Hi Jill,
Please do not feel overwhelmed, the Disney Parks Moms Panel is here to help you! I know that it feels like there are a lot of decisions to make and advance planning to be done for a Walt Disney World vacation, but trust me, it is worth doing so now so that your vacation itinerary is all in place when you arrive. You are on the right path by thinking about where to have your meals!
As to where to eat, I always base this on where I plan to be for the day. If you are spending the day at Epcot, I would suggest making your dinner reservation at Epcot. If you think that you will be spending the day at Downtown Disney, make your dinner reservation there.
Any day that you chose to dine in a Walt Disney World theme park, you do need theme park admission. If you have less days of theme park admission than days in your stay, I would suggest selecting dinners at Downtown Disney on the days you will not be visiting a theme park. Whether you decide to dine at a Disney theme park, resort, or Downtown Disney, you will still need to figure in travel time. When using Disney transportation, I always leave at least an hour to hour and a half to get from place to place. This will include time waiting for transportation to arrive, as well as time to walk to your dining location within the destination.
Wherever you decide to dine, I suggest that you book your dining reservations soon as you are approaching your vacation. You can do this either by calling Disney Dining at 407-WDW-DINE (407-939-3463) or visiting
Disney Dining online.
I hope that these thoughts are helpful for you, Jill. If there is anything else that we can do to help you in your planning, please do let us know. We on the Disney Parks Moms Panel love helping guests to plan magical vacations!