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 February 15, 2023.)
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…except the DDP. At this point, the Disney Dining Plan is one of the few things that’s still temporarily unavailable. Virtually everything else has been officially ended/cancelled or brought back as of early 2023.
For its part, Walt Disney World has not been totally silent about the Disney Dining Plan’s future–they released a statement saying that it would be back soon…but that was over a year ago. 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. If you’ve already read this post in the past, scroll down to the “February 2023 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 over 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 twice last year, and if precedent is any indication, another round of increases will occur in the first half of 2023. 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. On February 28, princesses will return to Cinderella’s Royal Table. Following that, Chef Mickey’s returns to a buffet on March 1, 2023.
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 leaves only Bon Voyage and 1900 Park Fare as without characters or still closed, respectively.
As intimated above, staffing remains an issue at many Walt Disney World restaurants, but this is nowhere near as bad in 2023 as it was in the last two years. 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 some locations unable to operate at full capacity, and leave tables unfilled as a result. Breakfast isn’t being offered at 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 still is not at 100%.
In an attempt to remedy that, Walt Disney World continues holding job fairs on a regular basis. However, the frequency of these has decreased. Last year and even last month, there were hiring events at the Casting Center every Wednesday with highlighted roles including Culinary & Quick Service Foods with start bonuses for most roles. Now, there’s one virtual culinary jobs fair on February 21 and one in-person culinary jobs fair scheduled for February 22, and bonuses for only a few, harder-to-fill roles.
Since the return of CEO Bob Iger, Cast Member morale has improved 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?
February 2023 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 regular 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 18 months (!!!) 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 EPCOT Festivals also still 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 is meaningless. However, the company has not since stated that the Disney Dining Plan is returning imminently.
The bigger non-developments are two-fold. First, the company released the ‘Free’ Disney Dining Card Discount at Walt Disney World for Summer through Fall 2023. Although fundamentally different in nature, this is very clearly a “replacement” for Free Dining.
That’s true in terms of the promotion name, what it offers, and the travel dates it encompasses. This discount begins June 25 and runs through September 14, 2023. That ends earlier than past Free Dining promos, but it otherwise fits the parameters. We aren’t the least bit surprised that a different discount was offered in lieu of Free Dining–we’ve always expected the paid Disney Dining Plan to return first.
There’s almost no chance that Walt Disney World would simultaneously restore both Free Dining and the paid Disney Dining Plan. 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.
Second, during the Walt Disney Company’s most recent earnings call in February 2023, recently-returned CEO Bob Iger and his team revealed that the Parks & Resorts segment saw a 21% increase in revenue to $8.7 billion. More notably, over $6 billion of that came from the domestic parks, and the bulk of that was attributable to Walt Disney World.
This was once again due to higher per guest spending numbers, which has become a common refrain. While no comparison was drawn to pre-pandemic, it was certainly high. Disney leadership has been touting these record numbers for the past year, so growth of over 20% is really, really strong. The company pointed to higher ticket prices as well as Genie+ and Lightning Lanes as the primary drivers, so it’s possible spending on food & beverage has slowed, but we’re skeptical.
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 April 17, 2023. This is not when we expect the DDP to come back, simply the earliest realistic return date.
This actually isn’t much of a change as compared to our prior prediction, which indicated that Walt Disney World would wait until after what’s going to be a very busy Presidents’ Day and Mardi Gras, as well as the Spring Break and Easter rush. April 17 is roughly the start of 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 offers the absolute earliest realistic timeframe for the Disney Dining Plan to return.
The big difference between now and our last update is that we previously expected the Disney Dining Plan to return during that pre-summer timeframe, and now we do not. It’s plausible, but seems far less likely.
The sustained high level of per guest spending is certainly a factor, but that’s the less significant factor. The growth during the past quarter was the popular holiday season, and spending was expected to be strong then as a ‘last hurrah’ of sorts for elevated consumer spending. Walt Disney World has dramatically increased discounts for 2023, which alone suggests pent-up demand is starting to fizzle out.
The bigger factor is the aforementioned Disney Dining Card promotion. We do not expect this to replace the Disney Dining Plan in the long-term, but it does seem implausible that Walt Disney World would restore the Dining Plan and start offering these cards in the span of a few weeks.
Introducing two complicated programs each with their own rules and policies would be overwhelming and confusing to Cast Members, most of whom probably were not employed by Disney during the DDP days. More importantly, it would be stressing to the system to go from guests paying out of pocket only to having both programs. That would mean inducing a lot of new demand all at once, which seems unlikely given Disney’s ongoing struggle with restaurant capacity.
