The Disney Dining Plan has been missing since Disney World reopened last year.
La Hacienda de San Angel
In the meantime, we’ve been giving you tips on how to get the best bang for your buck without the Disney Dining Plan, as Disney has not announced anything about it in a while. There are, however, other dining options in Disney World and today we’re breaking down what we’re seeing with the Quick Service Dining Card.
The Quick Service Dining Cards were originally introduced in 2017 and allowed Disney World guests to use it as a gift card at participating quick service locations. This is available to guests who book a Walt Disney World vacation package that includes a stay at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, Four Seasons Resort at Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Springs area hotels, or select good neighbor hotels with a minimum 3-day theme park ticket.
Swan & Dolphin
Recently we’ve received LOTS of questions from readers about this option popping up on the Disney website when they book a trip and if that means the Disney Dining Plan is returning. So we decided to look into it! The Quick Service Dining Card itself is NOT new, however you may see it as a pop-up option when booking a vacation package like the ones listed above.
Woody’s Lunch Box
When we went to book a Disney vacation package at a Disney-owned resort, the option did not come up for us to add a Quick Service Dining Card.
©Disney
However, when we changed our hotel to a Disney Springs hotel, the option popped up on the page before you checkout.
©Disney
When you click on “Add Dining Card”, you can choose how many days you would like the Dining Card. Another thing to note is that this is a good way to save money on quick-service because the value of the card is MORE than what you’re actually paying!
©Disney
There are some other things to note about the Quick Service Dining Cards. There is a value of $40 per day for adults, and $15 per day for children aged 3-9. The card cannot be used at the Swan & Dolphin Hotels, Four Seasons Resort Orlando, Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels, Bonnet Creek Hotels, Gateway Hotels, and Good Neighbor Hotels. Check with the quick service restaurants you wish to dine at and see if they participate.
Gaston’s Tavern
Upon checking in to your hotel, each guest in your travel party (ages 3 and up) will receive a Dine Card. When you’re ready to eat, you’ll just present it at a participating Quick-Service dining location and use the Dine Card to pay. Note that you can use the Dine Card’s value however you want! You can even spend the entire value of the card in one day if that’s what you want to do.
©Disney
So does this mean that the Disney Dining Plan is coming back? Unfortunately no, not yet. This option has been around for quite some time, so if you see it when booking your next vacation, it may be a good dining option for you while we wait for the return of the Disney Dining Plan. We’ll be on the lookout for any announcements regarding the Disney Dining Plan, so stay tuned!
Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Disney Dining Plan
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How many people were you trying to book the dining plan for in the screenshots? If I wanted to go solo what would you expect me to pay?
Hey AJ and Disney food blog team, here in the uk we have a new offer it’s called the 50th Anniversary package 5 nights or more at a Disney World resort and for each night of your stay per room you receive a free dinning card, $36 per night at Value $61 for moderate and $68 for delux and you can spend it pretty much anywhere only lists the hotels that are open at the minute but a really good deal 😀
How does a quest , who doesn’t have a smart phone, order food? Obviously can’t do “Mobile Ordering”.
Interesting. However, I’ve been using this technique/method to pay for food and beverages when I’m at Disney World even though I always stay in a Disney owned resort. I simply load a Disney gift card or cards with the amount I’ve budgeted for food and beverages for that trip. I then use the gift card(s) to pay for any food or beverage I get during my stay. I’ve dubbed this the gift card dining plan as it gives me what I love about the dining plans (having my food & beverages already paid for) without what I don’t like about the dining plans (being forced to eat where the plan is accepted and the use it or lose it nature of the plan).
Is there any news on Tables of Wonderland cards? What’s your best guess on when/if they might be available to Annual Passport holders?
So can you use the 40.00 per day over your entire visit. And what happens if you don’t use the full amount do you loose it.
It looks to be slightly better than the AP 10% discount on meals, but the benefit here is that it works at Quick service. Not as good as the Tables in Wonderland, but, then again, that may not be coming back. 🙁 Also not as good as the dining plan since those gave you snack credits each day + meals, which could make the discount more than $5/day.
Can you use it on snacks or drinks?
Are alcoholic beverages included in the Dining Card, like the suspended dining plan ?
