Hi. My name is Molly and I survived our Disney World vacation. I consider myself a 100% certified NEWBIE when it comes to planning a Disney trip, and I’ve compiled a list of my best Disney planning tips that I learned along the way!

If I’m being honest, I was very hesitant about booking a Disney trip from the beginning. I had visions of meltdowns, tantrums, and my kids sweating to death in the heat as I wiped my tears away with the money we would waste. I’m happy to report (in case you were wondering) that we LOVED our trip! We were able to stay at the beautiful Yacht Club Resort, enjoyed FREE DINING  thanks to Disney’s seasonal offer of a free dining plan, and had 4 days of park hopper passes.

So, what’s this FREE dining plan I speak of? Disney offers various promotions and discounts throughout the year, be it a room discount, package discount, etc. Sometimes Disney runs a Free Dining Plan for booking a WDW vacation.

What’s the catch? When we booked, the qualifications for free dining were: a 5 night stay at a Disney property anytime from July-September and 4 day park hopper passes entitled guests to a free dining plan. This means you save on dining, but you do not get a room discount.

**Disney just released their 2020 Free Dining Promotion on 1/2/2020**

Here are the details for booking this promotion (the guidelines have changed from the 2019 promotion):

*Arrival Dates June 27-28, July 5-7, or August 29-September 8, 2020 for a stay of 4 or more nights.

*At select qualifying resorts.

*Vacation Package must include park hopper tickets.

This promotion only runs until January 16th, 2020! So if you’re thinking about going to Disney this year, THIS is your chance for a great deal! To read all the details and book your trip, visit the Disney website here.

I’ve seen this question all over the Disney planning forums: Are you really saving money by doing the free dining plan offer verses a room discount offer? My answer? YES! (but it depends on where you stay and which dining plan you get.) We were able to have INCREDIBLE dining experiences that made our trip SO special. I’m so glad we didn’t have to survive off of granola bars and sharing kids meals all week, and instead dined like princes and princesses!

Regardless of if you are able to score the Free Dining offer, here are the breakdowns of the different Dining Plans:

Dining Plan: 2 quick service, 2 snacks per person, per day

Disney Dining Plan: 1 quick service, 1 table service, 2 snacks per person, per day

Deluxe Dining Plan: 3 meals (either quick or table service) 2 snacks per person, per day

All of the above also include a refillable mug for each guest that can be used at all Disney Resorts at the drink machines! A Quick Service meal includes a drink and an entrée. A Table Service meal includes a drink, entrée (or buffet) and dessert. On the Deluxe Dining Plan, you will also get an appetizer with a Table Service meal.

It’s important to note that Dining Plans are ONLY available to guests staying at WDW Resorts.

The prices for dining plans are increasing for 2020 and are as follows:

Quick Service Dining Plan

Adult $55.00 ($52.50 in 2019)

Child $26.00 ($23.78 in 2019)

Disney Dining Plan

Adult $78.01 ($75.49 in 2019)

Child $30.51 ($27.98 in 2019)

Deluxe Dining Plan

Adult $119.00 ($116.25 in 2019)

Child $47.50 ($43.49 in 2019)

*Guests 9 and under are considered a child. Guests 10 and up are considered a “Disney adult” and pay the adult price.

If you are curious to know more about the dining plan, I’ve written out everything I’ve learned in my trip planning. These will help you tremendously if you are a newbie planner like me!

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

THE DISNEY DINING PLAN!

1) Table Service Credits INCLUDE CHARACTER DINING!

If you have young children, take advantage of the table service credits and BOOK ALL THE CHARACTER DINING! Y’all, character dining was upwards of $160-$200+ per meal, and to have it written as *included* gives everyone a happy face! Please note that certain dining experiences such as Be Our Guest, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Dinner Shows like the Hoop De Doo Review and Spirit of Aloha use 2 table service credits. (See #9 for how to book your advanced dining reservations.)

Lily is not impressed, per usual.

2) ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE INCLUDED!

Disney gets us. They know parents are tired and need a drink! All quick service and table service credits INCLUDE an adult beverage (if 21 or older of course.) We raise our glasses to you, Disney! However, if you do not want an adult beverage (or even a beverage) with your quick service meal, you can exchange the drink for a snack (I usually opted for a Mickey ice cream bar!)

Drink selections at Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast!

3) WHAT ABOUT MY BABY/TODDLER?

You’ll see that children under 3 are NOT included on the dining plan. At most of the table service restaurants we went to, they actually gave our toddler a meal at no charge. If this isn’t offered, there is MORE than enough food to fill their belly between everyone else’s plates. Obviously this isn’t an issue if your little one doesn’t eat solid food, so I’m referring to the 2-3 year old children.

