Breaking Down the 2024 Disney Dining Plan (2024)

The Disney Dining Plan will finally return in 2024 after a four-year absence.

Technically, Disney offered its dining plans in 2020, but *ahem* something happened that March.

So, we really haven’t had a full year of dining plan usage since 2019! On January 9^th, 2024, that will change, though.

Disney vacationers will finally get their meals included with their hotel stays again. And we’ll want to maximize the value of our dining plan purchase.

Today, we’re going to figure out how. Let’s break the Disney Dining Plan by determining the best meals to eat!

Let’s Talk Strategy

Before we can select the top dining plan options, we should understand the goal here.

First, here’s the ultimate guide to the Disney Dining Plan (DDP).

As a reminder, Disney offers two versions of the DDP. One prioritizes Quick Service restaurants.

We’re focusing on the other option, the DDP itself. With this program, guests receive:

• 1 Quick-Service meal per person per night
• 1 Table Service meal per person per night
• 1 Snack per person per night
• 1 Resort Refillable Mug per person per stay

The Table Service meal matters the most for the purposes of our discussion.

That’s the DDP entitlement where you can gain the most value with your dining plan purchase.

To achieve that goal, you should understand a few aspects of Disney dining.

For starters, some entrees cost more than others, especially at Disney.

Foods like steak and seafood come with higher food costs than cheaper ingredients like chicken and pasta.

Disney passes those food cost expenses along to you, the paying customers.

So, the restaurants where you can maximize your investment are typically the ones that sell steak and/or seafood…but they’re not the most expensive ones.

Disney fans know that character meals typically come with the highest price tags because Disney fans are willing to pay for the privilege.

As such, our list will include plenty of restaurants that offer upscale dining experiences and expensive entrees.

Disney has accounted for that a bit more in 2024. Some previous dining plan favorites now require two dining plan entitlements.

For this reason, we’ve scratched them off the list and chosen some new options.

Don’t worry, folks! You can still break the dining plan! It just takes a bit more work now, but I’ve done the heavy lifting for you!

The Best Meals to Pick

For simplicity’s sake, I’m dividing this year’s options into two main categories.

On one side, we have the best meals you can eat at Disney for a single entitlement.

On the other hand, we have the character meals that will warm your heart as a Disney fan. Let’s start with that group.

I’m a shameless tourist when I travel, and that goes double at Disney. So, I’ve tried every character meal here over the years.

When we discuss the DDP, I modify my decision-making a bit, though. While MY favorite character meal is breakfast at ‘Ohana, I’m not listing it here.

That’s because our goal is to maximize the value of the DDP. You cannot do that by spending entitlements on breakfast, no matter what.

The value simply isn’t there. Sadly, this reality rules out exquisite options at ‘Ohana, Cape May Café, and Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera.

Instead, when you want a dining plan character, meal, you should target lunch or (especially) dinner.

Probably the best example of this situation involves Chef Mickey’s.

The storied character meal at Disney’s Contemporary Resort charges adults $51 plus tax for breakfast as opposed to $62 plus tax for dinner.

So, your entitlement saves you $51 at breakfast but $62 at dinner!

Based on this information, you can understand why dinners break the dining plan more.

As an aside, the hidden value of the dining plan is that it protects you from price hikes.

Chef Mickey’s increased pricing earlier this year. When you use an entitlement, you don’t have to worry about such price hikes!

Other Character Meals of Note

Now that you understand the strategy involved, here are a few other character meals where you can stretch the value of the dining plan.

• The Crystal Palace — $59 per adult plus tax
• Hollywood & Vine — $59 per adult plus tax
• Tusker House — $59 per adult plus tax
• Garden Grill — $55 per adult plus tax

You’ll find The Crystal Palace just past Main Street, U.S.A. This character meal features residents of Hundred Acre Wood.

Disney serves an All-You-Care-to-Enjoy (AYCE) character meal here. Also, the building itself is breathtaking.

While I wouldn’t rank the character meal as one of Disney’s best, the convenience, the view, and the Winnie the Pooh characters boost its value.

Similarly, Tusker House features Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters in adorable adventurer outfits.

Meanwhile, the cuisine highlights some delicious African flavors you wouldn’t typically find in Florida.

Then, we have Hollywood & Vine, which MickeyBlog reviewed in a video here:

This character meal changes every three months, which makes it my favorite of the trio. However, the cuisine is probably the worst of the bunch.

Finally, Garden Grill provides the “worst” value in that it’s currently $4 cheaper than the other options.

You won’t break the economy as much by eating here, but what you will do is enjoy an excellent meal in a unique backdrop.

This slowly rotating restaurant gradually circles The Land pavilion and occasionally provides views of Living with the Land.

In all these examples, you’d spend $55-$59 per person plus tax and tip for a meal.

Thanks to the dining plan, you exchange one entitlement instead. Please understand that you are still responsible for the tip, though.

Four Other Restaurants to Target

In this section, we’ll discuss the other restaurants where you can get tremendous bang for your dining plan buck.

The one thing to keep in mind is that your dining preferences play a significant factor here.

Let’s say that you’re vegetarian/vegan or don’t like seafood. If so, you won’t find the same value as guests who prioritize the most expensive dishes.

For the purposes of this article, I’m presuming you’ll pick the costliest dishes on the menu. Also, I’m considering perceived restaurant quality as well.

We’re talking about plenty of dining options, as MickeyBlog has previously posted the full list of participating restaurants.

I’m reducing this list to places where I know you’ll spend a lot of money for a meal. Obviously, you’ll have your preferences as well.

To break the dining plan completely, the best choices are places with a kind of downside guarantee.

For example, a meal at Rodeo Roundup BBQ will cost $45 per person. It’s not character dining, but it’s still a $100+ meal for two.

As such, you’re maximizing the DDP by eating here. Disney prices its upscale theming experiences this way.

San Angel Inn Restaurante definitely qualifies, as it’s moonlit indoor dining by an abandoned pyramid.

The Carne Asada here, which I swear by, costs $54 on its own. So, you’re definitely getting a deal by using an entitlement instead.

Similarly, you don’t need to know what Hotate is – and I’m not sure I do – to recognize that this Teppan Edo entrée costs $65…or one entitlement!

Teppan Edo delivers remarkably good value on the DDP. And finally, we have the non-character meal option at a restaurant I already name-dropped.

Cape May Café requires only one entitlement for dinner. Should you pay out of pocket instead, it’d cost $46 per person.

Final Thoughts

You should appreciate how the process works by now. When you buy the DDP, you’re entering into a kind of barter agreement with Disney.

You’re not paying dollar-for-dollar with your meals. Instead, Disney lets you eat at one of hundreds of places in exchange for one entitlement.

What you should realize now is how much you can do with that entitlement.

Each of your Table Service credits should buy a $50+ meal if that’s your choice.

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Feature Photo: Disney