Disney Dining Plan | #100DaysOfDisney – Day 79 | Tasty Tuesday

Welcome to Day 79 of 100 Days of Disney here on The Purple Pumpkin Blog! Be sure to check out all of the other posts in this series, and if you would like to share your own Disney blog posts or pictures, make sure you check out our #100DaysOfDisney Link Party!

It’s another Tuesday during #100DaysOfDisney so it’s time for Disney Tasty Tuesday!

Today I’m going to tell you all about the Disney Dining Plan. We are staying onsite at a Disney Resort this year, and got the dining plan free as part of a promotion, when we booked our holiday. We decided to pay to upgrade to the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan to give us more flexibility and because we know how much we enjoy dining out when in Orlando!

There are three levels of Disney Dining Plan for those travelling from the UK:

• Quick Service Dining Plan (QSDP)
• Dining Plan (DDP)
• Deluxe Dining Plan (DxDDP)

You can only purchase a dining plan if you are staying at a Disney Resort, and it must be booked in advance. As I said earlier, there are certain times of the year that Disney run promotions for free dining plans. These are usually QSDP for the moderate resorts and DDP for the Deluxe resorts. You may upgrade your dining plan if you so wish for an extra fee (which is what we did). You may also pay for the dining plan if you are staying at a value resort.

On the dining plan you are allocated credits – these can be used for counter-service meals, table-service meals and snacks. The amount you are allocated will depend on the level of dining plan you are on. You received an amount per person per night of your stay, you don’t have to use them all each day as they can be rolled over, but must be used by your last day otherwise they will expire.

There are over 100 restaurants on Disney property that you can use the dining plan, plus loads more places you can buy snacks! You’re not going to go hungry on a Disney Dining Plan that’s for sure! Gratuities (tips) are not included, unless otherwise stated. Many of the table-service restaurants are very popular, so it’s always advisable to book an Advance Dining Reservation (ADR). You can read the most up to date information on the Walt Disney World website.

• Quick Service Dining Plan (per person, per night)
  • 2 quick (counter)-service meals (Breakfast: entree + non-alcoholic beverage; Lunch, Dinner: entree, dessert + non-alcoholic beverage)
  • 1 snack
  • 1 refillable Resort mug

• Dining Plan (per person, per night)
  • 1 quick (counter)-service meal (Breakfast: entree + non-alcoholic beverage or one full buffet; Lunch, Dinner: entree, dessert + non-alcoholic beverage or one full buffet)
  • 1 table-service meal
  • 1 snack
  • 1 refillable Resort mug

• Deluxe Dining Plan  (per person, per night)
  • 3 table-service or quick (counter)-service meals (Breakfast: entree + non-alcoholic beverage or one full buffet; Lunch, Dinner: appetizer, entree, dessert + non-alcoholic beverage or one full buffet)
  • 2 snacks
  • 1 refillable Resort mug

As you can see, on the QSDP you can only eat at counter-service restaurants, if you want to eat at a table-service you will have to pay out of pocket (OOP).  On the DDP, you can have one counter-service meal and one table-service meal, so you have more of a varied choice. With the DxDDP you have the most flexibility as the credits for your meals are interchangeable, i.e., you can use a credit for either a counter or a table service. You also get the extra snack credit with this plan.

Some table-service restaurants require two credits to be used – these are called signature dining, and are the more expensive of the restaurants around Disney. You can also see dinner shows, which again use two credits. The only character meal that requires two credits is in Cinderella Castle, where the tip and photograph is also included in the cost. Some of the resorts have an in-room dining option, which also costs 2 credits.

As I said earlier, it is always best to check the Disney website before you decide on which plan you choose, as they can vary slightly each year. Here are the documents for QSDP, DDP and DxDDP for 2014.

We are really looking forward to dining on the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan – I know we’re going to be rolling back on the plane at the end of two weeks!! I will of course be reporting back on our experiences of it, including how much we would have paid out of pocket if we hadn’t been using it!

All of these photos are from various places across Walt Disney World – it’s not all burgers you know!

Have you ever been on the Disney Dining Plan?
Day 79 of #100DaysOfDisney is done – 21 to go!
Come back tomorrow for another Disney related blog post!

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Posts in the #100DaysOfDisney Series…
Disney Make It Monday | Tasty Tuesday | Wednesday Around The World | Theme Park Thursday | Disney Fashion Friday & Disney Merchandise | Saturday Night at the Disney Movies | Disney Sunday Sounds

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