2018 Walt Disney World Free Dining Offer Requirements

Arrival Dates

The 2018 Walt Disney World Free Dining Offer is available for arrivals most nights:

• August 20-September 29, 2018
• November 24-November 27, 2018
• December 7-December 23, 2018

Resorts Included

Select Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts-Free Disney Dining Plan

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas-Jambo House
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas-Kidani Village
• Disney’s Beach Club Villas
• Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

Select Disney Deluxe Resort Hotels-Free Disney Dining Plan

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

Select Disney Moderate Resort Hotels-Free Disney Quick Service Dining Plan

• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Select Disney Value Resort Hotels- Free Disney Quick Service Dining Plan

• Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort-Family Suites Only
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort

Ticket Requirements

The minimum ticket requirement for the 2018 Walt Disney World Free Dining offer is a 4 day Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus ticket. Tickets and options must be used within 14 days of first use. First use must be on or before December 31, 2019.

The Fine Print

• The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited.
• Advance reservation required. Packages must be booked by July 7, 2018.
• Tickets and options must be used within 14 days of first use. First use must be on or before December 31, 2019.
• Children ages 3 to 9 must choose from the children’s menu, if available.
• Some table-service restaurants may have limited or no availability at time of package purchase.
• Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
• Gratuities are not included.
• All Guests in the same room must be on the same package.
• Offer excludes the following room types: campsites, 3-bedroom villas and Little Mermaid Standard Rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

A Few Reasons Why You Should Use a Disney Travel Agent

As you can see, there are several hoops to jump through to acquire the 2018 Walt Disney World Free Dining Offer. Your Disney Travel Agent, whose services are FREE to you, will take the time and care to get you the best deal possible. If free dining isn’t available for your vacation, we have access to other offers and promotions that may be a better fit for you. We will also work with you to make your ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations) at the 180 days before your vacation mark. We will also help plan your trip itinerary and secure your FastPasses on the 60 day mark before your trip. Again, our services cost you nothing. Please Email Me about your Disney vacation dreams so that I can get started making magical memories for you and your family.

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We arrived at Disney Springs Guest Services at 3:30pm and were told there would be up to a 50 minute wait to renew our passes. The cast member actually told us that as passholders we should have known it would be busy on the weekend! I said well, we worked Monday-Saturday and this was the only time we could come. Thankfully, the wait was only 30 minutes and we were helped by a wonderful Cast Member who processed everything quickly and efficiently. we made it to the restaurant right on time.

Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming is quaint and smaller than I thought it would be. It does have a large screened in porch for those who would like to eat outside. WE chose to eat inside as it is still too warm for Floridians to dine outside. We spent time looking over the unique menu choices. I chose the Fried Chicken & Doughnuts while Ron chose the Chopped Barbecue Platter, we each got a soda to drink. While we waited for our food we chatted and enjoyed the 80’s music playing over the restaurant speakers.

There wasn’t a very long wait before our food appeared. Oh My! It looked amazing!. I had to try the mashed potatoes and white gravy first, they were heavenly! The absolute best mashed potatoes I have ever had. The fried chicken was flavorful and moist with just the right amount of spice in the batter. The cinnamon sugar doughnut holes were a fun, sweet addition to the meal and when you dipped them in the house made maple syrup, they were even better!

Ron’s plate came piled with chopped pork, chow-chow slaw and baked mac ‘n cheese. The pork had just a little barbecue sauce on it. There was a side of warm barbecue sauce that came with the meal so that you can use as much or as little as you like. The mac ‘n cheese was tasty as well. Neither of us could finish our meal and we did bring home some leftovers.

At Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming, entrees cost between $15-39.99 each. There is a full menu and a full bar. you can read the menu here. Everything was do delicious I even dreamed about it Sunday night and I haven’t stopped telling people about it all week. We highly recommend this restaurant and it is one table service credit on the Disney Dining Plan. If you are thinking about planning your trip to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani, the Disney Cruise Line or Adventures by Disney, please Email Me so we can start planning your next magical vacation.

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We ordered a few different appetizers off the menu so we could test them. None of them were foods I cared for so, I didn’t try any. Our server shared with us the story behind the famous Cobb salad, which was originally created in 1937 at the Original Brown Derby in Hollywood by Robert Cobb for theatre magnate Sid Grauman.  In case you didn’t know the Cobb Salad is made up of finely chopped greens, turkey breast, egg, bacon, tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, avocado, chives and Cobb dressing.

For my entree I chose the Grilled Rib Eye Steak – with arugula, crispy sweet onions, gorgonzola, red bliss potatoes, and oven-dried tomato vinaigrette and it was to die for! For dessert I chose the signature dessert of the Hollywood Brown Derby, the Grapefruit Cake. It was good but I enjoyed helping Tina finish off her Bananas Foster much better!

Have you ever eaten at the Hollywood Brown Derby? What is your favorite menu item? Leave me a comment and let’s talk.

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1. Will you have a car while visiting Disney World?
2. Will you be visiting other non-Disney attractions while visiting central Florida?
3. How many people, adults and children, will be traveling in your party?
4. How much time do you plan on spending in your room?
5. What is your per night budget?

Let’s review the answers to the questions.

1. Will you have a car while visiting Disney World?

a) If you will not have a car I suggest you stay on property. If you fly into Orlando International Airport you can use Disney’s Magical Express Service. They will pick you up at the airport and bring you and your luggage to your Disney resort. You must sign up for this service at least 10 days prior to your arrival date.  Also, guests staying on property do not pay the daily $12 parking fee.

b) If you will have a car, don’t mind driving to and from the park each day and paying the parking fee, you can stay off property.

2. Will you be visiting other non-Disney attractions while visiting central Florida?

a) If you will be visiting other non-Disney attractions you will want a car. The estimated taxi fare from Walt Disney World to Universal Studios (14 miles away) is over $32.00!

b) Your other option would be to rent a car for 1-2 days of your vacation. The problem with renting for only part of your vacation is picking up and returning the car plus a short term rental of a small car can easily cost almost $100.

c) If you aren’t planning on visiting other attractions just stay on property and use Disney transportation, it’s free.

3. How many people, adults and children, will be traveling in your party?

a) Most hotel and resort rooms sleep 4 people, some sleep 5-6 in a family suite. How many rooms will you need? Sometimes 2 connecting rooms still costs less than a large suite or DVC property that sleeps 8 or more people.

b) Some people rent vacation homes so that their kids can be in a separate room or accommodate a larger party.

4. How much time do you plan on spending in your room?

a) Are you using the room to sleep, shower and dress? Then you can stay off property or on property in a value resort.

b) Are you all about using the resort amenities? Laying by the pool, going to the spa, renting a pontoon boat? You can stay off or on property but pay close attention to the amenities the particular property offers.

5. What is your per night budget? For this one we re going to assume you are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children between the ages of 3-17. You want at least a 3-star hotel from May 4-7, 2009.

a) Orbitz has several 3-star hotels on 192 in Kissimmee (close to Disney) ranging from $48-$100 per night. Most of these properties do not have a restaurant on site and you will need to add $12 per day for parking at the Disney parks.

b) You could stay at a Disney value resort for $68 per night, have a food court on site and free parking.

Other perks of staying on Disney property include discounts on room and ticket packages, ability to purchase the Disney Dining Plan, the very detailed Disney theming, Disney’s top-notch service and the feeling that you are staying in the middle of the magic.

I hope this post has given you some things to think about as you plan your magical Disney vacation. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave me a comment on this post.

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