Best deals for OOP lunches and dinners ?

[pooh2001]

We can not be on DDP since we have our WDW Park Passes pre-bought from Undercover Tourist.

I looked at some menu's and thought Crystal Palace for a late breakfast (sort of brunch) would be good.

1900 Park Fair at GF looked nice for a dinner with characters.

Liberty Tree Tavern did not have an expensive lunch menu. We could get soup and salad for about $11 or a cheese burger for $12.
So did the Plaza Restaurant, with sandwhiches around $12


What other TS places do you recommend. They do not all have to be buffets.
Actually my DH prefers ala cart not buffet.

We are totally lost where to eat in EPCOT and DHS.

Thanks!

 

[Millie12591]

Do they need to be TS?

 

[Ella's Mom]

Personally, I don't think any of the character dinner buffets are a good deal if paying OOP. I'd recommend LTT for lunch and Plaza for lunch or dinner. At DHS, we really like 50's Prime Time.

 

[Pink Mouse Ears]

My suggestion for Epcot is to walk or ride the boat to the Beach Club for Beaches and Cream. Its one of our favorite places for burgers- and ice cream, of course. The Plaza in MK is similar- we haven't been, but it always gets good reviews on here. For DHS, I recommend Starring Rolls. Its CS, but so good (esp. the desserts)- and I don't care for the TS places other than Brown Derby.

 

[Pink Mouse Ears]

Agree with PP- I don't think its worth it at all to pay for character buffets OOP.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

This isn't in DHS or Epcot, but if you have a day you won't be in a park or a day you are at MK, lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe (at Wilderness Lodge) is a great bargain. You can get an all-you-can-eat skillet (with ribs, chicken, pork sausage, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and baked beans) for $18.99. I think that's a great price for the amount of food you get! Also, if you are a DVC member, you get 10% off. (I haven't been for breakfast, but the all-you-can-eat skillet at that time is only $14.99.)

 

[floridascgirl]

Earl of Sandwich is super reasonable at DTD.

 

[i.love.stitch]

in HS, i suggest mama melrose's or sci-fi...mama melrose's has really great food and sci-fi is a really cool place to eat (but IMO, not too good of food ) in epcot, we really used to like china (i dont know the real name off the top of my head -but haven't been there recently so i'm not sure if it is still good) we are also a fan of Rose and Crown, as well as, coral reef...both, IMO, very good food! also, we have eaten at the plaza and it was very good and can't wait to go again!

hope this helped!

 

[amy-momofthree]

We went in Jan and paid out of pocket for dining.

We ate breakfast in our room. Then mostly had table service meals for lunch and snacked for dinner.

We did two character meals, Tusker House and the castle. Tusker House was a very good deal. We ate a late breakfast and were full til dinner.

Also, most of the character meals include drinks. If you order soft drinks off the menu it can add up if paying out of pocket.

 

[jjatwdw]

Earl of Sandwich! We usually eat there 3 or 4 times per trip. We have even stopped when we are driving through Orlando. I crave it when I'm at home.

 

[mill4023]

We have 5 kids and 3 of them are Disney "adults" (10 or over), so I've done quite a bit of research looking for the best deals at TS places.
I'd love to hear other suggestions and opinions, but here are the places that we are looking at as good values:
For character meals, breakfast at Tusker House, 1900 Park Fare, and Crystal Palace.

For other meals (some of these are really only what I'd consider "affordable" for breakfast and lunch)

The Plaza
Whispering Canyon
Kona
Grand Floridian Cafe
Rose and Crown
Mama Melrose
Sci Fi
Trails End
Via Napoli (if you share large pizzas)

 

[Cafeen]

Both Tusker House (breakfast) and The Plaza are very good recommendations. The Plaza is quite good and relatively inexpensive, plus lunch and dinner (erm, last I checked, things at Disney have a way of changing without written memos directly to my inbox...) share the same menu, making dinner an even better value.

Tusker House is one of the lesser expensive character meals on property. It's also very good which is always an added bonus. If you can book a later breakfast here, you will likely be able to make it through the day without another real meal (especially since AK closes earlier than the other parks).

If ordering pizza at Via Napoli, you can usually make it out of there a bit cheaper as well. While the pizza may look a bit pricey (especially when compared to local places), when you break it down that a 35$ pizza could potentially be a meal for 4-6 people, it brings it back into perspective a bit (at least relative to other Disney restaurants). This only applies if interested in the pizza though.

That's all that I have personal experience with really (I've been to lots more, just wouldn't call them good deals for OOP )

Some other options would be to look into locations at the Dolphin and Swan. (For either Epcot or DHS days). Since you aren't on a dining plan, these would certainly be plausible. Not sure of the prices, but it's something else to think about. There may be a few places at DTD as well that offer better values than in-park restaurants. I don't have any experience here, but it should open up more options.