Walt Disney World has no new rides on the horizon until 2027. At the same time, Universal is opening a brand new theme park, Epic Universe, right down the street. On top of that, pent-up demand continues to exhaust itself and there are signs of a consumer spending slowdown.
But wait, there’s more! We’re only a couple weeks removed from Walt Disney World is Worried About Its High Prices, which revealed that company has internal concerns about Disney alienating its core audience. There are growing fears within Disney about how price increases and unpopular decisions are angering fans and losing guest goodwill.
That’s a very real and relevant consideration because at a crossroads like this, Walt Disney World would normally try to squeeze more spending out of existing guests with price increases. Or they’d create new revenue streams out of thin air by inventing upcharges, new product offerings, or even pricing schemes. But right now, they’re a bit between a rock and a hard place. Wanting to find ways to grow revenue during what’s otherwise a period of stagnation, but also needing to contend with potentially concerning guest metrics.
The good news is that it is possible to thread the needle.
About half of our List of “Big Little” Things Walt Disney World Needs to Bring Back are upcharges or would otherwise generate revenue and not just incur costs for the company (even things like the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights qualify). Judging by the chorus of comments, many Walt Disney World fans agree. They’re tired of paying more–but they’re also willing to spend extra in certain circumstances, counterintuitive as it might seem.
As we’ve mentioned repeatedly, it’s not just price increases. It’s those coupled with corresponding cuts, nickel and diming, and other ways the guest experience has been diminished. Price isn’t the only, or perhaps even primary, concern. It’s the value proposition, which has taken hits in both directions–people are paying more…and getting less. That’s the real issue, at least for many fans.
One of the ways the value proposition and guest experience have been diminished is via reduced variety. For some fans, it’s the missing breakfast at Be Our Guest Restaurant. For others, it’s the special seminars during EPCOT’s festivals, missing dessert parties, and so forth. Yes, these are things that make Walt Disney World even more expensive. But they also added value to the experience, and that’s the critical component.
Another point we’ve made recently is that Walt Disney World needs to do more to attract young families.
Disney Adult DINKs are a great demographic for Walt Disney World; it makes complete sense that the company would do more to cater to this growing portion of the population, especially given their comparative purchasing power. This is why we’re seeing so many new lounges, a focus on merchandise brands, and partially explains the recent roster of new rides.
At the same time, young families are historically Walt Disney World’s bread and butter. Parents take their kids to Disney, those kids form emotional bonds, grow up visiting, and take their own kids to Disney. Rinse and repeat. Countless multi-generational ‘Disney Families’ exist due to this dynamic, including both of us–and probably many of you!
Pricing out families with small children is the surest way to break the cycle, resulting in future generations that have no emotional connection to Walt Disney World . There are hugely negative long-term ramifications to losing a focus on families, but thankfully, it seems like there’s concern about this internally.
The bottom line is that Walt Disney World needs to make a concerted effort to attract more families. They’ve already done this to a slight extent by lowering the price of the Disney Dining Plan for kids (while raising it significantly for adults), along with various other special offers.
At the intersection of this all, there’s something we’d love to see happen when 2026 Walt Disney World vacation packages are released (which should be fairly soon): bring back the Disney Dining Plan Plus (DDP+).
For those who are unfamiliar with it, which is probably most of you since it was so shortlived, the Disney Dining Plan Plus was released in late February 2020–five years ago this week. It was available for only a few weeks before the closure, and has not returned since. The DDP+ offered the following:
- two meals at your choice of table service or counter service restaurants (per night)
- two snacks (per night)
- a refillable drink mug (per stay)
The Disney Dining Plan Plus was quickly identified by planners as being best for those planning on booking a large number of character meals. Yes, you could use it for other purposes, but a character breakfast and character dinner each day were, without a doubt, the optimal use case from a practical perspective.
When we say “identified by planners” we’re really talking about ourselves. Our Disney Dining Plan Plus Review was laser-focused on character dining; we were already planning a series of character dining ‘itineraries’ for strategizing the best breakfasts and dinners before the closure. We had used the DDP+ once to great success, saving a ton of money in the process–a rarity even then with the DDP–and knew it would be hugely advantageous for more character dining experiences.
That was all long before Megatron. I understood the value of the Disney Dining Plan Plus for families on paper. As someone who can use a calculator, it was easy to see how the DDP+ was an even more fantastic option for families than it was for us. But admittedly, it was still an abstraction.
Fast-forward five years, and I find myself reevaluating so many of the things I thought I knew about Walt Disney World from a fresh perspective. And as we race to do as much character dining as possible in the next year-plus before Megatron turns three, I’m now more keenly aware of costs for kids ages 3 and up. (I’ve already mentioned elsewhere, but I can already tell the age brackets for kids is going to drive me crazy.)
