Hey there, Diannah, and welcome to planDisney! I'm so glad you've dropped in to ask this great question about
dining plans at Walt Disney World Resort. I am a big fan of dining plans for lots of reasons, but mostly because it helps me take advantage of savings and allows me to plan ahead, so that I can stay in the moment while I'm on my vacation! I'm about to give you a lot of information, so hang on to your hat!
When you purchase the dining plan, you'll purchase it for each guest in your
Disney Resort Hotel room for the length of your stay, and the pricing will correspond with each guest's age (kids are priced differently than adults), and each of these people will be listed under your Disney Resort Hotel reservation. When you check in at the Front Desk, you'll be asked which guests should be allowed to have charging privileges. You will set up a PIN to authorize any charges, so make sure it's something everyone can remember! Hotel room and dining plan charges can be made only with a
MagicBand or a Key to the World card, not with the
My Disney Experience Mobile App. If you allow a member of your party to have charging privileges, they will not need to be with you to make a purchase or use a meal or snack from the dining plan.
If members of your party have their own My Disney Experience Account, they'll be able to see everything about your Disney Resort Hotel Reservation. This is actually a great feature - if you click on Resort Hotel within the My Disney Experience App, you'll be able to see all of the remaining meals, snacks, and resort refillable mugs for your room. These will be broken down into kids meals and adult meals, and also by Quick-Service Meals and Table Service Meals.
You'll also be able to see a summary of the past charges, and it will show who made the charge, where it was made, and the amount. This feature in particular was helpful to our group of nine, because we were not always together, and we wanted to be sure we were using the appropriate meals and snacks. Meals and snacks are not separated by person, so you'll need to be mindful about making sure each person is using his or her own correct number of meals and snacks.
I loved using the
Mobile Food & Beverage Order feature of the My Disney Experience App during my recent vacation. I was so thankful that it would prompt me to complete my meal if I happened to forget to add a beverage to my meal, since it's included with my dining plan! I like to place Mobile Orders while I'm in a queue for an attraction, so that I can go straight to get my food without a long wait.
Diannah, I know this was a lot of information, and I hope it is helpful to you as you plan your vacation! Please stop back by planDisney with any other questions you have as you continue to make plans. If you'd like recommendations on where to find great snacks, meals, and beverages, I'm your girl!
Bon appetit!
Jennifer