Walt Disney World has released the list of participating restaurants for the 2025 Disney Dining Plans and we’ve received questions from readers worried that their favorites are excluded. This explains why there’s no cause for concern…yet.
Let’s start with the basics, which is that that Disney Dining Plans are now available to purchase for 2025 vacation packages. This includes both full Walt Disney World vacation packages and ticketless resort hotel + Disney Dining Plan reservations. Here are all of the details and changes for the 2025 Disney Dining Plan. (Spoiler: the only material change for next year is price increases.)
As of right now, only the Quick-Service Disney Dining Plan (QSDDP) and standard or regular Disney Dining Plan (DDP) are bookable for both 2024 and 2025. In addition to the paid version, Free Dining has also made a comeback. Since it’s already being offered to UK guests for 2025 travel dates, it’s all but certain that Free Dining will be back (probably in multiple waves) again for 2025. Possibly as soon as the late summer bounceback.
Point being, the Disney Dining Plan is fully back and there’s absolutely no reason to believe it’s being scaled back for 2025. To the contrary, our expectation is that Walt Disney World will continue to scale it up, expanding the DDP and bringing back the tiers that are still unavailable (or introducing new ones to indirectly replace them). The Disney Dining Plan is a cash cow that increases per guest spending (a key metric for Walt Disney World) in both its paid and “free” form.
Against that backdrop, we’ve received concerned comments and questions from several readers about many restaurants being seemingly “excluded” from the 2025 Disney Dining Plan. To that point, the list of participating restaurants for the regular 2025 DDP currently stands at 174, with 99 restaurants on the QSDDP.
By contrast, the Walt Disney World dining portal lists 232 restaurants as participating in the 2024 DDP and 122 restaurants that are eligible for the 2024 QSDDP. Before we explain the reason for the big drop, here’s a list of the participating restaurants on the 2025 Disney Dining Plan, along with the 58 “missing” restaurants that drop off the list from this year to next.
2025 Disney Dining Plan Restaurants (All)
1900 Park Fare
50’s Prime Time Café
ABC Commissary
Ale & Compass Lounge
Ale & Compass Restaurant
Amorette’s Patisserie
The Artist’s Palette
Avalunch
B.B. Wolf’s Sausage Co.
Backlot Express
Backstretch Pool Bar
Bar Riva
Barcelona Lounge
Be Our Guest Restaurant
Beach Club Marketplace
Beaches & Cream Soda Shop
Beaches Pool Bar & Grill
BoardWalk Deli
Boatwright’s Dining Hall
Boma – Flavors of Africa
Cape May Cafe
Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar
Capt. Cook’s
Carousel Coffee
Casey’s Corner
Catalina Eddie’s
Centertown Market
Chef Mickey’s
Cinderella’s Royal Table
Cítricos
Cítricos Lounge
Columbia Harbour House
Connections Café & Eatery
Contempo Café
Coral Reef Restaurant
Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café
Courtyard Pool Bar
Cove Bar
Creature Comforts
Crew’s Cup Lounge
Crockett’s Tavern
The Crystal Palace
D-Luxe Burger
Dahlia Lounge
The Daily Poutine
The Diamond Horseshoe
Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
Dockside Diner
The Drop Off Pool Bar
Enchanted Rose Lounge
End Zone Food Court
EPCOT Concert Series Dining Packages
Everything POP Shopping & Dining
Fairfax Fare
Fantasmic Dining Packages
Fife & Drum Tavern
Flame Tree Barbecue
Flying Fish
The Friar’s Nook
Garden Grill Restaurant
Gasparilla Island Grill
Gaston’s Tavern
Geyser Point Bar & Grill
Golden Oak Outpost
Good’s Food to Go
Grand Floridian Cafe
Grandstand Spirits
Gurgling Suitcase
Harambe Market
Hollywood & Vine
The Hollywood Brown Derby
The Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge
Hurricane Hanna’s Waterside Bar and Grill
Intermission Food Court
Jiko – The Cooking Place
Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar
Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen
Kona Cafe
Landscape of Flavors
Le Cellier Steakhouse
Leaning Palms
Leaping Horse Libations
Liberty Square Market
Liberty Tree Tavern
Lottawatta Lodge
Lowtide Lou’s
The Lunching Pad
Main Street Bakery
Maji Pool Bar
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
The Mara
Mardi Grogs
The Market at Ale & Compass
Marketplace Snacks
Martha’s Vineyard
Maya Grill
Meadow Snack Bar
Morimoto Asia
Morimoto Asia Street Food
Muddy Rivers
Narcoossee’s
Nomad Lounge
Oasis Bar & Grill
‘Ohana
Olivia’s Cafe
Paddlefish
The Paddock Grill
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
Petals Pool Bar
Pinocchio Village Haus
