Cheap but must

[ranokid]

This is what I have so far. Dont want to spend to much so almost all are counter.

MK - Columbia Harbor House
Pecos Bill's

AK - Flame Tree BBQ
Tusker House

EC - Sunshine Fair Fare

MGM - Sci Fi
Pizza Planet

DD - Rainforest Cafe (wich I think will be the 'less cheap')

Wich do you think I'm missing and must try?.

 

[tar heel]

If I were only going to do one in-park sit-down restaurant, I would choose something other than Sci Fi. It's expensive and the food is just okay. You could get a good meal in the same price range at Prime Time Cafe, for example. You also could get lunch at some of the World Showcase restaurants in Epcot for a similar price. I personally would choose World Showcase counter service restaurants over Sunshine Season at Epcot. There's nothing wrong with the food court, but I would go for something more interesting.

 

[Alice28]

I too think I would choose 50's PTC over Sci-Fi...

And probably our most disappointing fast food meal was at the Food Court at Epcot---you have to wait in different lines for all the different food choices, which is kind of a pain if you have kids or you want to charge it. And I thought my chicken sandwich and the kid's corn dogs were pathetic. We really enjoyed munching our way around the World Showcase- I think on my previous two trips we ate in Mexico, China, Japan, UK & USA ( all of these were coutner service places) and all were pleasant and not any more expensive than a burger. Plus it's fun to take in the ambience.

 

[magicmouse2]

If you like Chinese food, Lotus Blossom cafe (EPCOT) does good combo meals. Good size portions and tasty food. Our favorite counter service in WDW

 

[arizonacolbys]

I highly recommend trying the fast food in Mexico at Epcot. It is one of our favorite stops on our trips & we usually eat here more than once every trip.

I would also try a different restaurant at MGM - we ate at Sci-fi many years ago & have never gone back. It gets many bad reviews, but then there are some that like it, too.

We really enjoy the Rainforest - but, it isn't very cheap. Their portions are huge - maybe you could split some meals or apps to make it more affordable?

HTH!

 

[heffalump9]

I would really substitute the 50's Primetime Cafe for Sci Fi. The food is better quality and more consistant, I know the Sci Fi has its fans but this is the only sitdown I have been disappointed in, if you want to enjoy the atmosphere at Sci Fi try going their for dessert. The 50's Primetime is on our must-do list for either lunch or dinner make sure you get a PS, it is very popular.

 

[ranokid]

What is this Lotus Blossom café? Your average chinese fast food or is something strange I have never eat?
Guy I REALLY want to try Sci fi. Is the food that bad? Altough what I want is the experience.

 

[phorsenuf]

I agree with 50's...it's our favorite place. If your looking for good and cheap then you have to do Trails End at FW! That is a must do for us. It's a buffet and very very resonable! The best bargain around!

 

[OzFan]

Throwing in my 2 cents here.... Definitely 50's Prime Time over Sci-Fi. The food at the Sci-Fi is not that good and to me seems way over priced. We love the 50's PT. My kids get a kick out of my husband getting in trouble for having his elbows on the table.

As far as Pecos Bills, this is our favorite counter service in MK. We love , love , love the fixins bar! The portions are huge here. More fries than one can eat! I tried the chicken wrap last year and thought it was delicious!

I'm not a big fan of the Rainforest Cafe. We ate at the one in Animal Kingdom and it was not all that. We waited for our food for over an hour and when we got it was ice cold. The kids were starving so we ate and left. We also have a Rainforest here in Chicago, so it seems silly to go all the way to Orlando to eat there.

The only place we have eaten at in Epcot, is at the Princess Breakfast in Norway. It was in my opinion better than the castle. We felt we didn't have to eat and run. The food was good and the characters were great.

I am going to try to do more "Epcot" eating this year.

 

[Kaycee]

I'm going to disagree with everyone else and say stick with Sci Fi. We love it there, and if we only do one sit-down meal the whole trip that will be the one. We're perfectly happy to get burgers and shakes there, we go for the atmosphere. If we're going to eat, we would just as soon have counter service. But when we choose to spend the extra money to have an enjoyable sit-down meal, we want something that we think is fun. And Sci Fi is a lot of fun for us!!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I love sci-fi. The burgers are great and the shakes are excellent. Also, can't stand being "talked to" by the waitstaff while I eat at prime time. I don't know, it just bugs me. The food is not that expensive , it's about the same as say, Pizzaria Uno or Chilis.

I also LOVE sci-fi's atmosphere. The movie clips are pretty amusing ; especially if you like sci-fi or things that mock old sci fi like Mystery Science Theater.