For this reason, it now appears more likely that Walt Disney World will wait until (at least) the tail end of the dining card promotion before restoring the DDP. That does not necessarily mean the Disney Dining Plan will return on September 15, 2023–nor does it preclude the DDP from coming back slightly before then.
More likely, it means that the company will wait for both a material slowdown in per guest spending that needs to be boosted (and in fact, the dining card promo accomplishes exactly this, as it requires booking a non-discounted hotel room) and to see whether the the dining card places an added burden on Cast Members or stresses the system and reduces overall capacity. All of that could be accomplished by late in the summer, paving the way for the Disney Dining Plan to return once school goes back into session in late August through mid-September 2023.
Honestly, even that is pretty far from certain. The Disney Dining Plan returning in early Fall 2023 is more plausible than pre-summer, but both are questionable at best to unlikely at worst. If the DDP’s return misses that August/September window, the next most likely date is early January 2024.
That’s obviously far away and a lot could change in the next several months, but if I were forced to bet on a specific return date for the Disney Dining Plan right now, I’d choose January 1, 2024. (It’s not that other dates are impossible, it just feels like Walt Disney World is kicking the can down the road with the dining card.) If it does take until January 2024 for the Disney Dining Plan to return, it will have been gone for so many years that the DDP may look materially different when it does return. Those of you hoping for the Disney Dining Plan to come back may not want what you see.
Ultimately, we hate to be so pessimistic, but that’s increasingly how we feel about the eventual return of the Disney Dining Plan. Optimism has gotten us nowhere, and it’s not worth continuing to hold out hope as Walt Disney World tests other ways to sustain high per guest spending while inducing less crushing demand on restaurants that are already mostly filling up.
There is a scenario where guests have already started to spend less on dining as of early 2023, and that’s being felt by Walt Disney World even amidst higher overall spending driven by Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. In such a situation, it’s possible work is already occurring behind the scenes to bring the paid Disney Dining Plan back in mid-April 2023, allowing sufficient time between the relaunch of that and debut of the Disney Dining Card special offer in late June. But we really, really doubt that this is what’s going to happen. It would truly take the stars aligning.
It’s more likely that it takes until the end of Summer 2023 or even beyond 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 several 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…or 2024.
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 April/May or August/September 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!
Regarding DDP, at least say something even if it’s new to report. At my last count there are 10-12 restaurants and snack shops that have to reopen. Bring the plans back and post a PDF list on the dining site on what locations are not open yet. Now I see why people are flocking towards Universal.
You didn’t update this in August and it’s been almost 2 months since the last change. Please let us know what is happening. I don’t care if there is no news, just say that. My family is looking for any clue we can get, crossing our fingers about the DP for our Christmas trip.
Thank you.
When I called the Contemporary Resort to ask them that question I was told that free dining will not be returning at all. Eventually they will be offering discounted dining but they don’t know when.
I agree with you Claire, no news is any news. I just posted this same thing myself. I’ve been waiting 2 years to bring my son to Disney for his birthday, and now it going to cost an extra $1500 in food instead of the $1414 for the Deluxe Dining plan.
Why do you think it will cost extra in food? We did tons of buffets and 2 character meals; ate at 3 more table service places than usual, ordered whatever we wanted, and still spent less than we would have than when we were on the dining plan. We didn’t order an alcoholic drink at every meal, but we did sometimes order them. Also you all know Tom doesn’t work for Disney/have answers yet right?
I can see where you are coming from. I going to WDW at the end of November this year. I was hoping that the DDP would be available then. Yes I know Tom doesn’t work for Disney. Most of our TS meals are going to be buffets. This way you can get more bang for your buck, speaking as a chef, a buffet is always the better deal, it may be more expensive but you’re getting an entire meal for one price. The only two that are not going to be is Rose and Crown and 50’s Prime Time
Well stated, Liz!
Tom, I thank you for your insight! I learn something new each time about Disney when I read your updates and appreciate you addressing this question so often.
My family has always been a fan of the DDP, and while we would be excited for its return, as it allows us to enjoy our meals with extra perks we would not normally choose otherwise, we’ve enjoyed the experience of being without. No DDP right now hasn’t been a loss with the curtailed menus and lack of character meals. We’ve enjoyed spending more time on the rides and at the shows in the parks than rather than feeling like we have to sit down to a two hour meal when we’re already stuffed. Less food means more energy, and the expense is a tie. You really have to be mindful of maximizing your spending with the plan to get the benefits from the plan. So currently we save by sitting down to fewer meals (often eating breakfast on the go unless it’s a rest day) and indulge when we do take in a meal. I love checking and seeing what may return soon, but I’m going to side with Tom-if it doesn’t return really soon, it likely won’t for quite some time.
