Disney Dining Plan 2015 Costs, Facts, and Expert Tips

I am self-proclaimed Dining Plan expert!  I have experienced Disney World with every Dining Plan, and even without one at all! There is a lot of planning and organization involved in making the Dining Plan work (and if it seems too complicated, just email me at Summer@WorldofMagicTravel.com and let me know you need a Travel Specialist, and I will take care of it all for you!)

Costs:

Quick Service Dining

2 quick-service meals
1 snack
1 refillable mug
$41.99 (Anyone 10+) and $16.03 (children 3-9) per night

Basic Dining

1 table-service meal
1 quick-service meal
1 snack
1 refillable mug
$60.04 (Anyone 10+) and $19.23 (children 3-9) per night

Deluxe Dining
3 meals (any combination of table-service and quick-service)
2 snacks
1 refillable mug
$109.53 (Anyone 10+) and  $29.86 (children 3-9) per night

Babies 0-2 years old are free.

• Facts:
  The Disney Dining Plan allows guests to prepay for their meals and snacks before they visit the Walt Disney World Resort. Each plan offers a set number of meal and snack credits that can redeemed in all four of the Disney parks.
• The credits are stored on the MagicBands, and are deducted upon scanning your band when you pay for your meal. You’ll receive a receipt that will tell you how many dining entitlements you have remaining.
• The Quick Service Plan offers two counter service meals (walk up and order) and one snack per person per night of your stay. The Basic Dining offers one counter service, one table service (sit down meal at a nice restaurant, including buffets and character meals) and one snack per person per night of your stay. They both offer a resort refillable mug.
• Since the dining credits don’t have a dollar amount, you can order whatever you want off the menu except alcohol.
• “Free Dining” is the widely popular Disney Parks promotion that is offered periodically throughout the year. Guests wait very impatiently for Free Dining to come available. It can be a huge money saver, especially if you are planning on purchasing the Disney Dining Plan. FREE DINING IS AVAILABLE NOW FOR  MANY FALL 2015 DATES! Ask me for more info on how to get it for your trip!
• The refillable mug is for your resort food court only, not the Parks.

Tips:

If you want character meals, then you definitely want the Disney Dining Plan. They are usually buffets and cost $40-$60 per person out-of-pocket.

Look for the purple and white DDP logo at Quick Service locations, outdoor food cards and merchandise locations for eligible snack items. If you have left-over snack credits, use them for snacks to take on the road.

Don’t waste snack credits on water, just ask for free ice water at QS restaurants or order a bottle of water as your drink with a QS meal and take it with you.

Split snacks, and double your snack credits, as they are usually large enough for at least two kids to share.

Take a few Ziploc bags to save left overs for later. We like to save grapes or bananas from the buffets or the other half of the giant cupcakes you get with QS meals.

Table-Service restaurants, character dining and dinner shows book quickly and the restaurant and seating of your choice may be limited or may not be available during your visit. Make reservations online at disneyworld.com/dining or by calling 407-WDW-DINE up to 180 days prior to your visit for the best options. If you are one of my clients, just tell me what restaurants you want and I will take care of it for you….for free!

You can continue using meals/snacks in any order during your package stay until each person has depleted his/her allotted meals/snacks. For example, if you use all your snacks on the first day, that will leave zero snacks for the remainder of your stay. If you stay 6 nights, you will have 6 snack credits. You are not limited to one per day..

Dinner Shows offer family-style dining with live entertainment show
performances throughout the meal, themed to the Resort setting. These shows take 2 Table Service credits per person, along with Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Guests should notate any special dietary requests at the time of booking their dining reservation. Guests may also speak with a chef or manager upon arrival at the restaurant, this includes allergies.

Your meal usage will be tracked electronically. After you dine, your party’s remaining entitlements for the meal type you just enjoyed (Table-Service, Quick-Service or Snack) will be printed on the receipt. You can also contact your Resort Concierge at any time for your meal plan balance.

An additional form of payment is needed if you add a gratuity and
have not provided a credit card at check-in to charge incidentals and
other expenses to your room.

An 18% gratuity will automatically be added to your bill for parties of
six or more.

Always tell your server or cashier if you want to use a Dining Plan Credit or not. If you just want to buy something with cash, like a beverage, be sure to tell them before you scan your MagicBand. It’s more economical to save a snack credit fo something more expensive than a bottle of juice.

Split meals between kids. My kids are both 7 and they can split a Quick Service Meal.  Example: At Pizza Planet you get a personal 7″ pizza, a tossed salad, a fruit, and a giant cupcake for desert. My kids split the entire meal and use the extra Quick Service credit for another day. They also like to split the Breakfast Platter at the Resort.

Going during Free Dining can save a family of four around $1000 per week on the Basic Plan. I highly recommend it. If you can’t go during Free Dining, you can book during a different Disney Promotion. I always monitor my clients reservations for the best deals.

I hope this makes the Disney Dining Plan easier to understand and that you can maximize your DDP usage on your Disney Vacation. If you need an experienced Travel Specialist to walk you through the fun, yet confusing, process of pricing, booking and planning a Disney Vacation, please email me at Summer@WorldofMagicTravel.com or we can chat on my Facebook Page! Remember, my services are free to you!  Bon Apetit!

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