Following our earlier observation that dining reservations and the Disney Dining Plan were unable to be booked at this time, we now have some more details to share.
Mickey Pretzel!
It looks like guests planning to visit after Disney World’s reopening will NOT be permitted to have a Disney Dining Plan initally, among other big changes!
According to Disney, “we have made the difficult decision to cancel all existing dining reservations and experience bookings, including Disney dining plans included in packages.”
DOLE WHIP!
Additionally, Disney stated, “We will reopen dining and experience bookings with more limited numbers closer to when the parks reopen. We will also shift from a 180-day booking window to a 60-day booking window for dining and experience bookings going forward to allow Guests to make their plans closer to their visits.”
©Disney
Note that the statement from Disney specifies impacted reservations will be from May 28th, 2020 all the way to September 26th, 2021. This is due to international bookings being made into 2021.
NOTE: This DOES NOT MEAN that Disney will not have dining reservations or Disney Dining Plans in 2021, as far as we know. It only means that they’re clearing out their current bookings so that they can release a new system to accommodate the lower capacity that the parks, restaurants, and hotels will be servicing.
Disney has also stated select third-party dining and experiences possibly may not be canceled at this time. So be sure to check your My Disney Experience when you can.
If guests were recipients of the Free Disney World Dining Plan offered to guests impacted by the closure, their plans will be canceled as well and they will have the option to rebook at a later date with a hefty 35% room discount.
Guests who hold a resort reservation or a canceled dining reservation will be given priority rebooking once that is announced.
Note that Disney World has also canceled FastPass bookings and has suspended their FastPass System temporarily. Click here to read more about this development.
So What Should You Do NOW?
Deep breath. Don’t panic. If you have a current Disney World hotel package you still have your hotel reservations.
Disney has stated that they will re-open Dining Reservation and Experience bookings closer to their opening date and that lead time — usually 180 days — will be shortened to 60 days. But you should still be able to make dining reservations and experience bookings for your vacation.
As for the FastPass system, Disney seems confident that the limited capacity of the parks will offer significantly reduced wait times for attractions and rides. We’ll keep our ear to the ground for more details there a well.
That said, we understand that many of you had already booked the *perfect* plans for your vacation — some of you having rescheduled multiple times already — and for that we truly feel your pain. This is a very difficult time when it’s so hard to book these trips in the first place.
If you have worked with a travel agent to plan your trip, contact them for more details and for next steps. If you booked your trip yourself, DO. NOT. FRET. We will get more information from Disney about the new booking procedures and we’ll share them with you ASAP. Things are gonna be a little bit different here for a while, but stick with us here at DFB. We gotchu as far as Disney info, details, and advice. And if you have any specific questions, please let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them…or find answers to them.
Click here to learn more about Disney World’s proposed reopening procedures
Disney Park Reopening Details and Info
Click HERE for the All Latest Updates
Click HERE To See FULL LISTS of the Rides, Attractions, Shopping, Entertainment, and Restaurants Opening in Disney World!
TUTORIAL: How To Use Disney World's NEW Park Pass Reservation System
ALL Disney World Reopening Procedures
Disney World Hotel and Ticket Booking Information
We’re Visiting ALL the Reopened Disney World Hotels and Have All the Need-to-Know Details
We’re LIVE in Disney World's Magic Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We’re LIVE in Disney’s Animal Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We Got a FIRST LOOK at Disney World’s New Character Cavalcades and Entertainment!
Everything You NEED To Know About Wearing Masks in Disney World
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What do you think of these cancellations? Let us know in the comments!
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I know Disney says through the end of the year but all my reservations are still appearing for our trip in October..
Who has seen their Dining Plan disappear from their reservation? We are booked for the end of September and so far have not seen any alterations to our reservations?
do you have a link to this statement that includes the 35% discount? I can’t find it anywhere
Looks like I’m going to cancel my Disney trip. There’s nothing left to do. I mean they canceled all of my dinning and experiences.
So no dinning plan, no experiences, no parades, no fireworks, no meet and greets. And having to wear a mask the whole time. This trip is costing $5,000.
And before someone jumps down my throat about the masks, yes I think people should wear them. Everytime I go into a store or gas station I wear one.
Because people have to go there. They don’t have a choice and I know it’s my responsibility to keep them safe.
Disney world is a choice. A very expensive choice. People don’t have to go there.
