If I am booking dining reservations for my vacation online, is this easy to do and is there a special area for disney diningplan guests to book online.
Nope. You use the same system as everyone else, at www.disneyworld.com/restaurants . There's a box to click on the website that indicates you want to "use your dining plan" but you do not need to do that at all unless you want to book CRT or a dinner show and want to avoid prepayment. Other than that, there is no difference between booking reservations with a dining plan or without a dining plan.
Thanks so much. I am really doing a number to my long distance bill everytime I call wdw, and have to go thru about five minutes of prompts then sit on hold waiting for a reservation clerk.