Today is THE day many of you have been waiting for… Walt Disney World’s Free Dining Offer will be offered to guests for select dates in late August, September, October, November, and December 2015!
Travel Dates
Free Dining is being offered to guests ARRIVING during the dates listed below. A minimum stay of 3 nights is required and your package may not be booked for longer than 14 nights.
August 28 – October 2, 2015
October 25 – October 31, 2015
November 8 – November 19, 2015
December 15 – December 21, 2015
You must book by July 10th to get the offer.
(Please note that Disney’s Port Orleans — Riverside is excluded from the offer from October 25 – December 21. The offer excludes campsites and 3-bedroom villas at all times.)
Disney Resorts
If you stay at a Value Resort, you’ll receive the Quick Service Dining plan for FREE. (Note that you can upgrade to the standard or deluxe dining plans by paying the difference in cost per night.)
If you reserve a Moderate, Deluxe, or Deluxe Villa Resort, you will receive the standard Dining plan for FREE. (You can upgrade to the deluxe dining plan by paying the difference in cost per night).
Tickets
In addition to booking a minimum stay of 3 nights at one of the above Disney resorts, you’ll also need to purchase AT LEAST a 2-day Magic Your Way Disney World ticket with a Park Hopper OR Water Park Fun & More Option.
Is the Free Dining Offer Right for Your Family?
Since Disney World’s free dining offer generally can’t be combined with other discounts, it’s often difficult to determine whether or not your family will save more money with a Disney World hotel room discount or with the free dining offer.
We break down and compare the costs and options for several Disney World discounts, including the free dining offer, in our fully updated DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2015 e-Book to help you save the most money possible.
Along with 490 pages of great Disney World dining advice, photos, and details, this book is a great deal. Get yours here, and speaking of saving money — use code “2015” to get $4 off today!
Are you excited for Free Dining? Please let us know with a comment!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
Been trying to get through all morning to change hotel for free dinning. Phone lines are jamed.
Does anybody know if I can get in on this if I already have a reservation and tickets for those dates?
Wilson — You need to call 407-W-Disney and have them add the package onto your current reservation.
Thank you AJ, I will probably have to make some changes since my reservation is currently in Art of Animation – Little Mermaid room and I just saw that those are excluded from the offer. Do you think the people at 407-W-Disney would also be able to move my reservation to a different resort while adding the free dining package?
Dang it! Missed it by 5 days 🙁 our last day is the 23rd! Bummer
Hi guys. Trying to get free Disney dining for Oct 2015? I’m in the UK and all I can get are dates for 2016??? Any advice?
If I arrive 2 days before the end of the promotion and stay 5 nights, will the free dining be for the entire stay?
We are booked at CBR for Dec 12th through the 18th. We tried for close to an hour to get through on the website and the phone..all I managed to do was get a chat with a CM who couldn’t change our dates. With the additional requirement of the Park Hopper and the increased hotel rates for 12/20 and 12/21(since we would be shifting our dates ahead), I’m wondering if it’s even worth it to try to get the free dining. Of course, I made our itinerary with the hope we would get free dining so to change from the most expensive meals to moderate and budget-conscious meals is a bummer! Oh well, good luck everybody-hope y’all get your dates.
And the server is down for online booking. I’ve been trying to get it online all morning!!
It seems to be impossible to get through to Disney at this point. I’ve been trying for the past hour. But the one question I do have is can you get free dining if you already made reservations and also already have the dining plan paid for??? Would they give you a refund?
Holly — Yes.
Anyone have any idea why they have excluded Riverside starting October 25th?
Just modified my reservation online to receive the free dining promotion. Took all morning because of the servers being so jammed. Also had to change from All-Star Movies to Pop Century, but well worth it! Good luck everyone.
I am trying to book online and does not appear that I am getting free dining? Possible sold out? Or do you need to call?
I can’t believe my luck… the dates they announced in October is the week I’m already going! We’ll be arriving on the 24th though and it starts on the 25th, so I had to make a new reservation starting on the 25th and then a separate one night reservation for the 24th. We were originally staying at Art of Animation but I was able to get us in at Pop Century to take advantage of the promotion. I decided to just make a whole new reservation and I’ll cancel the original one next week after the craziness dies down! I started trying the phone lines and website at 6am California time, and FINALLY got through online at about 10:00. Just keep clicking refresh and see how far it’ll let you go! I got to the room selection a few times before I got the “server is busy” error, but I just kept trying. And it finally paid off!! I can’t wait!
