Is the Disney Dining Plan Worth It When Kids Dine Free in 2026?

In all honesty, the Disney Dining Plan was something that I have never considered for any of my trips. The math just didn’t work for me and my family, and it seemed like a lot of food to consume to make it worth your while. Well, I ate my words and purchased the dining plan for the first time for a split stay.  

What changed my mind? With the 2026 Disney Dining Plan promotion, kids ages 3 to 9 get the dining plan for free with the purchase of the plan for the adults on the resort reservation. (This deal works for DVC resort reservations, including those booked with resale points!)  I have a 3-year-old who can be a picky eater or a light eater, depending on his mood. It’s normally hard to justify eating at some of my favorites like Boma or ‘Ohana with his eating habits, but I thought the dining promo may actually be a good way to enjoy some of those all-you-care-to-eat restaurants without feeling guilty if my son doesn’t eat much.  

Boma at Jambo House

By the Numbers: Was It Worth It?

The Disney Dining plan for me, my husband, and my 3-year-old son came out to $591.52 for our 3-night stay. That offered a quick service credit, table service credit, and snack credit per night of our stay plus a refillable resort mug for each of us.

I tracked our dining expenses for the trip, and our total monetary value would have come out to $735.28 if we purchased the same items without the dining plan. That means we had a total savings of $143.76.

If I had paid full price for my son ($89.07 for 3 nights), our savings would have only been $54.69.

Dining plan expenses at a glance

The Qualitative Review: Would I Purchase the Dining Plan Again?

If I paid full price for my whole family, the dining plan would not be worth it for our dining habits.  I don’t care for alcoholic beverages, so I lose out on some value there. However, beyond the monetary value, I missed the flexibility of just eating the way we liked to, which doesn’t always equate to 2 square meals and a snack.  

Sometimes I skip breakfast; sometimes I share a quick-service meal with my son for lunch. I don’t always order dessert with my table service meals, and neither does my husband. On a typical trip, I drink water with every meal but kind of feel the need to order something more substantial to make the dining plan worthwhile. Essentially, we had to change our eating habits to get the most out of the dining plan.  I was actually happy that we only had the dining plan for half of our trip, so we could just eat as we pleased for the second half of our split stay.

That’s not to say it was all bad. The dining plan helped for some of our favorite all-you-care-to-eat meals, and I enjoyed having the resort refillable mug for the first time. (Hot chocolate on the balcony at the end of the night was a nice touch!)  However, I probably wouldn’t spend $73 for my family to have resort refillable mugs without the dining plan. 

Resort refillable mug

Access all available Disney Vacation Club resale listings, or learn more about buying and selling with DVC Resale Market.

If you’d like to make an offer or request a free consultation about buying or adding to your DVC contract, the DVC Resale Market team is here to help!