Pizza Window
Pizzafari
PizzeRizzo
The Plaza Restaurant
Refreshment Outpost
Refreshment Port
Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Regal Eagle’s Distinctly Patriotic Smokehouse: A Salute to All Foods, But Mostly Barbecued Meats (aka the Muppet Meatery)
Restaurantosaurus
River Roost
Riverside Mill Food Court
Roaring Fork
Ronto Roasters
Rose & Crown Dining Room
Rosie’s All-American Café
Roundup Rodeo BBQ
Sanaa
Sanaa Lounge
The Sand Bar
Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory
Satu’li Canteen
Scat Cat’s Club
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant
Sebastian’s Bistro
Silver Screen Spirits Pool Bar
Singing Spirits Pool Bar
Sleepy Hollow
Snack Shack
Sommerfest
Spice Road Table
Splitsville Dining Room
Spyglass Grill
Steakhouse 71
Steakhouse 71 Lounge
Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White
Sunshine Seasons
Surf Doggies
Tambu Lounge
Territory Lounge
Three Bridges Bar and Grill
Tiffins Restaurant
Toledo – Tapas, Steak & Seafood
Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera
Tortuga Tavern
Trattoria al Forno
Trail’s End Restaurant
The Trolley Car Café
The Turf Club Bar & Grill
The Turf Club Lounge
Turtle Shack Poolside Snacks
Tusker House Restaurant
Typhoon Tilly’s
Victoria Falls Lounge
Warming Hut
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Woody’s Lunch Box
World Premiere Food Court
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Yorkshire County Fish Shop
What’s Missing from the List of 2025 Disney Dining Plan Restaurants
4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Banana Cabana
Biergarten Restaurant
Blaze Pizza
The Boathouse
Cafe Rix
California Grill
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’
Chicken Guy
Chefs de France
City Works Eatery & Pour House
Cookes of Dublin
Cooling Hut
Crêpes À Emporter by La Crêperie de Paris
Earl Of Sandwich
The Edison
eet by Maneet Chauhan
El Mercado de Coronado
Enzo’s Hideaway
House of Blues Restaurant & Bar
Jaleo by José Andrés
Katsura Grill
Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
La Cantina de San Angel
La Crêperie de Paris
La Hacienda de San Angel
Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie
Local Green Orlando Food Truck
Lotus Blossom Café
Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante
Nine Dragons Restaurant
Paradiso 37, Taste of the Americas
Pepe by José Andrés
Pizza Ponte
Planet Hollywood
The Polite Pig
Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant
Rainforest Cafe at Disney Springs
Rainforest Cafe at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Rix Sports Bar & Grill
San Angel Inn Restaurante
Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya
Siestas Cantina
Smokehouse at House of Blues
Space 220 Restaurant
Space 220 Lounge
STK
Swirls on the Water
T-REX Cafe
Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina
Teppan Edo
Terralina Crafted Italian
Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar
Tutto Italia Ristorante
Via Napoli Ristorante & Pizzeria
Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes
Yak & Yeti Restaurant
YeSake Kiosk
These are the full lists…for now. We cannot overemphasis how much this is subject to change. In fact, by the time you read these lists, they might already be inaccurate! My biggest piece of advice to anyone worried about restaurants eligible for the 2025 Disney Dining Plan would be to stop thinking about it until, like, December.
This is not yet a comprehensive list of all restaurants that will ultimately participate in the 2025 Disney Dining Plan at some point. Dozens more restaurants will be added throughout the remainder of this year. Some won’t be added until the eleventh hour, in December or even early January.
The reason for this is pretty simple. Many restaurants at Walt Disney World are owned and operated by third parties. (If you didn’t know this, sorry to ruin the illusion that everything inside the bubble is “Disney.”) This isn’t just at Disney Springs, which is home to chains and outposts of renowned celebrity chefs. It’s also true at some resort restaurants, and in both EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. This includes Homecomin’, Maria & Enzo’s, Morimoto Asia, Chefs de France, Via Napoli, Coronado Springs dining, and more.
If you’re wondering why this happens, it’s because Walt Disney World negotiates with these third party restaurants about the terms of their participation in the Disney Dining Plan. Actually, “negotiate” might be a strong word; I don’t have insight into the process, but assume it’s more a take it or leave it offer by Walt Disney World with uniform contract terms.
