Disney Dining Plan in Star Wars Land
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge restaurants and dining spots in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World now accept the Disney Dining Plan! This is good news and a surprising development after online menus have indicated “Dining Plans Not Accepted.” In this post, we’ll give a rundown of what we know so far, and offer some recommendations for maximizing your credits in Star Wars Land.
After spending the morning in Walt Disney World’s version of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (or “East Batuu” as it’s being called) during the first day of Annual Passholders, this is my big takeaway. In actuality, my main observations all revolve around layout differences, color scheme changes, and the logistics in operating in Florida as compared to California.
However, I’m still exhausted after only getting a couple hours of sleep between last night’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and this morning’s Star Wars Land preview–so I’ll spare you what could devolve into incomprehensible ramblings on that front. Instead, we’ll take a look at a more straight-forward topic: which Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge restaurants accept the Disney Dining Plan…
I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere else, so my apologies if it’s already been covered and is “common knowledge” that the Disney Dining Plan will be accepted in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. (A quick Google search suggests that’s not the case.)
While updating recent posts about the Disney Dining Plan, we’ve been going by DisneyWorld.com’s own pages for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge locations. These indicate that the various dining spots in the new land will not accept the Disney Dining Plan.
That didn’t really come as a surprise. It’s not altogether uncommon for new restaurants to not accept discounts or the Dining Plan immediately. Walt Disney World claims that it “takes time to get new locations added” but we suspect the real motivation is the reality that Disney fans will flock to anything new, and the lack of a discount or Dining Plan eligibility won’t deter them.
With predictions and fears that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge would see colossal crowds upon opening at Walt Disney World, it seemed logical that its dining spots wouldn’t accept the Disney Dining Plan. Diehard fans would pay out of pocket anyway, and not accepting the DDP would function as a form of crowd control during Free Dining season, encouraging those guests to dine at less busy locations.
My assumption has been that Walt Disney World would wait until next year, pretending Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge didn’t exist (for DDP purposes) until January 2020. That’d make sense in terms of crowd control, initial hype, and Free Dining perspectives.
I’m surprised and pleased to see that’s not the case…
Pretty much everything in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that you’d think of as a snack is considered one on the Disney Dining Plan. The big things are the Green and Blue Milk, which we reviewed last week here.
Given the $8 price tag, these are definitely a good use of a snack credit. Unless you have credits to spare, we’d still recommend that you start by sharing to see if these appeal to your group’s palates.
The novelty bottles of Coca-Cola products are another good use of a Disney Dining Plan snack credit, if you’re going simply by their out of pocket cost.
It is worth noting here that these are simply (smaller) bottles of Coke packaged differently. Fun for photos, but no different from the larger Cokes that cost less all around Walt Disney World. Definitely not “worth” $6 in the first place unless you’re a collector.
The desserts at Star Wars Land’s main counter service restaurant also count as a snack credit. As we said in our full review of Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo, we love these.
While we haven’t reviewed Ronto Roasters yet, we also love the Rising Moons Overnight Oats. This is another good use of a snack credit. By contrast, the non-alcoholic drinks at Docking Bay 7 and Ronto Roasters are all poor uses of a snack credit, and just generally poor drinks. (Unless you’re sugar water enthusiast.)
While it’s great that all of these items will be available for snack credits, the biggest news is that both Ronto Roasters and Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo are on the Disney Dining Plan as counter service restaurants. Probably.
I want to really stress that probably here. I spoke with multiple Cast Members in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and this was the answer I kept receiving. Since this is day one of an Annual Passholder preview (read: a demo not frequently using the Disney Dining Plan), I’m guessing it’s not a common question right now.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the Disney Dining Plan to put this to the test. I have no reason to doubt that these restaurants accept the Disney Dining Plan given Cast Members said they do, but since I can’t confirm with a firsthand order and it’s not officially written anywhere, I still want to treat this as “rumor” at this point.
