Free Dining Plan

[cherbie66]

Hello all. I am trying to plan a surprise Disney world trip for my daughter's 5th birthday!! I know that in years past there were certain times of the year that free dining plan was offered. I was wondering when that is. Is it the same every year? If someone could help that would be great. Thanks! :)

[Seasonscraps]

Disney has offered free dining for travel from the end of August to the end of September. There is no word about it this year yet - I believe in the past the announcement was made in April.

[j&j]

we got this in sept.:mickey::mickey:

[PixieMagic]

I got a PIN for this back in Feb for 8/16-10/1....unfortunately it expired a week before I called to book....any way around this or ever heard about a CM bending the expiration so I could still book? I can't stand waiting to see if they'll offer it in April and my whole family is depending on me now cuz we thought we'd already have it! Anyone had any experience booking with an expired PIN??:confused:

[rubato]

How does this work? In the past, have you been able to get this with any resort, or does it have to be certain ones? Which dining plan is it because there's more than one?

[Going2HeavenRU]

We booked our trip with our AAA rep last February (08) and she contacted us in April and told us that the free dining was available for our Sept travel dates so she added it on.

The only down side was that we wanted to stay at Pop Century but was told that we would have to move to All Star Sports in order to take advantage of the free dining. It was nice to be able to have all of our food paid for (accept tip). We had the dining plan that gives one snack, one counter service and table service meal a day per person.

[Mfarquar]

Yes, the free dining plan offer usually comes around in April. I would guess it would cover August 16 through the first day or two in October.

Keep checking every day. If you have a Disney Visa, you will be able to book it 3 days before it is open to the general public. But, as a Disney Visa cardholder, I will admit that they don't do such a great job of announcing it and it is super easy to miss. The other bonus of the Disney Visa is that you can earn $$ to spend on anything Disney and you get 6 months interest free on vacation packages (which includes free dining).

You must book at least a 1 day ticket for each person in your party to make it a "package", then free dining can be added.

You get the regular dining plan (1 counter service, 1 snack and 1 sit down meal that includes an entree, soft drinks and dessert, but not tip per night you stay - so 6 nights would equal 6 snacks, 6 counter service, and 6 sit down meals per person).

Pop Century and the other values seem to book up first (really the best deal, as you are paying around $80 a night, and getting free dining).

There is a Disney saving website that always seems to post the info first. Somehow they seem to get a jump by a few hours on it. If you want to know the website, feel free to private message me.

[tinksmom02]

There are rumors about the free dining plan, but it hasn't been announced yet. As others have said, early April is usually the time.

Another thing you could do is book your trip with Magical Journeys. IF free dining were released (and be the best money-saver for you), they would automatically apply it to your reservation.

I just wonder...if, as others are speculating, Disney amends the free DDP to be free quick service DDP, if it will be as popular of a discount?