Many things have changed about Disney World over the past couple of years!

We have a whole new paid system that has replaced FastPass+ called Genie+, there are new Annual Passes (but, sales for most passes currently on hold), character meet and greets have been adapted, and there’s even a brand new ride at EPCOT. One thing that’s changed a lot of people’s vacations drastically is the Disney Dining Plan no longer being available. Disney has said it will come back, so let’s break down if the Dining Plan will return in 2022.

The Disney Dining Plan is a pre-purchased plan that can be added to a Disney Vacation Package. You have to be staying at a Disney-owned-and-operated hotel and have tickets to the parks in order to qualify for the plan.

The Dining Plans offer a set number of counter-service and table-service restaurant meals, as well as snacks. This way, you can pay for your food ahead of your trip. You simply will have your dining plan points deducted instead of paying at the restaurant you’re visiting.

Many guests love the ease of the Dining Plan because they don’t have to think about paying for every single meal when they are at the parks — everything is already paid for! But, others can feel restricted by the Dining Plan when it comes to where they’re allowed to eat or if they can even get their money’s worth from the plan. It can be a lot of food in one day! But, there are different types of Disney Dining Plans to fit your group’s needs.

Disney World suspended their Dining Plan in March of 2020 when the parks shut down due to the global pandemic. When they reopened in July of 2020, the Dining Plan did not return with them. It has been suspended ever since!

Disney did say earlier this year that the Dining Plan WOULD be returning, but did not give a return date or a timeline, saying “While we’re not quite ready to share an update on timing, we are planning to bring this guest-favorite option back at a later date.” And, we haven’t heard anything since! So, what’s the deal? It’s obviously not coming back in 2021 (unless we’re in for a BIG surprise in the next 2 weeks!), so will we see it in 2022?

It seems like it would return in 2022, since Disney DID announce over the summer that it would be coming back. We’re not sure why they would confirm the Dining Plan’s return and then wait multiple years for it to actually be available again!

When it does come back, there are some things you may have forgotten about. For example, at the end of February 2020, Disney announced a new dining plan option for guests: the Disney Dining Plan Plus. This option is easy to forget about as it was announced almost right before the closures!

So, when Disney put the plan on pause, the plans available were the Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan, Disney Standard Dining Plan, the Disney Dining Plan Plus, and the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. All of these offered different options in terms of flexibility and which kinds of restaurants you could visit on your trip.

Here’s a look at what the Dining Plan options looked like in 2020 before the closures:

• Disney Quick Service Dining Plan — 2 quick-service meals, 2 snacks per day, per person. $55 per adult each day, $26 per child (ages 3-9) each day.
• Disney Standard Dining Plan — 1 quick-service meal, 1 table-service meal, 2 snacks per day, per person. $78 per adult each day, $38.50 per child each day.
• Disney Dining Plan PLUS — 2 meals (any combination of quick- or table-service), 2 snacks or non-alcoholic drinks per day, per person. $95 per adult each day, $35 per child each day.
• Disney Deluxe Dining Plan — 3 meals (any combination of quick- or table-service), 2 snacks or non-alcoholic drinks per day, per person. $119 per adult each day, $47.50 per child each day.
• All of the dining plans also came with a refillable resort mug for soda or hot drinks at the resort where guests were staying.

But, we do not know if this is how the Dining Plan will return when it comes back! It could look completely different, like how Disney World decided to completely change the Annual Pass system when sales resumed this year. Keep in mind that the Annual Passholder Program returned at a higher price, so it would not be surprising to see the Disney Dining Plan follow suit. But again, we still don’t know any details about its return.

While we’re hoping for a 2022 return of the Dining Plan, it remains a mystery! But, we’ll be on the lookout for more news and updates about its return, so stay tuned to DFB to stay in the loop.

Click here to learn more about the Disney Dining Plan

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Do you miss the dining plan in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!

The post Will the Disney Dining Plan Return in 2022? Here’s Everything We Know. first appeared on the disney food blog.