Free Dining Recovery Deal for Disney World
Ready for some good news?! Free Dining is once again available at Walt Disney World, but there’s a catch: it’s as a summer recovery vacation package for guests who have had to cancel their trips during the months during the closure. (Updated May 11, 2020.)
In our Will Walt Disney World Offer Huge Discounts After Reopening? post, we address two common reader questions: “will Walt Disney World offer deals when the parks & resorts reopen?” and “will WDW raise prices to make up for lost revenue during the closure?”
This new Walt Disney World discount should start to answer that. Even if you’re not eligible to take advantage of the summer recovery dine package, this bodes well for a second wave of the Free Disney Dining Plan Discount for fall and winter travel dates–or potentially even a “reissued release” of the first batch of Free Dining dates. We’ll cover the promo details and offer some speculation here…
May 11, 2020 Update: Over the weekend, Walt Disney World pushed back the booking window until July 1, 2020. We covered this change at length here. There were a lot of changes and cancellations as part of that, so some news got lost in the shuffle.
One such detail was the early ending of the Summer Recovery Free Dining package, as discussed in more detail below in this post. The deal was cut short, and is thus no longer available for booking–it’s also not available for rebooking or modifications.
This means that if you previously took advantage of the Free Dining summer recovery offer and booked June travel dates, you now would not be able to change your travel dates to July and retain Free Dining. (However, some readers in the comments have reported success at doing this over the phone. Best of luck–please report back if you try this and it works for you.)
This might come as a surprise, given that we’ve continually stressed that Walt Disney World will likely be offering more aggressive discounts to lure guests back once the parks and resorts reopen. We maintain that this is likely to be the case, especially later this fall and in 2021, as travel will likely slump for over a year. The economic recovery could take a while, as could assuaging fears that it’s safe to travel.
However, things may be different in the short term. In our Will Walt Disney World Offer 2020 Free Dining Again? we noted that capacity restrictions at restaurants may be a limiting factor on the extent to which Free Dining can be offered. The same may be true with resort limitations. (It’s probably not with regard to the parks–even if the parks are operating at 25% capacity, that still would allow all resort guests to access the parks, even if the hotels are near capacity.)
Right now, cutting the promo short could be a matter of Walt Disney World leadership not having a full or clear picture of what modified operations will look like once the parks and resorts do reopen. It’s likely they do not want to tie their own hands by committing to a discount that (more or less) requires restaurants to operate at a certain capacity. In other words, we’re still expecting more discounts, but Walt Disney World itself is likely in “wait and see” mode before releasing anything else.
For those curious (or who missed it before), below are the full details of Walt Disney World summer recovery dine package. To reiterate, this is no longer being offered, and we’re just keeping it here for posterity…
Here are the official details on the Walt Disney World summer recovery dine package, from the “Resort Rooms & Packages” section of the DisneyWorld.com travel advisory page:
Eligible Guests can take advantage of a vacation package offer that includes accommodations at a select Disney Resort hotel, park admission and a Disney dining plan–valid for arrivals most nights June 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020 when you book through May 31, 2020.
This offer is valid only for Guests who booked a vacation package or room reservation to stay at a Disney Resort hotel during the dates Walt Disney World Resort is closed. Offer not valid for reservations cancelled before March 1, 2020.
Note that if you’re eligible for the Walt Disney World summer recovery dine package, you should receive an email directly from Disney. However, these don’t always go out, get caught in spam filters, etc. Calling Walt Disney World (this deal can only be booked over the phone) or having your Authorized Disney Vacation Planner do it for you should yield success.
Again, we cannot emphasize enough that this Free Dining deal is only available to guests who have had their trips cancelled by Disney, or proactively cancelled. New bookings are not eligible at this time. There are no exceptions to that. (In other words: don’t bother calling and clogging up the phone lines if you’re not eligible!)
This is the same Free Dining offer that was available earlier this year and is not the infamous “Free Dining Lite” or “Half-Free Dining” as I’ve come to call Walt Disney World’s other marketing gimmicks that trade on the name recognition of the Free Dining offer.
