Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Mark! I love the various
Dining Plans that are offered for Walt Disney World Resort vacation packages. There are so many delicious choices when it comes to dining on property and one thing is for sure, I never leave my trip hungry!
When adding any of the Dining Plans onto your vacation package, it must be purchased for every person on the reservation for the entire length of stay. In this case, even though one guest in your party would only be staying for three nights, the Dining Plan would have to be for all five nights if the reservation is for five nights. You'll want to keep that in mind when budgeting for your vacation. More food (see what I did there?) for thought: when my family visits and gets the Deluxe Dining Plan (three Table-Service meals and two snacks per person, per day), all our meal and snack credits show up in my account on the first day of our vacation. We can then use four credits one day, two the next day, five the next day, etc, until all our entitlements are used. If you decide to purchase a Dining Plan, the extra credits that you have for the person not staying for the entire trip could still be used on those three days that he/she is there, so they wouldn't necessarily be wasted.
My tip when it comes to dining at Walt Disney World Resort is make sure to get your
Advance Dining Reservations booked 180 days in advance. Since it sounds like you will be staying in a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, you'll be able to book dining reservations for the entire length of stay 180 days before your check-in date. That means you get a bonus five days to reserve those hard to get dining spots!
Whether you decide to add a Dining Plan or not, be sure to enjoy a Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar for me on your trip. Yum!
Tabitha