Food tips
Consider a Deluxe or Plus Dining plan if you want to eat at signature restaurants.
These two dining plans proved too with enough credits to eat at Signature restaurants every day if needed.
When at Whispering Canyon, opt for the bottom milkshakes as your “non-alcoholic beverage.
There’s not better way to truly maximize your meal credit than opting for a milkshake instead of a soda, juice, coffee, or tea.
Be sure to order your Disney Dining Plan before you get to Disney.
The Disney Dining Plan can only be added to your trip reservation prior to your trip (48 hours or more).
If you’re getting a military room rate at any Disney Resort, you can actually get the dining plan too.
In case you didn’t know, in order to get the Disney Dining Plan, you have to buy a Magic Your Way vacation package which consists of your resort room, dining plan, and park tickets (only if you aren’t an annual passholder or Disney Vacation Club member). But if you’re in the military (or reserves, or retired) you can get military Disney tickets for ($180ish) as opposed to anywhere upwards $250). So when booking a Disney room, you can also opt for the dining plan minus tickets.
If you’re a vegetarian or on a plant-based diet, skip the dining plan.
Okay so let’s be clear, the dining plan is truly meant for big eaters who have expensive taste. Unfortunately most vegetarian options are always the cheapest things on the menu. Investing in the dining plan would honestly lead to you losing out on a significant amount of money. So if I were you, I recommend skipping the meal plan and paying out of pocket instead.
Spread out your dining plan credits.
Just because you have 5 days at the parks and 5 table service, quick service, and snack credits, doesn’t mean you have to use it everyday. You can honestly go to a character breakfast in the morning and use 1 credit and then go to a signature dining restaurant for dinner and use 2 credits, all on arrival day. The system is meant to be as flexible as you are.
Bring your own drink when you’re at a quick service or table service restaurant if you have a toddler.
Unless if you’re at a buffet or family style restaurant, you will have to pay for a drink for your young child (3 years old or younger and not on the dining plan).
Share your meal with someone else in your group. Some restaurants actually offer meals that are big enough for 2 people.
If you or someone in your party aren’t big eaters, you can easily get one meal to share, and save that dining credit for another time. Some good quick service restaurants that offer big portions include Cosmic Ray’s (Magic Kingdom) and Flame Tree Barbecue (Animal Kingdom).
You can break up your credit uses. Just because one person in your group eats at a certain restaurant doesn’t mean that you all have to eat there.
You can easily buy a meal from one place, and move on to the next eatery. This is perfect for picky eaters, especially at a place like the World Showcase at Epcot.
Use any remaining snack credits on pre-packaged goods for the trip back home.
You might find yourself on your last day with 3 snack credits, yet no space in your stomach to eat any more. That’s why I recommend you buy some prepackaged goodies like Goofy gummy bears, caramel corn, rice crispy treats, and fudge, just to name a few. These make perfect companions for plane or car ride back home.
