Planning for Disney World includes many things and it can be a little intimidating. One element of planning a Disney World vacation includes making dining reservations.
With all the restaurants Disney has to choose from, there is a wide variety of the type of food available. There is also a difference in price, depending on which restaurants you pick. It’s always good to budget for food while in Disney, but if you want to take care if it before your trip then the Disney Dining Plan might be for you.
There are three different plans to choose from: Quick Service Dining Plan, Disney Dining Plan, and the Deluxe Dining Plan. Each plan offers credits for different meal categories, credits for snacks, and one refillable mug per person.
Disney Dining Plan Details
Quick Service Dining Plan
- 2 Quick Service Meal Credits (per person/per night of your stay)
- 2 Snack Credits (per person/per night of your stay)
- 1 Refillable Mug (per person)
- Price Per Night/Per Person
- For 2017: $48.19 per night/per adult, $20.88 per night/per child (age 3-9)
- For 2018: $52.50 per night/per adult, $21.74 per night/per child (age 3-9)
Disney Dining Plan
- 1 Quick Service Meal Credit (per person/per night of your stay)
- 1 Table Service Meal Credit (per person/per night of your stay)
- 2 Snack Credits (per person/per night of your stay)
- 1 Refillable Mug (per person)
- Price Per Night/Per Person
- For 2017: $69.35 per night/per adult, $24.95 per night/per child (age 3-9)
- For 2018: $75.49 per night/per adult, $25.75 per night/per child (age 3-9)
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan
- 3 Meal Credits (per person/per night of your stay) – These can be used in any combination of quick service and table service meals.
- 2 Snack Credits (per person/per night of your stay)
- 1 Refillable Mug (per person)
- Price Per Night/Per Person
- For 2017: $106.68 per night/per adult, $38.75 per night/per child (age 3-9)
- For 2018: $116.25 per night/per adult, $39.99 per night/per child (age 3-9)
Other Info
Snack credits can be used for things like ice cream, popcorn scoop, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, milk, juice, a piece of whole fruit, or a bag of snacks. Snack credits cannot be used for items that come in souvenir containers, like souvenir popcorn buckets.
For the 2017 dining plans alcoholic drinks are not included, but that will change with the 2018 dining plans. In 2018, guests who are 21 and over will be able to choose from both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages (including specialty drinks where offered).
Some dining locations will use two meal credits, signature restaurants and dinner shows tend to use two dining credits. Dinner shows like the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue will take 2 dining credits and guests using the Disney Dining Plan can pick between Category 2 and Category 3 seating. Category 1 seating is only included in the dining plan for the 8:30 pm show.
How to Decide on a Dining Plan
The best thing to do when deciding on a dining plan is to sit down and figure out where you think you will eat, how much you will each, and how much you will spend. I created a helpful form to use when figuring out if the dining plan is for you. The forms are in the file section in both the Main Street Wishes group and the Countdown for Disney App group.
If you find yourself snacking and doing more “on-the-go” meals then the Quick Service Dining Plan might be for you. If you like to do a combination of quick meals and table service meals then the mid-level Disney Dining Plan might be for you. However, if you prefer to do mostly table service meals and you plan on either having three table service meals a day or you plan to reserve some 2 credit restaurants then the Deluxe Dining Plan might be for you.
Definitely do the math and see if the dining plan is right for you. I’ve done the math in the past and haven’t felt like it would save the family any money. However, for the next trip I am going with a friend and we decided to give it a try. I’ll let you know if we feel that it saved us money.
Check out Disney’s website for more information on the Disney Dining Plans.
Have you ever tried one of the Disney Dining Plans?
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
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Liz
I love all things Disney, but my main love is for Disney World and I'm always planning for the next trip. Before becoming a Disney blogger, I was a radio DJ, so I guess I'm just continuing in the communication industry, just in a different form. I love talking Disney and I could talk about Disney all day. That's why I started blogging and created the Facebook group. The Disney community is full of friendly, helpful, and happy people...and I love being a part of it! If there is any Disney subject you would like to see covered just let me know! Need help planning your Disney vacation. Feel free to contact myself or Melissa at Never Stop Dreaming Travel Co. We love helping people plan their trips! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to check out our Countdown to Disney app! Feel free to email me with suggestions of things you would like to see in the app :-)
We’ve used the DDP a few times over the past couple of visits and enjoy the convienence of it but not sure if it is worth the money every time. If you are planning on doing a lot of character dining than it may be worth it. It’s great when you get it for free!
It’s awesome when they offer free dining!
We’re doing the mid level DDP in December. It will be our first time using any DDP. For us, it’s not about saving money. I know we won’t. I have two very picky 12 year olds. It’s about the convenience of knowing our meals are already paid for. We just hate the huge bill on your last night. Essentially, it’s peace of mind.
I can definitely see using the plan for piece of mind. I like the idea of not having a huge bill at the end too. It’s not the most magical way to end your trip. LOL
We went this summer and when we got slushee drinks it had a free colored straw with a Mickey shape, and counted as the soft drink, for the drink with a meal. Do research in advance, so you’re completely at ease at the parks. You get a LOT of food when you eat at the resort! We could easily share that meal with dessert for 2-3 people. We then used our meal credits on friends we met another day.
We have only done the deluxe dining plan. My husband and children want to eat at a signature restaurant every night. There’s 2 points right there. And breakfast or early lunch. Also we go week of Christmas to New Year. So lots of blackout dates with Tables of Wonderland and certain places prices higher due to season. Even when we go off season we have done deluxe. There again my family wants 2 point meals and try all restaurants. It works for us