As always, we want to make sure all of us are getting the best value with our Disney Dining Plan snack credits!
For those who are unfamiliar with the Disney Dining Plan, it’s a way for guests to pre-pay for their dining when visiting Disney World. “Snack credits” are used by guest to purchase items like popcorn, candy, ice cream, and other low-cost treats.
I’ll list my top six choices, then you tell me your experiences. Let’s work together on finding the best snack credit deals!
Note that snack credits are usually accepted for items that are a single serving, and cost $4.50 or less (though some cost as much as $4.99 out of pocket).
1. Bakeries
A Disney Food Blog staff and reader favorite — bakeries! Not only can you use your snack credit for some incredible treats, but you can also get a pastry for your morning meal. Hey, it’s vacation!
Don’t forget to check out our Disney World Bakery Throw Down to see some of the very best spots to spend those credits.
Consider some of these options at bakeries around Disney World: cinnamon rolls, butterfinger cupcakes, caramel cupcakes, white chocolate elephant cupcake, crepes, school bread…and so much more!
These are all great deals for one single snack credit.
2. Ice Cream Sundaes and Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches
Recently, I’ve been overwhelmed with what kinds of sundaes you can get for a snack credit in Disney World! Easily costing $4.50 or more out of pocket, these sundaes are awesome deals!
Stop by Storybook Treats in the Magic Kingdom to snag a Cookie Fudge Sundae that you can easily split between two! Other options at Storybook Treats include a Brownie Sundae and a yummy Strawberry Shortcake Sundae!
Another ice creamy treat that’s not-to-be-missed is the homemade ice cream cookie sandwich. You can get these at all four parks, and while the snack credit payment option flip flops from time to time, it is currently a go!
Get these at Sleepy Hollow and Main Street Bakery in the Magic Kingdom, Fountainview Cafe at Epcot, Dino Bites at Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Scoops at Hollywood Studios.
Snack Credit Tip: The ice cream cookie sandwich is mostly made with vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, but many locations offer specialty ice cream seasonally as well as seasonal cookie options!
3. Epcot Food and Wine Festival Booths
Disney’s Epcot International Food and Wine Festival offers several tasting booths each year with yummy regional menus. These continue to be a tremendous deal for a snack credit. And although Disney has not announced officially that you’ll be able to use your snack credits at the Festival in 2012, we don’t see why the tradition wouldn’t continue.
The Epcot Food and Wine Festival is scheduled for September 28-November 11, 2012, so plan your visit accordingly! Most of the marketplace booths around the World Showcase promenade accept snack credits as payment for their menu items!
In 2011, one of the best values was at the Hops and Barley booth where it cost $7.25 out-of-pocket — one one snack credit — for Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster dish.
Snack Credit Tip: Save all of your snack credits, then graze around the “World” for a meal or two! Your snack credits may outlast your appetite!
4. The Classics
Classic Disney World treats are also a smart use of your snack credits. These are classics for a reason — everyone loves them, and they only seem to be getting better. Plus, many of them are unique and special to Disney World.
And don’t forget that we can now add Citrus Swirls from the Magic Kingdom to this list!
In addition to the Swirl, now back in the Magic Kingdom after many years AWOL, you also have the option to gobble up those awesome beignets served at Port Orleans French Quarter Resort.
Some of our other favorite classic snacks include: Dole Whip and other Floats at Aloha Isle, Powdered Sugar or Cinnamon Funnel Cakes around the World, Milkshakes at Sunshine Tree Terrace, Mickey Premium ice cream bars, Zebra Domes at the Mara in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, kaki gori in Epcot’s Japan pavilion, caramel and candy apples, cotton candy, nachos, popcorn, churros, and, of course, fudge!
The sweet creem cheese pretzels and Jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzels found throughout the parks are a filling use of your snack credit!
Believe it or not, all of these — and more! — can still be purchased for one snack credit. Don’t miss out on these famous Disney World snacks that have kept guests coming back for more for years.
