2025 Disney Dining Plan Price Increases
2025 Disney Dining Plans prices are now known thanks to Walt Disney World’s release of vacation packages for next year. Like clockwork, there are price increases–especially unsurprising given food inflation. This covers how costs have changed for kids and adults on the various tiers of DDP, plus our commentary about potential explanations for new pricing.
Let’s start with the potentially bad news, which is that only the Quick-Service Disney Dining Plan (QSDDP) and standard or regular Disney Dining Plan (DDP) are currently available for 2025 Walt Disney World vacation packages. The Deluxe Disney Dining Plan (DxDDP) and Disney Dining Plan Plus (DDP+) are still unavailable (for now).
There’s nothing to say Walt Disney World couldn’t bring these back later this year or early next–the DDP+ originally launched in late February, so it’s not as if product launches have to coincide with the release of vacation packages…but it’s certainly not a promising sign for the return of those two top tiers. The good news is that the Quick Service and regular Disney Dining Plan have always been far and away the most popular tiers, and those are again being offered for 2025.
As was the case pre-closure, Walt Disney World has not released official pricing for the 2025 Quick Service Disney Dining Plan (QSDDP) or the regular 2025 Disney Dining Plan (DDP), so we’ve reverse-engineered the pricing by selecting a January 2025 travel date for one night at All Star Sports, and done the math ourselves to remove the costs of the required park tickets.
Not publishing prices of the Disney Dining Plan upfront is a way of obfuscating costs and avoiding sticker shock on individual package components. Walt Disney World must’ve determined that a package total increasing by a couple thousand extra dollars was preferable to displaying a daily dining cost for whatever reason.
This approach also allows Walt Disney World to, at least in theory, quietly raise the price of the Disney Dining Plan or institute seasonal surcharges during peak times of year, like Thanksgiving or Christmas. The good news here is that the bumps in 2025 Disney Dining Plan prices are fairly mild. (Assuming there aren’t higher prices for those peak dates–which is possible especially since November and December 2025 vacation packages are not yet available).
Based upon our theoretical 2025 Walt Disney World travel dates, per night pricing for the DDPs is as follows:
- Quick Service Disney Dining Plan: $59.14 per adult and $24.71 per child
- Disney Dining Plan (standard): $97.79 per adult and $30.56 per child
These prices all include tax, but guests must pay for tips or gratuity out of pocket. Children 3-9 must order from the kids menus; under age 3 eat free from an adult’s plate.
For reference, here are 2024 Disney Dining Plan prices:
- Quick Service Disney Dining Plan: $57.01 per adult and $23.83 per child
- Disney Dining Plan (standard): $94.28 per adult and $29.69 per child
For those who don’t want to do the math, here are the increases for 2025:
- Quick Service Disney Dining Plan: +$2.13 per adult and +$0.88 per child
- Disney Dining Plan (standard): +$3.51 per adult and +$0.87 per child
2020 Disney Dining Plan prices were as follows:
- Quick Service Disney Dining Plan: $55 per adult and $26 per child
- Disney Dining Plan (standard): $78.01 per adult and $30.51 per child
- Disney Dining Plan Plus: $94.61 per adult and $35 per child
- Deluxe Disney Dining Plan: $119 per adult and $47.50 per child.
…and 2019 Disney Dining Plan prices:
- Quick Service Disney Dining Plan: $52.50 per adult and $23.78 per child
- Disney Dining Plan (standard): $75.49 per adult and $27.98 per child
- Deluxe Disney Dining Plan: $116.25 per adult and $43.49 per child.
Here’s what each tier of the 2025 Disney Dining Plan offers:
Quick-Service Disney Dining Plan Details:
- 2 Quick-Service Meals Per Night of Stay
- 1 Snack or Nonalcoholic Beverage Per Night of Stay
- 1 Resort-Refillable Mug Per Trip
Regular Disney Dining Plan Details:
- 1 Quick-Service Meal Per Night of Stay
- 1 Table-Service Meal Per Night of Stay
- 1 Snack or Nonalcoholic Beverage Per Night of Stay
- 1 Resort-Refillable Mug Per Trip
This is an apples-to-apples comparison to the 2024 Disney Dining Plan, as nothing has changed between the two years. However, that’s not true as compared to prior years. Starting with 2024, Walt Disney World reduced the number of snacks available on the Disney Dining Plans from 2 to 1 per night.
When it comes to typical guest behavior, this was an easy thing to cut to achieve cost-savings, as many people either wasted snack credits previously or used them to stock up on stuff to take home from Goofy’s Candy Co. at the end of their trips. Not only did it achieve cost-savings for the company, but it also decreased the utility and value of both tiers of the DDP.
