If you haven’t heard, Free Dining is back at Disney World!

This offer includes a free Disney Dining Plan for guests with paid Walt Disney World Vacation Packages. Nicknamed “Free Dining” by Disney fans, this is quite possibly Disney World’s most popular promotion. But is it actually worth getting this deal? There are some sacrifices you have to make and we’re going to break down if it’s worth it!

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Right now, between January 2nd and February 10th, Disney is offering a free dining plan with the purchase of a non-discounted 3-night, 3-day (at minimum) Disney vacation package that includes a room at a select Disney Resort hotel and a ticket with a Park Hopper option. The deal will apply to vacations starting May 27th through June 26th and July 7th through August 6th, 2025. 

So what do you get with the free dining plan? It will depend on what type of Disney hotel you will be staying at during your trip. If you are staying at a moderate or value resort, you will qualify for the Quick-Service Dining Plan.

With the Quick Service Disney Dining Plan, you get the following (per person, per night):

• 2 Quick Service Meals
• 1 Snack

Further, with each Quick Service Meal Entitlement, you’ll receive:

• 1 Entrée (including any accompanying sides)
• 1 Beverage (includes specialty drinks such as milkshakes and alcoholic beverages where available for guests using an Adult Quick Service Credit)

If you are staying at a Deluxe Villa or Deluxe Resort, you will qualify for the Standard Dining Plan.

With the Standard Disney Dining Plan, you get the following (per person, per night):

• 1 Table Service Meal
• 1 Quick Service Meal
• 1 Snack

Additionally, with each Standard Dining Plan Meal Entitlement, you’ll receive:

• 1 Entrée (with accompanying sides)
• 1 Dessert (Lunch and Dinner Only)
• 1 Beverage (Includes Specialty Beverages and Alcoholic Drinks)

OR

• 1 Family Style or Buffet Meal (Includes all-you-care-to-eat food and standard drinks.)
• You can also order an alcoholic or specialty beverage

So why would you not take advantage of this deal? Well, if you want free dining, you must purchase a non-discounted vacation package. That means no hotel discounts! So which one would work better? We’re going to break it down for you…

Let’s look at the scenario where your party wants to do the dining plan either way, whether it’s free or not. If it is not free, the prices are as follows.

Quick Service Disney Dining Plan:

• $59.14 per night per adult (ages 10 and up)
• $24.70 per night per child (age 3-9)

Standard Disney Dining Plan:

• $97.70 per night per adult (ages 10 and up)
• $30.78 per night per child (age 3-9)

Read About How to Maximize Your Dining Credits! 

Scenario 1: You are staying at a Deluxe Resort and want the FREE Standard Dining Plan. 

We set the parameters of this for the dates of 5/27/25-5/31/25. We will use Beach Club as our Deluxe Resort example and do a 4-park hopper ticket option for 2 adults. For this package, you would be paying $4,449.66 for stay, tickets, and dining. 

Scenario 2: You are staying at a Deluxe Resort and you want to use a room discount and purchase a Dining Plan. 

We will use those same set of dates and number of park tickets as well. There is a Stay Longer Save More offer currently for that time frame as well that is offering about 25% off of your room. This total is $4,492.54. This is $42.88 more, so it’s very close to the same amount to do either.

Scenario 3: You are staying at a Value Resort and want to do the Free Quick Service Dining Plan. 

Now, we will take the same set of dates and a 4-day park hopper. We chose All-Star Sports for our Value Resort. This total comes to $2,461.34.

You can also pay $309.10 to upgrade your free Quick Service Plan to the standard Dining Plan, which if you want to do sit-down meals, could be really beneficial for you.

Scenario 4: You are staying at a Value Resort and want to pay for the Quick Service Dining Plan. 

If you use the Stay Longer Offer it is actually $20.74 cheaper than the free dining deal. Again, not a large difference between the two.

Is the Disney Dining Plan Worth It?

This depends on how much food you and your family usually eat on vacation. Our best suggestion is to crunch the numbers. We have a full chapter on deciding whether the Dining Plan is worth it for your family in our DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining e-Book.  You can get your own copy here!

Everyone is different and that is why each Disney trip is unique! For more tips and tricks for Disney World, be sure to follow us at DFB!

Do you think the Disney Dining Plan is worth it? Tell us in the comments!