2026-2027 Free Dining at Disney World Dates, Predictions & Info
The Free Disney Dining Plan is a popular Walt Disney World vacation package discount. This covers 2026 dates, deal rules & requirements, predictions & rumors for future dates this year and in 2027, and answers to questions including whether Free Dining is “worth it.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the Disney Dining Plan (DDP), we’d direct you to our comprehensive Guide to the 2026-2027 Disney Dining Plan. That covers the basics, what the DDP includes, how it’s changed since returning last year, and more. It also breaks down the value of the Disney Dining Plan and whether the paid version is worth the money, and much more.
The bad news is that Free Dining is no longer available to book for this year. The good news is that it did return, and with the most dates in about a decade, which bodes very well for 2027 and possibly (but not likely) another wave later this year! If you want to be notified immediately when Walt Disney World discounts are released, sign up here for our FREE Walt Disney World newsletter.
We’ve consistently notified our subscribers when Free Dining and other Walt Disney World deals are going to drop. Either in advance of their release or on the day they go live at ~7 a.m., which typically gives you a 2+ hour head start on Disney’s official announcement. That may not seem like much, but it makes a huge difference when booking.
In the last several months, Walt Disney World has released over a dozen different discounts. There are even targeted deals available through late 2026. This is a huge change as compared to 2021-2022, when many dates didn’t have discounts at all due to revenge travel and guest spending being so strong.
That coupled with capacity is why the Disney Dining Plan took so long to return in the first place. Those are both non-factors now, and things are more or less back to 2019 norms.
Before we turn to 2027 Free Dining, let’s take a look at this year’s deal dates:
- June 28 to October 3, 2026
- October 19 to October 31, 2026
- December 6 to December 21, 2026
Again, Free Dining is no longer available to book in 2026. Or at least, it’s not currently available. The booking period ended April 30th, which was earlier than it would’ve been in a normal year. This could be because Walt Disney World plans to re-release 2026 Free Dining with different and/or expanded dates, which is something they’ve done with multiple deals already in 2026.
If more 2026 Free Dining dates were to be released, we would expect them in November, likely excluding Thanksgiving. It’s also possible to have different dates in October and December, while still excluding Fall Break, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. We’ll keep newsletter subscribers posted!
This is all relevant to the return of Free Dining in 2027 because the deal is not offered out of corporate benevolence, but as an aggressive move to help boost resort occupancy numbers. That wasn’t necessary for the last couple of years due to pent-up demand. However, that has changed significantly, and now Walt Disney World is pulling several “levers” to try to incentivize demand.
As always, we’d recommend requesting a FREE no obligation quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner and having those travel agents book for you. They’ll assist you with the planning process, help you choose the most economical dates, best add-ons, etc.
Equally as important, they’ll help you with discount comparison shopping. There are a ton of different discounts currently available for Walt Disney World in 2026, and many of these deals are better than Free Dining for many–if not most–guests.
That just scratches the surface of what will be released throughout the year, just what’s already available. It’s likely there will be several more discounts released in June/July and October, as well as early January 2027. At least one of those special offers will be Free Dining–but more on that below. Point being, what you see now isn’t everything that’ll be available for your travel dates.
On that note, here are some predictions about 2027 Free Dining at Walt Disney World…
2027 Free Dining Forecast & Rumors
Free Dining will almost certainly return in 2027, it’s likely to be released in multiple waves once again.
The first will likely be announced in late December of this year, and bookable starting in early January 2027. Eligible travel dates will likely span from around Memorial Day through August 2027 (prior to the start of the off-season), with possible blockouts during peak weeks. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if Independence Day is not blocked out, as that has become less and less busy over the years.
Finally, the first wave of 2027 Free Dining will likely be bookable for roughly one month. This won’t be noted up front–it’ll just quietly disappear from the available offers page. It’s also likely that this first wave of Free Dining will not be targeted, but instead, available for the general public to book. These are hardly bold predictions–this is based purely on past precedent.
To address this, Walt Disney World has been releasing more discounts. They’re doing it out of necessity. This is something we’ve documented, and we’ve repeatedly pointed out that they’re pulling from the 2019 playbook for discounts. That 2019 playbook included Free Dining.
