counter service recommendations?

[khrivnak]

First... reeeally stupid question...

How do you know while you're walking through the park what places take the DDP for counter service? Are there signs?

We leave this Saturday morning for our Disney trip (first trip) and I just found out that Counter Service isnt necessarily eating at the food court at your resort (ASMo) or little hot dog stands littered throughout the park. Lack of planning on my part, but now I'm scrambling for suggestions to look for in each of the parks.

Can anyone give me suggestions for CS meals in each of the four parks?

[djp0630]

MK - We enjoyed Peco Bill's & Cosmic Ray's.
AK - We liked Picnic on the Park but Flame Tree BBQ gets good reviews. We're going to try that in May.
Epcot - Sunshine Seasons in the Land
DHS - We're going to try Toy Story Pizza Planet in May, but in Sept, we didn't eat CS there.

[khrivnak]

what did you get at those places on the CS credits? One entree and a drink? (I'm sooo happy I'm not gonna survive on hot dogs LOL).

Are there signs that say "accept CS credits"?

[famgel]

Just curious to know also, going in Jan!

[MusiqChic99]

Every counter service place we went to excepted the CS credits.

Animal Kingdom...Flame Tree Barbeque..one of the best counter services on property in my opinion.


We had Taco Salads at Pecos Bills in the Magic Kingdom and thought they were really good. Some people dont like them though as I've seen on the dis, but we all enjoyed ours and loved the topping bar!

Checkout World Showcase in Epcot for CS in the different countries. You can have Mexican, Chinese, American, etc. This will give you a different choice from the regular burger and fries.

Good luck and have a great time!

[TDC Nala]

http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw/images2003/languagespecific/eng/nontheme/tickets/2009Dining.pdf?bcsi_scan_AD44D79B2823D7D4=0&bcsi_scan_filename=2009Dining.pdf

2009 list of all TS and CS that accept the dining plan.

The 2010 list is incomplete at this time, so use this one for planning if you're going in 2010.

CS meals (except breakfast) consist of an entree or combo meal, drink and dessert. (No dessert with breakfast, so you get juice instead, plus an extra drink)

[WalkingintheFog]

Believe me, you're not going to starve!
I think there's very very few places that don't honor the Disney Dining Plan.

I did the DDP in 2008, but not in 2009. For me & my eating/drinking habits that made sense$$$.
But in 2008, a counter service meal included entree, dessert and drink.
Just check out the forum on Dining, there's a thread for the Dining Plan, and a link to show the restaurants/Counter services for each park/resort.

There's also a link that will give you the menus for each place. I found that useful to identify various places to try as well as some not to try!



Magic Kingdom:
Yes yes yes to both Cosmic Rays and Peco Bills. (and if you're ordering burgers or something that you need to add "fixings" to, their condiment stations are huge!). Both have large airconditioned eating areas (at Peco Bills we found a room almost empty as we walked thru to the right of the serving counters, whereas the areas right by the serving counters were packed).

Disney Hollywood Studio:
Studio Catering Company (not far from the Backlot Studio Tour) was the only CS I ate at, enjoyed the wrap I ordered.
I've heard some say they also enjoyed the Toy Studio Pizza Planet (it seemed really noisy to me, but again, I bet if you head away from the main entrance and serving areas, you'll find some semi peaceful places)

Animal Kingdom:
Ate 2x at Flame Tree Barbeque, and really enjoyed that. Head to the left and down the steps to one of the patios with a view of Everest.
Yak & Yeti had both a table service and a counter service. I found seating outside to the right of the counter and thru some doors.... so did everybody else, and I had never seen so many brazen birds anywhere else in WDW! I thought the food was just so-so, I had the honey chicken.
Pizzafari was really crowded inside, but if you walked outside to the left, there were actually tables around the perimeter and they were practically deserted! (no, it was not toooo hot to be hotside). Didn't try it, so no comments on the food.
But I did use a snack credit (twice, in fact) to get the frozen/slushie Lemonade!

