Top Ten Things to Know About Disney Dining
You’ve booked your trip. You’ve made your deposit. You’ve told your family. Next up – figuring out where you want to eat. Dining at Disney is a unique proposition in that you are able to make dining reservations for its more than 100 restaurants starting at 7am EST, 60 days prior to check-in. This can be a daunting task for first-time visitors. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with the top ten things you need to know when Dining at Walt Disney World. Let’s go!
#10 – Don’t Miss Your 60-Day Window
Let’s start with the obvious – the sooner you make your reservations, the more likely you are to secure the dining you want. This starts at 60 days from check-in if you are an on-property guest. Moreover, as a perk for being an on-property guest, the 60-day window extends the entire length of your stay. This means if you check-in on the 21st and are staying through the 29th, you can make dining reservations through the 29th, 60 days from the 21st, or what is essentially 68 days in advance. This is a great perk to secure those hard-to-get reservations. If you’re staying off Disney property, you can only make reservations 60 days out, one day at a time. Regardless, you must know that certain reservations are extremely difficult to obtain and must be done immediately at the 60-day mark.
#9 – The Difference Between Snack Locations, Quick Service, Table Service, and Signature Restaurants
Before you can make your dining reservations, you need to understand the difference between the types of restaurants at Walt Disney World. When you book with a travel planner like Magical Memories by Casey, you’ll get the inside scoop on all things dining, but here’s a simple explanation:
Snack Locations – these are typically carts or pop-ups that offer quick snacks like ice cream, popcorn, peanuts, or other fun treats. You will walk up to these and queue waiting to be next in line. Cost is minimal and will be $ on the $ to $$$$ cost-scale.
Quick Service (QS) Restaurants – typically quick, counter-service type places to eat that offer your traditional theme-park fare like burgers, fries, sandwiches, tenders, and often even more. These don’t require reservations, can be ordered in the moment at the counter or through mobile-ordering and cost $ to $$ on the cost-scale of $ to $$$$.
Table Service (TS) Restaurants – these are sit-down style restaurants that give you a break to sit down and slow down in your day. These include many character-meal options. Reservations are required or are strongly recommended, and some sell out instantly. Cost can range from $$ to $$$ on the cost scale. These are the reservations you need to make 60 days in advance.
Signature Dining – these are upscale dining experiences that may even require a specialized dress code. Reservations are very difficult to get and must be made immediately. These may include some character meals. The cost is $$$ to $$$$ on the cost-scale. Just like TS restaurants, these are the reservations you need to make 60 days in advance.
#8 – Make a Plan Based on Where You’ll Be
As we’ve discussed in previous articles, Walt Disney World is 40-square miles of property. While it might be tempting to make a reservation at your favorite restaurant at the Polynesian while you’re visiting Animal Kingdom, remember that there is travel time involved. Disney recommends at least 90 minutes to get from location to location. This of course doesn’t factor walking time from the current park you are in or walking time once you arrive at your destination. So, you should make plans for your dining based on where you are currently at or where you plan to be. Look at your overall plan and decide whether you want to eat in-park, or at a surrounding area location. For example, if you’re at the Magic Kingdom, eating at the Contemporary, the Grand Floridian, or the Polynesian is just a simple Monorail ride away. But, if you’re at Hollywood Studios, getting to a resort, even nearby, might be more difficult.
In addition, decide what type of trip this is going to be for you and your family. If you need that time to slow down and regroup, then a TS reservation in the middle of the day makes a ton of sense. But, if you want to avoid any unnecessary slowdowns, then QS locations might be the right pace for you.
A quick note here – many TS restaurants are in resorts around the property. Unless you’re staying at that resort, you will need to plan accordingly for how to get from your current location to that resort. For example, if you’re staying at Art of Animation and have dinner scheduled at Sebastian’s Bistro at the Caribbean Beach resort, you’re a simple Skyline ride away. But, if you’re staying at the All-Star Movies resort, it’s not as easy. In that case, you’d have to rideshare, or take a bus to a theme park and then either bus over to the resort from there OR take other Disney Transportation options like the Skyliner. The key here is, the further away you are from the restaurant, the more you must plan how you’re going to get there.
#7 – Don’t Make Your Reservations in Date Order
I CANNOT express enough how useful having a travel planner is when making reservations. One of the biggest services we provide is making sure you are prepared at 7am on your reservation day to make your reservations. We understand which dining is the most difficult to get and which ones can fall further on the list. We’ll make those decisions before you book your dining to ensure you maximize the chance at getting what you want. There are always harder to obtain reservations than other, and as of this writing here are some of the hardest which should be prioritized first: Space 220 in Epcot, Topolino’s Terrace at the Riveria especially for breakfast, Cinderella’s Royal Table at Magic Kingdom Park, California Grill at the Contemporary, Ohana at the Polynesian, Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian, Cape May Café at Disney’s Beach Club, and Roundup Rodeo BBQ at Hollywood Studios. If these are on your must-do list, you should work to get their reservations booked before all else.
Another quick note here – there are more than just dining reservations that need to be made in advance. Golf, droid building, lightsabers, haircuts, dessert parties, capture your moment photography, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique reservations, and more all open up in advance. This is also typically at 60 days out. But, unlike dining, the reservations open at midnight, 60-days out. So, be prepared to stay up until midnight EST to make these reservations, and then to wake up before 7am to make your dining.
#6 – Have a Budget for Food – But it’s Not as Expensive as You Think
How much should you plan for your food? It truly depends on how much you want to eat. Generally speaking though, I recommend to all my clients to budget $75 per night per adult and $35 per night per child for food. This will go up or down depending on the types of restaurants you want to enjoy but is a good average overall in preparing for your trip. This means for a family of four going for a 6-day, 5-night trip, 2 adults, 2 kids, you’d be looking at around $1100 in food costs. Food is often criticized for being too expensive at Walt Disney World. And, don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely a luxury. But it doesn’t have to be out of budget. In fact, portion sizes are so big that oftentimes, if you have a smaller appetite, you can split your meals. Moreover, at some locations, the cost is roughly the same as you’d pay if you were off property.
