cost of food in WDW?

[kntheboys]

Hi!

I'm just wondering what I can expect to pay for a an "average" lunch in the various parks. DH and I were in Epcot last Feb. and thought the prices were very high, but I can't remember exact amounts.

We have 4 boys between 5 and 11 years old, so we were planning to bring lots of snacks and hold off till supper time. HOWEVER, I'm beginning to rethink it a little bit because the parks will only be open till 8pm or so.

What I'm wondering is what the traffic may be like if we try to go back to our condo (on US 192 in Kissimmee) midday and head back to the MK this Friday for the parade and fireworks? Maybe it would be better to eat a late lunch in the park and have a snack before bed?

So, a related question is: With the size of our family, it would cost $82 (tax and tip not included, I believe) for a dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Would it be less expensive to spend the money for this or get a burger or something? (for instance: DH and I had lunch at USF last February. He had a burger and fries, I had chicken sandwich and fries; we shared a chocolate shake and a cookie. It cost $22! If we had brought the boys, it would have cost us $60 for JUST a burger and fries apiece, basically! So, in that case, maybe we'd be better off spending $100 for "all you can eat" REAL food!)

Thanks for your help/ advice!!

Kristen

 

[josierac]

Take a look at www.wdig.com/menu/menus.htm

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We found that counter sevice food was cheaper but not near as satisfying. WE could get a burger type lunch for 2 adults and 1 child for around 22.00. A sit down was around 45.00 plus tip everywhere we ate except The Coral Sea which was much higher.We found however that eating a sitdown meal gave us a much needed rest and kept us going much longer. You also have more control over the amount of food you order at counter service.Some of the younger boys could share fries or a drink.What we did most days was breakfast in the room, a nice sit down lunch, a afternoon snack, and dinner back at the resort food court.This worked well for us.DS is 9.

Jordan's mom

 

[AZKathy]

Four boys! Bet they are hungry a lot! Mine is! LOL!

We eat breakfast in the resort. We make a reservation at a buffet restaraunt for around 12:30-1:00 pm so hungry stomachs can get their fill. We head back to resort for afternoon swim and have sandwiches/light meal for dinner before we head back to the parks.

We figure for our family of five for that meal every day and groceries around $100/day. I also bring snacks to the parks from home (shop at Sam's club, fill a suitcase).

 

[yzma]

Hey josierac, You left out a W on your link. www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm

 

[crusoe2]

Kristen, there are about 3 good threads on this subject over on the Budget board. You might want to check those out. There were suggestions on how to eat less expensively in the parks, great places outside the parks, and ideas for quick meals for folks with access to a kitchen. Hope this helps.

 

[Flheiny]

Not for everyday, but if you are planning on leaving the park, there are 2 McDonald's on WDW property (that I know of) Might be cheaper then eating in the parks, but then again not as cheap as going back to the condo.

 

[skeezixspud]

I ask because traffic midday is usually tolerable on the western side, but pretty nasty to the East. If you are on East I-92, it will take you quite a while to go "home" and back; you will probably lose 3 hours of park time, especially at MK. (Westbound, you can leave WDW via Sherberth road, much quicker than the main I-92 entrance.)

We find that the sit-down restaurants are actually cheaper for us in many cases, because the portions are huge, so we split them, and the food is MUCH nicer than counter service. Even the kids meals are pretty large; your two youngest might even be able to split one of those. Glasses of tap water in restaurants are free, BTW. Remember that the buffets and "family-style" meals charge per-person, no matter how much is actually eaten, so those are usually NOT a good idea for a large family, except as a splurge.

One of the things we did when we stayed off-site was go to a resort to eat. Hop on a bus or the monorail and go over for lunch; the food courts are cheaper than eating in-park. If you have an ice chest in your car you could eat in the parking lot, but do it discreetly; no setting up lawn chairs and barbeques! A couple of reasonable ideas for lunch: Trail's End Buffet at Fort Wilderness is pretty cheap and very filling. From Epcot, take a boat over to the Dolphin; Tubbi's Buffeteria in the basement is a cafeteria with decent prices; the hotel staff tend to eat there. Also near Epcot (or MGM for that matter!) go to the Pizza window outside Spoodles; really good pizza, reasonably priced, and the kids can go to one of the arcades and blow some quarters while the grownups relax.

Another good possibility fairly close in: the area just outside the gates on Hotel Plaza Blvd.
There are some chain restaurants there, such as Perkins. (Beware of noon traffic near DD,
however; the WDW office workers from Casting and the HQ building are based around there.)You also might look into ordering an Orlando Entertainment book for off-site restaurant 2-for-1 coupons; it would probably pay for itself after one meal.

 

[kntheboys]

Thanks for all the tips! Can somebody tell me if I am east or west of the main entrance???! Our condo is within a couple miles of Arabian Nights... When coming from the airport, we exit I-4 going east on 192 for about 3 miles. But is that east or west of the main entrance?

Ok-- I found a map. We're east (wouldn't you know it?)

Is it busy ANY time of year there, though?? We'll be there from Thursday through the next week. Last year, there was construction on that stretch of 192, but it wasn't terribly busy during the day from what I remember...

 

[kalamazoo]

I have 2 suggestions:

1) Somewhere one one of the boards I read about someone not doing meals but snacking around the world at Epcot. This is especially possible at Epcot since they tend to have "real" finger food and it's a good experience for the kids to sample foods from different countries. Psychologically, however, you might still feel like you need a meal.

2) Eat a very late lunch. Get the latest sitting at your selected sit-down restaurant (it's usually 4 or 4:30) and make that your dinner. As you probably know the lunch meal is much less expensive than dinner and it is basically the same food. You can always snack up to then or even get a light counter service lunch (like 1 meal split between 2 people).

 

[campingcorgi]

I'll second eating at the Trail's End in Fort Wilderness. It is a good, inexpensive buffet and easily accessible from MK. You can just hop on the FW boat and get off at FW. A 2-minute walk up from the beach and you are there, and after you eat you can check out the petting zoo and the barn where the horses are kept. An inexpensive meal and free fun--what more can you ask!

Barbara
117 days till I go 'home' to FW