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Disney World Free Dining Ultimate Guide

mickey waffle

The Disney World Free Dining offer is by far the most popular promotion of the year. It is pretty clear why… FREE FOOD at Disney? Ummm, yes please!

In this post, I’ll answer the most common questions I get asked (e.g. Is it always the best deal? How much can I save?) and share everything you need to know about Free Dining in this post.

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What Is Disney Free Dining?

disney free dining 2020 ribs at flame tree barbecue

Flame Tree Barbecue, Disney’s Animal Kingdom

First, let’s look at some basic details of how the free dining offer works.

For the first time in YEARS Disney World has released a Free Dining offer for 2024!

The basic principle is that you pay full price for your resort stay and park tickets and get a free Disney Dining Plan for everyone in your party. 

You will need to book a minimum four-night resort stay and purchase a minimum of 4-day Park Hopper tickets. 

There are lots of other details to know about this year’s offer, so read on to learn all about Disney World Free Dining 2024. 

When Is Disney Free Dining Offered?

grapefruit beer in epcot

The Disney Free Dining offer is good for arrivals most nights from July 1st through September 30th, 2024

That means you have to check in by September 30th, but your stay could continue into October. 

The last day to book this Free Dining offer for 2024 is February 14th. 

Who Is Eligible for the Free Dining Offer?

In 2024, the Free Dining offer is only available for Disney+ subscribers residing in the US and Canada. 

When you book the trip, you will want to make sure it is booked under the same email address that you have registered with Disney+.

This is one of MANY reasons I suggest booking your Free Dining package with my Disney travel agent partner, Siera Duiser with Destinations in Florida.

She can help you sort out all of the details of your reservation, including if you have registered for Disney+ with a different email.

Just click here and fill out this form to get help from Siera with booking a Free Dining package.

What Resorts Are Included in Disney Free Dining?

disney contemporary main tower room

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

In 2024, all Disney World Resorts are included in Free Dining EXCEPT the Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Bungalows at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, and all Three-Bedroom Villas at any Disney World resort.

All other resorts and room categories are eligible for the Free Dining offer. 

What Dining Plans Are Included?

Quick Service meal at Coronado Springs

If you book a Free Dining package at a Disney Value or Moderate resort, you will get the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan for each member of your party at no cost. 

If you book a Free Dining package at a Disney Deluxe Resort, then you’ll get the Disney Dining Plan for everyone on the reservation at no cost. 

To learn all about the Disney Dining Plans and how they work, check out this post. 

Can you upgrade the free Disney Dining Plan?

disney themed ad for savings

Yes, you can definitely upgrade a dining plan you get for free as part of the Disney Free Dining offer. 

If you get the Quick Service plan with your package and want the standard Disney Dining Plan, you will just pay the difference between the two plans. 

Here is a breakdown of the plans and costs:

  Credits (per night) Cost

(including tax)

Quick Service Dining Plan 2 Quick Service Meals + 1 Snack $57.01 (adult)

$23.83 (child)

Disney Dining Plan 1 Table Service Meal + 1 Quick Service Meal + 1 Snack $94.28 (adult)

$26.69 (child)

So if you receive the Quick Service Dining Plan and want to upgrade to the Disney Dining Plan, you can pay the difference between the plans which is $37.27 per night per adult and $2.86 per night per child (ages 3 to 9). 

How can I book a Free Dining Package?

Beef Tenderloin at Epcot Food & Wine fest during Disney free dining

Epcot Food & Wine Fest

You can only book a Disney World Free Dining package with a Disney authorized travel agent or directly through Disney.

I strongly recommend using a travel agent who specializes in Disney travel to help you with booking any Disney package!

I personally recommend getting a free quote from Siera with Destinations in Florida because she is one of the most experienced agent you will find to help plan your Disney vacation.

It won’t cost you anything extra, and you’ll have someone to handle all of the complicated details (trust me, there are A LOT), so you can just sit back and dream of your upcoming trip.

So those are the basics of how Disney Free Dining works. Next, I’ll break down who stands to benefit most from the free dining package and who might save more with a different type of discount.

Is Disney Free Dining The Best Deal?

Sanaa restaurant interior - disney world free dining 2020

Sanna, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village

The short answer to the question “Is Free Dining the best deal?” is not always. Whether or not Free Dining works out to be the best deal for your travel party depends on several factors.

First, you’ll get a dining plan at no additional cost for every person in your travel party, which means you’ll save more when there are more people in your room. A family of four will save MUCH more than a solo traveler with the free dining offer.

Next, where you stay will greatly impact whether or not Free Dining is the best deal for you.

Generally, you’ll save the most from Free Dining at Disney’s Value or Moderate resorts.

If you want to stay in a Deluxe resort, you’ll almost always save more with a “room-only” discount. To get an idea of what the regular or “rack” rates are at Disney’s resorts, check out this excellent resource from MouseSavers.com.

image showing a list of disney resorts with savings percentages

Disney regularly offers discounts of 10 – 35% off room-only reservations or those that don’t include park tickets or a dining plan. The best discounts are for the Deluxe resorts, with savings commonly in the 25-35% off range.

It is possible to put together your own “package” by purchasing a room-only reservation then adding the tickets and meals separately. This will always be more work than purchasing a package deal, but the extra savings may end up being worth it to you.

Let’s look at how much you can expect to save with a Free Dining package next!

How Much Can You Expect to Save?

gourmet food from california grill at disney's contemporary resort

California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Now let’s crunch some numbers to see how much you can expect to save with Disney World Free Dining.

Don’t worry, I’ll do the heavy lifting (I was a middle school math teacher in the recent past!)

