Your Complete Guide to the 3 Disney Dining Plans

Are you planning a Disney vacation and not sure if a dining plan is right for your family? Should you choose the Quick-Service Dining Plan, the Disney Dining Plan, or the Deluxe Dining Plan? Each plan offers different entitlements geared towards different types of travelers.  The Gulf Coast SheBuysTravel thinks adding one of Disney’s dining plans can not only save you money, but lots of stress too. Find out all the details in Your Complete Guide to the 3 Disney Dining Plans.

Your Complete Guide to the 3 Disney Dining Plans

In my opinion, there are more reasons to add a dining plan to your Disney vacation package than not to. First of all, the addition of a dining plan creates more of an all-inclusive experience. Your meals are paid for before you arrive. There’s no need to nickel and dime throughout your vacation. You can even use your dining plan at some Disney boardwalk restaurants. I don’t know about you, but having to budget on vacation is not exactly a vacation for me.

Secondly, if you’re already planning to book character meals, the Disney Dining Plan can actually save you money. Yes, it’s true.

Lastly, Disney has made it so easy to track and keep up with your dining credits as they are all maintained on your MagicBand. All you have to do is scan your band to pay for your meal and be on your way. Want to know how many credits you have remaining? Simply open up your My Disney Experience app on your phone and there they are. Your remaining credits are also printed at the bottom of your meal receipts.

Disney knows that families are all on different budgets and like to vacation differently. This is why there are three (3) different dining plans to choose from.

Disney’s Quick-Service Dining Plan

Are you at the park at rope drop and going non-stop until the park closes? Are you a parent of teens or older children who want to spend every waking moment riding rides? Do you like to go with the flow and not hyper-schedule every moment of your vacation? If you answered yes to any of these questions then Disney’s Quick-Service Dining Plan may be the best option for you.

This plan does not require any advance dining reservations so you can be as flexible as you would like. If you’re planning a last minute Disney vacation, this is a great option.

SheBuysTravel Tip: If you are wanting to dine at Be Our Guest for breakfast or lunch, you can make advance dining reservations for these meals only. These are the only quick-service meals that allows reservations due to popularity.

Meals Included with the Quick-Service Dining Plan

Everyone in the party over the age of 3 will receive the following each night of their package stay:

• Two (2) Quick-Service Meals
• Two (2) Snacks
• A refillable drink mug eligible for refills at the self-service beverage stations at Quick-Service restaurants located at any Disney Resort hotel.

The Quick-Service Dining Plan DOES NOT include character dining locations.

Disney Dining Plan

The Disney Dining Plan, formerly known as the Plus Dining Plan, is the most popular of the three choices. This is the plan I recommend to guests going to the Walt Disney World Resort for the very first time. I personally believe you get the most bang for your buck with this dining plan. Not only do you get quick-service meals, but you receive table-service meals as well.

Unlike the quick-service meals, table-service meals require advance dining reservations. These reservations open 180 days in advance of your arrival at the Walt Disney World Resort. Yes, you read that correctly. Dining reservations open 6 months in advance of your vacation.

Many of the table-service meals are highly sought after and the only way to obtain reservations is to book them at the 180 day mark. A great way to snag the reservations you are looking for is to use a travel agent in the vacation planning process.

There are a lot of other perks that come along with booking with a travel agent. Learn more about the benefits of using a travel agent for Disney.

Character Dining IS Included with the Disney Dining Plan

This is also a great plan for anyone who intends to dine at more than one character dining location. Why? Character meals are more expensive, as you are paying for the experience as well as the food. If you already know that you are going to book multiple character meals, it just makes sense to use your table-service meal credits from the Disney Dining Plan to pay for those.

If your kids want to meet characters in the park to get photos or autographs, the ability to use your table-service meal credits through the Disney Dining Plan is hands down the biggest benefit the plan has to offer. No one has to wait in long lines to meet the characters and you get to meet more than one character per dining experience.

Meals Included with the Disney Dining Plan

Everyone in the party over the age of 3 will receive the following each night of their package stay:

• One (1) Table-Service Meal*
• One (1) Quick-Service Meal
• Two (2) Snacks
• A refillable drink mug eligible for refills at the self-service beverage stations at Quick-Service restaurants located at any Disney Resort hotel.

*Includes Private In-Room Dining and Pizza Delivery. See details below.

Disney’s Deluxe Dining Plan

The Deluxe Dining Plan is perfect for those who like to dine at Disney’s Signature Restaurants and Dinner Shows that require two (2) table-service credits per reservation.  Offering three meals per day with the flexibility to use as either quick-service or table-service credits, you can experience all of the amazing restaurants Disney has to offer.

Some of my favorite restaurants in Walt Disney World are Signature Restaurants and require two (2) credits – Cinderella’s Royal Table, California Grill, and Flying Fish.

