What Is the Disney Dining Plan, and Is It Worth It? [2025]

Walt Disney World vacations can be magical but expensive. Even after you’ve paid for your flight, resort room, and park tickets, you inevitably run up bills of up to $100 or more on meals and snacks during your visit — never mind the souvenirs!

With the Disney Dining Plan, you can pay up front for meals and snacks, using credits at more than 200 restaurants across Disney World. This takes the pressure off budgeting at the parks, and you can plan how to pay for meals ahead of time instead of paying as you go.

The Disney Dining Plan is pricey anyway you slice it, but it could offer savings and allow you to finance not just your room and park tickets but your dining costs, too.

Let’s get into the details of the dining plan, how you can get it, and what to know if you’re considering purchasing a plan.

What Is the Disney Dining Plan?

The Disney Dining Plan is a prepaid meal plan that bundles meal and snack purchases with Disney resort hotels and vacation packages.

You start your Disney World vacation with dining credits loaded onto your MagicBand+, admission card, or Disney MagicMobile pass. Meals and snacks roll over each day but expire at midnight at the end of your checkout day. You can track your meal and snack balances in the My Disney Experience app (iOS, Android), on receipts, or by contacting Guest Experience cast members in the park. Your plan must be purchased for the entire length of your stay for your entire party.

Disney World has more than 200 quick-service and table-service restaurants where you can redeem meal and snack credits.

There are 2 plan types: the Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan and the Disney Dining Plan.

The Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan is good if you’re on the go, don’t want to dine in full-service restaurants, or want to save some money. The Disney Dining Plan is better if you want full-service dining, including character meals, and are willing to spend a bit more.

Here’s what each offers.

Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan

The Quick-Service Dining Plan costs $59.14 per night for guests 10 and up and $24.71 for kids 3 to 9. In 2026, those prices increase to $60.47 for 10 and up and $26.16 for those 3 to 9.

This plan offers 2 quick-service meals per night of stay, 1 snack or nonalcoholic beverage per night of stay, and 1 resort-refillable mug.

You can use quick-service meal credits at casual dining restaurants and food stalls throughout the parks and resorts. Think food courts and walk-up windows, often with outdoor or food-hall-style seating. You might take these meals on the go if you’re in a rush, and there’s no table service. Examples of quick-service outlets include Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe and Flame Tree Barbecue.

Snacks are available throughout the parks and resorts. They can include ice cream or popsicles, popcorn, whole fruit, snack bags, fountain drinks, and EPCOT festival dishes.

Hot Tip:

Resort refillable mugs can be refilled at the resorts — but not the theme parks — at refill stations. These mugs use digital chips that activate soda fountains and are only good for the length of your resort stay.

Your 2 daily meals include beverages. These include milkshakes, smoothies, premium hot chocolate, fountain drinks, coffee, and tea. If you’re 21 or older, you can order alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and cocktails. The daily snack or nonalcoholic beverage is separate from the drinks included with your meals. Kids 3 to 9 must order from the children’s menu if there is one.

Ordering pizza pickup from quick-service locations counts for 2 quick-service meal credits.

Dining credits don’t count for souvenir items, such as souvenir popcorn buckets, cups, or special dining events. You also can’t use the quick-service plan for table-service dining, though you can use dining plan credits for mobile orders.

We recommend the Quick-Service Dining Plan in a number of cases, including for parkgoers who want to maximize attraction time with meals that don’t require reservations, budget-conscious guests seeking value, anyone who wants to avoid overscheduling, since sit-down restaurants can take an hour or more, and families with picky or light eaters.

Disney Dining Plan

The Disney Dining Plan costs $97.79 per night for guests 10 and up and $30.56 for kids 3 to 9. In 2026, those prices increase to $98.59 for 10 and up and $31.94 for 3 to 9.

This plan offers 1 quick-service meal per night of stay, 1 table-service meal per night of stay, 1 snack or non-alcoholic beverage per night of stay, and 1 resort-refillable mug.

This dining plan is almost identical to the quick-service dining plan, except it costs more and swaps one of the quick-service meal credits with a quick-service meal.

