Walt Disney World has announced that the Free Dining Plan discount will return select travel dates starting in Summer 2025. Here’s what we know so far, plus tips & tricks for booking, other special offers expected to be released on this date, and commentary about this discount.
For those of you who have been following along the speculation in our Guide to 2025 Free Dining at Walt Disney World, this should not be surprising. In that, we predicted that it was “inevitable” that the popular promo would be released in early January 2025 for travel dates starting in the summer.
This was hardly a bold prediction. Walt Disney World once again needs to offer discounts to fill hotel rooms. Park attendance and hotel occupancy are both down. Executives have expressly stated as much during earnings calls, and the company expects this ‘demand moderation’ to continue into the first half of 2025.
To address this, Walt Disney World has been releasing more discounts. Not out of generosity, but out of necessity to fill unsold hotel rooms. This is something we’ve documented, and we’ve repeatedly pointed out that they’re pulling from the 2019 playbook for discounts. That 2019 playbook included Free Dining.
Not only that, but the 2024 playbook included Free Dining. So really, the 2025 Free Dining deal is just a continuation of what began this year, albeit with some important differences that’ll make 2025’s version of the popular deal more attractive to more Walt Disney World guests.
In any case, here are the official 2025 Free Dining dates and details from Walt Disney World:
Disney Deal: How to Get a Free Dining Plan in 2025
Available for booking beginning January 2, 2025, you can get a free Disney Dining Plan with the purchase of select Walt Disney World vacation packages, for travel dates starting just in time for the summer!
From January 2 through February 10, 2025, you can get a Disney Dining Plan with the purchase of a non-discounted 3-night, 3-day (at minimum) Walt Disney Travel Company package that includes a room at a select Walt Disney World Resort hotel and a ticket with a Park Hopper option.
This offer is available for most arrivals starting May 27 through June 26, and July 7 through August 6, 2025. This first set of dates is new-for-2025, as this year’s Free Dining special offer didn’t begin until July.
Also beginning January 2, 2025, Walt Disney World will have even more offers available, including deals on select Disney Resort hotel rooms.
Full details will be released on the morning of January 2, 2025.
That’s all we know. Nothing about participating resorts, excluded room categories, or which tier(s) of the Dining Plan will be offered to Values/Moderates and Deluxe/Villa Resorts. Our expectation is that this will all largely be unchanged since Free Dining returned to start this year, but who knows. Disney could always surprise us with a better or worse deal. (We highly doubt that–expect 2025 Free Dining to follow the normal rules, which are explained below.)
I would also expect there generally to be less availability for July, as that’s farther into the future and summer crowds tend to accelerate as the season goes on. It’s also likely that Walt Disney World doesn’t have as strong of an occupancy forecast, and it’s always the case that fewer rooms are released for special offers further into the future. (Just look at Bounceback availability, which has been minimal for many 2025 dates.)
Based on past precedent, it’s likely there will also be a range of room-only offers. Probably one for the general public, one for Annual Passholders, and another for Florida residents. Here’s hoping there’s a “Stay Longer & Save More” deal, Disney+ or Disney Visa offer, or some other wild card to bump that number up from 3 deals to 4-5!
2025 Free Dining Commentary
The elephant in the room, once again, is Epic Universal opening down the road at Universal Orlando on May 22, 2025. It’s probably not a coincidence that Walt Disney World is offering Free Dining travel dates starting the day after Memorial Day, which is over a month earlier than last year.
While there’s debate over whether this third gate will eat into Walt Disney World attendance or a “rising tide lifts all boats,” we fully expect it to impact Walt Disney World resort occupancy. That’s what really matters when it comes to Free Dining.
It’s actually a really savvy promotion from Walt Disney World’s perspective, as Free Dining creates a captive audience–something that they’ve lost at least in part with the end of Disney’s Magical Express.
Walt Disney World benefits from Free Dining in that it “locks” guests into meals on-site, as well as ensuring those coveted per guest spending numbers stay high. Hence requiring the purchase of a 3-day Park Hopper ticket and “giving” guests all or most of their meals.
This is unlike a room-only discount, which has lower guaranteed revenue for Disney because guests can always stay on-site at Walt Disney World but spend their time and, more importantly, money on tickets and food at Universal. Not coincidentally, we’re big proponents of room-only discounts because of their flexibility. If the savings are close, we always take room-only rates.
Obviously, guests are free to venture off-site with Free Dining…but they already spent the money on park tickets and Disney Dining Plan credits are ‘use it or lose it,’ so every meal off-site is a loss for guests. Walt Disney World still wants people to spend their time on-site (more time equals more purchases of merchandise, Lightning Lanes, etc), but it’s not as big of a blow because a certain amount of spending is guaranteed.
Universal Orlando has its own similarly savvy approach with the launch of Epic Universe.
They made great efforts to capture Epic Universe interest and convert that into vacation packages, and they appear to have been quite successful at that. They got us! There are incentives for guests to stay on-site for the sake of accessing Epic Universe, and package prices are competitive. Beyond that, Universal Orlando has rolled out its own ‘Free Dining’ offer for 2025, albeit prior to the opening of Epic Universe.
