It's great to see you here today at the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Doug!
I love using the
Disney Dining Plan when I'm on vacation at Walt Disney World Resort, and one of my favorite things about it is how easy and seamless it is. My family and I can simply choose what we want to eat off of the menu, tap our
MagicBands, and enjoy the peace of mind of everything already being paid for in advance. Plus, we usually save a bit of money when we use it too, which might be my husband's favorite part.
Your Dining Plan credits will be activated when you check in to your
Resort Hotel at 3 p.m., but if you're arriving earlier than that and want to use some of those credits for lunch you will need to check-in online and use
Direct-to-Room Service. Right now, you can use
My Disney Experience to enter some of your check-in information like your credit card number and any room preferences, and you can usually bypass the
Front Desk altogether when you arrive. You'll get access to your Dining Plan credits and you'll receive a text and a notification from the
My Disney Experience app when your room is ready so you can head straight there and tap your MagicBand to get in. If you used
Disney's Magical Express that day, your bags may even be waiting inside when you come back! Online check-in with Direct-to-Room Service is one of my favorite ways to get the magic started as soon as possible.
I hope this answers your question, Doug, and please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help you plan your magical vacation!
Jessica