Dining on a budget

[Tink412]

My boyfriend and I along with 2 friends are making a trip down this March to WDW for our spring break. Since we are college students, we are looking for some great dining options that won't burst our bank accounts. We are planning a few expensive dinners (Alfredo's, Cape May, etc.) but that is only going to be for a few meals out of our 8 day trip. ANY SUGGESTIONS WELCOME!!

 

[jcemom]

For table service, lunches are usually less expensive than dinner.

Some of the less expensive TS places that we enjoy are Beaches and Cream, Sci-Fi lunch, and the Plaza at MK. They're not cheap, but by Disney prices they're less expensive than most places.

 

[KKB]

and you are planning some TS...
The dining plan is a pretty good value for you.
$37.99 pp/night
Each day you get:
1 snack (WIDE variety of options for that from drinks to popcorn to frozen goodies)
1 counter service meal (CS)=drink, combo (i.e. fries & burger), dessert
1 table service (TS)= non-alc drink, entree & dessert; you must pay tip

Counter service meals can easily run $10pp/day.
You can also use 2TS credits at some of Disneys very best restauarants.

You can only use the DDP (Disney Dining Plan) if you are staying on property and have purchased at least one day park ticket.

I was not a believer...but at Disney food prices, and for 2 adults who plan on eating TS, it is a good value.

Do some research here...I think you will find terrific TS meal choices. Le Cellier is arguably the best 1TS meal; Boma & Ohana were our other favs; Narcoosees (2TS), Kona, Le Chefs & Wolfgang Pucks were also good. We are anxious to try Jiko or Artist's Point this trip (each 2TS). Wolfgang Puck Express is arguably one of the best CS values also.

 

[DisneyLover75]

Sorry to break this to you, but Alfredo's has closed. That made me extraordinarily sad because it was my favorite of all time. Then Concourse Steakhouse closed, which was my next favorite. Sigh...

Moving right along though... the Breakfasts are usually pretty reasonable too.. like the buffets at Tusker House, 1900 Park Fare and Hollywood and Vine.

 

[princess-rn]

I agree with doing the dining plan. It may seem pretty steep at first...BUT once you pay for it you don't have to worry about adding the cost of food into your trip$$. I really is a bargin ESPECIALLY since you are planning on doing some of the more expensive TS dinners. Have a GREAT spring break!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Have you checked out the menus and prices at allearsnet.com?

That is a great place to start....DH and I used to do nothing but CS places and we still had great meals!

 

[TDC Nala]

Sorry to break this to you, but Alfredo's has closed.

It has closed, but has been replaced by a new Italian restauraunt under new management, Tutto Italia.

The dining plan is a pretty good value for you.
$37.99 pp/night

The basic dining plan in 2009 is $39.99 per adult per night of stay.

 

[pooh2001]

Our first trip (way back when) - what we did to be a buget-wise.
No DDP - we were cheap, cheap cheap

If no refrigerator in the room, use a cooler with ice (from the ice machine in zip lock bags which you bring).

We shipped a package to our resort (to us) with cereal, snacks, granola bars, gum, tuna, can opener, knife, pealer, cutting board, small plastic container of mayo.

We took a car service with a food store stop to the resort. We bought bread, case of water bottles, chips, fruit and some veggies.

Buy the refillable mugs at your resort.

Our meals - 2 dinners at our resort of tuna sandwhiches, fruit and chips.
Breakfast in our room every AM.
Some other diners in our room - get something like a burger, pizza, hot dog from the CS at your resort (do take out) - bring it back to your room with your refillable mug drink. Add to your meal some fruit and/or veggies.

We did buffets like CP (lunch), 1900 Park Fair (late breakfast = lunch) and Chef Mickeys(early dinner = late lunch) as our big meals. You feel like you just left a big Thanksgiving feast and will not be hungry for hours.

In the parks the best snack is a popcorn bucket. It comes with a lid and can be munched on all day. Plus you get a WDW bucket sovenier to bring home.
Bring you own water bottles (from the case you bought) with you to the parks.

You can do lunch at a CS in the parks for about $10 for one adult.


APPROXIMATE COST for 7 days & 2 adults:
Breakfast: none
Lunches: 3 buffets about $240 and 4 CS about $80
Dinners: 2 tuna's in room = free, 5 CS with your own fruit/veggies = $60
Grocery stop cost about $50
4 Popcorn buckets (one for each park) about $20 (maybe more)

Total of cheap, cheap, cheap about $450 - But a healthy option with fiber cereal, fruit and veggies instead of calorific desserts and french fries - your body will thank you

 

[ryanmcin]

I've run the numbers on our last 3 trips to WDW as well as our trip next week. The DDP is always more expensive for us then just buying the food. The current DDP only works for certain people and certain dinning styles. I don't eat much red meat so I never order the most expensive items (typically fillet's or something similar). Also many of the deserts don't interest me, but on DDP I would be paying for it. I'm sure some people come out ahead using the DDP, but to me it would often be a waste of money. A few other things to consider, if you are using it for a TS breakfast you are loosing money, if you are using it for signature dining you are probably loosing money, if you use it for a CS breakfast you are loosing money, if you would rather have an appetizer than dessert you are loosing money.

I would suggest looking at the menus at all ears and pricing out what you think you would order for all your meals and then compare it to what you would be paying for DDP plus the tip plus the other meals and snacks that wouldn't be included in DDP.

 

[VikingInMouseEars]

Last January we also had some higher priced dinners arranged and tried to save some money in other areas. Walmart has decent pre-made sandwiches for around $3 that we got several times. We also brought several bottles of water and then refilled them from water fountains in the parks. I have heard that this is ok to do and also that it was against the rules but the security guards saw them every morning when they searched our bags and if they said anything at all it was to just tell us they are surprised more people don't do that.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

Don't be afraid to split meals either. There were many times we stopped at a counter service place and just split one meal. You could also split TS meals. Maybe an appetizer and a meal to share between you?

As PP's mentioned - think about a late lunch, prices are a little cheaper. For example, Biergarten in Germany is 19.99 for lunch - and lunch goes until 3:45pm. That's a buffet you can fill up on!

The CS fish & chips in UK are wonderful - and they are the same fish & chips you can get at the sitdown restaurant Rose & Crown. Also, the CS place in Morocco is wonderful!