Disney halts bookings for 2024 Walt Disney World vacations and the Disney Dining Plan open

May 31, 2023 in "Disney Dining Plan"

Posted: Wednesday May 31, 2023 7:40am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has halted sales of 2024 Walt Disney World vacation packages and Disney Dining Plan just 20 minutes after opening this morning.

Guests attempting to book online faced the familiar virtual queue waiting room, which opened with wait times above one hour. At 7:20am, Disney provided an update to say that sales were paused.

Sales have also been paused for guests attempting to book via phone.

Message last updated: 7:20 AM ET
We have currently paused online bookings and will resume as soon as possible. Reminder: to retain your place in the waiting room, please don’t refresh the page or select the back button.

Message last updated: 7:38 AM ET We have currently paused bookings online and over the phone. Bookings will resume as soon as possible. Reminder: to retain your place in the waiting room, please don’t refresh the page or select the back button.

Discuss on the Forums

Stay in the Know with WDW News Delivered to Your Inbox

View all comments →

dmwJun 08, 2023

They do have one somewhat pricey sit down restaurant on site. Adult entrees mostly in the $20-40 range, not including drinks. But, since you can buy multiple quantities of the dining plan, you can have as much dining credit as you feel you can spend.

lewiscJun 07, 2023

The system Disney had before DDP was similar to this. You prepaid a discounted dollar amount

HauntedPirateJun 07, 2023

Something so simple and easy to use, plus something that was offering TRUE VALUE to guests, would NEVER work at WDW. Nope. Couldn't happen. Never. Ever. I'm sure Bob ordered multiple research projects and focus groups and they came to the conclusion this would never fly because guests DEMAND what Disney gives them. :rolleyes:

TheMaxReboJun 07, 2023

I definitely would welcome som thing like this vs the current plans as the structure of them really doesn't fit. Even beyond having credits for anTS and QS for every day, sometimes we just want a bunch of apps o share things, etc Something that gives more flexibility to "what" you order as much as "where" would b welcome by us Plus then we aren't paying for something that value comes from having an alcoholic drink included for my 14 and 11 year olds who can't get an alcoholic drink

AylaJun 07, 2023

I am guessing you aren't spending $200+ on one sit down meal, either, like you would at WDW. That sounds like a much easier, better organized and less hassle system than the WDW DP.

dmwJun 07, 2023

We're at Great Wolf Lodge this week and they have an interesting dining "plan". If you pre-purchase dining credits prior to arrival, you can save. They have three options. We chose the pay $170 for $200 credit, but they have lesser amounts. And, you can purchase multiple quantities of the plans. The plan credits are good at any food location. Just charge the food to the room (via wrist band) and the food is paid with the credits. Their app lets you keep track of how much you have spent and what is left, and the details of what you spent at each location. There is no discount on the food itself, just a discount on the prepay amount. And, it is a "use it or lose it" system. I really like this system. We don't have to choose from a sit down service, quick service, snack, etc. We can order whatever, whenever, from where-ever, until the credits are used up.

MagicHappens1971Jun 02, 2023

I bought the cup carrier thingie they sold at Horror Nights, idk if they have it year round, but it was also nice because they let you bring it into the houses with you.

Jrb1979Jun 01, 2023

They did the same set up for the APs and how did that end up.

Disstevefan1Jun 01, 2023

Attendance is definitely down in the parks, LOL - NOT when it comes to the dining plan, LOL

arich35Jun 01, 2023

Yeah I am an agent and I had my laptop open for probably 6+ hours before getting in and then last night I had to wait 20+ minutes every time I went into the website to look up pricing. Not recommending Dining plan, just not a good value

KateKirisitJun 01, 2023

My Disney Travel Agent had 2 quotes prepared for me this morning after waiting basically all day in the queue.

drizgirlJun 01, 2023

I’m not sure what the point of having a hypothetical discussion. Percent off deals at at the values have never been worth much. A reduced percentage off a lower price isn’t usually worth much.

Dreaming of Disney WorldJun 01, 2023

I hope free dining returns. It was a great deal for our family of 4, and we stay in values.

DisneyDreamer08Jun 01, 2023

We had this exact offer in January 2020 and it worked great. We stayed at Movies, it was me, my husband, and two kids who were 9 & 4. My husband and I paid full price for the meal plan and the two kids were free. I did the math and it was much more beneficial than the 10 or 15% room discount that was also offered. We did character meals almost every day (we had two days at AK so we did Yak and Yeti on our 2nd day). It was a great value and so convenient. My kids can be picky eaters so buffets worked perfectly. They could pick and chose little bits of everything they liked. We did Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey’s, Tusker House, Garden Grill, Hollywood and Vine and 1900 Park Fare. It was amazing.