Hi Staci,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! I am happy to provide some advice about purchasing one of the Disney Dining Plans for your upcoming vacation!
Given the ages of your children, I would actually purchase the Disney Dining Plan so that you can get table-service entitlements and enjoy a few character meal experiences. We love character meals because each character comes to the table to interact with us, sign autographs and pose for pictures! Although the Disney Dining Plan may seem expensive, it actually gives me a good estimation of how much we will spend on food. With little ones, we stay on property and dine at Disney restaurants. I simply do not want to take time away from the parks to leave and find somewhere else to eat!
Prior to each of our trips, I actually map out where we would like to dine for each meal based on what park we will visit for the day. Then I check the restaurant menus or, if it is a buffet, I call 407-939-1947 to get pricing for the dates of our visit. As an example, here is the
Coral Reef Restaurant dinner menu. I use this information to estimate our food prices for the trip then I compare that estimation to the cost of a dining plan. Be sure to calculate your dining plan meal entitlements based on nights of stay. Remember also that drinks are included in the dining plan - we typically paid for them separately when we did not have a dining plan. If you get the Disney Dining Plan for a six-night stay, each member of your party 3-years old and over would receive 6 quick-service meal entitlements and 6 table-service meal entitlements plus 12 snack entitlements.
Staci, although the Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan is a good option, I suggest that you consider the Disney Dining Plan. You will enjoy those table-service meals!
Magic, memories and Minnie Mouse hugs,
Donyell