Credits for table-service meals can include an entree, buffet, or family-style meal. Like quick-service meals, the table-service meals include beverages, which can include alcohol for adults 21 and up. These meals also include desserts.

Table-service restaurants feature full service and typically cost more than quick-service options. They typically have more theming than quick-service options and can include buffets and character dining, such as the Crystal Palace or Tiffins Restaurant. Note that the table-service dining credits also work on to-go orders.

Hot Tip:

The table-service meal credits don’t include gratuity, so be prepared to bring another method of payment to cover those.

Some restaurants count for 2 table-service meal credits, including:

• Fairytale Dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table
• Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (at lunch and dinner only)
• Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White
• Be Our Guest Restaurant 
• Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue
• Ordering in-room dining at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

We recommend the Disney Dining Plan in several situations, including to guests who prioritize character dining, adults who drink alcohol, guests looking for all-inclusive convenience, and travelers who want built-in downtime and indoor dining.

Where Can You Eat With Disney’s Dining Plan?

These are some of the quick-service restaurants you can visit at Disney World:

• Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café (Magic Kingdom)
• Casey’s Corner (Magic Kingdom)
• Regal Eagle Smokehouse (EPCOT)
• Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie (EPCOT)
• Woody’s Lunch Box (Hollywood Studios)
• Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo (Hollywood Studios)
• Flame Tree Barbecue (Animal Kingdom)
• Satu’li Canteen (Animal Kingdom)
• Capt. Cook’s (Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort)

Disney World table-service restaurants include:

• Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom, buffet/character dining)
• Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria (EPCOT)
• 50’s Prime Time Café (Hollywood Studios)
• Hollywood Brown Derby (Hollywood Studios)
• Tiffins Restaurant (Animal Kingdom)
• Tusker House Restaurant (Animal Kingdom, character buffet)
• ‘Ohana (Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort)
• Boma — Flavors of Africa (Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, buffet)

If you’re searching for restaurants where you can use your dining plan, first navigate to Disney’s dedicated dining page.

On the right, click on “All Filters” and select the dining plan you’re looking for.

You can further narrow your search by price range, location, and cuisine.

At the top, you can filter for table service or quick service. Find the filter on the left to search for more specific types of dining, such as snacks, fine or signature dining, character dining, events, dinner shows, or buffets.

Hot Tip:

If a table-service restaurant you plan to visit accepts reservations, we recommend making them as soon as possible. You can book your dining reservations up to 60 days in advance of your resort stay and can select reservations throughout the length of your stay at that point.

How To Purchase a Disney Dining Plan

You can purchase a Disney dining plan if you book a Disney resort hotel or vacation package.

Start by choosing a Disney resort. Input your dates and guests, then select a resort and room type. Once you’ve chosen a room, you’ll see your offer subtotal and can add a dining plan.

Click “Add Dining” to see your options. You’ll see an offer with no dining plan, which is your room rate plus taxes and fees, along with options for the Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan or Disney Dining Plan. The dining plan rates include the room rate, taxes and fees, and dining costs for all guests in your party who are at least 3 years old.

Hot Tip:

If you purchase a dining plan, it must be for the entire length of your stay. If you only want a dining plan for part of your Disney World vacation, you can do a split stay by separately booking nights at 2 or more Disney resorts. You could choose a dining plan for one of your stays but not the other.

Costs and Promotions

The cost of your dining Plan depends on which package you choose and how long you stay. Here’s a reminder of the cost of each:

• Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan: $59.14 per night for guests 10 and up and $24.71 for kids 3 to 9. In 2026, those prices increase to $60.47 for 10 and up and $26.16 for 3 to 9
• Disney Dining Plan: $97.79 per night for guests 10 and up and $30.56 for kids 3 to 9. In 2026, those prices increase to $98.59 for 10 and up and $31.94 for 3 to 9

Disney World may offer promotional discounts that can lower the cost of a dining plan. Guests who purchase qualifying packages through December 22, 2025, can get a free dining plan. A free dining plan for kids is available for 2026 resort packages.

In the past, Disney World has offered a free Disney dining plan for Disney+ subscribers and Disney^® Visa^® Cardholders who booked qualifying packages in 2024.

