Your thoughts on FD this year

[Aurora_Disney]

So I got up super early and was fortunate enough to get my reservation at POP for our dates in September (2nd through 3rd week), but I noticed later that they were all sold out. I have heard a lot of folks talking about how fast they sold out. So my question is to those who go every year during FD. Is it like this a lot where it sells out right away? Do you think Disney really limited the amount of rooms available to get the promotion with?

My husband and I specifically picked this time of year in hopes that the crowds will be lower. I know ghost town is never going to happen...ever, but want to avoid spring break/summer type crowds. If the FD sold out this fast do you think that is an indicator that the crowds will be massive?

 

[rwdavis2]

I'm pretty sure the number of rooms was limited and keeps going down every year. I bet Disney would love to get rid of free dining which is fine with me. Many us think it affects the menu offerings and quality in a negative way.

As to crowds? No, the only conclusion you can draw is that more people moved to on site vs. off site due to free food.

 

[DaniMoon]

I agree. I do think FD has gotten so popular that they offer less rooms and less dates every year. Also, Pop is having a major room renovation, so they also have a bit smaller inventory of rooms through next April.

We went in Oct 2013 and Nov 2015 --- both those trips would not have been eligible for this promotion because of our check in times. I was surprised how "crowded" our October 2013 trip seemed, it definitely was more than we expected, but extremely manageable. I do think early September is one of the best times to go.

We are going in June of this year and I got the QS summer meal deal at Pop, I had to book a Preferred Pool View to be eligible, not my favorite location, but again, manageable. Looking at our 2019 trip we are thinking late August. Will hvae to wait and see if we can snag FD for that trip, or if it will even be an option at that time.

 

[heath92681]

I think there was much less availability this year than the last couple.

 

[HopperFan]

Much less need to offer more availability BUT with moderates only getting Quick Serve am sure many jumped ship to value and upgraded, so you have a new segment interested in booking value FD.

I think it says nothing about crowd differences.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

For the past 2 or 3 years Disney has been scaling back in the FD promo. Less availability, lower food plan, more expensive tickets. I think they will keep scaling it back every year, until it has very little value. Some people will always clamor for FD because it is labeled as a discount, but I don't think they will get the benefit of it that they used to. That said, I expect the number of complaints that Disney took away FD to go up every year as well.

 

[Hitchhiking Ghost]

If you can make use of it and were prepared to go at full room rack rates and full out of pocket dining, then its a great deal. But if you are comparing the FD offer this year to prior years, no, not nearly as good. Definitely more restrictive, no October dates, POR is not available for a majority of the period, moderate level resorts which in the past qualified for free regular DDP now only qualify for QSDP and you now have to throw on a Park Hopper option. Our stays in 2010 & 2012 were on free dining, at POR-AB section as we are a family of 5, and we bought single 9 day tickets, no Park Hopper and we got the full regular DDP.

If I were to book the exact same package now, adjusting for inflation, my value would be a lot less. I'd have to spend $400+ to add on the Park Hoppers and I'd only be getting the QSDP instead of regular DDP, unless I upgraded to Deluxe resort, which is even more $$$. And, I'd have to hope to get into CBR which is the only other moderate to handle 5 people.

If you're going anyway during this period, regardless of discount, then its all gravy and its great. If you are more like me and have to budget crunch and hoping for the best deals, then this pales in comparison to previous years.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

when we went a couple years ago - we didn't do free dining, even though it was available. I didn't think the crowds were bad, but getting ADRs was not easy. That was way more frustrating than the crowd levels.

 

[Phillip Williams]

I could not take advantage of it. So I changed my dates of stay and my Resort to the Grand Floridian Resort and saved almost 500 bucks. LOL!!!!!

 

[DisneyRunner2009]

I'd have to pay rack rate over Christmas any way, so it works to my advantage. Historically, there is no room discount during this time frame.

 

[bookgirl]

I am ambivalent to Free Dining. If it works out fine if not then I look at Room Only discounts. Ironically I liked it better the last year or so with the swaps and extra snacks instead of desserts. (I have not gotten it every year so I'm by no means an expert or a devoted follower)

I was looking at it this year (possible Christmas trip with the Parents) but with our plans and the current offer I think I'm better off waiting to see if they have any Room Discounts. I will say that I am surprised and the lack of rooms available since I do look every year to see if it'll work for my vacations.

 

[tinka-belle]

We have done the bounce back deal for the past several years, and often stay for two weeks in late Aug and into Sept. Prices have increased drastically over what they were years ago, with less and less being included, and it's much less of deal for us to go and stay that long now. We have a BB deal with full DDP for this year at CSR, looks like the last year for this long of a trip for the two of us. The upcharge from CS to DDP is not much per night but adds nearly $300 per person for a two week stay. A few years ago adding the park hopper wasn't much either, but we rarely park hop so not much use to us.

It's just getting to be too expensive for a long trip. Too bad because we used those off days from the parks for shopping and Disney Springs and resort hopping for restaurants, and now Disney is also losing the extra money we spend there. We prefer the deluxe resorts and often book them for long weekends, but those are way too pricey for a long trip. So long to our annual long Disney trip, will be looking at other places for that now.

 

[lelew]

last Aug. we had free dining for table service and stayed only 4 nights at PORS with two day park tix(not the hopper). This year moderate only get QS, so I do not thinks it's a deal for my plans compared to last year. This year I wanted to do three nights at Disney Resort with two days parks then spend 4 days at Universal. So FD does not work in my favor this year.

 

[tinkerbell1112]

this is our fourth trip with free dining and the first time I didn't get my first choice. In the past I've also booked later than day 1

 

[lelew]

this is our fourth trip with free dining and the first time I didn't get my first choice. In the past I've also booked later than day 1

Yes, I thought you had to stay at least 5 nights for the free dining, but it is a minimum of 3 nights. Rooms are open for my dates that I plug in, but I still need to figure out if the free dining is worth it for us especially since there is no table service with moderate stays.

 

[Disneylover99]

I'd have to pay rack rate over Christmas any way, so it works to my advantage. Historically, there is no room discount during this time frame.

Yep. It works out great for me this year too. I'll have fd over Christmas and New Years!
Sometimes the Saturday before Christmas isn't included. This year it is!

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

We had a trip a few years ago where we stayed at Yacht Club in late October and qualified for FD. Not a thing in October now, so they are certainly cutting back. Seems that October/early November has become a super popular time to visit now.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

My thoughts? I'm extremely happy because it worked out great for us. We saved $612.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Yes, I thought you had to stay at least 5 nights for the free dining, but it is a minimum of 3 nights. Rooms are open for my dates that I plug in, but I still need to figure out if the free dining is worth it for us especially since there is no table service with moderate stays.

True but you can upgrade to TS if you want that option. Obviously costs more but perhaps worth the additional charge.

 

[anomamatt]

Yep. It works out great for me this year too. I'll have fd over Christmas and New Years!
Sometimes the Saturday before Christmas isn't included. This year it is!

Yes, this is GREAT for Christmas trips. We were on the fence about doing another Christmas trip, but this deal made it worthwhile. The 12/23 check in date is ideal for us, so this worked our perfect. There is really no getting around paying rack rate during Christmas week, so free dining is awesome.