Disney Dining Plan Explained

So dining at Disney can be expensive. Buffets can run you $39 USD per adult and up.Sit down dinners can be equally as expensive and quick service meals are a lot also.
Many years ago Disney came up with a dining plan solution where you can pick one of three main plans and prepay for your meals. So when you are at Disney the only thing you need to worry about is gratuities and souvenirs.
The first plan is the quick service plan: This includes 2 quick service meals, 2 snacks and 1 refillable resort mug per person per night stayed.
The second plan which is the most popular is the dining plan: 1 quick service meal, 1 table service meal, 2 snacks and 1 refillable resort mug per person per night stayed.
The third plan is the deluxe plan: 3 meals (either counter service or table service your choice) 2 snacks and 1 refillable resort mug per person per night stayed.
So you are now probably thinking what is a quick service meal and what is a table service meal. Quick service or counter service is cafeteria style restaurants. You go to a counter order and then find somewhere to sit. The value resorts have these and you will find many in the parks as well. My favourite at Magic Kingdom is Columbia House. I love their clam chowder they used to serve it in a bread bowl but stopped that practice. At Epcot my favourite is the Electric Umbrella. They serve awesome hamburgers. At Hollywood Studios I often go to the ABC Commissary and love the salad options. Funny enough I do not have a counter service favourite at Animal Kingdom I guess that will be my mission for my next vacation.
Table Service meals are sit down meals you either order from a menu or it is a buffet. This is also where you will find your character meals. Now picking my favourites with these one's is a lot harder to do. At Magic Kingdom I enjoy Crystal Palace which features Pooh and friends and is a buffet service. At Epcot I love Akershus (Norway Pavilion) which features the Princess's and is also a buffet that features Norwegian and American food. At Animal Kingdom I like Tusker's House which features Donald Duck and friends and once again is a buffet (ok I have a trend I think). This has some nice African dishes available as well. At Hollywood Studios we did breakfast at the Hollywood & Vine which features Disney junior pals and is also a buffet.
Now I have only included restaurants that I have eaten at. I have a huge list of must tries as with a bigger party reservations where very hard to get last time. So on my list is Be Our Guest (it was not yet open), Chef Mickey's ,and O'Hana.

 Crystal Palace. Me with my favourite Eeyore

 Garden Grill (Epcot)

 Garden Grill (Epcot)

 Hollywood & Vine

 Liberty Tavern (Magic Kingdom) - Mickey Plate

 Askershus (Epcot)

T Rex Restaurant - Disney Springs

So now onto Snacks. Many things qualify as snacks and so for those on the two meals a  day plan will often use a snack credit for breakfast. This works for people who are light breakfast eater and are happy with a bagel or a donut (yes donuts seem to be a big breakfast item at Disney).At the parks the kids like getting popcorn or churros as snack or for something sold ice cream Mickey bars. We amazingly had snack credits leftover and used those on nuts, candy, cookies etc that could be brought home with us.
I do not drink pop but the refillable mug did come in handy for water and my morning coffee. My oldest drinks hot chocolate all the time so she enjoyed being able to do that as well.
Now Disney also has signature dinning which requires 2 table service credits. I will be honest I have not tried any of them. If you were planning on doing a lot of these then the deluxe dinning plan would be for you. Also if you want 3 solid meals a day I would also suggest the deluxe. One of the most popular signature dinning experiences is Cinderella's Table.
Gratuities are extra on table service dinning. Disney expects that you will pay at least 18% and if your party is eight or more they will automatically charge it on your bill.

Please feel to ask any questions you may have and I will try and answer them.

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