Hi Jan,
How exciting to be planning your daughter's first trip to Walt Disney World! I am happy to help you plan this magical vacation.
If you purchase a
Disney Dining Plan, the plan is for the duration of your stay at your Walt Disney World resort hotel. Depending on which dining plan you purchase, the types of allotments will be different; however, all dining plans are per night of your stay. For example, if you stay for six nights, each member of your traveling party will receive six sets of dining allotments. There is not a way on a six-night stay to only purchase a dining plan for four or five nights. For the differences in allotments between the Quick-Service Dining Plan, the Disney Dining Plan, and the Deluxe Dining Plan, download the brochures from the link that I provided.
It still may behoove you to purchase a dining plan. You will receive all of the allotments for your entire trip at the beginning of the trip. You do not have to use specific ones each day. You could decide to eat more meals on a particular day, or you could choose to partake in some Signature Dining meals, which require two table service allotments each. Also, note that dining locations are not all within theme parks. Many are located at Walt Disney World resort hotels or
Disney Springs. You could choose to enjoy these restaurants for an early breakfast or later dinner on a day when you were not going to a Disney theme park.
I hope that these thoughts are helpful for you, Jan! Have a wonderful time planning your vacation, and please do let us know if you have any further questions.