Details for the 2013 Disney Dining Plans are being unveiled!
You can see updated pricing for the 2013 plans below (thanks to reader Pudge the Fish for this!). And there are price changes as well as clarifications that you need to know about if you’re planning a 2013 trip.
The major stand-out seems to be that Le Cellier in Epcot is listed as two table service credits for both LUNCH and dinner meals.
2013 Disney Dining Plan Pricing
As always, the price has gone up on many of the plans. See calculations below…
Quick-Service Dining Plan
(all year long)
$37.58 per night ages 10 and up
$14.32 per night age 3 to 9
2012 was $34.99 and $11.99.
See more info on the Quick Service Dining Plan page.
Be Our Guest Restaurant will be a new addition on the 2013 Disney Dining Plan
Standard Dining Plan
(Value and Regular Season)
$55.59 per night ages 10 and up
$17.16 per night age 3 to 9
2012 was $51.54 and $15.02.
(Peak Season)
$56.94 per night ages 10 and up
$18.16 per night ages 3 to 9
2012 was $53.54 and $16.02.
Read all about the Standard Dining Plan!
Deluxe Dining Plan
(Value and Regular Season)
$99.97 per night ages 10 and up
$26.84 per night ages 3 to 9
2012 was $85.52 and $23.79.
(Peak Season)
$102.27 per night ages 10 and up
$28.91 per night ages 3 to 9
2012 was $89.52 and $25.79.
We’ve got all the details on our Deluxe Dining Plan page.
Le Cellier Lunch
The 2013 brochure now shows Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot as a two table-service credit restaurant for lunch! Since March 2011, the restaurant has been a one-credit location for lunch and a two-credit location for dinner.
Other Clarifications
There have been a few changes made to the Disney Dining Plan brochures for 2013 as well.
Special Dining Events
The brochure this year spells out clearly that “special dining events with special menus offered at certain table-service locations” are not included in the Disney Dining Plan.
Find this French Onion Soup on the Chefs de France Prix Fixe Menu in Epcot
Gratuities
This specification now appears in the brochure: “An automatic gratuity charge may also be added to your bill for items you order that are not included in the Disney Dining Plan (e.g. alchoholic beverages).”
Prix Fixe Menus
There will be a surcharge now for ordering from prix fixe menus. The brochure states “Choosing items from a separate prix fixe menu offered at certain locations requires payment of a surcharge in addition to redeeming the number of Table-Service entitlements required at the location.”
Cancellations
You’ll need to cancel any Advance Dining Reservations by 10pm on the day prior to your reservation to avoid any cancellation fees.
Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue Show Time
Disney Dining Plan includes category 1 seating for the 8:30pm show (was 9:30pm in 2012). Category 2 and 3 seating is still available at all show times.
This is due to the the upcoming schedule change: Starting October 1, 2012, Hoop Dee Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness will be shown at 4 p.m., 6:15 p.m., and 8:30 p.m.
More Updates to Come
While restaurants are listed on the plans, it’ll take some time before all eateries are finalized (usually some restaurants wait until the last minute to re-up their status in the Dining Plan).
Stay tuned for more Disney Dining Plan information as it is released. Please understand that this is all subject to change.
Thanks to reader Pudge the Fish for the heads up and extra details on this news!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
Bummer! I made lunch reservations for Le Cellier January 2. Guess I will have to cancel and go somewhere else. I really don’t want to use 2 credits.
I’m not sure I understand what the difference is between “Prix Fixe Menus” and Regular table service menus.
It seems like a high price increase for the deluxe plan!
Oh, no! I can’t believe Le Cellier is a 2 credit now for lunch. I guess we may not be dining there each trip, like we usually do…
In my experience, Prix Fixe Menus included an appetizer. Using DDP on the regular menu entitles you to an entree, drink and dessert or full buffet with drink. On a Prix Fixe Meal, you pay one price for a pre-decided menu with minimal choices and it includes an appetizer. As long as you like what’s on the menu, Prix Fixe Menus tend to be a better value and you get more for your money.
I have gotten deluxe dining the two times I’ve gone. I really liked not having to worry about having enough money for snacks and food and the flexibility of being able to get table service or counter service at will. The first year it was free dining so we only had to pay the difference between regular and deluxe and it was worth every penny. We always go at the end of August. It seems like they are not including August in their free dining promotions anymore and the full cost of deluxe dining is just too much. For our 2013 trip, there will be six of us – 5 adults and 1 child. That means it will cost us nearly $5000, just for the dining plans if we got them. I am really bummed since dining is one of my favorite parts. 🙁
And I think I’m done with the DDP after this year, even when it’s “free.” The cost has just gotten too high. TIW is the way I’ll be going from now on, even since that means I’ll have to get an AP and need to find an excuse to take an extra trip!
