******Official 2017 Free Dining Plan Watch, Wait, and Dream

[scard192]

I'll be booking my ADRs (hopefully) next week at 6am everyday.

good luck!

 

[Katmat75]

I scored BOG for lunch for our September trip! Could not get LTT. Bummed about that! Not one available the whole 10 days! Oh well, will keep trying!

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

I scored BOG for lunch for our September trip! Could not get LTT. Bummed about that! Not one available the whole 10 days! Oh well, will keep trying!

LTT reservations might not be loaded into the system yet. Very odd that none were available. They usually only book up early for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. I would check back periodically for availability.

 

[KimBean]

They must be out researching. Bless their souls

Lol.

You're not losing your mind....the August idea came from seeing DVisa card holders discuss having that option in AUG.

Yeah but it wasn't in the rumor I was referencing. Tourist blog also talked about most likely august but I believe just using historical info.

 

[Disneygurl84]

What is everyone's take on free dining in early October. Usually ends the 1, 2 or 3. I'm looking to go October 1 but just want some opinions. The 180 date for ADR is coming up and I really wanna get Bog for dinner.

Anyone else stressing over this? I definitely am

 

[AnnetteS]

It looks like the UK FD is released a few weeks earlier as usual

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

What is everyone's take on free dining in early October. Usually ends the 1, 2 or 3. I'm looking to go October 1 but just want some opinions. The 180 date for ADR is coming up and I really wanna get Bog for dinner.

Anyone else stressing over this? I definitely am

You can book a room or package reservation for the dates you want to go, then when your 180+10 opened up you can book BOG. When it is less than 180 days from the actual date of your BOG reservation you can cancel your room reservation and the BOG res. will remain. Only caveat is that your deposit $ will be tied up for about a week until they refund it to you.

P.S.
I know this is a sensitive subject for some people. Just pointing out that there is a way to secure hard-to-get ADRs while waiting for Disney to release FD dates. Ok, now let the flaming begin.

 

[ThistleMae]

We are staying at Pop, and considering upgrading, not for value, but for the experience. My brother did it and he said eh, wasn't really worth it, for him, but I'm taking two newbies and I want them to have the best experience.

I would definitely upgrade, especially if the FD is offered for your dates at a value. It's only like $ 21.00 per adult per day vs. the summer offer which is $ 40.00 per adult per day. Even at the $ 40.00 I would upgrade because most of our meals are going to cost at least that if not more. We like the character and buffet's at the resorts, so well worth it.

 

[KimBean]

We actually find the character dining buffets quicker then a sit down restaurant where you order off the menu, especially when you are on the dining plan because you are waiting for your server, ordering drinks, drinks come, order dinner, wait, get the dessert menu, wait for your server, wait for dessert.....

Usually the characters at a buffet come fast and furious. The server takes your drink order right away and then you eat. You can ask for the bill when you sit down as well if you're in a hurry. Even places like Hoop de Doo and Spirit of Aloha are pretty quick once you are seated.

You know I was thinking about that when I wrote that list. My thinking and of course this is all hard to say because the experience will be so varied depending on day, server, the wind, lol. We've had a couple of times where one character missed us or they were just slow that we would be done eating and just waiting for a character. But then when you also factor I. The time of NOT having to wait in line for that character you very well could be right.

I have not gone to that many but here was my experience: chef mickeys dinner and ohana breakfast pretty quick. Crystal palace lunch and dinner and there seems to be a delay here. Akshershus (I'll never spell it right) lunch and dinner. Usually takes awhile here very busy and there is usually a wait.

