Can't get DDP, what other way to eat cheap at WDW?

[TDC Nala]

There is also something called a TIW (tables in wonderland) card that can give a discount on meals purchased at WDW.

Tables in Wonderland memberships are available only to annual passholders and Florida residents. It costs $75 to join for a year (for annual passholders), so you must spend about $375 on eligible food and beverages to make the membership price back in discounts.

 

[POOHsie]

I am 99.9% sure you can order counter service items a la carte. That is, you don't have to order a cheeseburger platter that comes with fries and a pickle, like you see it on the menu board. You can order just the burger. You won't see that on the sign anywhere, but just ask the person taking your order. That saves $$ and worthless fat calories.

 

[manda653]

Figure out what the DDP would cost you per day, put that on a Disney gift card and use it like a debit card, you may surprise yourself and break even unless you have kids under 10 and a lot of character meals planned. Otherwise, you'd be surprised at what ordering what you want, not what gets you the best bang for your ddp buck will get you!

So you can use a disney gift card at disney for meals? Anyone know what restaurants this can be used for?

 

[drenalin'junkie]

I'd review the food pix here with an eye towards sharing bigger items and getting an idea of portions.Bread/rolls and water are free.

We travel without any food budget now but we started with serious constraints years ago.Breakfast in the room,snacks and water out the backpack for lunch and splitting several apps with one dessert for dinner we both could eat for a day on about what a typical entre costs one of us now at a signature.

 

[cglaura]

So you can use a disney gift card at disney for meals? Anyone know what restaurants this can be used for?

I'm 99.99% sure all of them except possibly few random ice cream type carts.

Just make sure it is a Disney Gift Card, not a disneyshopping gift card.

It will print out your remaining balance on the receipt too, so easy to keep track.

 

[Melodious]

I am 99.9% sure you can order counter service items a la carte. That is, you don't have to order a cheeseburger platter that comes with fries and a pickle, like you see it on the menu board. You can order just the burger. You won't see that on the sign anywhere, but just ask the person taking your order. That saves $$ and worthless fat calories.

Can you really order them separately? How much of a price difference is it, does anyone know? My mom and I definitely could share fries and not waste so much food.

So you can use a disney gift card at disney for meals? Anyone know what restaurants this can be used for?

You can also put a Disney gift card on your room keycard and then you can use the gift card as debit anywhere you can use your room keycard which is virtually everywhere (I've heard the WS Japan shop you can't).

 

[manda653]

Can you really order them separately? How much of a price difference is it, does anyone know? My mom and I definitely could share fries and not waste so much food.



You can also put a Disney gift card on your room keycard and then you can use the gift card as debit anywhere you can use your room keycard which is virtually everywhere (I've heard the WS Japan shop you can't).

Wow thanks for all that info! I am liking this idea

Just seems like it would be easier for us!

 

[ddmeka]

Order water at restaurants and take individual kool aid or crystl lite type of things to pour in water to give flavor. Isn't water free.

 

[Melodious]

Wow thanks for all that info! I am liking this idea

Just seems like it would be easier for us!

We like the idea of it too, because it's truly prepaid since we often order things outside of the plan such as appetizers, drinks, and you can include the tip on the gift card! If you lose your resort card, you can get it back easier than a gift card too.

 

[ransom]

A surprising amount of perfectly good food is thrown away each day. You can put together a complete meal from what's in the garbage cans at any of the larger CS restaurants. And remember: water is free! Also, don't forget the free salad bar at some of the burger joints. Just act like you know what you're doing, and no one will question it.

Just kidding, of course! The real answer is to do as others have said, and share meals. There are plenty of meals at WDW that include more than enough for two people to share. DW and I have shared ribs at Flame Tree, chicken strips at numerous places, roast chicken at Cosmic Rays, and the Chinese food at Sunshine Seasons, among other things.

If you share something and it turns out to not be quite enough for both of you, just wait a while and share something else. It'll still work out cheaper in the end than buying too much food for both of you all at one go. Just avoid snacking on the high-sugar stuff like ice cream bars and candy. They'll just make you more hungry later, and they're pretty darned expensive. The buckets of popcorn aren't too bad, though, and work well as between-meal fillers.

 

[brettb]

Tables in Wonderland memberships are available only to annual passholders and Florida residents. It costs $75 to join for a year (for annual passholders), so you must spend about $375 on eligible food and beverages to make the membership price back in discounts.

Though it doesn't really matter to the OP, the break-even number for TIW a fair amount higher than $375. For some meals, the 20% TIW discount replaces a 10% AP discount. It's almost impossible to calculate because IIRC, the AP discounts often apply only to lunch and don't apply to all the TIW restaurants and the TIW discount applies to alcoholic beverages as well. It's still a great deal, though!

 

[jojomoore]

I had to leave WDW to go to Walgreens on our last trip and i discovered If you have a car their is a world of food just outside the World. This could be an option for you in the evenings. You could buy Krispie Creams for one morning. Their is also a two Mcdonalds on Disney property.

 

[brettb]

I had to leave WDW to go to Walgreens on our last trip and i discovered If you have a car their is a world of food just outside the World. This could be an option for you in the evenings. You could buy Krispie Creams for one morning. Their is also a two Mcdonalds on Disney property.

Isn't the Downtown Disney McDonald's gone now? I think that just leaves the one.