DISNEY DINING  

Walt Disney World has over 500 places to eat and drink.  There is a wide range of food available from a simple burger to a variety of international cuisine.  Inexpensive food courts to 5 star restaurants to suit any taste and budget.  Dine  with the Disney characters or at a unique themed restaurant that could only be found at Disney.   

DINING TIPS  

Make Advanced Dining Reservations far in advance for character breakfasts, dinner shows and popular restaurants.  Disney resort guests  may make advance dining reservations for most full-service dining locations up to 90 days in advance (certain exceptions apply). Many Disney full-service restaurants are quite popular and book quickly.   Dinner shows can be made a year in advance.  

Disney uses a Advanced Dining Reservations.  You will receive a reservation number for each dining request.  When you arrive at the restaurant you will be seated at the next available table for your party size in order of arrival. EX: You have a reservation for 6:00 pm at Chef Mickeys for a party of four.  There may be 10 reservations at 6:00 pm for a party of four.  You arrive and check in at the podium and you are the 5th party of four that has checked in for 6:00 pm.  You will be seated at the next available table for a party of four after the other four families have been seated.  Try to arrive at least 10 minutes prior to your a reservation time.  

Do you really need to make Advanced Dining Reservations?  You should if possible.  Character dining, dinner shows and many of the restaurants in the theme parks tend to book very quickly.  There is still always a chance of getting a table just by walking up to a restaurant.  People cancel, change their minds or just don’t show up so availability is constantly changing.   

For parties larger than 4 it is recommended to make Advanced Dining Reservations.  Tables at most restaurants are square and accommodate a party of 4 or less.  For parties of 5 or more the restaurants need to combine two tables.  Some restaurants have tables that seat larger parties but they are limited.  For some restaurants it’s hard enough to get one table of 4 let alone two tables or a table for a larger party.  

Gratuity is included automatically in your bill for a party of 8 or more.  

Eat meals during "off times" like 11:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. for lunch and before 5:30 p.m. or after 7:30 p.m. for dinner.  This will increase your chances of getting the restaurant you want if you couldn't make reservations in advance or your visit is during peak season.   

A good way to try a restaurant and save a little money is to go there for lunch.  Many restaurants offer the same menu items for lunch and dinner.  Go to restaurants that offer food  you can't find at home or restaurants that offer a unique themed dining experience.  

Children under three eat free at most buffets (including character dining) and dinner shows.  

Choose places for breakfast, lunch and dinner that coincide with your touring plans for the day.  EX: if you plan to go to the Magic Kingdom in the morning thru early afternoon you might consider breakfast at your resort before you go to the park, a Magic Kingdom area resort or the park itself.  The same holds true for lunch.  Let's say you plan to go to Epcot in the evening.  Plan to have dinner before you leave at your resort or one of the Epcot area resorts or at Epcot itself.    

HOW DO I KNOW WHERE I WILL BE  SO  
 I CAN PLAN MY DINING SCHEDULE  

If you’ll know which park you will visit, you can plan your breakfast. You can enjoy breakfast at your resort before you leave for the parks. You can also head out early to the parks before they open and enjoy breakfast at a Disney Resort close to the theme park itself.  You can also dine inside the park up to an hour prior to the park opening.  This gives you an advantage since you already inside the park before opening and you can position yourself to enjoy your first attraction right after breakfast before others arrive in line  

If you plan to stay at the same park for most of the day lunch is best at the theme park or at a Disney Resort in that theme park's area.  If you plan to leave that park before lunch, then lunch can be wherever you want.  

During the summer months, peak season and holiday seasons, the parks usually have extended hours.  With the parks open later you can plan dinner anywhere and visit the park closest to where you had dinner or have dinner in the park.   In the off season Epcot is always open to 9:00 pm every night and the Disney Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom usually close at 7:00 pm.  You can visit Epcot any night, dine at Epcot or an area resort and then enjoy Illuminations at Epcot.  On a night your plans don’t include Epcot, dine at any other park or resort restaurant close to the park you’re at or back at your resort.  

