5 days at disney ... where to eat?

[tommac1]

Where should I eat at and around disney? There for 5 days ... looking to make reservations in advance.

Dont want to spend too much money but dont want to be cheap ... how much am i looking to spend for a family of 5 me,wife, 12,5,1

 

[Mommydar]

Are you staying onsite or offsite?
For your age ranges, I'd recommend one character meal. Chef Mickey is a classic and a lot of fun for your age range of children. It is a bit of a splurge at $30/adult for dinner, but it will be a good experience.
We too like to treat ourselves, but not overdo it on costs. Try to mix it up. One character meal (those are usually the most pricey), maybe one fun place like Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe, or T-Rex, and the rest of the time you can dine at Family Friendly Restaurants like Bahama Breeze (fun, casual atmosphere) located in Crossroads Shopping Center, Chevy's Tex-Mex, or an off-site Japanese Hibachi.
Have a great time. Go into the Budget Boards too as there are a lot of discount and cheap eat ideas.

 

[The Hendies]

Eat one main meal at 2 or 3. Crowds are not as bad and you get the lunch price, which is usually $3 - $4 per person cheaper than dinner prices. Have an "appetizer" meal. Order 3 appetizers and then throw in a dessert. It seems like a splurge, there is plenty to eat, and is half the cost of a big meal. Besides, who wants to eat a full meal and the jump on the teacups!!!

 

[Tricia's mom]

There are SOOOO many options. It all depends on what you like. I like to eat one fun/nice meal a day.thats all I look for. Picking up cereal and milk or fruit bars for the room to eat in the mornings reall help stretch the budget. Look at the prices of kids meals also get them for the kids and take a look at the portions..We eat them ourselves DH and I don't mind eating chx fingers, grapes and salad and a drink. Its economical and good portion control and you don't feel bad having snacks.

Oh by the way we found Trails end restaurant at the fort wildnerness to be an excellent Value. If you time it right you can also join in the chip and dale campfire sing alon. The Trails end is A buffet restaurant that has shrimp,BBQ, dessert etc...all for like 20 dollars during dinner. Not bad for being on Disney property.

 

[VAN]

Yes, we have eaten at Bahama Breeze and the Kobe Steak House (Habachi) ... just as fun as Disney but at a lower price!

Earl of Sandwich is reasonable at DTD as well.

 

[tommac1]

I am all into going off site. So I dont need to stay on property for the whole time? What are the best off site values and fun places to eat. Again ... I am more into value than being cheap ... in other words I wouldnt mind paying $20 for an entree if it was amazing ... and I would be much more into that then a $7 buffet with all junk. Looking to have a good time while not blowing too much money.

 

[spodie]

My 3 top favorites for cheaper eating at Disney World are The Plaza Restaurant, Trail's End Buffet, and Beaches and Cream.

The Plaza Restaurant is right off of main street and offers burgers, chicken, salads, etc. It's a nice atmosphere and a good place to sit down and have a nice meal in a more relaxed setting.

The Trail's End restaurant is at Fort Wilderness campground and is easily accessible from the boat that runs from MK. It is buffet-style and serves fried chicken, BBQ, salads, etc.

Beaches and Cream is at the Beach Club right off of Stormalong Bay and is a short walk from the World Showcase through International Gateway (between France and the United Kingdom). It is 50s diner-type food and the burgers are very good! There is also an extensive dessert menu with all different kinds of ice cream sundaes.

 

[tommac1]

Are you staying onsite or offsite?

Staying onsite ( I think ... trying to get a reasonable place to stay ) but dont mind going offsite and actually wouldnt mind driving up to 20-30 minutes to get a GREAT meal.

 

[Mommydar]

We're going in May and staying offsite at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We won't do the Universal Parks yet because our kids are a bit young, but we might do a character meal at one of their hotel restaurants. The nice thing about their restaurants is you don't pay full buffet price for light eaters as they have ala carte menus. They don't seem to be as expensive as Disney park restaurants, and they too would be fun for your age range.
Chevy's Tex-Mex is good for value. Uno Pizzeria nearby is good too. What we do one day or two for a quality cheap eat is go by the local Publix and buy hot food from their deli. You can get a roasted or fried chicken, two sides, and a bag of rolls for $10. Save a little there, and then you can splurge on the big character meal or two credit dining restaurant the next day.

