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 May 3, 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 “May 2023 Update” section for the latest predictions.
We should start by addressing the misconception that 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 has been up significantly as compared to 2019. This means that guests paying out of pocket have been spending more on average for their food than they would with the Disney Dining Plan. However, 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. (That has not happened through May 2023!) The last 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.
In the past, 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. 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.
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. Breakfast and lunch return to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and breakfast comes back to Garden Grill in May and June 2023. Everything helps when it comes to dining capacity, but it’s already “close enough” to pre-closure levels even with some missing meal services and shorter operating hours at a handful of locations.
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 difficulty filling certain key roles, and turnover was high–but both of those issues have improved.
In an attempt to remedy that, Walt Disney World had been holding culinary job fairs and offering hiring bonuses for almost 2 years. You’ll notice that’s past tense. At present, the only job fair is for lifeguards, and the only hiring bonus is for specialized roles (e.g. pastry chef assistant). To be sure, there are still open positions–especially in kitchens–but absolutely nothing like the last couple of years.
Since the return of CEO Bob Iger, Cast Member morale has improved significantly. Walt Disney World also reaching an agreement with the Cast Member unions resulting in significant pay increases also helps. (And for those wondering, no frontline Cast Members at Walt Disney World are among the company’s thousands of planned layoffs–the parks are actively hiring, not firing!)
Of course, all of this is not directly relevant to the imminent return of the Disney Dining Plan and it does not “confirm” anything. When it comes to official statements, the last update Walt Disney World provided was back in 2021 when announcing theme park early entry and extended evening hours on-site guest perks.
That stated 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. Obviously, that was quite a while ago. So…where does that leave things?
May 2023 Update
We’re back with an update, despite no major news or official 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 almost 2 years (!!!) 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.
A much more meaningful development we’ve noticed as of May 2023 is that Advance Dining Reservation availability has significantly improved. We’ve been able to book restaurants that have eluded us since reopening and in spot-checking ADRs for June and July 2023, even the peak summer months don’t look as competitive as either of the last 2 years.
This isn’t a totally new development, as ADR availability has been easing for a while. However, the extent of options we’re seeing is pretty remarkable. Restaurants like Chef Mickey’s, Story Book Dining at Artist Point, Akershus, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Topolino’s Terrace, California Grill, and others all have availability throughout the month. The only restaurant I had difficulty finding was Toy Story Roundup Rodeo, which is understandable given that it’s brand new.
With that said, we’ve seen exactly this happen in the past during shoulder and off-season. And to be fair, our analysis of post-spring break attendance trends in Sharp Shoulder Season Slowdown at Walt Disney World and Low Pre-Summer Crowds at Walt Disney World shows precisely this type of drop.
However, the improved ADR availability isn’t just for this month–it’s also for June and July 2023. Those are summer vacation months that should be a time of peak travel. As we’ve mentioned elsewhere, there are already early signs of slowing bookings at Walt Disney World. Perhaps this is what the exhaustion of pent-up demand really looks like; maybe consumers are finally changing their spending habits; it’s possible rising prices on everything have finally done their damage.
For its part, Walt Disney World already has released 14 different discounts for 2023, which is more than were available for the entirety of last year. Most of these discounts have been released earlier than normal by historical standards, and offer better savings than their counterparts from the last two years. Some are superior to 2018 or 2019, but baseline prices and perks have also changed since then.
As we’ve pointed out repeatedly, Disney doesn’t offer discounts out of generosity. Rather, the company releases special offers when attendance or hotel occupancy projections are soft. If weak discounting and late releases were a sign that pent-up demand had still been running strong, the increased discounting is almost certainly a sign that the opposite is no longer be true as of 2023.
This is relevant to the Disney Dining Plan conversation because it’s both a way to incentivize bookings and prop up per-guest revenue numbers. In the past few years, consumers had been freely spending–voluntarily dropping more on meals and travel & leisure to make up for lost time. If that’s no longer true, the Disney Dining Plan returning could function as an offset to all of that, giving a boost or second-wind to spending, so to speak, when it otherwise might slow down.
Nevertheless, it’s unclear what all of this means for the return of the Disney Dining Plan. As we’ve pointed out repeatedly, it’s the totality of things–more restaurants reopening, additional tables being filled, staffing reaching sufficient levels, and less of a supply v. demand imbalance–that would pave the way for the Disney Dining Plan’s return. From our perspective, all of that has now been achieved. There should be nothing holding back Walt Disney World from reviving the Disney Dining Plan.
