Is the Disneyland Paris Meal Plan Worth It? Our Honest Family Review

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You’re probably here because you’re wondering if the meal plan at Disneyland Paris is worth the money. We wondered the same. It looks quite expensive on paper, until you actually sit and work it out.

When we were planning our February 2024 trip, our main hesitation was whether it was worth paying for a toddler who might not eat much at a sit-down restaurant, until we realised she ate for free anyway since she was under 3. That made the decision much easier.

We added the half board meal plan to our Hotel Cheyenne booking, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions we made for the trip. It meant we were so full between meals that aside from some gifts, we barely spent a penny inside the parks.

This post covers how the meal plan works, where we ate, whether it saved us money, and when it might not be the right choice for your family.

👉 Disneyland Paris travel guide
👉 Disneyland Paris in February
👉 Disneyland Paris with toddlers

What is the Disneyland Paris meal plan?

The Disneyland Paris meal plan is a prepaid dining option you add to your hotel and ticket package when booking directly through Disney (or an authorised travel agent). So rather than paying for meals on the day, you pay upfront and receive a set number of meal vouchers per person, per night of your stay.

The vouchers are loaded onto your MagicPass, which is the card you use as both your hotel room key and park ticket, and you present it at the restaurant when you eat.

There’s a few things worth knowing before you read any further. Meal plans are only available to guests staying at an official Disney hotel. If you’re staying at a partner hotel, off-site accommodation or an Airbnb, you can’t add a meal plan, and you’ll have to pay as you go. The plan must also be booked for everyone in your party for the entire stay. You can’t choose certain days or certain people.

Vouchers are calculated by the number of nights you’re staying at your hotel, and not the number of park days. So on a two night, three day trip, you’ll receive two meal vouchers per person, not three. Vouchers don’t have fixed dates, so you can use two on the same day if you want a lighter day elsewhere in your trip. Any unused vouchers at the end of your stay are non-refundable.

One practical tip worth knowing: the meal plan works best if you time your sit-down meals around the park’s busiest periods. While everyone else is queuing for the most popular rides, you’re sitting down eating your meal. So when you’re back in the park, the queues have quietened down. It sounds simple, but it genuinely changes how the day flows.

One other practical point is that table service restaurants have a dedicated meal plan menu rather than the full à la carte. The choice is more limited, and so it’s worth checking the set menu options before you book a restaurant. It’s also worth noting that restaurants in Disney Village are not included in the meal plan. It only covers Disney hotel and park restaurants.

👉 Disneyland Paris in February

What’s included in the Disneyland Paris meal plan?

Every meal plan at Disneyland Paris includes breakfast at your Disney hotel each morning, unless you upgrade to character dining. But, beyond that, what else is covered depends on whether you choose half board or full board, and which tier plan you’re on.

Half board gives you breakfast plus one meal voucher per night, which is usable for either lunch or dinner in any eligible restaurant. Full board gives you breakfast plus two meal vouchers per night, covering both lunch and dinner, with an additional meal voucher to use on your final day.

At buffet restaurants, your voucher covers unlimited food and a soft drink. At table service restaurants, it covers a set three-course meal, and so a starter, main and dessert, which is usually from a dedicated meal plan menu rather than the full à la carte. A non-alcoholic drink is included at most quick service and buffet restaurants; at table service, it varies, so it’s worth checking before you sit down.

We deliberately chose buffet restaurants for our main meals. Our daughter was under three, which meant she ate free at buffets, and so she didn’t need a meal plan of her own and could eat from our plates. If we’d chosen à la carte restaurants, we’d have had to pay for her meals separately. For families visiting before their child’s third birthday, it’s definitely worth thinking about carefully when you’re deciding where to book.

The Extra Plus plan adds a daily snack and drink vouchers on top of your meals. The Premium plan at the Disneyland Hotel includes unlimited character dining as part of the vouchers.

The different Disneyland Paris meal plans explained

There are four tiers of meal plans at Disneyland Paris, and which one is available to you depends entirely on which hotel you’re staying at. The tiers escalate in price and in the range of restaurants you can access.

Standard Available at Hotel Santa Fe and Davy Crockett Ranch. Covers buffets and a selection of quick service restaurants. This is the most budget-friendly option and is fine if you prefer casual dining, but the restaurant choice is the most limited of any tier, and it doesn’t include character dining.

