Hi Joan!
Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! We are delighted that you brought this question about the
Disney Dining Plans to us!
I loved those PDF lists of participating restaurants when we had access to them! Now, to make sure we all have the most up-to-date information, we use the
Restaurant List on the Walt Disney World website and filter by restaurants that accept a dining plan using the drop-down menu with the link "Dining Plans Accepted." You can then use the drop-down menu with "All Parks & Resorts" to filter by location. This most up-to-date list is best because, although it does not happen often, there could be changes mid-year. I remember when Be Our Guest Restaurant changed from requiring one table-service entitlement to requiring two for dinner. It happened just before one of our trips and we were so excited to get to try the new experience. Had I been using a previously printed PDF document; I might have been working with inaccurate information. So, I always suggest to guests to use the website and filter to narrow your location and type of dining plan!
You can also check the most-up-to-date information about meal entitlements on each restaurant's website. From the restaurant's home page, click on the link "Some Dining Plans Accepted" if that link is available. A pop-up menu should appear that depicts the number and type of meal entitlements for each dining period. Prior to our trips, I always create a chart that maps out our dining experiences for each day and lists the number of meal entitlements we will use at each meal. Doing so helps me to ensure that we do not run out of meal entitlements prior to our last day!
Joan, since it sounds like you are busy making dining plans, I do hope you make some
advanced dining reservations with character experiences. My girls still love some of those even though they are older now! We also do a few signature dining experiences when we are using the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. Our girls adore Cinderella's Royal Table, Be Our Guest Restaurant, and California Grill all of which currently require two table-service entitlements for dinner. We love watching the Happily Ever Fireworks show from
California Grill - it is absolutely our favorite way to celebrate being at the Walt Disney World Resort!
Magic and memories,
Donyell