Hello, Rosa! Congratulations on your successful bariatric surgery. I know that had to take a lot of courage and willpower. The Most Magical Place on Earth is the perfect place to celebrate your achievements!
The
Disney Dining Plan is a great way to prepay for all your meals, giving your Walt Disney World vacation that all-inclusive feel. It is a
package component, so when you call to add it to your vacation, the Cast Members will price it for children 3-9 years old and for adults 10 and up. Typically, Disney is firm on this rule, and they do not allow exceptions, however, I encourage you to contact Disney Travel Operations at (407) 560-CHAT (2428) to see if there are any options, since yours is a unique situation.
Keep in mind that Guests on the Disney Dining Plan can be flexible with how they decide to use their dining entitlements. If you have others in your traveling party, then all your entitlements are pooled together and can be used in any combination each day of your trip. For example, you could have two Quick-Service meals on one day, and the next day use two Table Service credits at a
Signature Restaurant; if you like fine dining, this could work to your advantage.
It's also worth noting that each Table-Service meal on The Disney Dining Plan consists of one Entrée, one Dessert, and a Nonalcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older). If your spouse or travel partner wants a drink and an entrée and you decide you only wish to have an appetizer and dessert, you could consider sharing that Table Service credit and just pay for your appetizer out-of-pocket. The only issue you might run into is that you may have unused credits at the end of your trip, so make sure to
check your receipt each time you dine for a record of your remaining entitlements. Guests will also get a notification of their entitlements each time they use
Mobile Ordering on the
My Disney Experience app.
I know it's not always an easy decision, but you'll probably want to sit down and do the math before your vacation to see if the Disney Dining Plan works for your family. It used to be a no brainer for us, but when our kiddos turned 10 years old and graduated to the adult plan (but they still had child-sized appetites), it was harder to justify paying the higher price. Perhaps you should consider getting a
Disney Visa Credit Card since Cardholders can get 10% at select Dining Locations on property. I like to redeem my Disney Reward Dollars that I earn all year to help defray the cost of our meals; in fact, this summer, our Rewards Dollars covered our meals for our entire trip!
I hope this gives you some
food for thought, Rosa! If you need any more advice, we would be happy to help you. See ya' real soon!
Eean