#5 – Don’t Overestimate Your Family’s Appetite
Let’s expound on the budget idea. Too many times clients make the mistake that somehow the magic of Disney is going to make their kids magically eat more than they do at home. Or that simply because they’re on vacation, they want to try everything. But, you need to be realistic. If your child is a picky eater at home, he’ll be a picky eater at Disney. If they don’t eat a lot for dinner at your dining room table, no amount of walking or on-ride fun is going to change that at Disney. Disney portions are huge, often double what they should be and it’s not entirely impossible that sharing between two people (even adults) will still fill you up. Also consider that while many restaurants offer dessert, with the amount of snack options available on property, eating a standard dessert at a restaurant will only fill you up more and make you not want to try a snack later. Remember, if you order with the intention of splitting, if you’re still hungry, you can always order more. But you can’t order “less” once you’ve placed your order.
#4 – Eat at Off-Peak Times
Another hot tip when making your reservations, or even more so when visiting a quick service location – go at off–peak times. Everybody gets hungry between 11am to 2pm. If you can schedule to eat your lunch at 10:30 or at 2:30, you’ll beat the crowds. The same is true for dinner – don’t schedule dinner from 5 to 7, but instead, go before 5pm or after 7pm. Often it is easier to get your reservations or you’ll find your QS experience is much less intense.
One quick note here – use mobile ordering for dining that is not Table Service! I mean it, using mobile ordering is super simple. You tell Disney what you want to order, you pay it for, and you click submit on your My Disney Experience App. When you arrive at the restaurant, find a table, click “I’m here,” and the app will notify you when your food is done. Everyone else can stay at the table while one person goes and retrieves the order. It’s a simple way to maintain sanity at Disney while everyone is hungry.
#3 – The Importance of Going With the Flow
It is possible to schedule TOO MUCH! I know that sounds counterintuitive since I’m always talking about planning, but the more you schedule, the more rigid your trip is going to be. I have a simple strategy that I recommend to all clients who work with me, and it may work for you too:
- Eat breakfast at your resort, except for one of your park days where you can explore breakfast either in the park or at another resort.
- Plan for one table service meal per day – breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or, mix it up!
- Enjoy quick service and snack options for the remainder of your meals throughout the day.
- Eat your meals at non-standard times.
- Character meals are great way to meet characters with extended visitation times.
- If you’re going during a special festival like Food and Wine or Flower and Garden, don’t forget the festival food locations are a great and relatively inexpensive way to fill up!
A quick note here – it is completely possible to plan a Disney vacation without ever making a dining reservation. I mean it – Disney offers so many quick service restaurants that you’d never have to eat at a table service restaurant for your entire trip and you’d still have an amazing time. It’s all about what type of trip you want to experience.
#2 – The Pros and Cons of Character Meals
As I mentioned above, character meals are a great way to experience both food and also get extended visitation time with Disney characters. These are scattered throughout Walt Disney World property and include some of the greatest choices for food and experiences on property. One of my personal favorites is Tusker House at Animal Kingdom. Here you can meet Safari Mickey, Safari Donald, Safari Minne, and Safari Goofy, all while enjoying African-inspired food. And like most locations at Walt Disney World, if you have a picky eater there are kid options that are more neutral in taste. I personally recommend the character experiences that utilize a buffet versus regular meals. This allows everybody to eat whatever they wish while waiting for the characters to visit their table. I feel that this is a better value for the amount of money that you are spending vs. a traditional meal.
So, what are the cons? Well, character meals can be more expensive than your regular meals. Like twice as expensive, or in the case of Cinderella’s Royal Table, 3 times as much. It’s important when looking at the cost, you are paying for the convenience factor. You are getting 4 to 5 Disney characters in an intimate setting while also enjoying your meal vs. enjoying a meal only and having to find these character elsewhere in the park, waiting in line, and being shepherded through quickly. As with everything Disney, you are paying for the experience. This is why one or two of these for a week’s long trip is really all you need. Who does your kid want to meet most and then make your choices there.
#1 – The Disney Dining Plan – Is it Worth It?
Before we go, there was much fanfare when Disney announced the return of the Disney Dining Plan for early 2024. The question on everyone’s mind is – is it worth it? After reading through everything I laid out above, I think you know where my answer is going to go – IT DEPENDS. Appetite, budget, experience, type of trip, convenience, agenda, and so much more are going to factor on this option’s value. The Disney Dining Plan is great for those who want an “all inclusive” type vibe. It’s great for those who just don’t want to worry about paying for anything more once they’re there. It’s fabulous for those who plan to maximize cost – character meals for every meal, or plan to order the most expensive items on the menu every time. For those who are foodies and want to be adventurous – yes go for it!
But, if you’re more reserved or if you don’t eat as much or if you plan to keep your meals to simple burgers, fries, tenders, sandwiches or you want a go, go, go, vacation – then the dining plan’s value will be lost on you. For some, the dining plan may end up saving you money, while for others, it will provide more food than you could possibly enjoy and you’ll end up spending more OR you’ll be forced to eat more than you would otherwise.
So What Does All This Mean?
As with all things Disney, there is no easy answer. This is why using a travel planner with an authorized agency is so essential. We can work with you to determine what makes the most sense for you and your family to ensure that you have the absolute best time and never miss out on the experiences you want most. If you’re interested in working with me, I would love to help. Get started at www.caseywooley.com.
Magical Memories by Casey 