Free Dining - here are my ressies!

[EnchantedRose]

So after much anticipation and planning and hoping rumors were true, I finally booked our Fall Free Dining trip!

We will be spending 10days/9nights at All Star Sports with Free Dining. We upgraded to Regular Dining plan!

The last time we did Free Dining was in 2012 and one thing I ended up hating was all the traveling we would have to do go from park to park or park to resort to get to our reservation. For me, I felt that we wasted so much time traveling, that this trip I told hubby we are NOT leaving the park unless it’s to a resort that’s very close by!

We will have our two boys, on will turn 7 during our trip (This is his Birthday gift) and our other son will be 21 months at the time of the trip. Which means we will have a stroller and diaper bag etc. I don’t want to fuss too much traveling. So based on the park we will be that day here are our reservations for our trip. I will put which are a first time for us and which we have done prior.

We are planning on arriving late afternoon, early evening on 10/3 so we will eat something from the food court that evening. Maybe I will make a run to DTD and pick up Wolfgang Pucks to go! We did this last trip a few times - since we had sick kiddos, and it worked out great!

10/4

As always – we try very hard to make MK our first park! This morning we will have Breakfast at Crystal Palace at 9:25am! I love Winnie the Pooh – so I am excited about this! We have eaten here before, and enjoy their breakfast. My older son may not be too thrilled – he is not a fan of Pooh – but hopefully my one year old will be!

For dinner we have a reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern at 7:50pm. We have never eaten here and I am excited to try it out. My husband is SUPER excited about this place! For those that have eaten here, I know it’s served Family Style, but what about the kids food? Is that also served family style for my son ? Will he be allowed to ask for more if he wants?

10/5

Today we will be spending the day at DHS! Another first for us will be Hollywood & Vine! I am super excited about this one. My one year old LOVES Jake! So this is going to be a great one for him! My older boy also “likes” Jake so it should be a good one.

10/6

Today will be our Epcot Day! We love Epcot! Love doing the KidCot stations all around the world showcase! Tonight we will be having an Italian feast at Tutto at 5:15! We ate here before and loved it! I’m hoping to then get a good spot for Illuminations.

10/7

Animal Kingdom here we come! This is the only day we will spend in AK so we are planning to get there as early as we can. We had the Yak & Yeti couter service on our last trip & LOVED it! SO this time we are doing the TS! Yak and Yeti reservation at 4:15. I really wish they would leave AK opened till later. I do understand they do it due to the Animals, but it would be nice!

10/8

Back to MK! This is our 2nd of three MK days! We currently have a reservation at Tonys’ Town Square at 6:25 . This will be a first for us! We honestly have stayed away due to reviews…however I want to give it a try! So why not! I may change this reservation to a bit earlier if I can book the Dessert Party J

10/9

Back to Epcot we go!! And yet another Italian Feast at Via Napoli at 7pm !! We have never eaten here before. We really looked at Menus around the World…and Italy is where we will all be happy with the food! J

10/10

Today by big boy will turn 7!!! We asked him where he wants to spend his birthday and he chose DHS! So DHS it is! I went over the restaurant choices with him and he chose Sci-Fi at 5:20. He also LOVES Fantasmic – so this is a must for us!

10/11

Our last full day will be spent at MK! Today will be the one day we will venture out of the park for food! We will be heading over to have breakfast at “Ohana at 9:30! I cannot wait!! I am super excited about this! We have NEVER eaten here and I am so happy I was able to find a reservation! If available we may do the dessert party if we can’t get it for another night.

10/12

We leave LEAVE

So excited and cannot wait! 149 days to go!

 

[JillC LI]

ADRs sound great. One quick question - did you inquire as to the difference in price between staying at AS Sports with the upgrade to the regular DDP bs the price of staying at a mod without having to pay for the upgrade? On our last trip the difference was $27! So we moved to a moderate resort and got the regular DDP for free. Just a thought.

 

[EnchantedRose]

ADRs sound great. One quick question - did you inquire as to the difference in price between staying at AS Sports with the upgrade to the regular DDP bs the price of staying at a mod without having to pay for the upgrade? On our last trip the difference was $27! So we moved to a moderate resort and got the regular DDP for free. Just a thought.

