2020 Free Dining at Disney World for UK
2020 Walt Disney World Free Dining is coming soon for UK residents! In this post, we share dates and details, what this could mean for future U.S. general public WDW deals, whether the promo makes sense to book, and more.
First, the details of the 2020 Free Disney Dining Plan discount for UK residents. You’re eligible for this promotion if you book a full-price Walt Disney World hotel and ticket package for a minimum of 5 nights for travel dates January 1 through March 29, 2020 and April 19 through October 3, 2020. Booking begins April 25, 2019 and you must book the Free Dining promo by July 2, 2019.
As part of this offer, you can also take advantage of Walt Disney World’s 14-Day Ultimate Ticket for the price of a 7-Day Ticket, which includes Memory Maker and is available exclusively to UK and Ireland residents. Guests booking the 2020 Free Dining deal will also receive a $200 Disney gift card.
One wrinkle as compared to the U.S. version of Free Dining is that for this promo, guests staying at Value Resorts will receive free breakfast, which should actually be a generic quick service credit that you could–and should–use for a different meal.
Consistent with other versions of Free Dining, Moderate Resort guests receive the Quick Service Dining Plan. Deluxe and Villa Resorts receive the standard Disney Dining Plan. Unless I missed something, the only resort or room exclusions are pool view rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Pop Century, Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation, and the entirety of Disney’s Riviera Resort. However, that last one could simply be an oversight since it’s not yet open.
You can read more about the details, exclusions, and terms of the offer on DisneyHolidays.co.uk. (Don’t miss the “exciting” pdf with the large section of conditions surrounding Brexit!)
Aside from a slight shift in the blockout period, which varies every year and is based upon the weeks around Easter, this 2020 Free Dining promo for United Kingdom residents is pretty similar to offers from previous years. The biggest changes from what I can tell are that booking ends earlier (July 2019 as compared to November last year) and the end booking window ends nearly two months earlier (October 3 versus November 30).
Neither of these things should be much of a surprise. It’s been several years since Walt Disney World offered Free Dining to U.S. residents for the month of October, and November has likewise become an increasingly busy travel period. Shortening the booking window likely reflects the room inventory dedicated to this promotion and/or Disney’s projections about when that inventory will sell out.
If anything, UK residents should be happy that the deal is being offered at all. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is not suddenly going to be unpopular a year after it opens. To the contrary, Summer 2020 will be the first chance to see it for guests who can only travel during the summer. Likewise, early Fall 2020 will be the first fall that the entire land is open.
Even without Star Wars land, we’ve been getting to a point for the last several years where Walt Disney World doesn’t “need” to offer Free Dining to fill rooms. In part, this is why we’ve seen a gradual erosion to the promo the last several years, and why inventory has seemed paltry.
I wouldn’t bet one way or the other as to whether Free Dining is offered to U.S. the general public in 2020 quite yet. On the one hand, I doubt it’ll be a strict necessity, barring something happening with the economy. It just seems unlikely that Walt Disney World will need to do much extra to fill its hotel rooms.
On the other hand, those two words–FREE DINING–have enormous marketing value, and even if the promo is significantly scaled back, many people would book over the excitement of the offer alone. Given the power and recognition of those words, it’s hard to imagine Walt Disney World eliminating Free Dining entirely.
While I do not think this deal is indicative of a U.S. Free Dining offer, it’s at least promising. If there were no 2020 Free Dining deal for UK residents or no 2020 Bounceback, that’d be a strong sign of no general public offer next year in the United States.
Every year when this UK deal is released, we inevitably see Disney fans from the United States perturbed that we don’t receive as good of an offer. Basically, it boils down to something we always stress on this blog when discussing discounts: Disney never offers promotions out of corporate benevolence. Discounts exist to incentivize people to fill hotel rooms.
Disney does more to attract “holidaymakers” from the United Kingdom for a few different reasons. First, that long flight over the Atlantic means UK visitors need a greater incentive to head to Florida instead of, say, Disneyland Paris. Second, the pound is historically weak versus the dollar, which means the purchasing power of UK residents is diminished as compared to what it was only a few years ago.