This means that Value and Moderate Resort guests receive the Quick Service Disney Dining Plan, while Deluxe and Deluxe Villa guests receive the standard Disney Dining Plan. Beyond that, it follows all of the normal “rules” of Free Dining, which is to say that you’re required to purchase non-discounted tickets and pay full price for the hotel.
There are also length of stay requirements and some room exclusions–all of which is spelled out in the promotion specifics that you’ll receive via email (the normal “rules” are covered in full detail here, along with comprehensive analysis and Free Dining tips).
Walt Disney World offering this discount isn’t a huge surprise. It will leave guests feeling better about having to cancel, especially after many have had to deal with long waits on hold and some reported difficulties in receiving a refund.
Moreover, this is also almost certainly a better discount than anyone with a Spring Break or Easter trip had booked. Conversely, some guests with bookings for May might find this to be a worse deal than what they’d previously booked. As always with Free Dining, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” It’s essential to do the math.
From Walt Disney World’s perspective, it’s an even savvier move. Disney will need to find a way to fill hotel rooms and get occupancy to a respectable number once the parks & resorts resume operations. No matter what your perspective on whether or not the parks will be packed when Walt Disney World reopens, it’s safe to assume that the resorts will not be busy in at least the first month or two after the parks reopen.
A lot of guests will cancel preemptively, meaning bookings will be getting lighter for June through September 2020. Beyond that, most people cannot book a vacation on a moment’s notice for only a few days or even a few weeks later. That’s presumably the turnaround time between the announcement that the parks are reopening and the date of said reopening, whenever that may be.
When the parks do reopen, they’ll be heavily dependent–at least initially–on locals and nearby Annual Passholders. By and large, this is not the demographic that’s booking hotel stays.
Free Dining will help buoy bookings for June through September 2020, which are months that will presumably otherwise be fairly light on hotel reservations. This is a big part of why we’re expecting a slew of additional deals to be released once Disney has a more certain idea of when the parks and hotels will likely be able to resume operations.
Don’t be too upset if you’re ineligible to book Free Dining for June through September 2020 right now. It would be more surprising to us if this discount is not reissued to the general public in the near future. Beyond that, we’d expect aggressive room only discounts and aggressive offers for Annual Passholders and Florida residents.
Even then, we still wouldn’t be surprised to see some resorts consolidated, like Port Orleans or Art of Animation/Pop Century. Given the likelihood that convention business will be slow to recover, a delayed reopening of Coronado Springs Resort also seems possible. (All of this is totally uninformed speculation on my part.)
Walt Disney World has significantly increased its hotel room inventory in the last decade. That was great when business was booming and people were willing to pay a significant premium for on-site accommodations. It remains to be seen whether that’ll be a liability going forward. (I already wrote ~2,000 words on the topic in Will Walt Disney World Offer Huge Discounts After Reopening? My answer to the titular question was an emphatic yes–so now you know where I stand on that.)
One thing that should be emphasized is that this does not mean the Walt Disney World parks & resorts will reopen on or before June 1, 2020. It’s a signal that Disney has that intent, but it’s not conclusive. As we’ve noted in several other posts about the current situation, so much remains to be seen between now and then. Even with this deal, the parks could reopen earlier or later than June.
Rather, this should be viewed as Walt Disney World acknowledging the above–that having vacation packages and resort reservations booked is a necessary prerequisite for operating the parks and resorts. If hotel occupancy numbers aren’t at a certain level, it’s not practicable to operate them. In order to hit said number, Disney needs to start accepting reservations for future travel dates…even if those end up having to be cancelled as travel dates draw nearer.
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
Have you been able to book this Walt Disney World summer recovery dine package? Was it the full Free Dining or Free Dining Lite? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? 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!
I had a Disney trip scheduled for April and we got the free dining plan, I had to reschedule for June and still got the free dining plan, now we have to reschedule again and I am being told that I don’t get to keep my free dining plan even if the date is before September 2020. I don’t understand why I wouldn’t be able to keep that offer…? The cast member I spoke to said that they aren’t even being told why this is the case either.
We called last week and we were told to wait till our June dates were technically affected by covid closure and we would be able to modify… now we are being told the opposite.
