The Disney Dining Plan is returning in 2024, and Disney has already announced several CHANGES that will affect the returning plans. However, there’s one MAJOR change that NO ONE seems to be talking about!

So we’re going to talk about it here!

Disney Dining Plans are available for purchase NOW for vacations that start on or after January 9th, 2024. The plans have been MIA for a few years now, as they never returned following the Disney World park closures in 2020.

We’ve already noticed quite a few things that will be different when the plans return. For example, Disney now includes several lounges as part of the Dining Plan, which were not previously included in the plans. Some character meals that previously cost one table service credit will now cost TWO, which means you’ll have to carefully consider whether those characters are really worth the extra credit. Another big change is that the number of Dining Plan options has been reduced — previously, there were four Dining Plans, but only the Standard and Quick Service plans are returning next year.

Those are all very interesting changes, but there’s one pretty huge change that seems to be flying under the radar: the PRICING.

We expected the Disney Dining Plans to have pretty significant price increases when they returned, especially since so many other things in Disney World have gotten more expensive over the last few years. But what REALLY happened with the pricing changes? Let’s take a look.

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.

Previously, (in 2020) the prices for the Standard Disney Dining Plan were $78 per adult and $30.50 per child, and for the Quick Service Dining Plan, the prices were $55 per adult and $26 per child.

That means that the Standard Disney Dining Plan price for adults has gone UP $16.28; the Standard Disney Dining Plan price for kids has gone DOWN $3.81; the Quick Service Dining Plan price for adults has gone UP $2.01; and the Quick Service Dining Plan price for kids has gone DOWN $2.17.

In a way, we were correct about price increases — the cost for adults went up for both Dining Plans (and it went up pretty significantly for the Standard plan). However, the prices actually went DOWN for kids! Price DECREASES in Disney World?! Practically unheard of.

Even the Quick Service Dining Plan price for adults didn’t increase nearly as much as we were expecting. Before we knew the official prices for the plans, we calculated our best guesses based on price increases we saw on Disney World park tickets. Using those numbers, we were expecting the Quick Service plan to cost between $62 and $66 per adult, but in reality, it’s just $57. Here’s a look at the previous Dining Plan prices, our guesses for the price increase (based on other Disney World price increases), and the actual prices of the 2024 Dining Plans:

The only price that increased more than we expected was the Standard plan adult price. Pretty surprising, huh? And it feels like we’re the only ones who noticed!

If you’re considering purchasing the Disney Dining Plan, here’s a quick breakdown of what’s included in each plan:

The Quick Service Dining Plan

Inclusions Per Person in the travel party (ages 3 and up), Per Night: This plan includes counter service (e.g. fast food) meals and snacks at most Quick Service dining locations in the Walt Disney World Resort.

• 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 — i.e. Artisanal Milk Shakes,  Fresh Smoothies, Premium Hot Chocolates, or Soda, Coffee or Tea — where offered). Guests 21 and older can 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

The Standard Dining Plan

Inclusions Per Person in the travel party (ages 3 and up), Per Night

• One table service entrée, dessert (lunch and dinner only), OR full buffet;
  • Guests under 21 years of age can choose one non-alcoholic beverage with their Quick Service and Table Service meal (including specialty beverages — i.e. Artisanal Milk Shakes,  Fresh Smoothies, Premium Hot Chocolates, or Soda, Coffee or Tea — where offered).
  • Guests 21 and older can 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 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 — i.e. Artisanal Milk Shakes,  Fresh Smoothies, Premium Hot Chocolates, or Soda, Coffee or Tea — where offered).
  • Guests 21 and older can 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

Now, there are many reasons to buy the dining plan — it might lower the stress of your vacation since you can pay for dining in advance, you know the cost upfront, etc., but we do encourage you to look closely at the price of the package and compare that cost to how much you’d expect to pay for dining without the package. It may not be worth it for you!

If you’re ready to book the Disney Dining Plan for 2024, hopefully, these details will help you choose which plan might be best for you and your travel party! But, our friends over at Small World Vacations can help you book a trip and the dining plan too!

We’ll continue to watch for more updates, so stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney dining news!

Click here to find answers to all your Disney Dining Plan questions!

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Are you going to purchase a Disney Dining Plan for your next trip? Let us know in the comments.

The post Disney Announced New Dining Plan CHANGES, but Nobody’s Talking about This BIG One first appeared on the disney food blog.