2022 Disney World 50th Anniversary UK Deal: Not-So-Free Dining
Walt Disney World has released its flagship UK discount for 2022, a 50th Anniversary package deal that offers an up to $950 dining credit during a 2 week trip, and more. In this post, we share dates and details, what this could mean for future U.S. general public WDW deals including Free Dining, whether the promo makes sense to book, and more.
First, the details of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary package deal. You’re eligible for this promotion if you are a resident of the United Kingdom, Ireland, or the European Union, and book a full-price Walt Disney World hotel and ticket package for a minimum of 5 nights and maximum of 21 nights. Travel dates are January 1, 2022 to April 2, 2022, April 24, 2022 to September 24, 2022, November 13 to 17, 2022, or December 9 to 18, 2022; deal must be booked by August 3, 2021.
As part of this offer, you can take advantage of Walt Disney World’s 14-Day Ultimate Ticket for the price of a 7-Day Ticket, which includes Memory Maker. Guests booking Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary deal with a qualifying package will also receive a $200 Disney gift card. On top of that, those booking at Tier 2 and Tier 3 resorts (see below) will get a special “World’s Most Magical Celebration” Gift Basket. Here are additional details, followed by commentary…
Let’s start with the list of eligible resorts, grouped by tier:
Tier 3 Resorts – Up to $950 Dining Credit:
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas — Kidani Village
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
- Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Copper Creek Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
Tier 2 Resorts – Up to $850 Dining Credit:
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – Family Suites
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
- Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
Tier 1 Resorts – Up to $500 Dining Credit:
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Disney’s All Star Movies Resort
While these are the attention-grabbing headline amounts, there’s actually a set way to calculate the amount of dining credit you’ll receive. Tier 1 resorts receive a Disney Dining Credit in the amount of $36 per room for each night; Tier 2 resorts receive a Disney Dining Credit for the amount of $61 per room for each night; Tier 1 resorts receive a Disney Dining Credit for the amount of $68 per room for each night.
Disney Dining Credits are rounded to the nearest ten. While 5 days is the minimum for this promotion, 14 days is not the maximum. However, guests who wish to book a stay exceeding 14 consecutive nights “will be able to benefit from the Disney Dining Credit applicable to the 14 night stay,” which sounds to me like there’s no upside in booking a longer stay–maybe do a split stay instead?
Note that some Walt Disney World Resort Hotels remain closed. As hotels reopen they may be added to Resort Hotel Offers and will be subject to these terms and conditions. You will be able to cancel and rebook or modify your reservation, should you want to change resorts.
The following room types are excluded from the Resort Hotel Offers: Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary Resort, all suites and 3-bedroom Grand Villas, Little Mermaid Standard Rooms at Art of Animation Resort, Standard Rooms and Water/Pool View Rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort, Gran Destino Tower Standard Rooms – Club Level at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Garden Wing and Club Level at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Tower Studios at Disney’s Riviera Resort, the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, the Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and essentially all rooms at both Port Orleans Resorts, which is presumably because those are still closed.
If you book this Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Package including a stay in one of the participating Moderate or Deluxe Resorts by July 17, 2021, you will receive a Celebration Basket worth £109/€119.
This Celebration Basket contains two 50th Celebration Lanyards with Medallions, two Black Mickey Ear Hats, two castle water bottles, a Mickey insulated cooler bag, and a selection of snacks including a bag from Chip & Dale Snack Co., bag from Goofy’s Candy Co., bag of Cheetos, bag of Doritos, bag of Lay’s Potato Chips, and a bag of Smart Popcorn.
Guests booking this Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary package can modify their package anytime up to and including 7 days before the arrival date if booking before August 31, 2021 for arrivals up to and including December 31, 2022.
You will need to pay any difference in price if the new package price is higher and Walt Disney World will refund you the difference if the price is lower, with a deduction of any applicable fees. This would allow you, for instance, to book Grand Floridian right now and modify to Port Orleans Riverside if the latter reopens by Summer 2022 (which is a near-certainty), potentially receiving a refund as the All Star option will likely be cheaper.
