The Walt Disney World dining plan was a popular addition for many guests and Disney would often release discounts associated with this plan.. sometimes even free dining plans! One of the most common questions we receive right now is: when will the Disney Dining plan return?
When Walt Disney World reopened after the initial closure from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the dining plan was “temporarily suspended” with no official return date announced. Since then nearly all dining experiences have returned to normalcy along with many other park experiences. But the Disney dining plan remains one of the few things that have not returned.
Keep reading to review our speculation on when we think the Disney dining plan will return along with an overview of what this program was and why it was so popular.
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When Will the Disney Dining Plan Return?
The last time Walt Disney World updated guests on the dining plan was back in July 2021 when a Disney spokesperson added to an announcement of returning guest experiences, ““While we’re not quite ready to share an update on timing, we are planning to bring this guest-favorite option back at a later date. We will also continue to reopen more Resort offerings, including restaurants like ‘Ohana (with the noodles!).”
Since then, we have had no official update if the plan itself has been officially retired or if Disney is still waiting to bring it back. So everything past this last official word from Walt Disney World is purely speculation!
Staffing
One of the largest roadblocks for the Disney Dining Plan returning was the staffing issues that have consistently been a problem for Walt Disney World since they reopened in 2020. If Disney brought back the dining plan before the restaurants were properly staffed to handle the increase in guests dining on site, it would be a disaster with many unhappy guests.
But as of April 2023, we can see that the staffing problems at Walt Disney World have improved along with nearly all the restaurants returned to normalcy. Especially since the return of the college program and the many career fairs Disney has held. At this point, I wouldn't anticipate staffing being a primary concern in the Disney Dining Plan return.
Inflation
There is also a new wrench thrown in the mix when it comes to dining at Walt Disney World. We have seen considerable food supply chain issues and inflation concerns which both impact the food industry. This changes the cost analysis on Walt Disney World's end and while I am not an economics expert, it's hard to deny that these issues don't impact the decision on bringing back the dining plans.
Dining Plan Changes
We have seen many changes at Walt Disney World since the parks reopened in 2020 with one of the most notable of those being the replacement of the long standing FastPass program with Genie+ as a way to utilize a shorter line for attractions.
If we do see the Disney Dining Plan return, my hunch is that it will return in a much different form than we saw previously with likely some price increases involved as well. This could also be part of the reasoning for the delay if Disney is in the process of creating a new program or making other significant changes.
Regardless of what the delay is, it would be surprising if we did not see the Disney Dining Plan return because it really is a profitable option for Walt Disney World. By encouraging guests to pay ahead for their dining in advance, this essentially keeps guests committed to dining inside the resort. This commitment can trickle down to limiting how much time guests spend away from the resort at competitors like Universal Orlando. Rather than spring for a large dinner in City Walk, guests would be more inclined to head back to the resort and go to Disney Springs instead. You're not going to want to leave the resort or dine elsewhere if that means you're wasting dining credits!
There are plenty of good reasons to bring back the Disney Dining plan to Walt Disney World and it's hard to say what the holdup is on its return. One good sign is that all the Walt Disney World website pages for the dining plans are all still active and continue to say they are temporarily suspended. I would be worried if these pages all vanished so even if that's a bit of ‘following the breadcrumbs' speculation, it is still a positive one.
Ultimately, this is all purely speculation. We did reach out to Disney for a comment and the only update we received was, “We don’t have anything new to share at this time.”
Why Did Disney World Get Rid of the Disney Dining Plan?
A common assumption is that Walt Disney World hasn't brought back the Disney Dining plan as a way to save money but this is likely false! The Disney Dining Plan is actually a good revenue generator for the parks as this guarantees guests are paying for food in the parks in advance.
Back when the Disney Dining Plan was available, it wouldn't be uncommon to hear of guests scrambling to use up all their snack credits at the end of the trip or not utilizing all their meal credits. Like I mentioned before, if you wanted to use the dining plan to save money, you had to be strategic and pick restaurants with higher costs food items included in the plan and higher cost snacks. Otherwise you could actually end up spending more with these plans!
So why did they originally not reinstate it after reopening? Not all the Walt Disney World restaurants reopened at once and it's been a staggered process over the past few years as Disney worked to increase their restaurant staffing and reopen all the restaurants plus experiences. This makes sense- it would be bad business to bring back the Disney Dining Plan if not all dining options are available. But now in 2023, most of Walt Disney World's dining experiences and restaurants have returned.
Walt Disney World Dining Card Offer 2023
Earlier this year Walt Disney World released a new discount offer that includes a “free” dining promo card with vacation packages. Depending on the resort type you stay, the higher your dining card amount will be. This is NOT the same thing as the Disney Dining Plan (full breakdown of what these plans were like at the end of the article) but just simply the addition of a Disney gift card that only works for dining with hotel stays.
Many guests confused this new discount offer as being the return of the Disney Dining Plan but this is not the case although the concept is slightly similar. You would ultimately save more money with the dining plan especially since you could opt to purchase it and take advantage of hotel discounts. With this dining promo code offer, you cannot combine it with other seasonal hotel discounts.
