Welcome to day 7 of Disney World Training. You can catch up on the previous training posts here.
Today we are going to discuss the Disney Dining Plan. We are going to be discussing Disney dining for quite a few days.
A dining plan is Disney’s way of ‘saving’ you money on your dining costs. You prepay for the plan in advance and it is based on how many nights you are staying at a Disney resort. Each person is issued credits for their meals and when you dine, the credits are subtracted from your account. For example if you got a Table Service credit, you could go to any of the participating table service restaurants and order anything on the menu at any price and it would be covered with that credit. It doesn’t matter how expensive it is. There is no limit.
Disney offers 3 different dining plans to suit your needs. Quick Service, the standard Disney Dining Plan and the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. You must be staying at a Disney resort and have Magic Your Way package to get the dining plan. Annual Pass Holders and DVC members can also buy the plan. Be sure you read on the links I provide at the end.
There are 2 different types of restaurants at Disney. Table service restaurants are also called sit down restaurants. They are often themed or offer an additional perk like characters. It is recommended that you make a reservation for these meals, they can take 1-3 hours of your time, and the bill is often extremely high.
Quick Service restaurants, also referred to as counter service restaurants, are restaurants where you walk up to the counter and order your food. You then sit at one of their nearby tables and dine. It can be compared to fast food restaurants, but the food is a lot better.
The dining plans:
Disney’s Quick Service Dining Plan
Cost:
$31.99 per day for Adults (10 and up)
$9.99 per day for Children (3-9 yrs old)
What you get per person each day:
Two Quick Service Meals (These are also called Counter Service meals)
Two Snacks
Bonus:
Each guest will receive one (1) Resort refillable Drink Mug good for unlimited drink refills at your resort for the duration of your stay.
The Standard Disney Dining Plan
Cost:
$41.99 per day for Adults (10 and up)
$11.99 per day for Children (3-9 yrs old)
What you get per person each day:
1 Table Service meal
1 Quick Service meal
1 Snack
Additional costs:
You must pay gratuity on your table service meal. This can range from 15% and up.
The Deluxe Dining Plan
Cost:
$71.99 per day for Adults (10 and up)
$20.99 per day for Children (3-9 yrs old)
What you get per person each day:
You get 3 of the following in any combination:
Table Service meals + Appetizer
Quick Service Meals
Also:
Two (2) Snacks
Additional costs:
You must pay gratuity on your table service meal(s). This can range from 15% and up.
To learn more, I suggest reading this very involved post on the DisBoards. You can also read more about Disney Dining Plans on WDWInfo or AllEars.net.
I would love to hear about your trips and if you have used the dining plan in the past and what you honestly thought of it. On day 8, I will talk in more depth about the plans and what we are choosing to do on our trip.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi,
We just spent 9 days in FL over the Christmas holiday (with extended family our group totaled 11) and we did NOT use the dining plan. We had family bring breakfast (our hotel didn’t have a continental one) options and we went to the park early (we stayed at a Disney resort so this was an option), came back to the hotel for lunch (again, sandwiches mostly) and supper (buffet or fast food) and then back to the parks for the evening (highly rec park hopper tickets!). We were lucky in that we had a car to go to and from a nearby super Target for supplies. It was a great time.
Kristin- In one of your next few Disney posts, would you explain why you are not doing a dining plan for us? I am SO torn on to do or not to do a dining plan.
Yep. That will come tomorrow or the day after. :) Bascially I am not doing it b/c 11 nights times on the standard dining plan with gratuity is $1400! For food!!!!!!!!!!!! But I plan to go into a lot more details in my post. :)
so if I am just going for the day and not an annual card holder member I can’t get a pass right? Could you make some suggestions for us 1 day visitors. Thanks a million! You are the best!!!!!!!