This will be our families last visit to WDW. THE 50th Anniversary & my sister looking forward to our 1st visit in years, is why I’m not canceling. The other comments are right, the magic is dying at Disney. If we go again, Universal is looking better.
It really saddens me to say this but Disneyworld has lost its magic for me. I have gone almost every year for the past 20+ years and I used to love staying on site saving up like mad and sacrificing things throughout the year to be able to enjoy my 2 weeks with the mouse as the perks were so good (even if you could stay off site for half the price)!
But now it’s just all about the money and that customer care has disappeared
Free magical express… gone
Free parking at hotels… gone
Free fast pass… gone
Dining plan… gone
Freedom to pick which park I want to go to without pre-booking… gone
I live in the uk and my last stay at yacht club in 2019 for 2 people cost over £8,000 and it’s now almost double so to be told that I have to book a park in advance and can’t change my mind doesn’t feel
Like a holiday to me. I don’t want to be on my phone all day trying to book rides and virtual queues. The whole point of a holiday for me is to get away from that!
I know times have changed since the pandemic and everyone is trying to recoup lost revenue but this is ridiculous. I know of many friends who have decided to go to universal instead as Disney is now so expensive it’s becoming elitist! #rantover
Amen, ditto to ALL of your comments. We are going to Universal this year instead, because of the above mentioned and such piss-poor customer service “lack of magic”.
New CEO is RUNNING Disney into the ground at record speed.
Yes disney is no more magical. No ddp I have to go in November because I have canceled last year but this year I will loose my plane fare & park tickets but this is it My family & I will never go again. Bring back the disney dining plan!
I agree. I had to wait 2 years to take my son to Disney World for his birthday. I’m so sick and tired of hearing “we do not when the dining plans are coming back.” I wish Disney would at least tell you a straight answer instead of sounding like a politician. Walt is probably turning over in his grave seeing how his company has turned from magical to what it has become.
We still felt the magic! In the past we have always paid for a dining plan. We decided ahead of time this trip earlier this month to simply order what we wanted and not sweat it. Our family of six had 3 more table service meals than usual and everyone ordered what they wanted and snacked and drank whatever we wanted. Estimating that a dining plan would have cost about $90 pp for each of the 8 days, we spent $500 LESS than we would’ve on the plan and I truly believe we enjoyed the food more because instead of having dessert at every meal we had plenty of snacks at more natural times. Same for beverages. Not sure we would ever buy the dining plan again as this was much more freedom. We did buy Disney gift cards for a year before the trip and used those to pay for food so it kind of felt prepaid too.
Agree 100%, we’ve always enjoyed Old Key West in 2016 and then 2018 but just got a quote for March 2023 and it was over £27,000 and that doesn’t include any dinning ?! Just madness, have to say wont be going again out of principle. Its an absolute rip off.
the part of the DDP we enjoy weather it “worth it” or not , is not worrying about having enough money to pay for meals and snacks when we get there….oh this restaurant is this much i didnt know that , i didnt bring enough money for the … restaurant , or i didnt know this snack was this much and with most snacks are covered with the DDP so i dont need to worry if a “snack” is $3 or $15 it more than likely is covered and i dont need to worry about it when im there
One of the best vacations I ever had when we stayed at Disney, had Magic Express, and added the dining plan. No stress. Planning a return trip in a couple of years with a large group. Hoping the dining plan returns by then. Was stress free know where we were eating everyday and that we had planned our parks based on where our reservations were. Also everything was paid pre-trip leaving more money to spend on other park goodies while there.
In September 2023 we will have a party of seven adults. Any reservation and dining tips for a group of 7? Thanks
It this point in time, we are looking at off-site locations as an alternative. Aside from FP booking window, DDP was the largest factor for staying onsite. We already have a vehicle so transportation isn’t a concern for us. We normally drive to all parks except MK anyway so we could take midday breaks with less travel time. Being the person who has to keep track of spending during vacations, the last thing I feel like doing is hovering over bank charges.
I am waiting for tables in wonderland
Loved this plus valet parking makes it feel special!