Following this first wave, we fully expect a second wave of Free Dining for dates that are later in 2027. This is likely to become bookable between mid-March and April 2027.
The main reason Walt Disney World would not release discounts all at once for May through December 2027 relates to resort occupancy numbers. The company is really good at projecting hotel bookings, but it’s just like a weather forecast–more accurate as dates draw nearer and less accurate further into the future. Walt Disney World only wants to offer discounts as necessary to fill hotel rooms, so they release discounts in phases.
The most reliable set of second wave dates for Free Dining are usually in August to late September. Those dates are the slowest of the year at Walt Disney World, and have been the most common and consistent for Free Dining. Expect a second wave of Free Dining to encompass these dates during Fall 2027.
The second wave of Free Dining also might include portions of October, minus holiday weeks and fall break.
A scattering of November and/or December dates could be available again, and there’s likely to be a stretch in December after (but not including) the first week and running until as late as December 23, 2027.
One wrinkle with subsequent waves is that they could offer different guest eligibility. It’s possible for the second wave of Free Dining to be targeted towards only Disney+ subscribers or Disney Visa Cardholders, and have a few ‘borderline’ weeks when occupancy is reasonably high (e.g. select dates in October through December). Then a week or two later, the general public wave of Free Dining could be released that doesn’t include all of these dates.
Obviously, this is only a prediction–the actual dates and details of future waves of 2027 Free Dining could vary a little or lot, and it’s entirely possible that nothing is released at all! But we highly doubt it.
Again, we want to emphasize that this is not a rumor–it’s simply us analyzing resort bookings and past precedent on discounts, and making an educated guess. August and September usually have the best discounts of the year since demand is lowest, and we’d expect that to be true again in 2027 especially as nothing new is opening at Walt Disney World until Tropical Americas at the end of the year. October through December are usually busier, hence the potential targeting of Free Dining during those dates.
Disney also likes high levels of per guest spending numbers, and no other special offer helps achieve these high per caps like Free Dining. Despite “free” being in the name, it’s an advantageous promo from Disney’s perspective because it locks guests into full-price hotels and tickets. It also keeps guests on-site for the most part, since they have “free” meals at Walt Disney World. No other discount accomplishes all of these important goals for the company.
Either way, will be closely monitoring the 2027 Free Dining situation, keeping our ears open for more news about a return of Free Dining. Should something–anything–be released or rumored, we’ll send you an alert if you sign up for our FREE Walt Disney World newsletter.
We’ve consistently notified email subscribers when Free Dining and other deals on the day they go live at ~6 or 7 a.m., which is a 2+ hour head start on Disney’s official announcement at 9 am. That makes a huge difference when booking Free Dining–you won’t have to wait on hold for hours on the phone.
Free Dining FAQ
Free Dining is Walt Disney World’s most complicated promotion, and can be a huge headache to book. Between limited availability and navigating a seas of rules and restrictions, it’s easy to make mistakes. This section of the post covers the rules, terms and conditions, and policies that generally govern the Free Dining promotion.
We always recommend that Walt Disney World first-timers (or regulars who just don’t want to deal with the hassle) request a FREE quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, an Authorized Disney Travel Planner. Most legit travel agents do not charge for booking Walt Disney World vacations (and you don’t pay a premium for them–Disney pays them commission), so that’s really the easiest way to go.
With this special offer, Walt Disney World guests booking vacation packages with non-discounted resort hotels and park tickets receive the DDP for each member of their party for no additional charge. For obvious reasons (who doesn’t love free food?!), the promotion is incredibly popular and some resorts that offer free dining tend to sell out quickly.
Guests booking the Free Dining promotion for Value or Moderate Resorts will receive the Quick Service Disney Dining Plan, with guests staying at Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resorts receiving the standard Disney Dining Plan.
There are some room exclusions for the Free Dining promo: 3-bedroom villas, campsites, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Wilderness Lodge, Bungalows at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, and Little Mermaid Rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
These resorts and room tiers are all not eligible for Free Dining. Additionally, room inventory is limited across all resorts. In practice, this means that when you go to book, a particular category (standard view, garden view, etc.) may not be available for your travel dates–or your travel dates may not be available at a specific resort at all.
