Free Dining for Disney Visa Cardmembers in the Second Half of 2024
Disney World’s Free Dining promotion is one of its most popular, and if you’re a Disney Visa Cardmember then you can book it starting April 9, 2024! See below for details, plus other things to know and think about. Not sure this is the right offer for you? See available Disney World Discounts.
The Offer
Starting April 9, 2024, Disney Visa Cardmembers can get a FREE dining plan when purchasing a non-discounted 4-night, 4-day Walt Disney Travel Company package that includes a room at select Disney Resort hotels and tickets with a Park Hopper option. This offer is available for arrivals on most dates July 1-31, September 1-7, and December 9-21, 2024.
- Must book a 4-night, 4-day stay vacation package
- Must purchase Park Hopper tickets
- Must purchase the same ticket length and ticket option for everyone in the room
- Must be a Disney Visa Cardmember
Guests at Value and Moderate Resorts, including the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, receive the Quick Service Dining plan for everyone in the room for free, and can pay the difference to upgrade to the Standard Plan. Guests booking the offer at Deluxe Resorts and Disney Vacation Club Villas Resorts receive the Standard Plan for free. Free Dining can not be combined with other discount offers.
Offer excludes the following room types: 3-Bedroom Villas, Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort (Disney Vacation Club), Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Bungalows at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, Club Level and Suites at Disney Moderate and Deluxe Resort hotels, Deluxe Studios – Club Level at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House, 1-Bedroom Villas – Club Level at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House, and 2 Bedroom Lock-Off Villas – Club Level at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House.
Although Annual Passholders are normally able to book the Dining Plan without tickets, this offer requires the purchase of a Vacation Package that includes tickets with the Park Hopper Option. Disney Visa Cardmember must mention the offer when booking, use a valid Disney Visa Card or Disney Rewards Redemption Card to pay the deposit, and stay in the room. Additional per-adult charges may apply if more than 2 adults per room at Disney Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts. The number of packages allocated for this offer is limited.
For 2024, the regular price of the Dining Plan is
- Standard Dining Plan: $94 per adult, $30 per kid (that’s full price), not including tax and gratuities
- Quick Service Dining Plan: $57 per adult, $24 per kid (full price), not including tax and gratuities.
Looking to understand whether the Dining Plan would save you money if it wasn’t free? See Should You Buy the Disney Dining Plan?
What to Expect When Booking
If you’re trying to book this offer, the first thing you should expect is to wait. The screenshot below is the Virtual Queue that’s been used for recent releases. This is what you’ll likely see for much of April 9. But the good news is that this Virtual Queue process usually works smoothly and keeps the site from crashing, just make sure not to close or refresh the page.
Free Dining Might Not Be Your Best Deal
If you don’t want to buy Park Hopper tickets, or have some other point of friction with the Free Dining terms, the good news! Disney has also released a raft of room discounts for an even wider range of dates. For the general public, you can save
- up to 30% at select Disney Resort hotels when you stay 5 nights or longer most nights March 25 through July 7, 2024
- up to 30% at select Disney Resort hotels when you stay 5 nights or longer most nights July 8 through October 3, 2024.
In addition, there are two summer ticket specials that are each about 15-30% off of regular ticket prices. It’s not uncommon to find that Free Dining offers are more favorable for larger families, and room discounts are more favorable for smaller parties. But the ticket offers are also per person, which strengthens the benefit for larger groups. That could skew the numbers even for smaller groups towards simply getting a discount ticket combined with a discount room, instead of Free Dining.
Want to get an idea what your budget might look like without these discounts? See The Cost of a Disney World Vacation in 2024.