At this point Disney should let the season pass holders and vacation club members use the park.
Since they go more often the strict rules will probably be easier for them to follow and they can keep the hotels closed.
And unless Disney lowers their prices by alot we won’t be going.
We had free dining with CBR booked for September. Oh well….
This is breaking my heart
Is there anything more you can share repeated to the 35% discount “at a later time”? We have a free dining recovery package booked for 7/15-7/25, and I understand that the free dining plan is going to be canceled, but is there any information how much “later” I will be able to utilize the 35% room discount? Thank you!
We booked back the normal free dining incentive back in January for our trip in September. Does the 35% discount apply to that?
So we have a Disney hotel package and had a dining plan as well attached and we purchased our military salute tickets in early February. Are we still considered a reservation? Are we going to get turned away because we didn’t buy our tickets through our hotel package? We have a trip planned for september.
Friendly FYI: It appears that the phrase “through the end of the year” has been removed from the announcement.
😳
I have a question that I hope you can answer. 3 of the experiences I booked were pay in advance and it was alot of money.
Are they going to refund it? Hold onto it for a rebooking? Contact us?
Thanks!
Uhu… we have to book at no discount rate to get the free dinning now they cancelled all the dinning plan and give us 35% off for a later booking? How about apply the discount to my existing booking? I am so disappointed now.
This seems pretty major. The dining plan saves so much money, I’m not sure how we can afford to have the experience we originally planned. Plus with the meet and greets, parades and shows on hold, it’s not going to be what we hoped. I’m coming with a baby and young child who won’t go on a lot of rides and it’s the other stuff they love. I’m worried our holiday is turning into an incredibly expensive hotel and pool trip.
Okay so I’m confused – I have a booking with free dining in September and does this mean I lose the whole thing? I can’t even keep the hotel room? How is that fair when people have flights etc already sorted???
So…if I understand this right….Disney are now expecting me to pay more for a reduced experience (as I now have 2 weeks of meals to pay for 5 people where DDP was free)? Really? This is an OG for me from Disney, very very poor.
I think it’s awful of Disney to cancel the dining plan. They are clearly doing it to take in more money from people.
So this would include the quick service dinning plan too I am assuming? 😞 I love the quick service plan it’s just really convenient and an easy way to pre-pay for everything.
Im confused about the 35% offer- I cant find any mention of this (Im UK based though so does it still apply???) We are due to go in August this year with the free dining offer, but were going to postpone to August 2021. Will the 35% be applied to new prices advertised or will our TA be in touch with the new price?
So having called Disney to discuss this and try and change my trip, they say they have no details about this information. Did it come from Disney? I’m getting a little mad at their inaction.
My November reservations have not yet been removed or cancelled. Just an FYI
Karen, the info is from Disney directly via DisneyParksBlog. It was released late last night. The folks in Reservations typically do not have information until after it’s publicly released (at least in our experience calling), so in all likelihood, the person you spoke with recently did not know.
Natalie, your travel agent is probably going to need to dig into this.
Hal, all DDP have been (or will be) cancelled. We will update with any new information.
Brynna, your Resort room reservation is not expected to be cancelled. This is for dining, FastPasses, Disney Dining Plan, and other experiences that require a reservation.
Tiana, I expect you’ll be refunded, but it’s my understanding you’ll receive communication (probably via email) about this.
Justin, thanks! We spotted that and we’re updating.
Hope, you’ll want to confirm with Disney. Our understanding is that they will be reaching out with information for folks with existing reservations.
Cassidy, not sure. Disney will need to answer that.
Brandon, we only know what Disney posted last night. But we’ll update when we learn more!
M, cancellations will likely take some time to process. We’ll update as we get information.
Jill, we have a screenshot of it from last night, but I don’t see the information on the full DisneyWorld.com. Trying to track this down for you.
Hi. I have a Tables in Wonderland discount card. Any word what Disney is doing to extend the expiration date?
Do you know if it is the dining plan alone being cancelled or the quick service plans too?
Disney handled the release of all ‘negative’ information (no dining plan, no fast pass +, no dining reservations) very poorly. Their senior leadership team and communications team should be ashamed as to the 11th hour manner they released this critical information to their guests. Disney also put their third party travel agents in a precarious situation in having to address guest questions with little to no information. I understand and support all needed health and safety measures, but the way in this information was released was not appropriate. Along with many others, my family had a free dining package and dining reservations booked for September 2020. Losing free dining may be a deal breaker for us. I hope others can find ways to re-address their vacation planning.
