CS Only...What's your experience?

[princesscharming]

This trip, I do have TS ADRs. However, with the prices rising, it has crossed my mind to just do CS restaurants in the future. For those of you have just dined CS, how did it go? Did you feel like something was missing? Did you get a chance to get out of the heat? Did you get a chance to rest? Etc., etc...

 

[MomToPirate&Princess]

We have taken 2 CS only Disney trips. We loved the freedom and flexibilty to eat whenever we were ready and not be tied to reservations or long meals. It saved a lot of money over TS too. There are plenty of indoor rides and shows for getting out of the heat and/or sitting. We went back to the room a couple times to take a break but not everyday. Before going, I'd suggest going through the menus for the different CS restaurants so you can have in mind a couple at each park that interest you so you won't get stuck in a burger/fries rut.

 

[sharonabe]

We did just CS on our last trip, but it was in Dec, so getting out of the heat wasn't really a problem. However, all parks have A/C CS restaurants, so you should be able to get out of the heat fairly easily.

To save a little more money, you can share meals at Cosmic Rays, Flame Tree, and Fairfax Fare. They have some combo meals that are pretty big. We are a family of four with two boys and two of the combo meals with an extra order of fries was plenty.

You can actually be pretty creative with CS. We were there for five days, and I only ate one hamburger the whole time and that was by choice. Just do some research from the dining tab above. You'll be fine!

 

[MissJanice]

We really like the CS options at Disney and we use them all the time. We usually have two ADRs and the rest is CS. It save a ton of money and we can get back to the parks/pools/shops which we like a lot more than sitting in a restaurant.

 

[Liljam]

We do a ton CS with only a few TS ADRs. This year I booked # TS meals (Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace and Whispering Canyon.) We ALWAYS go to House of Blues at least one time though. Otherwise, we grab a light breakfast in our villa (the first year we grabbed breakfast at CS if we wanted any) then we do all of our other dining at CS. Flametree is a must for us, Casey's in MK is too! Cosmic Ray's is a favorite and we like so many others. Lots of people don't like the burgers, we actually look forward to having one. Turkey legs are always a fun option too. In EPCOT, we like just about any CS there, and often find ourselves just snacking... If you have the option of a fridge in your room and have the option of heading to the grocery store, go to the one across from DTD and you'll find yourself saving so much if you buy some snacks, lunch meat and bread, and some light breakfast items like bars or poptarts and cereal. Doing that makes it much easier for us through the week too. We found out last trip that by grabbing some light items we saved money and ate less and less in the parks (during a mid day break and before heading out in the morning.)

 

[Sugardimples]

We did almost all CS last September and were amazed at the wide variety of choices we had. We only had one burger all week. We did, however, miss our TS meals.

Next trip we did more TS meals and now know we like a mix of both.

BTW, we found Wolfgang Puck Express to be the perfect blend of a CS that feels like a TS. And we think Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion in EPCOT is the best CS ever!

 

[starrysky]

I think most people when they think of CS its all burgers however WDW has such a good range of CS. We did almost all CS last year as we were on the QSDP and we loved it. Think I only had one burger the whole time we were there.

Have look over the menus and the options are limitless as to the types of food on option.

This year as we got a free DDP we will be doing a mix of both TS and CS but trying to keep most of the TS to dinners so we don't miss out on too much park time during the day. Still a bit worried we might be too tied up to ressies but we will make it work some how.

 

[Soon2beMrs.]

If you are staying on property look into the dining plan. That allows you to pay a fixed price per person everyday and you get both CS and TS.
I like the TS because it is a break from all the hussle of the parks and crowds and you get sit down and relax and have amazing food.
Last trip my DH and I went on, we paid $47 a day per person and we easily have a TS dinner bill of $120, it is really worth it and we only plan to use the dining plan from now on!

 

[princesscharming]

Wow, really positive responses. I figured the CS option in EPCOT, particularly WS, would be diverse. But it sounds like you can get something for everyone, in all the parks.

We loved the freedom and flexibilty to eat whenever we were ready and not be tied to reservations or long meals. It saved a lot of money over TS too.

Thought this might be the case.

To save a little more money, you can share meals at Cosmic Rays, Flame Tree, and Fairfax Fare. They have some combo meals that are pretty big. We are a family of four with two boys and two of the combo meals with an extra order of fries was plenty.

Good to know!

If you have the option of a fridge in your room and have the option of heading to the grocery store, go to the one across from DTD...

We do plan on this. Which is the one across from DTD?

Next trip we did more TS meals and now know we like a mix of both.

What is the mix that works for you? Is it one TS a day? 3-4 a week?

Thanks for the responses.

 

[720L]

We love eating CS. I never feel like we're eating "the same thing" all the time. Lots of different varieties of food.

 

[persimmondeb]

I'll be the voice of dissension here. We did QSDP last time, and wouldn't do it again. We found a good variety of things to eat, but it's just not as much of a vacation, or as much of a break in the day. Also, my DS was much less well behaved in the CS restaurants (noise and chaos level, plus I think he feels the expectations are lower).