2 credits for lunch is absolutely outrageous. Le Celier is good, but its not THAT good to warrant that upcharge. It just happens to be legendary – and perhaps it is given more props than it truly deserves.
At this point, with the price increase and the new gratuity rules, et al., the purchase of a dining plan will no longer save you any money. If you get it for free, great, but if you have to pay for it, pass.
Where are the DDP apologists to claim it’s still a “value”?
Yet another price increase with nothing on the back end in return. Sorry, but the DDP continues to amaze me by how poor a value it becomes year after year.
Whoohoo! Now that Le Cellier is two credits at both lunch & dinner, maybe we’ll have less problems getting reservations.
The Brown Derby has been two credits forever & we can pretty much walk up and get a table for lunch or dinner, with minimal waiting. We do still make reservations, but sometimes decide on the spur of the moment to eat there & don’t have a problem getting in. I’m sure it’s busy during summer, but we go in spring or fall.
Here’s hoping that Le Cellier is headed that same direction. We’re at EPCOT the most, so it would be nice to get to eat there more often. (Walk ups at restaurant opening are about the closest we get now, if we don’t reserve during our 180 day out window.)
I know people hate to use 2 credits for one meal, so this may work to our advantage after awhile. We don’t get free dining since we’ll always have APs & refuse to pay the cost to buy a dining plan. Tables in Wonderland works great for us.
We have gone Deluxe for the past several years (upgrade FDP) because we just love the dining at WDW. However I think for our 2013 trip we will just go during Free Dining and not upgrade to Deluxe and just pay for some out of pocket. That seems to be a significant increase for Deluxe, especially now that my son has hit age 10.
So sad to be losing Le Cellier from the one table service list. It’s good, but I don’t think it’s good enough for 2 credits. But I guess I can understand where Disney is coming from. Just glad that I get to go there one last time.
We have used the DDP for every trip the past few years because I like having the trip as pre-paid as possible. With these increases I doubt we’ll bother, especially because we have three kids. On the bright side, I may start trying non-Disney hotels because I won’t need to stay on property.Funny how a price increase could save me money.
Unless LeCellier removes some tables and updates the decor, I don’t see how it could ever compete with Yachtsman, Artist Point, Narcoosee’s, or even the Hollywood Brown Derby in the 2 table service credit realm.
The price increase for deluxe dining is nose-bleed high. I don’t see how many families would be able to justify the cost. But, perhaps that’s Disney’s plan. If the families go to regular dining, there are more counter service options, and they’re unlikely to go to signature restaurants to use their single daily table service credit. And, since Disney has been pushing free dining promotions to fill their rooms in slow periods, they’ll keep the demand for counter and single table service restaurants fairly consistent across the year.
Are they trying to make it less desirable? I know the changes are making it less desirable for me!
Disney has lost it’s absolute mind.
There is ZERO way to justify the economic pillaging that they already perform just to show up in the Parks, much less the ridiculously overpriced meals they hawk.
Anyone that knowingly plays into this going forward does so at the expense of their own financial incompetence.
Seriously…..
We always upgrade to the deluxe dining plan when we’re offered free dining, because my family LOVES eating at signature restaurants (and we’re also big fans of appetizers). But the increase on the deluxe plan is SKY HIGH!!!
I wonder what the difference is now between booking a deluxe dining plan and booking a premium package???
Wow…2 TS credits for lunch is ridiculous. I don’t care how good the food is, there is no way that can be a good value.
I don’t see how most families can look at these new prices and think that the dining plan is a good deal, especially the Deluxe Dining Plan. Do you think they are trying to phase out the dining plan by making is less desirable?
One other thing…do you have the all of the prices of the DDP since it’s inception? I’d love to see a chart that shows the price each year and how much it’s actually increased.
It seems like they are trying to get rid of the dining plan! these prices are outregous! I don’t think anyone could eat enough to make these a good deal.
So when this change in credits has happened at other restaurants did the out of pocket costs on the menu go up as well? Just wondering if I should try to book a lunch at Le Cellier before the end of the year even though I never use the DDP.
Last time we ate at Le Cellier the service was terrible. The food was good, but did not compare to Narcoossee. Don’t see how Disney can justify 2 DDP credits. By not offering free dining in August, we either had to cancel our trip or shell out an extra $3600. Guess which option won out. Everybody loses.