To take advantage of Free Dining, there’s also the requirement that guests purchase tickets that include either a minimum 4-day Park Hopper or the Park Hopper Plus option. Additionally, a 4-night minimum stay is required with a maximum stay of fourteen nights.
This means you can’t purchase discounted Walt Disney World tickets from an authorized reseller, which we normally highly recommend in our Walt Disney World trip planning advice. This is something to keep in mind when doing the math to determine if “Free Dining” is a good value for you.
When it comes to Free Dining, doing the math is incredibly important. Other discounts (such as a room-only discount) might be better for your family. Remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch; you have forfeit an alternate discount to qualify for Free Dining. We break down some of the math in our “Is Free Dining Worth It?” post.
If you have already booked a vacation package with an arrival date that qualifies for Free Dining, we recommend using the “modify reservation” link in your booking to apply the promotion to your package. This is the quickest and easiest way to apply the promotion.
You might see other advice that recommends calling to book Free Dining. This is outdated. If you call Walt Disney World’s reservation line, you will likely wait on hold for an hour (or hours) until you’re able to speak to an agent. Booking or modifying your reservation online is far quicker and easier.
Even if the online system crashes (which has happened) or moves slowly due to all the traffic, it’s easier to just keep trying online. Unfortunately, booking online isn’t always possible and technical errors do happen…so you might have to call and wait on hold.
If you are wondering which hotel to book for the Free Dining promotion, check out our new Best Walt Disney World Hotels for Free Dining post. It gives our preferred option for each resort tier. Oh, and don’t forget to make some ADRs for the best and most popular Walt Disney World restaurants.
With this Free Dining offer, Value and Moderate Resort guests receive the Quick Service Disney Dining Plan during the promotion. Guests at Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts receive the standard Disney Dining Plan.
We highly recommend making Advance Dining Reservations as soon as possible. Yes, even before Free Dining is offered, if you can. Everyone gobbles up the good ADRs quickly for Free Dining dates, so if you don’t book early, you will be stuck eating counter service or unpopular restaurants for the duration of your trip.
To answer some other common questions: yes, you must purchase tickets with the offer even if you already have them (or an Annual Pass). No, bookings made with Disney Vacation Club points are not eligible for the offer. No, you cannot “stack” this offer with a percentage-off room discount (at least not in the U.S.). For those wondering about other Walt Disney World discounts, check out our Current Walt Disney World Discount Offers post for what’s presently available.
For details about which tier of the Disney Dining Plan includes or for recommendations about which restaurants to book to maximize your use of the DDP, please see our comprehensive Disney Dining Plan Overview Page.
Note that the Free Disney Dining Plan promotion is always based upon arrival dates. For example, if Free Dining runs June 27 to June 28 and you arrive on June 28 and stay until July 5, you are eligible for Free Dining–even though it’s blocked out for July 5 arrivals. (You didn’t arrive on July 5 in that scenario–you arrived in June.)
However, if it’s offered those same dates and you arrive on June 26 and stay for the same dates, you are not eligible for Free Dining, even though more of your stay falls during an “eligible” period than the first example’s. The work-around for this is doing a split stay, with the ineligible arrival nights part of one vacation and a second vacation starting at the first valid “arrival” date and continuing thereafter. Again, arrival dates are what matters with Free Dining.
In the section below, we have historical Free Dining dates for the last few years. The rest of what follows is historical information about the Free Disney Dining Plan promotion…
Historical Information
The following is not pertinent to current bookings, but we have found that readers find it useful to have details about past Free Dining promos when planning for the future and what to expect. Note that the dates are pretty consistent from year to year, with slight shifts for holidays, weekends, and special events, or other things that may be excluded from the Free Disney Dining Plan promotion.
Last year, there was no early booking window for Disney Visa cardholders, but there was an expanded date range (see below). The two years before, Disney Visa cardholders did have an early booking window. Exact dates are listed below. Most years, the general public is able to book Free Dining packages 5 days after Disney Visa cardholders can book.
