Walt Disney World

August 30 - September 6, 2008

Disney's Free Dining Offer…

If you don't want to stay at a Disney hotel and don't want to take advantage of Disney's free dining offer, then you can skip this part and continue reading the Important Things to Know link. If you're interested in the free dining, please keep reading.

Disney has a dining plan that offers one table service meal, one counter service meal, and one snack per day. The number of days of the dining plan is tied to the number of nights you spend at a Disney resort. If you stay five nights at Pop Century, for example, you'll get five days worth of dining plan credits. The plan usually costs $37.99 per day for each adult or junior (10-17) and $9.99 per day for each child (3-9). Children under 3 years old eat free at buffets, and from their parents' plates at non-buffet restaurants. The total includes tax, but not gratuity. It also does not include appetizers for table service meals. If you work the credits right, you can spread the counter service credits over breakfast and lunch and every meal would be covered. (See the link above for strategies for making the most of the dining plan.)

During the time we'll be at Disney, they'll offer the dining plan for free. Considering the cost of food at Disney, paying for the plan may still be a good deal (it used to be a great deal when the plan covered gratuity and appetizers), but getting it for free makes it a great deal even without the gratuity and appetizers. There's a catch, though - you can only get the plan as part of a package that includes Disney rooms and park tickets. They won't let us use our educational group park tickets as part of the "free dining package" because they're already heavily discounted. In order to get the free dining, you'll need to stay at one of the Disney hotels/resorts, and you'll need to purchase a one-day park ticket (in addition to the group 5-day or 8-day park ticket that I'll be getting for you). Since you're only buying this ticket in order to qualify for the free dining, get the cheapest park ticket possible ($75.62, including tax, for ages 10 and up; $63.90 for ages 3-9) for each person in your party. Children under age 3 get in free and don't need a ticket.

Remember, the 1-day park tickets you purchase are in addition to the 5-day or 8-day group park tickets I'll get for you. The only reason you're buying the 1-day ticket for everyone in your party is so that all of you can get the free dining. You'll pay for the 1-day tickets when you pay Disney for your rooms, and you'll pay me for the group park tickets and registration fees separately. I recommend that you save the 1-day tickets and apply the purchase price toward a multi-day park ticket on a future trip to Disney. It's up to you, though. They'll be on your "Key to the Kingdom" card, so make sure you don't use your card to enter a park if you don't want to use the 1-day ticket during this trip. Instead, use your educational ticket (it will be a separate paper ticket) to enter the parks. You'll use your "Key to the Kingdom" card to enter your rooms and for your meals.

The free dining packages are limited; each resort is allotted a certain number of packages. The free dining code is AYG for US residents, and CMU for Canadian residents. Make your reservations as soon as you can once the code is available so you'll have a better chance of getting it. The last day to book the free dining package is scheduled to be June 22. Don't wait until the last minute, though, because they go fast. If your choice of resort doesn't have any more packages, try asking for "preferred" rooms, or ask for another resort in your same price range. And remember to purchase the cheapest 1-day, no-frills park ticket as part of your package; your educational ticket will cover entry to the parks for 5 days or 8 days. The number to reserve Disney vacation packages is 407.939.7675.

Once you call Disney to reserve your room and buy 1-day park tickets for each person in your party (age 3 and up), you'll need to research the different table service restaurants (read their menus) and call 407.939.3463 to make Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) for your family for each night of your stay. You don't need to do this for your counter service meals, but the table service restaurants are often booked solid and you won't get a seat if you don't reserve in advance. Having ADRs doesn't mean you'll be seated at the exact time on your reservation, it means that you'll be the next family seated around that timeframe. (Make these reservations as soon as possible. Don't delay or you may not get reservations. They tend to fill up fast!)

If you're not sure if a specific restaurant will be suitable for your family, or would like to know if others think it's a good restaurant before you make reservations, please feel free to post on our message boards in our Traveling Homeschoolers forum. I (and others) can help you make your choices.

Disney's table service restaurants are located in the parks (many are in Epcot), in Downtown Disney, and at their higher end resorts. When you're planning your reservations, note where the restaurant is located. If it's located in Epcot or any of the other parks, you'll need to use one of your five or eight park days to get in the park before you can proceed to your restaurant. If you have a 5-day ticket and are staying five days or less at Disney, this won't be a problem. However, if you're staying six days or more, you need to make sure your park days coincide with the days you'll be eating at table service restaurants in the parks. If you're staying seven days, and all the table service restaurants you've chosen are in the parks, you'll need to use your extra one-day ticket to get into the park on the 6th day, and purchase an extra ticket to get in the park on the 7th day. (Or instead of buying a one-day ticket when you make your reservations, buy a two-day park ticket.) Instead, consider choosing some restaurants outside of the parks (in Downtown Disney or in the resorts) for the days you won't be going to the parks. The same goes for the 8-day tickets -- make sure you choose restaurants outside of the parks if you don't want to use a park day on your ticket just to go to a restaurant.

Don't worry about the counter service restaurants (where you'll mainly be eating breakfast and lunch). They're located in all the resorts, in the water parks, Downtown Disney, and within the parks. You don't need reservations for these.

Still interested in going? Read our Important Things to Know page next.

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