Disney Dining Plan

The Disney Dining Plan is a prepaid meal package that guests staying at Walt Disney World hotels can purchase in order to receive discounts up to 30% on food in the complex. It was first introduced in 2005 and has developed in complexity over time, such that there are now many different forms of the plan. The Disney Dining Plan allows guests to eat at park restaurants without needing to have cash on their persons. The plan does not include alcoholic beverages or gratuities. More than 100 Walt Disney World restaurants accept the plan. The plan is particularly cost-effective for families who intend to eat many meals at sit-down restaurants or character dining restaurants. The plan has been criticized for various reasons including that servers are sometimes insufficiently knowledgeable about which food items are considered meals and which are considered snacks. The introduction of the Disney Dining Plan resulted in more parents bringing their children to Walt Disney World's most expensive restaurants, which Kim Wiley and Leigh Jenkins write in their book Walt Disney World with Kids 2013 "is indirectly taking a little of the adult feel and glamour out of these top restaurants." In the book Mousejunkies!, Bill Burke complains that the Disney Dining Plan has restricted the restaurants' menus. Annie Oeth of The Clarion-Ledger argues that the Disney Dining Plan is a poor choice for families with picky eaters.