5. Great Counter-Service Side Items
While most counter-service spots don’t offer more than a side of fries for a snack credit, several have some great side items that you can easily make a meal of.
For example, the Liberty Square Market in the Magic Kingdom offers a baked potato with fixin’s for just one snack credit.
Couple that with a side of chili from Casey’s Corner, and you’ve got a hearty meal!
From salads and soups to pork egg rolls and chicken fried rice, you could easily piece together some real meals with snack credits at these hot spots. Check out Sunshine Seasons (Epcot) and Anandapur Local Food Cafes (Animal Kingdom) for good deals.
We also love the tomato soup at Pinocchio Village Haus in the Magic Kingdom.
6. Take Home Snacks, Souvenirs, and Gifts
Be creative! Head to Goofy’s Candy Company, your Disney resort gift shop, or the Main Street Confectionery to stock up on take-home gifts.
Whether you grab up goodies for the journey home, as gifts for teachers/classmates/co-workers/neighbors, or as souvenirs to enjoy back in the “real world,” using your snack credits in this way can really stretch your vacation budget (and enjoyment)!
Consider 8 oz. bags of candy, large unicorn lollipops, cotton candy bags, 12″ tubes of pucker powder, rice krispies treats, 5 oz. twirl pops, fudge, plus Chip and Dale snack bags and Tiny Treats bins.
This is a great way to bring a piece of the magic back home with you! (Just be sure it won’t melt on the way back to reality…)
Plan Ahead to Get the Best Value
We think the key to getting the most out of your snack credits is to plan ahead on how to use your snack credits and allow for some spontaneous purchases, too. Some readers also recommend trying to avoid using credits for lower-cost items like soda-pop, water, and milk if you can help it. There are better values to be had. 🙂 (Of course, if you’re in Disney World during the heat of the summer, sometimes nothing tastes as good as a nice, cold bottle of water!)
Don’t forget to check out our DFB Mini-Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks e-Book and the brand new DFB Mini-Guide to Epcot Snacks e-Book! We’ll help you to find out exactly what snacks you want to save those credits for! Get both for less at our DFB Store!
We want to hear from all of you! I know we didn’t cover every great snack credit option in this post, so tell us your snack credit experiences and help all of us make the most out of our Disney Dining Plan!
James says
Wait a minute! “Stop by Storybook Treats in the Magic Kingdom to snag a Cookie Fudge Sundae that you can easily split between two!” Why in The World would you want to split that sundae between two?!? That’s crazy talk, AJ!!!
Jayme says
One thing we love to do with snack credits is to turn them into breakfast especially at the Main Street Bakery.. If it is my husband and myself one credit for a cinnamon roll and another credit for a cup of fruit to share. If the kids are with us we’ll usually double up on the fruit and possibly add a second pastry. It makes for a nice light breakfast to start the morning with.
We are also huge, huge fans of Karamell Kuche! It is quite possibly my favorite snack location in Disney World. I could be perfectly happy spending each and every credit at that store! The chocolate covered caramel squares with sea salt are fantastic. It might even top the Dole Whip! More taste testing is required, though.
Jill D says
We love the churros in Mexico, the carrot cake cookie from writers stop, the fried rice from yak and yeti… But what we found this last trip was that a side order of mac n cheese can count as a snack! This was awesome for my 2 year old. It was more than enough for her as a lunch. And it was all she wanted!
V says
What is this “splitting” of ice cream of which you speak? I do not understand the concept of sharing sweets . . . .
Silvercat says
Last November, we went to Epcot specifically to use our saved-up snack credits and eat Around the World. It was great fun! We had received the dining plan free of charge anyway, (special deals for UK residents), and our favourite item was the Ravioli Di Formaggio all’Emiliana (Baked Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Beef Bolognese Sauce, Parmesan Cheese, and Melted Mozzarella) – $4.50-worth of yummyness! Very filling, and a really great way of using a snack credit.
While we were perched on a bench by the bridge in Italy eating this, we spotted a small stork-type bird who was happily scooping up large pieces of one that had been dropped earlier by someone else – he seemed to be really enjoying it, too!