In past breakdowns, we’ve ascribed a $5 value for each snack credit. Given current menu prices, that’s probably $6 now. So if you added $6 back into the 2024/2025 Disney Dining Plan prices versus 2020 and earlier for an accurate apples to apples comparison, there would be even more significant increases across the board–especially for adults.
Honestly, these price increases aren’t as bad as they could be. Inflation has hit the cost of food especially hard, with the prices of essentials like bacon and butter up big time. You’re no doubt well aware of this, as at least 50% of you see it firsthand while grocery shopping, and the only half either hear about the high price of food or see it for yourselves on receipts. This is no big secret and no one has been immune.
According to the USDA, the CPI for all food increased 0.6 percent from December 2023 to January 2024, and food prices were 2.6 percent higher year-over-year. The food-away-from-home (restaurant purchases) CPI increased 0.5 percent in January 2024 and was 5.1 percent higher year-over-year.
In other words, the price increases for the 2025 Disney Dining Plan are actually below the 5.1% rate of inflation for restaurants. That’s the more relevant statistic since it accounts for labor and other input costs at restaurants, which are obviously different from grocery stores.
As always, you’ll want to do the math to determine whether the 2025 Disney Dining Plan is right for your party. However, you’ll need to wait until October 2024 to do that math if you’re visiting in early 2025–or possibly February 2025 if you’re visiting later in the year. Although Walt Disney World adjusts restaurant prices throughout the year, the start of the new fiscal year and/or calendar year are the times when across-the-board increases typically occur.
Given the aforementioned food inflation, it’s a foregone conclusion that Walt Disney World will raise restaurant menu prices at least once between now and next March. So doing the math on the 2025 Disney Dining Plan vs. paying out of pocket right now is pointless, because you don’t know what menu prices will be next year. By contrast, the DDP price is already locked in–at least through October 2025.
For us personally–as a party of 2 adults with no kids over age 3 next year–menu prices would need to increase rather significantly to make the regular 2025 Disney Dining Plan worth it. I was actually just doing the math two days ago on whether or not to add the DDP to an upcoming Walt Disney World stay that’ll be character dining-heavy, and it wasn’t even a close call for us–whereas it would’ve made perfect sense back in 2019/2020. The dealbreaker for us is booze–we never order alcohol anymore, and that’s pretty much necessary to bridge the gap.
Of course, those are our unique circumstances and yours could differ. For example, if you’re a solo parent with triplets who are 9 years old and would buy the Quick-Service Disney Dining Plan, there’s a still good chance the 2025 Disney Dining Plan will work out in your favor. At the other end of the spectrum, an older couple doing primarily Signature Restaurants shouldn’t even consider the DDP. We can tell you without breaking down the numbers that it won’t work out for you.
If you want to read more about most common circumstances when the DDP does or does not make sense, see When You Should Buy & Skip the Disney Dining Plan! That’s a long read, but it provides a breakdown of different demographics that likely will–and will not–benefit from buying the DDP.
When all is said and done, my guess is that average menu price increases will outpace the Disney Dining Plan for the remainder of this year and 2025.
The theory here is that Walt Disney World has reached its price ceiling with the Disney Dining Plan or come very close to it, but individual component prices could go higher when sold a la carte. That they probably don’t want to break the $100 per day barrier for adults with the regular Disney Dining Plan, and that even now, prices are pushing it. (Probably a big part of why Walt Disney World hides the sticker price of the DDP.)
Now, food costs are even higher. Consumers might be more willing to pay this impulsively and in smaller increments, but balk if the regular Disney Dining Plan is priced at $100 per person per day. The takeaway from all of this should not be “wow, Walt Disney World is really generous” with such insignificant price increases. I mean, I guess you’re welcome to that charitable conclusion. My suspicion, supported by plenty of past precedent, is that there’s a catch.
I’d really love to be wrong, but I feel like another shoe is going to drop, and we’ll find out the clever new ways Walt Disney World is leveraging “shrinkflation” and “skimpflation” with the 2025 Disney Dining Plan. Perhaps I’m being overly cynical, but it just seems too good to be true.
One way that Walt Disney World could quietly cut costs with the Dining Plans is by reducing their maximum value. There are a few of ways to accomplish this, one of which has already happened with the removal of the snack. Others are more sneaky.
The one that we’ve already seen play out in the past is reducing the number of high-dollar menu items. This happened during the phased reopening, and particularly apparent at counter service restaurants with many of the pricier combo meals no longer being offered.
Along these lines, another possibility would be excluding certain menu items from the Disney Dining Plan. Maybe the Sampler at Flame Tree BBQ or the Cedar Plank Salmon at Polite Pig won’t be offered to those on the Disney Dining Plan.
It’s possible that what qualifies as a snack will change, and fewer prepared items will make the cut. That’s already true with the 2024 Disney Dining Plan at some locations, but thankfully, it hasn’t impacted EPCOT festival booths yet!
