Hi Danielle! Welcome back to planDisney! It's great to hear from you again!
One of my favorite things about the
Walt Disney World Resort are the countless dining options available. Every type of cuisine can be found throughout all four Theme Parks,
Disney Resort Collection Hotels and over at
Disney Springs. My wife and I are very adventurous eaters, so we enjoy trying new restaurants every chance we can get on our trips. We have taken complete advantage of the
Disney Dining Plan on previous vacations and love the simplicity that it brings to our food decisions. As you stated, it takes all of the stress out of figuring out daily food costs and allows you to focus on the fun you are there to have.
Although there has not been any announcement regarding a return of the
Disney Dining Plan, I would encourage you to check periodically over the coming months. A great resource is the Disney Parks Blog to update you on all of the latest news. With that said, I do have an alternative option that may be helpful that I tried out on my most recent trip. I researched menus for the
Advanced Dining Reservations that we had and also
Counter Service locations we were planning on eating at. This gave us an idea of the approximate cost that we would spend throughout our visit. We then purchased
Disney Gift Cards prior to our arrival for the amount we expected to spend. When it came time to pay for each meal, we simply used our Disney Gift Cards for payment. Since the money was already allocated for our meals, it took all the stress out of the payment process.
Danielle, I do realize that the Disney Gift Cards purchased in the UK are not valid for purchases made at the Walt Disney World Resort. You are however able to purchase
Disney Gift Cards in US Dollars online from
shopDisney.com. You will receive a digital copy known as a Disney Gift Card eGift to your email address. My esteemed colleague Jane, a fellow planDisney panelist who resides in the United Kingdom, gave a
detailed answer a few months ago that I encourage you to read.
I hope this alternative that I presented may help you on your October visit. Thanks for stopping by planDisney!
See ya real soon!
Greg