Walt Disney World has released the Free Dining Plan discount for arrival dates from Summer through the holiday season, including Halloween and Christmas, for the general public–meaning now anyone can book it! Here are dates & details, tips & tricks, everything you need to know about booking this special offer.
This is one of several discounts released for 2025 Walt Disney World vacations. Alongside this second wave of Free Dining, there’s also a trio of new room-only discounts and ticket deals for both kids and adults. Those deals have partially overlapping date ranges with Free Dining, so you might want to do the math on both if you’re traveling during the summer.
This is especially notable because you can stack room-only discounts and ticket deals, whereas the same is NOT true with Free Dining and any other promos. Free Dining requires an otherwise non-discounted vacation package. There are also other deals pior to this latest round of summer and beyond special offers.
For a rundown of available discounts, see All Current Walt Disney World Discounts for 2025. There are promos available for most dates between now and July 2025, plus bouncebacks and PIN codes that run through Christmas 2025. So that’s worth checking out if you’re debating when to travel and which deals to book.
Per Walt Disney World, here are the deal details: A delicious deal is back! Enjoy a FREE dining plan when you purchase a non-discounted 4-night, 4-day Walt Disney Travel Company package that includes a room at a select Disney Resorts Collection hotel and a theme park ticket with a Park Hopper option—for arrivals most nights from:
- June 29 to September 30, 2025
- October 20 to November 1, 2025
- December 6 to December 22, 2025
Packages may be available for longer lengths of stay. A dining plan includes delicious meals and snacks—so you can spend more time enjoying the magic… and less time on meal budgeting while you’re here.
The Disney Dining Plan included in this special offer depends on the tier of Walt Disney World Resort hotel you select. The regular Disney Dining Plan is included when you choose a stay at a Disney Deluxe or Disney Deluxe Villa Resort hotel.
Here’s a graphic showing eligible resorts for Free Dining and which tier each receives:
There are a bunch of terms and conditions, all of which are common for Free Dining. The big one is always room category exclusions: Campsites, 3-Bedroom Grand Villas, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Bungalows and 2-Bedroom Penthouses at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, Deluxe Rooms at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, and Suites at Disney Deluxe Resort hotels.
Additional per-adult charges may apply if more than 2 adults per room at Disney Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts. Table service restaurants may have limited or no availability at time of package purchase (a common complaint with Free Dining in past years has been the lack of ADRs for those who arrived without booking anything in advance, but not really an issue last year).
Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion (again for emphasis!). Disney Dining Plans exclude gratuities, which will need to be paid out of pocket at table service restaurants. Children ages 3 to 9 must order from a children’s menu, where available. The number of packages allocated for this offer is limited. Everyone in the same room must be on the same package.
You can book the deal directly via Walt Disney World’s official site here.
It’s imperative to do the math on Free Dining vs. other special offers to see which works best for your family. Sometimes Free Dining is a good to great deal. Sometimes it isn’t. It all depends upon your unique circumstances. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are rough rules of thumb (also discussed below).
When it comes to doing the math, I want to put in a plug for reaching out to a travel agent. Any travel agent! As always, we’d recommend requesting a FREE no obligation quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner and having them book for you.
They’ll assist you with the planning process, help you choose the most economical dates, best add-ons, etc. Notably, they also monitor reservations and can retroactively apply new discounts if a better deal is released to save you more money. (A big thing right now, since better deals keep coming out and supplanting the old ones!)
Equally as important, they’ll help you with discount comparison shopping. There will be several different discounts available for Walt Disney World in the second half of 2025! What you see now is NOT everything that’ll be available for your travel dates if you’re visiting in October 2025 or later.
Here’s a look at package pricing for 2025 Free Dining:
Note that this is for the first week of September 2025, which is typically one of the cheapest times of the year to visit Walt Disney World.
This is a package for 4 Disney Adults, which is one of the optimal party types (see below) for Free Dining. And unlike the other special offers, the above shows the total package price for the full 4-night stay and tickets. Hence the significantly higher price points than the room-only deals, which show the nightly cost of just the discounted room.
2025 Free Dining Analysis
This is now the ‘second wave v2’ of Free Dining (the first ran through August 6, 2025), and it encompasses a subset of the same dates as the first round. These are also the exact same dates that were released last week for Disney Visa cardholders (hence this being “v2” of the second wave).
