POR - Crowded during free dining?

[tavera]

We went in Sept of 2005 and there was no free dining - it was GREAT! Small crowds, etc.. and we stayed in a value. We went again in Nov 2006 and stayed in POFQ and the hotel was not crowded at all - although the parks were a bit more crowded than in Sept of 2005 - so what should i expect by going this Sept? (17-22) we are staying at a mod. (POR) as suggested by Magical Journeys because they said the values are just slam packed during free dining - my question is, will the parks be super packed too or will we really just be dealing w/crowds at the restaurants?

[dyin tago]

we went last september with free dining for 13 nights at pop century.yes the resort was busy but not anything we could not handle.the food area was packed at meal times but we rented a car so we visited por a couple times and the food area was just as busy.the parks vary,some days not too bad and one sunday the magic kingdom was near capacity.
doing asm for 14 nights this sept,can`t wait!

[dinahvixen]

We went during free dining in '05, I think the first time they offered it, so maybe that affected crowds, but the parks were very light during the weekdays. The Saturday we were there was much more crowded, though - but still not NEARLY as crowded as early summer days are. We stayed at ASMo, and I didn't think it was bad at all.

[Nicki'sMom]

We went to POR Sept. 06 and had the free dining and we did not find it crowded at all. We had the parks to ourselves all morning and practically walked onto everything all week. We are going again Sept 4-11 this year and I am expecting it to be a bit more crowded because the word about the DDP has spread but it will still be better than any other time of year. POR was really nice and relaxing. I would stay there again.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We've been twice during free dining, and both times the parks weren't too bad, especially during the week. The resorts, both POR and FQ didn't seem overly busy or crazy either.

We would get up early, make use of fastpass, but we never really waited too long for any ride.

Still a great time to go, free dining or not.

[JCDarzi]

We went 9/05 & 9/06 during free dining offer. In 05, there were few crowds. In 06 there were a lot more people. Keep in mind that depending on when you go in September, most kids are in school. What we found that areas that catered to toddlers were packed such as Fantasyland. Big thrill rides were empty. My husband was able to ride Space Mountain, Expedition Everest, Rock n Roller Coaster multiple times, back to back because there were no lines.

Obviously during free dining, the restaurants were packed but at the table service restaurants, there is a maximum capacity so once that was realized, they stop taking customers.

All in all, we found it to be quite manageable for our weeklong trip.

[moe513]

Last year free dining was longer. This yr it starts the end of aug instead of the middle. I think its going to effect the crowds.