Anyone planning a Walt Disney World holiday in 2020 is probably aware that last Thursday was the day Disney released their Free Dining offer to UK guests. So what does this actually entail, and which guests can benefit? This week we’ll look in depth at this fantastic special offer!

Guests booking a stay at a Disney resort hotel are offered the opportunity to add a Disney Dining Plan to their booking. Essentially this plan is a great way to budget, by offering pre paid meals at various locations across Disney World, both at the resort hotels, and in all the parks. The required number of meals are loaded onto the guest’s magic band in advance, and the meals are deducted at the till by the Disney Cast member. This has always worked out as a good, cost effective way to plan ahead, and eat across the parks, but at certain times of the year, Disney offers this perk to UK guests for free! As the plan usually costs from around £57 per adult and £21 per day, its clear that this could be a huge benefit to a visiting guest, and make it far more worth while to stay on property.

In order to qualify for the free dining offer, you need to book your stay and tickets as a package, and make the booking by 2nd July 2019. The offer is valid for arrivals between 1st Jan and 29th March 2020, and again between 19th April and October 3rd 2020. Oh, and stays must be for 5 nights or more to qualify.

There are, of course, limited numbers on offer, and not all resorts take part, but in our experience the offer is surprisingly wide ranging, and there are many rooms available across resorts, from value to deluxe.

There are different tiers of dining plan, ranging from Breakfast only, to full sit down meals, and Disney offers a different plan depending on which type of hotel you choose, though all can be upgraded for a fee.

The offer breaks down as follows:

For stays at participating Disney Value Resorts, guests are offered free Breakfast throughout their stay.

Participating resorts include: All Star Resorts, Pop Century, Art of Animation.

For stays at participating Disney Moderate Resorts, guests are offered the Quick Service Dining plan for free.

Participating resorts include: Caribbean Beach Resort, Coronado Springs Resort, Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, Port Orleans Riverside Resort, Port Orleans French Quarter.

For stays at participating Disney Deluxe Villas, guests are offered the Disney World Dining plan for free.

Participating resorts include: Animal Kingdom Villas, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas, the Villas at the Grand Floridian, Old Key West Resort, Riviera Resort, Saratoga Springs, and Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge.

For stays at participating Disney Deluxe Resorts, guests are offered the Disney World Dining plan for free.

Participating resorts include: Animal Kingdom Lodge, Beach Club Resort, Boardwalk Inn, Grand Floridian Resort, Wilderness Lodge, and Yacht Club Resort.The  four tiers of dining plan on offer, There are three tiers of Dining plan mentioned above, Breakfast, Quick Service, and Disney Dining. There is also a Deluxe plan available, which guests can choose to pay and upgrade to. All essentially work like a voucher system, so your Magic Band (a watch like band which resort guests are given to wear and use as their room key and park ticket) is pre-loaded with the meals you’ve purchased ahead of time.

Free Breakfast

This is essentially one Quick Service meal credit per person per day, and can be used at any time, across any participating Quick Service locations (these are the locations where you generally wait in line to order and collect your food, like at McDonalds!) So there is no real requirement to save these credits for breakfast, there are many participating Quick Service locations across the parks and resorts, offering all kinds of delicious meals.

Quick Service

This option gives 2 quick service meals (including 1 alcoholic or soft drink per meal), 2 snacks, and one refillable mug per person per night of stay.

A quick service meal is essentially one which you go up to the counter to order. There are many locations, at every resort hotel, and across all the parks, offering everything from burgers, to pizza, sandwiches, to sushi. A meal, for the purposes of the DDP, includes one main course (or combo meal if it’s offered) and a drink (including alcohol if over 21).

Snacks cover all kinds of items, from quick service restaurants, stalls and carts and some shops. You can try ice creams, bottles of drink, coffees, fruit, churros, popcorn….the list is endless!!

The refillable resort mug is a souvenir mug that can be used as many times as you like throughout your stay, for drinks from the fountain drink machines at resort hotels, including coke products, lemonades, ice tea, water, tea and coffee. Note this is at hotels only, not in the parks.

Disney Dining Plan

This plan gives 1 table service meal, 1 quick service meal, 2 snacks and one refillable mug per person per night of stay.

Table Service refers to a meal at a waiter service restaurant (including buffet style restaurants), again in all resorts and in many locations around the parks. It also includes character dining, when diners are visited during their dinner with Disney characters, for photos and autographs. Using 2 meal entitlements will give you access to the special Signature Restaurants and dinner shows. Each meal entitlement includes a main, dessert (at lunch or dinner), and a drink (including alcohol if over 21).

This In our opinion, this is the best value plan for most visitors, especially as it includes character dining. The portion sizes are so large that 2 meals and 2 snacks has always proved more than enough for our families, in fact we’ve always ended up with snack credits left over, and the experience of fantastic meals at some of the beautiful restaurants, especially in the resort hotels, is something really special, and perhaps not what you’d expect from Disney World!

Deluxe Dining Plan

This can be chosen as an upgrade to the above plans, and gives 3 meals (any combination of quick service and table service), 2 snacks, and one refillable mug per person per night of stay.

Points to note

Children under 3 don’t need their own plan, Disney assumes they will eat from your plate, or bring their own food at this age.

Children 3 – 9 are entitled to the same as the adults, but must order from a children’s menu if they’re available in table service restaurants. In quick service restaurants they can choose between children’s and adult meals, as the credits on the band don’t differentiate.

All meals and snacks are loaded on your band at once, and there is no requirement to eat your meals on certain days. So if you want 2 table service meals in one day, and 2 quick service the next, that’s fine! You can check how many meals you have left at any time too, at restaurant till points, or on your meal receipt, so you can keep track. There is no differentiation between guests either, so it doesn’t matter who uses which credit. If you have any snack credits left at the end of your stay, you can buy packaged snacks, like sweets or popcorn, or bottled drinks, to take home.

As you probably know, tips are very much expected in the US, and they are not included in the dining plans, so its advisable to factor around 18% per meal into your holiday budget. If you are in a party of 6 or more, 18% will be automatically added to your bill.

As you can see, the dining plan includes lots of choice, plenty of food, and in our opinion, helps you to budget effectively ahead of time, and enjoy lots of special and unique dining experiences during your stay.

We think the plan offers great benefits at any time, but if you book at a time when the dining plan is included free of charge, we really would recommend the dining plan to help make your stay extra special!

The huge amount of choice available for guests on the Disney Dining Plan can be overwhelming however. With over 400 restaurants to choose from, deciding where to dine can be overwhelming. And bookings fast fill up, with many restaurant bookings becoming impossible to get hold of very soon after the 180-day window opens up. All Ears can understand your needs, and help you choose, and book the right restaurants to enjoy during your stay, helping to make meal times a really special part of your Disney World holiday!