We LOVE LOVE LOVE the dining plan!!! There are 7 of us and it’s totally worth the money especially with the younger kids and the Character interaction when we use our table service at places like Chef Mickey’s. You never go hungry and there are ways to make sure you get your money’s worth. We use the Standard Dining Plan and there are times that we’re too full to use our snack credits and end up using them in bulk on the last day to bring home treats. You don’t have to use your 1 counter service, 1 table service, and snack credit everyday. They’re all good until midnight the day you check out. So you can use 2 counters one day and 2 tables the next. Once you check in and your meals are on your card, you can use them how ever you want. I wouldn’t not get the dining plan now. We’re used to it and love what we can get with it. I’ve found ways to stretch it and maximize the meals. We were just there in OCT and they now automatically add 18%, yes that’s 18% to your Table Service. Actually they have one line on your receipt that says 18%=$ and another line that says 20%=$ They print right on your receipt what they “suggest” your tip “should” be but HONESTLY, they’re buffets, they can’t make you pay 18-20% so tip what you feel comfortable with. If your server was lousy, do it like you would at any other place in the world. Just because it’s Disney doen’t mean they have their own set of rules although they would like you to think they do! Everyone should try the Dining Plan at least once. That’s just my opinion.
We went to Disney world last April and got the quick service meal plan. It was the only way to go as far as I’m concerned. We didn’t have to worry about the extra cost of food. Most of the time the two meals and two snacks were plenty of food for the whole day (and I was pregnant, so I should know!). You get so much food included in the plan. A drink, a dessert, a main dish…… I will definitely always use the dining plan. I just can’t recommend it enough.
By the way, we booked through AAA and they gave us some great coupons to supplement the dining plan. The one splurge I have to reccommend is breakfast with Mickey. It’s worth every penny!!
We are DVC members and usually have a kitchen or kitchenette, making it cheap and convenient to prepare at least some of our meals in our room. So, we’ve only done the Dining Plan once, on a weekend trip where we arrived LATE Friday night and left on Sunday shortly before noon. Because we had 2 nights, we each got 4 meals. Since our first night was such a late one and our last day was not a full one, our Quick Service Dining Plan covered all the meals we were there for. We ate at Mara at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for breakfast both days. Lunch was at Restaurantasaurus in the Animal Kingdom, and dinner was at Mara at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The snacks were my favorite part — we had so many that we had to buy Mickey rice krispie treats to take home. It was so nice to have that little “souvenir” and special treat for the kids after our trip was over. We also really liked that we received the refillable mugs. We are going back to Disney in May — Pop Century this time — and are planning to get the Quick Service plan again.
We just got back yesterday. It was convenient, but too much food! Who needs a dessert at every meal?! It was sad to see so much waste at the sit-down meals. Our sit-down meals took us only an hour with six kids, but the parks were not too busy this time of year. Also…not many choices for the kids other than mac n’ cheese and chicken nuggets for the sit-down meals. My kids wanted the meat and potatoes!
When we went a few years ago we did the standard plan (they didn’t have the quick service plan at the time), the gratuity was included, and you got both an appetizer and dessert. We LOVED it. I know we went to more character meals than we would have without the plan.
We are debating it for our next trip because it is much less of a deal without the gratuity and appetizer included. I don’t really want to just do quick service meals the whole trip either.
As a Disney vacation consultant who specializes in saving people money, I almost NEVER recommend the dining plans. The exceptions: when a couple goes alone to Disney with the goal of spending relaxing time together (think long, elegant dinners), or a family with teenage boys that can actually get their money’s worth. For a family with small children, the plan is almost never the economical solution, and the food is often wasted. In fact, even the “free” dining plan offered in the fall isn’t exactly “free”–it precludes you from getting other (and sometimes better) discounts.
If you’re willing to do a little research, there are Disney food bargains to be had. Eating breakfast in your room, carrying your own food/snacks into the parks, and seeking out the best food deals in the parks are all better ways to save on food at WDW, in my opinion. But, of course, I know there are some people who just love their dining plan. Obviously, you decide what’s best for your own family.
http://www.affordingthemouse.com
We did not do the dining plan either time we were at Disney World, however this last time the table next to us at Raglan Road (Downtown Disney) had it for a group of 10 and boy did they have a lot of food! We did find that we were able to get by many days by eating breakfast in our room (bring oatmeal packets and use the coffee maker for hot water), pb&j’s, apples, and animal crackers for lunch, and sharing counter service meals for supper. Some days we only spent $15 in the parks and were not hungry at all. Then when we wanted to splurge and go to a table service restaurant, we didn’t have to feel bad about spending the extra money for a really nice experience! :) If you’re staying outside the parks, Sweet Tomatoes is an awesome and relatively healthy buffet for about $10 a person (more if you don’t drink water). I’m getting hungry thinking about their salad bar and soups right now!
