Is the Disney Dining Plan Right for You?

Dining at Disney can be wonderful, but it can also be very expensive. For some folks, the Disney Dining plan can alleviate some of the stress of paying for all those meals. For others, it will cost more than they would typically spend on food. So, is the Disney Dining plan right for you?

Enjoy a delicious meal at Saana using the Disney Dining Plan — Delicious dinner at Saana

What is the Disney Dining Plan?

The Disney Dining plan is basically a method for pre-paying for your food while you are visiting Walt Disney World. It can help make your vacation feel like an all-inclusive experience. It’s available to any guest who is staying at a Disney property. You can use the Disney Dining Plan at multiple Disney Spring Restaurants as well as Disney restaurants at the Disney resorts and parks.

If you decide to purchase a Disney Dining Plan, it must be purchased for every member of your party over 3 for the length of your stay. So, you can’t purchase it for just the adults, or purchase it just for 3 of the 5 days you are staying onsite. There are actually four different Disney Dining plans available.

Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan

This plan is the least expensive option but doesn’t include credits for any of the table service restaurants (as well as character meals). It includes:

2 Quick-Service Meals Per Night of Stay
2 Snacks or Nonalcoholic Beverages Per Night of Stay
1 Resort Refillable Mug per person

Disney considers a quick-service meal to be one where you order at the counter. Some benefits are that it’s typically quicker, and each quick-service meal includes an entree and a drink which should be plenty of food. For someone who doesn’t care about sitting down for a leisurely meal, this would be a smart option. It’ll still be plenty of food and there are quick-service options at all the hotels as well as the parks.

Disney Dining Plan

Everyone in the party ages 3 and over receives the following:

One Quick-Service Meal (per night of stay)
One Table-Service Meal (per night of stay)
2 Snacks/Nonalcoholic Drinks (per night of stay)
One Resort-Refillable Drink Mug

Disney Deluxe Dining Plan

Everyone in the party ages 3 and over receives the following:

3 Meals – Any combination of Table-Service and Quick-Service (per night of stay) Disney restaurants
2 Snacks/Nonalcoholic Drinks (per night of stay)
One Resort-Refillable Drink Mug

Table Service meal? Check out Yak & Yeti at Animal Kingdom — Ahi Nachos from Yak &Yeti at Animal Kingdom

Disney Dining Plan Plus (New)

This plan is a new one. It was created to “fill the gap” between the Deluxe Disney Dining plan and the Disney Dining Quick-Service plan.

2 Meals – Any combination of Table-Service and Quick-Service (per night of stay) Disney restaurants
2 Snacks/Nonalcoholic Drinks (per night of stay)
One Resort-Refillable Drink Mug

New this year, guests 21 and older may substitute their non-alcoholic drinks for beer, wine and cocktails (although not the really fancy, pricey ones).

Looking for more info on Disney? Check out these posts for more Disney travel tips: Beat the Heat at Disney, What to Bring to Disney Table Service at the Parks

Filet at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at Walt Disney World — Yachtsman Steakhouse

Reasons Why You Might Want a Disney Dining Plan

These are the top reasons I see for why a Disney Dining Plan might be right for you:

You don’t want to have to think about money (you like that all-inclusive experience)
You want to prepay for your vacation
The food quantities seem appropriate for your normal eating habits
You want to make mealtime easy

Reasons Why You Might Skip the Disney Dining Plan

If these statements apply to you, the Disney Dining Plan may NOT be the best choice for your family:

You tend to share meals or eat smaller portions
You don’t want to have to figure out how many credits you have available
You like to bring/ make your own food for some meals
You plan on eating some meals off Disney property

Saratoga Springs is included in the Disney Dining Plan — Dinner at Saratoga Springs

Our Experience

A few years ago, we had a split stay between Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom. We were actually only going to be at Animal Kingdom for one night so we decided to purchase the Deluxe Disney Dining plan for that stay to check it out. The first day we used a few of our snack credits at Epcot, and had a terrific dinner at Garden Grill. The next morning, we used snack credits for a light breakfast and had a late lunch at Boma. Because the two meals we chose were all you can eat, it was a LOT of food for the two days. We also ended up with a lot of snack credits leftover. I enjoyed having the travel mugs, and since the restaurants we ate at were a set price, I feel that it was a good value.

However, we normally don’t eat nearly that much food and don’t do the buffet type places on a regular basis. We tend to go to a nice restaurant, split two meals, and order a few appetizers, desserts, and drinks. Breakfast is often in the room, and we fill in with snacks around the parks. In that type of situation, the dining plans don’t really work.

I was also a bit stressed about using up those extra snack credits. We ended up purchasing a bunch of candy for the flight home with them, which the kids enjoyed.

LeFou's Brew from Gaston's Tavern — LeFou’s Brew from Gaston’s Tavern at the Magic Kingdom

Final Thoughts

The dining plan can be a fantastic add-on for many families. Or it can just add to your stress. I think it all boils down to how you tend to eat on your vacation, and if you want to remove the hassle of paying for bills, figuring out how much meals will cost, etc.

If you do decide to purchase a dining plan, there are so many helpful tips out there on how to get the most out of it. My favorite resources include Disney Food Blog and the Disney website itself.

If you’d like help with planning your next Disney trip (including deciding which dining plan is right for you), head over to my Magical Vacation Planner site and I’ll be happy to help!

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