Meals Included with the Deluxe Dining Plan

Everyone in the party over the age of 3 will receive the following each night of their package stay:

• Three (3) Meals – to be used as either Quick-Service or Table-Service* credits
• Two (2) Snacks
• A refillable drink mug eligible for refills at the self-service beverage stations at Quick-Service restaurants located at any Disney Resort hotel.

*Includes Private In-Room Dining and Pizza Delivery. See details below.

Important Meal Inclusions

What is Included with a Quick-Service Meal?

Each Quick-Service meal includes (for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner):

• One (1) Entree
• One (1) Single serving non-alcoholic or Alcoholic beverage, where available, for those guests 21 and over.

What is Included with a Table-Service Breakfast?

If you are using your Table-Service credit for Breakfast, you can choose from the following:

• One (1) Entree
• One (1) Single serving non-alcoholic or Alcoholic beverage, where available, for those guests 21 and over;

OR

• One (1) Full Buffet or Family-Style Meal

What is Included with a Table-Service Lunch or Dinner?

If you are using your Table-Service credit for Lunch or Dinner, you can choose from the following:

• One (1) Entree
• One (1) Dessert
• One (1) Single serving non-alcoholic or Alcoholic beverage, where available, for those guests 21 and over;

OR

• One (1) Full Buffet or Family-Style Meal

What is Included with a Signature Dining Meal?

Signature Dining Meals are found at those signature restaurants that take two (2) table-service credits. These restaurants adhere to a strict dress code and offer a more elegant dining experience. Each meal from a Signature Dining Restaurant includes:

• One (1) Entree
• One (1) Dessert
• One (1) Single serving non-alcoholic or Alcoholic beverage, where available, for those guests 21 and over.

What is Included with Private In-Room Dining?

Those guests with the Disney Dining Plan can order Private In-Room Dining that will deduct two (2) table-service credits from their plan. Each Private In-Room Dining meal includes:

• One (1) Entree
• One (1) Dessert  (lunch and dinner only)
• One (1) Single serving non-alcoholic or Alcoholic beverage, where available, for those guests 21 and over.

Those guests with the Deluxe Dining Plan can order Private In-Room Dining that will deduct two (2) table-service credits from their plan. Each Private In-Room Dining meal includes:

• One (1) Appetizer
• One (1) Entree
• One (1) Dessert  (lunch and dinner only)
• One (1) Single serving non-alcoholic or Alcoholic beverage, where available, for those guests 21 and over.

What is Included with Pizza Delivery?

Pizza delivery meals will deduct two (2) table-service meal credits. Each pizza delivery meal includes:

• Two (2) Single serving non-alcoholic or Alcoholic beverage, where available, for those guests 21 and over.
• One (1) Pizza Entree item
• Two (2) Desserts.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Before you go and use two (2) table-service credits on pizza delivery, do a little research. There are quite a few local pizza joints that will deliver to Disney Resort hotels that will probably be a lot less expensive. If you drove to Disney there is a Little Caesars less than 10 miles away where you can get $5 pizzas.

Examples of Snacks Included with a Dining Plan

There are so many snack options to choose from. Snacks may include a single serving of the following items:

• Popcorn scoop
• Piece of whole fruit
• Frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle or fruit bar
• 20 oz. bottle of water or soda
• 20 oz. fountain drink
• 12 oz. coffee, hot chocolate, or hot tea
• Bag of snacks
• Prepackaged milk or juice
• Cinnamon roll

Try our suggestions on the Top 10 Magic Kingdom Snacks and the 11 Best Snacks at Epcot – Sweet, Salty, and Everything in Between.

Beverages Included with the Dining Plans

Guests 10-21 years of age (those paying for an adult price dining plan) can choose one non-alcoholic beverage, including specialty beverages where offered. Those guests 21 and older can chose either one non-alcoholic beverage, or one single serving mixed cocktail, beer or wine (where offered) within their meal entitlement.

Examples of a single serving non-alcoholic beverage:

• Soda, coffee, tea
• Fresh smoothies
• Premium hot chocolate
• Artisanal milkshakes

Examples of a single serving alcoholic beverage:

• Mixed drinks and specialty cocktails
• Wine or Sangria
• Beer or Cider

Guests must present valid ID to be served alcoholic beverages.

Important Details Pertaining to All Dining Plans

You can redeem your meals and snacks in any order during your stay until the number of meals and snacks allotted to your package have been depleted.

Guests ages 3-9 must order from a children’s menu, where available.

A complete list of the participating restaurant locations in the 2019 Disney Dining Plans can be found here.

Gratuities are only included at Dinner Shows, Private In-Room Dining, and Cinderella’s Royal Table. An additional form of payment is needed if you add gratuity and did not provide a credit card at check-in to charge incidentals and other expenses to your room.

If you’re dining with a group of six (6) or more people an 18% gratuity is automatically added to your bill.

All unused meals and snacks, as well as the ability to use your refillable mug, will expire at midnight on your package reservation checkout date.