Hello there Kirsty,
Welcome to planDisney! Thanks for bringing your fun Disney World planning question to us today. We're always happy to help with the pixie-dust details!
You do NOT need to check in online before being allowed to make
advance dining reservations, 60 days prior to your arrival date. When making a dining reservation, it will ask you to enter a credit card for holding the reservation. But you are not required to have any dining plan credits in your account at that point.
Dining credits will come into play once you arrive for your Disney vacation! If eating at a quick-service location, you can use your credits when ordering - either by presenting your My Disney Experience app (a nifty feature called
MagicMobile), or with a MagicBand. When dining at a table service location, just tell your server you are using dining plan entitlements to pay for your meal and they will credit those on your final check.
It is nice to do online check-in shortly before your arrival at your Disney Resort. Once this has been completed, on your arrival day you will see your dining plan credit show up as available in the
My Disney Experience app under your resort reservation details. Even if you arrive early and your room is not yet ready... you can start using your dining plan credits! My first stop is always to my resort's cafe court to claim my resort-refillable mug and get my first (of many) icy Diet Coke fills. Woo hoo!
I'd like to make just one dining recommendation, as it's my family's absolute favorite spot that we go to every single Disney vacation:
'Ohana. This is a convenient and fun monorail ride away from Magic Kingdom, is located at the gorgeous Polynesian Resort, and serves absolutely delicious food. These reservations fill up fast, so grab one for your party as soon as your reservation window opens!
Kirsty, I hope this helps you with your plans. Please
reach out to me again at planDisney if I can provide any other tips or answers for your magical vacation.
Wishing you a wonderful visit to Disney World!
Tami