In years past, Free Dining has been announced in late April, with booking opening first for Disney Visa credit card holders and the general public a few days later. The last couple of years, there was no early window for Disney Visa cardholders.
Here are the Walt Disney World Free Dining dates that were available from 2013-2025 for historical reference…
2025 Free Dining Dates:
- May 27 through June 26 (first wave)
- July 7 through August 6 (first wave)
- June 29 to September 30 (second wave)
- October 20 to November 1 (second wave)
- December 6 to December 22 (second wave)
2024 Free Dining Dates:
- July 1 to September 30 (Disney+ Subscribers)
- July 1 to July 31 (Disney Visa)
- September 1 to September 7 (Disney Visa)
- December 9 to December 21 (Disney Visa)
2020 Free Dining Dates (Cancelled):
- June 27 through June 28
- July 5 through July 7
- August 29 through September 8
2019 Free Dining Dates:
- July 5 – September 30*
- September 1 through September 18**
- November 17 through November 27**
- December 8 through December 23**
*First and second wave of Free Dining
**Third wave of Free Dining
2018 Free Dining Dates:
- August 20* — September 29
- November 24 — 27
- December 7 — 23
*Disney Visa Cardholders could book for arrival dates beginning August 2.
2017 Free Dining Dates:
- August 21* – September 30
- November 14 – 20
- November 25 – 27
- December 8 – 23
*Disney Visa Cardholders could book for arrival dates beginning August 13.
2016 Free Dining Dates:
- August 23* through October 1
- November 15 through 21
- November 26 through 28
- December 10 through 21
*Disney Visa Cardholders could book for arrival dates beginning August 14.
2015 Free Dining Dates:
- August 28 through October 2
- October 25 through October 31
- November 8 through November 19
- December 15 through December 21
2014 Free Dining Dates:
- August 31 – October 3
- October 26 – November 1
- November 9 – November 20
- December 12 – December 23
2013 Free Dining Dates
- September 2 to September 25
- September 29 to October 2
- October 18 to November 2
- November 11 to November 23
- December 12 to December 22
Other Free Dining Posts & Resources
If you plan on getting the Disney Dining Plan check out these other Walt Disney World posts:
- Disney Dining Plan Tips & Info
- Top 10 Disney Dining Tips
- Top 10 Counter Service Restaurants
- Top 10 Table Service Restaurants
- Top 10 Themed Table Service Restaurants
- Magic Kingdom Counter Service Restaurant Rankings
- Best-Value Table Service Restaurants on the Disney Dining Plan
- Best-Value Counter Service Restaurants on the Disney Dining Plan
- Best-Value Character Meals on the Disney Dining Plan
- Best-Value Snacks on the Disney Dining Plan
- Drinking Around Epcot’s World Showcase Tips
- Snacking Around Epcot’s World Showcase Tips
Want more dining tips? Check out our 101 Delicious Walt Disney World Dining Tips. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. Planning other aspects of a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. 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
Do you think Free Dining will be released again in January 2027? Or will a rising tide lift all ships and result in Walt Disney World not “needing” to get that aggressive with deals? Are you a fan of the “free” dining promotion? Have any tips for free dining rookies? If you’ve booked Free Dining, what did you think about your experience with the deal? If you were unable to get it, where/when were you unsuccessful? Let us know what you think of the promotion and whether you’re planning on taking advantage of it in the comments!
Hey everyone!
Wanted to drop in first to apologize for not being more active in the comments here (and on other posts), as I know there have been a lot of questions about this promo. A huge thank you to all of the other readers who have picked up the slack in that regard.
As you might know, we just got back from traveling, and I’ve been hard at work trying to go through photos, draft up new blog posts, and catch up on real world responsibilities. Since we don’t have any staff, I have to balance my time wisely and when time is in a pinch, responding to comments is often the first thing on the chopping block.
With that said, I do read every comment, and really appreciate all of the ‘thank yous’ and that sort of thing. We’re very glad we were able to assist so many of you in scoring Free Dining. I feel rude about not responding directly to each comment expressing gratitude, but I am so far behind on so many other things that I simply don’t have the time. So…THANK YOU (and I’m sorry).
