Hello, Christine! Thanks for stopping by planDisney with your question. I can see that your trip to the most magical place on earth is right around the corner, I bet you are getting so excited!
Christine, when it comes to
quick-service dining locations and
mobile ordering, it is up to that location if they will let you still order at the counter or not. I've had mixed experiences at different dining locations throughout Walt Disney World. On my last trip, I had wanted to pay with cash and so I asked many quick-service dining locations but it was not an option. If you are wanting to pay with cash, the recommendation was to go into any of the gift shops around me and purchase a Disney Gift Card. Then when ordering, there is a place to input a Disney Gift Card instead of using the credit card stored on file. For the most part, I would plan on using the mobile orders feature via the
MyDisneyExperience app at most, if not all, quick-service dining locations for your upcoming vacation.
To mobile order, what you are going to need to do is open up the MyDisneyExperience app. Then, you'll want to open up the menu bar by tapping on the three horizontal lines on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Next, you'll tap the "Mobile Food Orders" button. You'll create a new order by selecting a quick-service dining location and an arrival window. This will pull up the menu and you can select what you would like to order. If you need to customize something, you can do it once you've selected a menu item. If the customization that you would like is not available on the app, you can always talk to the Cast Member at the entrance of the quick-service dining location and they may be able to make that happen for you. After you've added all of the menu items you would like to your order, you'll review it, select your payment method and then check out. If you are near the quick service dining location and ready for your food, you'll then want to select the button that says, "I'm Here Prepare My Food". Once your order is ready, you'll receive a push notification with the pickup location for your food. You'll show this to the Cast Member, they'll let you into the dining location to collect your food.
Christine, I would most certainly count on mobile ordering at most quick-service dining locations during your Walt Disney World vacation. If you have any other questions before your trip, please feel free to
come back and ask me. I'm here to help. Have fun!