Another possibility is an expansion of what’s 2-credits on the Disney Dining Plan. Signature Restaurant status might be bestowed upon more restaurants. That already happened this year with Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (at lunch and dinner only) in EPCOT and Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White in Wilderness Lodge. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Topolino’s Terrace, 1900 Park Fare, or Chef Mickey’s receive similar status “upgrades.”
Optimistically, perhaps none of this will happen. Even then, smaller portion sizes, cheaper ingredients, and reduced quality are all already happening by Walt Disney World’s own admission. So this will impact the Disney Dining Plan by extension, as equivalent menu items ordered today or in 2025 (to the extent that they exist) won’t be on par with their ~2019 counterparts.
If Walt Disney World is going to cut anything from the Disney Dining Plan, I would (selfishly) love for booze to be removed. For one thing, a large portion of people cannot order alcohol–Disney Adults who are under 21 years of age. For another, there’s an ever-increasing percentage of the population that does not drink at all, especially those under age 35.
Finally, Walt Disney World is a family-friendly place. While I take absolutely zero issue with responsible adults having the option to purchase alcohol in all of the theme parks, I don’t think Disney should be actively incentivizing the practice. (Same story with the dessert parties. Having it available for purchase is one thing; implicitly encouraging consumption by making it part of the value-proposition is another entirely.) Removing the booze and reducing prices a bit would be a net positive for a lot of guests–and certainly better than cutting corners elsewhere or eclipsing the $100 mark.
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’s your take on the 2025 Disney Dining Plan pricing increases? Do you use the DDP for eating at Walt Disney World? What advantage or disadvantages do you think it offers? Would you be happy with price decreases and the removal of alcohol, or does booze add a lot of value to the DDP for you? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of the Disney Dining Plan? 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!
I am wondering if anyone has been able to “trade” a quick service credit for 3 snacks since the Dining Plan has been reinstated? This would be very helpful at food festival booths and might make it worth it to buy the QS plan if a group was planning on spending a lot of time at Epcot.
I’m Hoping my PICKY EATER gets better by our next trip in 2025.
since He would b on Kids Dining Plan, I’m wondering if some of his credits could b used at 2 credit places if he ISN’T WITH US.
If hubby and I do a Date night and have babysitter for Our son. Could we use Some of his Table service credits for Us???
Kids credits have to be used for kids meals, they distinguish the two now, so I don’t believe it would work unless he was an adult credit. I would calculate if it would be worth it to just say he’s 10 and get him on the adult plan. That way there would be no distinction. It would be something to think about.
I will be going with a party of 8 and we will not be purchasing the dining plan. Personally, it is overpriced, imo, even with the rising food costs. I especially do not like the fact that everyone in your party is forced to purchase it. Disney should rethink this policy.
We are not getting the DDP because of having two teens who are not drinking alcohol, the loss of a snack credit, and the inability to use a quick service for three snacks. Just not worth my hard earned money!
I agree with doing away with alcohol on DDP and let people buy separate. (I honestly would prefer to see alcohol in parks go away altogether but I know I am in tbe minority there) Or at least let us sub a dessert in place of the alcohol. We did not purchase the DDP for our January trip and came out ahead. The only problem was the hubby would see the receipt instead of just scanning our band for ddp which made it look better. Lol
I may be something, but it does not appear as though alcohol is included on either plan since they both state “non-alcoholic” beverage. Is it included it the DDP? The QSDP? Both?
We just returned today from an 11 day stay and purchased the dining plan for our stay (with 2 kids -11 years old) so all of us were “adults” and while I like the convenience of the plan, I so wish they’d give us the option of appetizer or dessert and something to replace the alcoholic beverage for my kids as thats a perk that’s factored into their pricing for adults. Yes they can get a nonalcoholic drink but the difference in price for an alcoholic drink and nonalcoholic is sometimes $10 and for an 11 day stay, that adds up very quickly.
DDP is frustratingly dessert-heavy for my family. We prefer the option of an appetizer or dessert. The alcohol inclusion is also valueless when you’re being charged for adult dining prices but have children or young adults aged 10-20. Pricing Disney dining, DDP or no, has honestly become a nauseating aspect of planning ever since my kids turned 10. Incidentally, Aulani was cool about letting big kids still be kids, in a most un-Disney-like manner. Servers offered my 13-year old the option of the children’s menu at Off the Hook and Ama Ama last week.
I know Walt Disney World is far less accommodating at table service restaurants than CS (where you can just do Mobile Order and sidestep any issues), but has that been your experience for ages 10-13? I sorta just assumed that it’d only be an issue when using the DDP or at buffets, or for someone who clearly is an adult–not a borderline child.
The removal of one of the snacks was another erosion of the customer experience along with the myriad of others that have been covered on this site. “Nickel and diming” customers ain’t cool.