For those of you with zero interest in Free Dining (who probably aren’t reading this anyway, but oh well), we have plenty of other posts coming soon. 🙂
Thanks for all your hard work, Tom! These kind of days must be crazy for you.
Your original blog post has been extremely helpful, as far as what the free dining promotion is – so much detail 🙂 I’ve been checking your blog and reading the comments like a mad-woman to prepare for when the promo would be released. This has been my “go-to” place for Disney info. You have led us all in the right direction. Thank you-Thank you-Thank you!!!
Sure would be helpful if folks semi-anonymously revealed approximately what they are paying. When i evaluate room and tickets separately, I just don’t see how the free dining makes financial sense for two in a room. Should i just assume everyone has numerous mouths to feed?
Thanks for the question. For my own sake I redid the math, because I jumped on the bandwagon for this Free Dining myself and when I saw the bill for it all had a funny feeling Disney have had me.
Staying at Pop Century (semi-anonymously) for 5 nights.
Standard Room only 156 x 5 = $780
Room & Park Hopper = $1,926.25 (with Free Disney Dining)
Room & Park Hopper + Free Dining upgraded to Standard Disney Dining = $2156* (additional $115 each) *this is actually what we have.
This is what it would cost room only no discounts:
Room & Tickets (from Disney) = $1745
Room & Park Hopper (from Disney) = $1904
Room only & Paid for Value Dining (no tickets) = $2270
Room only & Standard Disney Dining Plan(no tickets) = $2500
Park Hopper Tickets from getaway today.com for two people six day = $938 (saving $127)
Standard Tickets from getaway today.com for two people six day = $812 (saving $93)
So If I booked room and Standard Dining Plan and got Discounted Tickets that were not hopper (don’t need it) I would pay £3312 rather than the $2156. Maybe there will be room discounts to come? But so far this is how I calculate.
Please let me know if you see it differently.
EM, unsure whether you meant to type 3312 (in British Pounds) but I have been playing with the offers and I don’t believe you can purchase the dining plan without having park tickets so perhaps when you list -Room only & Standard Disney Dining Plan(no tickets)- this price actually does include the park tickets? I come up with roughly $2600 choosing an October time at Pop with 6 day hoppers and the dining plan so you are saving over $400 so that’s not nothing,..
The dining plan is connected to the room reservation, not the park tickets. I’m a DVC member and have added the dining plan to my reservation mutliple times and have always purchased the park tickets through a third party.
Hi rososen,
Yes, £ and $ next to each other on my keyboard – it was a typo.
I would be happy with a saving of $400 overall if hat is what it was.
However, as I was replying to you I did a dummy reservation. I selected the room (not the package) and then added dining and that was the price that’ came up. I asked my wife to check over the figures (again, for our own mutual reassurance)
We had booked 2 preferred rooms at Disney POP for Nov 2d – 9th, park hopper option 8 day stay with 8 people. The package price was exactly $50.00 each room for the entire 8 day package to change our dates to Aug 31st – Sept 7th ( A date that is in the Free dining offer) So for us, $100 more total.. and we had to change our dates, but we knew that was probably needed. It worked for us. 7 are 18+ once is 17.
Tim, for real? $50 more than a non-dining reservation? if it was $50 extra per room per day you’d still be making out like bandits! Free food tastes tastier!!
its just me and my husband staying at coronado for 4 nights, Sept 17th-21. We personally like table service for dinner and are doing alot of character ones, those are about $120 for a couple just for one without tip. So for us to pay for the upgrade is well worth it, especially since we always do the park hopper option anyway. It depends on your ADR, i know what we would prop eat at each one, so that helps. Also,, the discount disney offered plus cheaper tickets elsewhere, only saved us about $250, which would cover only 2 table services, so we went for free dining.
My husband ONLY wants deluxe dining any time we are in Disney – he ONLY likes table service restaurants. We are staying from September 9-13 with a 5 day Park-Hopper. Deluxe dining is way too much for either of us…but now that they allow you to use the meals on others, it is the best thing. We bring his mom and step father to some meals and his dad and step mom to others (since they live in Florida). It’s killing two birds with one stone, and he looks like a hotshot “buying meals” for his parents . Either way, we are staying at the Boardwalk for that time frame and it is saving us $400. Totally worth it for us!
