When Will Disney World’s Dining Plan Return?
“When will the Disney Dining Plan return in 2023?” and “will Walt Disney World bring back Free Dining?” are common reader questions. We’ll try to answer based on what we know about the prepaid meal plan and this popular discount, plus an earnings call update, restaurant capacity, crowds, staffing shortages, and more. (Updated December 19, 2022.)
When the parks & resorts reopened, Walt Disney World temporarily suspended the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) and cancelled Free Dining, along with several other things. In the time since, Walt Disney World has restored or announced the return of most offerings, with the pace of this dramatically accelerating last summer. That should underscore the temporary nature of these changes–the vast majority of which are not irreversible or permanent.
However, the Disney Dining Plan is not (yet) among the things to return–despite the company releasing a statement last summer that it would be back soon. If you want to be notified when the Disney Dining Plan’s return is announced, you can subscribe to our free email newsletter for instant alerts. For now, here’s everything you need to know about when the Disney Dining Plan might return this year or in 2023. If you’ve already read this post in the past, scroll down to the “December 2022 Update” section for the latest developments, which are really more like the absence of action.
We should start by addressing a common misconception: Disney eliminated the Dining Plan as a cost-cutting measure. This is patently false. The Dining Plan is actually incredibly lucrative and advantageous for Walt Disney World in normal times. The Disney Dining Plan is a primarily a revenue engine, but one that’s also perceived as a perk by guests. It was truly a win-win for company and consumer. As such, it’s a matter of when the Disney Dining Plan will return, not if it will.
The big caveat here is the “in normal times” part of that. Right now, Walt Disney World is seeing record-breaking per guest spending, which is up a staggering 40% as compared to 2019. Consequently, it’s entirely possible that guests paying out of pocket are spending more on average for their food than they would with the Disney Dining Plan. That’s just a guess on our part, and even if true, that level of pent-up demand won’t last forever.
One of the biggest reasons Walt Disney World offers the DDP is because it keeps guests on-site. If guests are already locked-into all of their meals at Walt Disney World, they’re less likely to venture to Universal, SeaWorld, and so on. Even if they do, Disney already has their money for those meals.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch–Disney benefits from the Dining Plan by capturing guests’ vacation dollars and boxing visitors into making all of their purchases at Walt Disney World, where every price has an on-site premium. Moreover, guests using the Disney Dining Plan order more than those who pay out of pocket.
This is quantifiable. Historically, per guest food & beverage spending is lower among guests who do not use the Disney Dining Plan than those who do. Consider how many guests on the DDP end up stockpiling Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie Treats at the end of their trips because they have so many unused snack credits. Now think of how many guests do not do that, and instead just let snack–or even table service–credits go to waste.
In normal times, the portion of guests who save money on the Disney Dining Plan is relatively small. Sure, you can consult online tips and hacks to leverage it to your advantage, but most people don’t have the time or desire for that level of work.
The vast majority of the park-going public is not reading blogs like this one to meticulously research and plan their Walt Disney World vacation. They want the simplicity of an “all-inclusive” meal plan and costs known up front. They don’t care (or realize) they’re potentially wasting money or credits. Suffice to say, when it comes to the DDP, the House of Mouse (almost) always wins.
That’s not the only way that the House of Mouse almost always wins. In our Disney Dining Plan Info & Review post, we reverse-engineer a dollar value for each type of DDP credit, with $45 being the amount ascribed to a table service credit. Walt Disney World does the same and sets a reimbursement rate for the many third party restaurants operating in the parks and at Disney Springs.
If a third-party table restaurant accepts the Dining Plan, they’re repaid at a set rate–often below the cost of the meal. For example, the third party might be paid $25 by Walt Disney World for each credit that’s redeemed, even though the guest is ordering $40 worth of food. Without the Dining Plan, Disney is missing out on this cut of business at most restaurants in World Showcase and Disney Springs.
This is the traditional analysis of why the Dining Plan benefits Walt Disney World, but it fails to account for on-the-ground circumstances. To that point, it’s worth addressing inflation and the wave of price increases on hundreds of food items at Walt Disney World.
This occurred once towards the start of the year, and again in late 2022. The latest wave of price increases were more comprehensive and sweeping, with everything from snacks (again) to character dining experiences going up in price. This latter one is particularly significant, because character meals are particularly popular with guests who typically purchase the Disney Dining Plan.
