Paying Out Of Pocket? Bank For Your Buck Meal?

[Aerinha]

I have never once been served anything at Disney that I thought I could share and not have two still hungry people except for one of their cupcakes lol.

The best money savers I have are: bring a filtered water bottle so you can drink from the fountain and have it taste like bottled, avoid TS to skip paying tips, don't force a meal if you just aren't hungry - a sandwich or pastry from a bakery is cheap and often sufficient,

 

[elaine amj]

Our family shares a lot. In particular, 3 meals can easily stretch to feed 4. If they are large meals, we can make 2 meals (like the chicken and ribs) stretch for all 4 of us. Once you throw in desserts/snacks, we are stuffed.

 

[supersnoop]

If it's a large meal, like the platter at the counter service in Morocco, I can feed the three of us with one meal, and extra side, and a dessert. Otherwise, two counter-service meals are usually plenty for the three of us.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We are OOP next trip and some TS places we are thinking of are :

Kona breakfast
Beaches and cream
The Plaza
Trail Ends

i may share some meals with DD if we have snacked a lot that day. Maybe ordering an extra side to supplement. I eat 5-6 small meals a day so I don't eat a lot at one sitting.

We may do the same with CS meals since she's not crazy about the kid options. She likes all different kinds of foods and gets tired of nuggets fast.

 

[awalker1015]

The family size pizza at Via Napoli is a great deal IMO. $41 easily fed the four of us and they made the pizza half and half.

 

[happymommy]

My daughter and I share a lot of meals, and find it's plenty for us!
At DAK, we love Yak & Yeti (the counter service one)! We'll share the honey chicken, plus a side of fried rice and sometimes an egg roll. It's quite good, and we can never finish it!
At Epcot, I like the counter service in Morocco. It's usually very good (I've had it on an off day though), and the servings are very large.
There is a LOT to choose from at Sunshine Seasons!
We get free ice water everywhere, and last trip honestly it tasted fine!
For table service, we only did one the last couple of trips (it's a birthday tradition) and that's Sci Fi dine in theater. Many of their sandwiches are priced not much different than counter service, and are large and filling, and very good! It's a cute atmosphere! Last trip, we had 5 of us there for a late lunch, only one kid ordered a kids meal, we had a couple desserts ordered I think, I had at least 2 glasses of wine, and it still was around $100 total for the meal. DD always wants to go there on her birthday (which almost always falls over spring break).

 

[samsteele]

Yak & Yeti table service is a good value OOP if you want to eat light and stick with the appetizers.

Trails End dinner is good value OOP.

Beaches & Cream for dinner.

Biergarten isn't a bad choice for OOP lunch if you can handle making a huge lunch your main meal of the day.

Earl of Sandwich is a very good value at Downtown Disney.

For snack, the lefse at Kringla Og Cafe in Epcot (Swedish bakery) is a wonderful value & tasty.

 

[pangyal]

Are adults allowed to order from the kids menus at both TS and CS locations if paying OOP?

 

[DJFan88]

You can definetly
order kids meals at counter service!

also, not sure where op is staying, but I totally agree with the POR food court, make your own meals there a great value

 

[themommy]

I forgot to add earlier that you don't have to order the sides that come with everything if you don't want them. For example, on the menu it states Bacon Cheeseburger/French Fries combo. You can order the Bacon Cheeseburger without the fries and save some money. We always end up throwing away a ton of fries if we order the combos as listed. That's like tossing money in the garbage. My son and I will get 1 Burger and Fries combo and 1 Burger. Then we split the fries. Also, as @happymommy said, ice water if free. With a family of 4, the drink alone at one meal can save you $12. That really adds up 3 times a day times all of your days in the park.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

This time around I'm paying out of pocket....so wondering....those of you who are awesome with money....what do you recommend to eat that is 'bank for your buck'?

Snack?
Quick Service?
Table Service?

....sorry for all the posts...

the Garden Grove character buffet at the Swan looks sooo adorable with a huge tree, it looks like you are in a park! the cost is about $30 pp for dinner and they dont accept the dining plan. you could take the ferry from DHS and it's the first stop there and also back to DHS. Character breakfasts for breakfast are a good value, if you were to use the dining plan for those, except for Tusker House, Chef Mickeys and Akershush, you'd be wasting money, so those should be out of pocket. As for quick service i ran the numbers for a meal for two adults and a child and it was around $50-55 and if we just ordered cheaply like share a dessert and one drink, it was $41 which means it pays to get the QS plan if doing lunches and dinners. QS breakfasts are a waste on the plan. I've never come across a good deal on a snack, they're all outrageously priced so i'm always glad to use a snack credit. However, some things that are not eligible for a snack credit would be the way to go since you are going OOP this time, as if to suggest you go with the plan normally. There is a $9 cup of mac and cheese that is topped with roast beef or shredded pork not sure which it is, but it is on our to-do list in the MK, as well as the new loaded waffle fries in MK. Also, new in MK is cheese curds with brown gravy.