Anyone Done CS Only?

[Janet89]

I saw this thread on another board and thought it was interesting and fun.

Does anyone ever just do CS/Food Court? What are your favorites?

[MsMin]

I remember a day when there was only CS :old:
We did just CS when I was broke and had 3 kids many times. There are many great ones with lots of varieties. When the kids were little the whole bottom of the land was a huge food court now it's the Sunshine Garden Cafe :blush: something like that. Gosh in EPCOT there are dozens of great CS some of our favorites are the Cantina and the kids loved Norway and Japan.. :thumbsup:

[jans2kids]

In order to be able to spend more days on each trip we cut back on eating. We usually pick 2-3 nice sit down restaurants but the rest are all counter service and food court. Our favorite was to go to Tusker House for a late breakfast but now they have turned it into a character breakfast so we can't do that anymore. We like the Electric Umbrella in Epcot, Columbia Harbor House and Cosmic Rays in MK, Pizzafari in AK and Back Lot Express and ABC COmmisary in DHS. We will normally take breakfast foods with us to eat at the bus stop in the morning, Go Tarts, Mini Muffins, Special K Bars.

[momof3+twins]

I think it is totally possible to do just counter service BUT I am too spoiled. I love character meals. We only eat at 2 -4 table services a trip. But, I need those 2-4!

[azdisneymom]

We haven't done exclusively CS. On our first 3 trips we usually ate at a TS on the day of arrival (BOMA - yum); and CS for the rest of our stay. We really like Flame Tree, Cantina de San Angel and Sunshine Seasons. Now we do a combination just to slow down a bit and enjoy a few new restaurants.

[McGoofy]

In the past you couldn't get the dining plan with annual passes, so because we had AP's, we never had the DDP. Without DDP, for us it was way too expensive to do a sit down meal every day. We usually picked one TS for the trip and that was it. With the excpetion of our one spurge on a TS, yes, we can do a 4 day/5 day on just CS. In addition to that, we take food to the hotel that we can make for breakfast as well. It's just a way that our family chooses to save a little money and spend elsewhere at Disney.:mickey:

[grumpypima]

We ate all CS meals on our last trip over the ESPN Weekend. We usually eat a combination of both TS & CS, but this was a last minute trip. I probably read some of the same posts as you & thought it would be fun, plus saving $$$ is always fun for DH. We stayed at Coronado Springs. We ate a late dinner in the food court. It was good. It was busy but overall a pleasant dinner. I had the grilled chicken Caesar salad. The salad was a little… wilty?? My husband had the Bourbon chicken. He loved it. DS-5 had the cheese pizza slice. It was pretty big, so DH finished it for him. The food court was clean and the service was good. The new Rix Lounge was rockin’. We didn’t get a chance to do the lounge but we peeked in. If we ever take a trip NK (no kids), we will probably stay at CS. Both of us really liked the ham & cheese croissants from new grab & go place close to the lobby. They were served hot off a grill. One morning we ordered room service and ordered the ham & croissants. The next morning walked to the grab & go area and had the same thing. I assume the room service meal came from the grab & go area, but I’m not sure.

We ate at Earl of Sandwich at DTD. It was okay. I know lots of people love it and make it a point to go but we thought it was just okay…not bad, you know. The sandwiches were good; kind of like our local Tropical Smoothie. I had the BLT and DH had the ham, I think. Our bread seemed old; maybe dry is a better description. The potato salad was typical grocery store style, way too much mayo. The restaurant was clean and service was fairly quick considering how packed they were.

One afternoon, we stopped by Captain Cook’s at the Poly. We rented the Water Mice from their marina. After we were done with the boat rental, we ordered the double cheeseburger (as one post suggested) and split it. I think we ordered some fruit on the side. DS had a cheese pizza and the biggest bottle of chocolate milk I have ever seen. This might have been our favorite CS meal. The food was very good considering it was pizza & burgers. It wasn’t too greasy either. The pizza crust was good and our burger bun was fresh. We sat at outside. It was a beautiful day. We made out very cheap here.

We ate somewhere in the Magic Kingdom, not sure what it’s called. We had baked chicken and I think baked beans. It was very good. That probably doesn’t help much. We snacked throughout day eating ice cream, fruit, and even a hot dog close to LTT. All of it was good.

I would do another trip using CS only. Don’t get me wrong, we love TS meals as well. I think I was afraid the trip wouldn’t be the same without at least one character meal. In a way, eating all CS meals freed up our schedule. We didn’t have to worry about planning our days to make our ADRs. When we have ADR in place, I’m always a little worried we will run late. I usually wind up hurrying through some part of the park or arriving way too early. On this trip, at any given moment, we were doing just what we wanted to, when ever we wanted to.

