Disney World extends mobile ordering to Disney Dining Plan users
Walt Disney World visitors using the Disney Dining Plan now can use the resort's mobile ordering system at select counter-service restaurants throughout the resort.
Nearly two dozen restaurants across Disney World's four theme parks and the Disney Springs district allow mobile ordering, which works through the resort's official My Disney Experience app. Previously, the system only accepted payment through a credit card registered with the app.
If you've not used the service before on a previous Disney visit, check out our guide to using mobile food ordering at Walt Disney World. I use mobile ordering at pretty much every fast food place that I can outside of Disney, so it's nice to have that option when I am in the parks, too. Mobile ordering is ridiculously easy and allows you to avoid what can be long, frustrating queues as you wait behind what seems like an endless line of people who can't make up their mind about what to order.
And if that's your family, you can get together and make your decision while you are sitting, waiting or just hanging out somewhere else, without the pressure of a queue of people tutting behind you as you try to figure out the menu. Just place the order via the app, then check in when you arrive at the restaurant. Cast members will have your food ready at the mobile order counter within a few minutes.
Here are the Disney restaurants that now accept mobile orders:
- Aloha Isle
- Casey's Corner
- Columbia Harbour House
- Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
- Pinocchio Village Haus
- The Lunching Pad
- Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant
- Electric Umbrella
- Liberty Inn
- Sunshine Seasons
- Flame Tree Barbecue
- Harambe Market
- Pizzafari
- Restaurantosaurus
- Satu'li Canteen
- ABC Commissary
- Backlot Express
- Catalina Eddie's
- Fairfax Fare
- PizzeRizzo
- Rosie's All-American Cafe
Disney Springs
- D-Luxe Burger
Theme Park Insider's advice:
Replies (5)
It's also great if you've forgotten your wallet in your car, and don't want to walk all the way back there... not that I've done that or anything...
Be Our Guests also uses an Advance Order system that you can use on Disney's website (not just the app) to place your breakfast or lunch order up to 30 days in advance. So it's a different process than the other mobile order restaurants (BOG brings food to your table instead of you picking it up at the counter, for example), but it's still highly convenient.
Is it really that different? It seemed like the same process to me, and virtually identical if you wait until the day of to place your order through MDE on your phone (still don't understand why people need to order their lunch 30 days in advance). Bringing the food to the table simply replaces standing at a counter, that could only be executed at the custom-designed all-indoor dining room that doubles as a table service restaurant during dinner and special events. It's honestly no different than many fast casual restaurants these days that use table tents or plastic numbers given out to place at the table to keep dine-in guests from milling around the ordering/serving area.
I'm actually amazed that not more theme park restaurants use mobile ordering. It's becoming standard in the fast food and fast casual industry and seems like a great way to drive people to use a park's app.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
This has been a long time coming. Not being able to use DDP for mobile orders was a serious shortcoming of the app. Perhaps the decision to start with credit cards only was to control the volume of orders processed through the system. It's also possible that the complexities of the DDP required some additional programming that was not in place when Disney launched the mobile order app (DDP uses credits that can be used on a highly variable list of items, but not everything on every restaurant's menu).
I'd also note that Be Our Guest (considered counter service during lunch hours), is not listed above, but also allows for mobile ordering.