Assuming this unconfirmed info is accurate, Docking Bay 7 also instantly becomes one of the top uses of a counter service credit at Walt Disney World. The Smoked Kaadu Ribs and Braised Shaak Roast will be your top picks here.
Overall, this may not be the hot off the presses news or first impressions from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge for which you were hoping, but we think this is a moderately big deal for those planning trips to Walt Disney World. We know a lot of you are taking advantage of one of the three waves of 2019 Free Dining, and this puts into play a bunch of dining options in the year’s biggest addition. That’s probably more interesting and relevant to you than color scheme differences and the other assorted geekery I’ll inevitably write about once I’m a little less tired.
If you’re planning on visiting the new land, you’ll also want to read our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Guide. This covers a range of topics from basics about the land and its location, to strategically choosing a hotel for your stay, recommended strategy for the land, and how to beat the crowds. It’s a good primer for this huge addition. As for planning the rest of your trip, we have a comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide as well as a thorough Walt Disney World Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts
Is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge accepting the Disney Dining Plan big news for you? Will you add Docking Bay 7 to your itinerary now? If you’ve attended an Annual Passholder preview and used the Disney Dining Plan on a counter service meal in Star Wars Land, please let us know! 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!
Tom, I successfully used a QS credit at Docking Bay (and had a beer to milk the value) during my AP preview! 🙂
Will the dining plan be accepted at Oga’s Cantina as a table service credit?
Exact information I was looking for! I told my son that he can’t have blue/green milk if it ain’t on the dining plan. I’m not paying $8 for a cup of milk.
It’s not milk though….please do your research.
Please tell me those ribs and blueberry cornbread are as delicious as they look! My mouth is watering over those beauties.
Yep, they are. Full review: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/review-docking-bay-7-restaurant-star-wars-land/
We ate there last night and maybe it was the lingering effects of the jambalaya we had at Boatwrights the night before or the nausea my wife had from Smugglers Run, but we weren’t too impressed. I had the ribs, but she thought the chicken and Mac & cheese kids meal was ok.
Almost forgot that we tried the sausage in a pita thing from Rontos Roasters. I like that much better than the ribs from docking bay 7
Has there been any word on whether or not Tables in Wonderland will be accepted at Oga’s?
Add me to the list of those who would be interested in your thoughts and commentary on the differences between East and West Batuu. I’d also be keen to hear your perspective on the expandability potential of WDW Galaxy’s Edge – I’ve seen some reports that there may be extra spaces that could still be developed at HS.
Are you familiar with the Star Wars hotel going up next to Galaxy’s Edge outside of Hollywood studios? https://www.disneytouristblog.com/star-wars-resort-announced-disney-world/. Given that, I’d bet Disney would try to squeeze out a different theme rather than expand a current theme, but what do I know?
Honestly, I’m far MORE interested in the color scheme changes and other geeky things. Having visited the California version, I don’t get many of the fan complaints about this land. It’s not flawless, but it’s pretty darn strong from a thematic/design perspective.
“I don’t get many of the fan complaints about this land.”
I’m mostly on the same page. I don’t think it’s perfect, but the criticisms are overblown. I think a lot of people are trying to use the land as a conduit for projecting/vindicating other grievances they have with Star Wars and/or Disney.
That’s “working” for now because attendance at Disneyland has been lower than expected. I’d expect a lot of those critiques to fade away once December hits and the land is crowded at Walt Disney World. Of course, there’s a lot of time for complaints between now and then, and there’s also the chance that I’m wrong.
Tom, I want to be very clear: there is no part of me *not* interested in a lengthy Tom Bricker ramble about the various differences observed between the two Batuus.
I’m totally interested in the color scheme differences, layout, little things, etc! Bring on the details!
Im glad the DDP will be accepted at SWGE but I agree it IS a way for Iger to boost the numbers for Wall Street analysts…but,hey, now I hopefully wont have to shell out an extra $12.99 for a Ronto Wrap in November!
