Best restaurants

[betterbutter]

We are going to Disney in August for five days and are trying to figure out the good places to eat. We don't like fancy food much. We are looking at Chop Chop at Universal Park because a friend told us to eat there so that will be a splurge.

Does anyone have any ideas of where would be good places to eat at the Disney parK?

Sorry if this is stupid, but I'm really confused.

BB

 

[sunee]

At Uni, my favorite place to eat is Margaritaville. Not only is it decent food, but I'm a big parrothead, so it is like heaven for me.

The boys always enjoy at meal at NBA City. Tons and tons of basketball crap - the menus are even made of basketball material. They have foot impressions from bunches of famous b-ball stars, like Michael Jordan, and you can put your foot in and compare - that's kind of fun.

And if you have younger kids (or just always wanted to do this), you can eat Green Eggs and Ham at...Green Eggs and Ham.

You can find regular food almost everywhere at Disney. It just depends on what you like.

My favorites (but everyone has their own):

Magic Kingdom:

Breakfast - Crystal Palace
Lunch - The Plaza
Dinner - Liberty Tree Tavern

Epcot:

Breakfast - Ugh. Really bad fast food at Electric Umbrella or Princess Breakfast at Akershus. The Princess breakfast is adorable - all those little girls in their Princess dresses - but more commotion than I like for iffy food. I don't eat breakfast at Epcot.
Lunch - Garden Grill or same as dinner
Dinner - Mexico, Morocco or England

AK:
The only restaurant there (right now) is Rainforest Cafe and I don't care for it. I'm eager to see how Yak and Yeti's (when it opens) will be.

MGM:
50's Prime Time Cafe - really fun
Hollywood & Vine - loved it before it was characters, don't go now. I can only take so many character meals.

There are lots of good meals to be had in the restaurants. My favorite is a stop at the Wilderness Lodge - you can eat (very regular people food) at Whispering Canyon Cafe (a fun restaurant) and then head out back to watch the geyser go off - that's a treat.

The dinner shows are decent, too. I love the Hoop-Dee-Doo review. A great show! And absolutely not frou-frou, by any stretch. The Poly Luau is a nice show, too, with decent food.

 

[karebear1]

I have to agree with 50's Primetime at MGM (sit down restaurant)- this is a very fun place to eat and the food is quite good.

EPCOT- Le Cellier (sit down) This is in the Canada pavilion. It's a steak house- on the pricey side, but never disappoints.
Counter service- Love the fish and chips in England.... and then we walk to America for a funnel cake or Italy for a cannoli!! YUMMO!!

MK- Sit down- Liberty Tree Tavern- Character meal. A little pricey, but good "Thanksgiving" meal. I would suggest CRT- but it's just WAY too expensive for what you get.... I wish they'd go back to the way it use to be!
Counter service- then I would suggest Casey's at MK. They pretty much serve hot dogs only, but it's fun to grab a dog and sit on the curb waiting for the parade to come by.

AK- There are no sit down restaurants inside the AK park, but just outside the entrance to the park is the Rain Forest Cafe. Not my cup of tea, but if you're looking for a sit down meal- this is the place.
Counter Service- I prefer the Flametree- good food and great value for your meal!

Do they need to be park places to eat> Are you open to goign to the resorts to eat as well??

 

[countrygirl629]

DTD has some really nice places to eat. If we splurg, it's at Fulton's Crab House. That place has some REALLY good food. Also there is Wolfgang Puck, House of Blues, Bongo, Rainforest Cafe...Just to name a few

MK is always good for breakfast at the Crystal Palace (buffett/character with Winnie the Pooh.) My husband isnt crazy about the characters, but enjoyed the food. Also, Cinderella Castle is a nice place to have lunch or dinner, but recommend reservations!! For quick breakfast, the main street bakery has the BEST cinnamon buns!!!!! YUMMY!! Also they have quiche, breakfast crossants (ham and cheese). Very good.

Epcot, the Garden Grill is really fun, plus you can ride the Land and see where your food comes from. It's also nice to eat steak at LeCeliar and America for hot dogs and hamburgers. And if you like to drink...the margaritas in mexico are awesome!!!

AK has a Rainforest Cafe as well. I've only had their breakfast and it was good. I also enjoyed the Barbeque Tree. There are nice tables where you can see a view of Everest from and it's right on the lake, nice view.

