Free dining plan = crowded?

[Giselle]

I made reservations for POFQ during Sept. with free dining. I read on this site that September is one of the lightest crowd times of the year. Has anyone been during FDP time, and if so how were the crowds?

[disneykat]

This will be our 4 straight year of free dining. The crowds were heavier last year than the previous 3 years. You MUST have ADRs if you want to eat at a sit-down restaurant. It's virtually impossible to get in at this time without them. The good news is that the parks are very manageable. We always have plenty of time to do everything we'd like to do. You'll need a fastpass for things like Soarin and Peter Pan, but there are also times that it has been so light that the fastpass machines weren't even open. We absolutely LOVE Disney in September. I'm not sure I would consider going at any other time, free dining or not!!! Have a great trip.

[Tegrigg]

Disney in Sept. Is great, light crowds. Just make ADR's. Try to go to the Not so Scary Mickey's Halloween if they offer it when you go. It is wonderful.
8th trip 6 more days at the Poly

[kathiep]

This will be our 3rd September in a row. It's a great time to go.

Make your ADR's asap. The restaurants are very busy. But with only a few exceptions, we didn't notice that it affected our service.

The parks are extremely manageable. Last year, the only fast pass we did was for Soarin'. Most ride wait were under 20 minutes. It was fantastic.

[Mickey91]

The crowds are low in comparison to other times of the year. Now it is hit or miss with crowds. You never know why a particular "slow week " may be crowded. We generally have good luck in September even with free dining.

[NewmanFamily6]

We did the free dining in Sept 2006. The crowds in the parks really are very light. We hardly waited for anything. We never noticed the people until it was time to eat. As long as you have your ADRs you will be fine. The restaraunts definitely book up. We had a wonderful time

[HndrdPrcnt]

I do agree with the PPs, however, each year the crowds during free dining are getting heavier. More and more are finding out about the free dining and a lot of people return to take advantage of it year after year.

As also previously mentioned, if you plan on taking advantage of the free dining, ADRs are a MUST!!!! Good luck if you don't have them. Already, many restaurants are completly full for the entire month.

Have a great time and enjoy the light crowds!!

[Crow]

I agree w Sept being a good time (except some poss rain) the crowds are eating more, not as much on the rides. except poss MK which I always find being the most crowded

[Spaceship Tigger]

We have been during Free Dining in both 05 and 07. Yes, the crowds are "manageable", though definitely there are a lot more people in the parks during this time than there used to be. The problems are with the restaurants, which are obviously very crowded, and the resorts, which are basically all packed. Both times that we have been during Free Dining we have found that our resort (AKL in 05 and Poly in 07) was almost totally full and we could not get our room requests because there were no other rooms available.

[Ian]

I would say that it really depends on your perspective as it relates to being "crowded."

If you went to Disney in September in like '02, '03, or '04 it was dead. DEAD. Like ghost town, dead. There were multiple times when I was literally alone in an entire section of the park at times.

It's definitely not like that now. But if you're comparing it to, say, summer time ... or Christmas ... then yeah it's much slower than that.

Truth be told, Disney has done a very good job of evening out their attendance levels. They've scheduled special events and things like free dining during their traditionally slow times to help to boost attendance. There really is no such thing as a true "slow time" at Disney World anymore.

One thing I can't stress enough it to make your dining reservations in advance! With the free dining, the restaurants fill up very quickly and you could literally find yourself unable to get in anywhere if you don't have advance ressies.

[MushuGrl]

We went last year.The only rides we couldn't just walk on was Haunted Mansion (it had just re-opened that week with the new scenes, still was only half hour wait) and Peter Pan (Why? Don't know! We were at MK at opening, went straight back, and it was ALREADY ten minute wait!)

This was my first "off week" going, so to me, the crowds at the restaurants weren't any different than, say, going during the summer at peak season. All in all not to shabby.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We have been during Free Dining in both 05 and 07. Yes, the crowds are "manageable", though definitely there are a lot more people in the parks during this time than there used to be. The problems are with the restaurants, which are obviously very crowded, and the resorts, which are basically all packed. Both times that we have been during Free Dining we have found that our resort (AKL in 05 and Poly in 07) was almost totally full and we could not get our room requests because there were no other rooms available.

ITA
We have gone to WDW in September every year since 1996. September is not what is used to be. Free Dining has brought in more people each year it has been offered. I would expect the same to be true this year.
There just seems to be lots of people everywhere but, the waits for the most part, are still manageable.
The resorts are busier and the restaurants are packed!!
We were there this past September. The 13-22nd. From all reviews I have read, and from our experience, that week seemed to have been more busy then the other weeks that FD was offered.

With planning and Fast Pass you should be fine.