Interesting, the fine print does not mention cancellations–and the main deal description only indicates you’ll receive a “cancellation refund” if Disney cancels your package holiday, which should be a given.
We typically watch and share this deal for several reasons. One is that we love and value our UK readers!!! (I feel like a lead singer shouting the name of the city of the performance just to get some cheap applause). But seriously, we do. Our audience in the United Kingdom is surprisingly large and a lot of readers ask about these promotion; it thus makes sense from a demographics perspective to discuss this deal.
Another is that many Americans are interested in the details of the UK discounts, as it’s often a sneak-peek at what will be offered in the United States. In a normal year, that means a preview of the popular Free Disney Dining Plan at Walt Disney World offer. Let’s start with analysis of this deal, and then turn to speculation regarding Free Dining…
I’m no mathmagician, but this deal sounds mediocre at best to me. Keep in mind that the value of the standard Disney Dining Plan was $78 per adult last year–so even a solo traveler would’ve come out ahead with that deal. Make it a party 3 or 4 and the Free Dining deal would’ve been exponentially better.
Of course, the Disney Dining Plan is not yet available and Walt Disney World was almost certainly baking in some degree of DDP credit waste into that promotion. Which is to say that they expected most guests to not use all of their credits, or to not use them efficiently. By contrast, a lower denomination dining gift card can be used more efficiently. However, that doesn’t even begin to explain away the full disparity. Not even close.
This also isn’t better than most garden variety room-only discounts during normal times. Obviously, the comparison isn’t straightforward since this offers fixed savings whereas a room-only discount varies by season, but those are almost always better.
In looking at regular season rate charts for standard rooms at the Contemporary, this offers 11% off. For Caribbean Beach, this would amount to 20% off. For Pop Century, it’s a 17% off discount. Across the board, those booking Moderate Resorts are going to see the biggest savings because of the high nightly credit versus the lower nightly price. Deluxes are consistently the worst. It’s sort of odd that there’s only a $7 different in nightly credit amount between the two tiers despite Deluxe Resorts frequently costing $200 to $300+ more per night than Moderates.
Now, you might look at the current Summer & Early Fall 2021 Room-Only Discounts at Walt Disney World, see Caribbean Beach at 10% off and Pop Century at 15% off, and conclude this is superior. That’s absolutely correct, but it does require some significant oversights.
First, that’s comparing this year to 2022, which is an important distinction because there’s currently a serious lack of inventory at the lower tier resorts. That problem almost certainly resolves itself before next year with the reopening of Port Orleans and All Star Resorts. Second, the current deals are also not normal room-only discount amounts for Value and Moderate Resorts; they’re lower right now because see first point. Finally, the room exclusions at many resorts pretty much force you to upgrade–at Caribbean Beach, in particular, that probably means a dreaded Pirate Room.
I’m hesitant to draw any conclusions or speculation as to what this means in terms of whether Free Dining is offered to the United States general public for 2022. Obviously, we’d prefer to see a Free Dining deal here as that would be a nearly-definitive sign both that the Disney Dining Plan was returning and that Free Dining would be offered in the United States in 2022.
However, the absence of such a deal is not definitive proof of the opposite conclusions.
As we’ve seen repeatedly in recent months, when Walt Disney World releases a deal or announces something, its details are essentially frozen in time or a snapshot of whatever exists at that specific moment.
There are plenty of examples of this, but the best and most recent is Disney After Hours Boo Bash, the press release for which indicated face masks would be required–suggesting that rule would be in place come November 2021. Literally one week later, Walt Disney World made masks optional outdoors.
Free Dining in the United States does not typically involve as much advance notice as the UK offers. In recent years, the lead-time on Free Dining has varied considerably, from as little as a few weeks ahead of time to as many as 6 months in advance. With so much still up in the air, that release date flexibility is crucial.
It’s entirely possible that Walt Disney World will not offer Free Dining in 2022. However, it’s also possible that the Disney Dining Plan will return later this year and bookings will slow down by Spring 2022. In the latter scenario, Free Dining would likely be released for next summer and fall. That’s not necessarily our prediction—we’re just presenting what’s within the realm of possibility.
