Hi Nina,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Hooray! I am excited that you are about to book a trip to Walt Disney World!
In the past, to qualify for free dining, guests only needed to purchase a package that included a Walt Disney World
Resort Hotel with base theme park tickets. Since package offers can change, you will need to read the special package stipulations if free dining is offered again.
I will offer another piece of advice. Go ahead and price your vacation package with dining now. There are several
Special Offers that you might be able to use. Compare that price to the price of your package if free dining is offered. Past experience has taught me that free dining might not actually be the cheaper offer.
Consider also that certain room categories may be sold out by the time Disney releases a free dining offer. Since dining reservations can be made 180 days in advance, we always book before that window opens. Doing so allows us to get our first choice of dining times and locations. So I typically prioritize our Resort Hotel and room category, price our vacation with the current specials and then book a package. If a special offer comes out later, I call back to see if it can be applied to my reservation.
Here is the dilemma. If you wait until the free dining offer is released, your preferred room category may not be available. If you reserve and then ask to have a special offer applied later, they may not be able to apply it to your reservation. There is also the possibility that free dining will not be offered for your trip dates. If you are flexible with your resort, room category and trip dates, then you can wait to book.
Sending pixie dust your way that free dining is offered for the dates you plan to visit!
-Donyell