[goofygirl67]

I always do CS. I usually wing it while I am at Disney so I don't plan for each day. Since it is difficult to walk into a restaurant now, I don't do TS.
Some of my favorites are Cosmic Ray's, Casey's, Sunshine Seasons, Pizzafari, Toy Story Pizza, and Columbia Harbour House. If I can walk in I will try Mama Melrose or Sci-Fi, or I may try to book that day, hardly works though.

[joanna71985]

My favorite CS are:
*Pinocchios (MK)
*Casey's (MK)
*Earl of Sandwich (DTD)
*Mexico (Epcot)
*Beaches and Cream (YC Resort)

[gardenia]

When our kids were little we just did counter service, because the kids just couldn't meet my standard of behavior for a nice TS restaurant. I often wish more parents would do the same thing, because recently I've had entire meals ruined by tired, screaming kids at the next table (at Chefs de France and Boma). There's plenty of excellent counter service places at WDW. My favorites are Boardwalk Bakery (they have GREAT sandwiches now), Tangierine Cafe, Columbia Harbour House, and Backlot Express.

[#1donaldfan]

We usually do several TS meals...gotta sit down and rest sometime, let someone cater to us for awhile.....

....as for good CS places:

AK -- Pizzafari
MK-- Columbia Harbor House / Cosmic Rays
EC-- ABC Commissary / Toluca Turkey legs
MGM-- Sunshine Cafe / Yorshire Fish Shoppe

...these are just a few of the ones we don't miss each year.....:mickey:

[AwPhooey]

....as for good CS places:

AK -- Pizzafari
MK-- Columbia Harbor House / Cosmic Rays
EC-- ABC Commissary / Toluca Turkey legs
MGM-- Sunshine Cafe / Yorshire Fish Shoppe

...these are just a few of the ones we don't miss each year.....:mickey:

I agree with #1donaldfan's suggestions for CS options in each of the parks, but I'd like to make a correction: the restaurants for Epcot and MGM should be swapped, as they're listed for the wrong park.

[DisneyDudet]

Usually, all we do is CS, except maybe one TS a trip, but that is pushing it. We usually rent a car and go off for things like Fast Food, or sometimes a sit down meal, so that's how we have our "TS" meals. We could stay longer at WDW by not eating TS meals, so we sacrificed good food for a good time! This time, we're doing the DDP, so we get to experience some TS places we haven't been to!

At AK, we don't have a favorite CS anymore. Our favorite CS of all time was the Tusker House, so you know how disappointed I am about it. Now, we usually just snack until we're done at AK, then head over to AKL to the Mara. They have an awesome pita made to order, plus you can get Zebra Domes!!!!! It was mighty good, and we might do it again, or try Flame Tree, if its open.

At Epcot, we're pretty boring. We will eat at Liberty Inn. Its your normal American food, but its fun to us. We are usually there shortly after opening, and the fife and bugle core come through and sometimes they spread out in the dining area and put on a show. Its pretty neat. If we don't eat there, we might eat at the Electric Umbrella or Sunshine Seasons, but not usually. You can also find us going to Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club for lunch when we go to Epcot.

At MGM, we will usually hit the Backlot Express. It can get busy after an Indiana Stunt show, so it might take a little planning. There tends to be you're typical fare there, but last time we ate there, there was a turkey sandwich that was so good! Again, you might catch us snacking and eating at Beaches and Cream.

At MK, we love Cosmic Ray's. There's something for everyone, but you have to get in different lines if there is something you want on the other side, plus it can get crowded. Another option for us was Pinocchio's.

A trip without TS is actually a very nice trip, with very little planning for meals. Its nice to eat at TS, but you can still have an amazing trip without them!

[Natazu]

Let me preface this by saying until very recently, our trips have been just Rachel and me, no kids to keep entertained, and not really on a budget.

That said, I couldn't imaging going to Disney and not taking advantage of the amazing things Mickey's chefs have to offer. Disney has possibly the largest concentration of gourmet restaurants in the US. A trip wouldn't be complete without CG, FF, Citricos, Kona, Marrakesh, Puck, etc.

Now I understand the need to make sure the little ones are happy, and that's rides, not fancy dinners. I also understand that Table Service is more expensive than Counter Service and a lot of people are on a budget. And I'm sure some people couldn't care if their plate has filet or hamburger, or is even a real plate for that matter.

For us, great dining, talking with chefs and restaurateurs, enjoying a relaxing meal at the end of the day is all part of our Disney vacations.

