When it comes to food, this isn't your average theme park experience. From food carts to highly rated dining experiences to rubbing elbows with your favorite Disney characters, dining at Walt Disney World takes on many different shapes. Let us help you figure out your culinary trail through your vacation stay.
Please remember that this article was written prior to the CoVid-19 pandemic and some items discussed may not currently be available. We are anticipating most, if not all, experiences and attractions to return to the parks when Disney fully reopens.
Going out to eat at Walt Disney World can be an experience in itself. Knowing how to use the dining plans and the differences between the restaurants will help you to save money and time while finding food that will fit your flavor.
What do the different Credits Mean?
All of the areas where you can get a food are classified based off of the experience that awaits you. An understanding of the difference between credits is important as we start talking about the dining plans.
Quick Service restaurants are meals where you pick up your food at a window and find your own seat. Food can be ordered either at the restaurant or online, but you will still pick it up in the same general area.
Table Service is the classic restaurant experience where you are sat at a table and have your order taken. Food is brought out to you and you pay and tip at the end of the meal.
Most restaurants are strictly classified as one or the other except Be Our Guest, which is a quick service meal for breakfast and lunch and a 2 credit, table service meal for dinner. Other restaurants have outdoor or secondary locations, such as The Hollywood Brown Derby and San Angel Inn, that are also table service locations that serve most of the same dishes, but may be easier to grab a reservation.
Snack credits can be redeemed at snack carts and some quick service locations. There will be a symbol next to the items that are available for snack credits. For all of you Starbucks fans, there is one at each park and they are a good use of these points when it comes to value.
So, Where is the Food?
Honestly, it is everywhere at Walt Disney World. You can find restaurants in every park, including the water parks, in every Disney hotel, only food courts at the Value tier, and at Disney springs. One of my favorite recommendations is dining at one of the hotels close to the park you are at either for breakfast or dinner to get away from some of the bus crowds.
There are also meals that go above and beyond and Disney has decided that they will cost you 2 Table Service credits per person. We mentioned Be Our Guest dinner above, but there are also a few more that offer either fine dining experiences, dinner shows, or a meal in Cinderella's Castle. When you are looking at them on the Disney website, they will show you how many credits are used at the location when you click on the "Some Dining Plans Accepted" line. The box shown will pop up with the information.
Another cool thing about dining at Disney are character meals. Whether you are looking to eat with Mickey Mouse and his pals or dine with a bunch of princesses, there are multiple venues and atmospheres to experience and most offer unique character sets or costumes. A couple of our favorites are the Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno Restaurant where you get to met Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Ariel, and Prince Eric and Minnie's Beach Bash at the Cape May Cafe. All of the character dining experiences have their own charm and offer a chance to meet multiple characters for picture and signature hunters.
To Dining Plan or Not to Dining Plan
If you are booking a vacation package that includes your onsite Disney hotel and park tickets, you can also add one of the dining plans as part of your initial trip cost. This is also available for annual pass holders during their stays. This allows you to pay for a predetermined amount of "credits" that you will exchange for dining experiences. These credits are broken down into table and quick service dining credits and snack credits. Each credit has the value of that meal and can only be redeemed for a meal at that level of restaurant. There is one exception, a Quick service credit can be broken into 3 Snack credits at use all at once at the same location. This comes in handy during the Flower and Garden Festival and Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. All plans also come with a refillable mug that can be used at the resorts and makes a cute souvenir.
Dining plans can be a good value if you plan on dining at some of the higher end, single credit restaurants. There are plenty of guides on other websites that show you where the value per credit is, but it is all up to what you order. My family finds value in the plans due to the number of character meals that we do each trip.
Dining Plan Levels
There are 3 levels pf Dining Plans, Quick Service, Disney Dining, Deluxe Dining. Depending on your eating habits and what meals you are looking at doing, each one has its merits.
Disney Quick Service Plan - This is the entry level to the Dining plans. This plan offers 2 Quick Service credits and 2 Snack credits per person, per night. Cost for this plan is $23.78 per child (3-9) and $52.50 per adult (10+). For me, this is the grab and go plan. You can order an entree or combo meal at participating restaurants and a beverage (alcoholic if you choose and are over 21). Since you don't necessarily have to sit down and eat, it allows you to pack as much as possible into your park days and not make you have to slow down for food. One thing about this plan is that if you are ordering for a child, you must order from the kid's menu. The credits don't differentiate adult or child when used though, so it may be more cost effective to let the adults use the dining credits and pay for the kid's meal out of pocket.
Disney Dining Plan - This plan has the most variety without sacrificing money. This plan offers 1 Table Service credit, 1 Quick Service credit, and 2 Snack credits per person, per night. The Cost of this plan is a little higher at $27.99 per child and $75.51 per adult. When ordering on this plan, you can choose one entree or combo meal, one dessert, and one beverage (alcohol is still in play), or one buffet and beverage when using the Table Service credit. When using the Quick Service credit, you can order the entree or combo meal and a beverage just like above. This is the most flexible plan. It opens up all of the dining experiences around Walt Disney World and, when used well, can pack the most bang for your buck. It still only gives you 2 meal credits per night, so you may be paying for food out of pocket. If you use your snack credits well, this could bridge that gap in meals. This plan tends to be our most recommended to clients, especially if thy have not been to the parks before or do not know what is available.
Deluxe Dining Plan - This is the plan for people who want to experience the dining during their Disney vacation. It gives you 3 Table Service credits and 2 Snack credits per person, per night. As you can imagine the price rises pretty sharply for this plan to $43.50 per child and $116.26 per adult. The price increase is justified when you look at some table service restaurants costing close to $50.00 per person for a meal. This is the recommended plan for families that are going to pack in a lot of the character experiences or that are looking at some of the 2 Table Service credit restaurants. This plan can lead to a lot of food as you can now order an appetizer, entree, and dessert plus beverage or buffet each meal. We find on the days that we do eat at 3 different restaurants that we are either spreading the meals out at large intervals like 8am, 2pm, and 7pm or picking one of the meals as a "snack" type experience, where we sample the choices we make for the meal. You will definitely need to plan your meals into your park plans and utilize some of the tricks, like being able to enter parks early with your reservations, so you don't kill your park time with meals. The Table Service credits can be used at Quick Service locations, but we do not recommend it due to what you are paying.
When it comes to dining plans, it is really a personal preference. There is the ability to save some money if they are used to their potential, but are more a convenience than anything else. I will almost always recommend when when speaking to people about trips, but it is not a necessary purchase. For most people it is a good way to budget their meals into the cost of their trip and really turn it close to an all inclusive vacation.
Ready to take the next step? Fill out our information form on the Booking Your Trip page and let's talk about your Disney adventure. If you are looking for more information, the Disney Planning Insights Podcasts and Princesses and the Mouse Blogs provide more information to help you plan your next Disney vacation.
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