2014 Free Dining Dates

[mom2agirlandboy]

anyone have any info or where to direct me?

 

[JaxMama]

If you search Free Dining in the search bar above (see the User CP, Chat, FAQ, Tickers etc...) you will find tons of blogs/posts already chatting about this topic. Great for information/opinions.

 

[sharonabe]

anyone have any info or where to direct me?

As of right now, there aren't any for the general public. Some people have received a pin for free dining, but how you get one is a mystery. You can always call Disney reservations and ask if there is one attached to your name.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Yep. There have been no general public free dining offers in 2014 for anyone other than British residents.

You'll probably have to wait to see if one comes out. You'll find a lot of "wait threads." Most likely is September. Might be some dates in Oct/Nov/Dec but nobody knows yet.

 

[FutureDis]

Gah! The wait is killing me! I just want to be able to book my vacation and start my REAL planning!!

 

[sopergirls]

IKR!! As of now we r at POR but with free dining will b able 2 stay at WL!!!

 

[elizabethdahl]

Has promos for October 2014 posted yet? Do we know when?????? Going crazy!!!

 

[BridgetR3]

Joining the wait here......hoping for fall free dining!

 

[hdh23]

We are also booked for POR but with free dining could stay at WL. They both look like good resorts but WL does look a lot more convenient! Fingers crossed. How does it work anyways I watch daily but with this many people waiting how fast do those spots for free dining fill up?

 

[SPOERLX3]

We are also booked for POR but with free dining could stay at WL. They both look like good resorts but WL does look a lot more convenient! Fingers crossed. How does it work anyways I watch daily but with this many people waiting how fast do those spots for free dining fill up?

You may know most of this but hope this helps:
Once Free dining is offered, it is offered to Disney Visa holders first.
They will have 3-5 days to book prior to it going out to the public.
Before it goes out to the public, Disney will review any dates that may have been booked up from Disney Visa card holders and may have to tweek the dates a little before it goes out to the public depending on how many bookings they got from the Disney Visa card holders and for which days.
It is then offered to the public on the Disney website (in the middle of the page, just under the main advertisement) you will see a little gift box that says "explore our special offers).
It will list the date ranges and state "available for most dates from xx/xx thru xx/xx/xxxx.
There will be a button that says "check availability"
There is limited availability and it all depends on how many others want the same dates as to how fast they sell out.
You would want to play around with your beginning and end dates and be a little flexible if you can, to get the best chance. Our last trip, we couldn't get a Saturday night but we tweeked it and started our trip on Sunday without any trouble.
And remember, you would have to make sure you have the right amount of days/nights to qualify for the offer. So if they require a minimum 4 nights/5 days, that would be the minimum.

Pixie dust for all of us who are waiting

 

[KimberlyE]

Thanks bunches SPOERLX3! That's great info!

We have a Disney Visa and will use it for the trip. We already booked for September and paid the deposit. We just have to call and add the FD for our dates (if they match), right? How will we know if they open up FD for Disney Visa holders - do they send an e-mail or a special mailer?

 

[mom2cinderella]

Thanks bunches SPOERLX3! That's great info!

We have a Disney Visa and will use it for the trip. We already booked for September and paid the deposit. We just have to call and add the FD for our dates (if they match), right? How will we know if they open up FD for Disney Visa holders - do they send an e-mail or a special mailer?

It's easiest (to me) to just check the disboards - I don't think I've gotten an email from Chase (about offers) in months.

When/If free dining is offered, they open up a certain number of rooms that they want to fill at various resorts. Some resorts or room types may not be available for free dining. i.e. I think club level is not part of fd or if say they have tons of bookings for Beach Club Water View - that will be excluded from the offer. Hopefully someone else can explain it better - I need more coffee!

 

[SPOERLX3]

It's easiest (to me) to just check the disboards - I don't think I've gotten an email from Chase (about offers) in months.

When/If free dining is offered, they open up a certain number of rooms that they want to fill at various resorts. Some resorts or room types may not be available for free dining. i.e. I think club level is not part of fd or if say they have tons of bookings for Beach Club Water View - that will be excluded from the offer. Hopefully someone else can explain it better - I need more coffee!

You are sooooo right! Getting the info from disboard friends is normally a day ahead of it coming out.

• I read all about the current promo that came out today for Disney Visa holders yesterday on disboards.
• I checked all day today on the Disney Visa website and to this very minute, they have still not posted anything.
• Then about an hour ago, I got an email from "Disney Rewards" with all the details of the promo's for Disney visa holders.

 

[Dreams0308]

Hey guys, I've never done the free dining before. DH and I are hoping to go for a long weekend trip over labor day weekend........Is free dining ever offered for those date (or has it been in the past?) I have no idea because I'm a FD newbie (my parents have DVC so we never got to do free dining)

 

[puppydawg]

man oh man, i was so exited for a moment, i thought dates had been announced. ah well, back to watching

 

[SGMCO]

Still waiting to book. The more people that book ahead of any promo, could stifle any discounts, so try not to book. If Disney sees that people are already booked, they have no need to offer any discounts.

 

[SPOERLX3]

Still waiting to book. The more people that book ahead of any promo, could stifle any discounts, so try not to book. If Disney sees that people are already booked, they have no need to offer any discounts.

You are soooo right!
If bookings are looking good for Disney, then obviously the discount suffers, which is why it is always stressed to people NOT to book in advance in anticipation of free dining. Advance booking only fills rooms in the eyes of Disney, which decreases the chances of a discount....plus, it can also exclude resorts from a discount if that resort has an acceptable level of occupancy.
If everyone is booking in hopes of FD, Disney has no reason to offer any discounts at all, especially FD and if some weeks are filled more than others, Disney can always exclude those days/weeks.

 

[norjack]

If free dining is announced, is there ever a chance it is also extended to the bookings for value resorts as well?

 

[SPOERLX3]

If free dining is announced, is there ever a chance it is also extended to the bookings for value resorts as well?

Disney offers discounts to fill rooms. If there are resorts that are filling without a discount, then Disney will exclude that resort and since there is limited availability for discounted rooms, there may not be a need to offer a discount for a specific resort. The same thing goes for specific dates. Disney can exclude dates from the discounts. This is why so many posters on the boards, encourage not to book "hoping" for FD.

With all that being said, I have normally seen the values included in the promo's with the exception of the AoA resort and the family suites at ASMu.

 

[crostorfer]

I see an awful lot of people counting on free dining. I hope you all aren't getting your hopes up for nothing. There are no guarantees.