Disney Dining Plan Ultimate Guide

Last Updated on June 6, 2023

Using the Disney Dining Plan for your Walt Disney World vacation or are wondering, “is the Disney Dining Plan worth it?” You’ll want to read these comprehensive articles we’ve written about the divisive Walt Disney World meal plan options.

In this post, I will share everything you need to know about the Disney Dining Plan including what’s included, the cost, and recent updates that allow for much more flexibility.

What is the Disney Dining Plan?

The Disney Dining Plan is a prepaid meal plan for restaurants on the Walt Disney World Resort property.

You can buy a pre-set amount of meals and snacks ahead of time for each traveling person, per night.

The amount of meals and snacks you receive in each plan depends on the type of plan you choose. Each type of meal or snack can be redeemed using a credit from your meal plan.

Who Can Use The Disney Dining Plan?

Disney Dining Plans can be used by guests staying at any Walt Disney World resort hotel. They can be purchased as part of a package that includes your room, park ticket, and dining, or included as part of a Free Dining Plan Package

Disney Dining Plan Cost

How Much Does The Disney Dining Plan Cost?

The cost (including tax) of the Disney Dining Plan for each night of your stay is:

Quick Service Dining Plan: $57.00/adult and $24.00/child age 3 to 9.

Disney Dining Plan: $94.00/adult and $30.00/child age 3 to 9.

Pick the best option for your family

With the Disney Dining Plan you can enjoy the following (per person, per package night) from participating Walt Disney World Resort restaurants:

Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan

Quick-Service locations are a great place to stop and enjoy a casual meal. When it’s time to grab a bite to eat—just order at a counter or register and then find a seat. No need to make dining reservations.

Two quick-service meals, Two snacks, One Resort refillable drink mug per person, per package

View Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan Details

Disney Dining Plan

One table service or buffet meal, One quick service meal, Beverage options included with all meals, one snacks, One Resort refillable drink mug per person, per package

View Disney Dining Plan Details

Disney Dining Plan Plus

Includes 2 meal credits to use any way you like along with 2 snack credits per day! That means you can enjoy dining at any combination of quick service or table service restaurants

view Disney Dining Plan Plus

Disney Deluxe Dining Plan

Three table service or quick service meals, Beverage options included with all meals,  two snacks, One Resort refillable drink mug per person, per package

View Disney Deluxe Dining Plan Details

Mobile Ordering

Launched within the My Disney Experience app, Mobile Order allows guests to pre-order and pre-pay for their food at participating Counter Service Restaurants around Walt Disney World. Upon arrival at the restaurant, guests using Mobile Order can then bypass the ordering queue and go straight to a designated Pick Up Counter to get their food.

View Mobile Ordering guide.

How to get a dining plan at Disney World?

It may be possible to add a Disney Dining Plan to an existing hotel reservation at Disney World, although it likely will require additional costs. Guests should call Disney’s reservations team at 800-169-0730 to discuss the options.

Book a vacation package

Simply choose a Disney resort package with a Disney dining plan.

Add to an existing reservation

Modify or upgrade your current reservation to something that includes the Disney Dining Plan. It may not be possible to add a meal plan if you booked the vacation through an outside company or discount travel site. Be prepared to state which Dining Plan you want to add to your vacation when calling

How to use your dining plan

Choose a Restaurant

Each dining plan offers a wide variety of participating restaurants.

Redeem meals and snacks using your Magic Band at dining locations.

Track It

There are 3 easy ways to track your dining plan entitlements.

• Use the My Disney Experience app
• Check your most recent dining receipt
• Visit the Resort Concierge or Guest Relations and ask about your remaining entitlements

How to Track Via the App

To track your dining plan entitlements via the My Disney Experience app, visit the “My Resort Stay” section of the app. Then, select “Check Dining Plan” to view the status of your dining plan entitlements—total issued, already redeemed and still available.

Redeeming credits on the Disney Dining Plan

The Walt Disney Dining Plan provides you with a set number of credits to redeem for counter service, table service, signature dining, and snacks. The credit can be stored on your MagicBand and receipt is provided after each redemption.

How Do I Get a Dining Plan for Free?

You may have heard of Disney’s wildly popular “Free Dining” promotion. For this offer, guests pay the regular, non-discounted rate for their hotel stay and park tickets, but get one of the dining plans at no additional cost.

A free dining package usually requires booking a minimum three-night stay and purchasing a minimum of 4-day “Park Hopper” tickets for everyone in your travel party. 

You can read everything you need to know about Disney free dining in this post.

Disney Dining Plan Two Table Service Credit Restaurants

Some dining locations at Disney World require two table service credits on the Disney Dining Plan.

Here is a master list of those places and where they are located:

• Cinderella’s Royal Table – Magic Kingdom
• Be Our Guest (dinner only) – Magic Kingdom
• Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue – For Wilderness
• Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show – Polynesian Resort
• The Hollywood Brown Derby – Hollywood Studios
• Tiffins – Animal Kingdom
• Le Cellier – Epcot
• Monsieur Paul – Epcot
• Jiko – Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Flying Fish – Boardwalk Resort
• California Grill – Contemporary Resort
• Citricos – Grand Floridian Resort
• Narcoossee’s – Grand Floridian Resort
• Yachtsman Steakhouse – Yacht Club Resort
• Morimoto Asia – Disney Springs
• Paddlefish – Disney Springs
• STK Orlando – Disney Springs
• The Boathouse – Disney Springs

Disney Dining Plan Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get the Disney Dining Plan if I buy my park tickets from an authorized reseller?

