Now that you’ve figured out when you’d like to visit Disney World and which parks you’d like to go to, it’s time to make a plan for dining. How is your family going to eat during your vacation?

Groceries

First, I suggest having groceries delivered to where you are staying. Grocery delivery services, such as Instacart, do deliver to Walt Disney World Resorts. A grocery delivery can include quick breakfast items like granola bars, cereal, muffins, and bananas. It can also include snack items to eat while in the room or to bring into the parks. You can also order supplies for quick and portable lunches such as bread, peanut butter, and jelly. Don’t forget to also include a case of water. Bottled water in the parks is expensive, it’s so much more cost effective to bring in your own.

You can meet your grocery delivery in the lobby of your resort or you can have the shopper leave your groceries with bell services. Bell services will keep refrigerated and frozen items cold for you. If you choose to leave your groceries with bell services you must provide your shopper with either your full name or room number. You will also be charged a $6 fee by bell services to deliver your grocery order to your room

Keep in mind, if you are not staying in a 1 or 2 bedroom villa, you will have a mini fridge which acts more as a cooler than an actual refrigerator. I wouldn’t count on it to keep items such as milk at the right temperature. This may impact what you decide to keep in it.

Dining at Disney World

Dining at Disney World falls into two categories: quick service and table service. Which should you choose? That depends on what is best for your family.

Quick Service

Quick service meals are traditionally ordered at a counter, but can also be ordered on the My Disney Experience App. The app allows you to quickly pick up your food and eat upon arriving at the restaurant. The app does accommodate some allergies, but if you or someone in your party has multiple allergies or an unlisted allergy you will need to order at the restaurant.

Please note that quick service does not necessarily mean hamburgers and chicken tenders. Quick service locations are abundant throughout the parks and resorts, and include diverse menus. I would recommend taking a look at the quick service menus beforehand either through the Walt Disney World website or the My Disney Experience app.

Quick service meals are great for families who:

  • Want to do a lot at the parks and do not want to spend a lot of time sitting and eating
  • Do not want to be tied down to dining reservations and prefer to eat when they feel hungry
  • May want a lighter meal
  • Are budget conscious
  • Have children that may do better in this setting versus at a sit down meal

There are many reasons for why a family may decide to include quick service meals as part of their vacation plans.

Table Service

Table service meals require reservations. If you are staying at a Disney resort you can make reservations for up to the first 10 days of your trip, 60 days before you check in. If your are staying off-site, reservations can be made 60 days before the date you want to reserve.

Table service meals are traditional sit-down meals. Although at Disney World, these restaurants can include immersive theming, entertainment, characters, or fun antics. There is usually lots to see and/or experience at these meals. If it is in the budget, I highly recommend adding table service meals to enhance your trip!

Your host and table server will take note of any allergies and accommodate for them. Be sure to reference menus on the Disney World website to see what kinds of table service restaurants your family might want to visit and make reservations for during your trip.

Table service meals are great for families who want:

  • To get out of the heat for an extended period of time
  • A break from running around in the parks
  • To Meet Characters (not included at all table service)

There are many reasons for why a family may decide to include table service meals as part of their vacation plans.

My family enjoys a mix of quick and table service meals. When possible, we prefer to do table service for lunch and then quick service for when we feel hungry for dinner. Table service meals can be very filling and this plan gives us flexibility for when we eat our next meal.

Next step: Making Dining Reservations.