Having the Disney dining plan is sort of like going to a semi-all-inclusive resort. You go and your food, snacks, and drinks {meals…} are already paid for and it seems like your vacation is all paid for before you go. BUT, is the pre-paid dining plan REALLY worth it? We’ve done Disney both ways – with and without the dining plan. Our last Disney trip the dining plans were not available yet, so we took in our lunch’s and only ate dinners at our favorite restaurants.
One trip, back in the early days of our Disney trekking, we purchased the Deluxe dining – basically all your meals, snacks galore. I think we spent more time in restaurants than in the parks! We laugh at how we would finish one restaurant and then it would be time to go to the next one. Really what we wanted were the character experiences and to know that our meals, minus the tips, were already paid for and we were not going to be left with a hefty bill at the end of the trip. It is truly a great budgeting plan IF you use the plan accordingly.
The old plans had three different tiers to what meals were covered – snacks, table service, and quick service – along with different prices for each tier. Starting January 9, 2024 they are introducing a new dining plan that can be added to resort packages.
Having a dining plan is convenient and flexible. Your meals are covered, and you’ve prepaid for everything before your vacation even begins. Meals and snacks can be redeemed during anytime of your stay – with all of them expiring at midnight the day of your checkout. FYI – if you’ve checked out of your hotel you are not able to charge anything else to your room, so make sure to have your wallet for meals or tips!
If you are planning to eat all throughout Disney, having a plan can save you up to 20% on meals and snacks for your kids. You can spend less time budgeting for those meals by having them prepaid and covered! Which sounds like a super easy idea.
Disney will be offering two meal plans.
The first is the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan
This plan is $57.01 per adult, per day, and $23.83 per child (ages 3 to 9), per day.
Everyone in the party ages 3 and over receives the following:
- 2 Quick-Service Meals (per night of stay)*
- 1 Snack/Nonalcoholic Drink (per night of stay)*
- 1 Resort-Refillable Drink Mug**
* Specific number of meals and snacks are determined by the number of nights included in the package stay. Meals and snacks can be redeemed at any time during your stay. Unused meals and snacks will roll over day to day and expire at midnight on day of checkout. Meals and snacks are nontransferable between party members.
** Resort-refillable mugs are eligible for refills from self-service beverage islands at any Disney Resort hotel Quick-Service location.
The second is the Disney Dining Plan:
This plan is $94.28 per adult, per day and $29.69 per child (ages 3 to 9), per day.
Everyone in the party ages 3 and over receives the following:
- 1 Quick-Service Meal (per night of stay)*
- 1 Table-Service Meal (per night of stay)*
- 1 Snack/Nonalcoholic Drink (per night of stay)*
- 1 Resort-Refillable Drink Mug**
* Specific number of meals and snacks are determined by the number of nights included in the package stay. Meals and snacks can be redeemed at any time during your stay. Unused meals and snacks will roll over day to day and expire at midnight on day of checkout. Meals and snacks are nontransferable between party members.
** Resort-refillable mugs are eligible for refills from self-service beverage islands at any Disney Resort hotel Quick-Service location.
Is the plan worth it? It can be. We usually spend a minimum of $200 at a table service meal, that’s usually $60 per adult and $20/$30 per kid. Plus if you factor in the $50 snack cart stop and the $75 lunch…. you’ve made a deal!
The last few trips we have not had the meal plans, but we planned accordingly. We had ready to go breakfasts, so we could hop on those buses first thing in the morning for rope drops. In the parks we ate sandwiches and chips that we made ahead of time. To be honest, all of the fast food for the week really does a number on our stomachs after a few days. We ALWAYS purchase at least one snack. My daughter has to have the frozen lemonades – raise your hand if you have searched all throughout Animal Kingdom for the pink lemonade frozen lemonades! My son loves a Mickey pretzel – while my husband and I snack on whatever suits our fancy at that moment.
With the new pricing, I feel like the dining plan is a great deal and it is super convenient. Which is a HUGE plus when going to Disney. Convenience is key when navigating your Disney vacation.