2018 Disney World Free Dining for UK
The 2018 Walt Disney World Free Disney Dining Plan discount offer is now available for United Kingdom residents! So, for those of you booking a 2018 Disney holiday (that’s United Kingdomish for “vacation” 😉 ) you can now take advantage of this offer. And by “you,” I mean the 5.3% of you readers living in the UK.
The rest of you will just have to look at this exceptional offer in envy, daydreaming about a future when Americans will receive better offers. Just as we daydream about a future when Americans will receive better paid vacation standards. (Here’s a fascinating read on European versus American notions of vacation time.)
Actually, in addition to the basics of the 2018 Free Dining promo, we’re going to offer some analysis on other discounts at Walt Disney World and whether this offers any clues to the future of Free Dining for U.S. residents (spoiler: it doesn’t). So, it isn’t totally useless if you live in the United States or Canada…
First, the details of the 2018 Free Disney Dining Plan discount for UK residents. If you book a full-price Walt Disney World hotel (Moderate tier or above) and ticket package for a minimum of 5 nights for travel dates January 1, 2018 through March 18, 2018 and April 6, 2018 through November 30, 2018 by July 6, 2017 you receive Free Dining. Guests at Moderate Resorts receive the Quick Service Dining Plan. Deluxes receive the standard Disney Dining Plan.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE. In addition to this Free Dining offer (which looks pretty much like the standard U.S. offer, guests also receive a $200 Disney gift card and Disney’s 14-Day Ultimate Ticket for the price of a 7-Day Ticket. (This is ticket is not sold in the U.S., which may be why it sounds unfamiliar to some of you.)
Now, I know a lot of American Disney fans are sitting on pins and needles regarding this year’s Free Dining promo given all of the comments we’ve received on our 2017 Free Disney Dining Plan Promo post and are eagerly awaiting any rumors, hints, or hope of any sort regarding that discount, but…I don’t think this UK offer provides any insight whatsoever into 2017 (or 2018, for that matter) Free Dining for the U.S.
Aside from a slight shift in the blockout period (due to the peak season shifting as a result of Easter being on a different date in 2018), this 2018 Free Dining promo for United Kingdom residents is identical to the 2017 offer. To be honest, I’m surprised Walt Disney World didn’t do more to sweeten the promo given the declining purchasing power of the pound and the current economic uncertainty in the United Kingdom.
The unfortunate thing about a promo being released so far in advance is it’s not based on as reliable of hotel occupancy projections as a promotion released ~6 months in advance. Disney knows that, historically, a promo like this works to incentivize lucrative UK guests to book a trip, but the promo is not being used to hit occupancy targets based on any current trends.
More telling is the 35% off ticket offer for Canadians, and just the simple fact that the Canadian, United Kingdom, and Brazilian currencies have been slumping as compared to the USD. Even though the majority of visitors to Walt Disney World are from the United States, these foreign visitors spend (or used to spend) disproportionate amounts.
On the other hand, consumer confidence in the United States is incredibly strong right now, and that is a driver of spending and travel decisions. If you read our 2017: Year of the Discount at Walt Disney World? post (written last fall), you know I did not see this coming. Normally, consumers are skittish in the year immediately following an election; our most recent election was an anomaly in a number of ways…and I guess it defied even the Presidential Election Cycle Theory.
We could start seeing the impacts of increased consumer confidence in bookings this fall. Then there’s the buzz that will follow the opening of Pandora – World of Avatar. If this new land wows guests, generating positive word of mouth and a flurry of favorable media coverage (mainstream, not just Disney blogs like this), it could boost bookings. Conversely, poor buzz will do little to motivate additional bookings. Likewise, a market ‘correction’ or a decrease in consumer confidence could spell a situation that requires further discounting.
In other words, if you’re wondering whether Walt Disney World will have better discounts for Fall 2017 and beyond, we have absolutely no clue at this point. How’s that for burying the lede. 😉
Planning a Walt Disney World vacation (or ‘holiday’)? For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think about the 2018 Free Dining promo for United Kingdom residents? Wish we got offers like this in the United States, or do you prefer getting full Free Dining at the Moderate Resorts? Share any questions or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
Hello ,
Thanks for sharing the post ! In the UK the prices remain pretty constant…By looking on the clear, I fell on an offer or you can earn money by answering online surveys ! what do you think of one to have income with these offers ?
Sandra
Hi sandra !
I think like these offers http://www.landpage.co/53822510-90c0-11e8-83fe-02cbf204825c
What time of the day do Special Offers get announced, like the free dining offer for instance? It looks like fast pass and dinner reservations have a specific time of day they start. Thanks.
Hi, I was wondering if you had any information on the UK free disney dining offer for 2019. Typically available for UK residents to book in March/April this year (2018) but I haven’t seen anything yet.
Thanks
Yep, I’d be interested in any rumours about that too. Have been watching the page since 28th March.
Contacted Disney in Feb about the ability to book and then change a reservation later, and they said that the offer tends to drop “late spring”, but weren’t any more helpful than that.
I’m hoping it goes live before marathon sign up on the 17th, otherwise I’ll just have to book and cross my fingers!
