With the 2018 Disney Dining Plan including alcoholic and specialty non-alcoholic beverages, it’s more difficult than ever to figure out where to go to make the most of your DDP.

So we’re back with our recommendations for where to use your Quick Service Disney Dining Plan credits at Walt Disney World.

The objective here is to maximize your Disney Dining Plan dollars (even if you’ve scored Free Dining — you paid for a premium room and Park Hopper tickets, so let’s maximize those free credits, too!) while still eating GOOD food!

We get the best DDP value by finding restaurants that hit the right balance of a high average entree price (and available specialty and alcoholic drinks) and a DFB recommendation for quality eats and extras.

Here are our picks for the restaurants that give you the best overall bang for your Disney Dining Plan buck when it comes to quick service credit spots.

Flame Tree Barbecue, Animal Kingdom

This popular quick service spot on Animal Kingdom’s Discovery Island serves up terrific smoked meats (and one of our favorite snack values: Pulled Pork French Fries!). The Ribs, Chicken, and Pulled Pork Platter is the best value on the menu at $18.99 — and because it’s massive (and heavy with all that meat), it’s shareable between a couple of eager diners. (And that means an extra credit to spend elsewhere!)

Also on the menu are several alcoholic beverages, including Safari Amber, a red lager that rings in at $9.25; and Mandarin Orange Vodka Lemonade — a tasty cocktail for $8.75 — that increase the value even more! (Mandarin Orange Lemonade is the only non-alcoholic specialty beverage, and at $4.29, it doesn’t do a lot to increase the value — but combined with the Sampler Platter, Flame Tree remains a terrific value.)

Wolfgang Puck Express, Disney Springs 

Wolfgang Puck Express

in Disney Springs Marketplace has the benefit of a diverse menu with high-quality eats for picky eaters (hello, pizza!) and those who crave comfort food (we love you, Rotisserie Chicken!). And while some items — like the pizzas — aren’t wildly expensive (the famous Barbecued Chicken is the most expensive at $14.50), some of the entrees are a terrific value.

Oven-Roasted Salmon chimes in at $20.00, and the Half-Rotisserie Chicken we’ve always loved is $16.00. (We know a lot of readers like the $18.00 Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf, so while it’s not one of our favorites, it’s still an awesome value!) There’s even an $18.00 salad (Baby Spinach and Quinoa with Salmon added) on the menu if that’s more your speed.

Adding a glass of wine — upwards of $15 in some cases — really ups the value. Unfortunately there aren’t great specialty non-alcoholic drinks here, so be sure to get a big dollar entree or a glass of expensive wine to really up the value for your credit here.

Be Our Guest Restaurant, Magic Kingdom

This popular quick service spot is known at least as much for its atmosphere as it is for its French-inspired menu. Dining in the Beast’s ballroom? Yes, please? Breakfast or lunch in the West Wing? Let’s do it! (FYI: Dinner, which has always been a one-credit table service meal, is transforming into a two-credit Signature Meal on July 27, 2018.)

This is one place where breakfast is actually a terrific DDP value! Entrées cost $25.00 — and the entire meal begins with pastries, too! Note that while alcohol is served for dinner here at Be Our Guest, it’s not available on the lunch or breakfast menus; so there’s no option to add some here.

But if you’re ordering the pricy breafkast or the higher priced lunch items (many are $16.99), this guest favorite can still be a good value — even without any specialty non-alcoholic beverages on the menu. Plus, when you add in the experience of dining in Disney World’s most sought after restaurant, that ups the value as well.

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe, Magic Kingdom

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

doesn’t feature a menu of big-ticket items — but what it’s lacking in monetary value, it makes up for in Fixin’s. 😉 To make the most of the menu, select the Fajita Platter at $14.99 — then mosey over to the Fixin’ Bar and load ’em on up!

Sadly, the Guacamole that used to be on the Fixin’s Bar is now an add-on (for $2.00), but the selection remains solid: red and green salsas, pico de gallo, banana peppers, lime wedges, shredded cheese, red onion, roasted corn, and sour cream. With these, you can even turn a snack credit of Nachos into a great entree!

The best specialty beverage option on the menu is the Strawberry Lemonade Slushy ($5.99) that comes with a souvenir Mickey Straw (yea!). But unfortunately, the other beverage options are pretty standard. (Remember there’s no alcohol served in the Magic Kingdom’s quick service locales!) Still, if you’re not interested in alcohol and/or really dig those toppings, Pecos Bill’s is a great Quick Service Disney Dining Plan option!

Satu’li Canteen, Animal Kingdom

Satu’li Canteen, located in Pandora at Animal Kingdom, is the newest addition to our Quick Service recommendations — and it’s more than earned its spot! This is the place to go for creative entree bowls — including a Combination Bowl for $15.99 that includes both Slow-Roasted Grilled Beef and Wood-Grilled Chicken!

The entree bowls here come with a base (think rice, beans, potato hash, etc.), a sauce (we love the Charred Onion Chimichurri), and some slaw and Boba balls.

These bowls are substantial — and many diners will be able to share, thus using only one Quick Service DDP credit rather than two. (The Combination Bowl really makes this even more doable!)

Plus, Satu’li Canteen also has several alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink options! Order a Pandoran Sunrise (non-alcoholic) for $4.49, or take in a glass of wine (about $9.00) or a beer (most cost around $8.50). The value is as terrific as the food at Satu’li Canteen!

