Hi Gregory!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! I am delighted to discuss the
Disney Dining Plans!
My family prefers the
Disney Dining Plan or the
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. Although quick-service meals can be tasty, we prefer to have several table-service meals during our trips. When our girls were younger, we did the Disney Dining Plan with one quick-service and one table-service meal entitlement per night of stay per person age 3-years old and over on the dining plan. At this time, the plan also comes with two snacks or non-alcoholic beverages per night of stay and a resort refillable mug. Typically, we brought our own breakfast snacks and ate those in the room before we hit the parks for the day. We then used our quick-service entitlements for lunch and our table-service entitlements for dinner.
As our girls got older, we started using the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan which provides three meal entitlements per person per night of stay along with two snacks or non-alcoholic beverages and resort refillable mug. We make advanced dining reservations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Several of our meals are typically character experiences and we always dine at a few signature restaurants that require two table-service entitlements per person. I will say that we love the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan but it is a lot of food!
As you make your decision, consider your eating habits. If you normally eat three meals a day, then the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan might be the better option for you. With either plan, be sure that you make
advanced dining reservations and then create a chart of your meals with the number of meal entitlements indicated for each restaurant. To check, go to the homepage of each restaurant, click on the link that says "Some Dining Plans Accepted" and then a pop-up chart should appear that displays the number of entitlements required at each meal. I always map out the exact number of meal entitlements we will use based on our plans for each day so that I am sure we have at least one meal entitlement remaining on the day we checkout of the resort hotel!
Gregory, I do hope you get a dining plan. When we have not used one, I have been constantly worried about how much each drink, snack, or meal costs. On a dining plan, I can solidly budget for food and we love that select drinks are included for all meals. Desserts are included for lunch and dinner on the Disney Dining Plan and appetizers are included as well for lunch and dinner on the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan!
Magic and memories,
Donyell