EPCOT:
Mexico Cantina de San Angelo (something like that) I enjoyed the combo platter, although they really resisted giving me one without beans (allergy...finally a CM argued on my behalf to get a fresh one plated up w/out beans). The Churros were like cardboard the day I was there, but I've heard others swoon over them since! I'd go back again! And there were pleasant tables near the water or not, with umbrellas for shade or not.
This year I Paid Out Of Pocket (acronym is OOP... not POOP, mind you) and really enjoyed Morocco: Tangierine Cafe, Britain: Yorkshire County Fish Shop Fish & Chips (ate them sitting on the sidewalk watching a monty python-esque street show, and this year sat at a table to the right of the stand down by the water, under the shade), China: Lotus Blossom Cafe.

At the Water Parks, I picked up lunch at the main takeouts, close to the entrance. I picked IceCream as my dessert, and the CM suggested I come back for it after finishing my meal! That was great, I got it as I left the parks about 3pm or so. One park I had pizza, another park the Salad meal.

And Downtown Disney!
Wolfgang Puck Express... The meal would surely have cost me $25 OOP! I had chicken on pasta (forget the name of dish), and a honking big piece of carrot cake. And there were no paper/plastic plates or utensils involved! (wait, the dessert was in a plastic container)... I ate there once on DDP, and twice this year not on dining plan! (the roterisserie beef w/ gorgonzola in a pocket is delish!)
Earl of Sandwich (didn't eat there on the dining plan, but it is on the DDP, and I enjoyed it... twice.)


NO HOTDOGS WERE HARMED DURING MY VISIT ON THE DINING PLAN!:rotfl:
....but I did have the mini corndogs from Casey’s Corner at Main Street in MK this trip...I ate them as I walked. If you go there, enter by the side to find a service counter that's not as busy as the one that you hit at the front door (when I was there that line was actually out the door....strange, but there it was)

[khrivnak]

TY sooo much for the suggestions and the link Nala. I'm going to have a very late evening checking out the menus for each place to make sure its something we all would love.

You guys are the BEST!:thumbsup2:hug:

[tony67]

FYI: Mexico Cantina de San Angelo is no longer good. They got rid of the combination platter and the food has taken a nose dive since. Too bad. I hope they address this.

Beyond that there are a lot of good places to eat with CS.
Here is a link to the 22 CS meals I had on the QSDP.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2315572

It seems most of the best have already been mentioned.
I will mention Starring Roles in HS. Great sandwiches and Cupcakes.
People seem to miss it and they run out of food early, usually a good sign at any restaurant.

[beroh2253]

Just back from 7 days free dining only did 3 CS lunch because of the Food and Wine Fest used our SC there, did 5 breakfast CS
Breakfast -Capt Cooks at Poly for the Tongas toast 2 times
Riverside for the made to order omlet 3 times
Lunch-MK- Columbia Habor House
HS- Toy Story Pizza Planet still really like the veggi pizza
AK- Flame Tree BBQ-Ribs

[dd50]

You can find the menu's here:

http://allears.net/din/dining.htm

Remember that the CS includes a drink and dessert. If you use your mug at the resort you still can get another drink. (I always seems to forget that until later).

[dd50]

Here is the other one:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm#restaurants2009

[minniemee]

These are our favorite CS
MK: Cosmic Ray's
AK: Flame Tree
DHS: Toy Story Pizza Planet
Epcot: Sunshine Seasons
We also like Pecos Bill's at MK.
Enjoy your trip!!

[kiwicassie]

My favorite counter service places:

AK: Flame Tree BBQ
MK: Columbia Harbour House
Epcot: Cantina de San Angel, Sunshine Seasons
Studios: Starring Rolls, Backlot Express

[Lowell317]

I cannot agree more on all of the Sunshine Seasons love. My wife and I look forward to eating there more than anywhere else at DW!