Still, it’s important to acknowledge the reality that nothing with Walt Disney World is as easy as flipping a switch. The Disney Dining Plan has its own complicating factors, ranging from dining capacity to contracts with the aforementioned third party operating participant restaurants at Disney Springs, Epcot, and elsewhere.
In other words, even if the stars have finally aligned and it makes sense for Walt Disney World to bring back the DDP ASAP, it still might take months for that to happen, unless leadership has been preparing for this moment and is ready to execute on its return. Honestly, I’m skeptical of that. Everything we’ve seen from Walt Disney World in the last few years suggests the change will take a minimum of a few months from decision to execution or implementation.
So, when will the Disney Dining Plan return?
With all of the above in mind, there are three possible scenarios. The first is any day now. In this situation, Walt Disney World leadership has been aware of and concerned about soft summer bookings for a matter of months, and now wants to pull available “levers” to bump up revenue and resort occupancy. One lever we’ve already seen pulled is new Annual Pass sales resuming. Another is the aforementioned increase in resort discounts. It wouldn’t surprise me if more summer ticket deals are released for Floridians, and perhaps more targeted room deals.
Honestly, it would surprise me if the Disney Dining Plan’s return is one of these levers. It’s just such a significant change that it seems unlikely that it’s something Walt Disney World would do while scrambling to buoy bookings for this summer, unless they are really bad–or unless the company has been concerned about this slowdown for months. (And this year’s earlier release of the free dining card discount suggests that might be the case.) So in short, we think a Summer 2023 return of the Disney Dining Plan is plausible, but highly unlikely.
The next scenario is that an announcement of the Disney Dining Plan’s return is made in Summer 2023, but for travel dates further into the future. While this doesn’t address the immediate issue of occupancy and attendance in the coming months, it’s a good compromise. It gives Walt Disney World the ability to open the DDP for booking soon, securing a commitment of future revenue. This would be a savvy move amidst a travel slowdown, as it’d be a way to capture bookings before consumers start reducing their budgets and scaling back plans.
As for the timing of the return, the most obvious possibility is January 2024. That gives the company the ability to make a clean break and manage bookings accordingly. It also allows Walt Disney World to get past the Christmas season, which is always a popular time for dining demand. However, we wouldn’t rule out an announcement this summer that the Disney Dining Plan is returning in August 2023. That’s more aggressive, but it also could make sense and give both travelers and the company time to adjust.
This announcement could be made anytime in the next three months, but would likely come alongside the release of 2024 Walt Disney World vacation packages (assuming the January return is more likely, which we think is the case). Last year, vacation packages were announced on May 18 and booking began June 8. Normally, the announcement comes between mid-June and July, but an earlier announcement is once again likely for 2024 packages–everything else has happened earlier than normal this year.
The final scenario is that the Disney Dining Plan will return around September 15, 2023. That’s when the previously-released free dining card promo ends.
The reasoning here would be that the dining card places an added burden on Cast Members or stresses the system and reduces overall capacity, and thus Walt Disney World would not want to juggle those cards and the Disney Dining Plan simultaneously. However, the strain that the dining card places on the system could be a good ‘stress test’ and pave the way for the Disney Dining Plan to return once school goes back into session and after that promo ends.
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. Again, it’s been over 3 years since the Disney Dining Plan was available. There has been a tremendous amount of turnover since then, both among frontline Cast Members and management.
If this were still 2021 or even last year, we’d be inclined to predict that the Disney Dining Plan would return ASAP. It would be a good lever to pull to maintain elevated per guest revenue numbers, maintain dining demand, resort occupancy, and everything else. But with so much time having passed since the DDP was last available, it now seems more likely that Walt Disney World isn’t going to rush into the return and rollout. (Frankly, we hope they don’t at this point. After seeing the struggles with Genie+ when it launched, it makes more sense to take time and get this right.)
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, and that’s being felt by Walt Disney World even amidst higher overall spending driven by Genie+ and Lightning Lane price increases. In such a situation, it’s possible work is already occurring behind the scenes to bring the paid Disney Dining Plan back for Summer 2023. But we really, really doubt that this is what’s going to happen. It would truly take the stars aligning.
