One of the main questions I get asked about traveling at Disney World is should I get the dining plan? Walt Disney World (WDW) offers several different meal plans to meet a variety of different travelers. WDW has some amazing restaurants not to mention fun character dining so it’s easy to see how dining is such an important part of the WDW experience. Meal plans are offered as part of a WDW package add on to guests staying on property. Meal plans are also for the length of stay so if you’re staying for 5 nights it covers 5 nights-it’s all or nothing. You cannot pick how many days you’d like to do the meal plan, it is simply added to your stay. Let’s take a look at each meal plan, what they offer and the pros and cons of each.
Disney Quick Service Dining Plan offers 2 quick serve (grab and go)meals, 2 snacks and a refillable resort mug per person per night stayed. Pros-Pay ahead so you can easily budget and plan for spending on your trip. Great for travelers who enjoy spending the bulk of their time at WDW in the parks. Cons-does not cover all meals and NO sit downs.
Disney Dining Plan offers 1 quick serve meal, 1 table serve meal (seated),2 snacks, and a refillable resort mug per person per night stayed. Pros- -Pay ahead so you can easily budget and plan for spending on your trip. Includes sit downs and character dining. Cons-does not cover all meals.
Disney Dining Plan Plus offers 2 meals-any combination of quick and table serve, 2 snacks and a refillable resort mug per person per night stayed. Pros- -Pay ahead so you can easily budget and plan for spending on your trip. Has flexibility so you an change plans and grab quick meals or plan mostly table service dining and save money. Cons-does not cover all meals.
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan offers 3 meals any combination of quick serve and table serve, 2 snacks and a refillable resort mug per person per night stayed. Pros- -Pay ahead so you can easily budget and plan for spending on your trip. All meals are planned. Great for foodies who want to focus on dining while on their trip. Cons-Often can be too much food or take too much time away from park time.
Disney really does have a plan to fit all travelers. Disney distributes their dining plan in credits per night stayed. For example, if you were staying for 4 nights and got the dining plan each member of your party would get 1 quick serve credit and one table serve credit and 2 snack credits for each night. You decide how you use your credits. Some restaurants such as Cinderella’s Royal Table count as 2 credits while the bulk of restaurants in and around the parks-including at resorts-usually are 1 credits. If you don’t use all your credits on your trip you can actually trade them for snacks to take home at your resort or in the parks. The best part of the dining plan is the ability to pre pay and be stress free while traveling. You’re able to order whatever you like at table service dining so if you pick the least expensive or most expensive item it’s covered. You will also receive dessert and adults over 21 can choose an alcoholic beverage as their drink. Character dining also allows you to skip those lines in the park to meet characters. Characters come right to your table, sign autographs and take pictures as part of the dining experience.
Need help planning your magical vacation? Feel free to message me at Callie@Fairygodmothertravel.com or you can find me on Facebook at Callie@FairyGodmother. As always my services are complimentary!
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