Eating off site....

akl-fan

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
We are DVC members and usually stay in a one bedroom and use the dining plan. We are going to be staying next July in a studio at AKV JH. We are going to be on a tight budget - therefore the dining plan will not be affordable.
Could my fellow dissers please advise where is good to eat offsite - close to AKV.
Or if you have had any sucsess self catering in a studio.
Thanks in advance

Katrina
 
We are DVC members and usually stay in a one bedroom and use the dining plan. We are going to be staying next July in a studio at AKV JH. We are going to be on a tight budget - therefore the dining plan will not be affordable.
Could my fellow dissers please advise where is good to eat offsite - close to AKV.
Or if you have had any sucsess self catering in a studio.
Thanks in advance

Katrina

AKL is close to Sherburth Road and 192, where there's a ton of restaurants. We like Giordano's in that area for Chicago-style deep dish pizza, but there's just about any other chain restaurant you can imagine and some good locals, too, within 15 minutes or so.
 


IMHO if you have a car there is no need to eat on site. You can get better quality food for much better prices. We own DVC and eat very few meals onsite these days. We may make a couple reservations onsite but mostly we enjoy eating offsite or in our villa. The dining plan is a terrible "vaue" unless you have reservations that will allow you to purchase for one day. I dont understand the convenience of the dining plan. You pay anyway and if you are trying to maximize value, the DDP is a terrible "value". Even with free dining when you consider paying rack rate, you would do better with a discount rate and just buying the food you want.
 
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In a Jambo House studio, you'll have a sink, medium sized fridge, coffeemaker and microwave. Not sure how conducive that is to cooking more than frozen meals or putting together salads and the like.
 
I'd either take an Uber or order an online grocery order for your resort that covers breakfasts, snacks, drinks, and light lunches or dinners...it will save you boatloads to eat in the room vs even eating off site.

Microwaves are nice things that can make...
Fully Loaded Nachos
Stuffed Baked Potatoes
All Things Breakfast (Bacon, Sausage, Pancakes, even Eggs, etc)
Chili Dogs
Etc, etc...

Fridges are lovely b/c you can store the makings of
Homemade Chicken Salad
Protein Plates
Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits
BBQ Pork/Chicken Sandwiches with Slaw
Etc, etc, etc...

With a tight budget, plan one meal out you will really enjoy vs 3 cruddy meals that you eat b/c they are cheap...and eat healthy and filling food back in your kitchen:)...
 
We love Bruno's Italian. The food is great. It's not expensive, and they will also deliver. It's about 5 miles from AKL.
http://brunos192.com/index.html

I like a lot of the restaurants at Crossroads which is very close to Disney Springs. Plus as mentioned earlier a zillion chain restaurants up and down 192.
 
We love Bruno's Italian. The food is great. It's not expensive, and they will also deliver. It's about 5 miles from AKL.
http://brunos192.com/index.html

I like a lot of the restaurants at Crossroads which is very close to Disney Springs. Plus as mentioned earlier a zillion chain restaurants up and down 192.


We are soooo glad you mentioned Bruno's arminnie!! Man!! Sooooo good! Bruno's is defn on our return to list.

We had the bruschetta, caprese salad, veal park, trio (lasagna, shells n cheese and manicotti), chicken cacciatore and lobster tortellini.
Everyone loved their food!! Some of the best Italian we've had anywhere.

Tiramisu and lemoncello cheese cake was to die for!!

Try Bruno's!!

Near Holiday Inn Orange Lake Resort.
 
We are soooo glad you mentioned Bruno's arminnie!! Man!! Sooooo good! Bruno's is defn on our return to list.

We had the bruschetta, caprese salad, veal park, trio (lasagna, shells n cheese and manicotti), chicken cacciatore and lobster tortellini.
Everyone loved their food!! Some of the best Italian we've had anywhere.

Tiramisu and lemoncello cheese cake was to die for!!

Try Bruno's!!

Near Holiday Inn Orange Lake Resort.
Bruno's is truly great food - whether you are at Disney or not. Sometimes great food is just great food.

I've promised my DH that we can go to Bruno's multiple times on our next trip.
 
We love Sweet Tomatoes in the Crossroads Plaza. I've signed up online and receive weekly discount coupons
 
A one bedroom condo at AK will have a full kitchen.
I'd head to Publix/Walmart etc for easy to prep foods.
With a car, there is more than plenty on 192 along the Sherbeth Rd corridor. Fast food from Mcdonalds to Chick Fil A and Culvers to more family style restaurants like Cracker Barrel.

We also love Giordano's but wouldn't consider it cheap.

Outside of Olivia's at OKW, we have found onsite dining to be expensive and underwhelming.
 
I think there is a super Target pretty close by. We do lots breakfast (PB and J, egg sandwiches) and dinners, kale salad rotisserie chicken, rice, nosh dinners of bread cheese sausage...
 
Try Winn Dixie fried Chix or their tenders. Get some green beans and rice too. You can have a family dinner for four people under $10. My kids said if we had Winn Dixie up north, we would never need to go to KFC.
 
We will snack at WDW, but anymore the food is so expensive for what you get. We like Texas de Brazil. They have lots of good coupons if you sign-up for their emails.

We also found WaWa sub sandwiches. They were really good and a bargain. Next trip I want to try Hash House a go go and Shake Shack.
 
I would stock up on easy stuff

Breakfast items, fruit, yogurt, cereal, juice, milk, breakfast bars, instant oatmeal( I like to add in some of the dry fruit, almonds slivers, or golden raisin) creamer, and real coffee.

Lunch or dinner - bread, mayo/ mustard, deli meat and cheese, maybe some premade sides, (macaroni salad, potato salad, coleslaw, pasta salad), chip and dips, crackers, cheese sticks or those baby bells, pickles slices and olives.

Must haves Water, soda, juice, and adult beverages

Suggestion, bring a collapsible or soft sided cooler for pool time, bring your own drinks and snacks this will save a lot.

192 has a ton of restaurants.. but they will be crowded as this is tourist lane. There are a lot of good spots to eat, one of our favorite and a lot of our friends love it, is O'Charley's located on Turkey lake Road, in the plaza are a lot of other options, including a Whole foods. If you turn left at the light ( sand lake and turkey lake) there's restaurant row, 2 Publix's on each side of the road, KeKe's which is a great breakfast and lunch spot. Out side of Disney Springs there all the chains restaurants, and they are super busy again this is a tourist area.

Groupon - you might want to see what's available sometimes they have some great deal,

With Disney Springs having so much to do and all the new restaurants, you might want to check out what they have to offer, plus the bus will take you to and from, so you can indulge in some adult beverages if you wish. Get a Landry's card sign up .. T-REX, RainForest, Yak and Yeti, it 25 but you get it back and if its the adults birthday month ( the adult who hold the card, must present the card and id) you get another 25.00.

Also think about sharing some meals, I think that the portions are quite large and more than enough to share.

Hope this helps out a lot.
 

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