[Mickey 101]

At AK, we don't have a favorite CS anymore. Our favorite CS of all time was the Tusker House, so you know how disappointed I am about it.

My sentiments exactly!!! Our family's favorite restaurant was Tusker House, so we are still in mourning over the change. We have gone entire trips with only CS, not so much as a budget issue, but to free up our time. We love to have as much time as possible to devote to the parks and have the freedom of eating when we're hungry. We generally do at least a few TS while there, though. In another post I mentioned that a newly discovered CS for us is Starring Rolls Bakery in MGM. We had tried it in the past and didn't like it at all. But, we gave it another try after reading someone's recommendation here on Intercot and the sandwiches were amazing! We will definitely be going back.

[#1donaldfan]

I agree with #1donaldfan's suggestions for CS options in each of the parks, but I'd like to make a correction: the restaurants for Epcot and MGM should be swapped, as they're listed for the wrong park.

your absolutley right....!!!!!!:blush:

I suppose my brain was backwards ..... how'd I do that???????????????????:confused:

Anyway, those mentioned are good food .... sorry to confuse ......:blush::blush::blush:

[wendy*darling]

We keep saying we'd like to do an all-CS trip sometime... just like we keep saying we would like to do down and just enjoy the resorts- no parks.

Hasn't happened yet. :blush:

Like Jym and Rachel- dining is an important part of our WDW trips. That's not to say there isn't some really excellent food at CS- we love Tangierine Cafe, Flame Tree, Columbia Harbor House and others.
But we enjoy the "down time" and good meals of doing TS. We have been enough times, and will go more, that we do not need to do everything on every trip. If we miss a ride or 2, or even a park, it's OK. We'll be back. :mickey:

We are going this fall with friends. For the first 2 days it will just be DH and I. SO we said, let's take it easy and just do CS, sleep in, etc. (It's only 2 days!) Then DH saw a review of Flying Fish and now we have an ADR. And he can't get through a trip without a visit to San Angel. So we have an ADR there too!

Oh well... maybe next time...;)

[thatkindofday]

I've been to WDW 5 times and other than a character breakfast each trip, we only ate CS. My favorites are Pecos Bill, Columbia Harbour House, ABC Commissary, Lotus Blossom Cafe, and Liberty Inn. The trip in September is going to be really different because we have a TS meal reserved once a day (except the first day) and we're going to have to stop what we're doing and make time for it. I'm not sure if I'm going to like it or not, but we'll see!

[cal5755]

Our first family trip in 2005 was all cs... and of course when I was a teen too. We love Cosmic Rays and the Electric Umbrella.

[Bringonthemouse!]

We ONLY do CS.
My DD16 is a very picky eater (teenagers, what are you gonna do?) and we don't make any touring plans at all as we are "wing it" kind of girls so ADR's are out of the question (who knows where we'll be and when) and the fact that I'm a single mom so I really try to keep expenses down so we can keep going back, TS is a luxury we can do without.. Our absolute favourites are Pecos Bills at MK for wraps and Backlot Express at DHS for grilled turkey sandwiches. YUM!
:eat::tasty:

[Charlee]

We always used to do just counter service as we did not know about ADR's, table service places and generally just ate burgers! This was when I was teenager and we were just trying to get around all the rides as we only used to have one day in each park, sitting down for a meal was not an option when I would have to sacrifice it for Splash Mountain!

Last time was the first time we did ADR's (thanks to me finding Intercot and many people's good advice!) and we loved it! We only did 4 in a 14 night stay but it changed our minds!

This time for our 21 day trip to the world we have 7 which is managable for us - we are more CS type people and would find having too many ADR's too confining - plus we'd never do dining plan - makes no financial sense to us as we don't eat enough!

CS does us fine and most of the time we will eat at Pop's food court, there's a good selection and it is usually quite empty during lunch and dinner as most people are in the park.

I love trying Disney TS places and planning our ADR's but we still prefer to eat CS most of the time. We like to go with the flow on our trips and not worry about getting to an ADR!

[JPL]

I have done all counter service on a couple of my solo trips but mixed it up well enough to stay away from just eating Chicken Strips and Burgers.

Pop Food Court
Chicken Strips
Cheese Steak Wrap
Nachos

AK
Flame Tree BBQ - For Ribs then another time for Chicken

Epcot
Sunshine Seasons Variety of different of options

MK
Cosmic Rays I usually will go to a few different counters on each trip

DHS
Backlot Express Usually just grab a burger here

So there are options out there :thumbsup:

[Deesdisney]

The first year we went to WDW all we ate was CS. We had just enough money for the trip. But my DH and I saved every penny for it. I love TS but to save money CS is not bad.