Hello Lisa!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel. I am so excited to hear that you are planning your first Walt Disney World vacation!
You will find that a
Disney Dining Plan can make your visit very convenient. There are several
participating locations, and there is nothing better than not worrying about meals because they are already paid for! With the Disney Dining Plan each member of your party receives 2 snacks, 1 quick-service meal, and 1 table-service meal per night of your stay, as well as a refillable mug that can be used at any Disney Resort hotel.
How you plan on using your entitlements depends on your family habits. My family prefers to eat a light breakfast and then have a hearty lunch. We also prefer to have a light dinner, so this is what we usually do: we eat breakfast at our Disney Resort hotel, and use our refillable mug for drinks and a snack credit for a muffin, Danish, brownie, cookies, oatmeal or other items that require one snack credit. The remaining snack credit we use at the parks. We use our table-service entitlements for lunch and our quick-service entitlements for dinner.
However, certain experiences at table-service locations are only offered at specific meal times. We love to eat at Cape May Cafe because of the characters, but they are currently available during breakfast only. My daughter loves the Beast, and he can be found at Be Our Guest Restaurant at dinnertime. Our favorite menu at 'Ohana is only offered at dinner. I recommend planning which table-service locations you would like to visit, and then deciding if lunch or dinner would be the best meal time for your family.
I hope this helps you while planning, Lisa! Please stop by if you have additional questions!
Best magical wishes,
Thiana