Disney in a Minute: What is the Disney Dining Plan?

The Disney Dining Plan is a way to pay a (mostly) flat rate in advance for meals and snacks at Walt Disney World. Paying in advance can be convenient, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll save money overall. Let’s take a look at how the plan works.

For most guests, the Disney Dining Plan is only available as part of a Disney World Vacation Package. That means that in addition to the Dining Plan, you need to pay for a stay at a Disney resort hotel AND park tickets. It must be purchased for the entire length of your stay, and for everyone in your party. If you’re staying off-site or booking a room-only reservation, you cannot purchase the plan. (There are two exceptions here: Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members staying on points. But if you’re in either of these groups, you probably already know how the plans work.)

There are two versions of the Plan offered for WDW vacations in 2025 and 2026: the standard Disney Dining Plan and the Disney Quick-Service Plan. The difference is in the combination of credits that you get each day – and the price, of course. Here are examples showing how each plan would work for a completely imaginary family that we just made up.

The Testa family of 3 adults is visiting Disney World in 2025. Here’s how each of the plans would work for them:

Standard Disney Dining Plan

On the Standard Disney Dining Plan, for each NIGHT of their stay, each guest gets one table service meal credit, one counter service meal credit, and one snack credit; they will also receive one resort refillable drink mug.

Because they are there for 5 nights, each person in the room gets:

• 5 Table Service Meal Credits
• 5 Quick Service Meal Credits
• 5 Snack Credits
• 1 Resort Refillable Drink Mug

Since there are three people, the total for the group is 15 each of Table Service, Quick Service, and Snack Credits, plus 3 Rapid Fill mugs.

Quick Service Disney Dining Plan 

On the Quick Service Disney Dining Plan, for each night of their stay, each guest gets two quick service meal credits, one snack credit, and one resort refillable mug.

Because they are there for 5 nights, each person in the room gets:

• 10 Quick Service Meal Credits
• 5 Snack Credits
• 1 Resort Refillable Drink Mug

And again, since there are three of them, the total for the group is 30 Quick Service Credits, 15 Snack Credits, and 3 Rapid Fill mugs.

While we’ve listed the group totals for each example, bear in mind that Disney says, “meals and snacks are nontransferable between party members.” So there’s that. In practice, this is rarely enforced for Quick Service or Snack Credits. Table Service Credits are another matter.

Here are some of the other fine points you should know about before buying a plan:

• Gratuities are not included with the Dining Plans. If you eat at a table service venue, you’ll be expected to tip your server.
• Select table service locations require the use of two table service credits for one meal.
• Some menu items may not be included with the Dining Plans or may require an additional fee.
• Snack credits can be used for non-alcoholic beverages, too.
• Beverages are included with each meal. Guests under 21 years of age may choose from a variety of nonalcoholic beverages. Guests 21 and older with valid identification may substitute for beer, wine, and cocktails.
• Guests ages 3 to 9 must order from a children’s menu, where available.
• Unused meals and snacks roll over day to day and expire at midnight on the day of checkout.

For more specifics on dining at Disney, see our FAQs on Quick Service Dining and Table Service Dining.

The value question about buying the plan can get complicated fast: does it save you money or not? The good news is that we have more articles – including pricing and examples – to help you decide whether or not a Disney Dining Plan is the right choice for you!

Should You Buy the Disney Dining Plan?
Disney Dining Plan: Will It End Up Costing You More?
How To Save Money on Disney Food Without the Disney Dining Plan

The numbers in those articles are based on full-priced plans. It’s not uncommon for Disney to offer “Free Dining” promotions where you get a Dining Plan for “free” with your vacation package. Note the quotes around “free” – these plans often compel you to buy a specific length of ticket, or to pay for Park Hoppers when you hadn’t intended to get them. If there’s a room-only discount available at the same time, it may add up to more savings than Free Dining. See (What’s the Best 2025 Disney World Discount? for some examples of how this math usually plays out.) But if you’re visiting in 2026, you should know that there’s an exceptionally good deal on offer – in 2026, Kids (age 3-9) Dining Plans are completely free!

Disney in a Minute is a series of short posts designed to help you better understand a Disney term or planning topic. Do you have a Disney term that you think needs a bit more explanation? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks to Erin Foster for an earlier version of this post.