Kiley,
Thanks for asking your question to planDisney!
At this time no announcement about a return of the Disney Dining Plans has been made. I am hoping, just like you, to hear word of these plans coming back to Walt Disney World soon. For my family, selecting the restaurants in our schedule is almost as important as what park to go to on each day!
I cannot offer any peeks into a crystal ball to tell you when, or if, the plans will return. But I can offer two suggestions for you to consider while we both wait.
Dining Plan Suggestion #1I have found that with most announcements of this kind from Disney, the first place you will hear about them is from the
Disney Parks Blog. I check the blog daily, for a variety of reasons. The first is for those crucial planning announcements, like this one for dining plans. But I also go there for some of the neat new tools, like the
planDisney Pocket Guides and links to the new
planDisney Podcast, presented by State Farm. While I go for those kinds of resources, I am always rewarded with great stories about the parks, the resorts, and the cast members that I was not expecting, but enjoy reading. You might want to add it to your reading list!
Dining Plan Suggestion #2A big reason why people love the dining plans is how it helps them budget their spending ahead of time. But you don't have to rely just on those plans. When I begin to prepare for my next 'escape to the magic', I purchase some Disney Gift Cards along the way. It helps me squirrel away some money for the trip. Of course, if dining plans do come out before your December trip, you can then just apply these cards to your resort account when you arrive.
BONUS TIPOne very important note to be sure of with Gift Cards. If you have several cards, I do not recommend that you put all their balances over to your resort account at the start of the trip. Why? Well, Disney cannot refund any of those transfers to you, so if you put $100 of a gift card onto your resort balance and only spend $90 of that, you lose the $10 balance.
When I go, I put down only that amount that I know I will spend, and every couple of days I will return and use more cards as I get closer to spending that credit balance. Oh, and remember that you can always check your balance from your
My Disney Experience App!
So watch the Disney Parks Blog along with me as we both await the hopeful return of the Disney Dining Plans, and start planning those culinary escapes now!
Have a Magical Vacation!
Doug