I saw logo on some pictures of menus from cast member preview. Good to see it’s confirmed.
Tom – thanks for the tips. We will be at the preview Monday evening and was wondering about dinner options.
I am going in Nov. I am not a SW fan, but might be going with people who are. What will be the protocol then and have you heard how we will reserve time in SWL? They will be first time to Disney parks peeps and I want to help them with reservations, etc…
Reservations for Oga’s Cantina, Savi’s (build a lightsaber) and the Droit Depot (build a droid) came out a week or two ago! Better check on your dates ASAP as most are gone already. Best of luck!
If holding off on the DDP at new restaurants is based on “novelty crowds” as you describe, could this change for GE indicate that Disney’s internal projections are now suggesting the disappointing crowd levels at Disneyland are going to be repeated at WDW?
That’s one possibility. I definitely think all of the fear for September is overblown–our prediction for that month has been low crowds since the opening date was announced.
Another possibility is that Disney wants to use the DDP to inflate the land’s food & beverage numbers. Even during “Free Dining,” Disney assigns a dollar value to each credit for internal accounting purposes (and payment to third party vendors). Let’s say a snack credit is $4. If 1,000 snack credits per day are redeemed on Blue Milk, all of the sudden that’s $4,000 in additional sales that Blue Milk has done. It makes the land’s numbers look better, and less like the milks and novelty Coke bottles are overpriced.
Never mind the reality that someone using the DDP might’ve redeemed those credits for a bottle of water or coffee somewhere else.
We are booked for January and also wondering how we arrange for the 4 hour window at SWGE? Also any word on free dining that isnt bounce back for 2020?
Tom
We have a season dining plan at a local theme park, and when we use the plan for a meal or snack, the price that rings up (not that we are charged anything, other than purchasing the dining plan initially for the season) is always more (often several dollars more) than the menu price if the items. I wonder if WDW does the same to make their numbers look better.
Thank you for sharing – I was hoping for this news, and glad you updated us!
I apologize as I realize this is a post on the DDP, but if I could ask your advice on AP preview strategy?
We are Monday morning and the photos I saw today look quite scary for crowds. We do have a reservation for Savi’s lightsaber building, but don’t know our scheduled time. Does it make sense to wander the land, try to see if we can get into Oga’s, hit the shops, Smugglers run, etc. and then hit Docking Bay 7 at the end of our allotted time?
No clue how to make the best of our 4 hours.
Thanks
I’ll have an AP preview recap that should cover all of that!
I hope you hurry! Monday is tomorrow, after all! I’m also going tomorrow, building a lightsaber. Sadly I have no idea which of the 4 themes I should get. Feel free to make suggestions, otherwise I suppose I’m going to wing it!
We were there Saturday from about 10:40am to about 2:30pm with a 9yo and a 3yo in tow. We didn’t haven’t reservations to Oga’s or Savi’s and the lines were pretty consistent for both the entire time. They looked pretty long to me but not crazy. But, we wanted to explore the land more than wait in line so we didn’t even do the Droid Depot which had similar lines although no reserved times (I think). The line for the Millenium Falcon was lowest at about 35 minutes right before the next ‘wave’ of previewers so I saw a lull a little before the 1pm crowd got there. Once a new ‘wave’ entered, the queue went up to about 55 or so minutes. It was mostly around 50 minutes the entire time. The ride queue moves quickly, isn’t too hot and is entertaining. We also hit the Docking Bay 7 about 1pm and right before a downpour. Had to wait but it moved quickly. But, since it was pouring outside, we had to circle several times inside to find a place for 4 to sit. People were claiming tables and the rest of the party waited in line. I didn’t think the land itself was overcrowded so I wouldn’t worry too much about crowds. Just expect lines for pretty much any and everything. There were several photopass opportunities and some had long lines and others were quick.
Is there any way you could do a d23 predictions it would definitely be entertaining. Thanks
Yep, just have to finish my MNSSHP and SWGE preview posts first. Probably on Wednesday!