Finally, UK guests are generally some of Disney’s biggest whales. (I mean that in the flattering way–it has nothing to do with how those Disney Dining Plan credits are used!) These UK guests come for two or more weeks–hence the 14-day ticket–and drop a lot of money on Walt Disney World vacations. If they’re staying that long, they are also less likely to spend all of those Dining Plan credits or spend every waking hour in the parks. In essence, they are less costly guests in terms of utilization.
The average length of stay for guests from the United Kingdom is significantly longer than the 5-day average for Americans, so Walt Disney World does what it can to entice these lucrative guests to come to Walt Disney World. It’s a pretty straightforward business practice of catering to desired demographics.
Moreover, it’s always odd to me that Disney fans are upset about promos to international visitors when these guests are a boon to the U.S. economy. In fact, if you’re a Floridian, you might consider personally thanking UK visitors for being a large contributor to the local economy…and your lack of state income taxes. 😉
If lengthy vacations were commonplace in the United States, you can bet Walt Disney World would try to attract domestic guests with comparable promotions. Before you reply in the comments that you do visit Walt Disney World for vacations of that duration–demographically, Americans do not. Plus, you’re a fan who just read all the way to the end of a blog post about a promotion that is not applicable to you. They’ve already got you.
That’s about it in terms of the 2020 Free Disney Dining Plan promo for UK guests. As always, deals for the United Kingdom are not exactly our wheelhouse, so if you’re a European who can offer any insight into how this offer stacks up to other promotions targeted at your region, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. 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 2020 Free Dining discount for United Kingdom residents? Wish we got offers like this in the United States, or do you prefer getting the Quick Service Disney Dining Plan at the Value Resorts? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
You’re spot on about why they incentivise us Brits. I can only assume the Australian and New Zealand markets are not as big.
We look out for this offer every year as it is really the only way that it is possible for us to afford the holiday – unless we stay off property. Saving £2500 on food and drink for the 2 weeks we stay is an absolute must. Without it, we simply wouldn’t go to WDW more than once every 5 years.
Glad to hear there may be hope of a US incentivized dining plan for 2020. For us, planning a Disney trip is an every 6-7 year thing due to the high cost of this vacation and the dining plan is certainly an influencer, as well as any other possible enhancements Disney offers. We live in the US, right near the the very center of the USA, so it’s a real treat to visit.
Am I missing some re Brexit, how will Brexit affect our holiday to Disney and what grounds would Disney have on cancelling our booking if Brexit happens?
I’m from the UK have booked to stay in the AKL next February. Room only and park tickets. Does anyone know if I can phone next Thursday when the Free Dining offer comes up and add it on to my booking? From what I can read online, there should only be a £50 admin fee ?? Thanks in advance
So it’s not looking good for free dining for the fall/winter of 2019, huh? I was afraid of that with Star Wars opening. Any hope for any more free dining in 2019?
We just booked this deal. We live in Dublin.
We think it’s a great deal. Even though we paid a 200 euro deposit there is no guarantee we will get a reservation confirmed. We will find out on April 25th.
We booked coronado springs,including park tickets,quick service dining for 2 adults and a child ,and they even threw in a 200 dollar Disney gift card. Magical Express etc is included. We got all that for 3500 euro.
It’s great to see these offers for those in the UK who have a long flight… but being an Aussie we have a massive trek to get to see the Mouse… ( not that we begrudge the travel we love going to Orlando) Why do the Aussies not get these awesome deals? ….. Just a question more than a whinge.
P.S. loving your blog as always and on the count down to the long trip from Perth WA only 100 days to go 🙂
I am one of the suckers who read the entire post when it doesn’t pertain to me. 🙂 But, i am looking to plan a 2020 trip so any information that might help flesh out when would be a good time for our family to go is helpful. I was always told that hotel reservations don’t release for the next year until June is that true? Or should I already be looking at booking a hotel for 2020?
Thanks!
I have already booked a room for May 2020. Just had to call.
