Tons of people are super excited that the Disney Dining Plans are RETURNING in January 2024! And…that’s why we feel a little bit like Sadness from Inside Out when we have to rain on everyone’s parade and remind you of a few not-so-awesome changes that are impacting the Dining Plans when they come back.
©Disney
But we’d much rather warn you about these issues NOW so that you don’t run into them later on after you’ve already purchased a Dining Plan. So let’s get into all the reasons why you might be disappointed with the “new” (updated) Dining Plans in 2024 (but don’t worry — we’ll be sure to point out all kinds of good things along the way, too!).
First, a quick recap on what is going on and what these Dining Plans even are. Disney Dining Plans are essentially a way for you to pre-pay for all of your food for your Disney World trip. You can purchase the plans as part of a vacation package, and you’ll receive a certain number of credits, with the number and type of credits depending on which Dining Plan you buy.
Yak and Yeti
There are snack credits, quick service credits, and table service credits. Most restaurants inside the Disney World parks accept Disney Dining Plan credits. Some restaurants require more than one credit; for example, signature dining and some character dining spots require two table service credits per meal.
Click here for our full guide on Disney Dining Plans!
Here’s an overview of the Disney Dining Plans:
The Quick Service Dining Plan
Inclusions Per Person in the travel party (ages 3 and up), Per Night.
- Two Quick Service meals (entrée or combo meal at lunch and dinner and a beverage); Guests under 21 years of age can choose one non-alcoholic beverage (including specialty beverages — e.g., Artisanal Milk Shakes, Fresh Smoothies, Premium Hot Chocolates, or Soda, Coffee or Tea — where offered). Guests 21 and older can choose either one non-alcoholic beverage (including specialty beverages where offered) or one single-serving mixed cocktail, beer, or wine (where offered) within their meal entitlement.
- One snack/nonalcoholic drink
- One Resort refillable resort drink mug per person, per package
Casey’s Corner full spread
The Standard Dining Plan
Inclusions Per Person in the travel party (ages 3 and up), Per Night.
- One table service entrée and dessert (dessert offered for lunch and dinner only), OR full buffet;
- Guests under 21 years of age can choose one non-alcoholic beverage (including specialty beverages — e.g., Artisanal Milk Shakes, Fresh Smoothies, Premium Hot Chocolates, or Soda, Coffee, or Tea — where offered).
- Guests 21 and older can choose either one non-alcoholic beverage (including specialty beverages where offered) or one single-serving mixed cocktail, beer, or wine (where offered) within their meal entitlement.
- Note that gratuity is NOT included with table service credits.
- One quick service meal, including entrée, OR combo meal;
- Guests under 21 years of age can choose one non-alcoholic beverage with their Quick Service and Table Service meal (including specialty beverages — e.g., Artisanal Milk Shakes, Fresh Smoothies, Premium Hot Chocolates, or Soda, Coffee, or Tea — where offered).
- Guests 21 and older can choose either one non-alcoholic beverage (including specialty beverages where offered) or one single-serving mixed cocktail, beer, or wine (where offered) within their meal entitlement.
- One snack/nonalcoholic drink
- One Resort refillable drink mug per person, per package
Full spread from The Plaza
Sounds great, right? Pre-pay for all your meals, and then you don’t have to worry about prices during your trip! However, there are a few changes that you might want to consider when looking into Disney Dining Plans for 2024.
Price Increases
In 2024, the per-night price for the Standard Disney Dining Plan will be $94.28 per adult and $26.69 per child. For the Quick Service Dining Plan, the per-night price will be $57.01 per adult and $23.83 per child.
Eight Spoon Café
The adult prices for both Dining Plans have INCREASED from what they were back in 2020. Although the price only increased about $2 for the Quick Service plan, the Standard Dining Plan adult price went up $16.28. That’s a pretty big price increase!
The good news? Prices actually went DOWN for kids’ Dining Plans. For the Standard plan, they went down $3.81, and for the Quick Service plan, they went down $2.17.
