Counter Service??

[Dallas_Lady]

I am planning a short (4 nights) low budget trip for this year. I need to stick to inexpensive dining, which in Disney really only means counter service. What are some good ones, which ones should we skip?

 

[travelbug]

Here are some counter service places I have tried and enjoyed:

Cosmic Ray's at MK
Columbia Harbor House at MK
El Pirata at MK
Tusker House at AK
Sunshine Food Fair at Epcot
British Fish & Chips stand (name?) at Epcot
ABC Commissary at MGM

The only one I've tried and not been impressed with is Cantina de San Angel at Epcot. The food was barely lukewarm and had likely been sitting under the food lamp for a good long time.

At some places, I've split a meal with whoever I was with. It saved money, and we still had plenty to eat. I've done this at Cosmic Ray's (both the chicken sandwich basket and the rotisserie chicken with potatoes) and Tusker House (rotisserie chicken with potatoes). I could have easily split the tuna sandwich at Sunshine Food Fair. It was huge!

Hope this helps. Good luck as you plan your upcoming trip!

 

[ducklite]

My favorites in each park:

MK--Cosmic Ray's. I'd also like to mention that although it's full service, the Plaza Restaurant is very inexpensive.

Epcot--Yakitori House.

MGM--none of the above...maybe a snack and specialty coffee or tea at Buy the Book.

AK--Tusker House.

I would avoid Pinnochio Village Haus like the plague (in the MK)

Anne

 

[Belle5]

AK-Tusker House is going to give you more than burger and fries. More veggies and such.

Most counter services in Epcot will give you can get sandwiches or other cultural foods from that country the restaurant is located in. (Bratwurst in Germany, Japanese food at Yakatori, etc.)

MGM--ABC Commissary has good fried fish and fries.

Rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes at Cosmic Ray's (I think that's where it was.) Can't go wrong at Pecos Bill.

 

[BeckWhy]

At Epcot the Sunshine Food Fair (in the Land) is really really good! It's a food court so everyone can get something they like.

At Magic Kingdom the Columbia Harbour House (fried chicken and fish foods). The Plaza Pavillion isn't too bad, but I only had pizza and salad there.

At MGM I don't know, I've only had a character breakfast there.

At Animal Kingdom, I'm not too sure also, but we did pass this BBQ place (I don't know the name) and it smelt great (and I hate BBQ). Plus in the Dino Land there is a place that sells McDonald's food (I don't know what that's called either).

 

[dzneelvr]

MGM: Backlot Express, ABC Commissary, or Pizza Planet.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Our absolute favorite is Peco's Bills in The Magic Kingdom. They have great hamburgers, plus a great fixins bar ( mushrooms, grilled onions, tomatoes & lettuce ). You get a great inexpensive meal when you dine here.

 

[Rafikifan]

Here are some places that we've tried.

MK:
Pecos Bills

Epcot:
Cantina in Mexico - Sorry to hear someone got cold food, yuk! We've been there twice and it was fine both times.

Yakitori House - I didn't even know this place was there until our last trip. 12 year old DD and I spent a "girl's only" afternoon in Epcot and while I wanted to snack my way around the world, she was downright hungry and we stumbled upon the place. She ordered a combo type plate with skewers of shrimp, chicken, and beef with teriyaki sauce and rice and I tried a couple of bites and it was very good! Friendly counter service and lovely, peaceful setting.

MGM: only fast food we have tried is Rosie's All American Cafe. Burgers weren't good and not much else on the menu. Plus since it's close to TOT and Rocking RC there are a lot of people in that area and many just order a drink and a snack to wait while the rest of their party rides those rides so it can be very hard to find a table. Sometimes we stop there for a cold beer (after riding TOT sometimes I need one ;-) but wouldn't eat there again.

AK

Pizzafari is ok. Decent pizza.
Restaurantosaurus is the place that serves McDonald's fries and chicken nuggets. Hamburgers (not McD's) are ok and there is a fixings bar. Portions are large. The hot dogs are huge. Nothing to rave about. Next time I would try Flame Tree BBQ because as someone mentioned it smells divine when passing by.

Resorts:
Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club.
Roaring Forks at WL
Mara at AKL was good and offered some "different" choices than many other food courts like sugar cane chicken and fried shrimp. After our family of 2 adults and 3 children got our entrees and drinks it added up to be fairly expensive compared to other places but it may be what we ordered. (We weren't staying there so we didn't have refillable mugs).

 

[travelbug]

Oh yeah! I forgot all about Pecos Bill's in my earlier reply! That is definitely a great place as others have said. Gotta love the fixin's bar!

