Disney Dining Plan

Did I mention there was over 100 restaurants to try in Walt Disney World?? And right now with the Free Dining Promotion available, there is no better time to start thinking about where you want to eat and what you want to eat.


Do you want to eat in Cinderella's Castle at Cinderella's Royal Table? Or how about at Chef Mickeys where Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy will join you as the Monorail drives by your table?

Some brief definitions and explanations:

• Table Service - a sit down meal where you are served by wait staff and enjoy Buffets, All you Care to Enjoy or A La Carte meals at a restaurant that generally requires a reservation.
• Quick Service - a cafeteria/fast food style meal where you are served quickly and seat yourself
• Character Meals - A Table Service meal that includes characters stopping by your table for photos and autographs.
• Snack - a small item such as a cookie, water, popcorn, etc that is purchased separate from a meal

For us, we always start with the Disney Dining Plan, and go from there. There are several options for the Disney Dining Plan based on your needs.


Magic Your Way Package Plus Disney Dining
This popular option includes the following:

• One (1) Table Service Credit
• One (1) Quick Service Credit
• One (1) Snack Credit
• Adults (Ages 10+) : $60.04 per day 
• Children: (Ages 3-9): $19.23 per day

Magic Your Way Package Plus Quick Serve Dining
This option includes:

• Two (2) Quick Service Credits
• One (1) Snack Credit
• One (1) Resort Refillable Mug
• Adults (Ages 10+) : $41.99 per day
• Children: (Ages 3-9): $ 16.03 per day

Magic Your Way Package Plus Deluxe Dining
This very filling option:

• Three (3) Meals - Table Service or Quick Service Credit
• Two (2) Snacks
• One (1) Resort Refillable Mug
• Adults (Ages 10+) : $109.53 per day
• Children: (Ages 3-9): $29.86 per day

All of the above are per person per night (*exception, only 1 refillable mug per guest). So, a family of four staying for 10 nights, would have 40 Snack credits on the basic Disney Dining Plan.  All of these credits are linked to your Magic Band  which also acts as your room key and park tickets (for those wanting even more convenience, you can also link your credit card to your Magic Band  and not have to card cash.  More on this in a future post). As you order meals, the cast member will ask you to scan your Magic Band and your receipt will reflect your remaining balance of credits.

Our family loves the basic Disney Dining Plan with one Table Service, one Quick Service and one Snack per person per night..  Now, you may be thinking that this is short one meal per day.  But, from our experience, this is more than enough food for the average family!!  The portions at the Quick Service restaurants are HUGE!  For example: one option at Cosmic Rays in Magic Kingdom is a half chicken, rack of ribs and fries!  If that is your lunch, sharing with a family member is very doable and both parties will have plenty to eat.  Another thing to keep in mind is that many of the Table Service meals are Buffet style or All You Care to Enjoy Family style meals, meaning, the food keeps coming until you are full!


What do you get for FREE DINING?
As with past years, when staying at a Moderate or Deluxe resort, you will get the Basic Disney Dining Plan for FREE with this FREE Dining Promotion.  If you are staying at a Value resort you will get the Disney Quick Serve Dining Plan.  However, you are able to upgrade to any other plan and are only required to pay the difference per person per night. 

For example: one adult staying 10 nights at the Values would get the Quick Serve Dining for Free, but to upgrade to the Disney Dining Plan, it would only cost them $18.05 per day.  Eating for a total of $18.05 per day is a STEAL in Disney!!  Keep in mind, to enjoy those buffet and character meals, you are going to need Table Service credits (unless you choose to pay out of pocket on the Quick Serve Plan). *It is important to note that Table Service credits do not include tips, and for groups of 6 or more and 18% gratuity is automatically applied.

Disney has a great PDF that runs down their dining plan and the various restaurant options which can be found here. We printed this off and began selecting our restaurant choices from there.  All Table Service and Character meals require an Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) which can be made by phone or online up to 180 days (yes that is six months!) in advance.  It you want the castle, you are going to want to reserve it early!! See here for a 180 day calculator.  And for Disney online Advanced Dining Reservations please see here or go to www.disney.com.


*Updated September 9, 2014 to reflect 2015 Dining Plan prices and details. 

~~Happy Planning!!~~