Disney Dining On A Budget

[DisneyPrincess21]

I was looking for tips you guys have about eating at WDW while on a budget, but without having to stick with PB&J the whole time.

My family of 3 adults wanted to go to O'Hana, but we don't think we will be able to afford it, So I was thinking a nice alternative would be to stop at Captain Cooks and grab a sandwich and go to Poly Beach to watch Wishes.

We originally were thinking of visiting O'hana, Le Cellier, Chef Mickey's, But now we are not sure if we will have the money to go into that much of an expense on food.

Anyone have any tips on Dining at WDW while on a budget? Without having to sacrifice the experience of being at WDW, and without having to eat only PB&J's.

[FloridaTeacher]

Pick what's most important (ie. what restaurants/experiences) and just do those. Also, lunch is cheaper than dinner. We usually eat out at lunch and eat at our motorhome for supper.

We love breakfast at Chef Mickey's and always try to schedule that one in.

[buzznwoodysmom]

If you have a young child then I'd choose to do Chef Mickey's for breakfast as the one special treat and then just do counter service meals the rest of the week. Another alternative is to book lunch (cheaper) instead of dinner, and instead of each member in your party ordering a whole meal you could split meals. DH and I often get by sharing an appitizer, entree, and dessert. At Chef's de France we shared the 3 course pre set meal, which was around $20 and we were both full after. We have two DSs, but if we only had one child that was rather young we could probably all three share an app. entree, and dessert and be fully satisfied. You could also split CS meals, not every member in the party needs their own order of fries. If you are also saving money on your CS meals you may be able to squeeze in an additional TS meal. In June we had a bunch of TS meals where DH and I ordered two appitizers and split them and were full enough that we didn't order anything else. In many cases the bill for the four of us was around $60 where in the past any TS meal would have run us well over $100. Good luck!

[Jillirose]

Sci Fi is moderately priced, with great theming. It is the first request by my kids for each trip. They were hohum at Ohana if you can believe that - big disappointment for me (the planner)!!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I agree with some of the above posts - pick what is important, and save on the rest.

We always bring food for breakfast and snacks in the room, so we only have to worry about lunch and dinner.

A TS meal at lunch is usually cheaper than the same place at dinner, so if they are open for both, you can have a late lunch, and then just a light dinner.

[HoosierDisneyFan]

A few of suggestions:

1) Eat @ TS resturants for lunch instead of dinner.
2) Eat @ CS resturants instead of TS resturants. There are many great options.
3) Review pricing of resturants on various websites before your trip to budget $$.
4) Split meals with family members. Many resturants have large portions (not available at buffets).
5) Bring breakfast foods from home to eat in your hotel room before going to the parks.
6) Avoid alcohol, apps & deserts.
7) Win the lottery before your trip.

[disneymom2000]

Don't know if you thought about going to Downtown Disney and picking up some great sandwiches from the Earl of Sandwich or something equally tasty from Wolfgang Puck Express and sitting on your waterfront at the resort and having a nice picnic. That wouldn't be too expensive and you get some good ol' Disney food. As far as something special, I agree with previous posts about Chef Mickey's. I really loved that place.

[2MuchWDFun]

Everyone has given you excellent tips...especially bringing breakfast items to enjoy in your room. Saves time and money!

There are great CS choices in each park. Many serve large portions that are easily shared and would make a great dinner; the others are just reasonably priced so each person can get their own meal:
AK-Flame Tree BBQ and Yak and Yeti (CS)
MK-Cosmic Rays (split chx and ribs meal); Columbia House (reasonably priced); Pecos Bills (get a couple of burgers/pulled pork sandwiches and one order of fries to share)
EPCOT-there are a ton of places in World Showcase to get a CS Meal...China, Japan (Yakitori), Morocco-Tangierine (our family's personal favorite),UK-fish and chips, Mexico (they are opening a new CS), The Land-Sunshine Seasons (large variety from mongolian beef to sandwiches to roasted chx or porkchops) very easy to share, another family favorite.
DHS-Starring Rolls has large sandwiches that can be easily shared.
I'm sure other Intercotee's will be along to give even more suggestions. It is not too difficult to eat inexpensively and still enjoy the Disney experience.

[goofysally]

to save money on food.... for 3 adults
rule #1 - we always order two meals and share
(then you may have room for DESSERT)
rule #2 - should we have a $60-$100 sit down
dinner or eat our way around EPCOT... yes
eat our way around EPCOT
rule #3 - get food to go (at Disney and have a
picnic to watch, fireworks, sunset or boaters
rule #4 - if you have a car... go get a pizza
or chicken dinner... or any take out food
at the grocery store... then do rule #3
rule #5 - eat like you eat at home... do you
really need a buffet for three meals?
rule #6 - there is no rule 6
rule #7 - have fun... I feel so sorry for
guests who are having disagreements over
where and what to eat ... make life easy
bananas and popcorn and a Mickey ice cream
are a meal!