HA! I’m kinda like your husband. Table service in nice restaurants makes all of the other chaos bearable. It helps me to recharge and we are able to stay at the parks all day without returning to the hotels because we do nice, slow, and ‘fancy’ meals that make us feel pampered. The travel time going back and forth to the hotels makes me more tired than just staying all day and doing the deluxe dining. My little one feels the same!
I booked for 4 nights in September for myself and my two year old (so no tickets/dining plan for her). At All Star Music. The site was glitchy all day so I tried several times and various combinations but finally am happy with what I got. Two options:
4 nights, 4 day tickets, no dining plan, no park hopper was $869 with the Enchanted discount.
4 nights, 4 day tickets, quick service dining plan, with park hopper was $1064 with Free Dining discount.
So the way I look at it, I’m paying $195 for the dining plan and park hopper, which would have been $210 for dining plus $80ish for hopper. I think I’m happy with that. Still debating in my head a bit as I don’t really need dining plan or park hopper but they are nice to have at that price. Its almost a break even for me but I could see where the free dining discount could really add up with more than one adult in the room.
OK, it is just me and my daughter (15) we are staying for 6 nights at Pop Century over a holiday weekend. We have a 7 day park ticket with the park Hopper; we got the free dining but upgraded to the one sit down, one counter. We are paying $2269.50. I feel it is a good deal since we want to eat at sit down restaurants. If we were just doing counter, I might save a little bit going with the room discount promo, but when I do the pricing, this is the right deal for us. We have been doing this promo since 2005 when it first started. We go every year over the Labor Day holiday and our dates have been included all but two times. I love me some free dining. I loved when the plan first came out it included everything. Appetizers, meal and dessert plus the time and that was for all room categories. It really was great back then. I still love getting it, because it saves some money and I don’t have to worry about budgeting for food, only my tips.
I do think that it has a lot to do with the number of “adults” you are feeding. We have six people, two rooms. 5 of the 6 are over the age of 10. We already had planning on a 6 day park hopper and were already purchasing the dining plan. So we did not add days or park hopper to try to get the free dining (that would definitely cut into the benefit). The full price of the Disney dining plan for us is $2640. So, even losing the room discount ($600) and paying for the upgrade to the regular dining plan we still saved $1500. The cost of the dining plan for two people is far less so the difference between the room discount and the dining promo isn’t as large. AND if you don’t normally stay 6 days or don’t do the park hopper OR if you never would have paid for the dining plan to begin with and you chose to eat more cheaply, then it wouldn’t be worth it. Hope this makes sense!
We’re staying at Pop Century for 7 nights in August. Two adults, and it worked out that it did make financial sense to go with free dining for us. Here’s the break down of our costs:
7 nights w/ park hopper plus and quick service dining: $2222
To book tickets through a third party and a room only discount was $1889.
I have a Target Red Card and use that to purchase Disney gift cards with a 5% discount – this brought our total down to about $2111, and would have brought the total with the room discount down to $1832 (I would book the hotel through Disney directly for the room discount).
In the end, it was a $272 difference between free dining and a room discount – meaning that each meal and snack combined cost about $9. To us, this seemed worth the difference in cost. However, if we wanted to upgrade to regular dining plan from quick service, it didn’t make sense and if we wanted to do table service each night, we would have just taken the room only discount.
Hi! My family of 4 booked for September 16-22 at all star music. 6 days with free dining and park hopper. Total was $2700. We went for 4 days back in December, without free dining, also at all star. Total was $3800. I pretend booked the same six day package for the middle of November, and the price had increased to $4200.
Tom, you and Sarah have been our angels in WDW! Thanks to you and your notifications, we just booked in a nicer hotel (moderate instead of value) for our honeymoon in December for only $200 more than original, with Park Hopper and Free Dining! Thank you for doing what you do and how you do it! Gaby & Leo from Costa Rica.
Very dissapointed waited and waited to get through and find out poly isn’t on list stay there all the time and get this promotion what is the reason ? Really makes us wonder if it’s time to rethink vacation location! Love the poly!
Can anyone explain Disney’s rationale for not selecting the Poly? I’m in the same boat.