Plus Available at Hotel Cheyenne, Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Club and Hotel New York: The Art of Marvel. This is the tier we had, staying at Hotel Cheyenne. It opens up table service restaurants across both parks and the hotels on top of the buffets, which significantly increases both the quality and the value. Character dining can be added as a supplement.

Extra Plus Available at all Disney hotels except the Disneyland Hotel, but only as full board. On top of everything in the Plus tier, it also includes one character dining experience per stay, and daily snack and drink vouchers. If character dining is a priority and you want all meals covered, this plan is worth considering.

Premium This is exclusive to those staying at the Disneyland Hotel, which is the most expensive on-site hotel. It covers the widest selection of restaurants across the resort and includes unlimited character dining as part of your vouchers, with no supplement required. It’s the highest cost but potentially the strongest value if you want to do character dining multiple times.

We stayed at Hotel Cheyenne, which put us on the Plus tier with half board, and that gave us breakfast at the hotel each morning and one sit-down meal per night, which was exactly the right amount of food for a three day trip with a toddler.

When we visited in February 2024, character dining worked slightly differently, and we added it as a supplement to our Plus plan at the time of booking, which was straightforward. The system has since been restructured, and so if character dining is a priority for your trip now, the Extra Plus tier is the most cost effective way to include it. Alternatively, you can still add it as a supplement on the Plus tier, but check the current costs on the Disneyland Paris website before booking, as these change regularly.

Where we ate on the Disneyland Paris meal plan

We stayed for two nights and has three park days, which gave us two meal vouchers per night on the half board Plus plan. So one for each evening meal, plus breakfast every morning. Here’s how we used them:

Breakfast – Plaza Gardens, Day 1 (Character Dining)

We used our first breakfast on character dining at Plaza Gardens rather than the hotel buffet. The food was buffet style and included pastries, cereals, fruit, cooked items and pancakes. The characters came to the table throughout. Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and Pinocchio all stopped by, played with our daughter’s headband and did peekaboo. She was completely beside herself. The characters don’t speak, which I hadn’t thought about beforehand, but it didn’t matter at all. She was posing for photos and laughing the whole way through.

Breakfast – Hotel Cheyenne, Day 2

The hotel buffet at the Chuck Wagon Cafe was a standard hotel breakfast, with pastries, bread, cereals, fruit, hot items. Our daughter made a beeline for the Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes and that was her sorted for the morning. For adults it was fine. Nothing special, but I’m glad I used my character dining voucher on breakfast rather than an dinner out it that way. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything not having breakfast there twice.
👉 Read our Hotel Cheyenne review

Dinner – Downtown Restaurant, Disney Hotel New York: The Art of Marvel, Day 1

This was by far our favourite meal. The Downtown Restaurant is set up as a series of cuisine stations. There was American food, Italian and Asian. And let me tell you, it was all delicious, and I had a bit from each cuisine. The Chinese section was the highlight for me, and the burgers on the American section were delicious too. Our daughter kept it simple in typical fussy toddler fashion with bread, chicken and chips, but was utterly delighted by the Groot-shaped cakes on the dessert station. She’s more of a Marvel girl than a princess, so the theming was right up her street. The attention to detail across the whole restaurant makes it feel like an experience rather than just a hotel meal.

Dinner – Cape Cod, Newport Bay Club, Day 2

Cape Cod is a seafood-led buffet with a New England feel about it. The nautical theming, blue and white tablecloths gives it an atmosphere that feels noticeably calmer than the parks outside. I loaded my plate with mussels, beef, salmon and rice, which tells you everything about the variety on offer. Our daughter had chicken nuggets and chips, which were there and perfectly good, but the adult spread was genuinely impressive.

The whole restaurant felt calm and quite luxurious. Just being in Newport Bay Club makes you want to stay there next time. It’s four star, lakeside, with both indoor and outdoor heated pools and a spa. For a February visit the indoor pool alone would make it worth considering.

Is the Disneyland Paris meal plan worth it for families?

The upsides

Buffet restaurants at Disneyland Paris cost around €40-45 per adult if you pay on the day. The ‘Plus’ half board plan at Hotel Cheyenne works out at roughly €60 per adult per night, which covers your evening meal plus breakfast. Given breakfast at the hotel would cost around €25 separately, you’re saving money comfortably if you eat at buffets, and we ate at buffets specifically because our daughter under three ate free at them.