Accordingly, we’re expecting that entire room categories are already sold out from day one for many of the July travel dates. One month we want to draw your attention to is October, which is a fan-favorite time to visit since the weather starts to get better and it’s Halloween. According to the DTB Archives, this is the first time October dates have been included in a Free Dining offer to any meaningful degree since 2015–a full decade ago. For the dealhounds out there who are also discount history buffs, October 1 arrivals were included in 2016; this is the highest number of October arrival dates since 2013!
This isn’t a surprise, as we’ve been predicting a comeback of October arrival dates. This was a smart bet because October just hasn’t been as busy as it previously was once Fall Break is over. In any case, we don’t have any good recent data about the popularity of October Free Dining dates. It was incredibly popular back in 2015-2016, hence it being excluded since. But that was a different era, one during which Free Dining was generally much more popular (and better). Given this and that Free Dining wave 2 v2 has been on sale for a week, availability might be limited in October.
It’s a similar story in recent years for the December arrivals. That’s a popular month for Walt Disney World travelers, so availability then might also go fast–but it should start out better since December has not been part of any previous general public promotions. As such, we’d lock-in something ASAP if you’re planning a visit.
We’re not saying this to scare you into booking before you’re ready or to foster FOMO. It’s simply always a best practice to book early rather than to wait. You can always cancel later if you book something now about which you’re uncertain.
You cannot wait and then book something that’s already sold out once you become certain. That is, unless you have a time machine…and there are probably better uses for that technology than booking WDW deals.
That’s the nature of the beast with Walt Disney World discounts whenever there’s high demand and low availability. As always, those who are willing to compromise with hotel choices, room categories, and even travel dates are in the best position. If you are dead-set on a certain type of room at a specific resort and are entirely unwilling to consider anything else…you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
With that said, my suspicion is that Free Dining isn’t going to be nearly as “high demand” as it has been in the past. The special offer has already been noticeably less popular in the last year as contrasted with 2019 and earlier, but we’re expecting further fall off due to the alternative discounts for Summer 2025 and beyond.
To that point, you really need to do the math for yourself to determine whether Free Dining is right for you. I cannot stress this enough. Even though it’s the more “boring” deal, the room-only discount paired with the new ticket deals will probably will be the better choice for 75% of vacation planners.
The ticket deals are the biggest year over year change when it comes to doing the math of Free Dining. Let’s start with the slight negative, which is that the 4-Park Magic Ticket has been replaced by a 3-Park Discount Walt Disney World Magic Ticket that only offers one day at EPCOT, one day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, one day at Animal Kingdom, and zero (0) days at Magic Kingdom.
The silver lining is that it’s $10/day cheaper than last year’s 4-Park version, so you can buy a separate 1-day ticket for Magic Kingdom for roughly the same cost (slightly more most dates–but it’s still a tremendous savings over normal tickets). As we’ve previously pointed out, the same logic applies to After Hours at Magic Kingdom and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, and buying those hard tickets as opposed to 1-day tickets would be our recommendation. Of course, that won’t work for everyone–particularly parents with small children or guests visiting in June or July.
Then there’s the 50% Off Kids Ticket Deal for Walt Disney World. You can purchase a 3-day or longer kids (ages 3-9) standard ticket for 50% off. This deal is available for visits beginning May 27 through September 20, 2025. This wasn’t offered last year, and it is huge.
Kids tickets are shockingly expensive, and half-off kids is a really big deal that can amount to considerable savings. We’re talking over $275 off 4-day Park Hopper tickets, which is the minimum requirement for Free Dining eligibility. And again, these two deals do not stack! This means that you’re forgoing not just a room-only discount, but at least $275 in ticket savings for each child in your party, plus whatever you could save for the adults in your party with the 3-Park Magic Ticket (if that works for you).
Honestly, that kids 50% off ticket deal is almost insurmountable for Free Dining. When stacked with the room-only discount, these ticket deals will be formidable for families. (Again, you CAN stack the room-only and ticket deals, whereas you CANNOT stack anything with Free Dining–it requires purchase of a full price room and Park Hopper ticket package!) Consequently, it’s hard for me to envision many scenarios where Free Dining still pencils out to be the best deal for anyone, especially since it previously skewed towards families.
Now, it might be the best deal for like 10% of guests. I’m still going to give you the modified rules of thumb below, but I want to caution that the lists are probably deceiving and make it seem like Free Dining is better for more parties than is actually the case. It’ll still work out for some families, but that’ll be the exception rather than the rule. So I’ll again implore you: Do the math for your circumstances. Even if you did the math last year, do it again. The math is going to be different for 2025 due to the ticket deals.