 

[sha_lyn]

another vote for Peco's Bills and Yakitori House.

We really enjoy Peco's Bills. We actually ate there 2x in one day in May. It is also our favorite spot to watch the MK parades from, so we time ourt meals to match the parades.

Yakitori house ... It's been 3 yrs since we ate there, but it was very good

 

[Princesstimes2]

I didn't see anyone say Flametree at Animal Kingdom. Very Good!!! We loved it.

 

[MinniMama]

had bad bad experiences at Tusker house and pecos Bills cold food long waits soggy food yuck- really like taco salad at Mexican place across from Pirates in MK love columbia house-like Pizza pLanet in MGM and have heard good things about cosmic rays in MK.

 

[jenjie]

MK- Cosmic Ray's. The rotisserie chicken & redskinned mashed potatoes are really good.

Epcot - Sunshine Season Food Fair. I loved the veggie lasagna. My mom raved about the tuna sandwich. Dh said the chicken sandwich was ok but nothing special. Both kids got the Mickey pasta. They had no problem with giving my ds plain pasta and some butter pats instead of sauce or cheese.

MGM - I hated ABC Commissary. The lo mein, usually my favorite, was gluey and tasteless.

 

[Princesstimes2]

jenjie, I second Cosmic Ray's chicken and mashed potatoes. Have you had the corn muffins that come with the family meal? Delicious!

 

[jenjie]

No I haven't tried the corn muffins, but to tell you the truth, I saw someone else's mashed potatoes through the window and they looked so appetizing I knew I had to have them. I'm so glad they didn't disappoint. LOL

 

[AmyA]

Flametree Barbeque in AK--yum!!!

We are also big fans of Cosmic Ray's and Pecos Bill's in the MK.

We only eat at the HBD in MGM so I don't have any counter service suggestions there--sorry

Epcot--the CS restaurants at the French Pavilion and the Norwegian Pavilion are great. In Future World we love to eat at the Fountainview Bakery.

Hope this helps!

 

[GaDisneyDad]

We only do counter service. A full service sit-down restaurant would be a waste of money with my cheezeburger/pizza/hot dog/chicken finger eating teens. Our favorites:

MK:
Casey's
Columbia Harbour House
Cosmic Ray's

Epcot:
don't have one. We usually eat back at the food court at POR on the day we go here.

MGM:
Food stands near RnRC and TOT. Not sure of the names. Pizza, hot dogs, turkey legs (yes!), etc.

AK:
Pizzafari

 

[TDC Nala]

I like cheaper, too, especially on solo trips.

MK: Columbia Harbor House or Cosmic Ray's. I've decided I prefer Cosmic Ray's over Pecos Bill's because they have barbecue sauce that I can put on my cheeseburger, and cheese for the fries. It can really become a madhouse, though. Try El Pirato y El Perico over in Adventureland for tacos and taco salads and nachos, although I am not a fan of the ground beef (personal preference) and usually order a salad or nachos without it.

AK: Flame Tree Barbecue chicken sandwich with onions!! I used to actually like the veggie pizza from Pizzafari but of course it has been discontinued. Only cheese and pepperoni are available now. My friend loves the potsticker dumplings in Asian broth from Chakarandi Chicken in Asia. I am not as crazy about them as she is, but she swears by them.

Epcot! I love eating around the world. The fish and chips in Britain are good for conventional fare. For unconventional, I like the veggie platter at Morocco's Tangierine Cafe - comes with couscous salad, olives, hummus, bread, tabouli, that kind of stuff. Yakitori House is good, too. A lot of folks like teriyaki chicken. I think it is interesting that the Mexican food at the MK is better than the Mexican food at the cantina in Epcot.

Studios: Yikes. I don't really eat here unless it's at the Brown Derby or Prime Time Cafe. The most I'll get for carryout is that I will go into the Tune In Lounge next to Prime Time and ask for a PBJ milkshake to go.

 

[campingcorgi]

Originally posted by Princesstimes2
jenjie, I second Cosmic Ray's chicken and mashed potatoes. Have you had the corn muffins that come with the family meal? Delicious!

The last two times (last June and November) that I ate at Cosmic Ray's they didn't have the corn muffins with the family meal. And they were sooooo good! Have they added them back? I hope so!

 

[Belle5]

TDCNala,
Are you telling us that Cosmic Rays has BBQ sauce at the toppings bar? Oh my goodness. That right there may cause us to choose Cosmic over Pecos for a couple of meals. We go to our local Fuddrucker's to get red onions and BBQ sauce on our burgers. YUM! Please confirm and I will switch restaurants in my itenerary!