So lunch and dinner can be planned anywhere you want and activities could be planned around your dining.   Let’s say you want to try the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot for lunch one day.  Okay let’s do it for Monday about 1:00 pm.  Guess which park you’ll be touring Monday afternoon.  You want to do the Crystal Palace Character Breakfast at the Magic Kingdom and Wednesday you plan to go to the Magic Kingdom, make it that day. It’s that simple.  Pick which restaurants you want and plug them in.  The theme park touring section in this guide will provide additional information and strategies to help you plan your itinerary.  

   DINING STRATEGIES  

Disney has Early Mornings where Disney Resort Guest are able to enter the theme parks an hour before the general public.   If you plan to enjoy an Early In morning at the park make your breakfast as late in the morning as you can.  This will allow you to enjoy a leisurely breakfast when the parks reach their peak late morning.  If you need something first thing in the morning like coffee or something small like a piece of fruit to hold over the kids until breakfast, there are fast food counters and carts available in the theme park.  You can also grab something at your resort and enjoy it on the way to the theme park.   

  Another good strategy is making your breakfast reservation for the theme parks as early as you can prior to park opening which is usually about an hour before. Do not do this at an Early In park. The advantage is you will be allowed inside the theme park and right after breakfast you’ll be able to be first at your favorite attraction before the park officially opens.  Since dining in the park is limited you can also enjoy breakfast at a resort next to the park you plan to visit early and then head to the park at opening.  

 A character breakfast late in the morning has a few advantages.  A late breakfast is like a brunch and lunch can be a something simple.  There are fewer people at the late breakfast. Characters have less stops so they get to you quicker and stay at your table  longer.  If your kids are like my kids they have to meet every character.  You don't want to waste time after you're done waiting for characters to get to your table.    

My family usually will have two large meals a day.  Most of the time we go to a character breakfast, have something simple for lunch and then a nice dinner at either a buffet or full service restaurant.   If we have the breakfast in the park we normally continue touring the park after breakfast.  If we are still in the park when we’re hungry again we’ll grab something quick.  If we left the park to go back to the resort to swim, or to another resort or park we’ll eat there.  Dinner then is back at our resort, the theme park we plan to visit that night or a resort by that park.  If breakfast was at a theme park area resort normally we don’t go back to the park we were at before breakfast.  We’ll head back to our resort, or another park or enjoy a recreational activity at the resort we had breakfast in.  This strategy will free up the late morning /afternoon to do whatever you want and visit whatever area you want.  

Other times we will eat an early, light breakfast, enjoy an early big lunch about 11:30 am and again a nice dinner.  We normally do this strategy when we want to sleep in or when we plan to visit a theme park late morning through the afternoon.  This is when the parks normally run the daily parades and other scheduled events.   See the park touring startegies for more information.  

DINING SUGGESTIONS  

Below is a list of dining choices that work well for most.  I suggest restaurants that offer unique themes and dining experiences that you can't find at home.  Disney is a great place to try a cuisine or something exotic for the first time, for instance Moroccan.  Don't worry about the kids.  Every full service restaurant has a kid's menu with good old stand bys like chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese.   

Buffet dining offers the best value for most families.  There is a great selection and most buffets include a dessert bar and non alcoholic beverages.  Disney is the only place in the world where you can dine with the Disney characters and is a must for most families.  

Character Breakfast, Lunch and dinners: available at the theme parks and the Disney Resorts.  Many are all you can eat buffet or preset menu.  

Dinner Shows: Spirit Of Aloha Dinner Show;  Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue; Disney’s Backyard Barbecue (seasonal)  

These restaurants offer the most value for the money  

Captain's Grill offers breakfast buffet at Disney's Yacht Club Resort  

CAPE  MAY CAFE at Disney's Beach Club Resort offers a nightly all you can eat clambake buffet.  Great selection of seafood and also has chicken, ribs and beef for the land lubbers in the party.  Disney Character breakfast buffet available  

CHEF MICKEY'S  at Contemporary Resort. Dine with the Disney Characters at this all you can eat  buffet with a great assortment.  Two carving stations always available.  Make your own sundaes and decorate your own cupcakes.  Disney Character breakfast buffet available.  

