Budget-friendly Table Service choices

[mill4023]

We are staying off-site, so we will not be on the DDP.
We are trying to keep our food budget down, so we will be eating some meals in our villa and doing mainly CS at the parks.

But we'd like to do a few TS meals, including at least one character meal.

I'd love suggestions for good options that aren't too hard on the budget.

What are your favorite "affordable" TS restaurants?

 

[monarchsfan16]

Cape May Cafe and Tusker House breakfasts are among the less expensive character meals.

As far as non-character table service, the Plaza at the Magic Kingdom is pretty inexpensive. It's a sandwich and ice cream place. I also found Sanaa at Kidani Village to be fairly reasonably priced (on the Disney price spectrum) and VERY good.

In general, breakfast and lunch are much more affordable than dinner for table service. Of course breakfast would be easiest to eat in your villa...

 

[Nadjalu]

I agree for your character meal, breakfast is the way to go if you are on a budget. They can get pretty expensive if not on the dining plan.

I like Crystal Palace or Tusker House/donald's breakfast.

As for TS, Tony's in MK is pretty good. Again to remain lower in cost lunch is the way to go there. Also Liberty Tree Tavern in MK is good as well.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Also, the lunch menu is usually cheaper than dinner.

 

[Pugmalion1]

I think Grand Floridian Cafe gives you the most bang for your buck than almost any other non-Signature table service on property, and that is for all meals.

I'd also echo Sanaa being a good choice. It's relatively inexpensive, in Disney money, of course, it has a great ambiance and a fun and delicious menu. It's almost treated like a signature in that regard. If you're going to be spending any time at Animal Kingdom on your trip, you could do a lot worse than dinner at Sanaa.

 

[TaraPA]

I second The Plaza in MK for an affordable meal, but it's just sandwiches/burgers & ice cream - nothing special. We also love Sci-Fi at DHS -same type food - salads, soups, burgers & GREAT shakes - but has a neat atmosphere.

 

[mill4023]

We enjoyed Crystal Palace and our daughters were Pooh fans when they were younger, but not anymore. Our current youngest (DS 2) probably doesn't even know who Pooh and Tigger are, but he's a big Mickey Mouse fan, so we'd probably be looking for a meal that features Mickey.
We've done Chef Mickey's in the past and enjoyed that, but I think it's one of the more expensive options.

We've eaten at the Plaza and I agree it's a great option for affordable TS.

Never tried Grand Floridian Cafe, Cape May or Tusker House (since it became TS)

 

[chocovrdmicears]

I highly recommend Tusker House breakfast for your character meal. The food is excellent! The characters are great in their safari gear. And the location is fabulous...steps away from the safari. We always make an early ADR before the parks open, fill up with yummy grub, see the characters, then hop on the safari.
I would check out the menus and prices at allearsnet.com to see what appeals to your family. As many have mentioned, lunch for your TS meals will definately be the most affordable way to dine.

 

[hmmerr02]

We like via Napoli in italy. You can feed a family quite affordably with a large pizza in there and the food is awesome! The restaurant is beautiful and service was excellent.

 

[DISdreamin']

Another +1 for Tusker House for breakfast for a great character meal - we loved it! Very economical if paying OOP, and everyone in our party really enjoyed the food.

Another thumbs-up for Sci Fi if you don't mind doing burgers. DH and I ate there twice this last trip, about a week apart and really enjoyed it both times. I rarely eat red meat, but enjoyed the burger a lot, and the cost is reasonable, about equivalent to the nicer sit-down burger joints around here like Red Robin. I had the chicken there on our last trip and it was just 'meh' - the burger was lots better (don't know how true this is across the board, just my one-time experience).

We also tried The Plaza OOP this trip and it was very good as well. I had some sort of chicken sandwich which was yummy, and everyone else liked their food. My ILs split a huge Rueben and really liked it. The prices were pretty reasonable, too.

So all the above proves I can write three paragraphs to just agree with PPs.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

Prices for lunch at the Prime Time Cafe aren't really that much more than prices at counter service restaurants...and it's a fun place to eat! I've had the caesar salad and the chicken sandwich at lunch - both are yummy and budget friendly!

 

[BNukem]

Another vote for 50's Prime Time....it's a fun restaurant and the prices really are bad.

 

[mill4023]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Tusker House sounds great for our character meal.

We've done 50's Prime Time and Sci Fi in the past. Both were fun, but Sci Fi was a family favorite, so I think we'll do it again.

Via Napoli sounds good. It didn't exist on our last trip. I'm also thinking about Rose and Crown since we've never been there and the prices seem pretty good.

Boma is my favorite restaurant out of all I've tried at WDW, but not sure I can stomach the price tag, especially now that 3 of our kids are "adults". Sanaa sounds interesting. I love some Indian foods, but hate others, so I don't know.

 

[Jerseyguy's Wife]

As far as character meals go, one of our favorites is the Lilo and Stitch breakfast at Ohana. You get Mickey and Pluto, too. And it's fun. It has all the pluses of a buffet, but is served at your table. The parade is a blast. Our DSs (4 and 5) love it. And cost wise, it is slightly cheaper than Cape May's breakfast.