We did pay for a few TS meals out of pocket, but missed having at least one every day. Next time we'll probably go deluxe, so it can be pretty much all TS all the time. We do love Earl of Sandwich, and Sunshine Seasons too, but we like to sit down and relax more than most CS places allow, especially at busy times. WPE was great for that, actually, but my DH didn't like their food (or more accurately, they don't really serve anything he'll eat).

 

[photobob]

We generally plan one TS meal per day and it is always lunch. Lunch ADR's are easier to get, the food is generally cheaper and we don't usually do heavier meals. This year we have ADR's at Kona, Mama Melrose, Chef de France and Yak and Yeti.

 

[Liljam]

My dh said that its not across from dtd, but they Hung a left and drove a short distance to get to a grocery store. I'm sure someone here knows better than he does, haha! He'll just drive their again in 34 days!!

 

[disneyquestions]

Though I would miss TS meals if we ONLY did CS meals, they do have an advantage. You don't have to worry about time - if your having fun somewhere, you can stay! You don't have to look at your watch and say "sorry kids, we have to get off the IASW line because we have to be at our TS meal in 10 minutes." Its cheaper. And in all truth, the food, (depending on where you go) isn't bad! I can't wait to try that Flame Tree BBQ in Animal Kingdon when we go. And when we went down 3 years ago and stayed at POFQ we only had a CS restaurant in our hotel, and it was darn good! We couldn't believe how large the portions were. Having said that, why not pick just one TS meal that you really want, and do that one. Have a great time!

 

[disnut8]

We do counter service only and at first, it was a pain since there weren't that many different choices (burgers, hot dogs, maybe a chicken sandwich) but in the past few years, we've found the counter service experience to be vastly improved. I was very pleased to see things like ribs and chicken at The Studios and Animal Kingdom. Of course, Epcot's World Showcase will have different things at the countries but they also have (or had - haven't been there since November) empanadas and fried shrimp at the Refreshment Port near Canada. We loved Cosmic Ray's at Magic Kingdom.

Yes, you can find different and rather tasty things at Disney World counter service now. And we find the portions to be rather large for us. When my husband could barely finish his pork BBQ sandwich at the Flame Tree BBQ, I knew we'd never have to go back to table service again if we didn't want to.

 

[cesariofamily]

Our last trip my youngest was 18 months old so we did few sit down TS because she was really in the no mood to sit for long stage. I found in Epcot CS to be NO problem. Lots of good choices. In AK we love flame tree BBQ. In MK and HS we got a bit bored of park food. We were in the parks for 6 days and had several CS meals. I would not say that CS was bad but at the end of the week it grew a little tiresome. I would actually recommend perhaps trying an off property sitdown if saving $$$ is very important just to break up the CS meals. Also we did our TS more based on where we were toruing each day so they were clustered together. If I had to do again I would spread them out and make sure we had one for the last day because by then we were over CS. To your other point, yes I did feel rested and had enough time to sit. We went Begin of Sept so it was HOT but not crowded so I'm not sure if large crowds would mean fighting for AC seats.

 

[Liljam]

I was just checking over allears.net again for menu items since reading this thread and I suggest it to anyone looking in to doing CS only! There are sooooooo many good foods, seriously - from wraps to pulled pork sammies, bagels with smoked salmon or pastrami, turkey clubs, burgers and dogs, apple slices instead of fries, chicken and ribs, thai noodles, curry chicken, egg rolls, danishes and muffins for breakfast, some really crazy yummy sounding salads if that's your thing - but one thing I hadn't know about is the "Picnic In The Park" at Animal Kingdom - that sounds so cool to try - go to Island Mercantile 2 hours before (from 8:30a-1pm) and order you food (it's listed on allears, sandwiches, sides and desserts with drinks or chicken and sides and desserts and drinks for up to 6 people in a reusable bag) then you pick up your food at a location, take it to the picnic location on the map and enjoy. IF anyone here has tried it, I'd liked to know how it was because that sounds kinda relaxing and in between a CS and TS meal. The cost is nice too.

 

[princesscharming]

Yeah, I'd like to know about the Picnic in the Park too. Sounds like it could save some time standing line. Although I'm really liking FTB.

 

[disnut8]

Yeah, I'd like to know about the Picnic in the Park too. Sounds like it could save some time standing line. Although I'm really liking FTB.

At Flame Tree, we had their onion rings last time and I thought they would be horrible since, well, they are Disney counter service onion rings. Huge surprise that they were very good. Now we just want to go there for those. The basket was pretty big too (which was probably one of the reasons we waddled out of there).

 

[rlovew]

There is a grocery store at the end of the street from DTD - its name is Goody's if you have our own car (or a rental) I highly recommend taking a left at the end of the street instead of fgoing into the plaza with Goody's and driving an extra 2 miles or so to the Publix (on the right hand side of the road). Goody's is a shop for tourists only and their prices are high and the quailty is very low. Even in a taxi you would probably save more going to Publix instead of Goody's and the food would be much better.