Disney Springs is the “dining” choice for us in the evening. We love Raglan Road as well as the Southern restaurant. The shuttles make it easy to go to and from. I echo what others say about reduced capacity. The lines are just as long even with the 6’ distancing but some of the rides have closed seats so it takes even longer. No fast pass when we were there in December. Despite the extra cost staying on the resort is worth it in my opinion. Good luck and have fun. You have several months to sell plasma and a kidney!

I have taken my family to Disney World every November for 9 years. Not the worst time of year to go but from what I hear October tends to be a little less crowded. We didn't go last November due to covid but we will be there for Thanksgiving this year. Not a big fan of dining plans as historically they provide one sit down, one table service and one snack per day. A lot of waste since we weren't really table service types. IMO, stay on premise as it makes it more convenient and offers more benefits. Who knows if fastpass will be available. Disney has been slow to embrace the science of being outdoors. What I can say is we have always enjoyed going and look forward to going back. Email me if you need any other info. As far as dining, don't overlook Disney Springs. Lots of good choices and not a park that you have to reserve.

We went in December 2020. Been there twice before and Covid has made it crazy. Art of animation and pop century we have stayed at before. If you are staying in one of the upgraded rooms there you can request to be close to the monorail. We were literally 100 steps away. No meal plans available but get friendly with the Disney app and order quick service meals. It’s way easy. Plan on making a few meal reservations. If you don’t get what you want check back and you can always change it. Use the Amazon prime food delivery. They deliver to the hotels, it’s easy and they have beer and wine they deliver. We got a case of water and lots of snacks too. As soon as you can book and make your park reservations do it. We were going to change dates when our cruise cancelled as we were going to the parks for a few days. Hollywood studios didn’t have an opening for a single day the month before or after. Hope this helps.

It’s been over 10 years since we went with our kids, but we used this website (suggested by some friends who go twice a year) and it was a huge source of information and planning for us...

https://www.mousesavers.com/

It may not be as relevant now, but worth checking out.

We used to go the first week of December. The Christmas decorations are up, the weather is usually decent and the crowds aren’t as bad. Any earlier and you get the Thanksgiving madness. Any later you get the Christmas madness. Late September early October used to always be the Brazilian tour groups from Hell!
Stay on the property. The convenience is worth it. We used to stay at the Yacht Club with a lakefront room. Now a room overlooking the parking lot costs more than we used to pay for lakefront. The last few times we went we stayed at the Swan. Not a “Disney” hotel but effectively just as convenient. The Swan and the Dolphin are on a lake that connects to the lake by the Yacht/Beach Club, and the Boardwalk. That lake connects to the lake in Epcot.
You can hop the boat and ride into the World Showcase part of Epcot, walk on through and out the front and hop the monorail to Magic Kingdom. You can also take the boat around to Hollywood Studios or whatever they call it. You will need to take a bus to get to Animal Kingdom. Or drive yourself. If you are at a Disney hotel and drive to animal kingdom you don’t pay to park. If you are staying at the Swan or Dolphin you pay a daily charge to park and that DOES NOT allow you to park at the animal kingdom for free.
We liked the Candlelight Processional in World Showcase around Christmas time.
Mickeys favorite color is green!$$$$$$

I've seen a few people on here downplay the Dining Plan. But I very much enjoy the one sit down meal per day. If you plan it right, you can get a nice meal in each park and take time to rest during the day. I also did it when the kids were little and it worked out very well. Of course, I have no idea how this is working today with covid crap.

Also mentioned are lots of good options for nice meals at Disney Springs. I sure hope The Polite Pig is still there. That is a great deal for one of your counter service meals.

quote:

Originally posted by dwp10mm:
I've seen a few people on here downplay the Dining Plan. But I very much enjoy the one sit down meal per day. If you plan it right, you can get a nice meal in each park and take time to rest during the day. I also did it when the kids were little and it worked out very well. Of course, I have no idea how this is working today with covid crap.

Unless they change their policies before the OP goes, Disney doesn't offer the dining plans any more- another COVID victim.

I like the dining plan and we’ve used it on a few trips. What they don’t tell you is you can have a plan for less days than you book. We were there for 5 days and did 4 days of dining. You have to call in to do it. They didn’t let you do less on the website. Right now with Covid they aren’t doing the dining plan.

I have been to Disneyworld once and much prefer Disneyland just something about the park that feels odd to me I didnt like how long it took just to get to the front gate I think we had to take a boat ride every morning.