Hi Amanda,
Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel, and thank you for your question. How exciting that you’re approaching your 180-day
dining reservation window! I love that first taste of mapping out my magical vacation, and it’s so exciting to secure those reservations and start anticipating all the fun we’re going to have.
You’re right that a credit card is required to secure reservations, but this is simply a
guarantee, and your card will not be charged unless you fail to show up for your reservation and don’t cancel it before 11:59 p.m. the day before the reservation. I just came back from another amazing Walt Disney World vacation, and my family added the Disney Dining Plan. I provided my credit card to make each reservation, but it was never charged. There were a few occasions where we rescheduled or canceled reservations; in those instances, I made sure to do that more than 24 hours in advance of the reservation, and my credit card was left untouched.
At each restaurant, your server will ask if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, and will be sure your meal is charged to your Disney Dining Plan entitlements. If you are choosing not to charge a particular meal to the Disney Dining Plan, or there are add-on items such as glow cubes that you’d like to pay for, you will just need to let your server know you’d like to pay out of pocket. You’ll then be presented with multiple receipts – one for your dining plan charges and another for your additional charges.
Have fun making your dining reservations, and please come back and see us here on the Disney Parks Moms Panel if you have any more questions as you plan!
Wishing you a magical vacation,
Robyn