Dining Plans? Yay! or Nay!

What are Disney Dining Plans?

Dining at Disney can be expensive.  If you are a foodie like us, you may want to consider grabbing a Dining Plan.  First let me break down what each Dining plan has to offer

Disney World offers 3 dining plan options you can select if you are staying on Disney property.  You have to be staying on one of Disney's properties to be able to opt in to a dining plan.     

​Each plan gives you meal/snack credits for each night of your stay.  All of your credits are front loaded on your account, so you could use them all as quickly as you want.  You can use these credits up till midnight of your checkout day.  The 3 dining plan options are:  Quick Service Dining, Standard Dining, and Deluxe Dining.

The Quick Service plan grants you 2 quick service meals and 2 snack credits per night.  The Standard Dining grants you one quick/counter service meal, one table service meal, and 2 snack credits per night.  The Deluxe Dining plan grants you 3 meals credits and 2 snack credits per night.  Deluxe credits can be used at either quick service or table service restaurants.  Quick Service and Deluxe credits can be converted into 3 snack credits, Table Service credits cannot.

​You also get a drink cup that can be used at your resort.  It's nice to be able to grab a few cups of soda every evening when we get back to our resort.

Crystal Palace for Breakfast.

Lefou's Brew is one of the best snack credits you can spend!

$$ Is the Dining Plan Worth it? $$

The best answer is: Maybe.  Whether a dining plan will work for you totally depends on your plans and how your family eats.

My family loves to have character meals every day.  We like to eat at the fun unique dining experiences that Disney has to offer.  Dining plans totally work for us.  Character meals are not cheap.  Dinner at Crystal Palace is roughly $54 an adult while dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table range from $65-$80 an adult.  When you want to do all the special meals Disney  has to offer a Dining plan totally makes sense.

We are also big on planning ahead.  You have to book many of these restaurants well in advance.  My wife and I love to try new and unique food options.  The Dining plan just makes sense for us.

If you like to play it fast and loose and go in without a bunch of dinners, you could always go with the Quick service plan.  Just grab your meals and snacks on the go.

Another factor to look at is are you big eaters or just pick at your plate?  The Dining plan will get you a lot of food.  You could always do Disney as cheaply as possible.  Eat something quick for breakfast, bring sandwiches into the park, and only eat dinner at the park.  That's not the experience I look for when I go to Disney, but everybody is different.

Dining at restaurants also takes time.  If you want to grab as many rides as possible, then sitting down for a 90 minute meal may not be for you.

Just look at those faces!

Set and forget it.

Blue and Green Milk are just a snack credit.

I like to just go into Disney and enjoy myself.  I don't want to have to think about how much each food item costs.  Some snacks are easily $8  I feel like I lose some of the magic when I'm worrying about how much each meal costs.  I want to eat all the things!

If your family's needs aren't like mine, then you could just skip the dining plan.  With the pricing of food in the parks even getting the lowest dining plan can save you some money.  If you plan on doing it all like we do:  then the standard or deluxe dining plans can save you a bunch!  Especially if you go to one of Epcot's festivals like the Food and Wine Festival.

You can add a dining plan after you book your reservation if need be.  And we will always keep an eye out for those deals that will save you on your trip.  Sometimes Disney will offer free Dining plans or kids eat free Dining plan specials.  They are a great value but are only offered on select dates or have stipulations tied to them.  For example if you stay at a Value resort you would get a Quick Service Dining Plan, the standard Dining Plan for a moderate resort, or the Deluxe Plan staying at the Villas.  You can't mix and match without paying an "upgrade" fee.  These sales are limited so jump on them ASAP.  They can sell out incredibly fast, so we help apply them to your reservation whenever possible.

Ask us about other tips that could save you on your next Disney experience.

Super cute Minnie Cupecakes!

Food and Wine Fest 2019