Will disney dining plan return

[dvc lover 1970]

I read last summer that the dining plan would return in 2022. But here we are in January and no mention of time frame as to when it will return. Has anyone heard anything?

 

[mom2rtk]

I imagine the original estimate was before Omicron. They need more restaurants open still before they likely have enough capacity to sell the dining plan, and that needs more staffing which is problematic right now.

 

[Narcoossee11]

The simple answers is NOT THIS YEAR. Maybe 2023. Too many factors. Many restaurants are only open 5days a week

 

[Allison]

I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't come back.

 

[Disney.Dreamin.Dee]

Disney did indeed say the dining plan would return in some form but they never gave a timeline.

 

[Disneylover99]

Probably not until the pandemic is officially over, and all restaurants are open and fully staffed.

The dining plan is a money maker for Disney, so I do think it will be back in some form eventually.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

It will return. It makes Disney way too much $$ to not bring it back. They just have to wait for supply chain and staffing issues to subside.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't come back.

It's a risky proposition in a high inflationary environment, since folks purchase it many times long before they use it.
It's a heavy training and tech imposition at a time they struggle to employ anyone in the restaurants.

So, it may not come back til one or both of these risk aspects are resolved.

 

[Lewisc]

It will return. It makes Disney way too much $$ to not bring it back. They just have to wait for supply chain and staffing issues to subside.

It made money because it filled empty restaurants.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

It made money because it filled empty restaurants.

It makes money because most people didn’t use it effectively. You basically have to order the most expensive things on every menu to even come close to breaking even. 2 credit meals are also a terrible value. And many people didn’t use all their snack credits. It’s a lot of work to come out even or ahead.

 

[SteveH]

Bottom line to me is the dining plan was an incentive to attract guests, right now they don't need (want) to attract guests. With staff shortages still being a real thing and costs of supplies and food it's a risky thing to give anything. Besides why do they need to? Parks still appear to be full, resorts are busy. Time will tell but I don't see it coming back anytime soon.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Bottom line to me is the dining plan was an incentive to attract guests, right now they don't need (want) to attract guests. With staff shortages still being a real thing and costs of supplies and food it's a risky thing to give anything. Besides why do they need to? Parks still appear to be full, resorts are busy. Time will tell but I don't see it coming back anytime soon.

It was only an incentive when they offered it for “free”. They can bring back the dining plan without bringing back the free dining promotion. They had been slowly phasing that promotion out anyways.

 

[Aela]

My husband and I got sick on the 3rd day of a 7 day trip once. We were on the deluxe plan with our daughter who was 9. They made a stupid amount of money off us that trip. We had really good plans to super max it out, but it didn’t happen. It was bad. We had over 30 credits left the last day. We ended up spending 12 deluxe credits on the final day buying 3 macarons per credit.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Probably not until the pandemic is officially over, and all restaurants are open and fully staffed.

The dining plan is a money maker for Disney, so I do think it will be back in some form eventually.

If waiting for Pandemic to be officially over, that could be years.

 

[Disneylover99]

If waiting for Pandemic to be officially over, that could be years.

That’s true.
Hopefully, they’ll just wait until all restaurants are opened and fully staffed.
But then again, I see the dining plan as a big commitment for Disney. They need to be sure most things are completely back to normal before restarting it. So it could take a long while still.

 

[frannn]

Just my thoughts, but it seems they are taking some steps towards offering it again. Lots of menu prices were raised, plus many places are reopening. It doesn't necessarily have to come back the same way it was in the past. I think we'll see it again this year, even on a limited basis, but that may just be wishful thinking.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

I really hope they never bring it back. It just incentivized Disney to raise a la carte prices in order to make the dining plan look like a better deal. Those of us who don’t use it got the short end of the stick.

 

[BillFromCT]

I think because there are still restaurants not opened (1900 Park Fare and Akershus among them); restaurants at low capacity due to staffing issues; and Disney having to negotiate with non Disney restaurants (i.e. most of Disney Springs) to accept the dining plan, I think we're looking at January 2023 at the earliest.

 

[B-Ride]

Probably not until the pandemic is officially over, and all restaurants are open and fully staffed.

The dining plan is a money maker for Disney, so I do think it will be back in some form eventually.

You would think they could make even more money with restaurants closed making it difficult for people to use up TS credits.

Oh dear, when did I become so cynical?

 

[rwdavis2]

I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't come back.

I hope so. Many believe dining quality dropped with the advent of the DP.