Disney is betting big with its “rising tides” thesis that Epic Universe simply attracts a lot more people to Central Florida. Because otherwise, something’s gotta give. Guests can visit both sets of parks, but are unlikely to stay on-site at both Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World. The pie has gotta grow, and considerably, otherwise Walt Disney World is almost assuredly going to lose and see its hotel occupancy decrease slightly. In which case, we all win, because that means better discounts and more as Disney is forced to be more competitive.
Epic Universe explains why Walt Disney World is offering Free Dining for travel dates immediately after Memorial Day, but that’s probably not the only factor at play here with Disney’s approach to the 2025 promo.
This year, Free Dining was offered in two different waves to Disney+ subscribers and Disney Visa cardholders, but never the general public. The deal was first released in January to streaming subscribers. The second wave was released to Disney Visa cardmembers in May. There was never a third wave released to the general public, which was somewhat of a surprise.
This was a surprise because Free Dining seemed to have significantly less enthusiasm than normal. Honestly, I was surprised by the lack of buzz around the return of Free Dining. Part of that could be because it was targeted at Disney+ subscribers and Disney Visa cardholders, but it’s not like that’s exactly a huge barrier to entry. Disney+ costs like seven bucks for a month.
It’s likely that Epic Universe coupled with a lukewarm response to the promotion this year led to Walt Disney World broadening 2025 Free Dining back to the general public. It also appears (already) that the company plans on marketing it more aggressively. Again, this is the smart approach.
With all of this in mind, the one thing that does surprise us is that the first wave of 2025 Free Dining ends on August 6, 2025. We say ‘first wave’ because there’s a near-certainty that another wave will be released that encompasses more August and September 2025 travel dates.
Does anyone really think that the two slowest months of the year won’t have more promotions than the summer Disney Starlight Night Parade debuts?! Even with Epic Universe looming large, the new night parade is going to be a big draw for fans the first few months after it debuts. Not to mention whatever else is up Disney’s sleeve for summer…and we suspect something is!
Honestly, I’d bet right now–even before the first wave of 2025 Free Dining has been released–on 3 waves of the promotion. This general public wave, plus a second wave for the general public with August and September (and maybe even some October dates–that month has seen decreasing numbers!), and a final targeted wave for Disney Visa card holders during the holiday season (maybe that’ll be the one with October dates as a way to limit availability).
If I were Walt Disney World, I would’ve released those August and September 2025 Free Dining dates in this first wave. There’s likely reluctance within the company to offer “too many” special offers “too early” before they have reliable occupancy forecasts, which is why they didn’t.
But all they need to do is look at historical numbers and current bookings and extrapolate from there. The more aggressive approach would’ve been the better one, especially as they’re trying to compete with Universal in the resort occupancy arms race. Again, not like August and September after school goes back into session are suddenly going to be busy this year, bucking decades of precedent.
This more aggressive approach is also why we should expect to see a lot more discounts from Walt Disney World in 2025, aside from just Free Dining.
In fact, these deals have already started! The first such example is Save Up to $200 Per Night at Disney World in Winter to Summer 2025. This is essentially the same discount as last year’s dining card deal, except with an up-front dollar-off discount in place of a dining card rebate. (We’ll take up-front savings any day.)
Aside from that, we aren’t sure of what to expect. Straightforward room-only rates are fairly obvious, but there could be more attempts at keeping people on-site. To that end, a reprise of the dining card deal would’ve made sense, as would a return of the “Stay Longer & Save More” deal. Anything that increases vacation duration or locks-in per guest spending will be viewed favorably by Disney, even if it offers guests greater savings. It’s a win-win scenario for the company and guests…except those who want to do split stays or venture to Universal.
2025 Free Dining Info & Tips
Free Dining is one of the most “complicated” and least straightforward special offers Disney does. If you’re overwhelmed or want someone else to do the homework for you, use a travel agent. Any travel agent! We 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. Similarly, they’ll help you with discount comparison shopping so you book the best discount for you, not just the catchiest one. (“Free” is a powerful marketing tool, but Free Dining often isn’t the best available discount!)
Walt Disney World makes these special offers confusing on purpose so that comparison shopping is more difficult. This is done in a bunch of little ways, which I assume is for marketing purposes or to appeal to different consumer psychologies. I really don’t know. Regardless, we highly recommend using a travel agent–even if it’s not Be Our Guest Vacations. (Just don’t use a Big Box or MLM–see Why You Should Use A Disney Travel Agent for more.)
If you are going to go the travel agent route for 2025 Free Dining, you need to do so ASAP. Don’t expect to request a quote on January 2 and receive an immediate response–you need to get your ducks in a row now. Ideally on Dec. 30, before New Year’s Eve or Day. My other advice is to provide them with backup options. As with all Walt Disney World special offers, some resorts, room types and dates won’t be available. Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to deals like this.
If you want to ‘do it yourself’ but aren’t sure which resort to book, check out our new Rankings of ALL Resort Hotels at Walt Disney World from Worst to Best. Several of the resorts with the biggest savings are in the top 10!
