Crowded with free dinning?

[Penny]

:wave: Hello everyone. We are going Sept.26th - Oct. 1st. I was wondering with so many people with the free dinning if you think it will be crowded during this time. We wen't last Sept. and it was wonderful! We hardly waited for anything.There will be 6 of us this year. I tried to get LTT for dinner our first night and they said it was full!?! I have called back many times, but no luck. I did get one for lunch, but really wanted dinner. Hubby is worried that it might be crowded, I however am not worried ,because I will be in the world!!! :sohappy:

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I don't think it will be terrible. Maybe a little more crowded than usual, but for the most park not too bad. They are doing this during a relatively slow time of year so crowds will be light to begin with. The extra people won't make it too busy.

 

[wonka]

I can't say either way if there will be more or less people, but you have to consider the fact that most everyone going around that time is also getting the meal plan for free. Those people are going to be more apt to go to places they normally wouldn't be able to go to/afford without the meal plan, meaning the popular areas will be even more so. People who might normally settle for "fast food" at the hotel are much more likely to try Cinderella's Royal Table instead, for example.

Will there be more people there around this time than normal? Potentially, but I don't think the fact that you can't get a particular dinner reservation is indicative of the crowds, simply because (nearly) everyone is getting the food for free.

September is generally a less crowded time. I think with last years storms, people may be a bit wary about going this year - but the offer of the free dining may balance that out. My opinion is that you'll be fine with the crowds around that time. I believe it so much that I'm going about a week before you!

 

[SpenceMan01]

Umm... what's LTT? :lookaroun

 

[DisneyBunny]

Liberty Tree Tavern?

 

[kellydisney]

I had a hard time getting Le Cellier but we got it in the end I don't think the crowd will be any busier than usual. I do think that reservations will be harder to come by. And I especially feel bad for the ill informed who will be going without knowing about the dining plan being free!! lol

 

[slappy magoo]

My suspicion is that it might be slightly more crowded, but with people traveling with friends, unmarried couples and married couples without kids (or without school-aged kids anyway). I would think that time of year, minus the week and change leading up to Labor Day, is very difficult for families with school-aged children to go. Either they're already in school or just about to go, and after Labor Day, every school is in session. Sure, some people might opt to take a vacation near the end of September, but IMHO, even kids who love WDW would realize that would be a bad time to go if they expect to keep up with their school work throughout the course of the year. I mean, going in the winter, you have a better shot of getting back into the flow if your family goes on vacation, but in that first month, if you're not grasping what the teachers are throwing at you, you might not ever catch up. If I were a parent, I'd probably be tempted to take a kid out of school to travel in the off-season, but not that first month of school. Of course, my future wife is a teacher with a strong work ethic, so that's not gonna happen anyway!

 

[gboiler1]

I think the parks will be very managable, and if you do your homework to pick the least attended parks (ie go the parks not having EMH, etc) you should be fine.

As for who will be there, I would imagine alot of foreign travelers, individuals w/o kids, or people like myself. Our daughter attends a school w/a balanced calendar. She started to school in July so they have a 3 week break end of Sept/first of October.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

I'll be there the same time as you....actually, arriving a day earlier and leaving a day later. Even with the free dining plan, I'm thinking the crowds will be very manageable. They've had to extend the offer a second time to get more people, so with that being the case, I'm not counting on large crowds.

 

[manda0125]

Crowds

I'm totally in the dark but what's the free dining plan? I'm going Sept 30-Oct 7 and I had such a tough time getting advance dining reservations. I thought that it was because of the new policy where guests can book their reservations 90 days out from the day they check in. But from the sounds of it, it may be because of this free dining thing. I had an easier time booking dining during the summer.

 

[MareSINY]

We're going the same exact dates! And we were also there last September. LOL Are we related? LOL

We had our travel agent make all our reservations for us, and she didn't say that she had any problems, so I'm hoping everything will go smoothly. Maybe we picked less crowded restaurants, I really don't know.

I can't imagine that it will be that much worse than last year. Whatever it is it'll be better than the trip I took there during Easter recess this year. Now that was crowded.

 

[manda0125]

We're going the same exact dates! And we were also there last September. LOL Are we related? LOL

We had our travel agent make all our reservations for us, and she didn't say that she had any problems, so I'm hoping everything will go smoothly. Maybe we picked less crowded restaurants, I really don't know.