When comparing the two offers together, most of the time the dining promo card offer came out on top by a small margin. So if you plan on eating on-site often during your stay then it could be a great fit! Some guests are worried this discount offer is a sign this will be the new replacement for the Disney Dining Plan. There are some similarities in the concept (taking care of dining needs in advance!) and it does offer a bit more flexibility on what guests can use it for. But most would agree, it's quite different.
Deluxe Resorts- Receive up to $750 for your stay
The highest value Disney Dining Promo Card you can receive is up to $750 with a stay at a Disney Deluxe Resort or Disney Deluxe Villa Resort that meets a minimum of a non-discounted 5-night, 4-day vacation package.
This offer is valid for arrivals most nights:
- July 1 to July 10, 2023
- August 1 to September 14, 2023
For other dates with more variety, you can receive up to $150 per room, per night depending on the resort category.
Deluxe Resorts- Receive up to $150 per room, per night on select dates
Receive $150 per room, per night applied to a digital Disney Dining Promo Card—for packages with the following arrival dates:
- Most nights July 1 to July 10, 2023
- Most nights August 1 to September 14, 2023
Receive $125 per room, per night applied to a digital Disney Dining Promo Card—for packages with the following arrival dates:
- Most nights June 25 to June 30, 2023
- Most nights July 11 to July 31, 2023
This offer is valid at the following Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts:
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney's Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney's Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Moderate Resorts- Receive up to $100 per room, per night on select dates
Receive $100 per room, per night applied to a digital Disney Dining Promo Card—for packages with the following arrival dates:
- Most nights July 1 to July 10, 2023
- Most nights August 1 to September 14, 2023
Receive $75 per room, per night applied to a digital Disney Dining Promo Card—for packages with the following arrival dates:
- Most nights June 25 to June 30, 2023
- Most nights July 11 to July 31, 2023
This offer is valid at the following Disney Moderate Resort hotels:
- The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
Value Resorts- Receive up to $50 per room, per night on select dates
Receive $50 per room, per night applied to a digital Disney Dining Promo Card—for packages with the following arrival dates:
- Most nights July 1 to July 10, 2023
- Most nights August 1 to September 14, 2023
Receive $35 per room, per night applied to a digital Disney Dining Promo Card—for packages with the following arrival dates:
- Most nights June 25 to June 30, 2023
- Most nights July 11 to July 31, 2023
This offer is valid at the following Disney Value Resort hotels:
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
The number of packages available for this offer is limited. Everyone in the same room must be on the same package. Advance reservations are required. The digital Disney Dining Promo Card will be sent to you via email when you check in at your Disney Resort hotel.
What is the Disney Dining Promo Card?
This is essentially a Disney gift card that can be used to purchase meals, snacks, treats and beverages at select participating dining locations across Walt Disney World Resort. There are only a few locations excluded which are listed below.
You can show the Disney Dining Promo Card email or printed copy of the email. You can also save the card to your mobile wallet. It can be saved in the My Experience App as a gift card.
Excluded Locations
Locations that are unable to accept the Disney Dining Promo Card include, but are not limited to:
- Merchandise locations and candy kitchens
- Dining locations at Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel and Walt Disney World Swan Reserve Hotel
- Dining locations at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort
- Dining locations at Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels
- Dining locations at Walt Disney World Official Hotels at Bonnet Creek
- Dining locations at Walt Disney World Gateway Hotels
What is the Disney Dining Plan?
Basically, buying one of the Walt Disney World dining plans was like buying all of your meals and snacks in the park in advance. Whether or not this was always the best route to go to save money was questionable. It really depended on how often you planned one eating in the parks and how you utilized the options in the Disney Dining plan.
In order to be eligible to purchase a dining plan, guests needed to stay at one of the Walt Disney World resort hotels. Sometimes in the fall Walt Disney World would release a “free Disney Dining plan” promotion which would give guests access to (usually) the quick-service dining plan.
Each dining plan varied on how many meals and snack options it covered, here's a basic breakdown of what the Disney dining plans used to entail:
- The Quick-Service Dining Plan is the cheapest out of the Walt Disney World dining plans. This plan typically includes two quick service meals, one refillable mug, and two snacks per day.
- Dining Plan Plus is the newest dining plan offered at Walt Disney World that gives guests more choices when selecting their daily eating options. This option includes two quick or table service meals, two snacks, and a refillable mug.
- Disney Dining Plan is the mid-range option for the Walt Disney World dining plans. It offers one quick service, one table service, two snacks, and a refillable mug.
- Disney Deluxe Dining Plan is the premium option for the Walt Disney World dining plans. This dining plan allows you to select quick service or table service. This option includes three meals (any combination of quick or table service), two snacks, and a refillable mug.
Each plan is per guest, per day. The idea here is you pay a flat rate for these meals/snacks and this can save you money. Although the dining plans only become money savers when you plan out your meals strategically and make sure to select snacks/meals to get you the most worth out of the cost. The average cost for the dining plans ranged from $55 per adult, per day to $119 per adult, per day.
While we don't know if the Disney Dining Plan will return, it is promising to see such a variety of discounts being offered to guests like the Disney dining promo code to help fill in some of those guest wants.
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