited free dining to start with.

If the dates are firm and you will travel whether or not there is FD, sure, book. If your dates may flex based on promotion or FD is required for the trip, I would wait.

 

[sponica]

Honestly I'll be impressed if there are any discounts once star wars opens...late august is at least a time of year where you might be able to hold off on booking to see if discounts get dropped.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you know you want to stay at WL regardless, book now. If you will only go to WDW with some type of promo, wait until it drops and then book what appeals to you. In that instance, I would be prepared with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. choices as not all resorts and room categories are placed in promo inventory.

 

[mickeynut1]

Realistically, the more rooms booked, the fewer rooms they open for Free Dining. Add in the open of Galaxy's Edge, and there is likely to be very limited free dining to start with.

If the dates are firm and you will travel whether or not there is FD, sure, book. If your dates may flex based on promotion or FD is required for the trip, I would wait.

If you know you want to stay at WL regardless, book now. If you will only go to WDW with some type of promo, wait until it drops and then book what appeals to you. In that instance, I would be prepared with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. choices as not all resorts and room categories are placed in promo inventory.

Agree with both of the above

 

[SheriBerry]

I don't think you can just add free dining. You would have to cancel your room only reservation in order to book the free dining offer.

 

[Kimberle]

Ok, here's the scenario: I'm putting this together for my family. 12 members. I'll have to make the reservations for 3 rooms. We are looking at the last week in August 2020. I know, early. I'm hoping to get free dining, too. Should I make the reservations before free dining is announced ? Then add the free dining when you can. Or Make the reservations the first day that you can get free dining ?

Lately, WL has not been included with FD. Book your rooms for what you are comfortable paying. If a discount comes out, great, you can add it. Yes, you can add FD (or other discount) to your already booked room. That is only if your resort/room type has availability. I have done so myself.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Congrats on your upcoming trip. WL is included in the Free dining for this summer, but as others have noted everything may change if demand increases once Star Wars opens. We love WL and have booked trips ahead of time and then called to switch to Free Dining once it has been announced. We were willing to go without it, but were always glad to get Free Dining as it worked out well for us. If it isn't offered for your dates, you can also pursue other discount options that might be available to you at WL, which we have done as well. With that big of a group it is nice to start your planing early.

Another WL specific thing is you might want to consider is the bookable room category. We always have booked Standard View because it can have substantial savings over the other higher cost options, and there really isn't a bad room at WL. Sometimes this ties into Free Dining as well though, because often it might be available for one view category but not another, so you then can decide if paying some extra for a better view is worth it to get the free dining. Then you can keep checking back to see if it becomes available for lower cost categories. Everything is more complicated having three rooms to deal with, but it can be done. Happy planning and have a wonderful trip to WL!

 

[Disneylover99]

Lately, WL has not been included with FD. Book your rooms for what you are comfortable paying. If a discount comes out, great, you can add it. Yes, you can add FD (or other discount) to your already booked room. That is only if your resort/room type has availability. I have done so myself.

We booked FD this month at WL in a nature view room for the last two weeks of August.

 

[vinotinto]

The second half of August has had good availability of discounts recently. But, no one can know how things will pan out in August 2020, which is 18 months away. If resort bookings are soft, we'll see some good discounts. If resort bookings are high (and with the SWGE opening, we do expect them to be higher in 2020), they may limit the offers.

I tried to book a Free Dining bounceback discount at WL in 2017 for December 2018 and it wasn't available, although I was offered other options, including AKL (Note: I did book FD at WL for 2 adults in a nature room for July 2018). Also, Disney converted a lot of WL to Copper Creek villas, effectively reducing the resort size in half. For the recent set of general public room discounts, WL has been offered at 10% discount, while some resorts are receiving 30% discount. So, all of this indicates Disney has had less difficulty selling WL rooms at rack or with a small discount.

So, say you book your 3 rooms now. You may be lucky and Disney offers FD for your period *and* your check-in date qualifies *and* WL has availability under the discount/promo *and* you are able to modify your reservation to the FD promo. Great!

But, what often happens is that the promo may not be available for the resort or room type or check-in date. So, your group would need to decide if they are still going to WL on those dates and pay rack rate or close to it, or if they will change dates or resorts to fit in the promo. Booking the Room now simply guarantees you that room at rack rate. It does not give you any priority for a promo. The room has to be available with the promo for your exact dates in order to be able to have that reservation modified to Free Dining.

 

[MyKidsDad3]

Thank you everybody for your replies. A lot to think about. Good thing I've got 18 months.

 

[nyy]

Why not use a TA who specializes in Disney only? Book now and then they can watch for discounts for you. I have a great one if you want to message me.
We always keep checking ourselves, too. WL is our favorite resort. We are returning in August with Free Dining that we booked as a bounce back last August when we stayed at BWI.
We are hoping to book another bounce back for 2020. Fingers crossed! Just FYI, our TA booked the bounce back for us while we were on property.

 

[Lynne M]

Moving this to the Discount Codes and Rates board.

 

[MyKidsDad3]

Moving this to the Discount Codes and Rates board.

How do I find that board ?
Never mind. Found it

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Book as soon as you can. GE will be making bookings difficult that summer.

 

[MyKidsDad3]

Book as soon as you can. GE will be making bookings difficult that summer.

Galaxy's Edge opens this year, 2019.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Galaxy's Edge opens this year, 2019.

Yep. But not this summer. The OP is referring to 2020.

 

[Nancyg56]

I think booking at any given resort in anticipation of discount is counterproductive. The days of "applying" a discount are long gone, and the discounts are far more selective in terms of resorts, days and view available.

I think that if you are booking to secure a room at a specific resort for date set in stone, then the decision is sound. If you are booking your room hoping that it wil be included in a discount, but that trip is dependant upon a discount, just wait. There is nothing worse than becoming invested in a specific resort that is only in your price range with a discount and then either canceling the vacation, or changing to a resort you really did not want.