As part of its 2011 marketing campaign, “Magic, Memories and You,” Walt Disney World Resort is once again offering its popular “free” Disney Dining Plan as part of a “Memories Vacation Package.”
Commonly known as “Free Dining,” this special offer is good for select Walt Disney World resort hotels, for dates of travel in early fall 2011. Disney’s “Free Dining” discount is valid, if available, for most nights from Aug. 28 – Sept. 24, 2011.
Disney “Free Dining” with the “Memories Vacation Package”
In order to take advantage of this special offer, Disney guests must book a “Memories Vacation Package,” a Disney travel package that includes at a minimum a hotel room, Disney theme-park tickets for all guests in a room, and a 20-page Disney PhotoPass Photo Book.
For the promotion, Disney offers one of two versions of the Disney Dining Plan free as part of the Memories Vacation Package:
- Guests who book a package at Disney’s Value Resorts, Disney’s budget hotels, will receive the Quick Service Dining Plan for free. This meal plan includes two quick-service meals and two snacks per night of stay, plus one refillable resort mug per person.
- Guests who book at Disney’s Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts will receive the Standard Disney Dining Plan. This plan offers guests one table-service (full-service) meal, one quick-service meal and one snack per day.
Disney "Free Dining" must be booked by Aug. 27, 2011. Reservations may be made online at the Walt Disney World Resort website or by calling 207-939-7888. With the latter, use booking code QUH for Disney’s Value Resorts or N23 for all other Disney resorts.
Conditions and Restrictions of Disney’s “Free Dining”
The “Memories Vacation Package” and “Free Dining” may not be combined with any other Disney discounts. Guest who choose to book Disney “Free Dining” will need to book for a minimum of three hotels nights. Guests must book non-discounted room at the rack rates.
In terms of Disney theme parks tickets, guest must purchase a minimum of a two-day “Magic Your Way” Base Ticket. Guests may upgrade those base tickets with add-on options, such as the Park Hopper (where guests may visit more than one park per day) or the Water Parks Fun & More. These add-ons have an additional cost. Also be aware that Disney “Magic Your Way” tickets expire 14 days after first use.
As with previous “Free Dining” offers, guests may choose to upgrade their Dining Plans for the difference in price between the value of their dining plan and the option they desire. All guests must be on the same Disney Dining Plan.
Is Disney “Free Dining” Worth It?
Because Disney doesn’t allow multiple discounts to the same travel package, and guests must pay rack rate for Disney hotel rooms in order to be eligible for Disney “Free Dining” it’s worth asking the question whether this special offer is a good value for families and other guests thinking about a trip to Walt Disney World.
The short answer is, it depends on a number of factors: the size and ages of the members of the traveling party, the level of Disney resort accommodations, the eating habits of the guests and the availability of other Disney discounts. That last factor can substantially influence determining the package’s value, especially as there is often a competing Disney room-only discount for the same time period.
As a very rough rule-of-thumb Disney “Free Dining” is a good value for guests choosing to stay at Disney’s Value Resort. Guests staying at Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts are generally better served by room-only discounts, then adding the Disney Dining Plan or paying for meals Out-of-Pocket (OOP). Guests staying at one of Disney’s Moderate Resorts may fall either way, depending on room location or party size.
As suggested by this last statement, the above general rule needs to take into account the number of people in the traveling party. “Free Dining” may be a good value for those who have at least three “adult” guests in their party, a less straightforward value for smaller parties or those with young children. (Adults, for Disney, are guests ages 10 and older. Children are ages three to nine, and children under three are not charged for meals or theme-park admission.)
Before booking Disney “Free Dining,” guests should take into account their specific circumstances, calculate the costs of each individual vacation component, and compare Disney “Free Dining” with any other discounts during that same period.
Tom Bricker’s post, “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Dining Plan,” written for TouringPlans.com, the website and blog associated with The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, offers a useful sample analysis. It compares “Free Dining” with Disney room discounts. His examples can be used as a guideline for making one’s own calculations.
Because so many different factors come into play, guests should not assume that Disney “Free Dining” is always the best deal for their Disney vacation. It’s a very popular promotion, deservedly so, but Walt Disney World tends to offer many overlapping promotions that should be compared with guests’ specific needs.
Sources:
- Bricker, Tom. “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Dining Plan.” The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. TouringPlans.com. 18 Feb 2011. Accessed 29 May 2011.
- “Disney World Special Offers,” Walt Disney World Resort. Accessed 29 May 2011.
Debra Peterson - A freelance writer and scholar, Debra Peterson specializes in Disney Studies, with particular interests in Walt Disney World and ...
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