Strong current bookings are likely why this UK deal is subpar. As intimated above, Walt Disney World’s recently-released summer and early fall discounts are paltry. The percentage savings are bad, and the room options are even worse. Spoiler alert: the same is going to be true when fall and 2021 holiday season savings are released later this summer.
As we’ve said repeatedly, Walt Disney World does not offer discounts out of corporate benevolence–it’s to fill unsold rooms and increase occupancy numbers. Right now, hotel bookings are incredibly high through the end of 2021. Certain resorts and room categories are sold out entirely for select dates. That’s partly a matter of pent-up demand and partly a result of countless hotels still being closed.
While eventual occupancy numbers for 2022 are unknown, it nevertheless makes sense to extrapolate from current bookings and transpose present discounts into the future. If you’re Disney, that’s the pragmatic approach–you don’t want to “over-discount” and sell rooms at a lower rate than needed.
However, a lot will change between now and next year. For one thing, more hotels will reopen (probably all of them) and that added supply will help satiate demand. That alone will be a huge thing that should lift discounts. For another, pent-up demand that is currently driving strong numbers could start fizzling out. That’s less of a sure thing (especially with more international travel and group bookings next year), but it’s at least plausible.
Ultimately, even though the United Kingdom usually gets one big deal per year, it’s not like that was etched on a stone tablet by Walter Elias Disney himself, making it supreme law of the World. There’s absolutely nothing that precludes the company from releasing another, superior discount once more resorts reopen and/or the Disney Dining Plan returns.
However, there’s also nothing guaranteeing it (I don’t want to falsely get anyone’s hopes up here). The reality is that Walt Disney World will release more discounts if and when those are necessary to fill unsold hotel rooms. If bookings remain strong for 2022, fewer and worse discounts will be released. If bookings decrease or if more hotels coming online reduces resort-wide occupancy, more and better discounts will be released.
The company has broken from “discount precedent” countless times in the past to do exactly that. Just two years ago prior to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disney released Free Dining earlier than normal and then extended it with multiple subsequent waves upon realizing that numbers were still low. It should go without saying, but what we’re all living through right now is much more unprecedented that blasting off to Batuu; there’s no reason to believe Disney won’t take a similar approach to discounting if the situation calls for it.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about the 2022 Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary package discount for United Kingdom residents? Do you wish we got offers like this in the United States, or do you prefer getting the room-only discounts and shorter minimum stays? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We have booked for Easter and it conveniently doesn’t cover our stay – there’s not many other opportunities to go out of school time. We love Disney World but I feel more and more put off with emery Hong that made staying on site (magic express, magic bands, early fast pass booking and DDP) being removed and no decent discounts to be had.
Hello I have a question too. When I do split stays (2 different Disney hotels) I only need to book once a 14day-ticket (14 days for the price of 7) and this starts the first day of my stay, but these 14 days, do they have to be consecutive (because my stay is 18 days)? Thanks
Hey Tom
We would like to book this package for summer 2022 in the Coronado Springs resort, which should be eligible , but when I try to find it on the website it isn’t listed. Is this because it hasn’t opened yet?
Thanks!
Aline
Sorry for the previous double posting. I now have my confirmation invoice through. Cancellation fees are £50pp until and including 8 days before. After that you pay 100%. So while their ‘book with confidence’ has ended, this is still better than their previous T&Cs which were 56 days before you lost the deposit and then percentage of the total incrementally after that.
I’m really disappointed. I’m based in the UK and I’ve been waiting to hear what’s happening with free dining, hoping for a trip December 2022. We won’t be booking with this deal and will hold off until free dining (hopefully) returns. Love your blogs! Thanks
@Keith totally agree, you can give night discounts bases on rooms and nights, but giving “flat rate food credits ” based on the number of nights and not the people is a total non sense. As I mentioned, in 2019 the web site collapsed and you had to pass through several hours virtual queue. This year it is totally possible just to log in and book, showing that there is really low impact for the fans. By the way, I saw a deal in a common booking hotels site for my dates (end August/early September 2022) at the Dolphin, roughly it costs the same as the Caribbean after considering the infamous resort fee and the discount in the case of the Caribbean…Just in case could be interesting for anyone, now I am looking for pros and cons
Talk about serving the elite. I think it absolutely stinks that the dining credit is based per room and not per person, not to mention that that you have to stay at a more expensive hotel to get the better deal. So the more children you have and the less money you have, the more you get screwed!