We’re heading down next week to the Poly (our favorite place) really miss the DDP even though we know we were always paying more for it. It was always so fun to get appetizers, a meal, and dessert (something we won’t do this trip) we still made reservations at all our favorite places but will probably just get the meal and no desserts this time. Also it was kinda fun at the end of the trip to stock up on bags of treats to take home using up our meal credits left over. And lunches will be more quick service this time (except for Sci Fi) to save a little on our food budget.
Reservations were made 60 days out and all of the 19 of us got most of the times and places we wanted…. But it took some planning ahead of time for sure!
I just returned home yesterday, July 8th, from a 10 day stay at Pop Century. A food service worker told us that the dining plan as we know it will not be returning. Instead, guests will be offered a set dollar amount per person meal credit voucher for the duration of the stay. When you exhaust the voucher funds, you pay out of pocket for any additional meals needed. Pretty much the same as dining plan if you used up your meals prior to the end of your stay. Not sure how credible this info is. Any plan would be better than nothing. We expected meal price increases but weren’t prepared for the drastically decreased portion sizes and elimination of not one, but two sides previously included with the entre as well as elimination of a beverage! Example: a chicken parm plate previously served on a platter dish included a side Ceasar salad and green beans and a beverage. It now consists of half the portion of chicken and pasta served in a small bowl and excludes the salad, green beans and beverage, yet it costs two dollars more than it did during our last stay in 2019. Kids meal sides are still included but entre portions were decreased with moderate price increases. Snack and beverage increases were ridiculous. Over $7.00 for a single serve orange juice and $5.00 for a bottle of water.
Wow. Thanks Dolly.
I had no idea. That really concerns me as our party has large eaters. Dining plan will not be useful the way it was if the portions are smaller and no sides. Really is upsetting what is going on with Disney. How was genie + LL? Did you have any problems with dining reservations at all?
I actually liked Genie plus and Lightening Lane. My only issue was that in order to get an early ride booked, you seriously have to go on at 7 am to book; otherwise you get a late day reservation. One morning I forgot until 8 am that I had to reserve a ride and the earliest I could get was 4 pm. But, I was there during a busy time, July 4th, so that may not be the norm. My dining reservations were made 60 days before arriving and I had no problem at all. Others told me they got dining reservations when they got to the resort so anything is possible. Food at table service restaurants was plentiful. My problem with decreased portions was only at the resort quick service stations and unfortunately because of lack of dining plan this year, we relied more heavily on resort quick service for dinner because table service for 2 adults and one child ran between 125.00 for a breakfast character meal to 155.00 for a dinner buffet without characters to 180.00 at Chef Mickey’s for a dinner character meal, and tips were not included.
I think the information you were told by a cast member was correct. I’m in the UK and have booked for 2023 and the offer being advertised by Disney is a dining and merchandise credit of up to £1200 per room. The amount of the credit depends on what Disney resort you stay at with the £1200 payable for deluxe resort rooms. So the DDP as we knew it is not returning for overseas guests through 2023 as it’s been replaced with the credit instead
Thank you for that information. I have a question. So you paid a fee to get 1200 credit per room? A Disney dining plan was. Per person and for a week came out to more than 1000. Depending on the plan. This doesn’t sound very attractive. How much did you pay for the 1200 credit?
Didn’t pay a fee as such but it was the UK 2023 booking offerr for WDW. Book a deluxe room for 2weeks and buy a 14 day park ticket and Disney give you $1200 dining credit per room (not person and in $ not £, apologies) plus you get memory maker, a further $200 gift card and tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show
Oh that sounds nice then! I will keep an eye out for deals to add to my reservation. Thanks so much for your information! Have a wonderful trip! We are planning 2023 as well. Yes you said £ I mistakenly said $. I am sorry. Which resort will you be staying at? Have you ever done the hotel switching? 1/2 trip in one then move hotels for remainder? I have always wanted to do this, but maybe after I master genie+. Lol one bit of crazy at a time for me. Lol
A $,1200 credit per room for a 14 day stay is NOT much when it comes to the prices for the sit down meals (especially characters). If by chance you have 2 adults & 1 child in that room and go to Chef Mickeys, that credit is basicaaly already half gone WITH ONLY
one meal!
How is this a deal??
