The Walt Disney World Resort will bring back its Disney Dining Plans early next year, the resort announced today.
Two dining plans will return as options for guests at on-site Disney Resort hotels who purchase a vacation package for stays starting Jan. 9, 2024 or later. Those packages will open for purchase on May 31.
"We know our guests – and families in particular – have missed dining plans, which offer guests the convenience and peace of mind of pre-paying for their meals and snacks," Disney said in its press release.
Disney will be offering the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan and the Disney Dining Plan as upgrades on its hotel and admission vacation packages. Pricing will be available later this month. The Disney Dining Plan includes one table-service meal per person per night, one quick-service meal per per person per night and a snack/nonalcoholic drink per person per night of their package stay, along with one resort-refillable drink mug for each person. The Disney Quick Service Dining Plan includes a second quick-service meal in lieu of the one table-service meal. Meals and snacks can be redeemed at any time during the stay.
In addition to the return of the dining plans, Walt Disney World also announced today that it will be extending its current early theme park entry benefit for all on-site hotel guests through 2024. Guests staying at Disney Deluxe Resorts and Deluxe Villas also will continue to have extended evening hours on select dates at select parks through 2024.
In other news released today, Walt Disney World also announced the removal of more advance theme park reservation requirements. See Walt Disney World to Remove More Reservation Requirements.
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That's an awful lot of lead time for a program that WDW fans will book on name and reputation alone without knowing exactly what the new plans will offer and what items will be included on the plan.
The more popular the DDP became, the more Disney clamped down on its value. With 3 years to recalibrate it, I highly doubt the newly formulated plans will offer anything close to the same value as it did in the 2010's.
This will also see a return of ADR hording and make it more difficult for the average guest to get reservations at WDW restaurants that offer the best values on the DDP (buffets, character meals, and deluxe restaurants).
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My worry about theme park dining plans in general is the "race to the bottom" problem. To make sure meals are "on plan" and fit within the costs, whole restaurants tend to lower food quality for everyone with or without a plan.