Disney Dining Plan

For the first part of our Disney World trip, I had a package which included a free quick-service dining plan. This plan included two quick service meals and one snack for each night of my stay, plus a refillable mug for the length of stay (actually valid for 14 calendar days regardless of how long the stay is).

The refillable mug could only be used at hotels, although it could be used at any hotel (not just the one I was staying at). I mainly used it for coffee and Powerade.

Each quick service meal included a main meal, dessert and drink (except at breakfast, where dessert is not included). According to the official brochure, the dessert and drink can now be substituted for any item that is a snack credit, but when I went in September it seemed like cashiers had not been trained on this change. The cashiers were generally happy to substitute a snack (e.g., a side) for the dessert, but I never found one that was willing to substitute a snack for the drink.

At most locations the drink could be anything that was non-alcoholic and did not come in a souvenir cup (however, if a drink was advertised in a souvenir cup, you could always get it in a regular cup instead). Examples of drinks I was able to get included iced coffees, bottled juice and slushies. The only exception I came across was at Wolfgang Puck Express (which is not owned by Disney), where bottled drinks were excluded.

A huge range of foods were available for a snack credit, although it wasn't always predictable which items would be eligible. For the most part anything under $5 was available for a snack credit, although I had a couple of snacks that were slightly over $5. My general rule of thumb was to save my credits for snacks $4 and over, and pay out of pocket for anything cheaper.

I tend to be a grazer, so although the total amount of food available on the quick-service plan was probably enough for me, I couldn't manage only eating 3 times in a day. In addition, you generally don't get good value out of either a quick-service credit or a snack credit at breakfast time. It was a little easier when I was with my brother and we were able to split meals. In general though, I tried to choose drinks and desserts that I could save for later (easier at the resort foodcourts than in the park) and I bought a few extra snacks (which overall cost me about $2 per day).

Most days I ate breakfast in my room (consisting of leftover desserts and snacks bought out of pocket). I usually had an early lunch using a quick service credit, then used my snack credit for afternoon tea before using another quick service credit for dinner. I always had a drink bottle with me which I refilled from water fountains, and I usually also carried around a zip lock bag of trail mix to nibble on if I got hungry between planned meals.

Paying out of pocket for the dining plan would have cost $42 per night. I probably ended up getting about $42 worth of food each day; it would be easy to get more than $42 by choosing the most expensive items on the menu at each restaurant. However, if I had been paying out of pocket I rarely would have bought a drink and often wouldn't have bought dessert; at some places I would have chosen cheaper entrees or even bought a kid's meal. In other words, I easily could have eaten for less than $42 a day.

On the other hand, having the dining plan gave me the opportunity to try lots of food that I otherwise would have dismissed as too expensive, without having to feel guilty about it. And since I had free dining, it only really cost me about $12 a night (the amount I would have saved if I had chosen a room-only discount instead). I would definitely choose the free dining option again, but I wouldn't  pay for the dining plan out of pocket.