Eating Around the World - The Disney Dining Plan
By Ashlee Hess
AAA Central Penn

This year's trip to Disney World was probably the best in recent memory. This was our first time staying at one of Disney's hotels and our first experience using the Disney Dining Plan as part of our Magic Your Way Vacation package. We loved it. If you think Disney's hotels and attractions are top notch, you have to experience some of their restaurants with the Disney Dining Plan!

The Dining Plan is the easiest way to pre-pay for all of your meals during your Disney vacation. For each night of your stay, each person receives one counter service meal, one snack and one table service meal. The counter service meals can be redeemed at numerous fast-food-type restaurants at all four parks and at select hotels around the Walt Disney World Resort. Your counter service option includes an entrée, drink and dessert. Eligible meals are clearly indicated on the menus and Disney Cast Members are always happy to assist.

Snack options can be redeemed for non-alcoholic beverages, popcorn, pretzels, ice cream, fruit and countless other items. Again, eligible snack options for the Dining Plan are clearly marked on menus at drink stations and ice cream stands. If you are ever unsure, just ask, new snack options are constantly being added!

Our favorite part of the Dining Plan was enjoying some of the most fabulous restaurants Disney has to offer. After a long day of walking through the parks, we looked forward to our nightly sit-down dinner where we could talk and re-group before heading out for more magic. Each evening, we enjoyed a sit-down meal which included a non-alcoholic beverage, appetizer, entrée and dessert.

Dining Plan meal credits are loaded onto your "Key to the World" which is also your room key and park ticket. Your meal credits can be redeemed at any time and in any order during your stay until noon the day of checkout. Just hand your key to the waiter/waitress or food service cast member and credits are deducted from your account. Each time you use your "Key to the World" you get a receipt showing how many table service, quick service and snack options are left on your account.

We found that the Dining Plan requires a bit more planning, as Disney restaurants strongly encourage reservations. Disney resort guests can make reservations 180 days prior to check-in for up to 10 consecutive days. I would suggest sitting down and planning your entire stay so you know where you will be each day and can make your reservations accordingly.

The Dining Plan worked out well for us; all of our meals were paid for in advance, we got to experience a variety of different entrees and cuisines and gratuities are included in the meal plan. Just another way to make your next Disney vacation even more magical!

Adult and child rates are available to add the Dining Plan to a Magic Your Way Vacation Package. Contact your AAA travel agent for more information.

Disney Dining Diary

The level of quality and service at Disney Dining facilities is second to none. You can always expect your surroundings to be picture perfect and in the best of taste. My boyfriend and I were so pleased with the theme, quality of food and high level of customer service at ALL Disney restaurants. Our daily sit down meal quickly became our favorite part of the day. With the Disney Dining Plan, we were able to eat at some of our favorite locations and try some new ones.

Here is a dairy of our experience using the Dining Plan. We (2 adults) stayed for eight nights, so in our "bank" we had 16 Quick Service credits, 16 Snack credits and 16 Table Service credits. Here is how and where we used them:

• Day One:
  Arrived at Disney's Pop Century around 2:00pm
  Headed straight to the Magic Kingdom (a tradition) and indulged in a soft pretzel with cheese and a churro (breaded stick with cinnamon and sugar coating). Walked around the park and visited some of our favorite attractions until our 6:30pm advance dining reservation at Tony's Town Square restaurant. I had a house salad, seafood diavoli (clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp, and salmon in a spicy tomato sauce). My boyfriend (Chuck) had breadsticks with marinara dipping sauce, baked ziti and we shared the dessert sampler plate which consisted of tiramisu, a cannoli and amaretto cheesecake. I was full, but I had to get a Dole Whip to eat while we enjoyed the Wishes night time fireworks show at Magic Kingdom.
  Used: 3 Snacks, 2 Table credits

• Day Two:
  Began the day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Had an early lunch at Restaurantosaurus where I had McDonald's chicken McNuggets and fries, a bottle of water and cookies. Chuck had a Dino-Size double cheeseburger and fries, a soft drink and strawberry shortcake. We left Animal Kingdom and headed over to Disney-MGM Studios for the evening. We ate at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Dinner Theater, which is an indoor replica of an old drive-in movie lot. Guests eat in cars while watching old science fiction movie trailers during twilight hours. This was one of our favorite themes restaurants. I had seven-bean beef chili, Caesar salad with grilled chicken (huge!) and cheesecake for dessert. Chuck also had the chili, for his entrée he enjoyed roasted barbecue ribs and an ice cream sundae for dessert. Later, we each ate frozen chocolate covered bananas while we watched the Fantasmic! night time fireworks show.
  Used: 2 Quick Service credits, 2 Table Credits, 2 Snacks

