One of the many questions we see new visitors to Walt Disney World ask on social media is: “How do the dining plans work?” This question is inevitably followed by arguments about whether the plans are worth it or not and rarely address the question that was asked. My family LOVES getting a dining plan simply because when we have one, we don’t need to budget cash for food during our trip because it’s all been paid for in advance, and we don’t have to worry about what we’re ordering while we’re on vacation for fear that it will break our budget. HOWEVER, there are some cases in which getting a dining plan doesn’t make financial sense…such as when a child reaches the age of 10 and is then charged the adult price for the plan, yet still eats the same amount as a child (my family currently fits this description). If you are budget-conscious, make sure you check out our post on getting the most bang for your buck with a dining plan.
Here’s how the plans work…
You select a dining plan (The Quick-Service plan, The Disney Dining plan, or the Deluxe Dining plan). These can be added to your vacation package at any time prior to your trip – or even DURING your trip should you decide you’d like to get one while you’re already at Walt Disney World.
Each member of your group over the age of 3 will be assigned meal credits equal to the amount of nights you are staying in a Disney Resort. So, if you are staying for 6 nights (or have 6 nights remaining for your trip), you’ll each get 6 times the daily allotment of meal credits (please see the individual plan links for each plan’s allotment). Each member of your group over the age of 3 also receives a free resort-refillable mug that is good for the length of your stay that is regularly priced at $18.99.
Your meal credits are linked to your magic bands, so when you’re ready to use some, just inform the person taking your order (or seating you) that you’ll be using a dining plan to pay for the meal. They will scan your magic band, you sign for the bill at the end, and that’s it! Easy peasy!
There are Some Rules
- You MUST be staying in a Disney Resort that is on Disney property – not one of the Good Neighbor resorts.
- The Dining Plan must be purchased for the duration of your stay.
- The Dining Plan must be purchased for everyone in your party who is 3 years of age or older. (Children under 3 may eat off of an adult’s plate, or you may pay for their meal out of pocket.) Children ages 10 and over will be charged as adults for the dining plans.
- You may convert 1 Quick Service meal credit into 3 snack credits at most Quick-Service locations (excluding carts and kiosks), but only if all 3 snacks qualify for the dining plan and are all purchased at once.
- Trading Snack credits for meal credits is not permitted.
- Meal credits expire on midnight of the day you check-out of your resort (meaning that you may use credits up until midnight AFTER you check-out).
- Gratuity is NOT included on the Dining Plans unless otherwise noted. For parties of 6 or more, 18% gratuity is automatically added.
There are some very clever ways to get the most out of your dining plan, most of which the post mentioned above will cover, but keep your eyes peeled because we’ll be adding more details in the future.
For special dietary requests, Guests should note them at the time of booking their dining reservations. Guests may also speak with a chef or manager upon arrival at the dining location.
