Disney Dining Plans Returning, Exciting Park Reservation Updates and More at Walt Disney World

[Skold]

"The free kids’ dining plan will be available throughout 2026 at all Disney-owned hotels when a standard dining plan is added for adults."

I'll remind you, adults are 10+ at WDW. So, pay for two dining plans to get one free if you have a kid who doesn't eat much.

Healing Bob's, pocket book maybe...

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

I will say, for families with children who may have a considered a UOR-exclusive stay with Epic.. this is a very easy way for families to be convinced to stay with the mouse instead and just tack on a day at Epic.

Look how many likes those posts got ???

That speaks volumes about how pessimistic the Disney fandom has become. Not saying we should be applauding discounts like this but why not give more attention when right decisions like this are made.

Yet I see constant complaints about unaffordable Disney is to the average family and when they try to address it its crickets.

As someone who has done a relentless amount of research with clients who do either of the dining plans vs. those who do not over the years, i am confident when i say that BOTH of the Disney dining plan options do not save anyone any money. You get more food for more money when you could have been fine spending less and getting less. The ONLY benefit is convenience and i stand by this assessment.

The ONLY people SAVING money from this would be a single parent traveling with 3 or more kids under the age of 10 as the cost of their SINGLE adult dining plan would be outweighed by the "savings" of the THREE children under them. And the idea of a single parent with three children under the age of 10 in Disney is a fresh hell I'd dare not imagine for any sane individual.

The dining plan is optional. All packages are unequivocally MORE expensive when they add it. Disney is still LARGELY unaffordable even WITHOUT the plan. Adding an optional expense to an already ballooned package cost does not save anyone any money. This is nothing but publicity masquerading as a discount(in the face of EPIC's imminent release, no less). If having eyes and doing basic math is pessimistic then you can call me Cormac McCarthy.

 

[Jake S]

The ONLY benefit is convenience and i stand by this assessment.

Agree with basically your entire post, but I will say that I can understand that for some this convenience is worth the extra money. That said, you’re 100 percent right that this isn’t a money saver. Unless you have really picky kids, you’re almost always better off having them share off your plate.

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

Agree with basically your entire post, but I will say that I can understand that for some this convenience is worth the extra money. That said, you’re 100 percent right that this isn’t a money saver. Unless you have really picky kids, you’re almost always better off having them share off your plate.

At Disney, convenience can mean the world to a lot of people - It's why i still sell a ton of Disney dining plans. It's why i sell a ton of CLUB LEVEL rooms. It's why Lightning Lane and Multi-Pass and VIP groups are a thing. I get it, truly. At Disney you PAY for convenience, it's their thing.

Magic Express and fast-passes were the last gasp for FREE conveniences at Disney and i miss them both dearly.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

As someone who has done a relentless amount of research with clients who do either of the dining plans vs. those who do not over the years, i am confident when i say that BOTH of the Disney dining plan options do not save anyone any money. You get more food for more money when you could have been fine spending less and getting less. The ONLY benefit is convenience and i stand by this assessment.

The ONLY people SAVING money from this would be a single parent traveling with 3 or more kids under the age of 10 as the cost of their SINGLE adult dining plan would be outweighed by the "savings" of the THREE children under them. And the idea of a single parent with three children under the age of 10 in Disney is a fresh hell I'd dare not imagine for any sane individual.

The dining plan is optional. All packages are unequivocally MORE expensive when they add it. Disney is still LARGELY unaffordable even WITHOUT the plan. Adding an optional expense to an already ballooned package cost does not save anyone any money. This is nothing but publicity masquerading as a discount(in the face of EPIC's imminent release, no less). If having eyes and doing basic math is pessimistic then you can call me Cormac McCarthy.

Oh I agree, I've done the math and the dining plan does not save money.

However, most guests unfortunately don't do that math and automatically see FREE as an option that sways them towards the mouse.

 

[Stevie Amsterdam]

Hi, newbie here so sorry if this comes accross dumb... But wouldn't a quick service dining plan save you money if you choose - for example - a cocktail with every meal you purchase with a meal credit? An expensive item from an Epcot festival booth while using a snack credit? etc?

 

[Mad Dog]

Hi, newbie here so sorry if this comes accross dumb... But wouldn't a quick service dining plan save you money if you choose - for example - a cocktail with every meal you purchase with a meal credit? An expensive item from an Epcot festival booth while using a snack credit? etc?

