(Disney Dining Plan Ignorance) Are you're credits available right away, even prior to check in?

[Reuben Varzea]

This is MY understanding as it stands now, @Alicefan - your total credits are based on the number of nights you're staying (so for a 3 night stay, on the standard plan, that should work out to something like 3 table service, 3 counter service, 6 snacks [per person]). Those become available when you check in until the end of the day when you check out. So say you were checking in today, and checking out on Sunday, you'd be able to start using them today, and all the way through to Sunday night at 11:59pm.

Anything unused goes to Neverland...

 

[Alicefan]

This is MY understanding as it stands now, @Alicefan - your total credits are based on the number of nights you're staying (so for a 3 night stay, on the standard plan, that should work out to something like 3 table service, 3 counter service, 6 snacks [per person]). Those become available when you check in until the end of the day when you check out. So say you were checking in today, and checking out on Sunday, you'd be able to start using them today, and all the way through to Sunday night at 11:59pm.

Anything unused goes to Neverland...

Dang! We have a campsite booked for our first night but our dining plan stay is at All Stars for the next 3 nights. Of course our Ohana dinner is for our first night and I have checked time and time again for something else that might pop open but alas...9:20 at night it is.

 

[Reuben Varzea]

Ohana's can be exhausting trying to find an "ideal" time slot for. I feel your pain. Good luck!

 

[hodad]

With three exceptions, I've been able to use dining credits any time on the day I check in, even before going to a counter or receiving a room text.

Once, however, on the second leg of a split stay, I couldn't use dining credits because my magic band from my first stay wasn't registered with my second stay, and I had to pay out of pocket, keep receipts, and go to the front desk of the resort to clear things up.

Another time, I rented DVC points at WL, and when I wasn't allowed to use credits at Whispering Canyon on the day I checked in, I spoke to the CM at the front desk and they pointed out that my reservation stated that I would be arriving at 3pm, and that there was nothing they could do until then. So a few hours I returned, spoke to the same person, and they credited my paid meals to the dining plan.

For the third situation, I had to leave early to help a sick relative, and the remainder of my party couldn't use dining credits because, as the only adult on the reservation, I was not there. I spent 60 minutes on the phone with a cast member at one in the morning at LAX to get that sorted out.

The Dining Plan doesn't always work smoothly, and it can be a pain in the butt to resolve issues, but every issue I've had ultimately was resolved.