OHANA  at the Polynesian Resort serves all you can eat family style vegetables and salads and servers go from table to table bringing ribs, chicken fish and other meats on skewers.  Minnie’s Menehune Breakfast available.  

HOLLYWOOD & VINE all you can eat buffet with the Disney  

Characters located at the Disney Hollywood Studios for breakfast and lunch  

GARDEN GRILL CHARACTER EXPERIENCE located at the Garden Grill Restaurant in Epcot’s Land Pavilion offers all you can eat meals served family style for breakfast, lunch & dinner with Disney Characters  

BOMA at the Animal Kingdom Lodge serves an all you can eat buffet for breakfast and dinner.  

WHISPERING CANYON CAFE at the Wilderness Lodge all you can eat, ribs, chicken, turkey, beef, sausage and veggies served family style.  Available for breakfast, lunch and dinner  

1900 PARK FARE at the Grand Floridian all you can eat hot & cold dinner buffet with Mickey & Minnie.  Character breakfast buffet available  

LIBERTY TREE TAVERN at the Magic Kingdom offers an all you can eat Disney Character dinner served family style.  

BIERGARTEN at Epcot- German Pavilion Octoberfest Buffet available for lunch or dinner with live entertainment during dinner hours.  

CRYSTAL PALACE in the Magic Kingdom offers all you can eat buffet with the Disney Characters.  Character buffets available for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

FOOD COURTS at All Star resorts, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs and Port Orleans Resorts offer inexpensive selections similar in design to the food courts found in our local shopping malls.  Great for a quick meal.  

These restaurants offer unique themed dining experiences  

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS: 50's Prime Time Cafe; Sci-Fi Dine-in Theatre, Brown Derby  

EPCOT CENTER: Coral Reef (Living Seas Pavilion); The Garden Grill (Land Pavilion); Any World Showcase Restaurant  

MAGIC KINGDOM:  Cinderella’s Royal Table;  Liberty Tree Tavern  

ANIMAL KINGDOM:  Rainforest Cafe  

DOWNTOWN DISNEY VILLAGE:  Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe  

RESORTS:  Ohana at the Polynesian Resort;  California Grill at the Contemporary Resort; Citrico’s at the Grand Floridian Resort  

For the steak and seafood lovers:  

SEAFOOD: Coral Reef (Epcot-Living Seas Pavilion); Flying Fish Cafe (Boardwalk Resort); Cape May Cafe (Beach Club); Narcoossee's (Grand Floridian); Fulton's Crab House in the Downtown Disney Village ( formerly the Empress Lily Riverboat)  

STEAK: Yachtman's Steakhouse (Yacht Club);   Le Cellier Steakhouse (Canadian Pavilion EPCOT); Narcoossee's (Grand Floridian)  

How Much Money Do I Need For Food?  

We are an average family of four, 2 adults and two children.  Usually at Walt Disney World we eat two large meals per day.  At home we rarely have a big breakfast  because of our schedules, so breakfast is a big treat when we are on vacation.  Normally we have a character breakfast, something quick for lunch and a big dinner.  If our plans include being at a theme park and we want to eat at a particular restaurant for lunch, we'll eat a light breakfast, have an early big lunch and then a big dinner.  But that's my family.  Your family is different and only you know your family. 

Most character dining and buffets have set prices per person.  Children under 3 years are free.  Children between 3 and 11 years old pay the child rate.  Children 12 and up pay the adult rate.    

At most full service restaurants  ordering an appetizer, entree, soft drinks and dessert for a family of four, the cost for dinner would be $95 and up.  Add beer, wine and cocktails and the costs rise. There are many inexpensive dinner options like pizza, burgers, etc and the cost for an average family of 4 would be between $25 and $50.  Good locations for this type of dining are counter service restaurants, resort food courts and cafeterias.  

We prefer buffet dining because they offer a great selection and usually include dessert.  There are some great restaurants at Walt Disney World other than buffets and you should look over the dining guide in your packet.  Most families usually choose 2 main meals each day and eat on the run for the third meal.  

