Crunching Numbers with the Disney Dining Plan

This post will be of limited interest to most, but I wanted to go over the details of the Disney Dining Plan that we will most likely have added to our vacation packages at no additional cost (see this post for more information on this promotion). I'll also mention the Wine & Dine add-on to the dining plan.



I was curious to know how much money we would save by taking advantage of the free dining promotion towards the end of August. The regular dining plan costs $41.99/adult and $12.99/child per day. That's not cheap, but neither is dining at Disney World; for people who pay for the dining plan, they're still likely to save money compared to buying meals out-of-pocket. Assuming an 8-night vacation, the cost of the dining plan would normally cost a total of $672 for a party of 2 adults, or $880 for 2 adults and 2 kids. Pretty insane. That's obviously a gigantic savings when taking advantage of the free dining promotion.



This past fall, Disney World extended their free dining promotion by several months, but the extended promotion offered the lesser "quick-service" dining plan for guests staying at value resorts. Instead of providing 1 counter-service, 1 table-service, and 1 snack credit each day, the quick-service dining plan provides 2 counter-service credits and 1 snack credit. The cost to upgrade to the regular dining plan is $10/adult and $3/child per day, which I think is worthwhile in order to exchange a counter-service meal for a table-service meal.



There's some conjecture that Disney may start offering this lesser dining plan with their free dining promotions going forward (again, just for value resort guests). For an 8-night vacation, the cost to upgrade the dining plan would be $160 for a party of 2 adults, or $208 for 2 adults and 2 kids. Worth doing, I think, if the quick-service dining plan becomes to norm for the promotion, but something to take into consideration when budgeting and considering our options. We'll find out what Disney is doing for this year's promotion in a few months most likely, and that will give us an idea of what to expect next year.



If Disney starts to offer the lesser quick-service dining plan with the free dining promotion, the cost of upgrading to the regular dining plan would make a compelling reason to stay at a moderate resort instead of a value resort. I previously hemmed-and-hawed about staying at a moderate resort, so I don't want to jump the gun. When we have details about the next free dining promotion, that will likely inform that decision.



And finally, the Wine & Dine add-on provides 1 wine entitlement (typically 1 bottle) per night stayed, per party. The cost is $39.99/night, so it's not inexpensive, but I thought there might be some interest in it. Of course, glasses and bottles of wine can be bought as desired without the Wine & Dine add-on. For an 8-night stay, the add-on comes to $320. For a list of wines and more information, see Disney's Wine & Dine brochure.