Disney Dining Plan. What is it and Do We Use It?

Hey, y’all! Glad you are here today. I wanted to talk to y’all today about something I get asked often when it comes to planning Disney World vacations…food! More specifically, we are going to talk about different dining plans Disney offers, which ones my family chooses (and why) and do I think they are worth it? (spoiler alert, I definitely do!) There are three dining plans that Disney World currently offers and we are going to talk about each one below.

Disney Quick Service Dining Plan

The first plan up on our menu (see what I did there?) for us to talk about is the Quick Service Plan (QS for short). This plan includes 2 quick service meals per person per night of their stay, 2 snacks (or non-alcoholic beverages) per person per night of their stay, and a resort refillable mug per person. If you’ve never been to WDW, then what I said probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, so let’s break that down a little bit. A quick service location is sort of like fast food, but Disney style. No reservations are required (except for one, but that will be talked about later) for quick service locations, and there are so many locations to choose from throughout the parks and resorts. These meals would be considered “casual” and are usually ordered at a counter and then you carry your food to your table. QS meals include an entrée and a beverage (alcoholic available if you are 21 or older) and most of the time are $15 or less per person. You might feel that this is not a good amount of food if you are like me and you like to eat, but Disney’s portions are not like typical portions…they’re much bigger! Most of the time, there are sides that come with the entrée so please don’t feel you are cheated if you are on the dining plan. The next thing that is included in the dining plan is the snack credit. I recently put up a post about our top 5 snack credits if you want to have a look at that to see what our favorite treats are. At most QS locations and food carts, there are many options for you to use as a snack credit. While you can definitely use a snack credit on anything that is marked as a snack credit (there will be a small purple Dining plan symbol to inform you of snack credit availability), there are ways to make the most out of your credits. What I mean by that is, it might not be the best use of a snack credit to purchase a bottle Coke($4.50 each) while in the parks when you could get a Pineapple Upside Down Cake (featuring my fav Dole Whip) from Aloha Isle in Magic Kingdom for $6.99. I always try to make sure I am getting my money’s worth out of my dining plan, even with our snacks. Don’t get too worked up on making sure you find the most expensive option because what really matters is you are having fun and making memories. If there is something you want, then go for it. My daughter once had a major meltdown because she wanted “yellow chips” AKA plain potato chips and we broke down and used a snack credit on a (small) bag of chips…made her happy so therefore it was worth it.

Each person on this plan also received a resort refillable mug to use on free refills at any of the QS locations at any of the resorts on property. So if you are staying at Disney’s Pop Century resort, but you want to have lunch at the neighboring Art of Animation resort, you can bring your mug and get your non alcoholic beverage without paying extra! We love having breakfast and sometimes lunch back at our resorts and love taking advantage of the refill stations. If you ask my husband, he will tell you the best Coke in the world is at Disney World in those refill stations. The QS plan may be a good fit for you and your family if you want to park hop till you drop and not take long breaks for sit down meals. It is also great if you have small children who may be a little too squirmy to sit for long periods of time. Finally, if you don’t want to have to plan your day around dining reservations and be spontaneous, the QS plan would be great for you and your family. We have done the QS plan when we first took both kids to Disney World and it worked out great! Like I said, there are so many great options with so many different cuisines on the QS dining plan.

Disney Dining Plan

The next plan available (and what seems to be the most popular) is the Disney Dining Plan. The only difference between this plan and the QS plan is there is 1 QS meal per person per night and 1 table service meal per person per night. Table service meals include family style buffets and even character meals. There are also plenty of made to order sit down restaurants options as well. From seafood to homestyle cooking, there really is something for everyone. This plan is great for families who want to sit back, relax and enjoy some delicious food together. There are so many options for table service meals in many different locations including the parks, resorts and Disney Springs. Breakfast table service meals include an entrée and beverage (can be alcoholic if over 21). Table service meals serving lunch or dinner include an entrée, dessert and beverage (can be alcoholic if over 21).

I think character meals are one of the best ways to make the most of Disney Dining Plan credits. These meals are typically more expensive paid for out of pocket so they are definitely worth the table service credit. Character dining is also a great way for your little ones to meet their favorite characters without standing in line or using a FastPass to meet them in the parks. This makes character dining a win-win for our family! Most character meals are buffets and the characters will come around to your table to visit with you and your littles. They will take photos and sign your autograph books if you have one. When it was just my husband and I, we always did this plan and loved it! We found when we first took our (small) kids that it was easier to do the QS service, but we are going to try the Disney Dining plan for our next trip now that they are a little older. I chose to make mostly character breakfasts or lunches because my kids do better earlier in the day and they absolutely love to see the characters…we will see how that goes 😉

Deluxe Dining Plan

The name sort of gives this one away, but this one is for those who have some REALLY big appetites and want to make the most of their trip with some really yummy food! This plan includes 3 meals per person per night of their stay in addition to the 2 snacks per person per night. This plan gives you the freedom to eat however you want, quick service or table service meals. So one day you could eat at 3 different table service locations and the next day, eat only quick service. If you are dining at a table service location at lunch or dinner, your meal will also include an appetizer which is not on the other plans. This plan is the most expensive, but you really can eat almost anything you want. We have never done this plan, but it is definitely on my list to do…I feel like it will be a trip dedicated to eating all the food, but I am definitely up for that challenge! 🙂

Tips

I have a few tips about the Disney Dining Plan that I would love to share with you. The most important one is to make reservations ahead of time! Table service locations are very popular within the Disney World Resort and there will sure to be long waits if you don’t have reservations. If you are staying at a Disney resort, you can make advance dining reservations up to 180 days out from your arrival date and you should definitely be up at 7:00 am EST to book the super popular restaurants like Cinderella’s Royal Table which is in the Castle in Magic Kingdom or O’hana Dinner at the Polynesian Resort (or I could do it for you if you use me as your travel agent..wink, wink).

Another important thing to note is that some restaurants require 2 table service credits per person. These restaurants are considered fine or signature dining and include:

• Flying Fish (Boardwalk Inn)

• Jiko- The Cooking Place (Animal Kingdom Lodge)

• Narcoossee’s (Grand Floridian Resort)

• Yachtsman Steakhouse (Yacht Club Resort)

Be Our Guest is actually a QS for breakfast/lunch and is one of the best ways to use your QS credits as it cost more than the typical counter service meals. This is one QS meals that is recommended that you have dining reservations for because it is extremely popular. We prefer lunch over breakfast here, but what I really love is dining in this absolutely beautiful castle that makes you feel like you are in the movie!

Mobile ordering a newer feature on the My Disney Experience app that allows you to order your food at certain QS locations prior to your arrival. You “check in” once you arrive at your location and the food will be ready in no time! This really cuts down on waiting in lines and I am ALL for cutting down my waiting time and speeding up my eating time! One of my favorite things to mobile order are my #1 dole whip float…seriously, the line at Aloha Isle can be a little nuts sometimes so this really is the way to go!

One last tip about dining plans is that sometimes Disney offers promotions where you can get free dining when you book a package. This is a great way to save some cash! If you have a really great travel agent, she can alert you to these special promotions and help you take advantage of these offers when they are announced..also, she is me…just in case you were wondering. 🙂 Anyway, I hope this helps you understand a little better how the different Dining Plans work and may answer some questions you may have. I would love to hear from you on what are some of your favorite places to eat at and why! Until next time…

See ya real soon,

Kelly