Disney Dining (Part 1)

House of Blues, Disney Springs

When you make your resort reservations, you'll be asked if you want to add the Disney Dining Plan. Here's what you need to know before you answer:

You can pick which plan you want, depending on your budget and needs. The Quick Service Dining, Regular Dining (what is often referred to as the Disney Dining Plan), and Deluxe Dining are the three plans Disney offers. Each one is a different cost and provides a different meal plan.

I'll start with the Quick Service Dining Plan. This one's my least favorite, so I'll get it quickly out of the way. This plan is good if you're on a tight budget or a tight schedule. It would often be a good choice if you have a car and plan on eating off the resort property. 

The Quick Service plan is only good for quick service restaurants. That means, no table service. You stand in line, order from the overhead menu board, wait for your food, then carry it back to an empty table. With this plan, you'll get two meals each day, plus two snacks and a refillable mug (I'll explain that in a bit).

The Regular Dining Plan is the most popular. With this plan, you'll get one quick service meal, one table service meal, two snacks, and a refillable mug. 

The Deluxe Dining Plan is the most expensive, but offers the most in return. There are pros and cons to this plan, as well as to the other ones, that I'll detail in a moment. With this plan, you get three meals of your choosing. They can be any combination of quick service and table service meals. As with the other two plans, you'll also receive two snacks and a refillable mug.

Dining Plan	What’s Included	Cost Per Adult (10 years & older) Per Night	Cost Per Child (3-9 years old) Per Night
Quick Service Dining Plan	2 Quick Service Meals 2 Snacks 1 Refillable Mug	$46.34	$20.18
Regular Service Dining Plan	1 Quick Service Meal 1 Table Service Meal 2 Snacks 1 Refillable Mug	$67.33	$24.22
Deluxe Dining Plan	3 Meals, any combination of     Quick Service or Table 2 Snacks 1 Refillable Mug	$103.57	$37.62

(These are the costs for 2017. They are subject to change)

Now...about those refillable mugs. At first, this might not look like much, but it can be BIG money saver! Each person on a meal plan will receive a Disney refillable mug. Just go to the resort gift shop and scan your Magic Band to get it for free. This is a souvenir cup that costs close to $20! (They were $16.95 when we were at WDW this past summer). But not only are you saving that money (times however many people are in your party), you'll also be allowed to fill them free at the resort quick service locations. No paying for soda or coffee when you or your kids get thirsty (which happens A LOT during those summer months!). Most of the soda machines offer a fruit punch selection, too, so no need to worry about too much soda. But that, alone, can save you tons on the cost of soda machine drinks! And you can refill it as many times as you like. Only caveat here is that they can only be used at the resort quick service locations. They cannot be used in the parks or at Disney Springs.

But how do you know which plan is best for you? Stay tuned, because I'll try to help you decide in Disney Dining (part 2).