Hi Guys
I have booked flights for November 9th – 16th, but honestly I was expecting a bit more of this promo, the difference between normal booking and “free dinning” for these dates is about 150 USDs, which is a little disappointing, we will be looking forward of 30% discount offer if it comes up.
Phoned to make a booking on the UK number and the operator did not know about the Free Dining for 2015. Said I was mistaken it was for 2016. What’s going on Disney
After trying for 8 hours straight on 2 phones we finally got through!!! We called over 1000 times and was on hold and disconnected by the jammed lines 8 times each hold time around 1 1/2 hours
I had booked about 6 months ago for carribean beach for 8 days with standard park tickets. After 2 people calling for over 4 hours, over 1000 attemps, and hours on hold. I finally got through to someone. The only rooms left for out trip were in a pricier pirate room. Then we needed new park hopper tickets at the higher rate. and we had to re-pay for out trip insurance.
In the end it was about a 400 dollar savings. Of course we took it but it’s not all it was hyped up to be. I don’t know if I will try and hold out for this again.
As usual Disney is completely unprepared to handle the call and web volume. Frankly, it’s pathetic that they announce these specials, limited that they are, and then have phone lines unable to connect and websites that can’t show prices for anything. For a company of Disney’s size that is customer focused, its inexcusable.
I thought it had to be a 6 night reservation?
margaret I’m in the UK too, the offers are different for us than US people which is why the UK line didn’t know about it. You have to book through a U.S. Tour operator or change the Disney website to US by going to language at the top then changing to English (USA) then I think we can book. I only know because I hoped to book using the offer but it doesn’t cover the dates we want now. Hope it helps 🙂
Finally after trying all day got my free dining dates for August 30th through September 6th. We are staying at the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Any advice on things to do at this resort?
I was in hold for 3 hours and 15 mins. Until I finally got through at 11:00 pm last night. Got free dining but it saved me 400.00. Does that sound right for 2 adults and 2 children? Thought I would have saved more.
Dawn — Every single year, Disney uses the “example” of a 6-night vacation in their free dining promotional marketing. Every year it tricks people into thinking they have to book at least 6 nights. Only when you click through to the very small print do you see that the actual minimum stay is 3 nights. It’s very sneaky…
Took 2 hrs of trying to call in… 2.5 hrs on hold… my daughter already had reservations in September…. by the time she got through all of the free dining promos were sold out at the pop resort ..and every mid priced tesort for ALLLL of 2015. she had to take the Sports Resort on a different day but she did get her free dining i… t doesn’t matter if you already have a pre-existingreservation..she didn’t start calling until after 12 noon.I’m thinking they need to have more employees working the phones and more offers per hotel when they offer these free dining packages..oh…she also had to upgrade her base ticket to a hopper ticket for only 2 days of her stay and the hopper ticket prices went up of course…note to self….next year book vacation and include two days of hopper passes so you get them at the cheaper price when free dining comes around …oh!!! and call early!!!
FINALLY got through but it was worth it (2 hour hold time). I am staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and was already on the Standard Dining Plan and everything was paid off. With the Free dining plan I am on the same plan and was given an $850 refund! I would say definitely call and see what you can get.
What we have to remember, first and foremost, is that this isn’t something that Disney is required to offer. It is a discount to drum up business, while ensuring that you buy from them directly, during slower periods. So, if they offer it for Port Orleans Riverside from September to October it stands to reason that they’re not booked up during that time. From October 25th onward…they’re booked more heavily and therefore don’t offer it during those dates.
I saw one lady on Facebook complaining that they “don’t have enough rooms to support this offer” and I had to laugh. Many people miss the point with this promotion and forget that it’s sole purpose is to increase revenue for WDW, not to save us all money. My family is already going in September, so OF COURSE I’m using it because free food is awesome, but it wasn’t the motivation behind my trip.
I think that we’re in the final years of this being offered and that they’re phasing it out. With Avatar Land opening in 2017, paired with a stronger economy, they just don’t need to do it anymore. If you really just want to save money, rent a vacation home offsite, buy tickets from an authorized ticket agent, and eat groceries in your room. However, if you want the “Disney immersion” experience, this discount is a great way to go.
Happy booking everyone!
Well this bites, as I ask the travel agent and she assured me I would get the discount. Now it seems this offer is not open at my hotel (all filled up) and can’t change me week because trip not refundable. Any suggestions? I don’t understand why they just add the discount. I will remove the dining plan and pay ala cart.