Our strong suspicion has always been that higher menu prices made the Disney Dining Plan more attractive and pushed guests towards it. People comparing menu prices to package prices would see that, even though the DDP is pricey, so too are individual entrees, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc.
At least, this has always been our theory, and the past precedent of both increasing around the same time made it plausible. It’s thus always notable when Walt Disney World increases menu prices, as that could be a sign that they’re preparing for the return of the DDP.
Then there’s inflation, which has dominated the real world news and has been a major problem for Americans everywhere. It’s no secret that inflation has hit the cost of food especially hard. The USDA tracks a breakdown in its Food Price Outlook page, which shows that the cost of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs in particular has all skyrocketed.
It should go without saying, but businesses attempt to pass higher costs on to consumers. This is clearly what’s happening at grocery stores, but the USDA’s “food away from home” index shows that restaurants have not increased in lockstep with grocery stores on the CPI. This is despite higher ingredients costs and higher labor costs.
We’ve noticed this at Walt Disney World restaurants in the time since reopening. Don’t get us wrong–table service entrees are very pricey at Disney, but they have been for years. That’s nothing new. Walt Disney World’s aforementioned price increases disproportionately impact snacks and other impulse purchases and not items that have seen the highest inflation.
One potential industry-wide explanation is trepidation among restaurants about their ability to pass on higher prices to consumers without seeing a corresponding drop in demand. Those same concerns likely exist with the Disney Dining Plan. Even in the last few years pre-closure, the rate of its price increases had slowed significantly. Menu item increases had outpaced Disney Dining Plan price increases pre-closure, making the DDP a better value in early 2020 than it was in ~2017.
The theory for that was Walt Disney World had reached its price ceiling (or close to it) with the Disney Dining Plan, but not with individual component prices. Now, food costs are even higher. Consumers might be more willing to pay this impulsively and in smaller increments, but balk at a ~$90 regular Disney Dining Plan. The company thus might modify (a positive spin on “reduce”) what each tier of the DDP includes to keep margins high.
It’s also possible that food inflation is one reason why the company has been hesitant to bring back the Disney Dining Plan. If guests are able to pre-pay for their food 6 months to a year in advance, they are able to lock-in current prices to some degree. With so much volatility in food and other input costs, Disney may view this as problematic. Of course, this is all totally speculative–but predictability and pricing psychology are important to Disney.
Also important to Walt Disney World is having sufficient restaurant capacity for the demand induced by the Disney Dining Plan. This was a significant problem for much of the last 2 years and a big reason why the Disney Dining Plan was temporarily suspended in the first place.
This is still a consideration, but not nearly to the degree that it once was. Most restaurants have reopened, to the point that the number of locations that are unavailable is fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of Walt Disney World’s dining capacity (See Open & Closed Restaurants at Walt Disney World). Additionally, restaurants that have been open for months have continued to scale up operations, bringing back breakfast, buffets, or other missing meal services.
This won’t materially change capacity, but it’s yet another significant step in restoring normalcy to Walt Disney World’s dining scene. It’s also indicative of Walt Disney World’s intentions to bring more back to normal with regard to missing meal services at its table service restaurants.
Character dining experiences continue returning and more restaurants are reopening. Akershus Royal Banquet Hall recently reopened for dinner, becoming the first face character meal to return in full form. (Well, ‘full’ form minus breakfast and lunch.) This is good news, but it’s happening slowly and with a tremendous amount of lead-time.
Other previously missing meals have been coming back in the last few months. This includes all meals at Crystal Palace: A Buffet with Character featuring Winnie the Pooh and Friends, Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast at Cape May Café, and ‘Ohana Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo and Stitch. The buffet at Tusker House also just returned this month.
Unfortunately, not everything is 100% on the character dining front. As of late December 2022, Cinderella’s Royal Table is open but still does not feature princesses. Likewise, Bon Voyage and 1900 Park Fare remain closed. Not to ruin the illusion, but Walt Disney World is currently experiencing a ‘princess shortage.’
As intimated above, staffing remains the key impediment to this across all Walt Disney World restaurants. The company has had tremendous difficulty filling certain key roles, and turnover is incredibly high–even as Disney hires aggressively, it has been losing employees almost as quickly as it can onboard them.
The result is many locations unable to operate at full capacity, and must leave many tables unfilled. Breakfast isn’t being offered at many restaurants because Disney can’t fill enough Cast Member shifts–adding breakfast to the slate would require cutting hours at dinner. This reinforces the reality that just because most restaurants are reopened doesn’t mean they’re firing on all cylinders. Dining capacity has improved, but is still pretty far from 100%.
