WDW Dining Guide

Unlike many other theme parks, dining at Walt Disney World can be a culinary experience like none other. With over 100 restaurants on property, there is always something new to try for every flavor palette. And, Disney is great about considerations for all dietary restrictions including vegan, vegetarian, and allergies. This guide will help you sort through Dining at Disney.

A Dining plan allows you the optional ability to purchase your meals in advance creating an “all-inclusive” type vacation where the only expense you have to worry about is souvenirs. Disney offers two dining plan choices:

• Quick Service Option: Each guest receives 2 QS meals and 1 snack per night of stay plus a souvenir rapid refill resort mug to use for unlimited soda, coffee, tea, and other drinks at your and all resorts on property. The refills do NOT work at the theme parks.
  • Guests 10+: $57.01 per night
  • Children 3-9: $23.83 per night
• Disney Dining Plan Option: Each guest receives 1 TS meal, 1 QS meal, and 1 snack per night of stay plus a souvenir rapid refill resort mug to use for unlimited soda, coffee, tea, and other drinks at your resort.
  • Guests 10+: $94.28 per night
  • Children 3-9: $29.69 per night

How Does It Work?

Each guest receives a specific number of meal credits associated with the plan they pick. For example, a guest who purchases the QS plan for a 6-night stay would receive a total of 12 QS credits to be used throughout the duration of their trip. If there are 4 guests, there would be 48 credits on the reservation (2 QS meal per night of stay per guest).

Only guests 10+ can use the 10+ credits and only guests 3-9 can use the 3-9 credits. If the credits are not used during the duration of the trip, they will be lost. Table service credits can be used at table service restaurants only and Quick Service credits at quick service locations only. They cannot be broken apart for use on snacks or lesser categories. Some signature and character dining may require more than one TS credit.

Is it Worth It?

It can be! Here are three examples of how it can be worth it:

• Big Foodies: if you and your family enjoy food and plan to do a lot of dining reservations, the ability to eat at the expansive list of restaurants on property make the dining plan worth it.
• Character Meals: if you plan to do at least one character meal per day, then the dining plan is 100% worth it! Character meals can be some of the most expensive on property and the dining plan is a simple credit.
• All-Inclusive: if you don’t want to have to worry about the pricing of food on the menu and the ability to order anything, regardless of cost, the dining plan is great, because the food is paid for up front, other than tip.

On the other hand, if you don’t eat a lot, plan to visit signature or character dining, or buffets, it may not be worth it. We can work together to decide if you think you want to add this on to your reservation. Keep in mind that if you choose not to use the dining plan, you can expect to pay between $75 and $90 per night per adult and $35 to $50 per night per child for food depending on dietary needs and appetites.

As mentioned above, your dining reservation window opens 60 days before check-in. If you’re on property, you can make all reservations for the duration of your stay. If you’re off property, you can make reservations 1 day at a time, 60 days out. I want to ensure that you get as many of your choices as possible, so here’s what to expect as we get closer to that time:

• At about 70 days before check-in, you will receive an email from me asking which reservations you’d like to make. This will include dining locations as well as other advanced reservation experiences like Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Savvi’s Lightsaber Workshop, the Droid Depot, or Fireworks Dessert Parties.
• You will send me a list of the reservations you’d like to attempt to get.
• Based on my experience, I will take your list and put it in an order of hardest to get to easiest to get, along with other recommendations based on my YEARS of EXPERTISE. I will send this list to you before your reservation day.
• At 6:00am EST, you should be awake, logged into the My Disney Experience App, and you should begin making your reservations in the order I have given you.

Once your reservations are made, you will see them start populating in your My Disney Experience App. Your reservations can be modified at any time in your app and, as mentioned above, you can make modifications or cancellations at any point prior to the cancellation policy period mentioned when you made your reservation.

For Quick Service locations, you can also take advantage of mobile ordering. Most quick service locations allow you to order ahead of time on your MDE app and then indicate when you’ve arrived. This can save you time and frustration of having to wait to order and then having to wait for food to be prepared. Instead, you can:

• Place your order at any point during the day in the app.
• When you’re ready to eat and have arrived at your location click I’M HERE.
• Find a place to sit while your food is being prepared.
• When your food is ready, you’ll receive a notification of which pick-up window to go to. It’s that simple!

While I encourage you to explore all the options available, I know it can also be overwhelming. I have been to Walt Disney World over two dozen times and have eaten at some many locations. I have my favorites, as well as recommendations from others. I’ve assembled this list recommendations based on those YEARS of EXPERTISE. If you have specific needs that this list doesn’t meet, please reach out to me and we can discuss the best options for you and your family. For information on any of the restaurants listed blow, visit Disney World’s Official Dining page to learn more.

All resorts on Disney property will feature dining of some kind. Depending on your resort “type,” you may find:

• Value & Value+ Resorts will feature a food court which is great to get breakfast at in the morning, and lunch and dinner for a quick charge up. Most offer a variety of options like pizza, pasta, burgers, and at least one location themed to the resort. The pizza location is usually open late for a grab and go after a long day in the parks. You’ll also find a lot of grab and go options too.
• Moderate Resorts will feature a food court, but will also have a table service option.
• Deluxe Resorts will also feature a food court, though it may be scaled back, and will typically feature more than one table service and possibly even a Signature option, including a character meal. Options will vary by resort.

All guests, whether you are on site or off site, can enjoy meals at any location. Keep in mind, that unless you are booked at a specific resort, you may not be able to park at that resort unless you have a reservation. The security guards will be able to check that the reservation exists. All guests can use Disney’s complimentary transportation to move freely throughout the entire Walt Disney World Resort complex.