If you’re looking for the regular “rules” of Free Dining, the past precedent for these is covered in our comprehensive Guide to 2025 Free Dining at Walt Disney World. (Scroll past the long section of predictions, since those are no longer relevant now that Walt Disney World has told us the deal is coming.)
The most notable “rule” of Free Dining is that Value and Moderate Resort guests receive the Quick Service Disney Dining Plan (QSDDP), while Deluxe and Deluxe Villa guests receive the standard Disney Dining Plan (DDP). The latter has much more value, but Deluxe Resorts also cost a ton more money on average. In the past, guests at the lower tier resorts have been able to pay the difference to upgrade from the QSDDP to the DDP.
For those wondering what time Free Dining will be available on January 2, 2025, that’s unknown. In the past, discounts have gone live online at random times very early in the morning–not at a set time like midnight, 6 a.m. or 8 a.m. If I recall correctly, the first wave this year went live at like 3:45 a.m. Eastern.
Beyond that, expect pretty much the same terms and conditions as this year’s Free Dining promo, just minus all the Disney+ and Disney Visa rules. Free Dining cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
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.
Free Dining typically excludes the following room types: 3-bedroom villas, campsites & cabins at Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge, Bungalows at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, and Little Mermaid Rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. With this being a general public offer, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more exclusions in 2025.
As mentioned above, one thing that surprised me about Free Dining this year was that it really wasn’t that popular at first. I expected multi-hour waits on the phone lines and a lengthy virtual queue. Instead, it was pretty much smooth sailing on drop day.
Part of that is probably attributable to it being a targeted offer. It could also be the case that since the dates were known in advance, only those traveling due the relevant timeframes logged onto the website. Nevertheless, I expected a ton of pent-up demand for Free Dining…and there really wasn’t. Not that I’m complaining–I just anticipated chaos and that didn’t happen.
This year could be different…or not. On the one hand, Free Dining isn’t targeted–it’s available to anyone again, just like the good ole days. On the other hand, this is competing with Epic Universe and other special offers from Walt Disney World. As vacation costs have skyrocketed, we’ve noticed even diehard fans are trading down for deals that are less expensive up-front. Given that, we don’t expect 2025 Free Dining to be as popular as 2019 Free Dining. (We doubt there’s ever any going back to that level of popularity.)
Regardless, you might encounter a virtual queue if attempting to book Free Dining first thing in the morning on January 2, 2025.
We’d also expect that the phone lines to be busy all day and the website will experience long waits. That “You’re Almost into Orbit” screen is a nice move that’ll hopefully work as intended. We’d expect those waits to skyrocket once more people are awake on the East Coast. For a wait time of under 30 minutes, you need to be up and online before 6 a.m. It’s also likely that there will be glitches, with Stitch eating the occasional page.
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as it’s more or less par for the course on Walt Disney World discount drop day and has been for years. Things will only get worse as more people wake up and try to book (which is a huge reason why we recommend just using a travel agent).
And you won’t want to wait to book until demand dies down, as resort availability for this promotion will probably be limited. So even with the potential for waiting on the phone or online, you’ll still want to be up bright and early to book ASAP for the best chance at scoring the resort and room you want.
For what it’s worth, getting something booked before the promo is released does NOT mean that you can sleep in when Free Dining goes live. In order to apply the special offer, not only do your dates and resort need to be eligible, but there also needs to be room inventory for what you’ve booked under the promotion.
This requirement often trips up a lot of trip planners. What it means is that, if a resort/room category/date combo sells out under the Free Dining promotion (and only so much inventory is allocated to the deal–it’s possible for the promo to sell out while full priced rooms are still available), it doesn’t matter that you’ve already booked it. You will not be able to apply the discount to your reservation.
For this reason, there’s really not much of an advantage to booking something ahead of time. Free Dining diehards will debate this–but the salient point is that you shouldn’t book now and sit back, assuming you’ll be able to apply Free Dining to an existing reservation at your leisure days or weeks down the road. That will not work.
Finally, we’ll end with a plug. We will be closely monitoring the 2025 Walt Disney World discount situation, keeping our ears open for more news about other special offers. Although specifics for the other special offers have yet to be released, we already know that more deals are coming on January 2, 2025.
We also have a pretty good idea that this is far from the end of 2025 Walt Disney World discounts to drop, especially given the opening of Epic Universe on May 22, 2025. Suffice to say, Walt Disney World dealhounds should be eatin’ good this year, literally and figuratively, whether they book Free Dining or not. We’re fully expecting 2025 to be one of the best years for discounts since 2008-2009.
Whenever more discounts are released or rumored, we’ll send you an alert ASAP if you sign up for our FREE Walt Disney World newsletter. We’ve always notified subscribers about discounts early in the morning once they’re released–while they were live but before Walt Disney World officially announced them–on countless occasions in the last decade. All of this may not seem like much, but a heads up of even a day or a few hours can be the difference between successfully booking or not–or at least not being stuck in a virtual queue for hours!
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
Excited that Free Dining will be released on January 2, 2025? Or are you more looking forward to the room-only promotions? Thoughts about the 2025 Free Dining dates, package requirements & rules, or anything else? Agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