More likely is a return of the Disney Dining Plan in September 2023. However, “more likely” is a relative term, and we’d still put the chances at under 50%. Again, if it were 2 years ago, our tune would be different–it would’ve made complete sense to bring the DDP back in September 2021 if the underlying circumstances allowed. Now, those do allow, but there are other reasons for a more cautious and drawn out approach.
Which brings us to the most likely scenario. There’s obviously a lot could change in the next several months, but if we were forced to bet on a specific return date for the Disney Dining Plan right now, our pick would be January 1, 2024. To address whatever summer slowdown may happen, the company can pull other “levers” while using the DDP as a way to boost 2024 bookings. This also offers a “clean break” with the new vacation packages. The good news is that we should know one way or another by June 2023, if not within the next few weeks, as that’s when an announcement is likely for 2024 Walt Disney World vacation packages.
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 Summer or September 2023? Do you think Disney will be more slow and conservative, waiting until January 2024? Or, do you think all of this is wrong, and the DDP is dead and gone?! 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!
Hi, Tom,
I enjoy the fruits of your photography efforts – your pictures are beautiful. Many times I wonder where they were taken – especially those of locations such as resorts or restaurants. I can place the theme park photos. Would you mind adding captions to photos? Your pictures have inspired me to venture off my beaten path and to visit some of these locations.
When you book a holiday package for 2022 from the UK site a pop up appears reminding you that the dining plan isn’t available now but to opt in to updates so they can let you know about future changes.
Sounds to me like it’ll be back in some form in 2022.
Thanks for sharing–I was not aware of that pop-up. Smart move on Disney’s part with that notification, especially since so many guests from the UK stay long, spend big, and love the DDP.
I have a DVC rental booked for the middle of September. I asked the DVC Rental Store a few weeks ago if I would be allowed to add the dining plan to my reservation if it returns before my trip. The rep said Disney has announced that it will definitely not be back at least through the end of September. Do they know something unannounced to the general public?
Nothing has been announced. They are making that assumption based on vacation packages released through September 26, 2021 not including it. However, packages through 2022 also have not included it. Doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
Hi Tom.
Any prediction on when Tables in Wonderland may return. We have been using it for years and although the price keeps increasing it is still cost effective for us.
Tom… you wrote..
“Early Theme Park Entry debuting in Summer 2021”
Did I miss an announcement? The Disney website says it’s coming later this year as part of the 50th magical celebration, etc..
I’m not holding my breath for early entry before Fall.
My mistake!
Dang… I was hoping early entry would be in place for my August trip. I suspect it will be rolled out September-ish as part of the 50th celebration.
Staying on topic — I don’t expect DDP back until the new fiscal year. Too many moving pieces to get it back by summer. (open more restaurants, increasing dining and kitchen capacity in each restaurant, revise menus, contract with the 3rd party restaurants).
While we have used the dining plan in our 2 previous trips, I realize it is cheaper to pay out of pocket. We had 56 snack credits left on our last day & got a lot of looks when we picked out the rice krispy treats & candy. Granted we did give them to family as “souvenirs”.
We will be using Disney gift cards this summer to pay for meals. We buy them at a grocery store that earns us free gas. I advise anyone who is able to sign up for these programs, to pay for the trip with gift cards too.
That is the idea I was looking for!! We are treating our whole family to a WDW trip in November. ( My bucket list). We want to pay for meals but without the dining plan, we had no plan. Do you know how much the dining plan cost or covered a day per person? All advice really appreciatied!
I am getting them at BJs, 5% off… Using my credit card that earns points, and is linked to my shell fuel perks that earns me a discount. It’s not a lot in any one place, but the discount stack up helps.
Not happy the dining plan was removed no one is .,. Disney all the money you make you should do more for your guest after all you make so much $$$ off your guest . People saves money on the dinning plan . If the dinning plan is removed then the prices at all the restaurant should be 30% less it’s only fair . It’s one thing to remove something but at least add something for your guest to save !!!
The dining plan was never intended as a way for people to save money. While some do, most do not. They leave credits behind that means money back to Disney. It was a way to suck even more money from guests.
I love the dining plans. I hope they bring it back soon. We enjoy dining without the hassle of worrying about the cost. Planning out trip for early June and I check every week hoping I can add the DDP.
We were so disappointed that the dining plan is not being offered. There will be 11 of us going the first week in May. It sure would have come in handy knowing we paid for our meals and snacks up front. Now we have to budget our money even more by purchasing snacks and lunches to be delivered to our hotel in Disney. Hoping it will be back in time for the 11 of us.
