OFFICIAL 2019 FREE DINING Thread - AVAILABLE to be booked NOW!!!

[ariane37]

I’m just thinking about all the cast members and travel agents coming back from vacation today expecting a nice easy first day back...

Yes, a crazy day and not fun when all systems are down! But the CM's wouldn't have been surprised this morning- and if you work for an awesome agency neither would a TA

 

[DazzleT]

My wonderful travel agent did all the work and got me the discount. Reading about the wait time and issues, so glad I have a travel agent.

 

[Lindaleeann]

Yes, a crazy day and not fun when all systems are down! But the CM's wouldn't have been surprised this morning- and if you work for an awesome agency neither would a TA

The cast member I spoke with said they had been give 2 day's notice/warning that FD and Fun and Sun were being released.

 

[scard192]

Just doesn't seem the same to have FD drop with no sign of @dirtysteve and @black562
and their names didn't even auto populate when I typed them in.

No trip for me until Spring 2020, but do enjoy seeing DISers get FD.

 

[Docchio]

If I booked POR for 9/24-10/02 but FD only goes until 9/30, will I get DP credits for 10/01 and it just wont be free that day? Or will I not have the DP that day at all? I upgraded to DDP from QS. Just trying to figure out TS redemptions, etc for when it’s time to make ADRs. Thanks!

 

[CJK]

If I booked POR for 9/24-10/02 but FD only goes until 9/30, will I get DP credits for 10/01 and it just wont be free that day? Or will I not have the DP that day at all? I upgraded to DDP from QS. Just trying to figure out TS redemptions, etc for when it’s time to make ADRs. Thanks!

You will get the dining plan for your entire trip. As long as your arrival day falls within the free dining dates, you're good to go!

 

[Docchio]

Sweet! Thank you!

 

[Turk February]

Feeling pretty lucky that I stumbled on Pop availability this morning! We wanted to go as late into Sept as possible, and yesterday I had booked a Royal Room package for 9/29 - 10/5 but when I saw Pop for 9/25 - 10/1 for $1100 less I had to make the switch. As much as I dream of staying in a Royal Room and I LOVE Riverside, I am a Pop fanboy thru and thru.

And yes I realize I could have saved the same money and stayed at Music or Sports, but I couldn't justify that

 

[ohionola]

The dates I had booked in July were almost sold out and I looked this morning and almost every resort had availability again. I also switched to a POP standard room.

 

[scrappinginontario]

The dates I had booked in July were almost sold out and I looked this morning and almost every resort had availability again. I also switched to a POP standard room.

I| have heard that TA's sometimes hold rooms for clients when an offer first drops but if the client does not confirm within a certain amount of time the room is released. Hope the new availability helps those who are still looking.

Many who do not follow these boards on a regular basis may be disappointed if they're anticipating (as we all were) a late April Free Dining only to find out the offer has come and gone by then.

 

[lubichan]

Congrats to all of you who've scored FD or a RD! Here's hoping more'll come this way for November and such.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Congrats to all of you who've scored FD or a RD! Here's hoping more'll come this way for November and such.

More discounts might come but with SW:GE opening, if you’re hoping to go I would recommend booking now to secure your room.

 

[SiandAmifyouplease]

So I hope this is the right place to ask this question I need advice or just everyones thoughts. We already had two rooms booked for September 14th at the Poly and we got free dining added for one room but not for the other (still trying for that room but no availability so far) but we did get the fun and sun package added to it but it wasn't as good a discount. Does anyone think that the Ploy will open up more rooms for FD and if not does anyone think they will come out later on with a fall discount package that offers room and dining like they have in the past? Thanks for your thoughts, Im really hoping we can get FD or at least a larger discount for that room later on if they offer something else.

 

[lubichan]

More discounts might come but with SW:GE opening, if you’re hoping to go I would recommend booking now to secure your room.

Oh, thank you, I do have a booking! It's at a bad time because I'm not from the US, so my check-in is on Thanksgiving day (November 28th), sadly, so I'm not even sure I'd get any type of discount on my stay.

 

[scrappinginontario]

So I hope this is the right place to ask this question I need advice or just everyones thoughts. We already had two rooms booked for September 14th at the Poly and we got free dining added for one room but not for the other (still trying for that room but no availability so far) but we did get the fun and sun package added to it but it wasn't as good a discount. Does anyone think that the Ploy will open up more rooms for FD and if not does anyone think they will come out later on with a fall discount package that offers room and dining like they have in the past? Thanks for your thoughts, Im really hoping we can get FD or at least a larger discount for that room later on if they offer something else.

This is hard to guage as things are very different already for 2019. FD is normally offered in the spring so it’s uncharted territory for everyone with it being announced on Jan 2nd!!

Resorts do not normally open additional rooms but, people’s pkans change so availability changes with it. Are you locked into your current dates? If not, have you tried shifting them a day or twin in either direction? Sometimes that opens more availability.

Personally, and these are only my thoughts, but I believe what we can see now is what will be offered for the fall. Since they have already offered a FD offer and a room discount offer for your dates I don’t believe we will see anything else. These are the 2 ‘normal’ discounts that Disney normally offers for the fall so I would not anticipate seeing any additional offers being released.

I could be wrong but also feel this is realistic based of Sept offers for the past number of years. The offers are normal, it’s just the booking window that has changed.

 

[SiandAmifyouplease]

Thanks so much. Yes we have checked both Saturday arrivals after our date but nothing so far. We haven't tried moving to Friday or Sunday arrival but not sure if that would help. We will just keep checking daily and hope for something to come up. We had to move from a standard room type to pool/marina view just to get the FD and fun and sun packages that we did get. At least we got something! better than full price.

 

[Turk February]

Thanks so much. Yes we have checked both Saturday arrivals after our date but nothing so far. We haven't tried moving to Friday or Sunday arrival but not sure if that would help. We will just keep checking daily and hope for something to come up. We had to move from a standard room type to pool/marina view just to get the FD and fun and sun packages that we did get. At least we got something! better than full price.

Moving dates forward or backward by a day defiantly helps because there's different availability based on other people's plans. I would check not just every day but multiple times a day. The Pop room I booked this morning was not available last night and it's gone now. If I had only been checking daily at night, I would have missed it.

If you're flexible, play around with dates and see if something pops up that fits your needs.

 

[Hiitsme]

I just asked this in a unoffical thread (Sorry) I think site is down. I saw 2 offer free dining and summer stay and play (30% off) which one is better? I plan on staying in POR for 5 nights

Hi Lisa,
I played around with both discounts and dinning plans. I ended up booking the summer fun discount for Yacht Club and added the quick service dinning plan. This saved me almost $1000 for my weeks stay. I can still eat at the table service restaurants and just pay out of pocket. With the Food & Wine festival I may be too full to eat a "real" meal.

 

[smitty0705]

Many who do not follow these boards on a regular basis may be disappointed if they're anticipating (as we all were) a late April Free Dining only to find out the offer has come and gone by then.

This nearly happened to us! It was serendipitous that I logged in just in time after being off the Dis for months.

 

[TimKeenan]

Looks like the Poly is sold out for the end of August. Haven't stayed anywhere but there for a loooong time. Did get the Contemporary theme park view though. Guess we'll switch it up this year!