Emily says
We just got back from our first family trip to WDW and quickly discovered that using our snack credits for breakfast in the morning (we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter) worked best for us… We’re not HUGE breakfast eaters but wanted a little something so had muffins, bagels, etc. for breakfast. Carried a few “brought from home” snacks with us into the parks for the kid (fruit snacks, raisins, etc.) and found that we really didn’t need much more than that since our quick service meals were so filling…
James N says
Citrus Swirl! Does this mean they may bring back the STRAWBERRY SWIRL?!?!?
Catie says
That Cookie Fudge Sundae looks amazing, I will definitely be grabbing one of those on my next trip!
Personally, I found the Mickey Cake Pop to be a great value for a snack credit, as the cake was dense and moist, and I loved the white chocolate coating, which was thicker and yummier than I thought it would be!
BUT My top fave way to spend a snack credit has to be the Butterfinger Cupcake from Starring Roles in Hollywood Studios, that fudge center is to die for!!
Alan says
As usual I remember the old days (four or five years ago) when you could get a box of Entenmmens donuts or bagels for a snack credit. Talk about a take home snack.
Jenny says
All I can say it when I saw your picture of the cinnamon roll from Main Street Bakery I started to drool. 🙂
Jonathan says
Awesome read! Thanks so much guys for this! My better half and I will be taking advantage of as many of these on our trip in October, mhm
Amy says
I couldn’t help but notice on the recent Art of Animation food court and menu post that the smoothies appear to be one snack credit. That would make a perfect light breakfast for me, especially if we have lunch ADRs and I don’t want to fill up. I could really go to town on that “Create Your Own Smoothie” option!
Darlene says
When we were at WDW last summer we had a few quick service meals left over at the end of our trip. Our resort food court allowed us to get 3 snacks for each quick service meal. We went home with so many snacks (that was when the quick service dining plan also allowed 2 snacks per day)! I’m not sure if that’s standard practice or if the cast member at the resort was just being super nice, but we were certainly appreciative. I hate wasting credits of any kind.
Tracy says
I didn’t think Storybook Treats was on the Disney Dining Plan? It isn’t listed. Is this new?
Pudge the Fish says
@Alan, good times, good times. My family split too many of those boxes for quick in-room breakfasts. Eight doughnuts in a box for one snack credit and some coffee in our refillable mugs and we were set to go.
Victoria says
Using snack credits during Food & Wine is an awesome way to get bang for your buck. And a lot of times, my hubby and I would split those items and then we had more snacks leftover! 🙂
I CANNOT wait to try the Citrus Swirl!!! That is definitely on my list for our next trip. 🙂
Beth says
Using your snack credits as breakfast, for us, is the way to go. Like another commenter said, we’re not big breakfast eaters, so using a snack credit for a HUGE cinnamon roll from Starring Rolls or Main St. Bakery hits the spot. If we need other snacks during the day, we just pay OOP as all we’d need, at most, is a drink and a popcorn to share!
Can’t WAIT to try Kaki Gori on our trip in late November. Is it true that they are starting to add the sweetened condensed milk topping to the shave ice? I know that this is common in Hawaii, so I hope Kaki Gori will follow suit. 🙂
AJ says
James and V — You guys are right. I think I was probably body-snatched when I was writing that sentence! 😉
Jayme — Agreed that using snack credits for breakfast is a truly great plan! And Karamell-Kuche, indeed! What a great addition to Epcot.
Jill D. — What a great tip about the mac and cheese! Where do you get this? Pretty much any counter-service location that serves mac and cheese?
Silvercat — Yes, ma’am!! Touring the Food and Wine Festival with snack credits is a truly ingenious way to use them!! Great story!
Emily — That’s a perfect way to use the credits and save some money on breakfast! Awesome!
James N — You never can tell! Fingers crossed.
Catie — Seriously! That butterfinger cupcake is a meal in itself (or two meals). 🙂 And I’m glad to find someone else who loves those cake pops.