The more children you have, the better sense the dining plans make from what I have seen. As child costs are “cheap” by Disney standards. Character meals also help make the “value” worth it. We have 4 children and always do several character meals, so the dining plan typically works out for us mathematically. Its not a ton, but it is some savings vs menu prices.
This is 100% accurate, which is why we used the example of a single parent with triplets as being an ideal use case for the DDP. Basically, the more children and fewer adults, the better.
That was the big change last year (kids prices actually decreased!), and here was our analysis at the time:
As for the “why” of reducing prices for kids rather than adults, it’s likely that families are the demographic that Walt Disney World wants to target with the Disney Dining Plans. Perhaps combing through data from 2018-2020 revealed that fewer families and more couples were purchasing the DDPs, and Walt Disney World wants to reverse that trend. (Anecdotally, this would track with what we’ve observed and heard from readers.)
Speculating further, our assumption is that families with small children do not use the Disney Dining Plan nearly as efficiently as couples or those with older children. Young kids are less predictable, and credits may go to waste as a result or not ‘optimized’ nearly as often. On average, the Disney Dining Plan spillage is probably much higher with this demo. There’s also probably less food inflation on core components of kids meals–especially at counter service spots–than there is on adult meals at table service restaurants.
Now that my youngest will be 10 years old soon, we will not be paying for the Disney Dining plan anytime soon. My daughter is extremely picky and doesn’t eat much so paying the adult price just doesn’t make sense because she would rather have what’s on the children’s menu. I do wish Disney would allow parents of 10 and 11 year olds to have the option to select either adult or child dining for kids those ages. I understand that some kids might eat portions that are large at age 10 but my kid’s certainly do not. That being said, we are Disney plus subscribers so we will get the free dining this summer when we go to Disney World, which I guess is a great value getting Dining free instead of paying adult prices for kids 10+. The only time we would take advantage of the dining plan in the future is if it’s free.
Money to make all these movies that no one wants to watch has to come from somewhere. It is quite tiresome that DIS management thinks that parks and cruise guests should be the source for that money.
Can’t argue with that.
It’s frustrating to no end that movies and shows for Disney+ have seemingly limitless budgets, are still awful (because money doesn’t buy quality), and go largely unwatched. Meanwhile, Walt Disney World is expected to be the goose that lays the golden eggs.
I’m very ready for the company to switch gears and start another investment cycle in the parks.
Completely right on the money.
Food inflation is a myth that has now been debunked, at least in Canada and I do not see why it would not be the same in the US with a bigger infrastructure and competition. Disney needs to do a better job contracting where their food comes from. Unless of course they are in on the “food inflation” as well. As mentioned in the comments about “rip off or not”, if the quality of food items justifies the price increase, great. Often, it is worse.
Usually when I hear people dispute government data about inflation, it’s that the administration is trying to ‘cook the books’ to make the number look artificially low. So food inflation being a myth is a new one to me. I’d like to read more about that if you have a link to share.
At the very least, labor costs are up for Disney–that’s indisputable. And labor costs are a significant source of the inflation at restaurants, even if we assume that food inflation isn’t real.
I track my grocery spend each month, and am paying about 30-40% more for groceries now than I was 3-4 years ago. So not sure if you are claiming it is fictitious excuse so companies can increase their profit or what, but it seems pretty real to me.
On a side note, if you take DDP prices for 2024 and compare to 2020 (plus $6 for the lost snack) they have gone up about 30% as well.
No matter how you measure it, inflation regularly varies across countries. Due to logistics, there’s often no way around it, and as Tom says WDW can’t be picked up and moved elsewhere.
Mike is correct that in Canada the grocery chains are making ridiculously high profits and pillaging their customer base. So the higher costs are actually not the input (i.e. food production and getting it to the store), but the gouging of the customers.
I can buy food cheaper in Hawaii than in Canada. And maybe cheaper at WDW or DL than in Canada. (That is still factoring in exchange rates. )
Perhaps I miffed that comment completely lol. Food inflation is real but the excuses behind it were used post pandemic. We are almost 3 years removed from that situation, yet the players continue to use those excuses to keep prices high. It is as if the pandemic allowed companies to see how high can we go before it comes to a breaking point. Disney is no different. In Canada, they have started to determine that big grocers have in fact been part of the problem. Record profits and eliminating a lot of discount options within the stores. So it begs to question, is Disney part of the problem when they can be part of the solution. And this is separate from worker wages. And it still comes back to value. Because not only do we deal with food inflation we are also dealing with shrinkflation at the same time.
Disney released two really bad dining plans just the other day what is there to consider? If you look at both of them it is bad for the consumer and a complete win for Disney. Pointing that out should be the priority of those bloggers who are supposedly here to educate us.