 

[Greg36]

What a great thread! We love Disney and love the free dining promotion. We have been to Disney four times over the past few years and are planning a trip late November/early December this year... We have tended to take a wait and see approach in hopes to score the free dining promotion but we opted for a great deal on airfare a month ago so we are pretty locked into our dates... I have found in years past that by waiting for the free dining we tended to pay a lot more for the airfare! We scored free dining last year at CB for a two week stay starting November 26th and are hoping for a repeat this coming year for the 25th... We shall see. We are also Canadian so have been keeping an eye on the Canadian ticket deal which is now worth about 35/36% off sticker price (save around $684)... If we could put that with a room only discount we might be able to hit around a $1,000 discount... Maybe... Still a far cry from the roughly $2650 we would save with free dining (two adults, two kids). We will be following along for any hints on the free dining and look forward to chatting along with you.

 

[ThistleMae]

I'm freaking out!! Just a few days before I make my ADRs and I'm so undecided about where I want to make them!! Last trip I had everything planned and plotted out. This trip is coming up fast! I guess I will be calling a family meeting this weekend to find out where everyone wants to eat and then their second choices.

Even more frustrating is when FP+ comes out, you may have to change everything around.

 

[randye1]

Is that a bad sign??

They don't drop dates until they have a "firm" rumor. In my opinion and with no disrespect intended to anyone else they are my go to guys for free dining information as they are always spot on.

 

[ThistleMae]

As I'm sitting here at work dreaming of free dining, I'm considering changing/adding some ADRs.

Thoughts on Tusker House or Boma???

I've never eaten at either but can't decide between the two. Has anyone eaten at both? Tusker is a character meal but the food options at Boma looked a bit better? Thoughts?

in advance!

I'm in love with Boma! The atmosphere and the food make it a must every trip. The Zebra bites are to die for! Sorry I can't compare to Tusker house, but if your kids are way into the character dining, that may be your deciding factor.

 

[ellbell]

None of the story sounds plausible.

Leaks happen days not weeks before a promo drops. 2015....my source spilled the beans at 1pm the day before it dropped.

Sounds like someone may be fishing, drumming up business, or both.

I don't know if I should consider this disappointing or hope that it means it could be sooner.

 

[ThistleMae]

We switch it up every year now. Quick service one year, table service the next. So we alternate between Pop and one of the mods. It works out great!

I agree that QS definitely frees up your time and really helps with FP's. This was our biggest issue with TS, so we changed some of our "go to" restaurants, so we wouldn't be rushed to get back to the parks for our FP's. We eliminated any TS at the resorts to the ones on the Monorail, easy to get back and forth. We found we had to rush to finish our dinner because of the time it took to go back and forth to many of our favorites.

 

[KimBean]

None of the story sounds plausible.

Leaks happen days not weeks before a promo drops. 2015....my source spilled the beans at 1pm the day before it dropped.

Sounds like someone may be fishing, drumming up business, or both.

Well there we go! Grateful to have insiders here.

 

[ThistleMae]

found 2016 thread on google it was only 8 pages?was trying to get a feel for how it was the days leading up to it etc and issues people had

No it's hundreds of pages and they started a second thread for it. It is in here, and I did read through it (very exciting) but I didn't write it down anywhere, so unless someone else knows what page it's on, it's in here somewhere. Sorry.

 

[KimBean]

I scored BOG for lunch for our September trip! Could not get LTT. Bummed about that! Not one available the whole 10 days! Oh well, will keep trying!

There is LTT available today for lunch and dinner. I then went a couple of weeks out on a Saturday and there were a few. So I think they haven't been released yet as someone else already mentioned.

 

[ThistleMae]

What do you consider a "quicker TS"? Any specific restaurants?

I would consider a quick TS, anything that is in the parks.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We also generally prefer QS to TS at WDW to allow for more flexibility. We have a few TS restaurants that we hit each trip, but not many.

We have leveraged FD a few times. When we have done so with our entire family, we have still spent over $1k OOP on tips at TS meals. So, even when the meals are "paid for" in advance with the DDP, there are still considerable meal expenses if you eat at TS restaurants every day. Heck, one meal for 5 at Narcoossee's resulted in a $175 tip - a single meal.