I am hopeful for another discount because what are they going to do for the people who had a trip planned during covid and have to keep rescheduling due to closures?
We booked April 1-8th and was told by Disney sorry we are closed we need to cancel your reservation but as a consolation if you reschedule after June 1st you will get free dining. So my wife spent another 20 plus hours booking our second trip for June 13-21. We are now being told they will not be open and we need to reschedule for a third time. This time they are taking back the free dining that they gave to us. Not very Disneyish!!!! Very unhappy!!! Disney should honor their word!
We just received notice today that our June 6 to June 13 trip was cancelled. This is the second time our trip has been cancelled. Our original trip was in May. When I went to rebook, we were not given the free dining. I was told it was no longer available. My new trip for the same timeframe, resort etc, will now cost $1300 more than May trip. Doesn’t seem very Disney like. Hopefully they do something for all of us displaced Disney guests. Especially those of us who have been displaced more than once!
That really isn’t right. I hope they do something good for all the cancellations.
We are in same boat they cancelled our May trip then june trip and now will not honor free dining. So I canceled our trip and will take my $ elsewhere
I just called Disney this morning to see if I would still be able to keep my package ( free dining which was offered in January) if my plans get cancelled for a July reservation. I was told that I wouldn’t be able to keep it and if Disney cancels us I would qualify for whatever promotion they have at that time. I find it unfair that earlier cancellations were offered the free dining plan but future ones are not. Another $2500 for a party of 7 is a lot more money that I cannot afford. Also now we will have to disappoint my young grandchildren and tell them we may not be able to go at a later date if they don’t open in July. Also if we did reschedule it will be difficult because we have 2 teachers in our party and they can’t just take off anytime they want especially with schools being closed here for the rest of the academic year. We will just have to wait it out and see what happens. Thank you for the updates Tom!
Interesting insight. I believe you are spot on with Coronado. It is not available on the website. I have a room booked for June and am confused on whether I would qualify for the free dining.
My original travel dates were mid April – was able to reschedule for the end of September, add my Son to my plans and scored free dining for the both of us! Very thankful for this offer! Took out a little bit of the sting of having to reschedule!
Trying to figure out if this impacts our trip at all. We are scheduled to arrive June 30 & check in at our Disney hotel that day. Our first day in the parks would be July 1 (if open of course, and we are planning to wear masks even if they don’t make us to be as safe as we can). We qualified for the free dining offer when we rebooked because we were originally scheduled to go the last week of May. With Disney pushing back the booking date to July 1, does that impact previously made reservations, especially one that starts the last of June?
Sorry – posted this in the wrong thread
The “dining recovery order” never made sense from an operational standpoint.
I feel like it was the bright idea of someone in marketing, who didn’t get clearance from the people actually planning for re-opening operations.
Restaurants will be one of the big challenges in a social-distancing theme park. When during “low crowds,” Disney table service restaurants often find themselves at 100% capacity during normal dining hours.
So when the parks and hotels start to re-open in July or whenever….
There is a good chance not all the parks will open at once. Maybe goodbye to all those Epcot TS choices for a while.
And as to all the restaurants that are open — best case scenario, those restaurants will operate at 50% capacity. Buffets might stay closed. Don’t expect character meet meals.
Even when visiting Disney during low crowds, have you ever seen Disney TS restaurants less than 50% full?
So give people “free dining” but then don’t have nearly enough restaurant capacity for TS meals? Talk about a logistical nightmare.
Have these dates been modified? I have two trips I’ve been waiting on rescheduling. I don’t want to miss the free dining offer, but everything being so uncertain still, it seems difficult to rebook by May 31 when they aren’t even sure when they will open again.
I have the same problem, Valerie. I guess I waited too long to rebook!
Hi Tom,
I’m wondering if you could find out what rides and attractions will not be available once they do reopen. Spending thousands of dollars with many things closed doesn’t make sense. We have a 7/4 arrival date planned but can’t see going if half of everything is closed. We also can’t figure out if the dining recovery will pertain to us if they aren’t actually closed during that time. Thanks in advance.
