Most families arrive at the gates of Magic Kingdom picturing Mickey embraces and Space Mountain thrills. My crew skips past the dwarfs in pursuit of cheeseburger spring rolls and Dole Whips. That’s our kind of pixie dust.
To turn the sprawling Walt Disney World into a culinary playground, Disney created the Disney Dining Plan. The program promises to save you time and cash while you sample eats across the resort, and many visitors say they can at least break even.
I’ve analyzed the cost of the Standard Disney Dining Plan to show how much you might save versus buying food and drinks outright — and I’ve shared a decade’s worth of my own Disney Dining Plan tricks to help you squeeze the most out of your meals with Mickey.
Understand the Standard Dining Plan
Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel can opt into a Disney Dining Plan. The plans assign a set number of meal credits to each person in your room. These credits are redeemableat more than 200 table- and counter-service eateries throughout the parks and resorts. There are several plan tiers: Quick Service, Standard and Deluxe.
The Quick-Service Plan covers only counter-service style meals, while the Deluxe Plan is pricier and includes extras like alcoholic beverages and multiple table-service meals per day.
We’ll focus on the Standard Dining Plan, which includes both counter-service and table-service dining options.
2018 Standard Disney Dining Plan Price Per Night:
Adults: $75.49
Children ages 3–9: $25.80
Per night of your stay, the 2018 Standard Dining Plan provides:
- 1 table-service meal credit: includes an entree, nonalcoholic beverage and dessert; or buffet access.
- 1 quick-service meal credit: includes an entree and beverage.
- 2 snack credits.
- A 16-ounce souvenir refillable mug, refillable at all resort drink stations.
Note that credits are allotted for each night of your reservation, not each calendar day. That detail matters for the strategies below. First, let’s cover how to wring value from that refillable mug.
Your Mug Is a Mini Cash Cow
The refillable mug included with your Dining Plan retails for $18.99, but it can deliver a lot more value if you use it smartly.
Over a six-night trip, the mug costs about $3.16 per day.
Fountain drinks run roughly $3.99 per 16-ounce serving (prices vary), so that first beverage already covers value. But don’t stop there. If you have coffee in the morning, a soda midafternoon and hot chocolate at night, that mug yields about $11.97 in drinks on day one.
The chip in the bottom of the cup even allows refills every couple minutes at resort beverage stations. (Please don’t actually sip a sweet drink every two minutes.)
Note: mugs aren’t valid inside the parks but can be refilled at any of the 30 Walt Disney World resort hotels — not just the one you’re staying in.
When my partner and I learned about this little loophole, we grinned at each other. We’d brought a small bottle of rum in our luggage. Yep — parents, if you pack your own spirits, mixing rum and cola in your room using the refillable mug can save you big at resort bars.
That’s roughly a $7 saving per mixed drink compared with bar prices, not counting tips. But drink responsibly, Savinly Readers. You can’t bring booze into the parks, and if your savings on drinks today top $40, maybe retreat to your room and rewatch Dumbo for some cartoon-sized humility. No one likes an overindulgent vacationer.
All-You-Can-Eat Options That Actually Deliver Value
A buffet seems like a perfect way to use a table-service credit, but not every buffet is equal in value. Below are several that tend to give you the most bang for your credits and fill up fast. Book these reservations well in advance.
Dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe, $51 value: Yee-haw! The cast members at this Wilderness Lodge spot do more than serve food — they entertain. Expect napkin showers and enthusiastic shenanigans. Kids may be led in a parade and even “ride” a wooden horse through the dining room.
The all-you-can-eat skillet (about $33.00 for adults currently; $35.15 starting Dec. 16, 2018) features smoked and barbecued favorites and hearty sides. Add the bottomless milkshakes ($9.00) and the Granny Smith caramel apple tart with gelato ($9.00) to milk maximum value.
Breakfast at ‘Ohana ($40.47 adult, $24.50 child): Situated at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, this island-style morning meal brings Mickey, Stitch and friends to your table for photos and hugs. Cast members often lead a Hawaiian parade to entertain the kids.
The family-style breakfast is served in a large skillet for sharing and continually refilled by staff. You’ll dine with a view of Cinderella’s Castle across the Seven Seas Lagoon, and the monorail can whisk you straight to Magic Kingdom afterward.
Dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot ($64.97 adult, $39.41 child): Time is one of your most valuable vacation resources, and long character lines can eat it. Let the princesses come to you.
At Akershus, Belle typically greets guests at the door, giving an ideal photo moment and a short royal chat. Up to five princesses will later visit your table for photos and may lead the children in a parade.
The meal includes access to a traditional Norwegian cold bar (think unlimited smoked salmon), followed by your choice of entree (such as Tradisjonell Kjøttkake — Norwegian meatballs) and a shared dessert platter for the table.
Dinner at Cape May Cafe ($55.38 adult, $30.89 child): At Disney’s Beach Club Resort, this coastal buffet is perfect for seafood lovers. No fanfare — just a bounty of crab legs, mussels, clams and salmon to enjoy until you can’t eat another bite. Since seafood typically costs more, this buffet often represents excellent value.
