Disney Dining Plan Explained | A Complete Guide

A Disney World vacation these days is truly an immersive brand experience. Between the parks, attractions, resorts, dining and even transportation, you literally have the opportunity to escape the ‘real world’ for the duration of your stay. Because of the level of service and the ability to prepay for elements of your trip, you now have the option to make a Disney vacation into the equivalent of an all-inclusive trip. One key element to this is Disney World’s Disney Dining Plan. Here is everything you need to know about that option and the various packages they offer.

Please note: The Disney Dining Plan is currently unavailable (as of April 2021) due to some of the resort limitations caused by the pandemic. It is more than likely to return at some point this year, so I thought it was important to keep this explainer up. If/when the plan returns, I will be sure to update this post if the options change at all.

What is a Disney Dining Plan?

A Disney Dining Plan essentially allows you to prepay for your meals. You can use the credits you purchase in the plan to eat at the countless restaurants on Disney property without having to worry about the meal cost. Depending on the package you purchase, you are able to eat at some of Disney World’s nicest restaurants and you can eat whatever looks most appealing to you as the most expensive item on the menu will cost you the same amount of credits as the most inexpensive meal selection.

It should be noted that gratuity is not included in Disney Dining plans, so you will still need to pay that at each table service meal.

Also worth noting is that Dining Plans are only available to guests ages 3 and older and all guests receive a refillable drink mug with each plan.

Disney World Dining Plan Packages:

Quick Service Dining Plan:

The quick service plan is Disney’s bare-bones plan. It offers you the ability to prepay for meals, but only for meals at the various quick service restaurants and snack spots around the resort.

What you get:

For each night of your Disney World resort stay, you receive 2 quick service meals and 2 snacks per person.

Quick service meals are available throughout the day (breakfast/lunch/dinner) and include 1 entrée and 1 beverage. Guests 21+ can choose an alcoholic beverage if they want.

Price:

2018: $52.50 per night per guest aged 10+; $21.74 per night per child aged 3-9
2019: $52.50 per night per guest aged 10+; $23.78 per night per child aged 3-9

Disney Dining Plan:

This is, by far, the most common Disney Dining Plan among resort guests. It allows guests to prepay for meals and enjoy the amazing table service restaurants across the resort.

What you get:

For each night of your Disney World resort stay, you receive 1 quick service meal, 1 table service meal and 2 snacks per person.

Quick service meals are available throughout the day (breakfast/lunch/dinner) and include 1 entrée and 1 beverage. Guests 21+ can choose an alcoholic beverage if they want.

Table service meals generally include 1 entrée, 1 desert (not available at breakfast) and a beverage. A table service credit is also good for a buffet or family style meal if you pick a restaurant that offers one of those formats.

It should be noted here that you can use your table service credits towards a signature restaurant or dining experience, but it will cost you 2 credits. When making your dining reservations, be sure to keep this in mind because it reduces the amount of days you can dine at a table service restaurant. You will need to get a bit creative with snacks and quick services in these situations to stretch things out.

Price:

2018: $75.49 per night per guest aged 10+; $25.75 per night per child aged 3-9
2019: $75.49 per night per guest aged 10+; $27.98 per night per child aged 3-9

Disney Deluxe Dining Plan:

This is a more expensive and extravagant option, but one that is a nice buy if you want to experience a few of the nicest ‘signature’ restaurants on property without having to use a snack credit for a meal here or there. As noted above, signature dining requires two table credits.

What you get:

For each night of your Disney World resort stay, you receive 3 meals (any type) and 2 snacks per person.

Quick service meals are available throughout the day (breakfast/lunch/dinner) and include 1 entrée and 1 beverage. Guests 21+ can choose an alcoholic beverage if they want.

Table service meals generally include 1 entrée, 1 desert (not available at breakfast) and a beverage. You also get an appetizer at table service restaurants when you have the deluxe plan. A table service credit is also good for a buffet or family style meal if you pick a restaurant that offers one of those formats.

Price:

2018: $116.25 per night per guest aged 10+; $39.99 per night per child aged 3-9
2019: $116.25 per night per guest aged 10+; $43.49 per night per child aged 3-9

How to Order Dining:

You can purchase a dining plan as part of you Magic Your Way vacation package or add it to an existing resort reservation through your Disney account.

Free Dining:

For quite a few years now, Disney has offered free dining packages with some vacation packages. It has happened annually for quite a few years, but is not a set program and we never know from year to year if it will return. Originally instituted as an incentive to combat slumping resort sales, it is much less of a necessity to Disney these days as park attendance keeps rising. When free dining is released, it is usually for specific dates, specific hotels and often specific rooms, so it is very challenging to plan for. Generally, it is offered for dates in the second half of a calendar year and tends to be announced in the May-June time frame. I always cover free dining announcements here on DisneyNews, so be sure to subscribe to my email updates to be notified if/when free dining is released.

Other Dining Resources:

Please note: Disney Dining Plan availability, features and pricing are subject to availability and change without notice to this site or our readers. Please be sure to confirm all details with an official Disney Representative before making a purchase to be sure what you need is included.