I won’t return until the dining plan returns! And most of the other dropped extras..
Our 6 year old is medically complex and has a feeding tube. She’s a normal sassy Disney loving 6 year old but has many problems associated with food and eating. In her 6 years of life we have managed to travel every year during free dining and have spent two glorious weeks enjoying everything Disney offers. The DP has given our girl the ability to taste 100’s of foods we could have never offered or imagined at home. She tastes but doesn’t often eat… but we never know when that one bite might be the magic one! One year during a particularly difficult health crisis when she couldn’t eat any dairy, soy, eggs, gluten, nuts, fish the chef at our resort made it his mission to create something she would eat. About day 9 he made chicken wings that she ate as she squealed with delight. This is why we stay on property. It’s those wonderful Disney employees and cast members who have made my daughter’s stays wondrous.
For our family the DP is a magical event. I can not wait for its return.
I’m seeing a link to add the dining plan on the reservation page (I think this is different than when I played around with the site last week). The link doesn’t take you anywhere but maybe the dining plan return is getting closer.
We love the dining plan because it’s so convenient that everything is payed for in advance it’s convenient. U know ahead of time how to budget people have to eat so Iam sure there going restaurants so makes no sence mit to have the dining plan
My Family visits Disney specifically for Family time and we Love the Dining plan. We love going to the Luxury restaurants like California grill and LeCellier.
We plan to try Be our Guest and Cinderellas Royal Table.
I hope it will Return before September 2021. If it says returning, Sept 23, we will change our trip to meet that date. I am counting down for this trip.
The dining plan will return but I for one will wish it hadn’t. 4 trips post COVID have proved that the dining plan reduced food quality. Food quality and appearance has been greatly improved during covid. As a Deluxe DP or bust customer, I come to this opinion reluctantly.
I wonder if the non-Disney restaurants will agree to the old terms. They are booked up now with ful paying customers and with revenge travel on the way, there is not incentive for them to hand dollars they need to Disney DP. I hope they stay strong and say no.
The DDP is one of the many reasons we visit Disney other than the other theme parks. We book our vacation to Disney late this year with the hopes the DDP will become available prior to our trip. The DDP is why I imagine so many people visit Disney. Though the place is magical and makes you feel like you are truly enjoying the moment, the DDP also gives you a reason to visit the various parks, purchase the park hopper, and really get the feeling that you are at Disney World. If any of Disney Leadership is reading any of these posts listen to the people bring back the DDP. People want to experience Disney in its entirety and part of that is the DDP.
I really hope so. We lo e the convience of paying before we go for food and knowing we will be able to eat all week. If I pay there I would run out of money before the end of the trip. So without it I ha e to plan on packing food! Ugggh I didn’t want to carry food around. The middle of September is my trip. I really hope it’s back by then.
One of the most important factor is being able to bundle everything under 1 price tag when planning out vacation. We are holding off our vacation to WDW until the DDP returns. We stay on the property to experience everything. If you remove 1 piece of the package, the whats the point of spending the high cost to stay on the properties. My wife and I agree if we have to pay for food then we can save money and stay off property. Which then you lose the magic feeling.
I agree the dining plan is part of the disney experience
Disney Dining plan MUST definitely return! Or else……!
Our whole family goes to WDW. We stay at the Polynesian, which is a real economic stretch. Having the DDP helps control our expenses. We get to eat without feeling gouged for everything. Snacks and food in the parks are expensive, and we wouldn’t be spending money on them at those highly inflated prices.
If we cannot get the DDP, we will have to rethink going to WDW entirely, or we will have to cut corners by staying at a lower tier resort.
Having everything paid for ahead of time supports the idea of the “Magic Kingdom.” The feeling of starting your day with the sound of the calliope and scent of popcorn can’t be beat. I don’t want to have to think twice about spending money for a soda, popcorn, or ice cream x 5. I think we spend less, dollar wise via the meal plan, simply because everything is so inflated, like $20for a hamburger lunch. Disney isn’t dumb. They make more by selling the meal plans. Without that, we’ll order food via Amazon Fresh, and just buy lunch at the parks.
Another nice thing about the Disney Dining plans is the ability to make reservations far in advance, which is important, depending on ages of the family.