But the value I hadn’t anticipated was the rest you have at the restaurants. Disneyland Paris is exhausting, particularly with a toddler. You’re on your feet all day, covering more ground than you realise, all whilst managing someone else’s energy levels on top of your own. Having a sit-down meal booked in advance means you stop. You sit down, you eat a full meal, and you recharge. Without the meal plan there’s a temptation to grab something quick on the go, but by day two that catches up on you.

We were way too full from the buffets to spend much on park snacks, which tells you something about the value. I really wanted the churros dipped in chocolate and had to force them down myself. Beyond gifts for our daughter’s birthday, we barely needed any extra spending money inside the parks at all.

The downsides

The meal plan only works if you book early. Restaurants at Disneyland Paris fill up months in advance, and Disney hotel guests can book up to 12 months ahead, and so the popular spots go really quickly. If you’re booking a last minute trip, your restaurant choices will be significantly more limited by the time you can make reservations. So I would advise to book restaurants as soon as your stay is confirmed.

The other challenge is timing your reservations around your park day activities. You’re committing to a table at a specific time, which means factoring in where you’ll be and what you’ll be doing beforehand. I timed our dinner reservations to follow the parade, reasoning we wouldn’t be stuck in a ride queue. What I hadn’t accounted for was being stuck in the post-parade crowd surge. Everyone moves at once when it finishes and with a pram we couldn’t get through quickly enough. We were late to one reservation because of it. Build in more time than you think you need after the parade.

The verdict

For families staying on site, particularly with young children, I think the meal plan is definitely worth it. Just plan and book your restaurants early and choose buffets if your toddler is under three. Also factor in parade timing when you make your reservations.

Buffet vs table service restaurants on the meal plan

For families with toddlers, buffets are the better choice and we chose them deliberately. There’s no waiting for food to arrive and fussy eaters can find something they’ll actually eat. Both restaurants had child-friendly options like chicken nuggets and chips alongside the adult spread. Under threes eat free at buffets which made it an easy decision for us on this trip.

Table service restaurants work on a set three-course menu for meal plan guests, with a starter, main and dessert. It makes them better value per voucher in theory since you’re getting more courses, but the trade-off is that the menu options are more limited than the full à la carte, and you’re committing to sitting for longer. For families with older children who can manage a longer sit-down meal, table service restaurants like Bistrot Chez Rémy and Captain Jack’s are consistently well regarded and offer a more immersive dining experience. I haven’t personally eaten at either on the meal plan, but both come up repeatedly in research as strong value picks on the Plus tier.

The short version: buffets for toddlers, table service worth considering as children get older and can handle a longer meal.

Can you use the meal plan for character dining?

Yes, although it depends which tier you’re on.

The Extra Plus plan includes one character dining experience per stay. The Premium plan at the Disneyland Hotel includes unlimited character dining, which makes it the best in value if you want to do more than one character meal.

On the Plus plan, which is what we had at Hotel Cheyenne, character dining isn’t included as standard but it can be added for a supplement. When we visited in February 2024 we added the Plaza Gardens character breakfast this way. The system has been restructured since then so check the current supplement costs on the Disneyland Paris website or app before booking as these change regularly.

Our daughter was beside herself at the character breakfast. If you’re visiting with a young child who knows their characters, it’s worth doing at least once. Book it as early as possible as it fills up months in advance.

Do you need the meal plan at Disneyland Paris?

No, and not everyone does. If you prefer to eat on the go and decide where to eat based on what looks good on the day, then the meal plan will feel too restrictive for you. You’re committing to restaurant reservations months in advance and then building your park days around your reserved meal times.

Then there’s the fact that the meal plan covers Disney hotel and park restaurants only. Restaurants in the Disney Village are not include, and so if you plan to eat there regularly, the plan won’t cover those meals.

The meal plan is only available to guests staying at an official Disney hotel too. If you’re staying at a partner hotel, off-site accommodation or an Airbnb, you’ll have to pay for meals as you go. Not having the meal plan doesn’t mean you can’t eat well, there are plenty of good options across the parks, hotels and Disney Village, it’s just that the prepaid convenience isn’t available to you.