I did! My difference was almost $600! So it was a no brainer for us! It's really just three of us paying for the upgrade....myself, hubby and oldest son, since our 1 year old doesn't count.

When i did the difference - I couldn't justify spending $600 more when we don't spend too much time in the resort.

 

[Gabe1]

ADRs sound great. One quick question - did you inquire as to the difference in price between staying at AS Sports with the upgrade to the regular DDP bs the price of staying at a mod without having to pay for the upgrade? On our last trip the difference was $27! So we moved to a moderate resort and got the regular DDP for free. Just a thought.

You beat me to the suggestion. More square footage and at POR you have a third bed too if you stay at the Bayou's.

I did! My difference was almost $600! So it was a no brainer for us! It's really just three of us paying for the upgrade....myself, hubby and oldest son, since our 1 year old doesn't count.

When i did the difference - I couldn't justify spending $600 more when we don't spend too much time in the resort.

That surprises me, I wonder if that was an error and not calculated at the rock bottom value season rate.

 

[Tuvalu]

You beat me to the suggestion. More square footage and at POR you have a third bed too if you stay at the Bayou's.

That surprises me, I wonder if that was an error and not calculated at the rock bottom value season rate.

Port Orleans Resorts are excluded from this Free Dining promotion. The only mods offered are Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs.

Also, the OP is traveling in October, which is "regular" season, not value. Value season with "rock bottom" rates is now only a couple weeks per year, mid-January.

 

[EnchantedRose]

You beat me to the suggestion. More square footage and at POR you have a third bed too if you stay at the Bayou's.



That surprises me, I wonder if that was an error and not calculated at the rock bottom value season rate.

Port Orleans Resorts are excluded from this Free Dining promotion. The only mods offered are Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs.

Also, the OP is traveling in October, which is "regular" season, not value. Value season with "rock bottom" rates is now only a couple weeks per year, mid-January.

Originally i had booked a room at POFQ & ASSp, since when the rumors first starting swirling around FQ was in the original list. I didn't want to miss out so I booked both for 2 adults, 1 child, 1 infant with 8 day tickets.

For POFQ my total was 3098.63
FOR ASSP my total was 2148.41
The difference for that is 950.22 if I were not to upgrade.
The upgrade cost me 363.59....still saving me $586.63.

That comes out to a significant amount. I was actually shocked that it was that much of a difference. I had said if the difference was anything about $500 we would go Value. I honestly though the cost of the upgrade to regular would be more money thank what it was.

 

[belledream]

Congratulations! Great use of your dining plan credits.

Yak & Yeti is wonderfully decorated! The food is pretty good too! I got a tasty piece of duck - don't tell Donald.

I tried Tony's for the first time in forever last year. The food is pretty average, but there is something about the atmosphere of that restaurant that I adore. Oh, the desserts make up for it too.

Have fun!

 

[EnchantedRose]

Thanks @belledream!!!

Yeah, one thing i'm glad about is that the menus at all the places will please all parties!! We are a bunchy of picky eaters! lol

I am actually looking forward to Yak & Yeti so much!!

I've seen some reviews online for Tony's - and the place does look cute!!! I know the food doesn't get the greatest reviews...but at least we can cross another place off our list!

 

[Gabe1]

I did! My difference was almost $600! So it was a no brainer for us! It's really just three of us paying for the upgrade....myself, hubby and oldest son, since our 1 year old doesn't count.

When i did the difference - I couldn't justify spending $600 more when we don't spend too much time in the resort.

That surprises me, I wonder if that was an error and not calculated at the rock bottom value season rate.

Port Orleans Resorts are excluded from this Free Dining promotion. The only mods offered are Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs.

Also, the OP is traveling in October, which is "regular" season, not value. Value season with "rock bottom" rates is now only a couple weeks per year, mid-January.