MGM is great for sit down service. There is the Sci Fi cafe (you sit in old fashioned cars and watch old Sci Fi movies, like you're at a drive in theater) The ribs there are GREAT!!! Also, Mama Melrose pizza is a good place to get italian food. We also enjoy the 50's Cafe, that place is sooo fun!! And if you like hot dogs, there are some good foot long dogs in front of the Tower of Terror, we usually pick some up before heading into Fantasmic at night.

Resorts have great food too. We've really enjoyed eating at Ohana's at the Polynesian. They have GREAT breakfast and Chip and Dale are usually there. It's an all you can eat skillet. Also, the Wispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge is good too....same type of deal, all you can eat skillet. Dinner was good there too. We enjoyed Boatwrites at Port Orleans--not so much for kids but nice for adults. Also, we really enjoyed eating at Chef Mickeys, it's nice to watch the monorail go by.

Pretty much anywhere you eat will be good...expensive but good. And remember at a lot of places (ie Rainforest Cafe) you pay for the atmosphere.

 

[betterbutter]

Thanks for the advice. We have 2 kids, our daughter will be 5 and our son will be 8 months. So we need places that aren't to fancy. How do we get to eat with Mickey Mouse?

How much do these meals cost? We are trying to stick to a budget of about $50-60 a day for food for all of us. Our daughter doesn't eat much and we usually have her share with me when we go out. Is that allowed at Disney?

Also, what are AK and MK?

Thanks again.

BB

 

[karebear1]

MK= Magic Kingdom
AK= Animal Kingdom

Character meals are the only way to get to eat with Mickey- and they can be pricey. Breakfast character meals run around 18.99/ adult and 10.99 for children ages 3-9, so in this case you would have to pay for your 5 y.o DD food. Lunch and dinner is more expensive. The baby would be free. But, you could splurge one day and eat with Mickey and it wouldn't cost you all that much more. These meals are buffets- all you can eat, so if you schedule your meal for mid afternoon,m you could probbaly get by with breakfast in your room and a late lunch/early dinner character meal and eat all you can and be good for the rest of the day.


GO here to find about Character meals:

http://allearsnet.com/din/chglance.htm

Read this page:

http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm

and then look to the left and click to see menus and prices for all WDW restaurants both in the parks and in the resorts.

This will give you all the info you need!

 

[karebear1]

I might also add that you move pretty quickly to make you ressies. You may have a hard time finding any times to get in!

 

[sunee]

Thanks for the advice. We have 2 kids, our daughter will be 5 and our son will be 8 months. So we need places that aren't to fancy. How do we get to eat with Mickey Mouse?

How much do these meals cost? We are trying to stick to a budget of about $50-60 a day for food for all of us. Our daughter doesn't eat much and we usually have her share with me when we go out. Is that allowed at Disney?

Also, what are AK and MK?

Thanks again.

BB

If you are planning on $60 for all of you, scratch restaurants. No way 3 people will get fed for $30 a meal. Menus here: http://allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm#mk

If you want to spluge on a meal with Mickey, there are a few...Chef Mickey's (located in the Contemporary hotel, you can monorail there from the Magic Kingdom) is a very popular and kid-pleasing one.

You'll be lucky to feed 3 people for $30 at a counter service place, and that's the truth.

Disney Dining can be yummy, but it isn't cheap.

Good luck!

 

[MJMcBride]

I like Boma, San Angel Inn, Le Cellier, 'ohana, House of Blues, Chefs de France

 

[countrygirl629]

The least expensive character breakfasts are at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort or 'Ohana at The Polynesian Resort (either of which is a quick monorail ride from the Magic Kingdom), Donald's Breakfastosaurus in Animal Kingdom or Cape May Cafe at Beach Club Resort (quick walk or boat ride from Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios). Any of these breakfasts will cost you $17.99 for adults and $9.99 for kids.

I have seen Mickey at Ohana's and at Chef Mickeys. Of course, none of them promise that you'll see Mickey at any of the restraunts.

 

[betterbutter]

I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions. I'm a little nervous now because we can't afford to go if it's going to cost us $90 a day just to eat fast food. Usually when we go to McDonalds at home it costs us around $10 for dinner. We knew it would be more expensive, but weren't expecting that much money for food. Maybe we need to rethink this trip.

BB

 

[karebear1]

I think you could get by with your budget if you ate counter servcie meals- especially if you share with your DD like you said you probably would. There are some counter service measl that are a very good value- lots of food for not too much money.

Did you check out the menus and their pricing?

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Betterbutter, a Disney trip can be horrific on the pocketbook, and it's never seen any clearer than in food costs.You are captive, and you are at a world-class resort with commensurate prices.