If you’re staying on site, eating at sit-down restaurants at least once a day, and want your food budget sorted before you arrive, then the meal plan is worth it. If you prefer to have the flexibility and don’t mind paying on the day, then I wouldn’t bother with it.

Our verdict on the Disneyland Paris meal plan

For our February 2024 trip with a nearly three year old, it was absolutely worth it. We saved money by choosing buffets where our daughter ate free, we barely spent anything extra inside the parks, and the sit-down meals gave us proper rest during days that were more tiring than we anticipated.

Would we book it again? Yes – and the under 3 free window won’t last forever. Our younger daughter will be old enough for a Disneyland Paris trip in a couple of years and I’ll be timing it the same way.

Final thoughts

The meal plan isn’t right for every family, but for us it was one of the best decisions we made for the trip. We ate well, we rested properly, and we barely spent anything beyond gifts. The under 3 free window won’t last forever, and knowing what I know now, I’d time our next trip the same way.

If you’re still working out whether it’s right for your family, the honest answer is: book early, choose buffets if your toddler is under three, and don’t underestimate how much you’ll need to sit down.

👉 Disneyland Paris planning guide 👉 Disneyland Paris with toddlers 👉 Hotel Cheyenne review 👉 Disneyland Paris in February 👉 Disneyland Paris toddler rides

FAQs – Disneyland Paris meal plan

You add the meal plan to your Disney hotel and ticket package when booking, and your vouchers are loaded onto your MagicPass. The MagicPass card also serves as your hotel room key and park ticket. You present it at the restaurant when you eat and the voucher is deducted. Vouchers aren’t dated, so you can use two on the same day if you want a lighter day elsewhere. Any unused vouchers at the end of your stay aren’t refundable.

Yes, you can add it to an existing booking before you arrive, either through your MyDisney account online or by calling Disneyland Paris directly. It cannot be added once you’ve arrived at the resort. If you booked through a third party such as MagicBreaks or Expedia, check with them directly rather than going through Disney.

It can, if you use it at the right restaurants. The value comes from buffet and table service restaurants. But if you’re mainly eating at quick service spots you’ll likely save more by paying as you go. For families using buffets, particularly with a toddler under three who eats free at buffets, the savings are genuine. On our trip we covered all our main meals for roughly £60 per adult per night on the Plus half board plan, and that included breakfast.

For most families yes. Half board covers breakfast and one sit-down meal per night, which is the right amount of food for a full park day. Full board covers three meals a day which is a lot, and most visitors find it more food than they need and end up too full to enjoy the park snacks. Unless you’re a big eater or plan to use the full board for strategic cost savings, half board is the more comfortable option.

Both cover breakfast and either half or full board, but the Plus plan gives you access to a significantly wider range of restaurants including table service options across both parks and the hotels. Standard is limited to buffets and quick service restaurants at Hotel Santa Fe and Davy Crockett Ranch. If you’re staying at Hotel Cheyenne or above, you’re automatically on the Plus tier which is the better option for most families.

Yes, particularly the character dining breakfast at Plaza Gardens. The hotel buffet breakfast is standard, but it does the job and sets you up for the day. If you’re on the meal plan we’d recommend using at least one of your breakfast vouchers on character dining rather than the hotel buffet. It costs a supplement on most plans but for a young child who knows their characters it’s one of the best experiences of the trip. Book it as early as possible.

No. Children under three don’t need a meal plan and can eat from your plate at buffet restaurants. If your trip falls before your child’s third birthday it’s worth factoring this into your restaurant choices, we chose buffets specifically for this reason and our daughter ate for free throughout the trip.

No. The meal plan is only available to guests staying at an official Disney hotel. Partner hotels, off-site accommodation and Airbnb rentals are not eligible. You can still eat at all the same restaurants, you just pay on the day.

At buffet and quick service restaurants, a non-alcoholic soft drink is included with your voucher. At table service restaurants it varies and so check when you arrive at the restaurant rather than assuming it’s included. Alcoholic drinks are never covered by the meal plan.

It’s a fan-created planning strategy rather than an official Disney rule. The idea is to structure each park day around three rides, two entertainment experiences such as a show, character meet or the parade, and one sit-down meal. It maps naturally onto how a meal plan day plays out and is a useful framework for first timers trying to balance rides and dining without over-scheduling.