September 4th, 2024
Dear Readers,
As you already know (or expect), planning a trip to Disney is no walk in the park. You must plan everything at least three months ahead if not sooner. This is the same for Disney food. This means deciding whether or not to get the dining plan AND knowing what to eat and what to skip altogether. In this article I am going to give you my honest, unbiased opinion about restaurants, snacks, quick meals and what I honestly think about the Disney dining plan (spoiler! Not a fan).
Disney Dining Plan
Starting off with the Disney dining plan. First, what is it? The Disney dining plan is a prepaid plan that you pay before you get to Disney. The prepaid plan gets you a certain number of prepaid meals and snacks that you use up during your trip. When choosing the number of days, you want to keep the dining plan in mind that you get all the prepaid meals points at the beginning of your trip and you can eat through your prepaid meals at the pace you would like. There are two different plans that you can buy.
Quick-service dining plan (per night you get):
- One snack
- Two quick service meals
- Refillable mug for hotel use ONLY.
Table service dining plan (per night you get):
- One snack
- One quick service meal
- One table service meal
- Refillable mug for hotel use ONLY
Quick service meal vs. Table Service Meal
Your next question. What qualifies as a snack? What qualifies as a quick service meal? What qualifies as a table service meal? All very valid questions.
A snack is a small item that if you look on the menu will have a small purple square next to it. A quick service meal is a fast-food meal that you go up to the counter, order your food, pick up your food, go seat yourself, and then clean up after yourself. Table service meals are restaurant style where a waiter seats you, takes your order, and everything else is done for you. Although the meal plan is convenient, many guests leave some meals unused, so they are wasting money. Also, Disney has some amazing restaurants that are pricier or include character dining and those will use up two table service points instead of just one. I prefer to just go to the restaurants I like and pay along the way instead of risking having unused meals or accidentally using two table service meals at a restaurant I was not aware of. But mentioning that some restaurants count as two-service meals, let us go over which restaurants these are:
| Magic Kingdom | Animal Kingdom | Hollywood Studios | EPCOT | Disney Springs | Hotels |
| Cinderella’s Royal table- 2 credits for breakfast, lunch, dinner | Tiffin’s- 2 credits for lunch & dinner | The Hollywood Brown Derby- 2 credits for lunch & dinner | Akershus Royal Banquet Hall- 2 credits lunch & dinner | Jaleo- 2 credits lunch & dinner | Citricos- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa- 2 credits for dinner |
| Be our guest restaurant- 2 for lunch and dinner | Le Cellier Steakhouse- 2 credits for lunch & dinner | The Boathouse- 2 for lunch & dinner | Flying Fish- Disney’s Boardwalk0 2 credits for dinner | ||
| Morimoto Asia- 2 credits for lunch & dinner | Paddlefish- 2 credits for lunch & dinner | Jiko- The cooking place- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge- 2 credits for dinner | |||
| Narcoossee’s- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa- 2 credits for dinner |
If you have any doubts whether the restaurant you reserved counts as two points or one, you can check on the Disney website. But like I said before, for some people, the dining plan works great for them, but I prefer to pay upfront at the restaurant I want to go to without worrying if I have enough dining credits to eat at a certain restaurant.
My favorite Disney Snacks, Quick-service restaurants, and table- service restaurants:
The time has come! It is about time I told you what my favorite snacks, quick-service restaurants, and table-service restaurants are. I am going to do a similar chart to the one above. I cannot recommend these food items enough, so they are worth a visit!
SNACKS (some of these will not be included in the dining plan):
| Magic Kingdom | Animal Kingdom | Hollywood Studios | EPCOT |
| Cheeseburger spring rolls- spring roll cart | Olaf strawberry lemonade bar (at other parks as well)- any snack cart | Blue milk- milk cart in Star Wars | Crepes- La creperie de Paris |
| Cinnamon roll- Gaston’s Tavern | Mr. Kamal’s seasoned fries- Mr. Kamal’s | Mickey pretzel with cheese sauce (at any other parks as well- any snack cart | Funnel cake- America funnel cake kiosk |
| French fries- Casey’s corner | Iced Chai Latte- Joffrey’s | Maple popcorn- Popcorn in Canada Pavilion | |
| Pineapple Dole Whip- Aloha Isle |
QUICK SERVICE (some of these will not be included in the dining plan):
| Magic Kingdom | Animal Kingdom | Hollywood Studios | EPCOT |
| Hotdogs, corn dogs- Casey’s Corner | Rice bowls, cheeseburger Baos- Satu’li Canteen | Protein bowls- Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo | Tacos, nachos, churros- La Cantina de San Ángel (México) |
| Tiana’s Gumbo and Beignets- Golden Oak Outpost | Wraps and flatbreads- Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery | Salads, burgers, tacos- ABC Commissary | Kebabs- Tangerine Café (Morocco) |
| Burgers, chicken tenders, etc.- The Lunching Pad | Tacos and Nachos- The Smiling Crocodile | Hot dog and burgers- Rosie’s All- American Cafe | Lobster bisque, baked goods- Les Halles (France) |
| Flatbreads- Pinocchio Village Haus | Rice bowls- Harambe Market | Sandwiches, pop tart- Woody’s Lunchbox | Burgers, chicken tenders- Connections eatery |
TABLE SERVICE:
| Magic Kingdom | Animal Kingdom | Hollywood Studios | EPCOT | Disney Springs | Hotels |
| Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen | Tiffin’s Restaurant | The Hollywood Brown Derby | Chefs de France- France | Jaleo by Jose Andres | Sebastian’s Bistro- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort |
| Liberty Tree Tavern | Tusker House Restaurant | Roundup Rodeo BBQ | Le Cellier Steakhouse- Canada | The Boathouse | Topolino’s Terrace- Disney’s Riviera Resort |
| Be Our Guest Restaurant | Yak & Yeti Restaurant | Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano | Nine Dragons Restaurant- China | Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante | Toledo- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort |
There are so many dining options in Disney, and I still have so many to try! But I do 100% recommend reservations for any restaurants you want to check out. I would suggest making them as far in advance as you can because it is likely that they will fill up! Hope this guide helps you decide which treats to check out in Disney World next time you visit!
Until next time!
Sincerely,
The Eternal Traveler