I've never used the plans...but Touring Plans just had a breakdown of the WDW Dining Plans on their Blog. Bottom line, they said the Dining Plans packages are not worth buying. Better to take advantage of other discounts if available they said.

 

[Stevie Amsterdam]

I've never used the plans...but Touring Plans just had a breakdown of the WDW Dining Plans on their Blog. Bottom line, they said the Dining Plans packages are not worth buying. Better to take advantage of other discounts if available they said.

Yeah I heard about buying them, but I was wondering if the plan was offered for free. Obviously there is no such thing as a free lunch, but Disney offers free dining plans if you book through the UK or Ireland if you pay rack rate for your hotel room.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Hi, newbie here so sorry if this comes accross dumb... But wouldn't a quick service dining plan save you money if you choose - for example - a cocktail with every meal you purchase with a meal credit? An expensive item from an Epcot festival booth while using a snack credit? etc?

Unfortunately no.

Current quick service pricing as of today:



The only ones that end up "saving" from the dining plan are those that choose alcohol for their quick service beverage. Same menu items, but different beverages chosen.

 

[Mad Dog]

Yeah I heard about buying them, but I was wondering if the plan was offered for free. Obviously there is no such thing as a free lunch, but Disney offers free dining plans if you book through the UK or Ireland if you pay rack rate for your hotel room.

In that case I guess it would matter how many adult dining plans and/or kids dining plans you would get in exchange for paying rack rate, when Disney's been advertising 25% to 35% for much of this summer and fall. Check the numbers out. Then check out where you plan on eating and are you a big eater or not....plus the others in your party.....Keep in mind that Disney uses the Dining Plan as a hook to get you to dine every meal only on property, which is costlier than off property, and then pay hotel rack rates.....Disney gives you UK'ers better deals than we out of state USA tourists are ever offered....Long vacations and big spending by UK tourists make you coveted Disney customers.

 

[Stevie Amsterdam]

In that case I guess it would matter how many adult dining plans and/or kids dining plans you would get in exchange for paying rack rate, when Disney's been advertising 25% to 35% for much of this summer and fall. Check the numbers out. Then check out where you plan on eating and are you a big eater or not....plus the others in your party.....Keep in mind that Disney uses the Dining Plan as a hook to get you to dine every meal only on property, which is costlier than off property, and then pay hotel rack rates.....Disney gives you UK'ers better deals than we out of state USA tourists are ever offered....Long vacations and big spending by UK tourists make you coveted Disney customers.

This is mostly because of that 14-day ticket, for the price of just 7 days. And it includes Memory Maker. I'm not from the UK but I've heard of many UK visitors who go to WDW for the full 14 days. I'm sure Disney is happy to provide them with "free food" if they're willing to pay rack rate for 14 nights

The 25 to 35% is usually only for deluxe resorts right? While that is a lot, you'd still be bleeding money for what Disney charges for those resorts (and no free express pass either!)

 

[Mad Dog]

This is mostly because of that 14-day ticket, for the price of just 7 days. And it includes Memory Maker. I'm not from the UK but I've heard of many UK visitors who go to WDW for the full 14 days. I'm sure Disney is happy to provide them with "free food" if they're willing to pay rack rate for 14 nights

The 25 to 35% is usually only for deluxe resorts right? While that is a lot, you'd still be bleeding money for what Disney charges for those resorts (and no free express pass either!)

Most moderates too. And 15 to 20%, and sometimes 25% for the values.

 

[Fire & Ice]

It’s a few years back (pre-covid) since used DDP on a trip from the UK. If you price up some food in parks, some outside, difference in resort and offsite hotels, parking charges for guests vs offsite etc, we worked out that we stay in a moderate hotel (Coronado) and pay an uplift for regular DDP rather than quick serve. This cost us about £1,000 more altogether over 2 weeks for 4 of us than staying offsite with no food (yes I’m a spreadsheet guy , and we did a lot of scenarios). While that is not insignificant and we could probably have come in under that if we were careful, but who wants to be careful on holiday, ‘have what you want kids’, don’t feel like you have to get the $20 chicken burger, when there is a $40+ steak on the menu and get that $15 cocktail using the plan and buy the $3 refillable cola. The price is locked in before you go, there is plenty of food to get by on, there are some great restaurants and you have freedom to eat what you want, not what is reasonable.

I don’t know what the pricing differential is now, or even if you can upgrade to DDP like we did, but do the maths before you go and don’t forget to price in the freedom of choice!