Dining Without Disney Dinning Plan Questions

[amjrsj]

Hi! I have a trip planned in January and need some dining advice. The last two trips we used the Disney Dinning plan and it was so easy! This trip that option is not available due to my length of stay. I have reservations for Be Our Guest already but I am interested in finding out some good lower cost dinning options. I honestly never paid any attention to that while on the plan.

Just looking at Chef Mickey they show a cost of $$$ on the website, and honestly it was fun but the food wasn't all that great to me.

So I need ideas, your favorites... that are both delicious and budget friendly. We are traveling with a 10 year old and I have events two evenings so both lunch and dinner options would be appreciated.

We are staying at the Contemporary and plan to only hit Epcot and MK while there park wise.

 

[pumba]

if you want a good cs food option at MK...we and the kids and grandkids loved Cosmic rays...they had enough choices to hold the fort....also I loved the half chicken, mashed potatoes, and seasonal veggie for 10.99....easily delicious and could of fed two ...also Columbia house has many options as a cs option...have fun planning

 

[tobikaye]

For buffet, character meals, all you care to eat or shows check prices here:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/buffet-character-shows-aycte-pricing-as-of-10-15-2015.3108466/

 

[amjrsj]

Thanks to you both! We sometimes share the meals because it seems like so much anyway. A half chicken would for sure feed two! I need to check out Cosmic Rays, I have never tried it. Honestly having the plan in the past has kept me from having to do any real thinking on this at all. I am a bit excited about planning.

 

[Miffy]

I'm definitely with a PP--Columbia Harbour House and Cosmic Ray's are our go-to CS places in the MK.

As for Epcot, in Future World, Sunshine Seasons (adjacent to Soarin'--in the Land pavilion), which is a food court of sorts, has a zillion choices--sure to please everyone.
And Tangierine Cafe in Morocco has a lot of really good choices and a beautiful outdoor (or indoor, if the weather's not too good) seating area.

Since you'll be staying at the Contemporary, you can take the boat over to Fort Wildnerness and have dinner at Trail's End. It's a buffet and there are a zillion and one choices there! But it's not as budget-friendly as the CS restaurants that I mentioned above.

You can see full menus with prices on both the Disney site and at allears.net.

Have fun!

 

[cluvsdisney]

In the Magic Kingdom, for sit down The Plaza Restaurant is pretty reasonable and the lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern has nice portions that could be shareable.

In the Epcot resort area, Beaches & Cream, ESPN and The Fountain are good and not too expensive as well. Plus the Boardwalk has the bakery with good sandwiches and the pizza window which is pretty decent for Disney.

 

[kiramay]

Lunch at the Biergarten is a lot less than dinner for the same food and experience. It's also a buffet so you can fill up.

 

[shortnsassy730]

Via Napoli at Epcot is one of the most affordable TS to share at. I actually really like to go to the Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary for QS. Their sandwiches are really good. Sunshine Seasons and Tangerine Cafe are good QS options at Epcot. I also agree with the Plaza being very affordable for TS.

 

[VrBchJ]

For a non park restaurant Trail's End at Ft. Wilderness is fun, delicious and very reasonable. Since you're staying at the Contemporary it's a short boat ride away. And the Contempo Cafe in the lobby is very good.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Do you know how much you want to spend? I decide what I would most like to eat and see how much it would cost then determine if I like that price and adjust as necessary. It would be sad if you ate Plaza because it was a bargain instead of Be Our Guest when in reality you may have been able to afford Be Our Guest.

 

[nj disney family]

I agree with the Plaza and Via Napoli being great choices for "Disney cheap" meals. I would add the Wave right there in the contemporary and portobello at Disney springs. Both meals with 2 adults and 2 kids cost us $60-70, and were decent.

 

[kastoney]

Other have suggested a lot of my go to's for good food at lower price points but I'll repeat them again so they appear to be complete original thoughts ; )

MK - The Plaza and Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch only) are great options with a nice price-tag
MGM - SciFi
Epcot - Via Napoli (pizzas are big enough to share) on Sunshine Seasons (counter service)
AK - Yak n Yeti
Resorts - Sanaa, Beaches and Cream, Whispering Canyon
DTD - Raglan Road

 

[amjrsj]

Thanks everyone, I had a bit of a health scare and was MIA for a while. I am just catching up! I don't have a "budget" that I have to work with but I do want to keep it under about $25 per person per meal if possible. We do have one Reservation for Be our Guest. I doubt I could get another now... But it is a favorite and well worth the $$ to me.

 

[msmama]

I find myself eating a lot of kids meals, which helps to keep the cost down. Plus, it leaves room for snacks later.

My son and I will often share a waffle sandwich at Sleepy Hollow or Mac n Cheese at...the place in Fantasyland whose name I can't remember (Friar's nook, maybe). Peco's Bills new menu was good too. I got a kids quesadilla, which is just cheese, but then was able to add lots of stuff at the fixins bar and make it more filling!

 

[alliecat523]

The Plaza at MK is very affordable and a good TS restaurant.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We paid OOP this pay trip.

We did via Napoli twice. It was delicious and reasonable. CHH was a favorite. Beaches and Cream was really good with decent prices. Yak and Yeti qs at AK was awesome.

We also did ohana and chef Mickey. With DS being a Disney adult the price was a bit much. Next trip dd will be a Disney adult so we aren't doing these buffet meals except maybe breakfast at CP or TH.

 

[North of Mouse]

Thanks to you both! We sometimes share the meals because it seems like so much anyway. A half chicken would for sure feed two! I need to check out Cosmic Rays, I have never tried it. Honestly having the plan in the past has kept me from having to do any real thinking on this at all. I am a bit excited about planning.

Not sure how much your 10 year old would be eating, but to me the half chicken meal at Cosmic Rays would not feed two adults (or near adult). It's a 'very' small half chicken and I can easily eat it, and I am not a large person, or big eater. It might be enough for an adult and small child. There are very few shareable meals at Disney for two older people with healthy appetites IMO unless you do lots of snacking in between meals and aren't very hungry.

 

[zebsterama]

I agree with the Plaza and Via Napoli being great choices for "Disney cheap" meals. I would add the Wave right there in the contemporary and portobello at Disney springs. Both meals with 2 adults and 2 kids cost us $60-70, and were decent.

I would say the Plaza and Via Napoli are great choices for our family of four - we've eaten there on a number of occasions. We think they're highly underrated.

Can't go wrong with either, and they're both TS, which is nice.

 

[shh]

"I find myself eating a lot of kids meals, which helps to keep the cost down." I know you can order kid's meals as an adult at QS...will they let you order a kid's meal at a TS place in Epcot - like San Angel when there's clearly no kid at the table?

 

[supersnoop]

"I find myself eating a lot of kids meals, which helps to keep the cost down." I know you can order kid's meals as an adult at QS...will they let you order a kid's meal at a TS place in Epcot - like San Angel when there's clearly no kid at the table?

Generally speaking, yes. However, if there are any exceptions, the restuarants in Italy and Mexico are the most likely to tell you no.