I didn't know POR was omitted ooops. That particular week is still cheaper than the regular season. My rack rate would have been $237 in regualr/weekday at POR or FQ. In that week it is $203 Rack. I always did better than rack with a travel agent booking a package with free dining perk. Matter of fact I always came out a head when I went through a good travel agent over booking directly with Disney (for now I am blessed by the Tiki Gods that I don't have to do either). There are only a few weeks in January that are lower rack rates than that week in October. Later in October it goes up $20-25 a night. Coronado racks are the same but discounts through travel agents are generally better at Coronado. I know the CM rate was cheaper in April at both Coronado and FQ this year. POR was a well kept secret for a long time and FQ was more popular, not so much anymore, was only 1/3 full when I was there in April.

And OP, I so get the difference you speak of, I'd rather spend the extra on fun stuff than a room.

 

[EnchantedRose]

That surprises me, I wonder if that was an error and not calculated at the rock bottom value season rate.


I didn't know POR was omitted ooops. That particular week is still cheaper than the regular season. My rack rate would have been $237 in regualr/weekday at POR or FQ. In that week it is $203 Rack. I always did better than rack with a travel agent booking a package with free dining perk. Matter of fact I always came out a head when I went through a good travel agent over booking directly with Disney (for now I am blessed by the Tiki Gods that I don't have to do either). There are only a few weeks in January that are lower rack rates than that week in October. Later in October it goes up $20-25 a night. Coronado racks are the same but discounts through travel agents are generally better at Coronado. I know the CM rate was cheaper in April at both Coronado and FQ this year. POR was a well kept secret for a long time and FQ was more popular, not so much anymore, was only 1/3 full when I was there in April.

And OP, I so get the difference you speak of, I'd rather spend the extra on fun stuff than a room.

I so wish one of the POR was available with free dining!! We did them both once and absolutely loved them!!! They were such peaceful resorts!!

I've always been tempted to go with a Travel Agent...but somehow I always end up just doing it myself. I do love planning our trips! My husband says i'm nuts, he feels it's so stressful, but he is glad I enjoy it! It may sound crazy - but it's a bit relaxing to me!

Yeah i looked at a few other weeks and did best with money wise for this week. Reason we chose this week is because my son's birthday is 10/10. He's been asking to spend his actual birthday in Disney World for a while now...so I am glad everything worked out and we were able to book it with free dining! We are arriving on the last day for it during that group of dates, so it works out. I looked at Touring Plans and crowds aren't crazy.

Yeah the money saved is money for the flights! lol.

 

[disney4life2008]

I hope to do free dining - but their dates are the busiest times for me.

 

[Gabe1]

I hope to do free dining - but their dates are the busiest times for me.

Last year they did add extra dates to the fall offerings after a while. Here is hoping

 

[EnchantedRose]

SOOOOO EXCITED!!

The one reservation I have been DYING to get was for Be Our Guest! Since I made my reservations after the 180day window...I KNEW it would be hard to find one! I have been searching EVERY DAY to see if anything opens up for the 3 days were gonna be in MK! I'm happy to say that I FOUND ONE! I was able to snag up an 8:10pm dinner reservation on our last day!! Perfect way to end our trip! <3

 

[belledream]

SOOOOO EXCITED!!

The one reservation I have been DYING to get was for Be Our Guest! Since I made my reservations after the 180day window...I KNEW it would be hard to find one! I have been searching EVERY DAY to see if anything opens up for the 3 days were gonna be in MK! I'm happy to say that I FOUND ONE! I was able to snag up an 8:10pm dinner reservation on our last day!! Perfect way to end our trip! <3

WOOOOOOO! Congratulations!!! My absolute fave Everything is just lining up perfectly for your trip!

 

[EnchantedRose]

WOOOOOOO! Congratulations!!! My absolute fave Everything is just lining up perfectly for your trip!

Yes it is!! Now if I can get flights for us under $250 each i'll be ecstatic! lol

I am really happy with how things are turning out! Our last trip was NOT the greatest! My youngest was 10 months old - and was sick for the majority of the trip. He had a fever about 4 days straight. Nothing crazy, and I did have tylenol, but it made him super cranky! It made it very stressful. Then our oldest got sick too, then I got sick! We had a wonderful time...but we totally said we needed a redo of that trip!