I was considering doing the disney dining plan, but with the changes it makes absolutely no sense. Some of the things that made it somewhat worthwhile were being able to use it for Fantasmic; based on the special dining exclusion, it doesn’t sound like this will be available. We also used to do the Price Fixe menus because it was a good deal; if there is a surcharge, then this isn’t going to be as valuable. Moving Le Cellier from 1 to 2 credits at lunch was also the last straw. We absolutely won’t be using the dining plan but the TIW card since we’re DVC members. If the menu prices go up that much between December and January to justify the price increases; we’ll start dining off of Disney property regardless of the convenience. I think we’ll start having only 1 or 2 sit-down meals at Disney rather than the number we normally do.
I think the end of August has gotten busier lately. I sure noticed a difference between 2009 and 2011 so there is less incentive to get people into the parks. Thinking about postponing our trip to the end of September next year so we can get the free dining. I didn’t get free dining last year, but I had an awesome discount on the room. My travel agent priced them out and the discount I already had was better than the free dining. I’m hoping they come up with some good deals or next year may be our last year unless I manage to buy into DVC (not likely).
Finally!!!!! Le Cellier is 2 credits for lunch. Now the DDP dealhunters won’t be packing that place in.
I love hearing some of them complain, it’s as if Le Cellier burnt down.
GOD FORBID!!!!!!! THEY WOULD RATHER DIE THAN USE 2 OF THEIR CHERISHED CREDITS FOR LUNCH!!!!!!! LOL
I can’t stand the dining plan, because in my opinion it’s seriously harmed the quality of WDW’s sit down restaurants since it began.
Hearing the DDP crowd’s negativity gives me hope that it will go away eventually. (but let’s be honest, that’s not happening) sigh
Yikes, those are some steep price increases, particularly on the Deluxe. I have always said that I would do the Deluxe plan one day but with an increase like that it is very unlikely!
We have found that with the TIW card and the prix fixe menus that a lot of the restaurants are offering now (we especially like the prix fixe menu at Chefs de France), we can get a better deal than with the DDP.
I also don’t think LeCelier is worth 2 credits for lunch. I wondering if they are switching to the now dinner menu all day? I certainly wouldn’t want to pay 2 credits for a lesser menu! We have an ADR here for lunch on New Year’s Day. We probably will not be keeping it. We had also planned on doing the Fantasmic package. I guess that’s gonna be out too! This announcement has really ” thrown a wrench” into my planning! Oh well, I’m happy we are still able to celebrate the New Year at Mickey’s house:-)
A couple of people mentioned the Fantasmic dining package being out with this change. I could be wrong but I don’t think that is the case for Special Dining Events. When I had the package last year, we ordered off of the regular menu. I’m interpreting this to be events like Dine with an Imagineer or Flying Fish Cafe Chef’s Tasting Wine Dinner.
Special Dining Events
The brochure this year spells out clearly that “special dining events with special menus offered at certain table-service locations” are not included in the Disney Dining Plan.
@JoAnn, thanks for the info!
I stopped using the DDP in January. There is no value in it anymore. They keep cutting things back on it, and raising the price. Done with it!! Unless it’s free, but rack rates are getting ridiculous for rooms too.
I am wondering if they will continue the pattern of raising the cash menu prices to match the jump in the ddp. The prices are already ridiculous but I can’t imagine what they will need to be to make the ddp still appear to be a good deal.
Tinkymurph – you’re welcome. Although it doesn’t hurt to call and confirm this in case there were changes made since last year that I’m not aware of.
We’re here now and got charged the auto gratuity on my glass of wine yesterday at artist point. Used TIW for it since we’re on the ddp and was surprised to see the auto gratuity.
I find it strange that there is a surcharge for Prix Fixe Menus as some of them(ex. Kona Cafe, Chefs de France) are cheaper than ordering separate items.
I’m sort of on the fence about Le Cellier. If I’m on the deluxe plan I don’t really mind it taking 2 credits but I highly doubt I would go if I had the regular dining plan.
does that mean paying a surcharge on the Chefs de France prix Fixe?
I don’t think there will be a surcharge for all prix fixe menus. It says “at certain locations” so I bet they are referring to Marrakesh which has done the surcharge thing on their multi-course feasts for awhile. I am not ready to conclude that it means all prix fixe menus.