• Day Three:
  Spent the morning at Magic Kingdom then took the monorail to EPCOT. Ate a late lunch at Liberty Inn at America in the World Showcase. Chuck ordered the chicken strips and fries and a no-sugar-added brownie, which he didn't care to finish. I had a chicken Caesar salad and a rice krispie treat in the shape of Mickey Mouse.
  For dinner, we ate at Le Cellier Steakhouse at Canada in the World Showcase. We agreed that this was our absolute favorite meal and if you've ever eaten here, you know why. We were served a variety of breadsticks and on top of that we still had our entire meal. I ordered the shrimp cocktail, filet mignon (best either of us has ever had) and a male sugar crème brulee (tastes like pancakes!). Chuck had the famous cheddar cheese soup, filet mignon and chocolate whiskey cake (excellent).
  We were stuffed, but somehow Chuck had room for a frozen strawberry bar on our way out of the park.
  Used: 2 Quick Service credits, 2 Table Service credits and 1 Snack

• Day Four:
  Chuck played a round of golf at one of Disney's championship golf courses. After his round of golf at Palm, we were to meet up in Epcot. I got restless hanging out in the room, so I went to EPCOT for a few hours by myself. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time in the parks by myself, but I had fun strolling around the World Showcase, popping in all the little shops along the way. I had lunch at Lotus Blossom Café at China where I had a bowl of orange chicken and rice. It had just the right taste of orange and each piece of chicken was exactly the right size. For dessert I had Chinese red bean ice cream. which was vanilla in flavor (very tasty). When I met up with Chuck, he was at the Electric Umbrella enjoying a double cheeseburger, fries and Coke. He opted for the rice krispie Mickey head for dessert this time.
  We spent the rest of the day walking around and visiting attractions. It was almost 8 p.m. when I realized I was hungry. I went to Cantina de San Angel for a wet burrito (soft flour tortillas filled with beef, served with lettuce, tomato, cheese, black refried beans, sour cream and adobo sauce) and a churro for dessert. Chuck was satisfied with just a pretzel with cheese. We hit some more rides before leaving.
  Used: 3 Quick Service credits, 1 Snack

• Day Five:
  Spent the whole day at Disney-MGM Studios. Ate a late lunch at ABC Commissary where Chuck had (surprise) a cheeseburger, fries and a Coke. I had the same and we both had a strawberry parfait for dessert. Our dinner reservations for 6 p.m. were at the 50's Prime Time Café. This was one of the most entertaining meals we have ever had and it had very little to do with the food. The premise of the 50's Prime Time Café is that you are guests at "Mom's" kitchen. Your server is either "Mom" herself of your uncle so-and-so. Uncle Dale took care of our table and five tables around us. Uncle Dell made us set our own table, scolded me for having my elbows on the table and actually stopped a toddler from crying at the table behind us. We had such a good time at this restaurant we forgot we were actually there to eat. Chuck ordered chicken noodle soup (which he said tasted like it was homemade), old-fashioned pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy and a brownie sundae for dessert. I started off with a strawberry smoothie (counts as your beverage for the meal! I also ordered some water), shrimp cocktail and the pot roast for dinner. I was full, but I couldn't pass up on s'mores for dessert. We both had some ice cream later on that night while we watched Fantasmic! (It's one of our favorites!).
  Used: 2 Quick Service credits, 2 Table Service credits and 2 Snacks

• Day Six:
  Chuck had a 10:00am tee time at Disney's Beuna Vista golf course, so I decided to spend a little time at Magic Kingdom before we met up at EPCOT later in the day. I don't think I could spend a lot of time in parks by myself, but I had a blast for about two and a half hours at MK where I rode Space Mountain three times in a row (the perks of being a single rider!), watched the afternoon parade, and ate lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus in Fantasyland. I ordered the chicken strips and fries but couldn't finish, this was the hottest day of our vacation and I just didn't feel like eating. After that, I rode the Monorail to EPCOT and met up with Chuck again at Electric Umbrella where we had already half way through a double cheeseburger and fries. Between lunch and dinner, Chuck had a soft pretzel with cheese. That evening we had 7:30pm advance dining reservations at the Coral Reef at the Living Seas. The table and booths in this restaurant are set on levels (similar to how a theatre is constructed) so that each table has an equally great view of the largest inland saltwater environment ever built, containing sharks, rays, a turtle and 85 different species of tropical fish. Because Chuck and were a party of two, we were seated right against the glass and were literally 2 feet away from all the action of this amazing underwater world. Chuck ordered braised barbeque beef for an appetizer, the New York strip for his entrée and pineapple upside down cake for dessert. I got creamy lobster soup (amazing), shrimp pasta with stir-fried vegetables (delicious), and the Chocolate Wave (Warm Dark Chocolate Cake with a White Chocolate Grand Marnier center with Chocolate Ganache and white chocolate ice cream) for dessert. This was probably the favorite dessert of the trip.
  Used: 2 Quick Service credits, 1 Snack, 2 Table Service credits