Below are some sweeping generalizations about Free Dining that are usually accurate. Free Dining is likely to work best for the following guests:
- Large parties in Family Suites at Value Resorts
Almost all families staying in standard rooms at Value ResortsMost families in standard rooms at Moderate Resorts- Parents with kids over 9 (“Disney Adults”) in standard rooms at the Value or Moderate Resorts
- Parties of 3 or more Disney Adults at Deluxe Resorts
Free Dining is likely to work worst for the following guests:
- Solo travelers almost anywhere
- Parties of 2 or fewer at Deluxe Resorts
- Couples at Moderate Resorts
- Smaller parties in Family Suites at Value Resorts
- Parties with as many or more kids ages 3 to 9 than Disney Adults in the Value or Moderate Resorts
From that, you should have a decent sense of who benefits most and least from Free Dining. Basically, you want to look at party size (the larger, the better!) and age (the older, the better!), and room cost (the lower, the better!). That’s pretty much it…but it sounds simpler than it actually is.
These are not hard & fast rules or numbers. The thing to keep in mind about the math is that it’s going to vary for different Walt Disney World vacation planners. This is because there’s both an objective and subjective side to crunching the numbers.
What I mean by that is that we know the cost of the Disney Dining Plan–that’s an objective number. What we don’t know is its actual value to you. For a minority of guests, the DDP is worth more than its price. This is increasingly uncommon with the 2025 Disney Dining Plan than in the past, but those unicorns do exist.
For most guests, the DDP is worth less than its sticker price. I would not even consider paying full price for the Disney Dining Plan, so why would I evaluate it at full price when comparing promos? The value you’ll get out of the DDP isn’t its objective cost, but whatever it’s actually worth to you.
As for why Free Dining is being offered for the above dates and likely will be expanded to the general public, the answer is always hotel occupancy. Walt Disney World does not release any promotion out of corporate generosity. The Disney Dining Plan is “given away” to entice guests to travel at times of year that have lower hotel occupancy rates.
You might wonder why Walt Disney World is giving the discount to tourists taking week-long vacations during the heart of the summer season. It’s because occupancy is lower! Summer ceased being peak season a long time ago, and even with Disney Starlight Night Parade launching this summer to attract crowds, there’s also Epic Universe to draw some of those same crowds to stay on-site at Universal Orlando. Same goes for late October. It’s a bit of a different story with December, which has seen a growing number of discounts to “offset” higher rack rates.
To that point, there’s no such thing as a free lunch–you receive the Disney Dining Plan for “free” because you pay full price for your hotel room and park tickets. You’re also forfeiting other discounts to get this offer! This is also why Free Dining is often not such a great deal. For many families, taking the room-only and ticket discounts is superior.
For more on DDP value for money, see Is Disney’s Dining Plan Worth It?
That breaks down the demographics and scenarios in which the Disney Dining Plan is worth getting and the circumstances where it isn’t. Obviously, that’s geared towards the paid DDP, but the same ideas can be applied to Free Dining. A lot of fans incorrectly view the Disney Dining Plan in black and white terms. It’s either always awesome or always awful–there’s no middle ground. Both of those extremes are wrong. In reality, there is only middle ground!
All of this math is difficult to do without being able to directly compare discounts, but hopefully past precedent coupled with our rough rules of thumb gives you a pretty good idea. One option that we’d recommend if you’re borderline is simply booking Free Dining now and doing the math later. Room inventory is often artificially limited for Free Dining, so a “decide now, think later” approach isn’t the worst in the world.
There’s also the reality that Free Dining currently runs longer than the room-only and ticket discounts, and while we expect more of the former for October through December, we do NOT anticipate further ticket deals (except for Florida residents). So the presence or absence of future special offers also could impact the math for you. We will be closely monitoring what’s released and will notify subscribers of our free email newsletter when any Walt Disney World discounts are released or rumored. Stay tuned!
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
Does the math on Free Dining still pencil out for you, or do the stackable a la carte deals make booking a room-only rate and tickets separately too attractive to pass up? Happy to see a ‘second wave’ of Free Dining for the second half 2025? Surprised by the first set of October arrival dates in a decade? Have you booked this Free Dining discount or other deals for 2025? Do you agree or disagree with our analysis? 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!