Welcome to planDisney, Kristin. Disney Dining is one of my favorite topics, you have come to the right place with your question!
This is a very popular question. Loads of guests love the ease of using the
Disney Dining Plan on their vacations. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that anyone knows when to expect to see the Disney Dining Plan return. A great place to keep an eye on all things Walt Disney World is the
Disney Parks Blog. You can be sure that they will let us all know as soon as the Disney Dining Plan is making its return.
At this point, I don’t see the dining plan returning before your January vacation to The Most Magical Place on Earth. But, you can try one of my favorite Disney vacation tips; purchase Disney Gift Cards in the amount of what the dining plan would cost. I typically purchase my Disney Gift Cards at a store where I get a slight discount. Then, combine the cards into $1000 values online at the
Disney Gift Card website. You can bring these gift cards along on your vacation to pay for all your food (and more!). You can even use a Disney Gift Card on the MyDisneyExperience mobile app to pay for quick service mobile orders. Mobile ordering is life-changing! I seriously love it so much…being able to order my favorite Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich from
Sleepy Hollow while I am in the queue for Haunted Mansion has been a game-changer.
In the past, when we used our Disney Gift Cards to pay for our food, my family has found that we ate better (like more
signature dining locations, more full-service meals than would be included in the plan, and less desserts) and used less money than what the Disney Dining Plan would have cost us. Disney Gift Cards can be used at most snack carts, restaurants across WDW, and in shops. I love the flexibility that this provides us. It’s nice to be able to go to a restaurant and get exactly what I want (often an appetizer or two as my meal) and not feel the pressure of having to order something I don’t really want.
I hope this helps a little with planning for your winter vacation to Walt Disney World. Be sure to check out all the amazing happenings for WDW’s
50th Anniversary. The Fab 50 Character Statues are my favorite thing about the celebration.
Happy Traveling (& eating),
Tracy