 

[disney4life2008]

Yes it is!! Now if I can get flights for us under $250 each i'll be ecstatic! lol

I am really happy with how things are turning out! Our last trip was NOT the greatest! My youngest was 10 months old - and was sick for the majority of the trip. He had a fever about 4 days straight. Nothing crazy, and I did have tylenol, but it made him super cranky! It made it very stressful. Then our oldest got sick too, then I got sick! We had a wonderful time...but we totally said we needed a redo of that trip!

Things are sounding amazing for your upcoming trip.

 

[EnchantedRose]

&&&&& so begin the changes!!

Disney - you give us way tooooooo much time from the time we book our reservations to the time we actually go to Disney! What does this create!?!? Me changing my reservations a million times!

First my oldest decided that he no longer wants to spend his bday in DHS....his new choice? Epcot!

So of course out of all my previous reservations the ONLY one I would not change/cancel under any circumstance was our coveted BoG ressie! Some stayed the same, some changed, some are gone completely.

What I did this time with them is I realized that on a lot of our days the parks were closing early. Even DHS has a few days where they close at 7 So in order to maximize our park time, I changed around the days since we do not park hop.

So here is my updated itinerary.

10/4 - stays the same with MK being our POOD (Park of the Day). I cancelled our Crystal Palace reservation (No one but myself likes Pooh) this was mainly due to the fact that I needed to cancel a reservation since I made one too many. We will be having dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern like in my original plans however I did make the time a bit earlier. We will now be having dinner at 4:25. I really tried to get dinner reservations between 4-6, due to the fact that our little one usually eats at this time....and isn't normally too cranky at this time! The later the reservations the higher the chances that he will be either asleep in his stroller or way too cranky.

10/5 - This day we kept the same. We will be at DHS and having breakfast with some of our Fav Disney Jr Characters at Hollywood and Vine. Our ressie is for 9:10. I plan on getting to the park at 8:45 and hopefully we will be allowed in. Plan is for hubby to stay with our little one by Hollywood and Vine while i run with our almost 7 year old to sign him up to fight the Dark Side! After I get this done I will run back to H&V and get us checked in and off to eat breakfast! I'm hoping I get it done in time!

10/6 - This day we were originally going to spend it at Epcot...Instead we will be spending the day at MK. MK has EMH from 10-12 and we always love taking advantage of that. Plus we can sleep in a bit, relax in the pool and head to the parks later in the day. Today we are going to try for the first time Tony's Town Square at 6:15.

10/7 - This day remains the same. It will be our AK day! We will eat at Yak and Yeti at 4:15. I am super excited about trying this place out! I cannot believe I never gave them a chance before! We will get here at Park opening and spend the whole day here! Open to close! Afterwards we will probably hit up Downtown Disney!

10/8 - Another day that changed! We will be off to Epcot this day! They have EMH from 9-11pm. We LOVE Epcot! This is my husbands favorite park, and honestly we all love it! Tonight we will be eating at Tutto Italia at 4:45pm.

10/9 - Yet another day that changed! Today will be our 2nd DHS day! We will be eating lumch at Mama Melrose with a Fantasmic Pacage! Hopefully we will finally get decent seats!! I am excited about this!!! It will be a great way to close our last visit to DHS this trip!

10/10 - Today is a very important day! Today my baby will be turning 7!! I cannot believe he will be 7!!!
They grow so fast!! We will be eating at San Angel Inn as per his request. He wanted to eat in the restaurant where you an see the ride! So i am hoping that we can get a table towarde the back so we can see the boats float on by! We will be doing EVERYTHING he wants this day. Including a small shopping spree in Japan - his favorite store! I'm sure money will be dropped on Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon!! He orginally wanted to spend the day at DHS and I am quite glad he changed it since it has a 7pm closing day! I want to really enjoy this day fully!!!

10/11 - Our last full day! Where else would be we spend it but MK! Today we will start the day off having Breakfast with Stitch at Ohana at 9:30