[2MuchWDFun]

rule #7 - have fun... I feel so sorry for guests who are having disagreements over where and what to eat ... make life easy bananas and popcorn and a Mickey ice cream are a meal!

LOVE IT!! Although my choices would be a dole whip float, cinnamon almonds, and popcorn!

[SandmanGStefani24]

At a TS restaurant one could order an appetizer only, or an appetizer plus a side or dessert. Example...

one of my favorite stops is at Tokyo Dining. It is also one of the cheaper deals I get. I order an appetizer, a soup, and a drink. The sushi sampler is on the appetizer list but it with the soup is pretty filling. Altogether my excellent dining experience is around $15 before tip. This is just an example, but could be done other places too. At SciFi I ordered the chili, (also an appetizer) a drink and dessert and was also well under $20 before tip.

Also, goofysally had a great point. A meal is what you make of it!! While I love sitting in the nice pricey restaurant, I still love (maybe even more so) cheap CS meals. The Fish and Chips stand at Epcot, Caseys Corner Dogs, nachos, shwarmas, mickey icecream, ect, ect. There's nothing wrong with grabbing a quick snack and getting on to the next thing...

[kemps@wdw]

Lunch is always cheaper than dinner. Donuts and coffee in the room for breakfast, or if you're on the dining plan, get your TS dessert as breakfast for the next day. All resort shops usually have a small grocery inside. We keep bread, lunchmeat, snacks, and milk in our room. Alot of the dining portions are big enough to share. Ordering off the kids menu is allowed at someplaces, just ask. At the F & W Fest the snack-size portions are fairly cheap and very good.

[diz_girl]

Captain Cook's also has a pretty good stir fry (unlike ABC commissary) and they sell sushi, so you can get a satisying dinner there.

If you want to eat at 'Ohana, Le Cellier and Chef Mickey's, then do as others have mentioned and go there earlier in the day. You can save money by going to Chef Mickey's for breakfast, Le Cellier for lunch and 'Ohana for dinner.

I'm assuming that you want to go to 'Ohana for dinner instead of breakfast (they don't serve lunch). But I'd suggest 'Ohana for dinner if you're really planning to enjoy the food and atmosphere. But if it is too much of a stretch for your budget, then I'd suggest Captain Cook's. You can eat at the tables outside (weather permitting) or even by the pool and really enjoy the atmosphere of the resort.

For Chef Mickey's, the food is secondary to the atmosphere, so I'd suggest it for breakfast, the cheapest meal of the day.

I suggested lunch for Le Cellier because it is the less expensive of the meals that they serve there, but there are more sandwiches and salads for lunch than for dinner. There are more entrees for dinner there.

One place that we've eaten was Trail's End in FW and the food was good, as was the service. Dinner was inexpensive for a buffet and it's probably one of the best values on property.

[LVT]

We get the refillable mugs at resort and never buy
other beverages. I have learned to tolerate the water from the fountain.
We have 3 or four on our trips so we can share. In the heat who wants a 1000 calorie meal. Not to mention going on a ride shortly thereafter.
We also take nuts, apples, oranges, candy and cereal bars from home, along with baggies for the day.
I recall buying the double cheeseburgers and a bun at MK (maybe Pecos Bill's).

[buzznwoodysmom]

I'd suggest Captain Cook's. You can eat at the tables outside (weather permitting) or even by the pool and really enjoy the atmosphere of the resort.

Please, please only eat at a table at the pool if the pool area is extremely empty if you are a visiting guest (as in not paying for a room at the resort). The Poly pool has to be one of the most crowded pools in all of WDW.

[buzznwoodysmom]

I recall buying the double cheeseburgers and a bun at MK (maybe Pecos Bill's).

This past June we tried to do just this for our kids to share a double cheeseburger. The CM told me that they are now charging over $3 for a bun to stop people from "cheating the system" by ordering the double cheeseburgers for two people to share. Not sure if this was accurate information, but this is what she was going to charge us. I would have just cut the burger in half, but one of my kids likes cheese, while the other hates it. I was going to ask that they put the cheese on the top that way one of the patties wouldn't have any cheese on it. There were no kids burgers listed on the menu at this location, but when I explained to her why I wanted the double cheeseburger she rang me up for a kids cheeseburger and a kids burger. It would be interesting to hear if other's have experienced this charge for an extra bun recently. It was the first time I'd heard of such a charge for a bun.