Skip Signature Spots — Unless You’re Splurging
Upscale “signature” restaurants, private dining and dinner shows typically require two table-service credits per meal.
Most character meals and buffets need just one table-service credit, so there’s no pressing reason to go signature unless you want an extra-special experience — for example, a dinner with Cinderella in her castle.
Consider one question before splurging: Do you have spare credits?
Remember, credits are assigned per night of your stay. They don’t vanish after each night ends, so you often accumulate leftover credits from your arrival day.
To maximize the first night’s credits, the usual tip is to arrive on Disney property early. But let’s be honest: most travelers don’t schedule flights just to make an early lunch.
The upside of arriving later in the day is that you’ll likely carry over credits to use on higher-cost dining later in your trip. Those extra credits are essentially bonus value because you couldn’t have used them earlier anyway. Put them toward experiences that cost two table-service credits.
Many guests discover extra credits on their final day and end up taking home a suitcase full of Mickey rice treats. Check your receipt after each meal to keep track of what’s left.
Don’t Waste Credits on Breakfast
A Mickey waffle is a must-try for many, but it’s usually smarter to pay cash for breakfast. Breakfast is typically the least expensive meal across Disney parks and resorts, so reserve your dining credits for lunch and dinner when value per credit is higher.
Most parks open around 9 a.m., so a quick in-room breakfast is often the most time- and cost-efficient option for families seeking to maximize park time. Pack microwaveable breakfast items, order a local delivery, or use the in-room coffee maker for hot water and instant oatmeal.
My only exception: the magical all-you-can-eat character breakfast at ‘Ohana. It helps you knock out several character meet-and-greets early, potentially saving you long waits at Magic Kingdom later — a fair trade for your park ticket value.
Skip the Soda at Counter-Service Spots
This neat little trick can load your bag with portable snacks. At many quick-service locations, you can exchange the included beverage for a snack-type item or bottled water.
Counter-service spots with fountain drink stations provide free cups of water, so you don’t need to use a quick-service beverage allowance.
Items marked as “snack” on the menu include everything from soup to fries to slices of cheesecake. Swap a drink for a wrapped snack you can stash for later — perfect for parade time or fireworks waits.
If someone isn’t hungry at that moment, swap their drink for a filling side like chili or fries so you can save the quick-service credit for another meal.
This move also boosts the per-credit value when you forgo sugary fountain sodas. For instance, you can trade a $3.99 soda at Pinocchio’s Village Haus for $4.99 breadsticks.
Trade a Quick-Service Credit for Snack Credits
At many quick-service spots, you can ask the cashier to swap one quick-service credit for three snack credits. This is especially useful during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, where small booths let you sample global flavors.
Festival items can carry higher price tags but still be payable with snack credits. Aim for items priced over $5 to get the most value.
My favorite pick is the lobster roll near the American Adventure Pavilion (about $7.75), which makes a snack credit go a long way. Other strong choices: escargot croissant in France ($5.75) and the croissant doughnut with chocolate-hazelnut cream near Test Track ($6.50).
Use Snack Credits for Small Souvenirs
Wrapped Mickey-shaped rice cakes and Chip ’n’ Dale trail mix packs in souvenir shops count as snack-credit items. So do sleeves of themed cookies and the specialty Mickey chocolate bars in flavors like strawberry truffle or key lime pie. Look for foods marked with the Disney Dining Plan snack icon.
If you’ve got folks back home to shop for, use snack credits to cover small souvenirs. Many travelers end with leftover snack credits, and these edible mementos are an easy, budget-friendly choice.
What Kind of Savings Can You Realistically Expect?
Using the adult standard plan price ($75.49) as an example, here’s a day of squeezing maximum value:
- Quick-Service Credit: Lunch at Pinocchio’s Village Haus: chicken parm pasta $12.99, swap fountain drink for breadsticks $4.99.
- Table-Service Credit: All-you-can-eat dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe with bottomless milkshake and dessert: $51.
- Snacks: Dole Whip float $5.99; funnel cake with powdered sugar $6.99.
- Refillable Mug: Morning coffee and an evening soda, roughly $8 total.
Total Value: $89.96
In this scenario, you’ve already beaten the daily cost by $14.47. That doesn’t even count additional savings like prioritizing the high-value meal choices listed earlier, using the refillable mug multiple times, or mixing your own adult beverages.
Of course, you don’t have to spend your vacation tallying receipts. Many folks choose the Disney Dining Plan to relax — like a cruise, your meals are prepaid.
Try to exceed the average meal value whenever possible, swap fountain sodas for packaged snacks, and use that refillable mug frequently. Do all that and you’ll probably return home with more Mickey-shaped rice crispy treats than you planned.
Rain Blanken (@RainLovesDisney) is a senior editor at Savinly. She’s a former Disney Vacation Planner and has covered budget travel for About.com, WorldofWalt.com and InsidetheMagic.net.
For tips on visiting the parks without breaking the bank, check out disneyland on a budget for more advice.