I can't imagine that it will be that much worse than last year. Whatever it is it'll be better than the trip I took there during Easter recess this year. Now that was crowded.

I was there last September too. Flew in right after the last hurricane! It was nice and slow untill the weekend! I got alittle spoiled last year

 

[AEfx]

I don't think the park-level crowds are going to be any greater than normal; if anything, I'd expect them to be less since Disney obviously needed the promotional boost by doing this offer not only once but bringing it back again for the same time period.

I do think table service dining is going to be MUCH more crowded, however. I wouldn't dare going without a full slate of ADR's. Many people who wouldn't have done a great deal of sit-down dining regularly now will be doing so in much greater frequency.

I think the fear of hurricanes is going to outweigh the free food. Some people have screwed up priorities, ya know.

AEfx

 

[teacarissa]

I was curious what is the free dining all about!!!!!!!!

 

[mikeymouse]

I'm totally in the dark but what's the free dining plan? I'm going Sept 30-Oct 7 and I had such a tough time getting advance dining reservations. I thought that it was because of the new policy where guests can book their reservations 90 days out from the day they check in. But from the sounds of it, it may be because of this free dining thing. I had an easier time booking dining during the summer.

Yea, I guess its the "Magic Your Way plus Dining". I had no problems booking Biergarten for lunch during that time. Maybe you should eat a big lunch and then just a counter-service dinner. Anyway, meals are included in your tickets and lodging. 1 sit-down, 1 counter-service, and 1 snack per person/per day. Premium is 3 sit-downs pp/pd.

 

[lawyergirl77]

Yea, I guess its the "Magic Your Way plus Dining". I had no problems booking Biergarten for lunch during that time. Maybe you should eat a big lunch and then just a counter-service dinner. Anyway, meals are included in your tickets and lodging. 1 sit-down, 1 counter-service, and 1 snack per person/per day. Premium is 3 sit-downs pp/pd.

And it should be noted that Premium is NOT a part of the "Stay Play and Dine" (i.e. free dining) package!!

If you're going from Sept 30th to Oct 7th and you're staying at a Disney resort, you may already have this package. I would check to make sure as you may be in for a big surprise!!!

 

[yazmin182]

Hi I'm new here!
Just a few quick questions. What's this talk about a hurricane?
Also, I was planning to go to Disney around Aug.20ish, do you think it will be crowded then? And does anyone know how the weather is during that time?
And Manda, if you booked ur trip on Sep.30-Oct.7, I'm not sure if the dining plan will be included because it's only from Aug.13-Sep.30. Try to change your reservations! The dining plan is amazing.

 

[AEfx]

Hi I'm new here!
Just a few quick questions. What's this talk about a hurricane?

Free dining is in prime hurricane season, which is a large reason it's offered. Attendance, especially after the devestating hurricaines of the last few years and other September-related events, has made it one of the least attended months at WDW.

Also, I was planning to go to Disney around Aug.20ish, do you think it will be crowded then? And does anyone know how the weather is during that time?

Crowded. Hot. It's the tail end of the summer season, but the kiddos are still out of school and many are taking their last summer vacations. Oh, and did I mention hot?

And Manda, if you booked ur trip on Sep.30-Oct.7, I'm not sure if the dining plan will be included because it's only from Aug.13-Sep.30. Try to change your reservations! The dining plan is amazing.

If she's signed up for free dining, then yes it would apply. Almost all special promotions like this are based on the day you check-in; we did this last year, checked in the last day of free dining, and had it for our entire trip.

AEfx

 

[AEfx]

As to the OP's question, no, the crowds in general will be normal, but for dining you can expect longer than usual waits.

I wouldn't even attempt free dining without a full roster of dining reservations if you wish to dine in popular places like Sci-Fi, Le Cellier, or practically any character meal.

AEfx

 

[SewIn2Disney]

We're going mid-august, and had made all of our dining reservations a few weeks ago. Then we decided to change one reservation last week to a different resturant, and the lady on the phone said "anything else for that week.....everything is booking up really fast!" which freaked my mom out b/c she thinks its going to be packed. I told her it was just the big name resturants that are going to be packed, and hopefully not the park (we're only going for the food anyway.....it's going to be hot and crowded, so we plan on spending a lot of time at shows, eating and the pool)