It's great to see you here today at the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Melinda!
My family and I are huge fans of the
Disney Dining Plan and when we started using it, it really added a whole new dimension to our Walt Disney World Resort vacations. We used to spend all day in the Theme Parks from
Extra Magic Hours all the way through to closing time, but when we began using the Dining Plan we discovered the world-class dining that has since become our favorite part of each of our trips. It also doesn't hurt that it saves us money pretty much every time, so I'm glad to see you're thinking about it for your family too!
At the moment, the only way to add the Dining Plan to your vacation package is to have it for each night of your
Resort Hotel stay, so it's not possible to book it for only part of your trip. The good news is that those Dining Plan credits roll over from day to day and you can use them at any time you want, all the way up to midnight on check-out day! In fact, you have access to all of those credits as soon as you check-in so you can use them at your leisure at any point during your vacation. This is a great opportunity to double up some of those Table-Service credits to enjoy a meal at a great
signature restaurant, like
Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canada Pavilion at
Epcot or
Morimoto Asia at
Disney Springs! This is one of my favorite ways to use my credits, so take a look at some of those menus when you're deciding if the Dining Plan is right for your family.
I hope this answers your question, Melinda, and please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help you plan your magical vacation!
Jessica