Unfortunately, Walt Disney World fell (slightly) short of having complete operational normalcy by around the start of the new fiscal year last month. While giant strides have been made, it’s looking unlikely that things will be back to normal until 2023.
Nevertheless, Walt Disney World continues on its hiring spree of job fairs, dubbed the Hiring Celebration. There are big hiring events at the Casting Center on December 21 and every Wednesday in January 2023, with highlighted roles including Culinary & Quick Service Foods. The company is offering start bonuses for select roles, as well as higher wages.
With that said, there are a couple of positives on the staffing front: Cultural Representatives Have Returned to Walt Disney World. The international programs are smaller than the College Program, but nevertheless help restore capacity at a multitude of World Showcase restaurants. The bigger impact is that this frees up non-international Cast Members to move to other roles, thereby improving restaurant capacity elsewhere.
On another upbeat note, since the return of CEO Bob Iger, Cast Member morale has already started to improve significantly. Whether this translates into less turnover remains to be seen, but that’s our expectation. If that does happen, all of the lingering staffing shortages should be quickly resolved. (A recession or economic downturn would also eliminate that issue.)
Of course, all of this is not directly relevant to the imminent return of the Disney Dining Plan. Nevertheless, hopefully it offered helpful context explaining how and why the Dining Plan is a profit center for Walt Disney World and not just a guest perk, and also, how that analysis might differ in the current inflationary environment. Even if you’re a fan of the DDP who is personally able to leverage it to your advantage, it should be obvious that it’s also beneficial to Disney. It’s not like free FastPass+ or other perks that the company cut and will never bring back.
To all of the above points, Walt Disney World confirmed in an announcement about theme park early entry and extended evening hours on-site guest perks that the Disney Dining Plan will return, but that the company is “not quite ready to share an update on timing.” Disney indicated that the guest-favorite option would be back soon, with more updates on restaurants to come.
The operative question here is thus, when is it possible to bring back the Disney Dining Plan?
December 2022 Update
We’re back with an update, despite no major news or announcements about the return of the Disney Dining Plan. Readers continue to ask about it on a near-daily basis and there has been more incremental progress, so we have a look at that. However, we’ll warn you up front that you won’t find any official announcements or ‘seismic shifts’ here. If anything, it’s the lack of changes that’s conspicuous here.
It has now been over one full year (!!!) since Walt Disney World confirmed that the Disney Dining Plan would be back soon, but that they were “not quite ready” to make an announcement. Apparently Disney has a different definition of “soon” than do we.
Officially, nothing has changed with specific regard to the DDP since then. There have been appearances of the Disney Dining Plan in marketing materials and is still present on Walt Disney World’s official site. There continue to be a few “fakeouts” in Disneyworld.com booking process where it appears you can add the Disney Dining Plan, but nothing real.
Every new menu that goes up for the 2022 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays also features the DDP symbol next to eligible snacks, as if food & beverage teams are preparing for it to possibly return at any time. That has been the case over and over, and will probably occur again with 2023 EPCOT Festival of Arts menus. However, the company has not since stated that the Disney Dining Plan is returning imminently.
The bigger non-developments are two-fold. On December 15, Walt Disney World released its “Power of Magic” holiday deal for residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland, which is valid April 19 to September 30, 2023. In the past, this has routinely been a sneak peek at discounts and special offers that would be released for the United States. The 2023 holiday offer is for up to 4 free nights during a two-week vacation. That’s a disappointment to those fans who were hoping for the return of Free Dining.
We aren’t particularly surprised by this, and always expected the paid Disney Dining Plan to return long before Free Dining. There’s almost no chance that Walt Disney World would restore both simultaneously, as that would be slamming on the gas, going from 0 to 60 on the Disney Dining Plan when restaurant capacity still might not allow for that. However, it is definitely disappointing that this package doesn’t even include the option to add-on the Disney Dining Plan out of pocket.
This is the bigger disappointment, and what leads us to believe the Disney Dining Plan will not return on January 1, 2023. As that date has drawn nearer, it has increasingly become a longshot, but we had still held out a sliver of hope.
Also notable is that the next couple of weeks are the busiest time for booking next year’s vacations, which is precisely why that UK deal just dropped. Families gather and plan the year ahead, often with Disney+ on or while watching the ABC Christmas Day “Parade” (that has become a joke among diehard Disney fans, but it is absolutely huge as a marketing tool that drives vacation bookings).