$850 in a moderate for 2 weeks with a family of 4 will not even last a week.
This is a terrible deal for UK guests and will put a lot of people off without doubt!
Just a quick editing note – on your breakdown fig rack Tier per night you’ve repeated tier 1 where you meant tier 3.
And a bit of cancellation policy info. It’s back to the standard UK cancellation t&c which is a forfeit of your £50pp deposit up to a set number of days before (usually 56 days) and then percentages of the total after that at different intervals. The CM I amended my booking with today to change to this package gave me a different number of days, but that’s not what I’m seeing on the t&c page online so I’m waiting on the email to confirm exact dates. But UK peeps should expect standard t&c that we’ve always had, and not the ‘book with confidence’ ones we’ve had recently which guaranteed a full refund for any reason up to 7 days before.
Hope this helps a bit.
Just a quick editing note – on your breakdown fig rack Tier per night you’ve repeated tier 1 where you meant tier 3.
And a bit of cancellation policy info. It’s back to the standard UK cancellation t&c which is a forfeit of your £50pp deposit up to a set number of days before (usually 56 days) and then percentages of the total after that at different intervals. The CM I amended my booking with today to change to this package gave me a different number of days, but that’s not what I’m seeing on the t&c page online so I’m waiting on the email to confirm exact dates. But UK peeps should expect standard t&c that we’ve always had, and not the ‘book with confidence’ ones we’ve had recently which guaranteed a full refund for any reason up to 7 days before.
Hope this helps a bit.
@Anna really glad to be helpful, you can also check the attraction tickets deal and go for the 250 dollars gift card…That’s another weird point, they give dollars, not pounds or even euros…
I made my maths today and I will need to add roughly 1000 euros out of the pocket to keep some table meals that my family would like to keep, some snacks etc for 10 days.The deal is really a bad deal, but as I said before we need some illusion here in Spain…
Cheers!
What happens if you already booked booked 5 rooms at Disney all stars resort for aug 2022 can I still get the deal
Disney has not really produced a decent enough offer for us to consider booking for aug 2022 . We are a family of 6 and visited 5 times with the free quick counter dining plan and free refillable resort mug always been included, without this offer i think it would be more worth our while switching to another hotel outside of Disney (universal).
Hi Tim, do you think if they bring back the paid for DDP, that you will be able to use the credit to pay towards it?
Cheers
Tom.
Again as said earlier I really enjoy your blogs from over here in the UK. Really gutted that the dining plan isn’t yet announced (or may not be!). It really makes our trips as family of 4 special as we get to eat in loads of amazing restaurants. By my reckoning the current deal only covers 4-5 meals! So fingers crossed the meal plan comes back and that animal kingdom lodge or port Orleans repens!
Keep up the good work!
Ok good advice thank you
@mrmoonlight Thanks for that! Super helpful….at least another $200 potentially towards food etc! Good idea about the pre-paying gift cards without DDP though – definitely takes the stress out of things! Thanks again.
@Anna, yes definitively you can. Some people use this as a substitution of the dinning plan, just buying gift cards so everything is “prepaid”.
We used the gift card mostly for the tips, yep, controversial question for Europeans hehehe
Hey Tom,
Reader from UK here. Love your blogs. Brightens our days in a miserable England atm. We’re disappointed at the offer overall…definitely step down from the old free dining, but I just had a quick question. Can you use a Disney gift card in restaurants? Basically, could you add that €200 potentially onto your Disney gift card for your dining budget, so giving you $1150 max at a deluxe resort?
Thanks!
Anna
Puedes mover fechas , en el peor de los casos ,te cobran 65 eur por modificar
@Steve, my proposal is that you book now with this offer paying the minimum deposit and afterwards you ask to change to any potential best offer.