The free dining deal for UK and Ireland residents got released today 🙂 get booking quickly before it all goes
Can you also book this deal if you’re from Europe, but not specifically from the UK or Ireland? I’m on the Europe site from WDW, but can’t seem to book for 2019 yet.
USA is different to UK and more like a boom and bust economy mentality of Ireland when it comes to pricing- where I see the same thing happening.
In the UK the prices remain pretty constant- in good and bad economic times.
If I go to Ireland, which I do a lot as I run a business there, as soon as the economy picks up, the shops, hotels etc start jacking up prices significantly, only for them to come crashing down again when the economy is doing less well.
USA seems to be following these patterns- for the UK visitor, once you are there, the USA used to be (it has been for my 45 years) generally a lot cheaper than going anywhere in Europe. Now it is much more expensive. The exchange rate is currently 1.31- only down 10% on pre Brexit. Yes, i have had nearly 2 to the £ previously a long time ago, but generally it is around 1.50. So the 10% – 15% hurts but does not tell the whole story. Also the £ has gone down to the Euro by the same amount and I haven’t noticed similar cost increases in Spain, Portugal etc.
With Disney we have had them jacking up all prices- particularly on tickets and food. Not only that but all servers now expect a 20%+ tip- this too for no apparent good reason has risen from the original 10% ish, to the 15% (which was acceptable for decades) to now 20%+. Madness and you get the Americans saying it is now bad to tip less than 20%. Common sense would dictate with the food price inflation, the tip percentage should actually decrease- not keep going up.
Drinking alcohol is now equivalent to high end bar in Central London- even outside the main tourist spots in USA- why does it cost $7 for a beer which is not even a pint? Then the barman expects to be given a $ for just pulling a drink- most of the rest of the world cannot fathom that. So with your tax and tip, your beer is $8, or about £6.50 for less than a pint. Central London in the City, one of the most expensive places in the world- about £5- £6 for a pint. And i am paying more in a Nevada backwater.
I too bought the UK discounted OKW and dining plan deal in 2016 and it was not a bad price (still expensive) but for 2018 the exact same deal is $2700 more. This is not simply because of the 10% drop in exchange rate as it has gone up 25%. And that is not for the airfare either, so it is Disney simply charging 25% more, or 15% taking into account the exchange rate. I think there will be a big drop off in UK visitors this year- and Disney may end up with egg on its face.
I bought a resale DVC this year to keep prices reasonable, at least for the accommodation. I never bought merchandise apart from the odd T shirt, bag , soft toy or mug as I have enough Chinese made tat in the house ready to skip anyway. Next year I will eat all breakfasts in my DVC kitchen, eat offsite and eat more quick service, maybe only having a couple of table service meals all week. I will buy some beer and wine from the supermarket and have a quick drink before heading out for dinner where I will ask for filtered water.
Where’s the love for Aussies? Our $ is rubbish compared to the $US. Wish we had some kind of special rate/package also.
I agree. I feel like I am handing buckets of cash over to Disney whilst watching the Poms get discounts even though we travel further and our dollar is weaker.
Least we beat them in the Ashes!
What prevents a USA resident from booking in the U.K. Website?
I think Uk residence.
We go every year with the uk offer, is a great offer BUT every year cost more and more. I just check how much I pay for the same trip in 2012 and it was £2000 less that what Disney is asking me now, for the same days, same hotel, same everything.
Thank you so much for posting all this information! Our travel agent was being so unhelpful and was pretty much saying that there would be absolutely no dining plans offered! So glad we found your blog otherwise we would of either not gone at all, or payed way over!
Hi Tom,
Just wondering if Disneyworld has and specials for Australians that you know of? Its a huge trip for us and we are really keen on visiting in December 2017. Thanks
The best offer for 2 weeks with room, tickets and Dining a non EU resident can get is 40% more than this. This is clear price discrimination. If you agree please let Disney know
It’s not all it is cracked up to be! You cannot get a holiday for a family of four for much less than £10,000 with this deal which is a massive amount to pay for 2 weeks (the long flight makes a shorter trip less viable). It’s far cheaper to stay at a value resort (we booked a standard room at AOA) and pay for food as you go if you still want to stay in WDW. Even though free dining is not included there our hotel went up £500 when it was announced to entice others to book a moderate/deluxe. I love Disney, but the free dining is not ‘free’!
We do use both the words ‘holiday’ and ‘vacation’, but they have different meanings. A ‘vacation’ is the period in a university calendar year between the terms (or semesters), whereas a ‘holiday’ is a trip away for leisure purposes, as you say. So, a perfectly reasonable question would be, “are you going on holiday during the long vacation?” I get the feeling that Americans use the two words almost the other way around?
You’re right about the good offers that UK residents can sometimes enjoy – we took advantage of a good offer during our Walt Disney World holiday last year. This year, we found a good special offer for Disneyland Paris – 1/2 price accommodation at the Disneyland Paris hotel.
This is a helpful distinction, but I still couldn’t help but laugh while reading the “are you going on holiday during the long vacation?” part. Thanks!
It’s a brilliant offer. This year it has fallen to a $100 gift card from the previous $200. Still very much looking forward to taking advantage of such offers though! Roll on August. Keep up the good work!