Dining off-site, is it a hassle?

[cricket429]

Just wondering, we are staying at POP and plan on doing the parks in the am, going back to rest for a while then going back to parks. For dinner, how much of a hassle is it to dine off site then go back to resort then hop bus to parks. Dont really know if we will do that but was wondering if anyone has much experience with off site dining. Is it worth the money you save on dinner?

 

[carol1231]

Will you have a car? If you have a car, then it is not a hassle. We always have a car, so it is a nice change to go to other restaurants. You do get the feeling that you have re-entered the real world. They are still close by and can be very busy though.

 

[cricket429]

Yes, we are driving so we will have a car. Because this is our first trip, just wondering about driving out of the world and traffic, etc. Is it easy to get lost? Also, if we decided to eat off site one or two nights, where would you suggest? Its, me, dh and 5 yr old dd. Nothing fancy but not Mcdonalds either.
Thanks

 

[Chuck S]

There are a lot of chain-type family restaurants in the WDW area. Perkins*, Steak & Shake, IHOP, Bob Evans to name a few. Most of these are nothing fancy, and serve a comprehensive menu at reasonable prices. For a "little fancier" you might try Pebbles* or Red Lobster*.

*indicates they are located in the Crossroads Shopping Center.

From POP you are probably closer to Irlo Bronson (US 192) than the Crossroads, there are a LOT of restaurants on US 192

 

[gdulaney]

There is also a Bahama Breeze in the Crossroads area (this is our spurge, it's YUM!). I've heard that Jungle Jim's appeals to the kids, but we've never eaten there.

The front desk should be able to give you a map (and highlight the route you need to take).

Have fun!!!
Ginny

 

[Alexander]

Unless you plan to eat at your own resort, it's no more of a hassle to go off property than it is to go to another resort to eat. You'll save a ton of money eating off property. If you decide to do this often, look into getting an Entertainment book for the Orlando area. You'll save even more!

 

[RyMickey]

We have eaten at Jungle Jim's and do so every trip. If this is your first time in the World, I would suggest avoiding eating offsite. If you're not familiar with the area, it may be a hassle. That being said, it is sometimes cheaper, but it does eat up a lot of time.

RyMickey

 

[Luv2Roam]

One of the things we always enjoyed about a WDW trip was eating on property.
Chances are the off site restaurants nearby will be busy, and the same chains you can eat at where you live.
The WDW restaurants were always a plus for us, and still are.
Unless you have a long trip and want to get away from the mouse for awhile, I wouldn't bother eating off site.
With having a car, eating on 192 would be easy. I have heard some bad tales on some of the non-chain restaurants. From what I hear they may be cheaper, but are not too good either. It's a you get what you pay for situation.

 

[rascalmom]

We usually have a car, and while we could eat offsite - why would we? The food at WDW is great with lots of variety. Yes, it's a little more expensive than offsite, but you will use up a lot of your valuable vacation time to "just eat" offsite. Eating onsite keeps the meal part of the magical experience that is Disney. For us, the big investment is the time we spend away from work, the cost of the hotels and the park tickets. We feel we are getting much more for our money by eating at WDW. Whether its a burger in MK at Pecos Bills or fine dining at California Grill or one of the World Showcase restaurants, the add to our experience.

 

[andrabell]

We stayed offsite last trip and ended up eating mostly on Dis property, either at the parks or resorts. We ate a few unmemorable meals here and there along 192, unmemorable being the key word. I remember each and every dining experience that we had while on Disney property. Even the less than stellar dinner at CRT (though being in the Castle during Wishes! was ever so worth it). I don't feel saving a few dollars is worth the loss of atmosphere and mediocre food.

 

[beast/del]

If you are interested in a nice dinner show off disney you could go to arabian Knights on 192... It is a dinner show with horses and very good. There is also Rain forest cafe at animal kingdom that is reasonably priced.

there are lots of restuarants on 192 and it is very easy to get there. You should not get lost.

 

[cricket429]

Thanks for all of your information and suggestions. We are not staying for very long (march 19 thru 23) so maybe we will just go off site one night. Who knows, if we can find inexpensive meals or like the food court at POPs food, we wont have to. This is our first trip and we are on a budget so was just looking for ways to save a couple bucks. Thanks again.

 

[dbanzai]

A friend of mine who goes down there annually but always stays off property raves about Jungle Jims for both kids and adults.

When I told him I was staying on proprety and wasn't going to have a car, he didn't think it would be worth going to JJs, but he did say with a car it's very easy, and as said located in the Crossroads mall.

 

[bobcat]

We rarely go off site to eat and then it is usually accompanied by a trip to the character outlets. Whlie it's not hard to get offsite to eat I find it a pain when there are so many good places to eat onsite.

Pop has a very good food court and I wish we had had more meals there our last trip. They have a mom's special each night that we were never around to try. They also have a microwave and toaster that you can use. I usually pack those small kids microwavable meals for the kids and they will make them and have them pool side. We also have breakfast in the room most mornings, saves time as well as money.

 

[cricket429]

They have microwaves that you can use for your own food? My dd loves those microwave cups like ravioli. Can you actually heat up something you brought and sit in the food court and eat it or do you need to bring is back to your room.

 

[bobcat]

We've used the microwaves to reheat restaurant left overs, popcorn, prepackaged mini meals for the kids. They are for the food court area but they are not going to tell you not to use them.