 

[Swimnoid]

We like to hit offsite places a couple of times. The Ale House at the corner of Winter Garden Vineland Rd and S Apopka Vineland Road (rt 535 near Olive Garden and up the street from Crossroads) is really good with lots to choose from and about half the price of Disney restaurants. We really like Flippers Pizza in the Crossroads Shopping Center too. This time we are also going to try Joe's Crab Shack on S Apopka Vineland.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've done 43 trips to WDW and have stayed on property for every one and must admit, back in the late 70's and 80's, the food on property was reasonable and very good. As of late, the TS restaurants are a joke, too pricey and mediocre food. We don't go off property once we check in but stick to CS and buffets at choice spots we like, plus we do a grocery stop in route and prefer a good home made salami or ham sandwich and snacks at our pool lunch. We don't feel the DP is worth it for us being the TS meals are too overpriced and hyped so we pick our favorite places and share a meal, most CS meals on property can easily feed 2 people. We just returned 9/19-9/27 and stayed at the VWL and our food bill for the week was 100 bucks, we ate what we liked, enjoyed every meal we had and have been doing it this way for many years. Disney to us is not about the food but the atmosphere and attractions. I'm the kind of person that's not going to pay for atmosphere in a restaurant and get mediocre food or just a morsel of a meal, we don't eat like that at home, so we're not going to waste our money doing it on vacation.

 

[daisy2jae]

Are you staying onsite or offsite?
For your age ranges, I'd recommend one character meal. Chef Mickey is a classic and a lot of fun for your age range of children. It is a bit of a splurge at $30/adult for dinner, but it will be a good experience.
We too like to treat ourselves, but not overdo it on costs. Try to mix it up. One character meal (those are usually the most pricey), maybe one fun place like Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe, or T-Rex, and the rest of the time you can dine at Family Friendly Restaurants like Bahama Breeze (fun, casual atmosphere) located in Crossroads Shopping Center, Chevy's Tex-Mex, or an off-site Japanese Hibachi.
Have a great time. Go into the Budget Boards too as there are a lot of discount and cheap eat ideas.

we love chef mickey's for the character meal.

 

[tinkerfan1]

If you pick up one of the Disney World travel books at Barnes and Noble, they tell about the restaurants and the price ranges within them. That can be very helpful to give you an idea of what you might be spending. They seem to be pretty accurate.

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

Check out http://halfoffdepot.com/orlando/ They have gift cards for half price at a lot of off site restaurants. I have not used the Orlando one, but I LOVE the one for Atlanta and use it all the time to save $$ while eating out. They also had an Arabian Nights 1/2 price ticket on there last time I checked

 

[tommac1]

We like to hit offsite places a couple of times. The Ale House at the corner of Winter Garden Vineland Rd and S Apopka Vineland Road (rt 535 near Olive Garden and up the street from Crossroads) is really good with lots to choose from and about half the price of Disney restaurants. We really like Flippers Pizza in the Crossroads Shopping Center too. This time we are also going to try Joe's Crab Shack on S Apopka Vineland.

Joes Crab Shack was just OK ... I was a little disappointed there but ... cheaper than disney

 

[tommac1]

Check out http://halfoffdepot.com/orlando/ They have gift cards for half price at a lot of off site restaurants. I have not used the Orlando one, but I LOVE the one for Atlanta and use it all the time to save $$ while eating out. They also had an Arabian Nights 1/2 price ticket on there last time I checked

how does that site work?

 

[Indiana Joyce]

Have you thought about the Disney Dining plan? We have done that several times. We always eat at the nice places, never off site.
Part of the fun is the food and the yummy desserts. My kids love eating at the nice table service restaurants.

My suggestions are:

Character meals- Chef Mickey, The Grand Floridian with Mary Poppins

Epcot: Rose & Crown for dinner as close to the fireworks as you can

Hollywood Studios: Mama Melrose and the Toy Story pizza planet

DTD- Wolf Gang Puck fast service, Fulton's Crab House

Resorts: California Grill, Whispering Canyon Cafe at WL, Boma at AKL

 

[dward1961]

Late morning breakfast buffets are a good choice, we did the Tusker House our last trip and we weren't hungry until dinner time and had a CS at time. Was one of our least expensive days!

Have a great time planning