I think it would be the same reason why they excluded the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge from the promotion. The Poly is one of the more popular Deluxe resorts and they likely don’t need a special offer in order to sell rooms for those particular dates. The Boardwalk is offering the promotion on their Garden View rooms, which cost $20+ more per day than the Standard View rooms that do not have the free dining available. They are trying to generate demand for the more expensive rooms that may not be reserved as frequently. I personally would not have reserved a Garden View room since the added cost is not remotely worth the different view, but having the Free Dining plan was the deciding factor.
My thinking is because they just did a lot of work over there and it must be a popular place to stay so they don’t need to include it because it is filling up anyway. That is just my opinion, not sure if I am right or not. 🙂
Like Tom said in his post, if you want free dining, flexibility is the name of the game. You need to be willing to adjust your dates and adjust your resort.
I’m pretty sure Disney uses free dining to funnel people into the emptier resorts. For example, people who stay at value resorts and like Pop Century are having to rebook into All-Star Sports to get free dining (as Pop didn’t have much availability). A lot of people love Port Orleans Riverside, and because it’s one of the most popular resorts, it wasn’t on the free dining list. People who wanted free dining ended up booking at Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs. As for deluxe resorts, those customers ended up booking at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, or Yacht Club instead of Polynesian and Beach Club (which had very limited availability).
So, if you are a person who says you MUST stay at Polynesian (or Pop or Beach Club or Port Orleans Riverside), you probably won’t get free dining. That’s OK. No one will make you switch resorts. But, if you want free dining, then you need to be flexible and be willing to adjust your resort and/or dates. Just remember that beggar’s can’t be choosers here. This deal requires a fair amount of flexibility from guests.
Thanks Tom! I was able to book the exact dates and hotel I wanted and get the free dining plan. Really wanted this for my 25th wedding anniversary. You are the best!
Thank you for this info! We were able to book Coronado Springs this morning. After reviewing the cost I think we want to upgrade our dining plan to include table service. Can we modify our reservation and upgrade our dining plan at any time or did this have to be done at our initial booking? Upgrading gives Disney more money so I don’t see why they wouldn’t allow this but want to make sure. Just want to make sure we don’t lose our free dining in the process of trying to upgrade.
You can upgrade to table service at any time, you’ll have to call, so wait a few days for the free dining fervor for calm down
What a huge disappointment! After months & months of “stalking” this offer, following all the post, etc. Disney decided to exclude a good part of the resorts. There’s no rhyme or reason for the choices. I pre-booked the contemporary, then the Polynesian only to find they’re not included. I’ve stayed there so many times in the past & it always seemed to be on the list. Now I’m back to the planning stages all over again with some hefty price tags and decisions to make. It’s really sad when families have to dish out a good part of their salary to see the mouse. Greed. Very sad.
Same thing happened to me with Pop Century. I’m extremely disappointed and frustrated.
Pop Century is included…
Jen – Retry for Pop. When I tried first thing in the morning the system was on overload and couldn’t get it, by 11 a.m. or so, I was booked!
I’ve been trying with no luck. Was able to get All Star Music but will keep trying. Thanks for the comments!!
I’m sorry you didn’t get your preferred resorts as part of the free dining promo. As someone else who was “stalking” this offer, I knew very well they said Polynesian and POR were going to be excluded. There were even rumors that AoA would be completely excluded.
Another important detail added in most free dining blogs (including this one) is that Disney guests need to be very flexible to get a promotion like free dining. Disney is very deliberate in the dates they choose for this offer and for the resorts they choose. When a resort is very popular (and Polynesian is one of the most popular resorts), then Disney doesn’t have to offer free dining to fill those rooms. At the value level, Pop is also very popular. For example, in early December right now, there is literally no availability at Pop at all. So, free dining allows Disney to funnel guests from those popular resorts to some of the less popular ones. Most people who like Pop are rebooking at All-Star Sports for free dining. Most people who like POR are rebooking at CBR and CSR for free dining. Most people who like Polynesian are rebooking at AKL for free dining. Of course, no one is going to make you accept that offer and that change. That’s up to you. I don’t think it’s worth getting mad at your own decision, though. If you would rather stay at Polynesian and not do free dining, then be happy you’re staying at Polynesian. If you would rather get free dining, and you decide to try somewhere new like Boardwalk or Yacht Club, then be happy you get free dining and get to try out a new deluxe resort. It’s your call what you do.
