It's great to see you here today at the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Theresa!
There are a lot of reasons why I love using the
Disney Dining Plan when I'm on vacation at Walt Disney World Resort, and one of the reasons my family keeps coming back to it is because we love the flexibility it offers. If one of your kids would rather share from your plate instead of order their own meal, that's totally fine. My husband and I are real foodies who love to try everything, so we'll frequently order a bunch of appetizers and then use a Table-Service credit to order an entrée and a dessert to split. There are so many different ways to use the Dining Plan and it really is flexible enough for everyone to easily find a way for it to work for them.
There are some instances where everyone will need to redeem the required number of Table-Service credits, like if you're eating at a
buffet or family-style meal, a
Character Dining experience, or a dinner show like
Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at
The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort. If you make a reservation at a restaurant like this, everyone in your party age three and over will need to use Dining Plan credits or pay the listed price for their meal.
One of the pieces of advice I always like to give when it comes to the Disney Dining Plan is this: those credits are already bought and paid for, so skipping out on meals is not going to save you any money. Take a little time before you leave for your vacation to make sure that you plan out how you're going to use your credits so you make sure that you use every single one of them before you go home. No Dining Plan credit left behind!
Have a magical day, Theresa!
Jessica