In our Disney Dining Plan Info & Review post, we reverse-engineer a dollar value for each type of DDP credit, with $45 being the amount ascribed to a table service credit. Walt Disney World does the same (minus the reverse-engineering part) and sets a reimbursement rate for these third parties.
In other words, if a third-party table restaurant chooses to accepts the Disney Dining Plan, they are paid a rate below the actual value of each DDP credit, with Disney also taking their cut. For example, the third party might be paid $25 by Walt Disney World for each credit that’s redeemed. (This is an example and $25 is not the actual amount restaurants are paid–we don’t know the true amount.)
What we do know is that it’s low enough that third party restaurant operators have to weigh the low reimbursement rate against the ubiquity and guest adoption rate of the Disney Dining Plan. For third party restaurateurs, it’s a lesser of two evils scenario: do these venues accept reduced profits per meal or a reduced fill-rate for tables?
Inevitably, nearly all third party restaurants end up choosing the former. The final participant list for the 2025 Disney Dining Plan will be almost identical to what it is in 2024. Well, plus all of the new restaurants that open in the interim and choose to accept the DDP, minus whatever closes. (So maybe Cake Bake Shop? I can’t think of anything else that’ll be opening late this year or next off the top of my head.)
There’s always a chance a restaurant or two will “break ranks” and opt out of the 2025 Disney Dining Plan. However, if they didn’t already do that for the 2024 DDP when pent-up demand and spending on eating out were higher, I have a hard time believing they’ll do it in 2025 as consumer spending cools.
If anything, we’ll probably see a few restaurants added to the mix that held out in 2024 but can no longer justify doing so in 2025. Out of pocket demand just won’t justify it for some.
The restaurant I view as most likely to join the 2025 Disney Dining Plan isn’t a third party–it’s the Disney-owned California Grill.
Previously a 2-credit Signature Restaurant, the most logical explanation for why California Grill isn’t on the list is its prix fixe menu. There are other restaurants (like Be Our Guest) that do prix fixe menus and the Disney Dining Plan, but California Grill is nicer than Be Our Guest.
California Grill was incredibly popular for a while thanks to its special 50th Anniversary menu. This is no longer the case, and hasn’t been for a while. It’s still a fan-favorite that can be challenging to book, but definitely not the nearly-impossible ADR it was in late 2021 through 2022. It’ll be interesting to see if its popularity falls further and California Grill gets another menu overhaul or starts accepting the DDP in 2025.
Another glaring omission is Space 220 Restaurant in EPCOT. This is owned by Patina Group, which operates many restaurants around Walt Disney World–including Via Napoli in EPCOT.
All of Patina’s other restaurants are on 2024 Disney Dining Plan and presumably will be once again in 2025 once the dust settles. This means that Space 220 was purposefully left out because of its sky-high demand. Honestly, I’ve been surprised at the staying power of Space 220, which remains one of the most difficult ADRs at Walt Disney World. If it’s still doing gangbusters 3 years after opening, what reason is there to believe it’ll slow down in 2025?
About the only thing I could see happening is Space 220 taking a hit during the upcoming Free Dining ‘season’ when the parks are slower and a higher percentage of guests are on the Disney Dining Plan. If that happens–a big if–it’s possible Space 220 will launch on the 2025 DDP. I won’t bet on it, though.
Aside from those couple of wildcards, we expect the list of 2025 Disney Dining Plan restaurants to end up looking 99% identical to the 2024 list. The only reason it’s so dramatically different right now is because it’s still early, and Walt Disney World and the third party operating participants haven’t fully negotiated their deals.
Once that happens, the number of eligible restaurants will sky rocket. Sure, there will be some last-minute holdouts hoping that they can sustain business without the Disney Dining Plan, but that’s largely wishful thinking. The DDP is an absolute juggernaut, and it’s difficult to imagine any of these restaurants magically becoming more popular with cash-paying guests even as pent-up demand continues to exhaust itself. The bottom line is that we expect the same or more restaurants on the 2025 Disney Dining Plan as this year’s version, not fewer.
This exact same scenario with the Disney Dining Plan plays out every single year. Readers usually start asking about exclusions in the fall, with some understandable “freaking out” closer to Christmas. In the past, it hasn’t helped that info on DisneyWorld.com is often inconsistent from page to page. We’ll keep you posted and update this list accordingly when Walt Disney World adds or removes restaurants from the list of 2025 Disney Dining Plan participants.
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
Are you concerned about any Walt Disney World restaurants not accepting the 2025 Disney Dining Plan? Are you expecting Space 220 Restaurant, California Grill, or other restaurants that aren’t currently on this year’s list to accept the DDP in 2025? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? 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!