  Credits (per night) Cost

(including tax)

Quick Service Dining Plan 2 Quick Service Meals + 1 Snack $57.01 (adult)

$23.83 (child)

Disney Dining Plan 1 Table Service Meal + 1 Quick Service Meal + 1 Snack $94.28 (adult)

$26.69 (child)

Here is a chart showing the cost of the three different dining plans if you were to purchase them out of pocket. It is helpful to know the cost of the plans when figuring your potential savings with Disney Free Dining.

Next, I’ll give some examples for a five-night stay during the last week of September.

little girl at disney's pop century resort feature pool

Disney’s Pop Century Resort

First let’s take a family of four, with kids ages 7 and 9, staying in a standard view room at Disney’s Pop Century resort (you can read my full review of the resort here).

They want to visit more than one park in a day so they’ve already planned on purchasing five-day Park Hopper tickets. They are interested in the Quick Service dining plan so they aren’t tied down to reservations.

If you purchase your park tickets separately (i.e. not as part of a package) I always suggest getting them at a discount through Undercover Tourist.

I’ve included their discounted prices here for the room-only discount comparison, which in this case will save over $100 compared to Disney prices.

Since Disney hasn’t leased a room-only discount for these travel dates yet, I’ll use a 15% discount since that’s often what you can expect to save at the value resorts, and I’ve included the hefty 12.5% resort tax.

Here’s a chart comparing the cost of the trip with a room-only discount versus one with a Free Dining package.

table chart showing pricing and the difference between room-only discount and free dining package

The trip costs roughly $3,200 with the room-only discount and discounted tickets and roughly $2,600 with the Disney World Free Dining Package. That’s savings of $600 for the five-night trip, or almost a 20% discount.

While it isn’t outrageous savings, most folks would like to keep $600 in their pockets, I’m sure. So in this situation, Free Dining looks like the best deal.

zebra at animal kingdom lodge resort

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Now let’s look at a different situation. A couple wants to stay in a Savannah view room at Animal Kingdom Lodge the same week to visit the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

They want the standard Disney Dining Plan for all of those amazing snack credits and to eat at a table service restaurant most nights. Plus, they don’t really need a Park Hopper ticket and only want to spend three days in the parks (remember that you are required to add the Park Hopper option to get a Free Dining package).

Here’s a comparison of what they’d pay with a 30% room-only discount versus a Free Dining package.

table chart showing the savings difference between room-only discount and free dining package

In this scenario, they’d save $330 by NOT booking free dining and going with the room-only discount instead. So clearly Free Dining isn’t always the best choice!

Should You Get a Disney World Free Dining Package?

image of destinations in florida banner ad
As you can see, it is complicated to determine whether or not a Disney Free Dining 2024 package is the best choice for you.

In general, the best value from Disney World Free Dining comes from parties of three or more staying in a Value or Moderate resort. But even then there are other considerations, such as whether or not you’d really use the required Park Hopper tickets.

Because deciding if Free Dining is the best fit is pretty complicated, I strongly suggest working with a travel agency that specializes in Disney travel.

I recommend Destinations in Florida, an award-winning agency with many Authorized Disney Vacation Planners who can help you decide if Free Dining is a good fit. Their agents can crunch all of the numbers for you, and find the resort and offer that is the best fit at the best price!

A Few Other Thoughts

ice cream swirl in a cup

Here are a few other things you should know about Disney World Free Dining 2020:

  • Packages are bound by different cancellation policies than room-only reservations. You can change or cancel a room-only reservation up to five days before check-in without any penalty. You can cancel or change a package reservation with no penalty up until 30 days before check-in, making them less flexible for last minute changes.
  • Free Dining is a wildly popular promotion. You will need to book as soon as it is released because availability is limited. You only need a $200 deposit to book and it is refundable up to 30 days before your trip, so it makes sense to book even if you aren’t 100% sure you’ll go. 

I hope this post answered all of your burning questions about Disney Free Dining. I’ve taken advantage of this offer MANY times and love using the Dining Plan at Disney World.

This year Free Dining is offered in summer, solearn what to expect from Disney World in summer in this post

If you have any questions, just leave a comment below!

walt disney world free dining pinterest image

Everything you need to know about the popular Free Dining Plan offer at Walt Disney World! #disneyworld #freedining #disneydining

Michael G Geary

Monday 30th of March 2020

Ugh...Already bought and linked non-refundable Undercover tourist tickets for my rebooked stay from April to August, which makes us now not eligible for free dining. For a family of 5, with kids that eat a lot, this would have saved us much more than the 20% room discount, even with upgrading to regular dining plan. Hopefully, disney will soon release even better room only discounts (30-50%) to make us feel better about this...

Kay

Monday 9th of March 2020

If I have a non-discounted package with room/tickets & dining already booked, do I have to make a whole new booking if free dining comes out? Do I need to call Disney World to do it or is there a way to do it online in My Disney Experience? Does free dining have a code that needs to be applied?

Susan Shaw

Tuesday 3rd of March 2020

Can I sign up for dining discounts if I'm staying at a timeshare?

Leah

Saturday 7th of March 2020

No unfortunately - to get free dining you have to be staying at a Disney owned resort (not a timeshare).

Marie

Sunday 19th of January 2020

Do you think Disney will release any more free dining dates?

Leah

Monday 20th of January 2020

Hi Marie! I expect they will based on the discounts released last year. It may not be for a while since they'll assess how the current promotions are working to fill rooms. I think April would be the earliest.

Alice

Saturday 4th of January 2020

Hello,

I have booked the free quick service dining plan for 14 nights in September 2020. I am wondering if I would be able to upgrade to the Disney dining plan now even though the free dining promotion has finished?

thank you!!

Leah

Saturday 4th of January 2020

Yes you can definitely upgrade at any point - I believe up to a few days before you arrive. You'll just pay the difference between the two plans. We have done this exact thing ourselves!


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