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Comments (6)
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Save/ShareFor the last few years, Walt Disney World has offered free dining plans in September to entice visitors during a notoriously slow month. Well, Disney announced yesterday that the Disney Dining Plan will once again be offered free with select vacation packages. If you stay at one of Disney's "value" or "moderate" category resorts—or at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa—between Aug. 24 and Sept. 20, 2008, and you book a 5-night "Magic Your Way" package (at a starting price of about $1,300 for a family of four), then they'll throw in the dining plan for free. The plan ordinarily costs $38 per day per adult.
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For more info, visit disneyworld.com or contact Walt Disney Travel Co. at 407/934-7639 and ask for booking code AYG.
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The Disney Dining Plan is an excellent deal! We went to Disneyworld 2 years ago and bought the plan and were amazed at the great choices there were! We are going back next month and are looking forward to all the great restaurants again! $38 a day , you cant go wrong!! And the Aug-Sept FREE deal!! WOW!
Posted By Helen Cheryl. on May 8, 2008, 12:41 PM
When we were there last September on this exact deal, they offered a "bounce back" if you booked for next year before you checked out. We did, of course. The dates for the bounce back were a bit more generous than the one they are offering now as they included dates into October. So we're headed down there for 10 GLORIOUS days at the end of September w/ the free dining plan. The upside to these dates? They coincide w/ the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT. Did I mention you can use your snack option at the F&W kiosks in the World Showcase? It's a great way to sample foods from across the world!! I'll be interested to see how the omission of the appetizer and gratuity impact the dining plan, but either way I can't wait to be there!!
Posted By Rebecca on June 25, 2008, 8:54 AM
Rebecca, I happen to be a huge fan of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. (You can read my thoughts on it in a previous post I wrote about Epcot's 25th birthday.) I wasn't aware that the snack options on the meal plan were now available at the kiosks as well. If so, that makes the plan an even better bargain at that time of year, even with the appetizer and gratuity having been dropped. The biggest thing I wonder is how the waitstaff feels about the gratuity being dropped. I wonder if they're getting better or worse tips as a result.
Posted By Anthony Falcone on June 25, 2008, 12:58 PM
Hi Anthony,
The F&W Festival at EPCOT is always one of our favorite times to visit; and I consider the use of snack credits for most "tasting portions" offered in the booths around World Showcase one of Disney's "best kept secrets." We have done this on two trips now, and are very much looking forward to doing it again in the fall. I've kept an "ear to the ground" so to speak, to hear of any changes in this policy, and as of yet have not heard of any (fingers crossed).
I'm curious too as to how the wait staff feel...I know when the Dining Plan first started, many people wondered if it would result in sub par service given the assurance, on the part of the wait staff, that come what may they would receive a tip. I must say we NEVER experienced this; our service was always impeccable. I chose to believe (perhaps naively so) that cast members are consummate professionals and will not let this or any other "gimmick" interfere with their jobs...
Posted By Rebecca on June 30, 2008, 2:15 PM
Representing student travelers everywhere, I feel this is a great way to travel to Disney World with a bunch of your friends and keep prices of the trip at a reasonable cost. For other tips and tricks visit the The Nifty Student's Travel Blog for more student themed ideas and travel destinations.
But coming from a student's end, does this also include drinks, and/or adult beverages? Students traveling on a spring break do like to indulge in a few adult beverages. I'm sure this is a stupid question, but I appreciate the feedback so I can update my own blog post regarding Orlando, FL.
Posted By JDTrvlAgnt on October 13, 2008, 7:07 PM
JDTrvlAgnt, I'm sorry to inform you that the standard meal plan (the free one mentioned in this offer) does NOT cover alcoholic beverages. Your "snack" option can be used for a non-alcoholic beverage, and a non-alcoholic beverage of your choice (soda, coffee, etc.) is included with your counter-service and table-service meals. But if you want to live it up a little, you'll have to pay extra!
There is an upgrade available for the dining plan called "Wine and Dine." It entitles you to one bottle of wine per night per room from a designated list of options and only at select locations. That will run you close to $40 per room per night. Unless you specifically want to have a bottle of wine with dinner every night and plan on eating at those exact restaurants, it's probably not the most flexible or budget-conscious choice you can make. I'd recommend paying as you go to keep your options open.
If you're interested, though, you can check out the brochure for the "Wine and Dine" plan here:
http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw/images2003/languagespecific/eng/nontheme/tickets/08WineandDine.pdf
Posted By Anthony Falcone on October 14, 2008, 4:14 PM