Disney Dining Plan

Everything You Need to Know about the Disney Dining Plan! Here we have all the pros and cons of the plan plus some useful PDFs and printable guides. Should you go with "pay as you go" meals or buy the dining plan?

How does the Dining Plan Work?

You can book the Dining Plan with all participating Walt Disney World Resort hotels. We would suggest that you choose your dining plan while booking your vacation. The Disney dining plans allows you to eat from over 100 restaurants in the park.

After you've chosen a plan, you will be given an electronic card that you will use to pay for your meals.

All the meals you use up will be tracked by the card and you simply provide the restaurant with the card when paying.

When the card is accepted, you will be given a receipt that displays your balance so you can keep track of everything.

Who Can Participate in the Dining Plan?

Not everyone can participate in the Disney dining plan. Guests under the age of 3 will have to purchase separately from the menu. They can however share food from an adult without any problems. Guests aged 3-9 will have to order from the children's menu if there is a children's menu for the restaurant that you are eating in. Anybody over the age of 9 can follow the standard dining plan rules and get what they want from the menu.

An Example of How the Dining Plan Works

The plan may include quick service meals, snacks, and table service meals for each day that you stay with the hotel. The quick service meals can either be a meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Snacks may include a variety of foods from soft drinks, tea, ice cream, and chips. Table service meals will be mainly for lunch and dinner.

When choosing to use the table service meals, it is recommended that you make reservations. This will ensure that you get a seat in the restaurant in a timely manner so there are no delays during your vacation. Some restaurants may be very booked so it is important that you find out how the seating is beforehand.

What are the Different Options with the Disney Dining Plan?

Quick Service Dining Plan - It allows you to choose from 50 restaurants in Disney World. It includes 2 quick service meals and 2 snacks for both guests aged 3-9 and guests 10 and over. This is a great meal plan if you want to ensure you get 2 meals planned already and want freedom with the third.

Deluxe Dining Plan - includes 3 meals and 2 snacks for each stay nights (for all age groups except guests under the age of 3) that you are going to be in the resort. This plan ensures that all your meals are taken care of so you don't have to worry about figuring out the best restaurants to eat in and how much you are going to spend.

Disney Premium Plan - includes meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2 snacks. Each meal comes with a non-alcoholic beverage. You can eat at 100 select restaurants with some that include Disney Character dining. The platinum is the same as the premium plan except that lunch and dinner includes both an appetizer and dessert.

If you want alcoholic beverages included in the meals, then you will need to purchase the Wine and Dine Plan. This plan gives you 1 wine entitlement per room per night. This means that you get a bottle of wine every single day during your trip!

Quick Service Plan	Deluxe Plan

Premium Plan	Wine & Dine Plan

What about the Character Dining?

You will have to get the Premium plan or higher in order to get the character dining experience. A table service meal from each person under the dining plan is redeemed each time you choose a character dining experience. It is recommended that you reserve beforehand if you want this experience.

Is the Dining Plan Worth the Cost Compared to Pay as You Go Meals?

The dining plan is definitely worth it and will save you money. With these plans, you don't have to think about where you're going to eat and how much you're going to pay. You also get to choose the meals that you want regardless of the price. If you have guests that are under the age of 3, you will definitely be saving a lot of money since you can share the food.

What the Disney Dining Plan does NOT Include

Gratuities are not included. An 18% gratuity is added to your bill if your group has a party of 6 or more.
In general tips/gratuities are customary within the Disney World restaurants. Feel free to tip your wait staff at least 10% for satisfactory service.
Alcoholic beverages and extra drinks are not included in the dining plan (unless of course you have the Wine & Dine plan).
There may be some restaurants that do not participate in the Disney Dining Plan. Ones we know of who don't are Fulton's Crab Shack, Rainforest Cafe , T-Rex Restaurant and Portobello's in Downtown Disney. The restaurants at Disney Swan and Dolphin and Shades of Green Resorts.
Souvenir mugs and collectibles are not included.
You also have to take some time to figure out which restaurants offer what and make the according reservations if it calls for it. See the PDFs above to view which restaurants you should plan to make reservations for.

If you want to save yourself a lot of planning and make sure your meals are taken care of during your trip, the Disney dining plans are a great choice. You need to make these plans when making reservations with the Disney hotels. This makes it easier to figure everything out and look through the restaurants that you want to dine in.

All in all, the plan can save you anywhere from $100-$300.

The 4 main Disney theme parks are:-