Hi Hannah and welcome to planDisney.
How exciting that you'll be visiting
Walt Disney World this Autumn. My American friends are always super jealous of the fact that when travelling from the UK, we typically stay for two weeks at a time. Two weeks sounds like a long time but believe me, you will definitely not run out of things to see and do during your stay!
October is a great month to visit as the weather has usually cooled off a little compared with the heat of Summer and also because my favourite Special Event -
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will be taking place on select evenings at the Magic Kingdom Park.
Top Tip - My family always plan to visit the Magic Kingdom on a day when Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is being held. Although the theme park closes early to non-party guests (typically at 6pm), we usually find that there are lower crowds on these days compared with non-party days. Just be sure to have another evening pencilled in for a visit to the Magic Kingdom so that you can enjoy the evening there and watch
Happily Ever After of course.
Going back to your question, Hannah, my family are big fans of both the
Quick-Service Dining Plan and
Disney Dining Plan as they're really convenient to use and help us to budget for our trips knowing that the majority of our food is prepaid before we arrive. This means that more of our spending money can then be set aside for other essential purchases such as another pair of mouse ears for my collection!
When using a Dining Plan, Guests ages 3 to 9 must order from a children's menu, where available. If you happen upon a dining location with no children's menu, the child would be able to order from the regular menu (whilst utilising a child's credit) without any issues.
I hope that this has answered your question, Hannah. Please feel free to re-visit us here at planDisney if we can be of any further help with the planning of your trip.
Wishing you a magical holiday filled with memories which will last a lifetime!
Emma