Essentially, if Walt Disney World were on the precipice of restoring the Disney Dining Plan in early 2023, they’d have it ready right now. Walt Disney World will almost certainly release a huge special offer the first week of January, likely running through mid-September 2023. At this point, it’s a near-certainty that those packages will not include the Disney Dining Plan as an option, free or paid.
None of this should be a huge surprise or disappointment at this point–the wait is now measured in years rather than months now–but that’s nevertheless where things stand. While we still (strongly) believe the Disney Dining Plan will return at some point in 2023, we have become quite pessimistic as to when–and think the precise timing is going to be difficult to predict.
So, when could the Disney Dining Plan theoretically return in 2023? To borrow a line from Ernest Hemingway, change happens “gradually, then suddenly.” His famous quote about personal finances also applies to corporate ones, as well as supply and demand, economic outlooks, and even the return of the Disney Dining Plan. Thus far, progress to lay the groundwork for its return has epitomized a gradual change.
However, that could change suddenly. In particular, the resolution of staffing shortages resulting in across-the-board increases to restaurant capacity could collide with a slowdown in consumer spending and pent-up demand running its course. When (not if) that happens, the Disney Dining Plan’s expeditious return (at least to the extent Disney does anything “expeditiously”) won’t be too far behind.
With all of that in mind, our prediction for the Disney Dining Plan’s earliest likely return is March 1, 2023. This is not when we expect the DDP to come back, simply the earliest realistic return date.
As noted above, January 1, 2023 now is highly unlikely. While it would make sense to offer a “clean break” from one calendar year to the next, it’s probably too late to make that move with next year only a couple of weeks away. We’d put the chances of a January 2023 return at under 5% as a result.
Accordingly, we think it’s likely that the Disney Dining Plan won’t return during the winter off-season at all. If anything, Walt Disney World will wait until after what’s going to be a very busy Presidents’ Day and Mardi Gras, which will be over during the last few days in February 2023. That’ll bring with it another window of low crowds, which is the ideal time to bring back the DDP. At least, in theory.
In reality, that window is also relatively short before Spring Break and Easter all spike crowds for another couple of months before the pre-summer lull. As such, we think the likelihood that the Disney Dining Plan returns in March 2023 is around 25%, at best.
The most likely scenario is that Walt Disney World will opt to wait once again, not bringing back the Disney Dining Plan until April 10, 2023 or thereafter. At that point, it should be another relatively quiet stretch until attendance starts increasing for summer, which is expected to occur in mid-June 2023. This window between mid-April and May 2023 is when we do expect the Disney Dining Plan to return.
It’s entirely possible that it takes until then for pent-up demand to fizzle out, more missing meals to be restored, staffing shortages to be fully resolved, and less of a supply v. demand imbalance. The totality of those circumstances could pave the way for the Disney Dining Plan’s return and, right now, it seems like it’s still a few months from all of those pieces falling into place.
That’s a huge range of predictions, but as is pretty clear by now, we do not have a crystal ball, and circumstances continue to change. Given how lucrative the Dining Plan is for Walt Disney World in “normal times,” I never would’ve predicted it would be gone for this long. But clearly these are not normal times. In any case, you can sign up to our free email newsletter and we’ll keep you posted as soon as Walt Disney World makes an announcement or there’s more news regarding the DDP’s return in 2023.
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
When do you expect the Disney Dining Plan to return? Do you agree or disagree that it could still be a while with ADRs filling up and per guest spending skyrocketing? Think Walt Disney World will bring back the DDP in January, March, or April/May 2023? Or, do you think Disney will be more slow and conservative, waiting until pent-up demand fully fizzles out and spending starts decelerating? Would the Disney Dining Plan’s reinstatement make you more likely to book a trip? 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 really hope it’s back by October. I’m flying over from australia and spending 2 weeks at disneyworld. If it’s not back I would be more likely to go to Walmart and stock up on foods to take in or go to non Disney restaurants. I know the dining plan is there to make Disney money but I like having it prepaid and trying new things. If I’m purchasing it on the spot I’m really going to think twice with the aussie exchange rate if I really need that dole whip or Mickey shaped cookie
Disney is now largely an outdoor food court with a steep cover charge,.. featuring some distractions such as huge lines to stand in while you wait for your appetite to regenerate,. who’s to blame?