No. You have to buy all three components as a package: room, Dining Plan, and park tickets. Packages purchased from an authorized Disney Travel Agent may have Disney Dining Plan options. Be sure they are able to do this before booking with them.

Can I decide to get the Dining Plan after I’ve arrived at Walt Disney World?

No. The Disney Dining Plan must be added to your reservation prior to arriving at Walt Disney World. Your Disney Dining Plan must be purchased for the entire length of your stay and for the entire party (ages 3 and up).

How are my credits are calculated?

Dining Plan credits are allotted based on the number of NIGHTS of your stay. For example, a 4-Day Disney Quick Service Dining package will offer each guest on the reservation 8 quick-service meals and 8 snacks or Nonalcoholic beverages. These can be used in any shape or form as long as they are used before midnight of checkout day. This means you are welcome to use the rest of your credits after you have packed your things, before heading to the airport.

Why are my credits based on nights of my stay, and not days?

It is rare that a guest will arrive in the morning of check-in and leave in the evening of checkout. By allocating based on nights, Disney is assuming guests will have eaten before arriving and will eat once they have left, thereby putting 2 half days together into one set of Two quick-service meals and two snacks.

How do I know where I can eat on the Disney Dining Plan?

When you check in to your hotel, you will be given a brochure that lists all your dining options. It can be helpful to know this information in advance so that you can make dining reservations. You can now eat almost anywhere on property using the dining plan, but refer to our handy guide for more details;  Participating Walt Disney World Dining Plan Restaurants

Can you purchase a Disney Dining plan by itself?

The Disney Dining Plan must be purchased as part of a Magic Your Way package which includes your Disney hotel stay, theme park tickets, and the Dining Plan unless you are a DVC member or AP holder. 

How do I feed my 2-year-old?

Children under age three can “eat from your plate” for free. At buffet and family-style, this simply means they are free, but they are given their own plate. At a menu restaurant, they will literally be sharing your meal, though you can ask for an extra plate to serve it on. If this isn’t practical for your family, you are able to purchase a kid’s menu dish for the little one out of pocket.

What is a two-credit meal?

Some of Disney’s dining experiences are called “signature dining.” They are special, fancy, or just plain expensive. If you’re on the regular or deluxe dining plan and want to dine at a signature restaurant you will need to spend two table service dining plan credits per meal.

The two-credit dining experiences are: Cinderella’s Royal Table, Jiko, Flying Fish, California Grill, Citricos, Narcoossee’s, Artist Point, Yachtsman Steakhouse, LeCellier Steakhouse, Monsieur Paul, Hollywood Brown Derby, Wolfgang Puck Dining Room, The BOATHOUSE, Tiffins, and Morimoto Asia.

The three Dinner Shows at Disney World also require two-credits: Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, The Spirit of Aloha, and Mickey’s Backyard BBQ.

At a two-credit meal, can I pay for it using one meal credit plus some cash?

No. Unlike Disneyland Paris, meals must be paid for using either all credits or all cash.

Can I divide quick service credits to make snack credits?

Yes. Quick Service credits can be traded for three snacks at participating quick-service locations as long as it happens all in the same transaction.

We’re dining with friends who are not on the Dining Plan and we have extra meal credits. Can I buy them a meal using my dining plan credits?

Yes. You can spend your credits on whomever you choose.

What’s going on with in-room pizza delivery?

In-room pizza delivery is available at Disney’s value and moderate resorts. A pizza delivery consists of two single-serve, non-alcoholic beverages, two desserts, and one full-sized pizza. Two adult table service meals credits will be deducted from your party’s account for each pizza delivery.

Can you use the Disney Dining Plan for Room Service?

Yes. In-room dining (room service) is available at Disney’s deluxe resorts.

Can children (ages 3-9) on the Dining Plan order from the adult menu?

No. Children must order from the child’s menu.

I’m splitting my stay between two Disney hotels. How does this impact my Disney Dining Plan use?

It’s quite common for Disney guests to divide their visit between two hotels. There are Dining Plan ramifications to doing this. Each hotel stay will be treated as an entirely separate package. This means that at midnight on the day you check out of hotel A, your dining plan credits expire for that part of your stay.

Even if you’re continuing on at WDW, you can’t continue to use credits from your hotel A stay after you’ve moved on to hotel B. This may or may not matter to you, but it does mean you need to be vigilant about managing your credit use.

How is the Disney Dining Plan different from the Tables in Wonderland card?

The Disney Dining Plan is a method of pre-paying for Disney food. The Tables in Wonderland (TiW) Card is a dining discount program.

Know your family, know your situation and be knowledgeable about the three dates:

• 180 days to start booking your advanced dining reservations
• 60 days for FastPass+ reservations because you’re staying at a Disney Resort and
• 7 days out to make your final decision on the Dining Plan

View Disney Dining Landing Page

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