This is a question I hear A LOT! And honestly, there really isn't one straight answer. It can vary for different families and trips. There is some value in pre-paying for your food because then you won't have to wonder about what you will be spending on meals. It's pre-paid and you won't come home to a large credit card bill with food charges.
But, does it save you money? Let's take a look...
How does the Disney Dining Plan work?
The dining plan can only be added to vacation packages at a Disney Resort.
The dining plan allocates credits to use during your stay to pay for your meals. This only applies to guests aged 3 and up. Children under 3 years old are not charged for the dining plan, therefore they are not allocated any credits.
Your dining plan credits can be used at restaurants in the parks, at the Disney resorts and at select Disney Springs locations.
There are 3 types of credits you can receive:
- Table-service credits
- Quick-service credits
- Snack credits
Which credits you receive, and how many credits you receive depends on the type of dining plan you choose and how many nights are included in your Disney Resort package.
Below are the 3 dining plans Disney World will be offering for 2027:
Quick-Service
- 2 quick service credits per night, per person
- 1 snack credit per night, per person
Table-Service
- 1 table-service credit per night, per person
- 1 quick-service credit per night, per person
- 1 snack credit per night, per person
Deluxe Table-Service
- 2 table-service credits per night, per person
- 1 quick-service credit per night, per person
- 1 snack credit per person, per night
Every dining plan also includes a resort refillable mug for each guest, that you can use for unlimited drinks throughout your stay at your Disney Resort.
I find in most cases, the Table-Service dining plan suits most families. A lot of families want to have some sit-down meals and do a couple of character meals, so it is important to make sure you have a dining plan that includes table-service credits.
The Deluxe Table-Service dining plan is geared more towards families that would like to eat at a lot of fine dining restaurants. Those restaurants require the use of 2 table-service credits per meal.
How much does the Disney Dining Plan cost in 2027?
Please note that pricing can always change, but the current prices for the dining plans in 2027 are as follows:
Quick-Service Dining Plan
- $62.78 USD per night for adults
- $25.82 USD per night for children
Table-Service Dining Plan
- $99.87 USD per night for adults
- $31.94 USD per night for children
Deluxe Table-Service Dining Plan
- $163.01 USD per night for adults
- $46.85 USD per night for children
Disney considers children between the ages of 3-9, and anyone 10 years old and older fall into the adult category for pricing.
What isn't included in the dining plan?
So that you don't have any surprises during your vacation, it is important to know what is and is not included with your dining plan. Here is what is not included:
- Gratuities at the table-service restaurants
- Extra food, drinks or snacks outside of your credit allowance. Once you run out of credits, you will have to pay out of pocket for anything else.
- Non-participating restaurants. The majority of restaurants at the parks and resorts accept the dining plan, but there is a small list of restaurants that don't. Examples are Space 220, California Grill, Victoria & Albert's, Monsieur Paul, Takumi-Tei, lounges (ie. Oga's Cantina), Cake Bake Shop, and select Disney Springs locations.
You can always verify on the Disney World website to see if a restaurant participates in the dining plan. Just go to the restaurant's page and it will be indicated.
With the Quick-Service and Table-Service dining plans, the credits will cover two meals per day. I always recommend using those credits for lunch and dinner because that is where you will get the most bang for your buck.
So what are you supposed to do for breakfast? I often recommend considering using your snack credits towards breakfast items. Snack credits can be used for items at the grab n' go area at your resort, such as muffins, croissants, yogourt parfaits, fruit etc. It's a great way to make those credits stretch for the full day to cover all your meals.
Dining plan vs. paying out of pocket: a realistic comparison
Let's compare two different scenarios to see how the dining plan measures up, and we will use a family of 4: 2 adults and 2 children ages 4 & 8:
- Option #1: Family wants to eat at character meals every day and take advantage of all the inclusions, such as desserts and cocktails
- Option #2: Family wants to eat lighter and stick to mostly quick-service restaurants
Option #1
On a typical park day, this family will eat at a character meal restaurant for one meal and then quick-service for their second meal. For this example, we will choose a day at Epcot where they will eat at Akershus and Connections Eatery.