I absolutely recommend any of the food plans They have different levels which will fit anyone's style and more importantly budget.  They do actually save you money.  Another nice advantage of the dining plan is everything is paid prior to your trip.  You know vacation is over when you get that big bill when you check out for all your dining and expenses.  Dining plans are definitely the way to go.  Here is a brief description of each.  You have to purchase Magic Your Way Packages to have a any dining plans  

Quick Service Dining Plan: offers 2 Quick-Service meals, 2 Snacks per person, per night of the package stay, plus 1 Resort Refillable Drink Mug per person, per package. With this package, you can save up to 20% per adult on dining.  

Ding Plus Plan 1 Table-Service meal, 1 Quick-Service meal and 1 Snack per person, per night of the package stay.  

Deluxe Dining Plan: offers 3 meals and 2 snacks per person, per night of the package stay, and 1 Resort Refillable Drink Mug per person, per package. With this package, guests can save up to 40% per adult on dining. 

THEME PARK TOURING AND TIPS  

One thing that is important when planning an itinerary is allow time to relax.  Your vacation will be much more enjoyable because nothing is worse than being tired and miserable.  Here is something that will help.  

Break the Disney Theme Parks into three time segments:  an A.M. Segment, a Midday Segment and a P.M. Segment.  This allows you to take advantage of different activities during different parts of the day.   

The A.M. Segment starts when the parks open through late morning and features breakfast.  It is much cooler this time of day and a little less crowded.   

The Midday Segment is when the parks are most crowded and is the hottest part of the day.  This period is also when most parades are scheduled.  In Epcot World Showcase many of the pavilions have entertainment and activities during this time.  Lunch is usually in here.  

The P.M. Segment consists of usually dinner and the park or activity you plan for the evening.  During the earlier part of this segment the parks thins out a bit because people are heading out for dinner or back to the resorts.  After dinner time the parks pick back up because it’s cooler and people want to see nighttime activities like fireworks  

Make sure you do each segment for each theme park at least once during your stay. It could be one segment a day from one park and another segment at a different park or visit the same park all day.  It’s up to you. The important thing is take a break.  Your Disney Resort is just minutes away. I don’t recommend doing three parks in one day unless the parks have extended hours and are closing late.   

A.M. Segment:  If you plan to eat breakfast at your resort add about a half hour for travel to the parks.   If you plan to eat breakfast at the parks try to do it up to one hour prior to the parks opening so you can get a jump before the crowds.  If you plan to have a late breakfast in the park hit as many attractions as you can before breakfast. After breakfast you can continue touring the park.  An option is to leave after breakfast for a water park or another theme park. Enjoy a recreational activity at any Disney Resort or back to your resort to swim or relax.  

Pam’s A.M. Segment  sleep in and have a late breakfast ( more like lunch)  

Midday Segment: 11:30 am untill 4:00pm  

You can continue touring the park you’re at and enjoy the events scheduled for the afternoon.  An option is to leave this park and visit a different park to enjoy daily activities and events like parades scheduled during this period or go to a water park.  Another option is to leave the park and return to your resort to swim or relax.  Enjoy a recreational activity.   Lunch will be during this period so if you plan to make a reservation for a particular restaurant that is the direction you’ll be heading.  

P.M. Segment:  4:30 pm out  

Continue with the park you are at.  You can enjoy dinner at this park or at a Disney Resort in the area. An option is to head back to your resort, refresh yourself and get ready for dinner and evening plans.  If you returned in the afternoon to your resort you can continue with swimming or relaxing at your resort. Enjoy a recreational activity. Head out to dinner at your resort, another Disney Resort in the area you plan to be in the evening or the park you plan to visit for the evening.   

You can also leave or do whatever you want whenever you want to.   You can overlap segments or make your own segments.  The important thing is to make sure you visit each park for each part of the day so you see all the attractions, parades, shows and fireworks.     

Whatever you do don't get caught up in seeing everything.  You'll get tired, cranky and not have a great vacation.  Make your priority to do list and a secondary list.  If you get some things in the secondary list great.