I have heard you could call. But i like to run all the numbers for the different resorts and options so I need that available online. Also since i don’t know when we want to go I want to compare prices for different dates. I guess if I called a disney person would do that work for me?
Yeah, the person I talked to was amazing. She answered lots of questions for me. I’m sure they would help you out.
We already booked our room for end of January 2020 probably a month ago. Can only do by calling WDW. Put down a deposit to hold and we are set.
way are canadians always black balled out of disney parks, god knows there are enough snow birds and time share canadians and Disney fans who go even with are lower dollar
What about visitors making the really long haul from Australia ,? Been to Wdw 4 times in past yrs plus 3 times Disney and NEVER experienced any ‘freebies’. Tap into that market please
It gives us a rough idea of what the US might get. Im always glad to get some sort of a heads up. Now we wait to see what comes. We have our trip in September so bounceback will give us an idea of dates.
I think this makes sense… a lot of Americans take it for granted that we are able to go so often, as a Florida resident I’ve been to disneyworld more times than I can count, it was never a rare event for us because it was so close (I lived in Tampa and then Ocala) and most Americans from other areas usually have been several times as well (either WDW or Disneyland) Now most U.K visitors I’ve met, it’s been their first time, a lot of British people only go once in their lives cause they are so far away so it’s very special to them, just keep that in mind
Just book online with a .U.K address and pay in GBP.
No ID required. It is easy.
You need a European issued credit card to pay for the balance.
Using the Ireland website all Europeans can book online, using their own adress (even after an eventual Brexit).
WHY does Disney promote foreign demographics cost saving offers while holding them back from there home market??? Should not we expect to be afforded the same offer??? YES, I do have a problem with THIS !
we plan further in advance and come for longer – as Tom set out above. The UK Disney Travel company have always had these offers – this is similar to an offer we booked in 2012 before falling into DVC membership, and I am sure many Brits have been doing this for much longer. Most Brits tend to stay offsite to Disney need to make a little extra effort to bring some into the bubble, so to speak, rather than book a large villa for much less.
Apologies that us foreigners seem to upset you so – might I suggest you campaign for better workers rights and leave so you can take 2 weeks hols too?
Our workers have plenty of rights, I know a lot of people who take up to six weeks off for vacation annually. In this country we earn our vacation time off, it’s not just handed over. Last time I checked the UK was still a capitalist country too.
Our workers definitely need to fight for much better worker protections. Most Americans are lucky to get a week off per year and that’s only if they or their family don’t get sick during the year and use their PTO there instead of on vacations.
Ok thanks something to think about for our next trip. We are Americans but are very lucky that my husband has a great and very flexible job. And we prefer a more leisurely trip not rushing around all day trying to fit everything in. Our trip this year is 10 nights and 11days.
We always use the free Disney dining. If you book before mid July you get the 200 dollars gift card. From July to beginning of November this drops to 100 dollars. It is easy to book online and the reservation team are helpful. I track resort prices from January and there is no increase in the prices to accomodate the free dining but the tickets that we buy in order to get the free dining do decrease a little after the promotion ends. However I am very astute when it comes to the money and I know this is good value. We do have long vacations but it is a long flight, and you have to add the cost of a flight usually 500 to 700 dollars each return. We have done it for years. My only complaint is I wold like to use 2 meal credits for a dining in credit. Not allowed. Shame. The exchange is dreadful at the moment so you have to be aware and then sales tax is added on. Ours is included but is 20 per cent. Swings and roundabouts. We will be there in 3 weeks, just want some heat and sunshine. Love it
Ok….that last comment cracked me up. I am from Indiana (the horror) , and realized I just read through the whole thing. And yes, they have me. Wallet, piggy bank, and even future earnings.
Just a heads up – technically, any European or Australian can book these deals! You just need to book them through the WDW UK (in GBP) or IE (in euro) websites and be happy to pay in those currencies. I live in the Netherlands, and have made use of such offers before – I’m not a UK resident, but could still book no problem. Last year, for example, we purchased only the 14-for-7-day ticket via the IE site, with my Dutch billing address etc. So you Australians and other Europeans, you *can* make use of these offers too! 🙂
Thanks for the heads up on this. I’m aware that the EU has strict competition laws requiring, among other things, deals that are available in one market to be available in others. That explains why (for now) other Europeans can book the deal.
