Simplifying Disney Dining Choices

The folks at Walt Disney World divide their restaurants into eight categories, and some of those categories are not very helpful in choosing restaurants based on price. To make your choices easier, Disney World dining is divided into four categories in the EZ Fun Guide to Walt Disney World. Plus a tip for other food options.

Counter Service

Food is ordered and served at the counter. Some counter-service eateries have plenty of indoor and/or outdoor seating. Others have only limited seating, typically outdoors. Prices are under $10 per meal. Included are the following types as grouped by WDW:

• Counter Service (also called Quick Service on some Disney park maps)
• Quick Bite (kiosks with limited outdoor seating)

(We prefer eating our meals at counter-service restaurants. It's faster and less expensive. Hours of operation are also more flexible.)

Table Service

You are seated at your table, then either order from menus with service by wait staff or serve yourself from a plentiful buffet with some service by wait staff. All have plentiful indoor seating. Prices typically range from $15 to $29 per meal, with most around $18-20. Reservations are recommended, and cancellation penalties may apply. Included are the following types as grouped by WDW:

• Casual Dining (especially table-service restaurants in the parks and moderate resorts)
• Themed Dining (five specially decorated and themed table-service restaurants in the parks)

Character Meals

These table-service restaurants provide guests with an opportunity to interact with the characters. All meals are buffet or family service, which means there is a set price for each diner. Prices are a little more expensive than restaurants in the Table Service category. Reservations are highly recommended, and cancellation penalties may apply. Included are the following types as grouped by WDW:

• Character Dining

Special Dining

Enjoy unique dining at these table-service style restaurants. Menus include regional and international cuisine, fresh seafood or other creations by expert chefs. Three are dinner shows. Prices begin at $30 and range up to $75. Reservations are highly recommended, and cancellation penalties may apply. Prepayment is required for dinner shows. Included are the following types as grouped by WDW:

• Signature Dining
• Special and Unique Dining
• Dinner Shows

One More Food Source

The shop at each WDW resort has a variety of snacks, bakery items and beverages. Many also have frozen dinners and pizza, bread and sandwich supplies. See the resort detail pages in Resort Hotels beginning on Page 72 for more information on what kinds of food items are available at your resort.

Hint: Compared to other resort categories, Fort Wilderness and Disney Vacation Club Resorts offer a wider selection of meal items. The best selection is at the Meadow Trading Post at Fort Wilderness.

Food and Wine Festival Reservations Open August 6

Woo hoo! Get your dialing fingers ready.... The annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will begin taking reservations at 7:00 AM on Monday, August 6 for specialty dining events.

The festival, which runs September 28 through November 11, features many separately ticketed events that are extremely popular with festival guests and availability is limited.

What's popular: The Party for the Senses grand tastings, cheese and food pairings, prestigious wine schools and tastings, elegant multi-course dinners with wine pairings and other special dining events.

Several hundred Disney and celebrity chefs collaborate with renowned winemakers to create a wide variety of tasting experiences at Epcot and at signature Walt Disney World restaurants. Who expected? Cat Cora, Alan Wong, Jeff Henderson, Keegan Gerhard, Colette Peters and G Garvin. Of course, each celebrity chef participates only for a day or two.

Your regular Epcot admission includes entrance to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, wine and beer seminars, cooking demonstrations, Eat to the Beat! concerts, culinary exhibits and all park attractions and entertainment.

So what's the magic number? Call 407-WDW-FEST (939-3378) for information and to make reservations for special events and programs. Remember reservations will be accepted beginning August 4, but you can call for information now. You can also read festival details online at disneyworld.com/food .

Free Drink Refills for Kids' Table-Service Meals

Now I must admit that at first, I didn't think this was a big deal... then I read the fine print. The kid's meals at Disney World table-service restaurants now include free refills on all beverages -- including milk, juice and bottled water.

I've eaten quite a few kid's meals. And I've always gotten refills on soft drinks. It's nice to know that the healthy options are now included in the free-refill policy.

The fine print: "The refill policy, which is offered at more than three dozen table service restaurants in the Disney parks and resorts, does not apply to specialty drinks that typically are not included with the kids' meals."

That makes sense.

All this talk about table-service restaurants reminds me that I haven't made dining reservations for our September trip. I must get on that!

An Introduction To Disney World Dining

To paraphrase the famous saying, a vacationing family moves on its stomach. To nourish and refresh guests, Disney World has 300 dining locations, plus portable food carts, offering a grand total of 6,000 menu choices.

Even so, the question of what’s for breakfast and lunch and dinner and snacks can be daunting. Is it in our budget? Is the line too long? Can we be seated? Will everyone like it?

This blog is dedicated to helping you plan your Disney dining experiences. It is one of my networks of blogs and web sites designed to help you plan the perfect Disney World vacation.