Akershus is a buffet style restaurant, so they get appetizers, entrees and desserts included for a fixed price. The adults would also like to order an alcoholic beverage with their meal.
At Connections Eatery, the family will each order an entrée and a regular beverage.
The family has also decided to eat yogourt parfaits in the morning for breakfast. The children will have a juice and the parents get themselves a coffee each.
Cost of the table-service dining plan = $263.62 USD
Cost to pay out of pocket for the same meals = $407.31 USD
Option #2
On a typical park day, this family will stick to quick-service dining for their lunch and dinner meals. They will be spending the day at Magic Kingdom and start off their morning with yogourt parfaits in the morning for breakfast at their resort. The children will have a juice and the parents get themselves a coffee each.
For lunch they will eat at Pecos Bill and for dinner they will dine at Pinocchio Village Haus. At both meals, each person will order an entrée and a regular drink.
Cost of the quick-service dining plan = $177.20 USD
Cost to pay out of pocket for the same meals = $168.49 USD
You can see from the examples above that the savings are drastically different between the two scenarios. This is why it is really important to understand how you will eat to make a decision on the dining plan.
Even though the cost of the quick-service dining plan is slightly higher, it is also important to consider the extra drinks you get from your refillable mug at your resort. Just one or two extra drinks per day from the fountains, and you will pretty much be even or above the cost of the dining plan.
Who might find the Disney Dining Plan worth it?
It is really important to first think about how you think you plan to eat during your stay to determine if the dining plan will be worth it for you or not.
The first question to consider is: will you eat at the resort and park restaurants? If your plan is to purchase all your meals, then you should definitely give the dining plan serious thought.
Are you going to prepare and pack any meals with you to the parks? If that is your plan, then the dining plan may not be as worth it, as you may not end up using up all your credits. To get the full value of the dining plan, you want to make sure you exhaust all of those dining credits!
If you know you want to do a lot of character meals, especially the fixed price meals, then a dining plan will definitely be worth it! You will save money on your meals.
If you have adults that like to enjoy a cocktail, wine or beer with their meals, this can add up quickly if you are paying out of pocket. With your dining plan credits, that is included with your meals.
And there is something to be said for having your meals pre-paid. A lot of travellers like it because it is more all-inclusive and then you don't have a big question mark about how much food will cost you while you are there. I personally really love the dining plan for this exact reason.
My advice: choose your meals before choosing your plan
My top advice for making a decision on the dining plan is to run all the numbers. Map out each day and where you think you would eat, it doesn't have to be a firm plan, but just something to give you an idea.
Then you can go on the Disney World website to look at each of those restaurants and their menus. Their prices are all included on Disney's website, so you can add up how much all those meals would cost you if you paid out of pocket.
And don't forget to add on 6.5% tax! That is included with the dining plan, but you will have to add it on if you are paying cash for your meals.
And just a reminder: gratuities at table-service restaurants are never included (with the exception of Cinderella's Royal Table), so you will have to pay extra for that whether you have the dining plan or not.
Making this plan will also give you an idea of how many table-service and quick-service restaurants you may dine at. That is important to know when selecting your dining plan.
If you want to eat mostly quick-service, but only do one character meal during your stay, then it makes sense to get the quick-service dining plan and pay for the character meal out of pocket. Don't upgrade to the table-service plan just for one meal. It only makes sense to go up to that plan if you think you would make use of those table-service credits over the course of your entire stay.
My final thoughts
There is a lot to think about and consider when deciding if the dining plan will be worth it for your family. There isn't one simple answer for every family.
Working with a travel advisor that specializes in Disney can be really helpful to figure out these details. These are aspects of the vacation package that I help my guests with all the time. My planning support is included at no extra cost to all my guests.
