Hi Allison,
Let me be one of the first to say "Welcome home!" to Disney Vacation Club. You have many years of magical vacations ahead of you!
One of the great perks to being a Disney Vacation Club member is the ability to add Disney Dining Plans to our Disney Vacation Club resort reservations when we use our Disney Vacation Club vacation points. The free Disney Dining Plan offer from Disney has been offered as a package, where guests receive free Disney Dining Plan when they also purchase resort reservations and theme park tickets. Since Disney Vacation Club guests are not purchasing a package, we do not qualify for the free Dining plan offer. Of course, you could decide to book this vacation using cash or a credit card, and bank your vacation points for next year. Then you would be able to take advantage of the free dining plan offer.
As to which plan to add for your family, I think that is quite unique for each family. I suggest that you review the
information on the different Disney Dining plans to choose which is right for you. From the website that I linked, you can download brochures with information on the various plans. When you add to a Disney Vacation Club reservation, you have the option to add the Quick-Service Dining Plan, Dining Plan, or Deluxe Dining Plan. If you think that your family will want to grab-and-go with food on the run most often, the Quick-Service Dining Plan may be right for you. If you are interested in doing more table service meals, including more signature dining, you might want to look into the Deluxe Dining Plan.
I hope that these thoughts are helpful for you in making your decision, Allison. Have a great time planning your first Disney Vacation Club vacation, and please do not hesitate to ask if you have any further questions.