The notion of paying over $40 (probably over $50 by the time she’s 3 given the pace of price increases and inflation) for our daughter to eat approximately $3 worth of food is unappetizing. We’re faced with a dilemma: do these character meals now while she’s still a bit on the young side (but we can appreciate her reactions) or wait until she’s a bit older, but will have to pay the child’s rate.
Enter the Disney Dining Plan Plus.
With previous price points of $94.61 per adult and $35 per child when it was last available, the Disney Dining Plan Plus certainly is not cheap. And if it were to return in 2026, it would probably cost over $120 per night for adults, and around the same price for kids (other tiers of the DDP for kids are more or less unchanged from early 2020).
That’s a lot of money, and the reintroduction of the Disney Dining Plan+ obviously is not one of the things Walt Disney World needs to do to combat perceptions that Walt Disney World is pricing out the middle class. But it could be one of the things that Disney does to improve the value proposition, guest experience, and other metrics.
As for why the Disney Dining Plan Plus hasn’t returned already, that likely came down to staffing shortages and pent-up demand.
When the return of the Disney Dining Plan was announced, demand for character dining experiences had remained surprisingly strong. We theorized that this was lagging pent-up demand for those meals, as so many of those meals were missing or modified long after the parks reopened.
Basically, that character dining was slower to return in regular form, so Walt Disney World regulars who had previously postponed character meals in 2021-2023 until they were back to normal were still getting their fix at these meals. Since kids grow up quickly, families were still making up for lost time and doing character dining experiences.
That lagging pent-up demand has now been exhausted. Although there still may be some Advance Dining Reservation difficulty for larger party sizes and around peak season, even character meals like Artist Point, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Topolino’s Terrace, Chef Mickey’s, and 1900 Park Fare have all become much easier to book. I would go as far as to say ADRs are mostly easier than they were in 2019, and demand has certainly plummeted since 2022.
The bottom line is that Walt Disney World could kill multiple birds with one stone by bringing back the Disney Dining Plan Plus.
Absent the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan returning (also a good idea!), the DDP+ would become the top tier of the Disney Dining Plan. Plenty of families would upgrade to it, undoubtedly increasing the key per guest spending metric in the process. In so doing, it would be one of those ways to juice revenue for the next couple of years while organic growth is likely to stagnate.
It would also boost bookings at character restaurants, which have seen a massive drop-off in popularity over the last year-plus. Finally, it would be bringing back a ‘little thing’ that would make a certain subset of guests very happy, without negatively impacting the guest experience for others. It would be a true value-add, as opposed to playing games with pricing.
All of this more or less describes us. Once Megatron turns 3, we will become much more picky about which character dining experiences we book given the dramatically diminished value proposition. And that’s with only one child and the excuse of needing to do “research for the blog.” I cannot imagine how parents with multiple kids and no such excuses manage. (The notion of dropping ~$150 for 3 kids to eat a combined 4.5 Mickey waffles, 2.75 sausage links, and 8 grapes makes me cringe!)
In the absence of something like the Disney Dining Plan Plus, we’ll probably do only one character dining experience per trip once Megatron turns three. With it, we’d likely do at least one per day. If we don’t do those character meals, it’s not like we’re going to pay out of pocket for fancy sit-down restaurants–we’ll probably trade down to counter service, since we’re quickly learning that’s easier. The Disney Dining Plan Plus would enable us to justify many more character dining experiences than we otherwise would, significantly increasing our spending and satisfaction in the process.
That’s right, we’d spend more money at Walt Disney World while being happier about it in the process. This was the driving motivation behind so many offerings and upcharges in the “old days” (2019 and earlier), and Walt Disney World really needs to get back to the basics with this type of thinking.
Walt Disney World is almost assuredly going to attempt to create new revenue streams, and even if the Disney Dining Plan Plus isn’t one of the ways it does this, we should want to see it occur in substantive ways that are beneficial as opposed to detrimental. This is precisely why we’ve loved the Halloween and Christmas character meals that Disneyland has done over the last couple of years. We did a couple of meals that we otherwise wouldn’t have specifically because of the seasonal costumes (and we would’ve done all of them, but for massive price increases last October).
Obviously, restoring the Disney Dining Plan Plus is not going to be the key to changing the narrative about Walt Disney World pricing and the guest experience. There’s a lot of work to be done, and it’s going to take special offers, policy changes, perks, and more. Nevertheless, this is the exact type of ‘everyone wins’ solution to revenue growth that Disney should be looking for, instead of trying to squeeze more spending out of guests who have already hit their walls. If this justification is unpersuasive for the leadership at Disney, they should consider the fact that it has a “plus” in the name, and that’s like catnip for the company.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you think Walt Disney World should bring back the Disney Dining Plan Plus in 2026? Disappointed that the top two tiers of the DDP are still missing? Would Walt Disney World bringing back more of the little things–even ones that are upcharges–make you more likely to book a trip? Or would you be upset if more pricey paid offerings return, viewing it as another sign Walt Disney World is not catering to the middle class? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment that the issue is as much (or more) about the value proposition as it is about price increases? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!