Stop the presses. THINGS JUST GOT REAL IF YOU’RE PLANNING TO VISIT WDW IN 2018. David and I have always been pro-Dining plan for one simple reason – it takes away ‘sticker shock’ of how much things cost, and allows people to truly enjoy their vacation. We don’t usually get the dining plan, because we go on short, frequent trips. But we think it’s a good idea for most families. Today, Disney changed the rules of the game by announcing that in 2018, booze would be part of the dining plan. You know what that means – it’s time to pull out your best Oprah impersonation – YOU GET A DRINK. YOU GET A DRINK. EVERYBODY GETS DRINKS. Almost everyone on the internet today is analyzing the exact price breakdown of how this will affect your trip to the penny, divided by a specialized formula of how many drinks you’ll need to consumed per hour multiplied by advanced Disney trigonometry that only their blog offers. WE AREN’T LIKE THAT THOUGH. We are bottom line people. Here’s the bottom line of how this affects your trip.
-The Quick Service Dining Plan will now cost $52.49 a night (for adults) (or a little less than a five dollar price increase from last year), and will include 2 Quick Service Meals a day, 2 snacks a day, and 1 Refillable Mug. BUT – the dining plan will also now include a mixed drink, beer, or wine with their meal. My shorts are here, and my shirt is here. (my sweatshirt is here)
-The Standard Dining Plan will now cost $75.49 a night (for adults) (again, about a five dollar increase from last year). They will include 1 Table Service meal a day, 1 Quick Service meal a day, two snacks a day, and a refillable mug for their trip. BUT – the dining plan will also now include a mixed drink, beer, or wine with their meal.My tank top is here, and my sunglasses are here.
-The Deluxe Dining Plan will now cost $116.24 a night (for adults) (this is about a ten dollar increase from last year). This will include 3 meals a day, that you can use at either Table or Quick Service Restaurants. It will also have two snacks a day, and a refillable mug for your trip. BUT – the dining plan will also now include a mixed drink, beer, or wine with their meal.(shop my favorite leggings for the park, my jacket, Jenny’s skirt, her plaid shirt)
So here’s where the breakdown happens:
The increase in the dining plan really isn’t that much. But on the two lower levels you get two alcoholic drinks a day for about $5 a day, and on the top level, you get three drinks for $10. That’s really not a bad deal. There’s other factors to take into account (we know, the dining plan is a complicated matter, with pros and cons lists, that could fill libraries of books), but Disney could have price gouged you on this – and they didn’t. This truly makes the Dining Plan more appealing than ever.