Check the budget boards for some $$ saving hints. Get a couple of large soft drinks and ask for extra cups. Split burgers and other counter service (CS) entrees. A lot of CS items come with fries; ignore the menu board and ask for NO fries. Eat in your room, especially for breakfast - most hotels can provide a fridge.

I'm convinced you can survive, if not flourish, by eating at the better CS spots at Disney and split entrees, share drinks, etc. You don't want to be miserable watching your cash evaporate. Check the menus both here and at www.allearsnet.com, and you can get a good idea of what you're up against dollar-wise.

DON'T cancel your trip because of food costs. You can beat 'em if you're creative.

 

[betterbutter]

Thank you everyone for your help. I went and looked at the menus for the restaurants and I think we'll be ok. Are the meals big portions? None of us are big eaters and we don't want to waste food.

My husband and I usually just have coffee and a granola bar for breakfast, so I think we'll take a box of those, and cereal for our daughter. I think I saw that we can ask for a coffee maker for our room. Is that true? When I reserved the room at the Port Orleans hotel the oeprator told me that they have small fridges. So we can keep our milk in there.

I went and looked at the menus and the prices, and it looks like we could easily have our lunch at a fast food place for under $15. Usually when we eat at a fast food place my husband and I share a value meal and I also help our daughter with her kids meal and it's enough for us.

As long as the portions aren't skimpy I know that my husband and I will be full if we share an appetizer and entree at supper, and I'll help our daughter with her kids meal to. Do you think the portions are OK?

I think that we're going to not go to any of the buffets because they are expensive and we don't eat much. We'll just see the characters in the parks. This is our first trip, so what we don't know we won't miss I guess. Maybe next time when there's more space in our budget.

Sorry again for so many questions. This is all very overwhelming.

BB

 

[Dreamfinder2]

BB, you're gonna be just fine. WDW is an overwhelming place - the pure scope of the thing never fails to awe me, and I've been lots and lots.

Y'all won't go hungry. When we lived down there and went just about every weekend, we routinely sneaked food into the parks. We'd make sandwiches, pack some goldfish crackers, and buy drinks from vendors. We'd pack all this stuff in a big diaper bag.

I'm NOT advocating this, mind you, and back in those days bags weren't searched. We had little secluded nooks and crannies in all the parks where we'd eat. Cheesy? Perhaps. But since you're staying at Port Orleans, you might consider eating breakfast in your room, getting a snack in the parks, and then coming back to the room and fixing sandwiches for lunch. The kiddos might need some down time. Then, come dinnertime, you can eat something more substantial and not feel like you need to be so frugal.

I think you'll find the portion sizes are enough for all of y'all to get by just fine. And we still frequently share drinks.

Have fun! Don't fret. As for meeting the characters - pick up a schedule either at PO or when you enter the parks, and you can find out which character will be out, when and where. In the olden days, you'd happen up on characters by surprise and more or less spontaneously. I kinda miss that, but now, you're pretty guaranteed to see anyone you like.

 

[Sabre2th]

We are trying to stick to a budget of about $50-60 a day for food for all of us.

You won't have to pay for your infant, so that will cut your cost down some. However, I would recomend you pick up some groceries before you get to your hotel and eat a few meals that way so you can cut your food budget down one or two days but then splurge a little on one or two meals. Trust me, you can easily spend $100 or more on food on just one average family meal there at WDW! But hey, its worth it!

 

[Sabre2th]

Thank you everyone for your help. I went and looked at the menus for the restaurants and I think we'll be ok. Are the meals big portions? None of us are big eaters and we don't want to waste food.

My husband and I usually just have coffee and a granola bar for breakfast, so I think we'll take a box of those, and cereal for our daughter. I think I saw that we can ask for a coffee maker for our room. Is that true? When I reserved the room at the Port Orleans hotel the oeprator told me that they have small fridges. So we can keep our milk in there.

I went and looked at the menus and the prices, and it looks like we could easily have our lunch at a fast food place for under $15. Usually when we eat at a fast food place my husband and I share a value meal and I also help our daughter with her kids meal and it's enough for us.

As long as the portions aren't skimpy I know that my husband and I will be full if we share an appetizer and entree at supper, and I'll help our daughter with her kids meal to. Do you think the portions are OK?

I think that we're going to not go to any of the buffets because they are expensive and we don't eat much. We'll just see the characters in the parks. This is our first trip, so what we don't know we won't miss I guess. Maybe next time when there's more space in our budget.

Sorry again for so many questions. This is all very overwhelming.

