Kim:
My first recommendation when using the Disney dining plan is to choose the basic plan with one table service, counter service, and snack. This way, you enjoy Disney through its dining experiences without it becoming cumbersome. Second, make a tentative itinerary of what parks you want to visit each day. Now, it's time to start thinking about restaurant selections.
With one table service a day, you have about 3 or so restaurants at each park, except for Epcot, from which to choose. Typically, you'll have a Character Meal and/or buffet and a simple menu service. Let the ages of your children decide your choice. if you have children under the age of 9, choosing a Character Meal not only maximizes the value of the dining plan but because most are buffets, allows picky eaters more selections.
Utilizing the selection boxes under
Things to Do/Dining and selecting your park also helps you focus. Because the dining plan takes costs out of the equation, you can concentrate on finding a restaurant that will provide the experience you'd like with the food you will enjoy. For the Disney veteran, consider choosing a restaurant out of the park at one of Disney's resorts. Even if you do not have a car, the monorail can whisk you to many dining locations and at Epcot, exiting out the International Gateway puts you along the path to many Boardwalk restaurants.
Although I will even decide our counter service dining locations ahead of time so we're not eating pizza or hamburgers every day, you can easily make these choices based on your needs once you've entered the parks.
If you have a specific question about a restaurant or want some help narrowing down your choices based on your children's ages, feel free to come back and ask!
Whitney