@Brian your example doesn’t add up. Even if you go for dinner 2 adults and 1 child plus tax and tip at Chef Mickey is less than $175 (unless specialty drinks are being ordered?) Personally I think the credit that is not being offered to U.S. visitors would save me money where the dining plan, while convenient, never saved me a penny. We would choose lots of character meals or most expensive entrees and no matter how I crunched it, we basically broke even and that was assuming that without the plan we would actually spend money on dessert and 2 snacks every day (we wouldn’t have). We went before alcohol was included so that might be the difference for some but for us, giving us $1400 ($1200+$200 gift card) would save us $1400 of what we would have spent on the dining plan and in a weird way even more since we don’t want dessert at every meal(I keep thinking the angry ppl must have always scored free dining? We never got that-one time we were eligible and the room discount was a bigger savings). It is bizarre that it’s not a per person deal as we generally go with 6 ppl but I would very happily take that discount. Plus tickets to cirque?!
Well, its free. SO I can call it a deal.
That’s ridiculous, this is just one reason why we have decided to skip Disney and spend our vacation at their competitor-UNIVERSAL!
glad to see you were honest with the long blog and great information Waiting to see when the dinning plan will be open Hope it will be in Jan of 2024 working then This is when we are going back to Disneyworld
Thanks for being truthful about the DDP. You are the first one to do so. I’m planning on visiting in late November early December of this year, do you think the DDP will available by then?
I was hoping to get to Disney one more time in my lifetime. I have been twice and am now 80 hoping to celebrate my birthday there but after looking at prices it doesnot look like a go. Even though I have plane tickets. I cannot justify spending over 2000.00 for hotel and tickets. I am letting go of that dream and enjoying the memories from the past.
Joanne,
Congratulations on turning 80! My husband is also 80 and I am 75; planning to make what also may be a final visit to WDW. Booked for Dec.1-9, 2022 to celebrate our 54th anniversary. Here’s hoping the normalcy and especially the magic will have returned or it will be our last visit for sure. The DDP returning could allow for some savings depending on what form it takes. Previously we have upgraded the plan and paid the difference in rates. Gone are the days when we first enjoyed free dinig and it included the appetizer entre, dessert, beverage and gratuity. Also most seniors eat less so we save by sharing meals or even ordering kid’s meals if it is not a buffet or Pre Fixe menu.
80 is young! I really hope you can make that trip sometime in the next few years.
It’s been over a month since the last update. Fall is right around the corner. Any new news???
So I don’t want to get hopes up, but I actually emailed Chapek to get some idea of the DDP return, as we are heading down late August. To my surprise, he actually forwarded my email to a high ranking WDW customer relations expert.
So, in the reply, the person said that they don’t have a timeframe, as some restaurants are still closed and they want to be able to have all the offerings available before they bring back the DDP. I replied with a thank you and I said that I’d plan the trip without the DDP. They replied that it doesn’t mean it can’t happen by the time I go, and to check the Disney parks blog for updates.
Think about it – why would they reply with that, when a simple “yes, unfortunately that would seem to be the case” about me having to make plans without the DDP? They must know something that they can’t leak, why would they bother to get hopes up? I’ve suspected an August return to DDP for some time now, and this reply to my email fans those flames. Here’s to hoping!
Might be a canned response. In 2017 my then 10 yr old was so disappointed that innoventions was very scaled back and concerned it would be eliminated that he wrote a letter to a high level exec and got a response that said don’t worry there are no plans to eliminate innoventions. Hmm…they must have known that was untrue in late 2017 when he received the response
I am so utterly disgusted with Disney World right now! The new CEO is a complete and total idiot. Disney had become the most miserable place on earth under Chapek.
Anyone in their right mind will boycott Disney World until they start prioritizing the guests over profit.
Ummmm… Disney has been a publicly traded company for decades. They are beholden to their stockholders to make a profit. That’s been true since Disneyland started charging for parking before we were both born.
The 2023 UK offer came out a few days ago. Pre-covid this always had the dining plan included, but we are getting dining credit. It’s also being advertised as the ‘best 2023 deal’. At the moment I wouldn’t even say we are likely to get it back in 2023. If it were, I doubt it would be included in any packages not when they’ve able to sell holidays without it.
We are already in June! You would think that they would bring back the dining plan. I’ll just be taking my family to eat outside of disney if the dining plan is not back for this summer.
Hi Tom, first of all I want to thank you for all your hard work to bring the Disney updates to all the readers. I truly value your information and opinions as they are always very detailed and don’t sway people to feel one way or another Just wondering if you have any updates on dining locations . I am reading such negatives reviews on meals at Disney that I don’t even know where to dine this September . Any input would be greatly appreciated
As long Bob Chapek continues to be the CEO, we won’t be having those magical moments anymore Now it’s time to spend and spend and spend every year a “little bit” more
@Ariel
And how is that any different than going to any other business? Whoever is the CEO.