These same laws wouldn’t cover Australia–are you positive the deal can be booked there?
Hmm – no, I suppose I’m not 100% sure about Australia. I just know that myself and many other Europeans from many different countries make use of this deal every year! But it’s possible that’s only due to the EU laws, I’m not 100% sure on that. The UK only thing is definitely not enforced though, I’ve booked it with a non-UK address and non-UK credit card without any problems. 🙂
An Aussie who would love to book this deal, but surely we would need to produce a UK billing address? When we go to Disneyworld we stay for at least 14 days.
You definitely don’t need a UK billing address – I don’t have one, and I was able to book it! That said, I did book with an EU billing address, so I can’t say for 100% sure it would work for an Australian one too…but you could always try? 🙂 The “UK residents only” thing is definitely NOT enforced! 🙂
That’s right! We are going in 140 days from Finland for 14 days. Bought this through the Ireland website. Caribbean Beach Resort (with a very good discount because of the refurbishment, even if everything should be done then) upgraded to Disney Dining Plan from the QSDP, 14 days tickets, Memory Maker, gift card… I think is a great promo
And the poor old Australians who need to travel 19 hours on a plane get nothing. It’s sad really, we stay for long periods of time too. Being so far away and taking a loooooong time to get to and fro we don’t just go for a few days. It’s a shame they don’t take the time to offer us something too.
I wonder if that’s a matter of Disney determining that it’s not worth the time and resources necessary to target offers specifically to the Australian travel market? Surely you are likewise part of the “whale” demo, but if Australians are <1% of all visitors to Walt Disney World, it simply may not be worth the costs of offering targeted deals.
I wonder why it’s not offered to all of Europe and Australia. Europeans all get very long vacations. Americans are the ones who don’t (yay us….) We don’t have good worker protections here.
It is through the official Disney holidays Ireland website in euros.
Over the years on our trips to WDW we have struck up conversation with people from all over the world. Most of those conversations were with visitors from Great Britain – because they speak English! Most if not all mentioned they were spending a minimum of ten days at Disney World, one family was there for three weeks. If Disney wants to offer them deals on food as an incentive to spend the rest of their vacation money at Disney, it does not bother me one bit. On that note, I am going to tour England (Kent, areas south of London and The Cotswolds) by car for 10 days with three days in London next month and the only free meals that I know of will be breakfast at our hotels…
I think it’s wonderful that we have visitors coming from the UK for long stays. Just shows that Disney provides a wonderful holiday for so many. What you said about thanking them for helping the local economy is spot on. We are not residents of FL but we have lots of family there. We often visit them and just can’t say enough positive things about the places we have visited around FL compared to where we live in NC. Seems they have spent their resources in a way to benefit everyone. Some may feel differently but this is just our opinion since we only visit. Anyway-Love this post as always!
To be clear, my ‘thank them’ comment was partly in jest, and definitely not to be taken literally.
As with pretty much anywhere, Florida has its upsides and downsides.
I’m curious how they verify for the UK deals. Do they have to show a UK driver license or something? I have friends in the UK so I wonder about getting a UK deal for my family through our friends in UK.
Its a fair question but I think its done on phone line ID and IP origin for online bookings and your address of course. SO in theory a simple VPN hider using a UK based hub should do it for you. A VPN shield software is about $5/m I should think. Then you need a UK address to book with – which you presumably switch later.
They don’t check at all. I live in the Netherlands and have booked via the Irish site (so I could pay in Euros) with these offers before. 🙂
I am an American living in the UK and have booked this offer before. They don’t check any id etc but I was not able to pay with my US debit or credit card- I had to use a UK (or foreign) one. I guess that is their way of checking but once it was paid nothing else was checked and we used our American id and American debit cards once we arrived with no issues.