Hi there, Angela! Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel!
The
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan is my favorite dining plan. I love the flexibility it offers with so many Table-Service meal entitlements!
The three most important words for maximizing your dining plan are Advance Dining Reservations! Using your Table-Service meal entitlements at
Table-Service locations is key, and you will want to have your reservations set in advance. While you can use your meal entitlements at Quick-Service restaurants, you don't get as much value this way, so I try not to make this switch myself.
One strategy my family and I like to do is to use our snack entitlements for one of our meals each day. A piece of fruit, pastry, yogurt, etc. is a great option for breakfast, followed by a Table-Service restaurant (one meal entitlement) for lunch, then a Fine/Signature restaurant (two meal entitlements) in the evening. This would also be a great way to dine at Cinderella's Royal Table since that restaurant takes two meal entitlements as well. When we go during Epcot festivals, we like to choose an early Character Dining breakfast in the morning, use our snack entitlements at the festival food kiosks for lunch, then dine at a Fine/Signature restaurant that night.
Another option is to simply dine at a Table-Service meal for each meal of the day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are a lot of options at the theme parks and Disney Springs, so you can choose a variety of cuisines for each day of your trip and never have to feel like the meals are repetitive. It's one of the great things about dining at the Walt Disney World Resort!
I hope this helps with planning your trip, Angela! Please visit us again with any other questions you may have!
Tabitha