Kids usually like being in the cars, too

I don't like the food at Prime Time either. It's just not my thing.

If your kids are picky, WS counter service may not offer much for them, although the fast food place in the American pavillion has pretty good stuff.

I would skip Rainforest, personally. I LOVE the place, but I have one right down the road from me up here, so I go there all the time. The food is good though and the atmosphere fascinates kids. You may want to check if there is one in driving distance from your home and do a Dsiney place, like the castle, for your one splurge

 

[Alice28]

A tip I saw in someone's food reviews----

If you order a double cheeseburger at Pecos Bills (and probably at other hamburger places with fixins bars), ask for an extra bun. They will charge you something like .75, and then you can make two burgers out of it, and both load up on the fixins. I thought that was a great idea if you want to save some $$. They give you a TON of fries or you can get a little bag of carrots as a side.

 

[hyzdufan]

Electric Umbrella! Not for the scenery, but for the value. You get a sandwich, and you can practically make a salad out of the toppings bar. What a meal...

 

[Maleficent13]

I agree with Kaycee and EsmeraldaX. I love the Sci-Fi and always make a point to go there if I can. The atmosphere is fun and I have never had a problem with the food. You should definitely try it if you want to. Even if you don't care for it, at least you'll know and won't wonder!

 

[KimberAnn]

We LOVED the Sci-Fi. In fact it was my 12 year old's fave meal of the whole week.

My kids really liked having milkshakes in the cars. And the ambience was wonderful.

We're big sci-fi nuts though, so this was high on our priority list. If you like cheesy sci-fi, you'll love it.

 

[4mickeyfans]

We absolutely love it!

The food was great, the service was great, and the atmosphere - too cool! I mean that LITERALLY! It was a great way to relax in the middle of a hot summer day! We left feeling so refreshed.

We would definitely go back


Oh, another suggestion - the GARDEN GRILL at Epcot's THE LAND pavillion - characters are there for lunch - the restaurant rotates THROUGH the attraction and the food is REALLY good! Homestyle, plenty of it, and the salad is grown right there!

The picture in my sig line is from our last GARDEN GRILL visit...Just made PS for us for next Friday

 

[nigel-bigel]

I walked out of Sci-Fi the one time I went there, because the service was so bad.

If you must go, why not just get some ice creem or a shake and some fries?

If you must sit down to eat at MGM, Mama Melrose is pretty good. I personally would have lunch at the ABC Commissary and have the sit-down meal somewhere at the World Showcase at Epcot.

Chefs de France is my favorite, but if you also want entertainment, how about the Biergarten? Something else pretty special could be PS's at the Rose and Crown around an hour and a half before Illuminations. If you ask to sit on the patio, you will be able to enjoy dessert and coffee just as Illuminations is starting!

And I agree with others, Rainforest Cafes are everywhere. I would go someplace that I can't go everywhere else. At DD, how about Wolfgang Puck's Express (or whatever it is called - the counter service one)? It'll be better food and cheaper prices! If you must do that "theme dining" kind of thing, isn't there a Planet Hollywood at DD?

Sorry, I know you spent a lot of time trying to make these choices, and we are all changing them on you! It must be very frustrating. But really, if I were to just have one or two sit-down meals at the World, it absolutley wouldn't be Sci-Fi!

Good luck, and let us know what you decide!

Nicole

 

[CookieGVB]

The pastry shop in France (EPCOT) has some delicious sandwhich croissants that are inexpensive.

 

[ranokid]

Thanks everyone; keep em comming!

ozfan - My kids dont understand english very well so I think they wont be amuse at 50's.

esmeraldax - we have real rainforests in Puerto Rico but no rainforest cafe

4mickeyfans - is this garden grill expensive?

nigelbigel - is not frustrating at all

 

[dreamalittledream]

Definitely skip the Rainforrest. We just got back and ate at many places, CRT, Chef Mickey, Mexico, Japan, Poly (Ohana and Kona), Pizza Planet, Cosmic Ray's and 1900 Parke Faire. We loved them all esp. the Mexico and Japan dinners and Ohana breakfast.
The Rainforrest was the most dissapointing. I had a 12:00 PS with 11 in our group but were sat within 20 min so we thought it would be ok. Well we waited 1 hour for food and we just ordered apps! We were told apps would be out in 10 min, meals were taking longer. I would hate to have waited for those. LOL . The place was not even full, there was a huge line waiting to be seated and they seemed VERY understaffed. Overall it was expensive for what we got and the kids were done in with the 2 hour lunch. If you have the time for a VERY Leisurely lunch, it would be ok but we cut into nap time in a serious way. Next time I would just walk around inside to view the deco and go eat at the Flame tree.