Disney Dining Plans
The Disney World Resorts offers three Disney Dining Plans to make mealtime easier and potentially help with budgeting. In the Disney World parks you’ll spend plenty of time enjoying the rides and attractions, but at some point, you’ll get hungry. There are lots of options for food from snacks to sit down meals, offering something for everyone. These items vary in cost as well, allowing you to make decisions based on taste as well as budget.
These dining plans are offered at different levels, depending on your food needs throughout the day. Dining plans are a great way for you to not worry about money in the parks and help you to budget based on the type of diner you are. Let’s dive into the deals of each plan and if purchasing a Disney Dining Plan is right for your group.
How Do Disney Dining Plans Work?
Only those who have purchased park tickets and a hotel package through Disney World Resorts are eligible for the Disney Dining Plans (DDP). This means that local visitors, those who stay offsite, or people who buy discount tickets elsewhere cannot purchase the plans. You will have to consider the needs of your group to determine if the plan is right for you.
Linking Your Disney Dining Plan
Disney Dining Plans (DDP) are tied to your resort ID and just need to be shown when going to a restaurant or food kiosks around the property. The card will be scanned and items can be redeemed from your plan. Your receipts will tell you the remaining credits you have left on the plan. If you have a magic band your DDP can be linked, which makes using it easier for everyone in the family.
The package will apply to the number of nights you stay at the resort. You are able to access your package in the My Disney Experience mobile application where you can check details of the plan and the items you have left to redeem. Having this pre-paid meal plan may make your dining experience easier and cheaper, especially if you only plan to eat in the parks.
Quantity Of Guest On Your Plan
Disney Dining Plans cannot be purchased for only select guests in your party, essentially it is all or none. All guests will have to purchase the same tiered dining plan to enjoy this experience on your trip. This means that decisions need to be made that work best for the entire party. All Disney Dining Plans are for guests over 3 years old. Those under three may share with an adult at no additional charge. Children costs are for ages 3-9 and must order from a children’s menu.
There are 3 Disney Dining Plans available that will be broken down in this article:
Choosing a plan will be dependent on the type of meal experience you wish to have or can handle throughout your stay!
3 Disney Dining Plans
As mentioned, there are three dining plans you can choose from. Each offering varying levels of options at different price points, some may be better for your party rather than others. Let’s break down each of the plans to see which one will work best for your party.
Quick Service Disney Dining Plan
This is the simplest of the three plans and offers casual meals and drinks for your park visit. Quick Service Dining Plan If your group isn’t full of the biggest eaters, this smaller plan may benefit you all.
What You Get Per Day
- 2 Quick-Service Meals: This applies to breakfast, lunch, or dinner and includes one entrée and one beverage (alcoholic or non-alcoholic). Quick service meals are ordered at counters around the parks. Each guest gets two meals during the day.
- 2 Snacks or Non-Alcoholic Drinks: These include single-serving items and do not apply to items that would be considered more, such as a box of cookies. You can also not use this plan to redeem souvenir food items or merchandise. A snack could be an ice cream, a piece of fruit, a pretzel, etc. Single serving drinks look like a single beer, cocktail, smoothie, or hot chocolate.
Cost Breakdown
These are the prices per night:
- Per adult: $52.50 (Ages 10+)
- Per child: $23.79 (Ages 3-9)
Standard Disney Dining Plan
With the Standard Disney Dining plan, your group gets access to casual dining options as well as the many table-service restaurants that are highly acclaimed on the property.
What You Get Per Day
- 1 Quick-Service Meal: Each guest can get one meal from these casual dining locations throughout the day. This includes an entree and beverage (alcoholic or non) for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
- 1 Table-Service Meal: This meal is offered for all meals with different offerings. For breakfast, this meal includes one entree and beverage (both alcoholic and non) or one full buffet/family-style meal. This meal can be used for character dining. For lunch and dinner, the meal includes one entree, dessert (can be substituted for healthier options), and beverage (alcoholic and non).
- 2 Snacks or Non-Alcoholic Beverages: The same snack policy applies to all Disney Dining plans.
Cost Breakdown
These are the prices per night:
- Per adult: $75.51 (Ages 10+)
- Per child: $27.99 (Ages 3-9)
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan
Disney Deluxe Dining plan is the highest tier offered of the Disney Dining Plans. You will have access to more meals per day as well as additional perks within those meals.
What You Get Per Day
- 3 Meals: These can be used for both Quick-Service and Table-Service meals. The Quick-Service meals include one entree and beverage (alcoholic or non).
- Table-Service breakfast meals include one entree and one beverage (alcoholic or non) or one full buffet/family-style meal.
- For lunch and dinner, you get one appetizer, one entree, one dessert and one beverage (alcohol or non) or one full buffet/family-style meal.
- 2 Snacks or Non-Alcoholic Drinks: The same snack policy applies to this meal plan.
Table-Service meals under the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan offer an appetizer unlike the Standard Plan.
Cost Breakdown
These are the prices per night:
- Per adult: $116.26 (Ages 10+)
- Per child: $43.50 (Ages 3-9)
Should You Get A Disney Dining Plan?
Now that you’ve seen what each dining plan offers, you must decide which one to choose and if you should choose one at all. The dining plans may save you money during your stay, but they may also waste money if you do not take full advantage of the offerings.
Choosing the most expensive items on the menu to apply to your plan will definitely help you maximize the value. Do research on the restaurants you plan to dine in and choose the nicer restaurants to have the plan pay for itself.
4 Factors To Think About
There are a few factors that should determine which plan you should get and if you should get one at all:
- Vegetarians/Vegans: On all plans, the value of vegetarian/vegan items will not exceed the price you pay for the plan. It makes more sense to pay out of pocket in the parks and not purchase a meal plan.
- Drinkers: Alcoholic beverages are among the most expensive in the park. If you plan to take advantage of each drink being alcoholic, any of these plans will be really valuable.
- Big-Eaters: If you are a big eater who wants to take advantage of the great restaurants on the property, the Deluxe Plan will be a great choice for you. If you can’t eat three sit-down meals per day, this plan may be a bit excessive.
- Epcot Festivals: A dining plan will make great financial sense if you want to take advantage of the many festivals offered by Epcot throughout the year.
To take the greatest advantage of the meal plans, you should be eating at nicer restaurants for Table-Service options. Using meals on small items is a waste of the plan. Depending on your group’s eating habits, you should calculate if you would be best paying for meals out of pocket or with a set plan. If you aren’t hungry one day, these items may go to waste.
If you scan through the pricing and look at some of the food prices in the parks, you can better determine if you’ll eat the value of the specific meal plan in question.
Disney Dining
Disney Dining Plans are a great option if you want to taste great food without breaking the bank. Therefore, you will want to strategize and take full advantage of the great snack items, drinks (specifically alcohol), and awesome restaurants offered across the parks. It is also much more convenient for groups as you won’t have to worry about taking out cash or a credit card at meals. As you know, Disney aims to give you a great dining experience as you enjoy the parks!
This plan is offered exclusively for the Orlando Disney World Resorts, however, there is no longer a dining plan in Anaheim’s Disneyland. Having a pre-paid meal plan on your trip to Disney World can help make this experience more predictable from a budget standpoint and easier to enjoy your days in the park!
Conclusion
We recommend getting a dinning plan only if it suits your needs. Too many times we have heard people who get to the last day and have so many credits left over. Therefore, we do not want you wasting your money!!! At Single Girl at Disney we get to know you before giving our recommendations. However, we are here to make sure you get everything to make you trip the most magical!
Reach out to us today to schedule a free consultation today!
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