Back in May 2015, Disney made myself (and I am sure a few other Disney fans) very excited when they announced some changes to the Disney Dining Plan with immediate effect. I know what you are thinking – who gets excited over a Dining Plan? But there are a few of us around! Anyway, since then my family has had the opportunity to experience the Regular Disney Dining plan with all the changes whilst on our recent Disney World Vacation so I thought I would share my thoughts on the updates and how they enhanced our dining experience.
So first of all here is a brief summary of the changes:
- Guests are now allowed to exchange their table service credit (or quick service credit) for three eligible snacks.
- Snacks are now considered any single serving item and are no longer limited to $5 or less. This can mean you can use a snack credit to get a soup or a side item at a quick service location.
- When using a Quick Service Credit guests can now select any snack or beverage option with their entrée and are not restricted to the standard – Entrée, Dessert and Beverage. Changes mean you can select a side or soup instead of the dessert or an additional beverage.
- Adult and child quick service credits can now be used interchangeably.
- When using a Table Service Credit, guests can now select a side, soup or fruit cup where available instead of the dessert option.
- When dining at a Table Service Restaurant, guests can now use their credits to pay for other members of the dining party not on a Disney Dining Plan.
During our vacation we took advantage of a lot of these changes and found them for the most part an improvement in the system. So here is our experiences with each of the changes:
Guests are now allowed to exchange their table service credit (or quick service credit) for three eligible snacks .
One word – Fantastic! This update was the one we found the most beneficial especially at the end of our trip when we seemed to have loads of quick service credits left and no amount of eating was going to use them up. So we found one of the eligible locations and swapped them for candy which we brought home for gifts and to enjoy some Disney magic back home. Below is a list of the current eligible locations.
Resort locations: Artist’s Palette, BayView Gifts, Beach Club Market Place, Calypso Trading Co., Conch Flat, Donald’s Double Feature, Dundy’s Sundries, Everything Pop, Fittings and Fairings, Fulton’s General Store, Ink and Paint, Jackson Square, Johari Treasures, M. Mouse Mercantile, Maestro Mickey, Moana Mercantile, On the Boardwalk, Panchito’s Gifts and Sundries, Sandy Cove, Seashore Sweets, Settlement Trading Post, Sport Goofy Gifts and sundries, Wilderness Mercantile, and Zawadi Marketplace.
Park locations: Magic Kingdom: Big Top Souvenirs, Confectionary, Prairie Outpost; Epcot: Karamell-Küche; Hollywood Studios: Beverly Sunset, Writer’s Stop; Animal Kingdom: Mombasa Marketplace; Disney Springs: Candy Cauldron, Goofy’s Candy Co.
So this is the one change that I hope will be extended to include more locations. As you can see the majority of the locations are the food courts or quick service restaurants at the resorts. The locations in the parks are very limited and that is where it is a bit disappointing and could definitely be improved on. I would have loved a few more locations in Epcot especially around World Showcase. However as it stands, it is definitely a thumbs up.
Snacks are now considered any single serving item and are no longer limited to $5 or less. This can mean you can use a snack credit to get a soup or a side at a quick service location.
One thing that comes to mind … Chocolate fudge sundae – My mouth is watering just thinking about it! We got these a lot with our snack credits. However there were also plenty of savoury or heathier snack options now included that have never been before. You are now definitely able to get more $ value for your snack credit if you look. Depending on how you plan your meals you could also use this to your advantage and save on quick service credits by using your snack credits for a light lunch.
When using a Quick Service Credit guests can now select any snack or beverage option with their entrée and are not restricted to the standard – Entrée, Dessert and Beverage. Changes mean you can select a side or soup instead of the dessert or an additional beverage.
This also worked well with our dining experience as a few in our party didn’t always want the dessert option so they benefited from being able to select an additional beverage or in some occasions, they opted for a side. It was also a useful option when some members of our party decided to share a quick service meal so they were able to get one entrée and two beverages and save their credit for another time.
Adult and child quick service credits can now be used interchangeably.
As we had no children eligible for the Dining Plan we never had the opportunity of testing this out but as far as I am aware it is actually nothing new but it is now official at least!
When using a Table Service Credit guests can now select a side, soup or fruit cup where available instead of the dessert option.
This was a useful change. Many in our party do not have a sweet tooth so having the option to choose an alternative was good. A couple of things we found with this change is that you did have to ask about it! When taking you through menu options and explaining your entitlements our servers never once mentioned the updates. So if you wanted the side instead of a dessert you did need to ask. However once requested it was never a problem. The only other improvement that could definitely be made with this is the same as what everyone is saying – why not include appetizers in the eligible items to swap? I really don’t see why they don’t allow this and I know many many people would prefer to have an appetizer instead of a dessert. Maybe that change will happen in 2016????
When dining at a Table Service Restaurant guests can now use their credits to pay for other members of the dining party not on a Disney Dining Plan.
As we dined with a friend not on the Dining Plan we did use this option once and it was very easy. There were no issues at all; in fact, the server asked us straightaway if we were using the Dining Plan and how many credits to deduct. I do like this option especially if you know you will have credits left over and it’s nice to be able to use them to treat your friends.
So, all in all we found the changes to the Dining Plan to be really positive, and it did improve our dining experience. We found all the Cast Members to be well updated and we did not experience any obvious teething issues or problems. However, what do you think of the updates? Did it make your dining experience any better and if you have previously not used the dining plan, would the changes encourage you to do so?
For anyone thinking about including the Disney Dining Plan in a future Disney World Vacation package and would like to learn more about the different plans, what is included, and the price, then be sure to check out Disney Dining plans for more details.
