7 Reasons Not to Use a Table Service Credit for a Breakfast Buffet at Disney World

Disney food is amazing, and the breakfast buffets are really great and much better than your typical buffets.  That being said, it may not always make sense for your budget or your plans to use your entitlements on a breakfast buffet.  We aren’t saying to skip breakfast or to go hungry, but just to plan out your entitlements and meals so that you use them to your advantage.  Here are 7 reasons not to use a table service credit for a breakfast buffet:

7 – You are on the Disney Dining Plan.

If you are on the Disney Dining Plan as opposed to the Deluxe Dining Plan, you don’t have as many table-service entitlements.  On the Disney Dining Plan, you only get 1 table service meal per person, per night of your stay, as opposed to 3 per person, per night on the Deluxe Dining Plan.  This means that you will have to prioritize the meals that you use your table-service entitlements on, and the breakfast buffets are likely not the best value or use for the entitlements.  You will want to conserve the entitlements for other meals.

6 – You can see characters on your own in the parks.

If the character breakfast is your main objective, but you will be tight on dining entitlements, don’t forget that you can still visit the characters in the parks.  You don’t have to just attend character meals to meet them, and there are many more characters in the parks.  So if the characters are your main driving force, it may not be worth using your dining entitlement for.

5 – Snack entitlements make great breakfast options.

You are able to use your snack entitlements for many breakfast items.  If you skip the breakfast buffets you can get yourself a piece of fruit or various pastries with your snack entitlements.  This can give you the energy that you need to get started in your day, and then use your meal entitlements for other meals when you will really want to sit down and relax.

4 – There are much cheaper breakfasts.

The breakfast buffets can be on the pricey side.  There are various reasons why the entitlements may not be the best value for breakfast buffets.  You should also know that you can get a breakfast sandwich at the Starbuck’s locations at each park for around $5-6 a sandwich.  This is much cheaper than the breakfast buffets and a cheaper option to pay out of pocket for and save the entitlement for other meals that won’t be as cheap to piece together.

3 – You have a lunch or dinner reservation on the same day.

If you have lunch and/or dinner reservations on the same day, a breakfast buffet will probably be too much food.  Anytime that we indulge in one of the breakfast buffets, we aren’t hungry for many hours afterward.  When a buffet is involved we all tend to eat a lot and try to get the most bang for our buck. That leaves us feeling really full for a while (which is great if you don’t have other plans for the day and don’t mind skipping other meals), but if you are on the Deluxe Dining Plan and have a lot of entitlements to use, you will likely have a hard time feeing hungry for some of your other meals.

2 – Fixed meal costs are easier to budget.

If you aren’t on the Deluxe Dining Plan, you will likely be paying for a meal or two out of pocket while you are on your trip.  If that is the case and you have your heart set on one of the breakfast buffets, these meals are a fixed cost.  The meals are a set cost and include drinks, so that is a much easier cost to plan for and budget rather than piecing a meal together from a menu where you have the drinks, appetizer, entrée and dessert costs that all vary from item to item.  You can usually look up the average prices before your trip so that you are prepared and have your funds set aside for it.

1 – You may be able to get more bang for your buck at other meals.

The cost of breakfast buffets at Walt Disney World varies anywhere from $23 all the way up to $55.  If you are on the Disney Dining Plan you get a non-alcoholic beverage, entrée, and dessert per person.  The beverage is around $4, the entrees top out around $30 – 35 and desserts are around $8-12.  These are per-person costs and can add up to cost more than the breakfast buffet. The best course of action is to do the math and see if your breakfast buffet is worth using the credit for.  Paying out of pocket is a great option if you are short on entitlements and may have to pay out of pocket for some of your meals.