How Many Dining Credits Do Table Service Meals Take Up?

Question: How many dining credits do Table Service meals take up? 

For those of you opting to use the Disney Dining Plan during your next Disney World vacation, trying to maximize dining credits can be a tricky business.  Not only does each dining plan offer its own unique credit allocation but also dining experiences themselves vary in terms of how many dining credits are needed.  To help you tally things up before your next trip to the Mouse, here’s a quick run down of using table service credits.

What is a Table Service meal? Table Service essentially refers to any meal that isn’t fast-food or counter service.  If you have Cast Members delivering food to your table,  are dining with characters (including character buffets) or are taking in a dinner show these would all be considered Table Service meals.

If you’re on a dining plan and using a Table Service Credit, your meal would include a non-alcoholic drink, entree and dessert.  For breakfast there is no dessert entitlement.  Those on the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan are also entitled to an appetizer when using their Table Service credits.

How many Table Service credits do I get each day on my dining plan? 

The amount of Table Service Credits you are entitled to each day depends on which of the Disney Dining Plans you buy. Here’s a breakdown of what you get:

 

• Disney Quick Service Dining Plan: No Table Service dining credits are available only Quick Service credits.
• Disney Dining Plan: 1 Table Service dining credit per person per day.
• Deluxe Dining Plan: 3 Table Service dining credits per person per day that can be used either on Quick Service or Table Service meals.

Guests should also note that Dining Credits are linked to the total number of nights you stay at your Disney Resort, not your days at the park. So if you are booked for a 6 night /7 day stay and were on the Disney Dining Plan your would have a total of 6 Table Service credits to use during your stay.

So it’s one Table Service credit for each sit-down meal I have right?  Not exactly. This is where the Dining Plan can get complicated, especially for first time visitors.  For the sake of keeping things simple, I’ll break down Table Service dining into 3 categories: General Table Service (including Character Dining), Signature Dining, and Dinner Shows/Deluxe Character Dining.

 

General Table Service Restaurants: The majority of Walt Disney World Table Service restaurants fall into this category. Dining at one of these locations for breakfast, lunch or dinner will set you back 1 Table Service Credit per person on either the Disney Dining Plan or Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. Character dining is also included in this list.  Here’s a rundown of Walt Disney World Resort restaurants that fall into this category:

Magic Kingdom

• Be Our Guest Restaurant (Character Dining with Beast for dinner only)
• Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen
• Liberty Tree Tavern
• The Crystal Palace (Character dining with Winnie the Pooh & Friends)
• The Plaza Restaurant
• Tony’s Town Square Restaurant

Epcot

• Akerhsus Royal Banquet Hall (Character Dining with the Disney Princesses)
• Biergarten Restaurant
• Chefs de France
• Coral Reef Restaurant
• La Hacienda de San Angel
• Nine Dragons Restaurant
• Restaurant Marrakesh
• Rose & Crown
• San Angel Inn Restaurante
• Spice Road Table
• Teppan Edo
• The Garden Grill (Character Dining with Chip, Dale & Friends)
• Tokyo Dining
• Tutto Italia Ristorante
• Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria

Hollywood Studios

• 50’s Prime Time Cafe
• Hollywood and Vine (Character Dining with Disney Jr. Characters for breakfast and lunch, Character Dining with Minnie & Friends for dinner)
• Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
• Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant

Animal Kingdom

• Rainforest Cafe
• Tusker House (Character Dining with Safari Mickey and Friends)
• Yak & Yeti Restaurant

Walt Disney World Resorts

• Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge)
• Sanaa (Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village)
• Beaches & Cream Soda Shop (Beach Club Resort)
• Cape May Cafe (Beach Club Resort)(Character Dining with Mickey, Minnie and Friends)
• Big River Grille & Brewing Works (Boardwalk Inn)
• ESPN Club (Boardwalk Inn)
• Trattoria al Forno (Boardwalk Inn)
• Shutters at Old Port Royale (Caribbean Beach Resort)
• Chef Mickey’s (Contemporary Resort) (Character Dining with Mickey and Friends)
• The Wave…of American Flavors (Contemporary Resort)
• Las Ventanas (Coronado Springs Resort)
• Maya Grill (Coronado Springs Resort)
• Trail End Restaurant (Fort Wilderness)
• 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian) (Character Dining Breakfast with Mary Poppins and Alice, dinner with Cinderella and Friends)
• Grand Floridian Cafe (Grand Floridan)
• Olivia’s Cafe (Old Key West Resort)
• Kona Cafe (Polynesian Village Resort)
• ‘Ohana (Polynesian Village Resort) (Character Dining with Lilo, Stitch and Friends at breakfast)
• Boatwright’s Dining Hall (Port Orleans Riverside Resort)
• The Turf Club Bar and Grill (Saratoga Springs Resort)
• Whispering Canyon Cafe (Wilderness Lodge)
• Captains Grille (Yacht Club Resort)