My reservations started 6/27–when I look, my Fast Passes are all gone, but my hotel and Dining reservations are still there. As impatient as I am, I think the best course is just wait until Disney contacts me and see exactly what my options are. I know everyone is frustrated, myself included as I had free dining, but we are in unprecedented times. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Disney will have some way to “make up for” what they are taking away…
Our dining plan and reservations are still intact for our trip in early September.
Still haven’t received the credit on any of my credit cards for my five annual passes that we are supposed to get because of the park closure
I have a vacation package scheduled for July 26th that includes quick service dining plan. Will I be getting a refund or anything to replace that ?
Question – can you use the 35% discount on an existing reservation? It seems extremely unfair and disreputable that they give you a free dining plan to encourage you to reschedule your trip then take it away and force you to rebook over 18 months later in order to use the 35% discount.
Similar question as Natalie….UK based too and booked trip for end Sept 2020 in April 2019 and it’s all now crumbling down 😭 Are you able to find out if you had a package with free dining, will Disney be reducing the hotel rate by 35% or other % to account for the increase in spend which will now be required to cover food?
I am disgusted with Disney’s poor choice to cancel all dining plans. What are they thinking? Feels like a slap in the face for all of us who are serving as guinea pigs for the new opening. I understand cancelling fast passes and dining reservations. I understand no parades, fireworks, or character experiences. I understand masks, temp checks, and sanitation. What I don’t understand is canceling the quick service dining plans. That has nothing to do worth COVID 19 restriction and just seems stingy.
Hello, my fiancé and I are having our honeymoon here Aug 3rd-17th, we had a hotel package with 10 day hoppers and a dining plan. So this being said our dining plan will be canceled and have to pay out of pocket for any dining that we would like? Also I’m assuming hopping will not be a thing.
Lauren, all Disney Dining Plans, according to a reservations cast member we spoke with this morning.
Anthony, I haven’t heard specifically. I’ll check with the team.
My Boathouse res for October is still there, but I believe this is a 3rd party restaurant, so maybe I will get lucky and it won’t be cancelled? My res for Oga’s cantina is also still there, but this is an in-park bar, so unless Disney is not cancelling that far out yet I suspect it may be pulled soon. I already have Not-so-scary tix that I bought when on sale in Feb, so I wonder how they will handle special events. Just stop selling them at half capacity or will they have to refund some people to bring attendance down based on last purchased first cancelled? This should be interesting.
I have reservations in October at Ft. Wilderness for a Premium Campsite. I also purchased a ticket package with this. Although the campground is reopening the end of June, has there been any mention of reducing the number of sites booked to allow more social distancing in the campground itself? Many of those sites (especially in loops 100 – 700) are fairly close together. Since there are so few Premium and Preferred sites, they tend to book more than a year out. Any Ft. Wilderness information would be appreciated. By the way, you all are GREAT! Thank you so much for looking out for all of us!
I’m not fully understanding why they would cancel paid DDP. If we are in the parks obviously we still have to eat so unless they just don’t have any carts or quick service food stops open they could leave the DDP alone and people could just mobile order, right? Makes more sense with the table service DDP because of the new restrictions, but not a whole bunch of sense for quick service. Can anyone explain this? I feel like with so much stripping down of the experience Disney should at least offer the people still willing to go a bump up to the next level of resort or something to somewhat compensate For all that is being taking away. Not complaining. I get that they have a business to run, but it makes sense to do something to keep people wanting to visit.
Diane, no word on this yet, but it’s an interesting question. We will be watching for info regarding all of the Resorts and update as we learn new things.
CeCe, hi! Our information from talking to third party restaurants in Disney Springs this morning is that reservations made through Disney reservations will likely be cancelled. However, reservations are still being made through OpenTable, and those are not expected to be cancelled.
I find it very distressing how this is being handled. I realize that is it not Disney’s fault there is a pandemic that closed their parks, however, don’t give a free dinining plan to encourage you to rebook your trip for later in the year, then take it away when you realize that you have too many reservations to accomodate based on space restrictions in the park. Giving me a 35% discount for 18 months from now does me no good since I have airfare already purchased for September. How about letting us use the 35% discount on our existing reservations to offset the cost of the free food you promised me? Very upsetting.