Calling disney was a complete mess. We have been canceled on several levels by disney. We are florida residents and had got the florida 3 day tickets that they extended the date till July 31st. so we essentially have to use the tickets by then or we will be out 1200$ Our marathon was canceled and they said they would return our $ have not seen it yet but still waiting our 6 week time frame. However I called to get quotes on the free dining we were looking at a family room at the allstar resort the lady on the phone told me that I could not get the florida rate i would be rated on the corona recovery rate and we would have to purchase more tickets to get the rate.. 2 days for each person.. (now mind you i am already having to use up the 3 days I have already purchased) she quoted me 3,162$ for 4 nights when with the florida resident discount including the same dining package using my already purchased tickets was 2,595$ total scam!!!!
Has anyone had any luck getting Disney to honor the free dining if you booked your resort and tickets through Undercover Tourist? When I called, the CM to reschedule April 25-28 to Sept. 5-9, she said I wasn’t eligible, but other places have said we should be.
I emailed Disney ahead of time to make sure before calling that I could use my Florida discovery tickets in conjunction with this offer. The response I received seemed to indicate I could. I called and was told I could not. On top of that I then received a confirmation of a vacation package I didn’t book. Called back to get everything cancelled / refunded. I’m breaking up with Disney. This has become an almost abusive relationship that I keep coming back to.
I got the free dining package. My original plans was to check in May 31st. They changed future booking to June 1st, so I changed my check in to June 1st and got the free dining plan, it was the counter service dining plan bc I am staying at the Art of Animation in a suit bc I have 3 kids…and is so expensive. But, now I will have to change our plans, again. Don’t know if I should wait to hear opening or specials or call and do it now?? If I paid for the vacation with a few gift cards (save $$) will that be refunded as cash, or gift card??
I too paid some of my vacation using gift cards and was told that the money would be loaded back on the gift cards if I cancelled, that would be a problem since I don’t have them anymore. I rescheduled and they applied it all to the new booking.
So, I had to cancel my cruise. I am still 700$ short of a full refund. Does anyone think that the cruise line will offer specials in the foreseeable future?
I have a vacation to Disney scheduled 6/30-7/7. I had to wait to purchase park tickets for financial reasons, now I don’t know if I should move forward and purchase. I already have airfare and an off property location rented. Thoughts?
I highly doubt it will be safe to travel to Disney buy the end of June.
If all you need from Disney is tickets, you have no reason to buy now. You have 3 weeks before the 30 day fastpass window opens, so wait and see if any decisions are made by then. Even then, any FP’s you’d really want are probably already gone, so you’re really better off waiting until a week or two before to know whether or not any of the parks will open up by then. Disney will gladly take your money, but will slowly/reluctantly give it back to you and may end up converting it to a use by dec 15 ticket rather than giving you your money back.
Disney Keeps Jacking up the Room Prices! A Value Room in All Star Sports MID WEEK in Late June was just raised again! Now $212 plus Tax! Crazy!
Does this offer extend to people who had booked their reservations through DVC?
No. Dvc unfortunately are not included in any of these discount offers
Information put out by travel agency companies are that this offer DOES extend to those who booked through DVC, HOWEVER, the new reservation needs to meet all of the offer requirements. In other words, you would not be able to get the offer if booking a new DVC reservation – would have to pay cash – and would still have to book a package with tickets, etc.
According to the DVC cast member I spoke with the free dining only applies to those who paid cash for their reservations. It does not as of yet apply to those of us who used points to book and later reschedule their trip.
Talked to Disney on this. We are eligible for the dining offer but are AP. They told us we still had to purchase tickets and then we can use that value on renewal or any other ticket (like MNSS or very merry). Nothing new there but what I did find out is that since I used the AP 25% off offer for my rebooked resort vacation, they would have to take that off. They don’t Stack offers. So no free dining PLUS resort discount offer. Either or. When we priced out all the options it really didn’t make sense for us. So it’s really not a good offer because you can’t stack discounts. Sad day.
found the same.. not a good offer.
I was able to keep the sun and fun room offer and the free dining plan.
Sat on hold for a long time to find out this is only being offered for trips scheduled between March 16th and March 31st. Did not cover my trip that was scheduled for April 19th and recheduled to June 7th.
