Dining Plans
My favorite aspect of any vacation: The Food! I think this is the area where most people are going to experience “sticker shock” on a Walt Disney World vacation. A family consisting of 2 adults and 2 small children can easily spend an average of $42 for a fast food type meal and $185 for a character dining experience. I recommend the dining plans for this reason: you know what you’re getting into before you leave the house. Because the majority of your meals are already paid for, there are no obvious surprises or attacks on the travel budget once you arrive. The dining plans are also very convenient as you will utilize your magic band to use your dining credits at each meal.
Walt Disney World offers several dining plans for guests staying in a Walt Disney World resort. Each plan provides a number of meal credits per person per night of your stay. Remember, you will not be purchasing a plan for any children under the age of 3. These kiddos are allowed to eat from your plate (or you can purchase individual fast food type meals or snacks for them if needed). Children ages 3-9 must order from a Children’s Menu where available (at Table Service restaurants). The plan must be purchased for entire length of stay and for the entire party (ages 3+). Meals are non-transferable between party members and expire at midnight on day of check-out.
Let’s break down the plans individually:
Quick Service Plan
For each night of your Quick-Service Dining Plan package, each Guest in your party (ages 3 and up) receives:
2 Quick-Service Meals
Each quick-service meal includes:
- 1 entrée or 1 complete combo meal
- 1 single-serving, non-alcoholic beverage
Tracy’s notes: The Quick Service plan is ideal for families with a tighter budget, families that will be on the go, and families that may be lighter eaters.
Dining Plan
With your Disney Dining Plan, for each night of your package, each Guest in your party (ages 3 and up) receives:
1 Table-Service Meal
Each (adult or child) table-service meal includes:
- 1 entrée
- 1 dessert (lunch and dinner only)
- 1 single-serving, non-alcoholic beverage
Or
- 1 full buffet
1 Quick-Service Meal
Each quick-service meal includes:
- 1 entrée or 1 complete combo meal
- 1 single-serving, non-alcoholic beverage
Tracy’s notes: The basic dining plan is ideal for families with hearty eaters, families wanting to slow it down a little each day, and families that want to dine with characters for multiple meals.
Deluxe Dining Plan
With your Deluxe Disney Dining Plan, for each night of your package, each Guest in your party (ages 3 and up) receives:
3 Meals
Choose from select Walt Disney World Resort table-service or quick-service restaurants for all 3 of your meals.
Each adult or child table-service meal includes:
- 1 appetizer (lunch and dinner only), 1 entrée and 1 dessert (lunch and dinner only)
- 1 single-serving, non-alcoholic beverage
Or
- 1 full buffet
Each quick-service meal includes:
- 1 entrée or 1 complete combo meal
- 1 single-serving, non-alcoholic beverage
Tracy’s notes: The Deluxe plan is ideal for families with a large budget who want every aspect of their vacation taken care of prior to departure. On a personal note, I rarely recommend this plan as the majority of the feedback I’ve received is that it is just too much food.
Also Included:
- 2 snacks per person per night of stay
Examples of snacks are: 1 frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle, fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single-serving box), single-serving bag of snacks, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, 22-oz. fountain soft drink or juice, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea, single-serving prepackaged milk or juice.
- 1 Resort-Refillable Drink Mug Per Person
The dining plans can be a great way to simplify your vacation. It is important to plan your days and keep track of your credits as they are non-refundable. Each meal receipt will have the total number of credits you have remaining printed at the bottom. I typically recommend using snack credits to purchase breakfast items to ensure that all meals can be covered by either the Quick Service or Dining Plans.
When you’re ready to complete your vacation quote, click on the “Begin a Quote” tab at the top of the page.
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