Free dining?

[Hbk]

Hi! I'm new here... Never been to Disney! My husband and I are planning our first vacation away since having our son and we are thinking of going in September or October. I've been told that the free dining promotion could possibly be around this time frame. Have they announced these dates yet? And is it as good of a deal as it sounds or is their a catch? Any and all tips and advice are appreciated. Thanks!

[faline]

Disney has been reducing free dining promotions - it's unknown whether they will offer such a promotion this year or not. Personally, I have found that I have come out ahead by having a room discount and paying out of pocket for my dining.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

to INTERCOT! We're glad you're here!

I'm a fan of free dining, since it matches how our family likes to eat on vacation.

There are still some deals, but Disney has cut back from previous years. Discounts for the late summer/fall haven't been announced yet, and are usually announced late April/early May, but only Disney knows for sure.

The "catch" with free dining is that it can't be combined with any other type of discount. So, depending where you stay, it can be a better deal to take a room discount, and pay for your food. Also, with the dining plan, it only makes sense if you "eat like the plan" (with a counter service and a table service each day). Some people do (like us), some prefer a different plan.

[Strmchsr]

to Intercot!!

I'm with Linda. Not a fan of "free" dining or the dining plan in general as it's WAY too much food for my family and we don't get our money's worth. We're better with the room discount (you also have to pay full rack rate for your room with the "free" dining plan). But, it works well for some families.

In order to find what's best for you, I suggest contacting Magical Journeys. Doesn't cost you a thing to use them, they'll crunch all the numbers for you to find the best deal, and whatever deal does come out they can help you figure what's best then will apply the discount without you having to do a thing. Tons of folks here on Intercot use them and love them.

One thing to keep in mind for Sept/Oct is you have the Food & Wine Festival which makes Epcot extremely crowded on weekends. Also, the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party happens in that time frame. It's an extra ticket to buy, but it's a ton of fun and worth doing once. You get a special Halloween parade, special fireworks, and get to trick or treat around the Magic Kingdom.

[MargaretMessler]

Hi! I'm new here... Never been to Disney! My husband and I are planning our first vacation away since having our son and we are thinking of going in September or October. I've been told that the free dining promotion could possibly be around this time frame. Have they announced these dates yet? And is it as good of a deal as it sounds or is their a catch? Any and all tips and advice are appreciated. Thanks!

We received free dining last September, and we thinking it worked out great for us. We stayed value, so received the QS dining free (although there is the option to upgrade to regular DDP for the difference in price per night). I suppose it depends on your plans, what your wishlist for meals might be, etc.

Basically, I would never PAY for the DDP because I see it as a break even deal at best, but I do find excellent value when it is offered for free in lieu of the room discount.

As for timing, I want to say it was announced for last fall in May?

[hauntedmansiongirl]

it's always nice to meet a new friend!

We're hoping for free dining too. Our last 2 trips we've skipped the dining plan and ended up saving money, but our Sept trip this year includes my parents, and they have never stayed in Disney- so they want to go whole hog and pay as much ahead of time as possible.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed!