Last year Disney released an offer for Brits visiting in 2022 to receive dining credits to help with the cost of eating at Walt Disney World! This was great news. But how many meals will your credits get you? Which restaurants are included? What is the best strategy to get the most out of your credits?
Read below to find out how the Disney Dining Credits work, the best dining locations to use them in and top tips to make your dining credits last longer!
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE 2022 DEAL?
The 2022 was more than just the free dining credits. Also included in the deal is was the 14 days for the price of 7 Ultimate Ticket. This gets you 14 days of park tickets for around £33 a day which is excellent value! The more times you visit the parks over the 14 day period the better value it is!
These tickets are park hoppers so you can visit more than one park per day. This is the most flexible type of ticket and helps you make the most out of your trip.
Also included was the Memory Maker package where you get all your ride photographs and can have Disney photographers take professional images of you around the parks. The photos you get are amazing so this is great to have as part of the package!
Many people will also receive a gift card. This is excellent as you automatically have some spending money for souvenirs! (Or to put towards your dining costs...more on that later!). You can collect your gift card from World of Disney in Disney Springs.
Certain packages will also receive a celebration hamper. Included in the hamper is: two Unique 50th Celebration Lanyards with Medallions, two Traditional Black Mickey Ear Hats, two castle water bottles, a Mickey insulated cooler bag and a selection of snacks including a Bag of Chip & Dale Snack Co. Snack, Bag of Goofy's Candy Co. Candy, Bag of Cheetos, Bag of Doritos, Bag of Lay's Potato Chips and a Bag of Smart Popcorn.
Now the big part of the offer - the dining credits! The free Disney World Dining Credits are the main attraction of this deal.
The amount of credits you will receive as part of your package depends on the resort you are staying in. Value resorts offer the lowest rate at $500, moderate resorts offer $850 and deluxe resorts offer the most with $950.
This credit price is per room. So if two people are staying in the room the amount will be divided between two. If four people are staying in the room the cost would split four ways. The more people you have the less credits you get per person.
HOW MANY MEALS WILL YOUR DINING CREDITS BUY?
Dining at Disney World can be super expensive! An average cost of a quick service meal, with a drink and taxes, is around $20 per person. A table service meal can range from $35 to almost $100 per person!
Having dining credits to help towards these costs is a great benefit, but how many meals will your dining credits get you?
Let's break it down.
We will use the average cost of a quick service meal which is $20.
If you get the $500 dining credit if you split this by 14 days you could get 25 quick service meals. If there are two of you travelling together this equals 12 meals each. With the $500 dining credit you could each have one quick service meal a day for 12 days.
The $850 dining credit that you get when staying at a moderate Disney World resort when split over 14 days equals 34 quick service meals. Divided by 2 people this is 17 meals each. This amount would cover three days with two meals a day and eleven days of one meal a day per person.
If you have the $950 dining credit that you receive at deluxe Disney World resorts you can get 47 quick service meals. Divided by 2 this is 23 meals each. This works out as 2 meals a day for nine days and 1 meal a day for five days per person.
If you were travelling in a party of two and only ate at quick service restaurants your dining credits wouldn't cover all your dining expenses, no matter what tier of the offer you receive.
If you then look into a group of four people the dining credits will be used up much quicker and your credits won't cover many days at all.
To break it down:
$500 credit is 25 quick service meals. Between 4 people this works out at 6 meals per person. If you ate two meals a day your credits would cover 3 days.
$850 is 34 quick service meals. Between 4 people this works out at 8 meals per person. If you ate two meals a day your credits would cover 4 days.
$950 is 47 quick service meals. Between 4 people this works out at 11 meals per person. If you ate two meals a day this would cover 5 and a half days.
You will still need to spend a lot of money out of pocket to cover your entire trips dining costs.
TOP TIP
At quick service restaurants anyone can order anything off the menu so if there is a dish you like or fancy a lighter meal adults can order off the kids menu which will be cheaper.
No matter what amount of Disney dining credits you receive it will not cover your dining for your entire stay so it is good to keep this in mind so you can budget towards the extra dining costs.
Table Service Dining
The scenarios above look at quick service meals but what about table service dining? This type of meal can be anywhere from $30 upwards to almost $100 per person!
Table service meals are a wonderful experience, with some even offering character dining experiences! Many people like to have at least a handful of these to enjoy the great food on offer and to mix up their dining. You can quickly get fatigued with eating fast food every day if you are visiting Disney World for 2 weeks.
The downside is table service meals can eat into your dining credits very quickly!
Say an average table service bill, including drinks and taxes, costs $50 per person the $500 credit would get your 10 meals in total. For the $850 credit you could get 17 meals in total. With the $950 dining credit you could get 19 meals in total.
But bear in mind this is the average cost and many table service meals cost more than this!
10 meals split between two people is just 5 meals per person out of a 14 day stay! For a family of four that works out at just 2 and a half meals each!
On top of the cost of the meal don't forget at table service locations you need to pay a tip too, on average 20% of the bill.
So how can you make the most out of your dining credits and make the money stretch? Look below to find out my top tips!
HOW TO USE YOUR DISNEY DINING CREDITS
When you check in to your Disney Resort you will be sent an email that includes a gift card code. Be sure to screenshot this or save it into your Apple wallet if you have an iPhone as this is what you will use when you pay for your dining.
You can use this gift card in participating dining locations. Be warned that not every Disney World restaurant is taking part! Now we are in 2022 and people are starting to use their credits some people have become unstuck when it comes to paying the bill and the credits are not accepted, therefore leaving them to pay out of pocket!
For a full list of every restaurant taking part in this offer visit the Disney Dining Credit website and download the dining credits PDF.
It is worth noting that this list was created in July 2021. At this time many restaurants were still closed which may be the reason they are not on the list, but if you were to visit now your credits may be accepted.
There are also a number of restaurants on the list that have now permanently closed (RIP The Wave!) and all of the newly opened restaurants are not listed.
This is very unhelpful when trying to work out where you can use your dining credits! I did contact Disney to request an updated list but they replied with a generic email that didn't answer my question and repeated the same outdated, incorrect information.
I do believe very few restaurants would not accept the credits and that the list is simply out of date. But at present these are some of the popular restaurant that are not on the list and therefore potentially not included in the dining credits offer.
Ohana
Steakhouse '71
Trail's End Restaurant
Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White
Space 220
Casey's Corner
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Tusker House Restaurant
Cape May Cafe
Fairfax Fare
Citricos
Eight Spoon Cafe
Sebastian's Bistro
Columbia Harbour House
You can also download a PDF of the full list of restaurants not included in the Disney Dining Credits offer.
Once again I think that realistically the official list provided by Disney is out of date and a lot of the restaurants that are not on the list is purely because they were not open during the time it was published. It is likely a lot of them will take the Disney dining credits but it is good to be aware that not all of them will.
TOP TIP!
As we have seen in the above calculations the amount of dining credits you receive will not cover the entire cost of your dining for your whole trip. I would pick whichever restaurants you would like to dine in and then make a list of which ones are on the official list of accepting Disney Dining Credits and which ones are not. This can help you see which restaurants you may need to pay out of pocket for and you can also check if your credits will cover the cost of the food you want in the restaurants that are participating.
You cannot use this gift card in merchandise locations, so if for example you go into a shop to buy a bottle of Coke you may not be able to use the gift card to purchase it.
The great news is that this dining credits gift card can be used when mobile ordering! When it comes to paying there is an option to add a Disney gift card so you can use your dining credits to pay instead of paying out of pocket!
TIPS TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR DISNEY WORLD DINING CREDITS
Now we have seen how much it costs to dine at Disney World here are some tips to help you stretch your dining credits and get the most out of them!
Dine mostly at quick service locations. This will help to stretch your budget as they offer the cheapest type of dining at Disney World. This will offer you the best use of your dining credits and will help you cover the most amount of meals.
Don't use your dining credits for table service restaurants. Instead pay for these meals out of pocket. You could easily get 2 or 3 quick service meals for the cost of one table service meal.
At quick service locations don't buy drinks, have the free water instead. Water can cost almost $4 in Disney World so you can save lots of money this way!
Split big quick service meals between people to help save money. This is a great option for two adults looking for a small meal or to split between kids. Look for dishes that are called combos or platters as they offer the most amount of food, making these great to share!
If you are wanting to experience a table service restaurant think about choosing all-you-care-to-enjoy location. That way you will pay a set price for your meal but you can eat as much as you want!
Use big snacks to fill up. This can be a cheap way to have breakfast. The Colossal Cinnamon Roll from Creature Comforts in Animal Kingdom is the size of a plate! You could split this between two people for breakfast and it will only cost you $7.49!
Don't spend money on drinks in the parks. These can easily cost $4 a time. Instead buy drinks in bulk from a supermarket and bring them with you to the parks.
Look up the menus before you go. This will give you an idea of the cost of your meal so you can budget and know where to wisely use your credits. You can see all the Disney World restaurant menus by clicking here.
Buy snacks in a supermarket to take with you to the parks. This will work out cheaper than buying snacks in the parks, and therefore giving you more dining credits to spend on full meals.
Have breakfast in your resort room. If you have items such as cereal bars or bread and peanut butter you can save on having to pay for breakfast. This means it is one less meal a day to have to use your dining credits on!
BEST QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANTS AT DISNEY WORLD
Now that we know quick service dining will offer you the most amount of meals for your dining credits which restaurants are the best?
Here are the best quick service restaurants in Disney World!
(Note - I've included all the best quick service restaurants you can find at Disney World. Some of them are not on the official Disney Dining Credits list provided by Disney but because it seems that the information on the list may be outdated I have included them in the hope that they are actually taking the dining credits).
Magic Kingdom
Casey's Corner
Peco Bills Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
The Friar's Nook
Columbia Harbour House
EPCOT
Regal Eagle Smokehouse
Rose & Crown Pub
Sunshine Seasons
Hollywood Studios
Woody's Lunchbox
ABC Commissary
Ronto Roasters
Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
Animal Kingdom
Satu'li Canteen
Flame Tree Barbecue
Harambe Market
Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe
Disney Springs
4 Rivers Barbecoa Food Truck
B.B Wolf's Sausage Co.
Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza
D-Luxe Burger
Earl of Sandwich
The Polite Pig
YeSake
Disney Resorts
Centertown Market at Caribbean Beach Resort
Capt. Cook's at the Polynesian Village Resort
Primo Piatto at the Riviera Resort
Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge
BEST ALL-YOU-CARE-TO-ENJOY MEALS
If you would like to experience some table service dining then a great choice, as mentioned in the tips above, is to go to an all-you-care-to-enjoy restaurant. These meals cost a set price and you can keep ordering more of the dishes you enjoy!
These types of restaurants are either a buffet or a family-style meal. For family-style dining a platter will be brought to your table. You can then order more of the items you like the most!
Here is a list of all the locations where you can have an all-you-care-to-enjoy meal, which are a great way to get value for money at a table service restaurant.
(Note - I've included restaurants that are not on the official Disney Dining Credits list provided by Disney because the list has old information as many of these locations were not open when the list was published. I am hoping the list simply has outdated information and that most of these restaurants would allow the dining credits. Always double check before ordering!).
Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom
Lunch and dinner $39 adults, $21 children.
The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom
Lunch and dinner $39 adults, $23 children.
Biergarten in EPCOT
Lunch and dinner $46 adults, $25 children
Garden Grill in EPCOT
Character dining meal.
Lunch and dinner $55 adults, $36 children.
Hollywood and Vine at Hollywood Studios
Character dining meal.
Breakfast $42 adults, $27 children. Lunch and dinner $55 adults, $36 children.
Tusker House Restaurant in Animal Kingdom
Character dining meal.
Breakfast $42 adults, $27 children. Lunch and dinner $55 adults, $36 children.
Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge
Breakfast $29 adults, $17 children. Dinner $49 adults, $29 children.
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort
Character dining meal.
Breakfast $42 adults, $27 children. Dinner $55, children $36
Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort
Breakfast $25 adults, $14 children. Dinner $42, children $25
Ohana at the Polynesian Village Resort
Breakfast $25 adults, $14 children. Dinner $55, children $33
Sebastian's Bistro at Caribbean Beach Resort
Dinner $29, children $17
These prices are before tax and without gratuity so don't forget to budget for these on top.
IS THIS A GOOD OFFER?
Any offer to help you save money is always good! The dining credits are a great help towards reducing the cost of your meals at Disney World and there is so much amazing food you will want to be able to indulge and enjoy!
As we know the dining credits won't cover the entirety of your trip you also need to budget to pay for the rest of your dining. So the costs for your trip could increase when taking into account all these factors and it might not be as cost effective as it first seems.
To get the best out of this offer will need a bit of pre-planning and be sure to use the tips in this post to help you get the most out of your dining credits!
A little bit of research and planning will go a long way! If you plan it well you can stretch your dining credits and it will help reduce your food costs.
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