BB

WDW might be expensive, but they're generous! If you guys eat as lightly as you claim, then I think you could easily get away with ordering one meal and sharing, or buying a coldplate meal and saving half in the frig for the next day too. Then go ahead and spend the extra$$$ on a couple of life time of memories character meals for you and your kids. Good thing they have the menus posted on the web for budgeters like us!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I say do one character meal, Chef Mickey's is a great one, breakfast is pretty reasonable and your baby will eat for free. Then counter service the rest of your meals. Portions are large at all the cs places, you and your husand can split a meal, your daughter can get a kids meal and the baby can nibble! You can do that for two meals, then you will also have room for some snacks. I do think the snacks at WDW are pretty reasonable, an ice cream bar is $3 which is about what I pay for a snack at my local zoo or mall. I also recommend you bring some of your own food. Granola bars, goldfish crackers, juice boxes, water bottles, pop tarts, raisins, dry cereal all pack nicely and I have flown and driven on trips with that stuff stashed in my suitcases no problem. Eating breakfast in your room each day is a great way to save time and money. I have done a budget at WDW of around $50 a day average, for a family of four (my kids were 8 and 10 the first trip to WDW) and we did do a couple of sit downs. But we never each ordered our own cs meal, it was too much food if we did! And each every counter service place at WDW will give you a free cup of ice water. We frequently share a soda or don't get one at all and drink water. You can always bring those little crystal light packets to enhance the water if you desire. You can also order things a la carte. They have the value meals listed on the menus but you can order just a burger without fries and drink to save money.

If you do a character meal, breakfast is generally about $8 cheaper for adults and $2 cheaper for kids. That right there will save you $18 if you do a breakfast rather than dinner. And I really think you have to do a character meal when you go to WDW. After that, there is lots of tasty counter service options, far beyond just burgers and hot dogs.

I have to say that rotissiere chicken meal at Cosmic Rays in the Magic Kingdom (around $8) is one of the best deals around. They have a chicken rib combo for under $15 that could seriously feed all four of you! I also see you are staying at Port Orleans, they have a great food court, and I find the food courts at all the values and mods great deals. And you can walk around and see exactly what you are getting and know the portion size and whether you can share.

Good luck, don't let all the details of a WDW ruin the fun of your anticipation! Remember the vast majority of people that go don't even know about things like disboards, allearsnet and the other things you have done to research. So you are going way ahead of the game and will be quite prepared. Have a great trip!!!

 

[Colleen27]

Thank you everyone for your help. I went and looked at the menus for the restaurants and I think we'll be ok. Are the meals big portions? None of us are big eaters and we don't want to waste food.

My husband and I usually just have coffee and a granola bar for breakfast, so I think we'll take a box of those, and cereal for our daughter. I think I saw that we can ask for a coffee maker for our room. Is that true? When I reserved the room at the Port Orleans hotel the oeprator told me that they have small fridges. So we can keep our milk in there.

I went and looked at the menus and the prices, and it looks like we could easily have our lunch at a fast food place for under $15. Usually when we eat at a fast food place my husband and I share a value meal and I also help our daughter with her kids meal and it's enough for us.

As long as the portions aren't skimpy I know that my husband and I will be full if we share an appetizer and entree at supper, and I'll help our daughter with her kids meal to. Do you think the portions are OK?

I think that we're going to not go to any of the buffets because they are expensive and we don't eat much. We'll just see the characters in the parks. This is our first trip, so what we don't know we won't miss I guess. Maybe next time when there's more space in our budget.

Sorry again for so many questions. This is all very overwhelming.

BB

Portion sizes at a lot of places at WDW are huge, IMO. We were easily able to share most of our table service meals. I don't remember where it was that had the chicken & rib combo in MK, but that was enough for DH, DS & I and we're not particularly light eaters.

The fridges at POR are pretty nice. We got milk, juice, soda & beer for our room, plus some bananas, cereal and Nutrigrain bars for mornings. There are coffee pots in the rooms, and housekeeping will replenish the coffee daily and even leave extra if you ask. DH went through 2 of those mini-pots every morning, so we requested 2 packets of regular and no decaf and housekeeping was great about it! Refillable mugs are a great option for drinks too; they're expensive, until you think about what you get out of them. We got 2 mugs for the 4 of us to share and refilled them about a million times over 5 days.

If you can get a ressie for Chef Mickey's breakfast that might be a nice splurge, but if you can't get the reservation or don't want to spend that much on a meal, you'll have plenty of chances to meet Mickey in the parks. We didn't do a Mickey meal, but we met him at AK, MGM, MK and the Halloween party.

It seems overwhelming when you first start planning, but hang in there. Its worth it.