We took advantage of the Free Dining promo last Aug. With a family of 8, I would say it saved us a bundle. After tallying all the receipts we saved 1800.00 in Dining. We would definately use it again. I found that we went to restaurants that we would normally not go to because they were just too expensive. I would suggest printing out the dining plan and what’s available for each credit….it helps to familiarize yourself with the program before you go so there is no confusion. Most cast members will be more than happy to assist you with what is on the plan, usually the menu boards are marked with what is a snack/ etc. The only problem we ran into was using the quick service at Port Orleans FQ…we got conflicting information, the girls at the food counters seemed to be annoyed by the questions of what is included because the menu boards weren’t marked. (They may have heard those questions a million times, but for us it was all brand new) They would tell us something wasn’t on the dining plan and then the cashier would tell us it was…That’s where it helps to have your print out handy. At the end of our stay we had 2 TS credits left, we were able to use those at a quick service counter instead. Also at Quick Service we found that the QS credits are all bunched together so it didn’t matter if we had gotten a child or Adult counter item, it was taken off the same. The TS credits are designated as child and Adult credits. (you’ll notice on your Key to the World card the number of people in your party is printed on the card ex: DDP A004 C004). Would definately consider using it again…it helps you budget for all your meals. Love the fact that everything is already paid for when we get there…only thing you have to worry about is souvenirs. Only downside is it is almost too much food!!! Even with the appetizers being done away with, normally we would have a quick breakfast in the rm & bring snack with us into the parks….so bring your appetites.
We love the Dining Plan…we have done the Free Dining promo for four years, and are booked for year 5 9/1 thru 9/11. Yes, you do have to know how to plan your days, and it is a LOT of food, but the Dining Plan allowed us to go to California Grill and Cinderella’s Castle last year…2 places we would not, and I repeat NOT have been able to afford. We almost always ask for the desserts “to go”, and save them for a late night snack or an early breakfast if we have a later breakfast scheduled. As for the free dining not being worth the money, we have had 2 PIN codes e-mailed to us, for a significant discount, that did not equal the savings we are getting with the Free Dining. To each his/her own, but this Mouse Crazy family is also crazy for the Disney Dining Plan.
Thanks for all the great advice. We have planned a surprise trip for my 4year old son (first trip). I want to make it as speacial as I can. All of your feed back on the dinning plan has helped me decide to go with the standard plan that way he can have a character meal everyday, because we could not afford them with out it. Thanks again.
Our first trip was just my children and myself. We stayed off property thinkin it was cheaper. NEVER AGAIN. I repeat NEVER AGAIN. That was 2008. Then in 2009 my DH, our dauhters and myself went we stayed at POR with the dining plan. My son decided he didn’t want to go on this trip. We are a family of eaters. We like our sit down meal each day to relax. We loved the dining plan and will use it again on our upcoming Sept 2011 trip.
I always get the free dining plan for our family of 5. We only go when I know it is or will be offered I use the snack list on one of the Disney boards websites (I cant remember which right now!) to get the most out of it! Our major incentive for the dining plan NO WAITING IN CHARACTOR LINES!! We do every different charactor dining they offer. We meet almost all the charactors that way and then can just bypass those lines and head for the rides! Between the christmas party and charactor dining we met every charactor on our list w/o waiting in any lines (with the exception of Repunzal and Flynn who we waited 10 min for during the party) If you have impatient kids like mine or just like to ride toy story mania over and over like me I reccomend it!
I have a question about the dinning plans and the character restaurants. I’ve read all the responses here, which were helpful, but still am undecided about doing a dinning plan.