Alan — You could have done your grocery shopping with snack credits!
Jenny — Don’t forget to ask for extra icing! That’s the tip of the day!
Jonathan — Enjoy! Thank you for the comment!
Amy — Ooh, great catch! I think that would be wonderful!
Darlene — Wow! That’s great! I don’t think that’s a normal occurrence. If anyone else has had that experience, please let us know 😀
Tracy — Well, they were last year… If you look at this post, you can see the DDP symbol on the menu photo: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2011/12/13/hot-fudge-cookie-sundae-on-the-menu-at-storybook-treats/.
Victoria — Yay!! Citrus Swirl is definitely worth a credit!
Beth — Yep — you can get the sweetened condensed milk as an added topper on the kaki gori!
Jill M says
When my husband and I went last year, we fell in love with the Frozen Bananas. You can get them in any park. They are also great for the leg fatigue as well.
Jill D says
AJ- we were able to get the mac and cheese at POP, and other counter services. the most interesting thing was at Columbia Harbor House they allowed me to substitute the potato chips for a side of mac and cheese. I think it just doesn’t hurt to ask!
Dawn says
While not as convenient as a snack in the parks, our favorite snack credit location is babycakes at Downtown Disney. EVERYTHING they have is awesome!! Our family of 5 is gluten intolerant so most of the park snacks are off limits to us, but we can eat everything at babycakes. On our last trip we went the night before we left and used up all of our leftover credits on doughnuts, then ate them on the plane on the way home. YUM!!
Shawn says
Thank you for the article. One thing we never do is plan how we will spend the snack credits. We usually just focus on the dining credits. Thanks again.
Terri says
@Darlene-unfortunately, for now, you can’t get 3 SC for 1 CS. 🙁 We did this too last fall at POP and it was great! They are no longer allowing it. The only Continental Combo you can get for 1 SC is one pastry, one fruit, and one beverage. I’m really hoping they bring this option back. We used it for many of our breakfasts (3 pastries).
Interesting about the Mac ‘n Cheese as a SC. I hadn’t heard that yet. I maintain the 2012 Snacks List on the Disboards. I will add it to my POP listing.
Danielle says
Why do I feel like I heard recently that the Baked Potatoes are no longer a snack credit?
I distinctly remember being super bummed about this! Can anyone confirm/deny?
karen chambers says
are turkey legs a snack?
Flaviw says
For allergy reasons, we always take the Deluxe Dining package when going to WDW. That means that we are overstuffed (3 Table service a day) and have 2 Snack credits per day per person. If like us you have too much Snack Credits, we recommend Iced Coffee or Cappucino or even the occasionnal fruit smootie. And towards the end of our stay, we used the remainder Snacks to buy colorful lollypops, huge jawbreakers, Pez distributers or cookie boxes to bring back as gifts for the little cousins.
BJ says
Turkey legs are not a snack. Last fall, I think they had a turkey leg quick service meal option (turkey leg, chips, and drink).
Susan says
Last year we got small boxes of character shaped cookies similar to animal crackers. This was a great tidy snack for small children to share on the go, that will hold them over till meal time. They are available at resort stores such as the Merchantile.
Meaghan says
A favorite of mine is a Mickey’s Magic Cookie Bar. We found it at port Orleans riverside. It’s the yummy goodness of butterscotch and chocolate chips, sugar cookie and coconut. When I’m at downtown disney, I jump on the boat to port Orleans to pick up some of these gems!
Hilary says
There is ice cream at the Port Orleans Riverside resort that is two to three times the size of the sundae you pictured and it is a snack credit. I ordered the double and it was at least 4 scoops and my daughter got the single and it was at least 2 scoops and both sizes counted as a snack credit
Lori says
A coworker went in December 2017 & was (again) allowed to exchange 1 quick/counter service for 3 snack credits. I’m looking forward to this option when we go in March 2018. Fingers crossed!!
DFB Sarah says
Lori, it’s a great option!