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Dining Plans: Disney vs. Universal

For those of us who are seasoned Disney travelers, we are familiar with the dining plan options at Walt Disney World. However, for those that are not, here is a quick recap before we explore how the Universal dining plans are different.

At WDW, we have three choices of dining plans. The Quick Service Dining Plan, Disney Dining Plan and Deluxe Dining Plan. Dining plans can be added to your WDW resort package when staying onsite at a Disney resort. The dining plan you choose is added for your entire length of stay and the number of dining credits you are allowed is determined by the number of nights you are staying. In addition, everyone on the reservation must have the same dining plan. Each guest ages 3 and over will get the dining plan if it is added to the reservation. When you add the dining plan, a resort refillable mug is also received by each guest, to use for unlimited refills on coffee, tea, soda and hot chocolate during their stay. However, take note this refillable mug can only be used at the resort, not inside the parks.

Let’s take a look at each plan in more detail:

Quick Service Dining Plan - Each guest ages 3 and up will receive 2 quick service meal credits and 2 snacks, per night. For example, if your resort reservation is for 5 nights, each guest will receive 10 quick service meal credits and 10 snack credits, to use at any time throughout their stay.

Disney Dining Plan - Each guest ages 3 and up will receive 1 table service credit, 1 quick service credit and 2 snacks, per night. If staying 5 nights, each guest will receive 5 table service credits, 5 quick service credits and 10 snack credits, to use any time throughout their stay.

Deluxe Dining Plan - Each guest ages 3 and up will receive 3 meal credits and 2 snack credits, per night. The meal credits can be either table service or quick service meals. Obviously, you will get more bang for your buck if you choose to use your dining credits for the table service meals, as opposed to quick service meals. With the Deluxe Dining, when staying 5 nights, each guest ages 3 and up will receive 15 meal credits and 10 snack credits, to use any time throughout their stay.

The Universal Dining Plans differ in many ways, let’s take a closer look -
1) You do not have to stay at a Universal Resort Hotel to add the dining plan to your tickets
2) Not everyone in the party has to get a dining plan]
3) Not everyone in the party has to get the same dining plan
4) You are not required to purchase a dining plan for your entire stay or for every day you are in the park. You can choose to add only 1 day of dining to your 3 day park tickets if that’s what works best for you.

There are 2 dining plans offered at Universal Parks: the Full Service Dining Plan and the Quick Service Dining Plan. Let’s take a closer look at each of these in detail:

Full Service Dining Plan - You will receive one full service meal, consisting of an entree, dining plan dessert and non-alcoholic beverage. You also receive one quick service meal, consisting of one entree platter and one non-alcoholic beverage. In addition, you also receive one snack from a quick service location or food cart. You will also receive one additional non-alcoholic beverage from a food cart or quick service location.

Quick Service Dining Plan - You will receive one quick service meal, consisting of an entree platter and a non-alcoholic beverage, one snack from a quick service location or food cart and one non-alcoholic beverage from a quick service location or food cart.

Universal also offers a refillable mug, which can be used inside the parks only. This refillable mug can be used at all 3 parks, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay. These mugs cannot be used at the Universal onsite resort hotels. The initial cost of one mug is about $15.99 plus tax. This cost includes one full day of unlimited refills at the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines throughout the parks. To reactivate the mug for an additional day, it is about $7.99 plus tax. Another great thing about these mugs is that you can take them home with you after your vacation and if you remember to bring them back on the next visit, all you have to do is pay the reactivation fee. The mugs can be refilled every 10 minutes. If you don’t mind sharing the same cup with family or friends, this could be quite a savings on those warm Orlando days!

For the most current pricing to add a dining plan to either your Disney or Universal vacation, contact your favorite On The Road Travel agent. They would more than happy to help find the perfect plan for you! You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
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