Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Aisha!
Currently
Disney Dining Plans are only available for purchase to guests who are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have options. A lot of guests view the three plans as a way to have an all-inclusive resort vacation feel, or as a way ‘pre pay’ for their meals so they don’t have to think of food math while enjoying a steak with Cinderella.
A popular ‘DIY Dining Plan’ hack is to buy
Disney Gift Cards with the money you would have spent on an actual dining plan. Disney Gift Cards are accepted at almost every dining experience, from a walk-up food booth at Epcot to a two-entitlement Dinner Show. They can even be used to pay the deposit or the up-front full balance that some reservations require. You can also leave a gratuity from these cards. And my personal favorite, say that you have a balance left over on your last day, you can spend the funds on an extra non-food souvenir!
Disney gift cards are available for purchase in a variety of
collectable designs online. You can find them in various increments at your local grocery store, big box retailer, warehouse club, or drugstore. Pro tip: save the activation receipts for all cards should there be a problem, and take a picture of the codes on the back. This way should you lose a card an effort can be made to restore your unused balance.
I hope you’re getting even more excited about your upcoming Walt Disney World Vacation, Aisha, and We’ll See You Real Soon!
~Kristen