Hi Holly,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! I am delighted that you brought this delicious dining plan question to us!
My family loves the
Deluxe Dining Plan because we can enjoy such a variety of dining experiences on the plan. My girls have been allowed to select an appetizer off the adult menu on prior visits. Just be careful, however. At one meal, they selected a cheese tray but they are not accustomed to gourmet cheese so they were surprised! Having said that, it was a lovely experience watching them broaden their food horizon.
Remember also that, on the deluxe dining plan, appetizers only come with lunch or dinner. Cast members who served us have been very helpful in explaining what we can and cannot count towards our meal credits. I suggest you speak with your server when you arrive at each restaurant to verify what substitutions she or he can make.
We typically do at least two signature meals while on the deluxe plan. To make sure we do not exhaust our meal credits before our last day at the resort, I calculate the number of meal credits it will take us to eat and compare that to the number of meal credits we receive per nights of stay. So, for a six night stay, each person 3-years old and over will receive 18 meals.
I also remind guests to remember the additional tips if you plan to eat at more table-service restaurants. On our last family trip, we only ate at one or two quick-service restaurants and we paid about $300 in tips.
Be sure to make
Dining Reservations 180 days in advance. Restaurants fill quickly!
Have a deliciously magical time!
-Donyell