Disney World Dining Plan - What is it?
There are 3 different plans. But most people choose to go with the Main Magic Your Way plan which includes:
- 1 table service (sit down) meal
- 1 quick service meal and
- 1 snack
per day.
(The Deluxe plan includes 3 meals - quick service or table service - and 2 snacks per day. The Quick Service plan is more affordable and includes 2 quick service meals and 2 snacks per day)
The table service meal includes one entree, one non-alcoholic drink and one dessert or a full buffet.
The quick service (counter service) meal includes one entree, one drink and one dessert (or a combo meal).
The snack includes one of several choices including an ice cream bar, bottle of water, pop, popcorn, single serving bag of snacks, etc. Disney is actually pretty lenient with what can be considered a snack so you might want to ask the server what qualifies as a snack before you choose.
Disney has over 100 restaurants to choose from. Many of them are found in the different hotel resorts (so you don't have to be in the park that particular day to use the dining plan).
The dining plan can also be used for room service meals.
All of your meal and snack credits are stored on your Disney Key Card. When you go to purchase your food, they'll ask you if you want to use your Dining plan credits.
If you do, the meal credit is removed from your key card. You'll also get a receipt which tells you how many credits you have left.
Using the dining plan is actually very easy and many servers will ask you if you're using the dining plan before you order.
Disney Dining Plan Tips:
While you can use them at any time, most people prefer to use their table service meal for dinners. Dinners are often the most expensive.
So it makes sense, to save money, to use your sit-down table service credit for dinner and your quick service for lunch.
Depending on how hungry you are, you can use your snack for part of your breakfast as it usually includes a muffin or a pastry.
Remember that some character meals (like Cinderella's Royal Table) and dinner shows (like Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and Mickey’s Backyard BBQ) actually count as 2 table service credits.
There are also some higher end Disney restaurants (called Signature Restaurants) like Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Flying Fish Cafe that count as 2 table service credits.
The dining plan also does NOT include gratuities.
The Disney Deluxe Dining plan is similar to the standard dining plan - but it's about $69 (vs around $40 for the standard plan) as of this writing and you get 3 meals (table service or quick service - your choice) per day with 2 snacks.
This can still save you money but many people find that it's a lot of food so depending on your appetite, you may want to stick with the standard plan.
Remember if you're using the dining plan to make your reservations as early as possible to ensure you get into the restaurants you want.