Well, what should I say! I’m from Canada, despite that Disney open DCRP with Canada, They haven’t introduced any promotion for Canadians residents in this entire year, not good, as we Canadians love WDW and enjoy it very hard! But, I have something to add here very interested, yesterday I was surf in Disney web and comparing hotel’s prices and on-side/outside hotels and after going through the process putting together a package (Hotel, theme ticket in a out-side hotel throughout Disney website at the end, at the moment to check out a quick dinning plan was add to me reservation automatic by the system, and the information of how it work. Obviously, I know how DDP work as we, my family had visit Disney for so many years and always we get the FDDP, we love it, worries free! In the reservation they explain the among of people in the reservation with the QDP 5 night X$40 per pax per night = $200 x pax Time 4 = $800 dollars, then I was super surprised, I tall to myself Amen!!, quickly back to Disney Resort to see if I was missing something like dinning plan has been add, but nope, very disappointed. For me I think that this mean, the are planning to bring it back by the end of the Summer perhaps end of August early Sept. Hopefully, my next arrival is plan for August 16-23/2022, will be nice to have not the DDP but the FDDP! The hotel I was looking up was the Residence Inn by Marriott at Flamenco!
About 10 days ago, I was on Disney site looking to see how far out I can make vacation reservations. It’s only until end of year, not for next fall. So I was perusing the site and came to the dining plan pages. After clicking on the level we like, a pop up survey was displayed. So of course I had to partake. It asked many questions regarding my interests in the dining plan. What I liked about it, which one I like to choose and why. It also asked if I would purchase a plan if made available. And then why or why not. I am hoping that was a positive move and it will be back before our next trip in September.
I would love to see it come back in August. WE have our vacation booked in September. Not holding my breath though. You are right Tom. When the money that people have saved up runs out and we go back to saving for a vacation, THAT is when Disney is going to see a big drop. Bob Chapek can say all he wants about park reservation and Genie+ being a success. The consumers presently have funds. It will run out. What then Bobby? Still plan on priming the pump? I love Disney. I wish we could have things back the way they were but it isn’t going to happen. THIS is our new normal.
Thanks for this update. It does sound like there are many factors encouraging this delay. We appreciate these updates and sense-making speculations as to why these delays are happening.
We are on property right now and have noticed some really odd “non-Disney” actions around food that seem strange. We are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge and have visited several other resorts and notice they are now “hiding” peanut butter and keeping their complimentary Twinning’s tea bags behind the cash registers! It’s really strange – but has been our experience this past week. As of late as last December, these were available to for customers to take freely.
I know that without the Dining Plan option that for breakfast we have shifted to buying English muffins in the shops and using the peanut butter to help counter costs like bus transport. If we had the meal plan, we wouldn’t be doing this as we would more likely be using quick service or snacks during this time.
When we ask if we can get some complimentary peanut butter or a tea bag, the cast members will gladly get some for us – but the “hide the peanuts butter” strategy seems to be a standard policy! Seriously, who is masterminding these short-term strategies which cheapen the guest experience??? It just seems bizarre and seems like a miserly action when guests are spending so much more money despite exponential increases across the board!
Honestly, when you consider how much we are paying, even this small perk being removed seems indicative of a bigger issue that might be inhibiting the return of the Dining Plan. Did the keys to the kingdom get lost during the pandemic? It seems like the old culture of “the Disney way” is still locked up and needing to be reopened…
Has anyone else noticed this same trend?
I feel like the peanut butter probably has more to do with allergies than cost cutting. Some kids are deathly allergic (like can’t even be near it without breaking out), I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an incident where someone had a severe reaction and the decision was made to move the peanut butter where guests couldn’t unknowingly stumble upon it.
There looks like being an announcement in the UK for more dining credits to be the offer for 2023. The date may 26th is when it will be dropped!
I don’t think the Dining Plan is going to return anytime soon (atleast not the free dining plan which is usually bundled in with hotel and park ticket bookings). Disney is about to release 2023 offers for UK residents visiting WDW and for select dates upto December 2023 it is again a Dining & merchandise credit which is being offered on room bookings. This offer goes live on May 26.
We are at Disney now and most of the restaurants offer such a limited menu it’s ridiculous. Well it actually wouldn’t be bad but the food has gone down hill so badly! We have always paid for the dining plan but a lot would have to happen before we would ever get it again.