• Day Six:
  We slept in, then headed to Magic Kingdom to partake in a Disney vacation tradition - chocolate cake for breakfast. At Main Street Bakery we each had a huge slice of chocolate cake (it counts as a snack!) and paid cash for our drinks. We started to get hungry again around 2:00pm, so we hit Cosmic Rays Starlight Café in Tomorrowland. I had the chicken strips and fries and Chuck had yet another cheeseburger. We didn't eat all of our lunch because we wanted to save room for our dinner. At 6:30pm we arrived at Cinderella Castle for our dinner reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table. This dining experience requires two Table Service credits per person and includes a picture with Cinderella herself, appetizer, entrée and dessert. This experience was one of my favorites mostly because the Magic Kingdom is my favorite park and dining in the heart of Cinderella castle is an experience that just cannot be beat. I enjoyed the spring roll for an appetizer, roasted prime rib for my entrée and the most outstanding raspberry sorbet for dessert. Chuck ordered the corn and crab soup (I ate most of it), the prime rib and chocolate mousse cake (which was very good). As we sat enjoying our dessert, our photos that were taken before our meal arrived. I have to say it is a very cute picture and now sits in a frame on my desk at work.
  I hadn't noticed until that night that our vacation was almost over. I was feeling a little sad at the thought of going home, so I cheered myself up with a Dole Whip (pineapple soft serve ice cream only served at the Disney parks and the Dole Plantation in Hawaii) before we watched Wishes and SpectroMagic night time parade at Magic Kingdom.
  Used: 3 Snacks, 2 Quick Service credits, 4 Table Service credits

• Day Seven:
  We went back to Magic Kingdom for the morning portion of our last day at the parks. There were just a few things I had to do one last time before we left. We were in EPCOT by lunch time, but couldn't agree on what we wanted to eat, so I got the orange chicken from Lotus Blossom Café in China and walked over to Liberty Inn at America to eat with Chuck who wanted Chicken strips and fries. We walked around the park and visited some of our favorite attractions like Soarin' and Test Track one last time. We walked into the World Showcase for our last sit-down meal of our wonderfully magical vacation. We had a 7:00pm advance dining reservation at L'Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante at Italy were we enjoyed homemade bread and a strolling musician while we dined. Chuck ordered the appetizer-sized fettuccine alfredo (delicious!), Lasagnette Pasticciate alla Modenese (Lasagne prepared Modenese style: strips of pasta layered with bolognese and cream sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese). He passed on dessert. I had Pasta e Fagioli (thick Tuscan bean soup freshly made with beans), Polletto Ruspante all'Uva (slow roasted farm-raised chicken splashed with aged white grape sauce and served with rosemary roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables - so good!) and the best tiramisu in the continental United States. I also ordered a glass of red wine, but paid cash for it because alcohol is not included in the Dining Plan. After dinner we tried to make it to MGM for one last view of Fantasmic!, but arrived 5 minutes too late. So we hopped on the next available bus to Magic Kingdom for a few more rides on Space Mountain. Before we left Magic Kingdom, I had to have one last Dole Whip before we went back to our room and packed.
  Used: 2 Quick Service credits, 2 Table Service credits, 1 Snack

• Day Eight:
  We got up early and stopped at the food court at Pop Century to use up our last few Dining Plan credits. We had 1 Quick Service credit and 2 Snacks left, so Chuck got a ham and cheese omelet platter and orange juice and I got a bagel and coffee. We ate our breakfast and hopped on Disney's Magical Express to the Orlando airport to get on our flight home.

Walt Disney World is a very special place to me, and I am always anxious to experience new things on our trips. This year, we enjoyed a lot of quiet time sitting, chatting and eating at various locations that provided a nice break from the heat and bustle of the parks. By far, the best part of being on vacation at Disney World is taking time to enjoy the people you're with and experiencing the magic in your own special way. We look forward to many more Disney vacations and new dining experiences in the years to come!

Bon Appetit!