Disney World fixes major dining issue | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Walt Disney World quietly walked back an unpopular move that had 2026 vacation planners scrambling.

The problem?

Disney had removed several popular family-friendly restaurants from its “kids eat free” deal, which is just kicking in for the year.

For months, some of Disney World’s most kid-centric restaurants were missing from the 2026 Disney Dining Plan lineup, leaving families wondering whether a popular “budget control” tool would no longer help families make trips more affordable.

Now Disney has reversed course. The restaurants that participated in the 2025 plan — including both Rainforest Cafe locations, T-Rex, Yak & Yeti, and several Starbucks-style in-park cafes — have been added back for 2026, according to Disney.

That change lands at the same time the company unveiled one of the resort’s most aggressive offers for families: a deal that lets kids ages 3 to 9 eat on a free Disney Dining Plan when adults buy qualifying vacation packages.

The new list of locations included in the free-meal promotion expands the places where parents can stretch those dining credits, especially at themed venues and character-dining experiences that children tend to beg for.

Disney just unveiled its special meal plans that appeal to families.

Photo by Joe Raedle on Getty Images

What changed on the Disney 2026 dining plan

Food is, of course, a big part of any Disney experience. Whenever my family plans a trip to Disneyland (the park closest to where we live) meals are always a topic that raises the collective blood pressure.

Some people (i.e., me) like to be spontaneous and find a place to eat when hunger strikes. Other people (i.e., my husband) want a meal plan — as in, he wants to know what time we’re eating and where, which requires a whole extra level of planning and sometimes, reservations (ugh).

The kids? They’re just thrilled to be in the happiest place on earth, and the food thing always works out.

“Rides and attractions are the number one, then food and beverage are really neck and neck with why people go to the parks,” Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Parks Services, told CNBC. “It’s just a fact. And what parks have seized on in the last 20 years is building their new attractions around areas that offer food and beverage.”

Disney fans first noticed in late December that several restaurants that had been on the 2025 dining plan were missing from the 2026 list.

BlogMickey tracked the gap and now reports that all of those holdouts have been added back into the 2026 lineup.

Newly confirmed 2026 Dining Plan participants include:

Rainforest Cafe at Disney Springs and at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
T-Rex at Disney Springs
Yak & Yeti Restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Connections Cafe at EPCOT
Creature Comforts at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
The Trolley Car Cafe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Those last three are the park’s coffee-shop-style locations, which are popular both with caffeine-starved adults and with parents using snack credits on pastries and drinks.

The return of these dining venues matters because it restores some of the everyday ways guests used the dining plan to reduce costs between more expensive sit-down meals.

How the new Disney offer ties into “kids eat free” in 2026

The high-profile 2026 promotion is aimed squarely at families with young children. Kids ages 3 to 9 can receive a free Disney dining plan when their families buy a non-discounted vacation package that includes a Disney World hotel stay and a paid dining plan for guests 10 and older.

Because the promotion uses the same dining plan restaurant pool, adding back spots like Rainforest Cafe, T-Rex, and Yak & Yeti effectively expands the universe of “free” meals and snacks for eligible kids.

Parents who had been calculating costs for 2026 trips under the assumption that these locations might be excluded will now have more options for places Disney promotional credits can be spent.

What the new dining plan says about Disney’s 2026 strategy

For Disney, the 2026 dining plan update helps solve two problems at once: guest frustration over changing benefits and the need to keep vacation packages attractive in a higher-cost environment.

The company has already lined up hotel discounts and other targeted deals for next year, and the kids-free-dining offer serves as a built-in discount for families willing to stay on-site and commit to a plan.

Giving guests more restaurant options helps Disney avoid the perception that it is reducing benefits while simultaneously advertising new ways to save. It also keeps some of the most visible, kid-focused venues inside the value proposition, which could help drive longer, higher-spend trips from families that might otherwise downgrade or postpone a visit.

Food costs pose a challenge for all businesses, not just Disney theme parks. Disney World food prices have risen 18% in the last five years, according to CNN reporting, even though nationwide, food costs have jumped about 30% during that time, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Still, on the company’s most recent earnings call, Disney executives said they expect continued growth from the Experiences segment, driven by a combination of pricing and demand, even as they rely on promotions to fill hotel rooms and cruise ships.

Food and beverage is big business for theme parks

In 2025, amusement parks generated about $3.3 billion (9.8% of total revenue) from food and beverage sales. Here’s a detailed look at amusement park spending, from IBISWorld’s data about amusement parks, published October 2025.

Admissions, rides, and games: $28.1bn (84.3%)
Food and beverages: $3.3bn (9.8%)
Merchandise: $833m (2.5%)
Other: $1.1bn (3.4%)