Hi Angela, if you have a trip booked for April 19th, you should qualify for the free dining recovery discount. Our trip was booked for April 29th and we were allowed to rebook with the free dining. Maybe try calling again once the phone lines die down a little?
Ok, so should I ask to speak to a manager? The cast member was adamant that I didn’t qualify and it was only for trips scheduled between 3/16 and 3/31.
That’s not correct. You are eligible based on the offer
It’s a lie!!! The articles said ALL GUESTS, but since we booked through Costco, they are not honoring this. We were supposed to go over spring break for a week, switched to August and we even paid to upgrade our lodging figuring we would save some money on food/snacks! This was supposed to be our first family trip, and it’s not off to a magical start. We are considering cancelling the entire trip and not going. The kids are so upset they are not going, we thought the food was a nice touch and now we are told we won’t get it!!
I am sorry that you are not having a good experience planning your vacation.
Unfortunately this I’ve heard this several times from people who book through places like Costco or AAA. My advice is to always use an Authorized Disney Travel Professional instead. We work directly with Disney and have the knowledge that many of these other travel agents do not. There is no fee for our services and we offer much more guidance and individualized attention. Something a first timer would really benefit from. I do not know the details of your trip but I would love to know the reason that the agent is saying you are not eligible for free dining. From just reading your post if you are rebooking from a March or April trip to August 2020 you should qualify.
Disney said we are not eligible, not Costco. Disney said since we booked using a 3rd party, in this case Costco, we are not eligible to receive the free grab n go. I am very upset over this idea, because nowhere does it state this. It’s like when you go to a store and the product has a label on the shelf for 6.99 and you get to the register and it’s 12.99 and you have to go back and take pictures or show them their own label to get the deal. Disney said they will not budge, even though it said
“ Anyone who had a trip planned during the closure between the dates of March 16 and May 31 and had to change their reservation, will be given a special recovery promotion that will include free dining, with just a few requirements. This also applies to guests who cancelled their Disney vacations.“
False advertising in my book, and we paid for a hotel upgrade figuring we would make some of that back in free food. And since we rebooked, we would pay a cancellation fee for airlines, hotel etc to try and get this deal. Not rite they won’t honor their own posting!
Something doesn’t sound right. Wish I had more info and maybe I could help.
Since you booked through Costco, they are your “travel agency,” and only they can make changes to your reservation. Take it up with them. Good luck!
What do you mean by consolidating? We have a trip planned the first week of July at Port Orleans. It’s our first stay at a moderate and we’d be pretty disappointed if we had to move. Thanks in advance!
Yes Ashley, I wondered that myself. We always stay at Port Orleans. I don’t want to stay anywhere else !!
I did speak to a cast member and was told that we are not eligible for the free dining because 2 of our tickets were purchased through undercover. I even added another day for each ticket through Disney. I am an annual passholder and my pass expires in March 2021. I haven’t been able to use it yet. I booked a third time for December 2020. I was told that days would be added for the number of days they’ve been closed. I loose months! I did contact Disney again and was told that I have to wait until they reopen to find out what will happen with my annual pass. I am not a Florida resident so my pass is paid for in full. If I were to get a partial refund for days lost, I am not eligible for the renewal discount. I am usually very pleased with Disney’s ability to work with me in certain situations. This is different of course. I guess I will wait and see.
This offer is of little value to those like us – childless couples with APs and TiW. The value of free dining is never more than the AP resort discount + TiW discount. I was able to score 7 nights in standard club level at CSR for just over $300 a night with the AP discount in early May. There is no way Disney can replicate that deal for me. If we have to cancel, that’s it for us. Our APs expire in September (plus however many days) and we aren’t renewing, which is a decision we made before the virus hysteria. Our last two trips were screwed up beyond belief, and as you’ve noted, the on site advantage is gone. Frankly, I don’t see the parks opening for several more months anyway.
Living in Spain and having my WDW holiday cancelled, I looked to rebook on this deal later on this year. But I have been told that this deal is not available to people in Europe.
This is so unfair to people who try to.support Disney.