Hot Tip:

If you’d rather not spend money on a dining plan, consider having groceries delivered to your room or rental. The Platinum Card^® from American Express includes a Walmart+ membership credit (upon enrollment), giving you complimentary delivery!

Maximizing the Disney Dining Plan

Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan

The break-even point for adults on the Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan is $59.14 per day. If you order a costly entree and drink alcohol, you could hit that in a single meal.

Let’s say you stop in at Flame Tree Barbecue at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park for dinner and cash in on the most expensive dinner item, the ribs, chicken, and pulled pork sampler ($18.99). You then pair that with an island breeze cocktail ($14.50). Do this twice daily and you’re already at $67 for meals.

Factor in your additional snack ($5 to $15) and nonalcoholic specialty beverage ($6 to $8), as well as the refillable souvenir mug ($22.99 flat fee for any number of days up to 2 weeks), and you’re over the mark for savings.

The challenge is finding a route to get the highest-priced item for the best possible value. This can be fun to try, but you might not feel like gaming the system. Consider what you’d realistically spend before purchasing a plan and compare that to the plan’s cost.

Disney Table-Service Dining Plan

With a daily adult cost of $97.79, you’d need to eat and drink almost $100 worth of items daily to break even. This is where advanced planning makes the Disney Dining Plan a real money-saver.

The best bang for your buck may be the dinner-time buffets. The buffets are pretty pricey if you pay out of pocket, but they only cost 1 table-service credit instead of 2.

But you can find good value at nearly any table-service restaurant. For example, the Andean beef short rib at Tiffins is $54. Add an alcoholic drink, such as the $17.50 tempting tigress, plus a $15 white chocolate-orange crème brûlée, and that’s $86 — almost the full cost of the dining plan per day. But you can still get a quick-service meal and snack on top of your costly table-service meal.

Keep in mind that tips are not included, so budget for the extra cost.

Hot Tip:

Watch out for locations that count for 2 meal credits. These can be worth it, especially if you have credits to spare, but they essentially cost double.

Is the Disney Dining Plan Worth It?

A dining plan can be worth it if:

• You plan daily character dining or buffets and get a table-service plan.
• You’re traveling with kids under 10.
• Adults in your group regularly order alcoholic drinks.
• You like all-inclusive pricing.
• Planning ahead appeals to you.
• You see food as a significant attraction at Disney World.
• You want to finance dining costs.

Think twice about a dining plan if:

• You have light eaters who prefer small meals and may leave credits unused.
• You’re visiting with kids or young adults 10 to 20 years old who pay adult prices but may not achieve adult values.
• You’d rather snack or graze throughout your day.
• You like to split meals.
• Adults in your party don’t drink alcohol.
• You want the cheapest possible trip.

Disney dining plans can be a money-saver if you want to plan your meals in advance and stay at a Disney resort hotel. These plans are especially appealing if you want a clear budget for your dining costs well ahead of time instead of tracking expenses while you’re on vacation.

The dining plan is best suited for those who love having it all planned when they arrive, including their budget, to take the guesswork out of the trip. These meal plans are easily tracked in the My Disney Experience app, so you can just relax and have fun.

Others may find the idea of planning every aspect too constricting for time and taste and would much rather go with the flow than worry about making the most of their plan.

You might want to skip it if you have teens and young adults who pay adult pricing but can’t drink alcohol and may not eat enough to justify the cost each day. Families who prefer flexibility, like small bites, split meals, or snack around the parks instead of sitting down for long meals may find paying out of pocket works out better.

Hot Tip:

The Disney^® Visa^® Card and Disney^® Premier Visa^® card offer a 0% promo APR for 6 months on select Disney vacation packages from the date of purchase, after that a variable APR of 18.24% - 27.24% This gives you extra time to pay off that dining plan. If you dine à la carte, Disney cardmembers also get 10% off select food purchases. Learn more about the benefits of Disney credit cards at Disney parks!

Final Thoughts

Disney dining plans are worth considering as an add-on for your next Walt Disney World vacation — but only if you check certain boxes. If you’re looking for a completely immersive experience, a dining plan may be a great addition to your resort package.