Hi Deborah,
I am so glad that you stopped by planDisney with your question. The
winter holidays at Walt Disney World are truly magical! The theme parks and resorts are so beautifully decorated.
I am happy to help you consider how to plan your
dining while at Walt Disney World. My family generally does not purchase a dining plan, so we have lots of experience in how to do this. We found that planning without a dining plan gives us lots of flexibility in where, when, and how much to eat!
We typically start by choosing one meal a day as a
table service meal. This will be our sit down meal for the day. We know that this is the meal of the day that will take us some time, and at which we can relax and recharge. If we are visiting a theme park during the day, we often choose for this to be a late lunch, such as a stop at
The Plaza Restaurant at Magic Kingdom for an amazing chicken sandwich and a milkshake. Other days, we decide to save our sit down meal for later in the day and enjoy dinner at our Disney resort hotel. For example, we love the flavors at
Sanaa at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village. Sanaa offers African fare with Indian influences, and we find the food to be delicious. I suggest that you make these
table service dining reservations as soon as you can, which currently is 60 days ahead.
Once we have chosen our sit down meal for the day, we will have the other meals at
quick service locations. These locations tend to offer quicker dining experiences than table service locations. My family finds that having at least one quick service meal per day keeps us moving. There are some amazing locations for quick service dining at Walt Disney World, including
Sunshine Seasons at EPCOT, which offers meals made with ingredients from the greenhouses in The Land Pavilion! When you are having a quick service meal, consider using
Mobile Ordering to order your meals ahead of time. You can access Mobile Ordering on the
My Disney Experience App.
My family will often share meals when at Walt Disney World. We love this flexibility. If a couple of us are not too hungry, we will share with each other. We often find that two meals are plenty for the three people in our family!
Another tip, if you are used to paying ahead for a dining plan, is to take the money that you would use for a dining plan and use it to buy Disney gift cards. Then you can use the Disney gift cards to pay for your meals. This way, the meals are prepaid just like your dining plan was!
I hope that these thoughts are helpful for you, Deborah. If you have further questions about dining or other aspects of planning your Disney vacation, please feel free to come back to planDisney!
~ Mona Leigh