Hi there, Alexanne!
Welcome back to the Moms Panel and CONGRATULATIONS on your decision to purchase the Disney Dining Plan! I think that is one of the easiest ways to regulate your food budget for your vacation.
You could definitely use a Quick Service credit for lunch and a Table Service credit for dinner while paying out-of-pocket for breakfast. When my family has used the
Dining Plan, we brought in groceries for breakfast to save money. If you're flying in and won't have a rental car, you can use one of my favorite grocery delivery services like GardenGrocer.com who will deliver your groceries right to your Resort hotel. Their prices are very affordable too! I've always found that with our family of 4, having milk, cereal, instant oatmeal, yogurt, fresh fruit, and some pastries in our room was a much less expensive way to have breakfast while vacationing. We always like to use our snack credits for a Mickey Bar in the afternoon. Another great way to use those snack credits is at Epcot's World Showcase! There are so many fantastic treats there from all around the world.
Also, we'd switch it up every now and then and have a really late [close to 11:00 a.m.] all-you-care-to-enjoy Character breakfast [practically brunch] where we'd basically sleep through breakfast because we'd stayed out REALLY late the night before. Those
Extra Magic Hours are a ton of fun! Then, we'd use our Quick Service credit for dinner and use the snack credit in between somewhere.
I hope that helps, Alexanne! Please let us know if we can help with any other questions you think of as you plan your magical vacation to
The Place Where Dreams Come True!
Have a Pixie Dusted day!
~Jackie