how does the disney dining plan work

[adamlatham smith]

1)I am come to Disney orlando for 20 night and I am using the the middle Disney dining plan.
2)This is my first time using it as the exchange rate from £ to $ is that bad
3)How will this work and also what sort of things Will this cover in the theme parks , water parks and and my resort at all-star music

 

[sharonabe]

1)I am come to Disney orlando for 20 night and I am using the the middle Disney dining plan.
2)This is my first time using it as the exchange rate from £ to $ is that bad
3)How will this work and also what sort of things Will this cover in the theme parks , water parks and and my resort at all-star music

You will have 20 Table Service (TS) credits, 20 Quick Service (QS) credits, and 40 snack credits.

The TS credits are used at a restaurant where you are seated by a cast member (CM), then another CM comes to your table to take your order and they bring it to your table. At TS a la carte restaurants you can order an entree, a dessert, and a drink. The drink can be alcohol. Your server will help you understand what might not be available for dining plan (DDP) users. 99% of the time everything in the entree and dessert sections is available. The alcoholic drinks are not as easy as each restaurant decides what they will offer.

The QS credits are used at a place where you line up near a CM sitting/standing near a cash register and place your order. Then you move to the counter, pick up your order, and find a table. All QS meals include an entree and drink, and this can also be alcohol. Most QS entrees are a combo (sandwich and fries for example), but things like a large salad only come with the salad. If you go to either wdwinfo.com or allearsnet.com you can see the menus for all restaurants and this will all make more sense.

Snack credits can be used to purchase anything that has a purple, stylized DD next to it on the menu boards. That symbol tells you it is eligible as a snack credit purchase. You cannot use snack credits at any TS restaurant. Snacks can be found at all QS restaurants and the little kiosks throughout the parks. Again, allearsnet has the menus for these little kiosks as well.

When you arrive ALL your credits are available to you immediately. You could use all 20 QS credits in one day if you wanted, but then you wouldn't have anymore. Once they're gone, they're gone. Your credits are good from the time you check-in until midnight of the day you check-out.

 

[adamlatham smith]

can the snack credit be use at breakfast eg muffins at the resort

 

[sharonabe]

can the snack credit be use at breakfast eg muffins at the resort

Here's a link to All Star Music's breakfast menu: http://allears.net/dining/menu/intermission-food-court/breakfast/
Anything that has that purple logo next to it can be purchased with a snack credit.

I did forget a couple things in the explanation above.

You can also use your TS credits at buffet or all-you-care-to-eat places. You will get the full buffet and an alcoholic drink. You can also use them for dining packages like the Fantasmic and Rivers of Light dining packages.

One thing you need to be aware of is that some TS restaurants cost you 2 TS credits each to eat there. These are called signature restaurants. Here is a pdf that shows those:
http://allears.net/walt-disney-world/wdw-dining/disney-dining-plan-basic/

 

[Pumbaa_]

You also receive a refillable mug that can be used in your resort food court. You can get it at the food court, the cashier will use your dining plan credit.

There are tons of threads here with questions and info. 20 days! Have a great trip!

 

[Huff]

Keep in mind you cannot buy a 20 day park ticket. Maximum is 10 days usable over 14 days. You can add water parks so you can spend some days there and still have the 10 day park tickets for other days. Or do you have an Annual Pass?

You can use quick service most anywhere, theme park, water park, any resort or several places at Disney Springs.

As the water parks do not have any table service plan on using table service credits at night at one of the resorts or Disney Springs on your water park days, or if you get a hopper pass at any of the theme parks.

Snacks can be used for things like muffins, sweets, and many other snack items most anywhere in WDW including your own resort.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Visitors from England (assuming) have different package options than here in the states

 

[tinka-belle]

For the All Star Music food court you would use QS credits and for some items Snack credits. Your credits are good at other Disney owned resorts too, so you could eat at TS or QS at those, as well as TS, QS, and Snacks in the parks. Water parks also have a QS location and some items for Snack credits. Several locations at Disney Springs also accept Dining Plan credits, but not all of them.

 

[dljohn]

Is the dining plan based on the number of park days or resort days? We are staying at Caribbean Beach for 4 nights but our park tickets are for 3 days? So would we get 4 or 3 days worth of dining plan credits? We are doing the middle dining plan.

 

[Pumbaa_]

It is based on number of nights. So if you are staying 6 nights 7 days you will have 6 rounds of credits per person

Has nothing to do w tickets purchased

 

[Bjkandma]

The dining plan is based on nights of your resort stay. For each night of your stay, everyone in your party (age three and up) will be entitled to: one quick service meal (entree and beverage - can be alcoholic if over 21, or speciality drink ), one table service meal: (character buffet, family style dinin g, all you care to eat or one entree, one beverage (same as qs), one dessert. And 2 snacks per day, plus a refillable mug.

While at resort quick service locations since you have the refillable mug, you may use this for your beverage - soda, coffee, tea only) and use the beverage part of your credit for a snack eligible item, or a side item. Not all snacks items are snack credit eligible. You will find a purple and white icon next to eligible items.

Your credits will be pooled together (entire party). The table service credits are divided (adult - age 10+), children (ages 3-9). There currently is not a separation between quick service credits. Disney "rules" state that children must order from the children's menus where available.

Your credits are available to you from day of check in until 11:59 pm on your check out day. You are free to use them as you like, (example: two table service meals one day, next day nothing but snacks, etc). Please know that at regular table service restaurants (not character dining, prix fixe, family style, buffet or all you care to eat) you can definitely share meals. At quick service you could order three adult meals and fed four. You are entitled to number of beverages as credits used. You may pay out of pocket for anything extra you chose.

 

[DrunkJam]

Keep in mind you cannot buy a 20 day park ticket. Maximum is 10 days usable over 14 days. You can add water parks so you can spend some days there and still have the 10 day park tickets for other days. Or do you have an Annual Pass?

You can use quick service most anywhere, theme park, water park, any resort or several places at Disney Springs.

As the water parks do not have any table service plan on using table service credits at night at one of the resorts or Disney Springs on your water park days, or if you get a hopper pass at any of the theme parks.

Snacks can be used for things like muffins, sweets, and many other snack items most anywhere in WDW including your own resort.

The UK package is usually 7 / 14 / 21 continuous days including hopping, all parks and memory maker, so 20 days is no problem.

 

[dljohn]

Can you use your table service at any Disney restaurant or do they all not participate? If not, is there a list of the places that do for table service for 2020?

 

[Bjkandma]

All Disne y restaurants will "probably" participate in the dining plan. No restaurants have recently "not renewed". Every year Disney enters into new contracts with restaurants. Some restaurants are on Disney property, but not Disney owned. (Some in Epcot World Showcase and Disney Springs) They have not finalized a "complete" list of those restaurants and possibly won't until the beginning of 2020.

My suggestion, book All the dining You are interested in. As it gets closer to your vacation, should your interested restaurant not participate, you can cancel up to 24-48 hours before your scheduled reservations.