best reasonable table service paying oop ?

[sunil]

I am visiting in April (10-17). Kids are 11 & 14, so adult prices - so I am not going to do the dining plan. We will mostly eat counter service (paying OOP), but I want to reserve some (maybe 3 ?) TS meals and pay for them out-of-pocket.

Of course OOP prices on table-service Disney restaurants are crazy. SO I am looking for some suggestions on the "relatively reasonable" TS restaurants for a family of 4 (say $80-100 for 4 people including everything - 4 beverages, maybe share 1 appetizer and 2/3/4 entrees depending on size of portions and ease of splitting, no dessert, tax & tip). Any such recommendations which would fit the price range ?

Thanks in advance for your help...

 

[connorsmom911]

My best advice would be to do lunch instead of dinner, as the prices are often less expensive.

One of my favorite restaurants that I find reasonable is Kona Cafe at the Poly. Lots of choices, great lunch special, and a wonderful, relaxing break from the parks.

 

[jodywgirl]

I would definately go with lunch or breakfast the prices are more reasonable. 50's prime time in hollywood studios is good. Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom. There are a couple of counter service that are really good in animal kingdom pizzafari (hot italian sandwich) flame tree barbecue. the breakfast buffets are also cheaper some with characters for under 20 per adult

 

[disney_dreaming_mom]

MK: Crystal Palace
AK: Picnic in the Park
DS: Sci-Fi Dine In
EPCOT: Tutto Italia
DD: Planet Hollywood

 

[Petraman]

The Sunshine Seasons in Epcot is excellent as well. You might want to do a search on the wdwinfo webiste. They list the restaurants, and menus with prices. If you have an itouch or an iphone, there is a great software called WDW Dining which we use on our trips to check out where to go on the fly.

Also, if you are looking for one a little nicer without being too $$, you might check out La Celier Steakhouse in Epcot. It is one of our favorites... you can make a meal just out of the appetizers... cheddar cheese soup Yum Yum!!

 

[2manypets]

Rose and Crown or Biergarten in Epcot are reasonable with good food. Non character buffets will fill you up but will be easier on the pocketbook.

 

[Maggi May]

The Plaza Restaurant in MK has reasonable prices. They mostly have sandwiches and salads, but it's a nice sit-down restaurant and a great place to take a breath and relax on a busy park day.

As several posters have mentioned, many restaurants have cheaper lunch prices (although they may not have all of the menu or buffet items available at lunch). Tusker House (AK) and Biergarten (Epcot WS) both have cheaper lunch prices for their buffets (and are both very good, IMHO).

 

[wwaleye]

My best advice would be to do lunch instead of dinner, as the prices are often less expensive.

One of my favorite restaurants that I find reasonable is Kona Cafe at the Poly. Lots of choices, great lunch special, and a wonderful, relaxing break from the parks.

This is very good advice!

Buffett's can be a good value, particularly at lunch.

 

[vicki_c]

The Plaza Restaurant in MK has reasonable prices. They mostly have sandwiches and salads, but it's a nice sit-down restaurant and a great place to take a breath and relax on a busy park day.

That's always my 1st thought for a reasonable and good TS meal.

 

[gobo2]

I feel that almost any TS meal can be reasonable at WDW if you order carefully. Most menus have lower priced entrees that are just as good as the marquee items but don't get as much mention on these boards because of the DDP. On the DDP we felt as if we needed to order higher priced items to get our money's worth.

Our DD is 11 and is an extremely light eater. Since she became at adult in Disney's eyes we stopped doing the DDP because it no longer offered any value. For that reason we also avoid buffets except for the ones we really love (Boma, CP). We have found the all TS restaurants are more than willing to split an entree for us in the kitchen and we can most often order only one or two entrees and an app,soup or salad or two for the three of us. We have also been able to order kids meals even though she is over 9.

These tips allow us to enjoy ourselves without missing out or overspending. I hope this helps.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

If you're looking to go off the beated path, Trail's End has a buffet (at Ft. Wilderness right next to Hoop Dee Doo) that serves the same food as Hoop (and more as the buffet includes shrimp and other things Hoop doesn't) but is the cheapest buffet on property ($20.99 for dinner, $14.99 for lunch, and $13.99 for breakfast). When we were kids we would go spend the afternoon at Ft. Wilderness (canoeing, fishing, renting a golf cart, going to River Country [when it was still around]) and would eat at Trail's End or Hoop and it was always so much fun.

 

[Petraman]

If you're looking to go off the beated path, Trail's End has a buffet (at Ft. Wilderness right next to Hoop Dee Doo) that serves the same food as Hoop (and more as the buffet includes shrimp and other things Hoop doesn't) but is the cheapest buffet on property ($20.99 for dinner, $14.99 for lunch, and $13.99 for breakfast). When we were kids we would go spend the afternoon at Ft. Wilderness (canoeing, fishing, renting a golf cart, going to River Country [when it was still around]) and would eat at Trail's End or Hoop and it was always so much fun.

Wow!! You are making me hungry. We have never tried the Trail's End, but I think we will have to make a trip in March... Thanks for info!

 

[GovieMom]

Kona Cafe and LTT-lunch in the MK area. Rose & Crown at Epcot. Sci-Fi or 50's Prime Time at DHS. The Plaza in MK would be your cheapest bet, but that's because it's a sandwich shop.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

Depends a lot on what you expect.Just sitting down to eat doesn't make some places any more than a McDs with a table and theming for what you could pay somewhere else for good food split as you said.We often eat off each other's plates and not just to stretch $.

Allears has menu prices to compare.
Disney.go has restaurant pix.
Dis has pages of reviews and food pix

You could read the Allears menus,get pix/reviews of the actual food here and restaurant pix on Disney's site.We do this often as the loose group we travel with is spread out.Makes planning fun to involve everyone.

FWIW My best dinner memories on a lower priced meal are mostly in Epcot.

 

[dismagiclover]

I also love the Plaza! It has simple food (which is hard to mess up) and a great view of the castle

Remember if you do any buffets you'll have to pay the adult price for the kids which will probably blow your budget.

 

[NorweJenNY]

If you're looking to go off the beated path, Trail's End has a buffet (at Ft. Wilderness right next to Hoop Dee Doo) that serves the same food as Hoop (and more as the buffet includes shrimp and other things Hoop doesn't) but is the cheapest buffet on property ($20.99 for dinner, $14.99 for lunch, and $13.99 for breakfast). When we were kids we would go spend the afternoon at Ft. Wilderness (canoeing, fishing, renting a golf cart, going to River Country [when it was still around]) and would eat at Trail's End or Hoop and it was always so much fun.

I agree with this option! Also, if you go at the very end of breakfast time (I think you can do this up until 11:30am), you can pay breakfast prices, but be able to stay as they put lunch out. And getting the variety of breakfast and lunch foods is great! $13.99 per adult, including drinks and dessert is certainly not a budget buster! You'd easily pay that for a counter service if you are getting an entree, drink, and dessert!

I've also paid breakfast prices and stayed for some lunch options at Hollywood & Vine.

 

[sunil]

Thanks all for the great suggestions - much "food" for thought. Thanks especially for the pointer to the online menus - that is a great help, I can easily see which places are easy to split and which would be hard. Plus I can see the buffet prices & menus online, so that helps a lot as well. Much appreciated...