Free toddler plate at Akershus Storybook Dining Lunch!

4) CREDITS are tallied in one lump sum.

Let’s say you have a 6 night vacation for 4 people with a Disney Dining Plan. You will have 24 table service, 24 quick service, and 48 snack credits. You can use 12 snack credits in one day, or 3 table service credits in one day if you want. How and when you use your credits is up to you! (Don’t spend them all on churros like me…)

They weren’t all mine, I swear.

5) *New for 2020* Dining Credits are divided into adult and child categories.

This means your lump sum of Quick Service credits or Table Service credits will be divided into however many adults and children you have on your reservation. This is a BIG change from last year!

When we booked our trip last year, our kids happily ate from the adult menu any chance they could (they love eating, what can I say?!) It’s okay, there is still plenty of food offered on the kids menu! Here is Eli enjoying his breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

6) YOU CAN EXCHANGE CREDITS!

Did you know? If you don’t use all of your quick service credits, they can be exchanged for 3 snack credits. In our case, that means more churros for me! Do you have leftover snack credits at the end of your trip? You can buy packaged snacks at any Disney property or park (like in the gift shops!) to bring home. Mickey rice crispy treats anyone?! I was really sad at the end of our trip, we only had 5 credits left and we used these to purchase breakfast pastries!

7) ORDER AHEAD!

Do you want to avoid waiting in ANOTHER long line? Mobile Ordering is kind of like FastPass+, but for FOOD! You can find a participating restaurant based on your location in the park, view the menu and order food all on the Disney Experience App!

8) Get the MOST out of your snack credits!

Not all snacks are created equal. Did you know that there are Starbucks locations in every park? And ANY SIZE Starbucks drink is considered a snack?! So go on and get that Venti Double Shot Caramel Macchiato WITH whip and chocolate topping. (Disney is magical and calories don’t count!)

Coffee is a necessary way to start your Disney day.

The Colossal Cinnamon Rolls at Starbucks in Animal Kingdom are GINORMOUS and count as a snack. The Ice Cream Sandwich at Ample Hills Creamery on the Boardwalk was also impressive, and counts as one snack. I recommend doing some research before your trip to see what snacks you may want to get at each park.

If you happen to visit WDW during one of their many food festivals, use your snack credits to buy food! We visited during Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival and were able to use snack credits to buy various treats from “around the world.”

9) BOOKING ADVANCED DINING RESERVATIONS: TIME IT RIGHT!

(This is for those with table service dining credits) Dining Reservations Open up **SIX** months in advance! 180 days from your check in date, be on the Disney World Reservations website or My Disney Experience app at exactly 6am EST. The most sought after dining will be booked within 15 minutes, FYI. Make sure you are ready, and prepared with your choices to book!

I wrote down which parks we planned to be at each day. Even though we had park hopper passes, these were the parks we knew we would be at to start the day!

For example:

Wednesday- Hollywood Studios

Thursday- Epcot

Friday- (Day at our hotel- Yacht Club)

Saturday- Animal Kingdom

Sunday- Magic Kingdom

Even if you have a park hopper pass, it is helpful to know what park you plan on spending the majority of your day so you have an idea where you will book a reservation. From here, have a list of restaurants you want to try and snag reservations, and be ready to book your first choice! I listed a few of my personal top choices at each park:

Hollywood Studios- Minnie’s Seasonal Dining at Hollywood & Vine (Character Dining), 50’s Prime Time Cafe

Epcot: Storybook Dining at Akershus (Character dining)

Animal Kingdom: Yak and Yeti and Tusker House (Character dining)

Magic Kingdom: Cinderella’s Royal Table, Be our Guest, and Crystal Palace (all Character Dining)

And don’t forget about some of the favorite character dining at WDW Resorts: Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary, Minnie’s Beach Bash at the Beach Club, Farewell Breakfast at Boardwalk.

If you are prepared and plan in advance, you should be able to snag most of your reservations you’re hoping for. Later on, you’ll know what times to schedule your FastPass+ selections based on when and where your Dining Reservations are booked.

10) GRATUITY IS NOT INCLUDED!

Oh, this is often overlooked. At table service restaurants, you will still need to add gratuity to your bill. So, be sure to consider this when planning your trip and budget!

Were these tips helpful? Do you have questions? Ask away below!

*In this post, Selah & Lily are wearing Character Dresses from Jane (affiliate link)

Softest Princess Inspired Dresses