Riverside Mill Food Court
So you might want to think twice about buying the Standard Dining Plan if your party consists mainly of adults (which in Disney terms means ages 10 or older), but if you’ve got a lot of little kiddos traveling with you, these plans might be a great deal!
Less Freedom With Your Credits
In the past, Disney has allowed for a little swapsies situation, where you could swap one quick service credit for three snack credits. This was a good option if you wanted to change your plans and snack more rather than stopping for a full meal. We especially loved to use it during the EPCOT festivals to get more credits for snacking around the world.
Mickey Ice Cream Bar!
In 2024, you won’t be allowed to swap credits like that. Whatever credits you have must be used for their intended purpose. (We’re starting to sound like the fine print on a warranty, here.)
But seriously, it’s kind of a bummer that this little trick won’t be possible next year!
Fewer Dining Plan Options
In 2024, there are two different Dining Plan options: Quick Service and Standard. Previously, there were actually FOUR options!
The Disney Dining Plan Plus (not returning in 2024) got you two meals of any combination at counter service or table service restaurants each day. This was previously a pretty good in-between option compared to the Standard and Deluxe plans.
Seating area at Woody’s Lunch Box
The Disney Deluxe Dining Plan (not returning in 2024) got you THREE table service or quick service meals per day, and it was the most expensive option by far.
Dining Room at Cinderella’s Royal Table
The four options have now been reduced to two, with only the Quick Service and Standard plans available. If you wanted more than one table service meal per day on each day of your trip, there is not going to be a Disney Dining Plan to accommodate that.
That could always change in the future, but for now, we’ve just got those two plans to choose from.
Character Dining Credit Changes
Most table service restaurants charge one credit per meal, but some spots — including signature restaurants and certain character dining locations — will charge two credits per meal.
Previously, only a couple of character dining locations charged two credits, including Be Our Guest Restaurant and Cinderella’s Royal Table. But for 2024, two more restaurants have been added to that list.
Be Our Guest Restaurant
In 2024, Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (for lunch and dinner only), and Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White will also charge two credits per meal.
So if you’re hoping to dine with the Disney princesses at one of those restaurants, you can expect to shell out an extra credit per person. That means you might be left paying for dinner out of pocket on another day of your trip.
Snow White
If you want to avoid the extra charge, you can go to Akershus for breakfast instead of lunch or dinner, and you’ll still get to see the princesses but you won’t have to spend the extra credit.
Breakfast at Akershus
Hopefully these details help you decide whether the Disney Dining Plan is a good choice for your group next year. If you want some more help with planning your 2024 vacation, our friends over at Small World Vacations can help you book a trip and the dining plan too!
Stay tuned to DFB for more updates on all the latest Disney news.
Click here for our complete guide to the Disney Dining Plan.
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
Are you going to use the Dining Plan in 2024? Let us know in the comments!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
We are visiting in September and we will use the dining plan. One major disappointment for us is many restaurants in Epcot are not participating in the dining plan. This will definitely be a game changer as to where we dine.
Not disappointed because we won’t be using it. I save up my credit card rewards points all year then use those to reimburse our meals for wherever we are vacationing. That way at WDW if we want to get kids meals or just snack all day we can. We don’t enjoy a lot of heavy meals at the parks.
The reason I’m disappointed with the Disney Dining Plan is the cost. Why, specifically? Because I did the math. For my upcoming trip I multiplied the cost of the plan times the 5 nights of my trip, then I picked 5 of my favorite Table Service and Quick Service restaurants, and for each location I picked which entree and beverage I would order, plus a dessert from the table service. I also chose the 5 most expensive of my favorite snacks. Then I added up the cost of all of those items, added the $21.99 for the refillable resort mug included with the plan, and the total for all of that did not equal the cost of the plan. In fact, it didn’t even come close. I’ll actually spend considerably less paying out of pocket as I go. It’s a shame, because I fondly remember the days when the dining plan was worth it.
$57 Per adult, 2 QS per day, Not too bad.