There is also some discussion that the paragraph about automatic tips on off-plan items means that they’ll assess that tip on any and all off-plan items, and I don’t think it means that. I’m reading it as they are trying to put in notice that if you qualify for the auto-tip on your DDP bill (more than 5 in the party), then you will qualify on any separate bills you receive on the same meal as well.
Disney’s lawyers need to take a contract writing course again.
Oh, TIW too, for the auto tip. All TIW use gets an auto tip, regardless of the size of the party (except at counter services.)
Catherine — Thanks for your interpretations!! I’m eager to see how this all plays out.
I’m wondering if they aren’t planning on having lunch at Le Cellier now be the same experience as dinner – same menu, etc., thus the 2-credits at lunch now, too.
Le Cellier is one of my favorites (it’s the cheddar cheese soup). I stopped going for dinner when it became 2 credits, so I guess this puts an end to the DDP for me here. I t may just be a better value to pay at this location and keep the credit for another restaurant.
Disney, are you listening?
I am sooo sad about this. We finally got a reservation for our January trip but it looks like I will be cancelling it. Does this mean that my Fantasmic package at Mama’s also has to go?? The vacation is already costing me a small fortune that I can not afford any more little add-on charges. So sad….
Cathy, I don’t think this affects the dinner shows so I think you are safe with your Fantasmic package. You can always give Disney a call to confirm.
BF, I called Disney last night. The rep that I spoke with didn’t even have a clue that the 2013 DDP details had been released. She tried to be as helpful as possible though. It does look like Fantasmic packages are not included in the new surcharge. Regrettfully Le Cellier is going to be out of the picture. 🙁
Our 49th and 50th Disney vacations are this September and December including the DLX DDP We will forego adding the DLX DDP to our vacations in 2013. We can afford the increase but so many folks with young and older children cannot. We are opting out of DDP for good in hopes many others protest the increases. Le Cellier is overpriced, understaffed and their staff needs lessons on manners.
I don’t think they’re trying to get rid of the dining plan at all. They’re going to raise prices on the food, which makes you think you’re still getting a good deal. It also makes “Free” Dining discounts seem like a better deal because instead of $40 for a dinner, you’re now paying $50. So the value is artificial, they’ve inflated it to make more money all around.
We go to Disney every year and have always done the DDP. The standard DDP value used to be great- app, entree, dessert and tip included- for years. Then the tip was no longer included, then the app was no longer included. So we upgraded last year to the deluxe plan (and we pay the full amount- no free dinning packages when you’re a vacation club member) and it was a good value for the amount of food they gave you, but it was SO much food that it almost killed us! And the dinner shows were painful to watch. The luau we went to was like watching a bunch of 5th graders put on a play. The only cool part was the fire dancer guy, but most people left before he even went on! No thank you. We’ll be paying cash for our meals. Just because its a flat rate per day doesn’t mean its a good deal….it really only is a good deal if you can manage to eat all that food, which is just not humanly possible, even in America. There should be a plan with 2 sit down meals a day, that would be a reasonable amount of food for vacation club members who have kitchens in their rooms. Breakfast in the room, dinner out at night….Help me out here Disney!
It appears that just when you start to enjoy the Disney Dinning plan or just try it the for the first time and find out it’s enjoyable, they WDW increases the price. Maybe they should leave the price alone for a year or two and thus get more people to use it.
That’s just my opinion.
You also could take the money that you are saving to pay for the dining plan and buy a Disney Gift Card that you use specifically for dining and tips. Then you are not restricted by the dining plans rules only by the amount of money on your card. Look, the price of everything is going up and while Disney uses free dining as a marketing tool to get visitors into the parks during slow periods it will not be able to use this tool forever. Eventually, the plan will change.
We all have to do what is best for our budgets. The key is in the planning. If you don’t want to use Disney’s dining plan, then when you call to make your reservations, make sure to ask if there are any room only discounts available. If you go to Disney more than once a year then check out the annual pass and Tables in Wonderland. Put aside a little money in an account every month to buy that dining plan or that gift card. Look on line for coupons for dining discounts for restaurants outside of the park (if you bring your car and/or stay off property). Unfortunately, everything is getting more expensive and we just need to find ways to save where we can. Good luck on your future planning!
We bought the Tables In Wonderland card for $75 and got 20% off of all the sit down restaurants that we ate at. It makes more sense to do it that way rather than pay the ridiculous prices that the DDP wants. While passing by Canada this last trip I glanced at the menu and was astounded by the prices. For much less we took in an incredible meal at Ohana, still easily my fave at Disney.