The Disney Dining Plan is finally RETURNING, but it’s not quite the same as it was before.

We’ve been waiting a long time for the popular Disney Dining Plan to return, and we know a lot of you have been, too! Two Dining Plans will be returning in 2024 — the Quick Service Dining Plan and the Standard Dining Plan. You can book those plans NOW for vacations that start on or after  January 9th, 2024 (note that you must book the plans as part of a vacation package unless you’re an Annual Passholder or DVC Member).

With all the recent announcements about the Disney Dining Plans returning, there’s one BIG difference we noticed that could change EVERYTHING about how you use these plans.

When Disney released information about which restaurants would be included as part of the Disney Dining Plan, we saw many familiar favorites appear on the list. But along with the expected Quick Service and Table Service restaurants, Disney now includes several LOUNGES as participating in the Disney Dining Plan!

Previously, these lounges were not included in the plans. If you wanted to visit Tambu Lounge, Nomad Lounge, the Enchanted Rose, or any other similar spots, you’d have to pay out of your own pocket instead of using Dining Plan credits. But it looks like when the plans return in 2024, you’ll be able to use credits instead at certain lounges.

These spots are popular places to grab a unique cocktail or snack on light bites, but many of them also serve full meals similar to the ones found at Table Service restaurants. And since lounges don’t require — or accept — dining reservations (most are walk-up only), they can be a great alternative to dining at Table Service locations.

For example, if you wanted to dine at Citrocos at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort but were unable to get dining reservations, you could head to Citrocos Lounge, which has a menu that’s nearly identical to the full-service restaurant. Table Service meals WITHOUT having to make reservations might make all the difference to your vacation!

Keep in mind that you can’t usually walk right into lounges as soon as you arrive. You usually have to join the walk-up waitlist, and it could be a few hours from when you join the list to when you’re called back to go inside.

For some lounges, you can use the My Disney Experience app to join that waitlist, but for others, you’ll have to physically go to the lounge and ask the hosts to put your name down (look up the lounge on the app to see if it has a “join walk-up waitlist” button). We recommend putting your name down a couple of hours before you plan to eat so that you’re not stuck waiting and getting hangry (we’ve all been there).

Note that not ALL lounges and bars are participating in the Dining Plan. For example, Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto will not be included. On the Grog Grotto’s webpage, it says “Dining Plans Not Accepted.”

But many popular spots are included — here’s a look at all of the lounges that made the list:

• Barcelona Lounge
• Ale & Compass Lounge
• Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar
• Citricos Lounge
• Crew’s Cup Lounge
• Crockett’s Tavern
• Dahlia Lounge
• Enchanted Rose
• Gurgling Suitcase
• Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge
• Martha’s Vinyard
• Nomad Lounge
• River Roost
• Sanaa Lounge
• Scat Cat’s Club — Lounge
• Steakhouse 71 Lounge
• Tambu Lounge
• Territory Lounge

The number of credits required at each lounge varies and appears to be dependent on which Table Service restaurant they’re paired with. Citricos Lounge charges two Table Service credits, just like the Citricos restaurant.

Here’s a list of the lounges that charge TWO Table Service credits:

• Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar
• Citricos Lounge
• Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge

It’s not clear how many credits Nomad Lounge might charge. Although it looks like it’ll just be one Table Service credit, this breaks the pattern because the nearby Tiffins charges two. This might be because Nomad Lounge doesn’t serve the full Tiffins menu, but we’ll be sure to investigate once the plans are active.

Some lounges have a very similar menu to the nearby restaurants, but others have much more limited options. For example, Crew’s Cup Lounge has a selection of Lounge Bites and lots of drinks, but nowhere near the selection of appetizers, entrées, and desserts found at the nearby Yachtsman Steakhouse.

Upon closer inspection, it looks like this lounge might charge one Quick Service credit rather than a Table Service credit, which makes sense with the limited menu. (There is a discrepancy on the Disney World website — on the Crew’s Cup page it shows that the Quick Service Plan is accepted, but on Disney’s list of restaurants included in the Quick Service plan, Crew’s Cup does not appear. We’ll watch for updates and let you know as soon as we have more information.)

 

This may be the case with any lounge that doesn’t serve the full menu of its paired restaurant, but we’ll need to test out that theory once the plans return because both the Quick Service plan and the Standard Dining Plan are listed on the Crew’s Cup Lounge page. Our best guess is that this spot charges one Quick Service credit and the Standard Dining Plan is listed there because you get some Quick Service credits with that plan (along with some Table Service credits).

We’re also curious to learn what’s included with each credit at the lounges. Do you just get one “lounge bite” dish? And is that worth the entire credit, even for Quick Service credits, when you could get a heftier meal somewhere else? And since many of these lounges have extensive drink menus, will any of the alcoholic drinks be included, or will you have to use a separate snack credit for those? We’ll be testing that out as well.

Disney hasn’t released Dining Plan information for all of the lounges yet, so we’ll be watching for updates. Stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Dining Plan news!

Click here to see the FULL LIST of restaurants included in the Disney Dining Plan. 

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Would you use a Disney Dining Plan credit at a lounge? Let us know in the comments!

The post The One Thing We Noticed About the Disney Dining Plan That Could Change Everything first appeared on the disney food blog.