Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

The free dining special is now in effect at Walt Disney World, where many guests who stay on the property get the Disney Dining Plan for free. There’s an abundance of great food to try, and that means there are a lot of heavy meals on the horizon.

But sometimes, you just want a sandwich. Here are four good sandwiches to buy with your quick-service dining credits at Walt Disney World.

1. Ham and Salami on Asiago Ciabatta at Sunshine Seasons (EPCOT)

This sandwich (shown above) is plenty big enough to split with another adult or a child. It’s topped with peppery arugula and sharp, creamy asiago cheese, which ties the whole thing together nicely. This wedge-shaped sandwich is served with a side of tangy potato salad, which is accented with pimentos and green olives. (more…)

Yellowfin Tuna Three Ways from the California Grill at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Disney is offering dining plans for free this fall.

Walt Disney World Resort is offering free dining when you stay on-property this fall.

If you book a vacation that includes a room at a Value Resort and park tickets, you will get Disney’s Quick Service Dining Plan for everyone in your party free. Each person on the free Quick Service Dining Plan gets:

• Two quick-service meals per night of your stay
• Two snacks per night of your stay
• A refillable mug to get unlimited soft drinks, coffee, etc. at your resort

This brings the price of a five-night Walt Disney World vacation down as low as $470 per adult (double occupancy). I am still in shock when I take advantage of Disney’s free dining deals and our trip includes free food.

I really like being able to limit my spending and know exactly what my costs are going to be by using the dining plan. It makes my Disney vacation more relaxed when I don’t have to constantly worry about how much money we are spending.

If you choose to stay at a moderate or deluxe resort at Walt Disney World, each person in your party will receive the Disney Dining Plan for free. Each person on the free Disney Dining Plan gets:

• One quick-service meal per night of your stay
• One table-service meal per night of your stay
• One snack per night of your stay

These packages are available most nights between Sept. 29, 2009 and Dec. 17, 2009.

If you’ve never been to Walt Disney World in the fall, you should give it a try. The weather is gorgeous, the afternoon thunderstorms that hit in the summertime are usually gone and the temperature and humidity drops. Crowds are much lighter, and there’s the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival to check out Sept. 25 – Nov. 8.

The hotels will fill up during these times, so the best way to book is to use a travel agency. The folks at Enchanted Destinations know the ins-and-outs of booking this Disney free dining deal, so I suggest contacting them.

Walt Disney World photo / Diana Zalucky

Now is the best time of year to book a vacation package at Walt Disney World. If you book travel in late summer/early fall, you can get the Disney Dining Package for free with a 5-night/6-day stay and theme park ticket purchase.

If you’ve never used the Disney Dining Plan, I believe it’s one of the best deals going for families. Each member of the family gets one quick-service meal, one snack and one table-service meal each day of the stay. While that’s not “three square meals” a day, we have always found this to be plenty of food. And the plan is flexible enough to allow for variations in your schedule from day to day. (more…)