Disney Dining Plan, Is is worth it?
Disney easily comes up in conversations with random people I meet, but when they find out I am a travel consultant they always ask me if the Disney Dining Plan is worth the money. I have read so many different opinions on various Disney blogs, Facebook pages, and travel agent outlets about people’s views on this subject matter. It seems like people are split, some love it and some say it is a waste of money. Well, we recently went to Disney and I decided to add the Disney Dining Plan to our package so I could see if it is worth it.
Before I go into if is it worth or not, I must explain that there are several dining plans available through Disney. Because of the variety, I am wondering if those who feel that the Dining Plan is not worth the money may have been talked into the wrong Dining Plan for their family, see chart below for quick reference. Why so many options? It is easy to understand, there are many cultures and different types of families that go to Disney so they are really catering to everyone. One family may say that a particular plan has too many meals for their family while another may say this is the perfect amount for us. I will tell you, that no matter which plan you choose for your family, it will be perfect.
For our family we choose the Disney Dining Plan which includes 1 quick service, 1 table service, and 1 snack per person per night of stay and 1 resort refillable mug. The refillable mug can be used at your resort. You cannot use this mug in the parks to get refills, but I will tell you that we did take our mugs along with us to the parks and asked for ice water, which is free. We then transferred our ice water into the mugs. With each table service meal, we were able to choose one entrée from the menu, one dessert, and one non-alcoholic beverage. When you choose an entrée you are not limited to a select menu specifically for those on the dining plan. You receive the same menu that everyone receives and get to choose any of the entrées including steak or salmon. Dessert at Disney is fantastic! It is gourmet and no matter what you choose it will not disappoint. However, having dessert every day could be a lot for some people, as it was for me. There is a little known fact that isn’t shared by the wait staff, but some restaurants now allow you to substitute your dessert for an appetizer. You have to ask your server when you sit down if this is one of the participating restaurants and which appetizers are included, but you may have an option of a salad instead of the that rich chocolate cake.
Quick service meals are just like the combo meals that you get at any of your local fast food places, and snacks include a variety of foods including popcorn, cookies, cupcakes, a banana, or the famous Mickey Mouse ice cream bar.
Now the Disney dining plan was the perfect amount of meals and snacks for my family, but some families have teens or growing, hungry children who eat a lot more or need more snacks, so purchasing another plan to fit their family’s needs would be a better option. I have put together some additional information in the chart below that shows the various dining plans available and what is offered with each dining plan. This will help make it easier to find what will work best for your family.
When you purchase a dining plan that has several table services with it, you must make your reservations in advance. You can start to make your dining reservations up to 180 days prior to your arrival date for the entire length of your day, but not to exceed 10 days of stay. What this really means is on the 179th day you can call to make your reservations. I would recommend calling to make your reservations. It is much faster and you will also be able to make any additional reservations such as Pirate’s League or any tours, all with one phone call. If you don’t make a reservation in advance, you could be told that the restaurant is full for the day or you may have a two-hour wait. A two-hour wait with hungry children is not fun for anyone!
So are you ready to find out if the dining plan is worth the money? For a family of four going to Disney for seven nights, who elect the Disney Dining plan, it is a little over $1000. (Now that is just for the Dining plan, not including park tickets or resort stay.) For four people on this seven day Disney vacation, it 
Now, one thing you must know is that tip/gratuity is not included. The suggested tip is based on your total meal cost prior to deducting your plan. It is up to you, how much you want to tip unless you are a party of six or more than 18% is automatically added to your bill. When you receive your bill it will tell you how many of that service you have left. So if you had six table services to start and just finished eating, then your bill will show that you have five remaining. You can always get your entire amount of allotted meals from the concierge or guest services area at your hotel. It is important to note that meals do not roll over after your stay. If you don’t use them up you will lose them so I highly recommend planning out your meals for each day you are at Disney. Also, the meals are to be used at your discretion. If you want two table service meals on one day and two quick service meals another day, it is up to you how you use them, but again, use them up!
Next time you are at Disney, consider using one of the dining plans that will work best for your family. It is well worth the money.
Don’t forget that at Life is Better Traveling we have a whole Disney Concierge service available for your next Disney vacation. For a small Disney stress-free vacation planning fee, we will set-up everything for you including your My Disney Experience, dining, 
Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation. Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.
When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business. Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!
trip and we decided to leave a night early. Our ship didn’t require us to embark until Friday so we thought it would be fun to go down Thursday night and maybe get dinner at Downtown Disney. Unfortunately for us, there were thunderstorms up and down the east coast which made for a very bumpy plane ride. It is also hard to walk around Downtown Disney when it is raining so we opted to eat near the hotel. I normally don’t say this when in Orlando but the rain actually ended up being a good thing because even though our hotel had shuttle
s to the Disney theme parks, it did not have one to take us to Downtown Disney. Yes, Downtown Disney is part of the Walt Disney World Resort and even though this hotel was a Disney partnered hotel, they just didn’t offer a shuttle there. We found a Giordano’s Chicago Pizzeria in the shopping plaza right next to the hotel. We ate at the original one in Chicago and we loved their pizza. Their pizza was also great in Orlando!
y’s go to motorcoach company. Our driver was on time and the car they chose for us was a Lincoln SUV. The car was clean, spacious, very high end amenities, comfortable, and didn’t smell. Our driver was great! He was from Venezuela and talked with us the whole way to the cruise port which was about an hour drive.
anchor on their ship’s stacks. No fourth ship and no blue anchor, time to panic! We had the right day, we were there five hours before the ship was supposed to leave dock, but where is it? Our driver took us to the Carnival cruise line terminal. He pops the trunk and gets ready to let us out figuring that the ship had to be close by. Well, when 3000 plus people are trying to get on one ship, you can image how hectic it is with everyone trying to get their luggage onto carts, and unpacking their cars. This is where I take after my mother, but I demanded that he ask where the Royal Caribbean ship was. He asked one of the luggage attendants about Royal Caribbean and the guy told him no this is Carnival. The driver asked again where the Royal Caribbean ship is located, the luggage guy said at the new port just down the road. Feeling relieved, the driver got back into the car and look confused. We started off to the new port and within a few minutes we could see a single ship off in the distance. Hope! Blue anchor on the stacks, Enchantment of the Seas on the bow, and people unloading their luggage. Whew, we made it!
have themed rooms? Caribbean Beach has pirate themed rooms where the beds are shaped like pirate ships, and the Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside resort has Royal Guest rooms where the back boards display fireworks at the push of a button. Art of Animation has four different themed rooms, three of which are suites sleeping up to six adults. Each resort has at least one themed pool with some of the most elaborate water slides I have ever seen. Complimentary Wi-Fi, extended theme park hours, and laundry service are just a few other benefits of staying at one of the Disney properties.
For example, for me and my family the room is just a place for us to sleep and get cleaned, so I am not worried if it is close to the pool or has a river view. I am concerned with how large the resort is because the larger resorts have more bus stops which means buses get crowded during peak times to get to the parks. I also like to have table service available at the resort in case the first night or last night we don’t want to stay in the park, we can still enjoy a sit down meal together. These are just some of my personal preferences, but if you have not stayed at a Walt Disney World resort before then these are some questions you may not know to ask. If you talk with a Disney Travel Consultant, like myself or any of my independent contractors, these are some questions that we will be sure to ask you.
