Walt Disney World Brings Back the Dining Plan

Walt Disney World on Monday announced a number of major changes that guests traveling to the resort in 2024, or planning for a visit, should know about.

The biggest change, perhaps, is the return of the Disney dining plans, a fan-favorite. Disney dining plans will be coming back for those staying at a Disney Resort hotel starting Jan. 9, 2024. Bookings for the plan will open on May 31.

The original dining plans were officially discontinued on January 1, 2021, as part of a larger effort by Disney to adapt to changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The plans were an extremely popular option for visitors.

Starting in 2024, Disney will offer two different packages—the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan and the Disney Dining Plan. Both will be commissionable for travel advisors.

At the same time, Disney is making a number of other changes.

Also starting on Jan. 9, 2024, Disney is removing the theme park reservation requirements for date-based tickets, meaning guests will no longer have to make reservations when purchasing those date-based tickets. That was another change Disney made during its COVID restart.

Theme park reservations will still be required for non-date-based tickets, which is the standard ticket option for Disney.

Disney will also change the way annual passholders can enjoy the parks—Disney will add a slate of “good-to-go days” when passholders, and cast members, will be able to visit the parks without making a reservation. Those dates will be limited and will vary by park.

The last change, aside from working with guests to plan Genie+ service, is allowing those staying at a Disney Resort hotel to get into theme parks early and stay later through 2024.