One of the best parts of a Walt Disney World vacation is the numerous dining options you have! But…dining at all of these restaurants comes with a price tag. In order to maximize your dollar, I highly recommend checking out the Disney Dining Plans and adding one of them to your package. Here are my Top 10 Tips for Using the Disney Dining Plan.
- There is a plan to match your eating habits- Do you like quick meals so you can spend more time on your favorite rides? Or do you like to take a break and enjoy a quiet meal? Maybe you are a big eater and want to enjoy three full meals a day. Whichever category you fall into, there is a plan that will meet your needs!
- Use the plan for your more expensive meals- Dinners make great use of table service credits and there are many locations that offer “pricier” lunch selections that count as a quick service meal (ie. Be our Guest, Sunshine Seasons)
- Eat at off times- Consider eating a late breakfast. This will allow you to potentially just be hungry for a mid-afternoon snack before eating dinner. You’ll reduce the amount of out-of-pocket spending while staying energized to tackle the parks!
- Take advantage of large portion sizes- Some quick service meals are HUGE! Like at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. So consider sharing amongst adults to maximize your meal credits. All of your credits are pooled per room, so you can share as you’d like!
- Take dessert to-go, as a snack for later- The entree portions are big and you will likely find yourself full after eating your meal. So wrap up a dessert and take it along with you! This works especially well if you have a stroller and can put the dessert in the storage basket…opens up your options!
- Use leftover snacks and quick service meals for a packable meal home- It always seems like we have at least one quick service meal left at the end of our trip. So we always hit our resort food court and make a packable meal to take to the airport and eat before we head home. Gives us one last Disney meal before it’s time to get back to reality.
- Leftover snack credits make great gifts!- One year, I had three snack credits leftover…I have no clue how that happened! So, I stocked up on those huge Mickey rice krispies and took them home as gifts. My son gave one to a friend, we gave one to our housesitter, and one to our friend who took care of our trash. Great way to spread a little Disney magic amongst friends!
- The Dining Plan will help you budget- Let’s face it, Disney can be expensive. But isn’t it nice going into a trip knowing that you already paid for the majority of your meals and you really won’t have much out-of-pocket. That’s one thing my family loves about the Dining Plan.
- Flexibility- The Dining Plan allows you to choose whatever combination of meals you would like. Since all of your credits are pooled into your account, you can use them however you’d like. Maybe one day you just want a few quick meals you can use just Quick Service meals. Maybe another day you want to go out for a fancy dinner- you can use two Table Service credits at a Signature Dining location. The possibilities and combination are endless and I love having control over how and when we eat!
- Sometimes the Dining Plans are FREE- Yes, I said FREE! There have been times when Disney has offered free dining to its guests and this is an amazing cost savings, especially to those staying in the Value and Moderate Resort categories (I find the Deluxe categories benefit more from taking advantage of a room discount, if offered). If you can score free dining, you are golden!
Many people can benefit from the Disney Dining Plans and I would love to help you choose the right one to fit your needs. Email me to chat some more about this and plan your next Walt Disney World vacation. And, follow me on Facebook to keep up with all the Disney updates- including when Free Dining is released!
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You should also plan your park days along with your dining reservations! Or vice versa. For example, you don’t want to plan to go to Hollywood Studio’s and have dining reservations at the Royal Table at 3. Whatever park you are at that’s where you should eat. Or make a later reservation and have your fun at the park then go eat. You don’t want to waste a park day just for food!