Without making us do the math, how much is it per day/per person. I am confused about how you wrote this up. Does it mean that you can spend up to $40? Exactly how does this work? It would be nice if you made this a bit more clear.
It costs $70 per day but is only worth $40?
$40 per day per person only at quick service locations ?
So that would be breakfast and lunch ?
Worth the money ?
Lunch and dinner would be unhealthy at a quick service
How many veggies and fruit can you get ?
Have you heard anything about Disney bringing back Tables in Wonderland?
What can you get with the dine card? How is a good deal?
Frankly, I don’t know how Disney is going to be able to accommodate any special offers, they seem to be haven’t great difficulty in providing quality service at the parks, resorts and restaurants when the capacity is capped at 35%. What will it be like if we ever get back to 100%
Hi!! So… it looks like when you added a 1-day option for the dinig card, the cost was 70.00- was this for two adults? Thus you get 80.00 worth of dining for 70.00?? Thanks for the info!!
Joyce, not yet.
AG, it looks like guests pay $35 per day per person and get $40 per day per person on the card.
Ann, Disney World’s official info says “counter service, fast casual, food trucks, food carts, kiosks and more”, which leads me to believe it would include snacks (typically that’s all you’re going to find at carts and kiosks).
Capt. Jack, Disney hasn’t released this information yet.
Kim, we’ll report when Disney releases the info and/or when we give it a try to see the limitations and allowances.
Suzanne, no guesses at this time as Disney hasn’t released the information yet. But we will report as soon as there’s info!
Lucille, you would explain to a Cast Member at the restaurant that you do not have a phone with Mobile Order/My Disney Express. They’ll likely have you go in to order unless they themselves have that capability at the door (for example, on a tablet).
Hayley, yes! That was one of the appearances of a dining card that piqued our interest recently. 🙂
555Seddel, we used two adults as our party. The Dining Card ended up being $35 per person per day. I believe that will hold up for a solo guest as well.
I have never heard of this. Thanks for sharing. Is there a list of locations that accept the dining card? Maybe on Disney’s website?
This doesn’t seem like a great deal. You are locked into quick service meals only, and what is included is not really clear yet. For a $10 difference for two people, I’d rather have the option to spend my money at table service or quick service meals. Unfortunately with the diminished menu selections at most restaurants, I’m more in favor of brining your food to Disney, because the menus (unless they are a Landry’s restaurant) are really uninspired. Do you know how hard it is to find seafood on the menu at Coral Reef? They have like two dishes, one of them salmon, which EVERONE does. Nothing exciting there…I’ve never thought of bringing our own food before, but after my last visit, and we were staying on site, I cancelled reservations because I was tired of the same food options to head to Cracker Barrel for some menu diversity (and that just shouldn’t be that case when you are at Disney!) It is really sad when bringing your own food seems like the best option. Disney seriously needs to up their game!
Crystal, here’s the official page with info.
I just booked a good neighbor hotel in flamingo crossing. Here’s the deets:
* Not just available for Disney springs hotels, good for all good neighbor hotels. I think minimum stay of 3 days.
* You need to purchase at time you reserve your hotel.
* You can choose # of days out of your stay you want it for, but you’ll need to pay for everyone in your party.
* Since you basically get a Disney gift card, it doesn’t matter how you use it. You can use as much or little you want per day. I’m guessing you could use it at a table reservation or even for merchandise since it’s basically a Disney gift card. But I’m not completely certain.
* For 5 days for 4 adults/older kids and one 7 year old, we paid $762.50 for the meal card.
Correction to my earlier comment: dining card can only be used for food, not merchandise as the website states.
Thank you for sharing, Grace.
Great question if alcoholic drinks are included. It would be wonderful to know where these cards accepted and what can they be used for in terms of menu items (if there are any restrictions). Has anyone tried using the card, where, and were there any limitations?
Great! But what about the valid dates to use the Dinning cards? I’ve tryed to read everywhere! If Im satying 4 nights with 4 park days but buyng 6 days of dinning cards. Can I use then on 6 diferent dates? Do they expire when I check out the 5th day? Till when are they valid if there is more credit in? thanks!!!