Disney Springs 

• Bongos Cuban Cafe
• Crossroads at House of Blues
• Paradiso 37, Taste of the Americas
• Portobello Country Italian Trattoria
• Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant
• Rainforest Cafe
• Splitsville Dining Room
• T-Rex

 

Signature/Fine Dining Restaurants: These are Disney’s more formal gourmet offerings. Guests are still eligible to use both the Disney Dining Plan and Disney Deluxe Dining Plan however a meal at the following restaurants will take 2 Table Service Credits per person per meal:

Epcot

• Le Cellier Steakhouse
• Monsieur Paul

Hollywood Studios

• The Hollywood Brown Derby

Animal Kingdom

• Tiffins

Walt Disney World Resorts

• Jiko – The Cooking Place (Animal Kingdom Lodge)
• Flying Fish Cafe (Boardwalk Inn)
• California Grill (Contemporary Resort)
• Citricos (Grand Floridian Resort)
• Narcoossee’s (Grand Floridian Resort)
• Artist’s Point (Wilderness Lodge)
• Yachtsman Steakhouse (Yacht Club Resort)

Disney Springs

• The BOATHOUSE Restaurant
• Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe
• Morimoto Asia

Dinner Shows:  Disney has a third category of Table Service Dining offering live entertainment while you eat.  There are 3 experiences and each of them take up 2 Table Service credits per person, with wine and beer available to those over the age of 21.  They are as follows:

• Mickey’s Backyard BBQ (Fort Wilderness) Featuring Live Country Western Music and visit from Mickey and Friends
• Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue (Fort Wilderness) Featuring dancing, singing and vaudeville comedy.
• Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show (Polynesian Village Resort) Polynesian dancing and luau.

Also falling within this category is dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table  in Cinderella’s Castle. Guests have the opportunity to meet Cinderella and dine with many of her Princess friends.  But the privilege of eating within one of Disney World‘s iconic landmarks comes at a cost.  Any meal here will set you back 2 Table Service credits.

What about room service or pizza delivery? Private dining (aka room service) is available at select resorts including Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani Village and Polynesian Village Resort.  Those wanting the comfort and convenience of being able to eat in the their resort room will be charged 2 Table Service Credits. Some of the Value Resorts also provide a pizza delivery service. However, it’s advised that families pay out of pocket for this late-night treat rather than putting it on their dining plan as they’ll end up paying 2 Table Service Credits, that’s an expensive slice when you figure that you can eat at a gourmet restaurant for the same price.

I’m on the Premium or Platinum Dining Plan are the amount of credits I am charged different? Yes. Once you reach premium level you get 3 meal entitlements a day (for breakfast, lunch or dinner).  There are no restrictions on how you use these credits.  You could eat Quick Service for every meal or your could include 2 Signature Dining restaurants and it would still only take 1 credit.

I heard a rumor that many Character Dining Restaurants will start costing 2 Table Service Credits is this true? Visitors to the Walt Disney World website recently noticed that a few character dining experiences (Chef Mickey’s, Akershus and Tusker House) had been changed from 1 Table Service credit per meal to 2 Table Service credits per meal, placing them in the same category as Cindrella’s Royal Table  At this stage, Cast Members have said that the entitlement is still 1 Table Service credit and that it appears to be a glitch in the system.  However, insiders speculate that this could be seen as an sign that Table Service Credits are about to get a shake-up. Watch this space for further details.

 

Has all of this talk of Disney Dining made you hungry to book your next vacation? Why not consider working with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner? As an agent with MickeyTravels, I offer a concierge-level service and can help with everything from finding your perfect package, making sure you always have the best discounts, to helping you book those hard-to-get dining and Fastpass reservations.  Best of all my services are absolutely FREE.  You would pay the same as if you booked with Disney directly.  Find out more at 1.800.801.4025 via email at mroden@mickeytravels.com or follow along on Facebook.

 

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