If Disney is having so much trouble hiring people to fill its restaurants, maybe it means they should be paying them more? I know that would cause costs to go up that would get transferred to guests, but cast members have been paid too little for far too long and now the chickens are coming home to roost.
One way ‘out of home’ food has been able to not increase prices thru inflation is by decreasing portions. Disney remarked about this at one point, iirc during an earnings call or some such. This does not seem bad to me. Back in the day most restaurants competed with gigantic proportions and people regularly banked on reheating leftovers at home for a second meal. Times have changed; menus have changed. People have shifted away from this habit. Menus have shifted away from easily reheat-able/reservable options. Most guests at WDW aren’t planning to reheat leftovers so large portions often go to waste.
As far as DDP… I think WDW is holding it back until it serves as a strategical advantage. It’s like them holding a Golden Ticket if resort package start slipping. I expect DDP to return only if alongside a ‘Free Food’ campaign. Grumbles about WDW trips have increased through almost every fan community this past year. One word about Free Food and we all know half those ‘Done with Disney’ people would go rushing back, lol.
I had reached out to Disney on 4/27 and was told that there is not official date but to keep my eyes on the Disney blog for any updates.
On a related topic, do you think Advanced Reservations will shift back to 180 days from the current 60?
I hope so. I hate having to book dining so close. It is hard enough with park reservations. If dining does come back I think it will be next year.
I hope not. Planning a meal half a year ahead of time is ridiculous.
The dining plan has returned at Disney Paris
Really????
That could b a sign.
Hugs from characters returned to Paris 1 mth before Florida
I think they’re going to bring it back just in time for food and wine festival. It would make sense.
I have to agree Tracy.
I hope so!!! I jave trip scheduled for end of September for Food n Wine. A Tip that has been Delayed 2yrs!!!
I am hoping DDP will be back by mid July when I come from Australia. DDP works for people like me who like to know how much we are paying up front and who don’t want to have multiple international exchange fees from our bank everytime we eat. Paying for the meals once and at a set exchange rate with just one international fee is the better proposition for those traveling from overseas.
Also wouldn’t rule out a very limited fall free dining release drop from this April 19 into May. There’s an assumption that WDW must have the Dining Plan up and running before it even offers free dining. But not necessarily true. If they are on top of their numbers, which they surely are, then a limited fall free dining release next week into May bags new package guests which they want to fill some surplus fall room inventory. Notably, thousands of tired, dated standard rooms at AS Sports that aren’t moving despite the Disney+ offer and some deluxe resort rooms that are obscenely overpriced. They can then ease into the Dining Plan over the next 2 months or so and bring restaurant availability into line. But there’s not much point in releasing fall free dining in June or later. That’s mostly just a gimme upgrade for the already booked at these less desirable resorts. Many guests need months to book off work. And even though the ADR booking window has been dramatically reduced, many first time guests aren’t aware of the timelines and need time to learn the ropes. I just checked the Disney+ offer and predictably standard and preferred Sport rooms still available while standard Music and Movies sold out. Also some standard POP rooms still available. Unless WDW plans to close some outlying buildings at the values – and they could – they have lots of slow fall inventory to move. Perhaps one of many reasons why the room reno at Sports was soft goods only and not a full redo like Music, Movies and POP. Just food for thought and a heads up to keep eyes open next week into May. Over the past 2 years, Disney has made it very clear that they don’t have to colour within the lines and do the expected.
The DDP is generally more expensive and seems to only makes sense if you just take the free ‘Quick Service” plan as offered or in our case (We are a senior couple) get the free dining plan and pay the difference to upgrade to a more expensive plan. We like to eat table service meals and enjoy dining at some of the signature restaurants.
It takes some time to estimate the total cost of all the meals: both table and counter service and also snacks you intend to purchase at WDW. There are some online programs that can assist in the process. Then compare your cost with the cost of the DDP.
Every time I have done this the DDP is more expensive unless the free DDP is available.
It seems WDW is really ramping up by the back half of summer. They’re even bringing discounts back, such as hotel discounts for Disney+ subscribers. I think they have a plan to make August and September be the 50th anniversary celebration they wanted last October.
I have a feeling that Tron will soft open by mid August, Moana journey of water will be done, Woody’s bbq roundup will be done. I think they bring back DDP for August too.
Could not care less about the dining plan. Never a good value for our family. But when will they start selling APs to non-Florida residents again? That’s what I need you to look into your crystal ball and answer! 🙂