A question about free dining

[Ms.Disney]

I have a question, has anyone heard weather or not Disney will offer free dining in Sept. 08? Also if they are going to offer it about what time of the year do they announce it? I was thinking it was in April when they announce last year but was not really sure. Thanks for any info.

[youngOx96]

Disney has already offered the "bounce-back" free dining for Sept. 08 - if you booked a return trip for Sept. 08 during your stay in Sept. 07. We're already booked – oh boy!

With respect to the Free Dining being offered to the general public, it's never guaranteed. However, in past years Disney has followed this pattern. They usually offer the bounce-back option during December (at least they did last year - so the September offer this year is a little unusual), and then they offer the free dining to UK and/or Canadian residence. Once those two things have been done, Disney will usually offer the free dining to Disney Visa card holders (usually around Jan. or Feb.), and finally to the general public (I think around Mar. or Apr.). Of course one has to wonder, if Disney gets the volume of bookings they are looking for from earlier offerings, will they ever make it down the list to the general public.

Something else to consider, I've seen throughout these boards that there is growing dissatisfaction with the 2008 version of the Disney Dining Plan. That said, Disney may be prompted to offer the free dining to everyone as they have in the past.

Last and certainly not least, if you are considering a trip I highly recommend booking through Magical Journeys. They will re-book your trip if any special offers like Free Dining are released for the timeframe of your visit. They are REALLY great – I love those guys.

Good luck.

[Mickey91]

They have started by offering the free dining to those who vacationed in late Aug thru Sept '07 if they booked before they checked out. If they continue as they have in the past, they will offer it to those living in certain areas outside the US sometime soon.

In 2007, they offered it to Disney Visa holders on April 9 and to the general public April 12. There was a lot of talk about there not being enough availability between the Visa time and general public offer for them to offer it to the public, but there were a set amount of rooms at each resort set aside for each offer. I would begin looking on the Icot news page everyday early in 2008 as they don't seem to stick with the same time and available rooms fill up fast as this is a very popular package. Remember, tip is not included this time around, so once booked, make sure you budget and save for tip according to how much you think each place would've cost so you aren't short on fun money when you get there.

Hope this helps!

[TBY2225]

I agree with YoungOx96 about booking with MJ! They are great and they will rebook if the free dining is announced as well as let you know about any other offers or discounts during that time frame as well. I have read on other post that the UK residences are being offered the free dining now, but not at value resorts. I cannot verify this though. The "bounceback deal" we got is at the Pop Century. So I do know that at least they were allowing all the resorts to be booked at that time.

[Rodders]

TBY is correct. Free dining has been made available to UK residents but not for value hotels. I was hoping to book POP but had a fantastic excuse to upgrade

The bookings had to be made between 23rd August and 6th November 2007 for travel between 10th August and 27th September 2008.

I guess that they are trying to get us Brits to commit to a holiday early. My personal opinion is that this is an indication that they may offer it in the US but by no means a guarantee. I hope that you get the offer that you want.

[Ms.Disney]

Thank you everyone for your answers. I will keep my eyes open after for free dining.