Hi Leslie,
I am personally a huge fan of the
Disney Dining Plan, and typically purchase a plan for most of my Disney vacations. I love starting our trips knowing that all of my family's meals, snacks and drinks throughout our stay have already been purchased and will be accessible to us with a simple tap of our
MagicBands.
Disney offers huge flexibility with three different Disney Dining Plans; the Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan, Disney Dining Plan, and Disney Deluxe Dining Plan, depending on whether your family prefers Quick-Service or Table Service dining options.
Don't forget that all Disney Dining Plans include two snacks per guest 3 years of age and older for each night of your stay as well as a Resort refillable mug which is eligible for unlimited refills of coffee, tea, hot chocolate or fountain drinks from select self-service beverage stations at each Walt Disney World Resort hotel. If you do not have a Disney Dining Plan, the current cost of these mugs are $17.99 each.
Leslie, whether the Disney Dining Plan will provide value to your family will upon your intended dining styles during your vacation. I therefore recommend that you review the online menus for each
Walt Disney World dining location you expect to frequent during your trip and do a rough calculation of what you expect to spend and compare those costs to the Disney Dining Plan best suited to your family's needs. As a general rule, I find that if you have children aged 3-9 years old, and you are planning to do character meals or buffets, you will almost always come out well ahead with the Disney Dining Plan.
Wishing you a most delicious upcoming Disney vacation!
Trish