Hi Vickie,
Thank you for dropping by planDisney with such a great question!
We were fans of the
Disney Dining Plans as well, but were able to manage our dining quite well on our most recent trip even without a dining plan. I would not say that food is necessarily cheaper in the resorts than in the parks, but I would suggest that you check the menus for pricing at the restaurants you plan to visit.
On our last visit, I estimated all of the prices for the meals we had planned so that I could estimate total food expenses for our trip. If you check the home page of each restaurant, you should see a link that says View Menu. Then, just be sure to select the correct meal period (i.e. breakfast, lunch, or dinner). I even included snacks, taxes, and gratuities in our estimate and was happy to see that we came in just under my calculations.
If you have an
advanced dining reservation, you can certainly dine at a restaurant located in a resort. Be sure to have that dining reservation linked in
My Disney Experience and have the
My Disney Experience Mobile App downloaded on your phone so that you can access that dining reservation should you need to show it to a Cast Member to gain entrance to the resort. On our most recent visit, we were headed to Disney's Rivera Resort for breakfast at Topolino's Terrace - Flavors of the Riviera and Cast Members asked to see our dining reservation confirmation to board the Disney Skyliner.
Keep your eye on the
dining updates since dining location availability could change. And, as soon as your
dining reservation window opens, make those dining reservations. On our last trip we also loved using
Mobile Dine Check-in. We checked in to our dining reservations using the mobile app while walking to the restaurants. And, on a few days, we used
Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering. Just check the pickup times well before you want to eat to get an idea of how early you may need to order.
Vickie, you are visiting at such a beautiful time of year! The holiday decorations are just magical!
Magic and memories,
Donyell