Sunshine Seasons, Epcot

Sunshine Seasons has earned its reputation for fresh and interesting counter service dining options. And with the Living with the Land greenhouses just a stone’s throw away, Sunshine Seasons is a great place to quite literally get a taste of the World!

The Mongolian Beef and the Pork Loin come in at over $13.00, and paired with a beer (Schofferhofer Pink Grapefruit Hefeweizen is a guest favorite and runs $8.75), wine (glasses are $7.50), or a specialty cocktail (we’re talkin’ Bloody Marys for $8.00!), you’ve got a decent DDP value.

Even better? The non-alcoholic specialty drink offerings are good here! An Iced French Vanilla Coffee, a Lemonade Slushy, or a Strawberry-Banana Smoothie all cost over $5.00 — a great addition to your quick service credit here!

And as an added bonus, the totally awesome desserts here are usually Disney Dining Plan Snack Credit eligible — so you could potentially share one of the hearty entrées at Sunshine Seasons and supplement with desserts! (We’re still into the Rose Gold Cupcake!)

D-Luxe Burger, Disney Springs

D-Luxe Burger, located in Disney Springs, is one of our favorite quick service spots to grab a tasty, juicy burger — and their fries and specialty milkshakes earn it a place on our list! We love the Southern Burger with its creamy pimento cheese and the El Diablo with its surprising (for Disney!) heat! These are $11.99 and $12.99 respectively, so a decent value (especially for the quality!).

The french fries here are great, and offer six (free) sauce choices, including Chipotle Mayo, Curry Ketchup, Buffalo Blue Cheese, Mustard and Honey, Garlic Ranch, and Horseradish. But note that D-Luxe has changed its dining plan credit set up and now offers ONLY the burger and a drink for your dining plan credit. Fries will be an extra snack credit.

SO, that means you’ll have to determine the best value for your credit based on whether or not you want to indulge in one of the expensive specialty drinks here.

For those drinks, you can choose from Gelato Milkshakes and Ice Cream Floats, all of which run $7.00-$7.50 and taste dynamite! Alcoholic options abound, with everything from Henry’s Hard Orange Soda ($8.50) to glasses of chardonnay and bottles of beer. And thanks for DFB reader Lindsi, we know that the Hard Milkshakes at D-Luxe Burger are included on the DDP! That’s an added $10-$14 value!

Added bonus at D-Luxe Burger: you can use Mobile Ordering and skip the line, y’all!

So, you can definitely have a quick-service meal here top out at well over $20 for just the burger and drink, which makes it a comparable value to several others on this list. And the burgers truly are top-notch (unlike the majority of quick-service burgers in Disney World). But the fries being an extra snack credit is frustrating many Disney guests; so keep that one in mind.

Tangierine Cafe, Epcot

This oft-overlooked quick service spot is located in the spectacular Morocco Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. Known for its large platters of foods like hummus, tabouleh, and couscous, Tangierine is a vegetarian’s delight!

The Veggie Platter comes in at $12.99, making it a great value. Meanwhile, for meat eaters, the Chicken Shawarma and Lamb Platter is $14.99 — an even better deal! (Incidentally, the Shawarma and Lamb Platter also comes with veggie sides, making it versatile for sharing between diners of all types!)

As for adding a beverage, diners can get beer here, with the most expensive being an imported beer for $7.99. There’s also sangria and Moroccan wine, to keep things interesting. As for specialty non-alcoholic drinks, there’s one: a Frozen Fruit Drink for $6.99. So it’s possible to increase the value on both fronts!

The Polite Pig, Disney Springs

The Polite Pig

, another newcomer to this list and to Disney Springs, serves up some awesome meats and some equally awesome values on the Disney Dining Plan.

Entrées ring in up to $23.00 (for Baby Back Ribs), and the salads are some of the best values on the menu! The BBQ Cobb Salad with Brisket is an amazing $21.00!

And there are tons — tons — of alcoholic beverage options here, from local beers to cocktails to bourbon. Sadly the biggest value-added non-alcoholic beverage is Sparkling Water for $4.00, so that’s disappointing.

Still, with entrées being as pricy as they are and the quality of the food being top-notch, you can definitely maximize your quick-service credit here.

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort, French Quarter

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory is the food court at Port Orleans — French Quarter Resort, and it’s terrific. (How often do we say that about a food court?) The food here is inspired by the bayou, with the Jambalaya being a particular favorite!

Here the value is in the price and the quality, with tasty Po’Boys coming in $11-$13. Even more impressively, the Southern Classic Blackened Ribeye with added Shrimp comes in at a whopping $22.99! With smoothies and specialty coffees for non-alcoholic drink options and beer and wine for alcoholic beverages, it’s easy to add some extra value!

Pepper Market, Coronado Springs Resort

Unless you’ve stayed at Coronado Springs, there’s a good chance you’ve never tried this food court — but with options for every palate, it’s a fantastic value on the Quick Service DDP! Diners can nosh on Crab Cake Sandwiches ($14.99), bite into an Azteca Burger ($13.49), enjoy Braised Chicken Quarters ($14.99), and clean off some BBQ Ribs ($14.99) — all in a festive Mexican-style market!

Specialty Coffee (think Cafe Mexicano for $4.89), Smoothies ($4.99), and Frozen Margaritas and Wine Slushies (both $9.95 and from the same minds that bring you Cava del Tequila cocktails!) help diners increase the value as well.

We know that choosing where to spend your Quick Service Disney Dining Plan credits isn’t an easy decision — so we hope this list gives you some (ahem) food for thought!

Let us know in the comments what awesome places you’d add to the list!