Is there a trick to see what dates are currently available for booking free dining?? Aside from trying this date, then another date?
No one isn’t making you “dish out a good part of your salary to see the mouse”. No, it isn’t “sad”. Sad, is when a three year old is living in poverty by no choice of his own. You have a choice. You have lots of choices. You can even choose not to go Disney World. There are plenty of sad things that happen in this world. Being “disqualified” from free dining if you choose to stay at the Poly is not sad. Getting your electricity disconnected because you chose to buy food for you kid is sad.
Thank you Tom !! You just save me USD 1,200 for my incoming stay at the end of Aug 2018.
I follow your advice, I subscribed to your newletter. Today, I got email on Free Dining and I revised my booking.. saved a ton of money, plus I got more perks and better hotel room.
I have become a fan of your website…
Thank you again. !
Thanks Tom! Right on as always:) Booked at 0459! We enjoy your blog. Will be celebrating 2nd year at Pop Century with the free dining thanks to your recommendations! Had previously stayed at Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs – enjoyed those resorts when we stayed there, but realized last year after reading your blog Pop is all we need:) Hoping for a new room this time:)
I believe the are completing the last building now so it should be a new room. You can also request a “refurbished room” but I don’t think you’ll have a problem. Stayed in March and enjoyed it!
How come every time I check the availability in November (Nov 27 to Dec 7) under the Disney Dining Plan, all the resorts say they aren’t eligible? Anyone else having this problem?
Because most of the resorts sadly, are not eligible.
I’m crushed. We booked our trip 9 months ago, did everything right, booked the right hotel, the right dates…but could not get the meal plan promotion. SO disappointed. The only way to fix it now is to upgrade our hotel somewhere when the meal plan IS available. Driving down from Canada and crushed.
Was not able to book any rooms for Free Dining… and I was up at 5 am est. I guess we didn’t have First-Timers good luck.
We wanted any of the EPCOT resorts. Some people said Disney might open up more rooms- when do they do that? Thanks!
Just keep checking back! honestly check a few times a day if it is something you really want! People cancel and modify their reservations all the time and rooms will likely open up.
Ok… thanks, Marie. My husband and I keep checking!
Change your dates if that is possible for you. There is still a lot of rooms for available in September.
Hi could you explain why Disney excludes certain resorts such as the Polynesian?
We already had our trip booked back in January, but I was able to modify my reservations to add the free dining and upgraded to Disney Dining, and received the park hopper addition, saving us $400! This is a great deal!
Don’t give up if you were unable to secure one of the free dining packages!
Disney has been known to add more rooms to the special offer and there will definitely be cancellations throughout the upcoming weeks/month. You will be surprised how often people will book a room(s) just to ensure they won’t miss out on a deal and they later modify or cancel their trip altogether. Already today, I’ve seen rooms open up for the Boardwalk that were not originally available. And the past 2 years, I didn’t book a room with Free Dining until mid-May. Good luck!
Was on the ball right at 5am, and was able to book for the Lion King suites at Art of Animation in September in less than 5 minutes!! Early bird gets the worm! Thanks Tom for keeping us up to date!
I dont know if anyone has already mention but if you book under free dining at a value resort you can upgrade from quick service to regular dining plan for an additional charge of about $230 for 5 night stay which is the same difference as the the non free dining difference.
Not sure if it has been reported, but Disney Visa member can book additional dates of August 2-19.
Do you need a unique offer code? I’m a disney visa cardholder and didn’t get an email offer.
Thank you so much for your help with free dining. I didn’t log onto website until after 7am so of course it was crashed, phones busy. I tried for a few hours and finally could choose rooms, but then it wouldn’t accept payment. So I called up Pixie Travel and they had me booked in about 30 minutes. From now on thats what I’ll do when booking for free dining. Long story but happy results!! Free dining for our 25th anniversary.
Thanks Tom, for the amazing updates! Very helpful!