Hi Nicole!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Thank you for bringing this delectable dining plan question to us!
Dining plan decisions can be tough. My girls are about the same age and, honestly, I would do the
Disney Dining Plan. Although the
Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan is a good value, my girls enjoy the variety of options (especially for vegetarians) at table-service restaurants and, even if they do not eat a lot, they love the grown-up experience. Since one of my girls has significant food allergies, we love that at table-service restaurants, the chef typically comes to speak with her about the menu options!
A few of our favorite table-service restaurants include
'Ohana (dinner),
Coral Reef Restaurant,
50's Prime Time Café, and
Yak & Yeti™ Restaurant. When using the Disney Dining Plan, we typically bring snacks from home for breakfast (i.e. granola bars) and then we use a quick-service meal entitlement for lunch and a table-service meal entitlement for dinner. Having a table-service meal each day can be especially delightful in the summer (to escape the blazing temperatures) or to simply relax for a bit. And, this may be hard to believe, but a few of our favorite meals are character experiences. We love
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall for breakfast. It is a must-do for every trip!
Having said that, do what is best for your budget and your family's style of vacationing. Be sure to make those
advanced dining reservations even at
Be Our Guest Restaurant if dining there for breakfast or lunch (quick-service). On a day when Magic Kingdom opens at 9:00 a.m., we love to do an 8:00 a.m. breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest Restaurant,
order our food before we arrive, finish dining by 8:45 a.m. and jump in the standby line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!
Nicole, sending you pixie dust as you choose a dining plan!
Magic and memories,
Donyell