I’m really mad that WDW is discontinuing Magic Express. The Magic begins as soon as you see your luggage going down the luggage chute at the airport. You could head directly to a park or Downtown Disney and not have to retrieve it, get it loaded, then get it to the hotel and room. I’m not sure what other transportation is available, but if 5 people have to take 2 Uber or Lyfts, or rent a large van both ways, then pay for parking, that adds considerably to the expense.
Disney raises it’s prices every darn year, so while II think COVID is a factor, I think the guests are being squeezed for more money, and an even more expensive vacation. Much as we love the place, that perfect place for all ages in our family, we may discontinue our trips there. Too many added and unforeseen obstacles. Mainly money and inconvenience.
Disney has always prided themselves on making Magic, which started the moment you signed on for your vacation; Magic bands appeared, luggage hassle eliminated, online hotel check-in, Magic bus, meals, planned times for rides to minimize wait times Poof….the Magic has disappeared. Call it “Disney Ripoff Kingdom.”
If the DDP is not restored, then the highly inflated prices of food should be reduced. They’re super inflated to make you think that the dining plan is a better deal, which it is if you buy it and use all the credits. If the plan isn’t restored, and park food prices aren’t lowered, won’t buy much food in the parks. Bad for Disney.
I agree, all the extras are what makes Disney so special. Without these extras it’s just like any other resort in Florida. We are waiting to see what Disney does before planning our family trip.
My very first trip to WDW was when the Dining Plan was new and it. was. awesome!! The food was amazing! Even at the quick service self serve locations. When I went again years later, the quality of the quick service meals was not as good. Cut to 2019 when our family went again and we got the Dining Plan. The table service meals were incredible, but the quick service was sub par. It suited our needs though and I loved having it. I like Al’s idea above with budgeting out the money ahead of time. I think that we will just use that for our next trip.
Is there any news or new information on fastpass returning?
We, too, love the DDP, though have never been able to travel when it was offered free. The dining plan makes since for our small family, even though two of us don’t eat (a five and six-year-old) and two carnivores. We love the plan as it encourages us to get the items we normally would not order, and the occasional specialty beverage which we almost never do at home. So it is a real treat! We have found that the one sit down meal plan works for our family best. It allows flexibility to choose those specialty character meals or fine dining experiences we want, without being committed to too many meals a day. We will typically plan our vacation around a character breakfast (our family loves and will eat a full breakfast), and then plan a quick service meal later in the day. The flexibility in credits makes it possible to even have two meals in one day or on a day we are leaving (Il Trattoria Character Breakfast). We always are travelling when Epcot has a food festival, so all the snack credits are typically put to very good use there. Because we use it for Character Meals we come out ahead (we have crunched the numbers). We miss it and hope that they bring back character dining and their full menus by May! You really need both to make the plan worth it for our family. That being said, this October, when we traveled without the DDP it was nice to not be tied to one’s meal plans and be more spontaneous. While that did limit our food options to mostly quick service, we did enjoy a sit down breakfast at Chef Mickey’s because it was open air (more than most restaurants) and a former favorite. It was nice enjoying that flexibility for awhile, but we do miss the character magic and diversity of many restaurants’ menu offerings. Let’s hope both return soon!
Got the free deluxe? version many years ago for free when it came out to lure people in. We thought it was great, food was wonderful and tips included. Some of that slowly changed. Got free quick service dining plan a few years after that. Still ate well and got lots of snacks to bring home. A few years later, I researched and found out how much the quick service plan was for each meal and finding out that it was $22 per person per meal. Spending $88 for our family of 4 for breakfast just didn’t make sense. I put the amount of that plan onto a card and had that card scanned when arrived. We were able to get three full quick service meals a day and always got a snack, too. We were able to still get some souvenirs and still had money left over so going forward, if no free plan, we just budgeted for the meals that way and saved. If you have to pay for it, no cost savings but I definitely wait to know if they are going to offer it for free before making plans for a fall trip.
We are a family of 5 with three teenagers so they totally use it. We usually get the quick service plan but we don’t use the meals for breakfast but usually use snack credits for it and eat things like bagels or cinnamon buns, which the kids prefer. We have costed it out and this seems to always work better for us but every family is different. Happy holidays!
Ooooh, I really like this idea! We’ve gotten the dining plan before, and through a lot of planning managed to make it worth it, but my favorite part was not having to worry about the cost of each meal. I really like your pre-paid card idea because you still get that feeling of ‘already paid for’ without having to stuff yourself to make it worth it.