biggest bang

[rogers803]

cheap meals.Where can I get the biggest bang for my buck ? We want to take a 5 day visit to WDW in June but our budget is a little tight. there will be three us.
two adults and one teen. I plan to eat breakfast in the room most days and one nice sit down meal. We will be staying at the swan.

 

[HayGan]

You can find a 20% off coupon for Garden Grove at the Swan/Dolphin here (Make sure to print out a copy of the Magicard itself to use along with the coupon.) We plan on trying out their Seafood buffet one night.

I would suggest splitting larger CS meals as well. DH and I can usually split meals like the chicken and ribs at Cosmic Ray's or the burgers at Pecos Bill's and be plenty full after one of those. Or get kids meals if you aren't that hungry. Take snack or protein bars to have during the day to snack on.

 

[debsays]

If you have a car you could go to the Ale House or Ci Ci's.

 

[crusoe2]

You might want to look up information on the Crossroads/Palm Parkway area near DTD. We haven't ventured over there much but probably will for our next trip. Last trip, DH went in search of food on our one night onsite - he found this area and said that we should check it out next time. There are lots of chain restuarants at a variety of prices. From what I've read, you can find coupons for many of them. We're headed back in June and will definitely be eating most of our meals offsite. We're finding that fewer and fewer of the onsite restuarants serve anything we like and the prices (at least at the full service places) have gotten absolutely outrageous. The addition of a "holiday surcharge" (in the middle of June? - please) just clinched it for us.

 

[tar heel]

You can save a lot of money by making your "nice sit down meals" either breakfast or lunch instead of dinner. If you're a little adventurous, a good "bang for your buck" place is Tusker House in AK. Eat a late lunch there and you won't need dinner.

 

[EthansMom]

An adult can order a children's meal at the counter service locations. Usually, this includes an entree, one or two sides, and a small soda. I found the children's meal to be quite filling, personally.

If you're looking for a good table service location, I think your best price would be to go for a late lunch at someplace that you really want to eat. Check the menus, but lunch prices can be significantly less $$. If you'd like to eat someplace that costs $$$$, don't be afraid to ask to split an entree. Also, instead of ordering sodas, ask for water.

So, for instance, let's say you really, really want to go to Le Cellier. Well, their mushroom filet mignon would cost $34.99 at 4 p.m. (dinner), but only costs $26.99 at 3 p.m. (lunch). Two people could share a lunch of a bowl of soup, mushroom filet, and creme brulee for $40 (not including tax or tip). And certainly you could get that price down by choosing a lesser expensive entree to share or forgoing the dessert.

My point being... If you're asking for "best bang for the buck"... IMO, the best way to spend your money is to choose the place YOU want to eat and spend carefully while you're there.

 

[HayGan]

You might want to look up information on the Crossroads/Palm Parkway area near DTD. We haven't ventured over there much but probably will for our next trip. Last trip, DH went in search of food on our one night onsite - he found this area and said that we should check it out next time. There are lots of chain restuarants at a variety of prices. From what I've read, you can find coupons for many of them. We're headed back in June and will definitely be eating most of our meals offsite. We're finding that fewer and fewer of the onsite restuarants serve anything we like and the prices (at least at the full service places) have gotten absolutely outrageous. The addition of a "holiday surcharge" (in the middle of June? - please) just clinched it for us.

Us as well. I have been pretty vocal around here about our displeasure with this ridiculous "holiday surcharge." Disney is losing over $700 in revenue from us alone due to this insane charge. We can easily afford the charge but refuse to pay any more for the privledge of paying even more inflated prices for what is often mediocre food. ($20+ for a child to eat at a buffet is highway robbery!!!) We will gladly stimulate the great Orlando area with or dining funds! We are actually pretty excited about trying some new places like Cafe Tu Tu Tango, B.B. King's and Thai Thani!

OP, if you will have a vehicle there are lots of other options other than eating at disney that will help you dining budget go much further. I posted lots of tips the other day for some ways to eat cheaper off-site.

 

[Danemom]

Us as well. I have been pretty vocal around here about our displeasure with this ridiculous "holiday surcharge."

I completely agree. We canceled our meals at a couple of these restaurants due to this ridiculous charge.

 

[rogers803]

thks for all your good info. I have a stupid question.what is a holiday charge?

 

[crusoe2]

Not a stupid question at all. At certain times of year Disney adds a few dollars to the cost of meals at restaurants where you pay a flat amount for your meal rather than ordering off the menu - basically all the character meals and buffets. The added charge is generally about $4 per adult and $2 per child under the age of 10. For my family, this adds about $17 to the cost of what is already a very expensive meal. I believe that at first the holiday surcharge was just at major holiday times like Christmas and Easter but Disney has significantly expanded those times in the last year or so. The current holiday surcharge is in place from (I believe) just before Memorial Day thru about July 11. So now all of June is considered "holiday" time even tho there isn't really a major holiday in the entire month. Just another money-grab by Disney. We're not biting - not only will we skip the full-service restaurants onsite, we also changed our accommodations and are now staying offsite in a condo so that we can more easily cook some of our meals and pack some picnics to take into the parks with us. That just cost Disney about $2000 and shaved quite a bit off the cost of our trip. Disney may not notice the difference but we sure will.

 

[RangerPooh]

-Try Tails End for lunch. It's the cheapest buffet on property
-Pecos Bills has a good toppins bar that can help a burger go a long way
-Cosmic Rays has the chickena nd ribs combo that is huge and enough for two people to split
-I agree with the kids meal suggestion as sometimes that's all you feel in the mood for
-At sunshine Seasons at EPCOT get the Chinese Food meal and it is very filling and loads of food

 

[cjnix29]

We actually ate a lot of kids meals. If you arent a huge eater, it is plenty of food. Also, Earl of Sandwich at DTD is reasonable. I also read on these boards that you get a discount with a AAA card. Wish I would have known that a month ago!

 

[MyBuddyBaloo]

If you are at AK try Flame Tree Bar-B-Q, its counter service but I think the food is better than some sit downs.