Hi Jane,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! It sounds like you are planning to use one of the Disney Dining Plans when booking your dining packages.
The good news is that dining packages with the Disney Dining Plan or Disney Deluxe Dining Plan are easy to use! In fact, we did the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade Dining package at
Tony's Town Square Restaurant on our visit last summer. For our dining package experience, the number of table-service credits required was one per person on a dining plan. Of course, the number of meal credits required depends on the restaurant. I called to verify the number of credits required in 2018 for Tony's Town Square Restaurant and Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano during the first two dates of your trip and the cast member with whom I spoke confirmed that those restaurants would require one table-service credit per person.
Keep in mind that the number of meal credits required could change for special events so, if you call, specify the exact dates you plan to visit. When I make dining reservations, I start by checking online the number of meal credits required at each restaurant. To do so, just click on the home page for each restaurant. Then click on the link that says "Some Dining Plans Accepted." A pop-up chart should appear that will indicate the number of meal credits required if the restaurant accepts dining plans.
Jane, we received our viewing area tickets at some point during the dining experience. Be sure to pay attention to the recommended return time. For the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, the viewing area is spectacular but know that it takes a while for the parade to get to the viewing location. In the July heat, we baked. Thankfully, I had an umbrella that I used for shade until the parade got to us!
Magic, memories and Minnie Mouse hugs,
Donyell