When choosing to add one of the Disney Dining Plans to your Disney World Vacation you want to make sure that you get a good deal.  In order to get a good deal, you need to understand how to maximize the value of all of the credits that you are entitled to.

Disney Dining Plan Snack Credits
Today I will give some helpful hints in maximizing the use of the snack credits. Often the snack credits are overlooked in the list of Disney Dining Plan features, but successful use of the snack credits can make the difference between a getting a “good” deal with the Dining Plan to getting a “great” deal.

When you purchase the Disney Dining Plan each person is entitled to one "snack" per night of your stay.  With the Quick Service Dining Plan each person is entitled to two snacks per night of your stay.
Here are two strategies that can be used to make the most of your snack credits:

Strategy 1 – Minimize Food Expenses
Strategy 1 is pretty straight forward. Any time that you were going to purchase a food item OOP (out of pocket) you would see if you could use a Snack Credit for it (like a bottle of water or Diet Coke). This method allows you to avoid over eating and keep your expenses down by using the prepaid credits instead of spending additional money. With this method you are maximizing the value by reducing the total amount of expenditures for food on your trip.

This strategy also prevents piling up unused snack credits.  By using the snack credits throughout your trip you avoid having to buy unwanted items at the end of your trip just to use up the credits.
This strategy also suggests that you look for breakfast items that you can use snack credits towards instead of paying OOP. All in all this can be a very effective use of the snack credits and reduce your total food expense.

Strategy 2 – Maximize Snack Value
While the first strategy is pretty strait forward and just takes the discipline to buy what you would normally buy, but pay with snack credits where ever possible. The second strategy takes some research and planning to accomplish successfully. Here the idea is to absolutely get the maximum value out of each and every snack credit.

To seek out the maximum value look for items on the menu boards at Quick Service Dining Locations, Snack Carts, Bakeries, General Stores in Resorts, and other places that offer food.  Most single serving food items that cost $4.00 and under can be obtained for one snack credit.  Look for the snack symbol on the menu or ask a Disney World Cast Member if the item can be obtained for a snack credit.
Here are some of my favorite “maximum snack” uses for each of the parks:

Animal Kingdom: Dino Bite Snacks in Dinoland: Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich – these are 6” + diameter fresh baked cookies with 3 scoops of ice cream smashed in between. This is my ultimate snack credit item!

Magic Kingdom: Aloha Isle – Adventureland: The Famous Dole Whip or the Dole Whip Float. These are both excellent snacks for a hot day and a favorite use of the snack credit. Auntie Gravity’s – Tomorrowland: Fruit Smoothies with non-fat yogurt. Main Street Bakery – Main Street: Numerous desserts and bakery items.

Epcot: Boulangerie Patisserie – France Pavilion: There are a number of Pastry Items in this French bakery that make wonderful dessert and or breakfast items. You can’t go wrong, just make sure that the item you choose has the snack symbol. Also in France you will find the Crepes des Chefs de France where you can get Chocolate or Strawberry Crepes with your snack credit. On the other side of the World Showcase is the Norwegian Bakery: Kringla Bakeri og café- which also has many great fresh baked items that can be obtained with your snack credits.


Hollywood Studios: KRNR – Near Rock-n-Roller Coaster: A variety of smoothies made with non-fat yogurt can be had here. Starring Rolls Cafe - Amazing baked goods including Cupcakes that are out of this world.

Disney Resorts: you will also find that in the General Store section of each resort gift shop there are a number of items price at $4.00 and under that can be obtained with your snack credits.

Summary:
So whether you choose Strategy 1 or 2 or a combination of both, have fun using your snack credits. By getting the most out of your snack credits, you help guarantee that you will get good value out of your Disney Dining Plan purchase. There is no excuse to have a bunch of them left over at the end of your trip. Go out, use them, and enjoy!