When you call to make a reservation for a character meal, do you need to know your dinning plan right then and there, or will that not be needed until the day/night of our reservation?
We are staying at one of the resorts and NOT renting a car. Is there a sort of convenience store on the properties? Tho, am guessing if there is, it won’t be cheap, so probably will bring easy to pack snacks and breakfast items in our luggage as we don’t want to have to get up super early just to go eat breakfast.
There is a grocery store that will deliver groceries to Disney resorts. I just went to their online site ordered the food I wanted and said when to deliver it. My family and I had breakfast in the room, made sandwiches for lunch (so many great picnic places) and had cheese cracker, cookies, fruit for snack. We varied our dinner meals and ate out a couple of times. All in all we spent much less money than we would have on the dining plan — just not as fancy of food. The grocery store is http://www.gardengrocer.com
Good luck.
Amy, thank you! I will check into Garden Grocer for sure! I still don’t know if we have a meal plan or not. If my Uncle did go ahead and get meal plans, then obviously I will use it so as not to waste it. But I still like the idea of the grocery and delivery to get breakfast and snack stuff so I don’t have to pack any of that. =)
I went to Disney World just a month ago and we did the Delux Dining Plan and it was more then worth it. After each meal I looked at the receipt to see what the total cost was for our family of 5. It was amazing how much just the quick service meals added up to, not to mention the table service meals. It is def the way to go if you are staying in a Disney Resort!!! I am currently planning my vacation to Disney Next April. Cannot wait!!!
Can you purchase the dining plans buy themselves? For instance, if grandparents were paying for tickets, we are staying off site…can we purchase a dining plan for our family of 5?
We stayed at WDW at the Wilderness Lodge in 2006 and used the Disney Dining Plan. Loved it and would do it again. At the time we went, we got it for free with our package. We saved so much. Next time we go and I’m planning to come back soon, I would upgrade and get the Delux Package. I have 2 teen age boys and it would be well worth it! Thanks for your site.
I’m going to Disney in October for my honeymoon and we’re staying at the Swan, however I didn’t go the Magic Your Way route and my mother-in-law bought the tickets through her job.
So I’m assuming now that I won’t be able to go with the dining plan??
My Husband & I are taking my 2 daughters – 3 & 6 for Spring Break to DW & we selected the Deluxe Dining Plan. I know that some of you think that it isn’t worth the cost & that there are cheaper options, but…we have booked ALL of the meals for the 5 days that we will be on the park: 1 Luau dinner @ the Polynesian, 11 Character Meals *(varying from story book breakfasts, Chef Mickey’s Breakfast Buffet, Cinderella’s Ball & cinderella’s Royal Table) with the exception of 2 breakfasts which we plan to have in our room & 2 sit down service lunches that aren’t “full blown character meals.” PLEASE believe that there is NO WAY that I could begin to afford the actual costs of these meals – even with what I paid for the meal plan separately.
We used the Standard Dining plan last Christmas. On this trip my husband and I brought my sister along to help with our 14 month old daughter. So 3 adults, and on not even on the dining plan. We loved it. Yes, sure there was too much food sometimes, but we often would choose cookies or brownies for desert and carry them around for an extra snack. We chose to book a more expensive sit-down restaurant (one where we might other wise feel guilty spending money for a steak) and didn’t worry about what we ordered. I swear Le Cellier alone was worth this choice!!! We occasionally ordered a kids meal for our little one, but usually she ate off our plates.
We’re going again in June with my husband’s entire family. We considered getting a larger 2 bedroom villa (DVC), but decided against it with one large reason factored into our decision. They don’t want to do the dining plan, and we don’t want to go without it!
Oh! And forgot to mention that we did 2 character meals which my daughter LOVED. It was a great opportunity for her to see her favorite friends in a more intimate setting! And, since we had to eat anyway, we didn’t waste time waiting in character lines those days as our “waiting” was while we were eating!
I am a bit overwhelmed by all the dining options. So is each character dining meal 1 table service “point” per person with the exception of Cinderella’s Royal Table which is 2 table service “points” per person? Thanks in advance!