It took me from 8AM Central time until 1PM central time to get through on the phones. I had all my coworkers trying. I was a nervous wreck. I ended up modifying my reservation around noon online and it let me. An hour later the promotion was sold out for the days I am going. I got lucky. What a shit show it was yesterday!
We ended up completely changing our dates and resort. It helps to have flexibility! My husband fiddled with different dates online for about an hour before he got anything. We are now at Coronado Springs staying from Nov 11-20th. So, for 3 days more than our original vacation plus park hopper AND water parks (we figured, what the hell!) we are paying $100 more. Crazy! Now to figure out how to park hop!
Hi Mandy. In the UK you have to look out for the free dining offer the year before you travel. So it is now being offered for 2016 holidays. I believe this is the case for UK visitors based on my limited experience.
I had completely different experience when calling for free dining. I started calling about 10am. I had to call and redial about 15 times in a row and then I got through, plus I was only on hold for less than 1 minute. The whole process for me was less than 10 minutes. So sorry to hear all the horror stories.
We booked our September 2015 trip (celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary) a few months ago; when booking through Disney, we were told if the Free Dining became available, we would be able to obtain a refund for what we have paid for the dining package. After 2 + days of trying to get through (like everyone else!), and being on hold for almost 2 hours night before last, we finally got to speak with a cast member at Disney – only to be told that we are not eligible because we booked at the Bay Lake Towers at Contemporary! We are not members of DVC, so it’s not an inexpensive place by any means… Unbelievable. IF we had booked at a less expensive property, we COULD take advantage of the free dining plan. So let me get this straight, we pay MORE for our room but don’t qualify for the free dining??? I am so disappointed in Disney right now. Two years ago we stayed at Bay Lake Towers for our anniversary and DID get the free dining. Something is not right with this change… Sigh. Come on, Disney – let us have the free dining!!!!!
I just called my travel agent and she did all the work. It was the second day that she got through. We had to move from All Star Movie to Sports.
My daughter updated to the Waterpark and More, while my husband and I took the hopper past (even though we do not plan to use it) What is “more” Would it have been better to take the Waterpark (do not like water)
I am so upset right now that my travel agent couldn’t even get me the free dining when I had agreed to add date a and hopper and she said it sold out in minutes. So unfair I had asked her and asked her before it even started and now I loose out on it.
In the UK it has to be booked a year or so in advance, we will be there November 2015 and have got free dining but we booked it November 2014. It is done a totally different way for us in the UK than for those in the US.
I started browsing the free dining offers on April 29. That day it seemed like only a few moderate and deluxe hotel rooms were available. I checked back on May 1 & 2 same thing with less standard rooms and several villa rooms available. I don’t want to spend $6 gran on a room, free-dining or not! I came back to the website today, May 5, and found standard rooms available at value resorts, moderate resorts and deluxe resorts, with villa hotel rooms available. I booked Coronado Springs Resort today with the free dining from Dec. 21 -27. I was looking for a more grown up feel since my kids are grown now. CSR meets the requirements. I never called because this ain’t my first rodeo and Disney is a hot mess during free dining! I really think that Disney randomly opens rooms at select resorts on certain days and times. Just keep checking and you’ll get what you want!
Do you know when free dining is offered for 2016 yet? We are wanting to go during May 7, 2016
Does anyone know when the free dining promotion for 2016 will be released?
Does anyone happen to know if Pop Century frequently sells out of the Free Dining rooms? We are planning for next year, and based on the previous years’ Free Dining dates, it looks like our dates will be included (the week BEFORE Thanksgiving…not the week OF Thanksgiving) But, I worry, after seeing all the posts about 3-6 hour holds on the phone & servers being jammed up, that Pop may sell out of their Free Dining rooms, before I’m able to get a hold of someone to add that option to our existing reservation! lol Do you think I should be worried?
Good luck. We stayed at Art of animation this oct and planned ahead months and months thru unlimited travel for disney and they failed to get us free dining after we already had booked for that long with dining and our suites was the cars and it did come out for them but we never got free or a discount so I removed my dining plan . The prices are ridiculous anyway for the food . Walt would never of wanted people to be charged for food like they charge . The rooms and parks are high enough priced the way it is. I am done with disney for a while if not for good. It is just a money making thing about everything they have .
P.s I was also told rumor is they are gonna quit having free dining . But if some people get it it should of been the ones that had a reservation first or everyone should get it .
These free dining plans are not available to those of us who have season or annual passes. This is totally unfair.