Dining questions

[Snoopymom]

Is anyone else surprised at the prices at the resort restaurants?

I wanted to make ps at O'hana's for dinner during the fireworks and when I checked out the menu, I realized that with drinks, desert, tax and tip, it would cost us almost as much as admission to MK itself. We usually stay at a villa, eat at counter service in the parks and eat at off site restaurants on days we're not at the parks, so I had no idea, LOL! Now I'm really shocked at the itineraries I see with lots of ps!

We did the character breakfast at Ohana's before and it was well worth the $16 per person, so maybe the Disney atmosphere is really worth the extra money?

Also, Dh refuses to pay $23.99 for any of the buffets. He says for that amount, someone should bring a hot made to order meal to your table. I guess we're not the all you can eat type people, so are the buffets worth it to those that are?

Do a lot of you eat off-site, and if so, what are your favorite restaurants?

We like Shells, Lone Star Steaks and Chevys and we also found a quaint little English pub last time that had the best beef stew and real pints.

We get great meals and good service at reasonable prices, so I was just wondering what other budget minded people do? Thanks for any insight!

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

We mostly eat at the counter service places in the parks. I pack small snacks and drinks for us to munch on in our room. I was also very surprised by the expense that comes along with the finer dining places at Disney. I freak out when I have to pay $12 at Burger King to feed all 5 of us.

That being said our sweet kids have never been to a sit down restaurant at Disney. When my DH & I ran away for our quick "no kids" trip we ate at 2 sit down places, 50's Prime Time Cafe and Chef Mickey's. We spent over $50 at each place (just for 2 people!). We fell in love with the 50's Prime Time Cafe but really did not care for Chef Mickey's.

I imagine that whenever we get to go back we will mostly eat in our room and at counter service places. I just can't justify spending more money on one meal than I do for an entire week of groceries. Yes, I know it is a vacation & I should enjoy myself but food is not my top priority. I would rather spend an extra day in the parks than eat at the more expensive restaurants. We haven't eaten off-site yet since we haven't ever had a car to do so. Definately something we may try in the future.

 

[jann1033]

we do eat onsite but we split meals and are using vouchers this time for many meals and almost always eat our 1 sit down meal a day at breakfast or lunch (husband likes breakfast , I could do with a bagel or cereal but it *is* his vacation too lol! lunch is cheaper and often very close to the same thing as dinner)....food is almost as much as tickets for the 2 of us ( we are getting APs since we hope to go again cheaper next fall/winter) which is 2 times as much as I spend at home for groceries for a month for 5 people! but while I eat onsite cause it is convenient and fun, it is expensive and often not all that great. not really bad, just overpriced so you wish it was at least great since it is so high. but that is kind of disney imo, not really geared for the person with less "discretionary spending" money. you get in this "disney " mode where something you would never spend at home suddenly seems"not that bad" !

I wish I had just a few of their marketing skills... then I could afford the deluxe stay there!

I know a lot do not feel this way but I do.

 

[Maude4Disney]

Well, we tried O'hana's on our last trip, and although it cost a pretty penny $80 for DH, myself and DS9 and DS2 (free), that included a (gulp) $10 drink for me...ok...we'll do without the drink next time. We really enjoyed O'hana's and plan to do it on our next trip as well. Although it is listed as a buffet, you do not have to serve yourself. It is served family style and the food was excellent. As far as needing to add on for dessert, we just ate the pineapple and caramel sauce that is included and it was wonderful. The view for the fireworks was great and there are games for the kids as well (hoola hoop and coconut races) It was entertaining and very filling. We didn't eat much during the day, knowing that we were going there for dinner. so that was pretty much our food budget for the day. OK....we had to practically be rolled out. You do get your moneys worth here. As for the rest of our trip we did mainly counter service. I feel it's ok to splurge once in awhile. But we definitely wouldn't eat like this every night. In my opinion, if you can afford it...try it just once. I know for us we're hooked. For the other sit downs at the resorts, the only other one we've tried was Boatwrights as POR, and although it was good, I didn't think it was worth the money. Thank goodnes FIL payed that night.

 

[scrump]

after all, it is a theme park, and a Disney one at that.

Thank being said, and knowing that prices are going to be inflated, we try and budget our time and money, because we can't really eat like that everyday either. We try and do a big lunch and then snack during the rest of the day, or split entrees or even go into restaurants just wanting an appetizer or just a dessert.

Also, the fact that we usually stay onsite with no means of private transportation keeps us fairly resigned to our options. We might be whistling a different tune if we were actually able to go offsite, who knows?

 

[geffric]

We balance our meal plans... we bring snacks and eat in a fair amount.

However, we are DVC and We stay in a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen. We always eat breakfast in, bring snacks, then depending on the day, eat lunch out , less expensive than dinner and dinner/ snacks in the room; or we bring our lunch sandwiches with us and eat dinner out. We stay for 2 weeks every summer and eat at PS about 3 times during the trip. Many meals are cooked at home., so we stay within a budget.

 

[crisi]

We don't find the prices to be inflated. Maybe we eat out fancier at home than other people, but I find the prices to be quite in line with what I expect to pay. Hubby and I went to Chevy's locally (just the two of us) a few days before we left and spent $60 for lunch - without dessert. Fed four adults and two children at Disney for $170 a night at restaurants that were way better than Chevy's. And compared to food at the stadium during a sporting event, or food at our local amusement park, or food at the local zoo or museum, Disney is a bargain!

(I agree with your husband - not that I think the buffets are pricey - we've paid a lot more for brunch at the country club than we have for character meals - but that I want to sit when I eat - not run for my own food. )

When looking at intineraries with lots of PSs - keep in mind that not everyone has the same priorities or the same budget. Not everyone hanging out on the budget board is looking for the cheapest trip possible, some of us are looking for value in the expensive trips we take, some of us are looking for ideas on how to be able to have an extra $1000 in our pocket when we leave - being able to afford the budget trip isn't a problem, we are on the budget board finding out how to stretch the budget trip into a trip with seven dinner PSs! Some of us take fewer, but more expensive, trips. Some of us go often, but as cheap as we can. Some of us make six figures a year (or more) and some of us are SAHMs with teachers for husbands.

 

[jann1033]

Originally posted by crisi
We don't find the prices to be inflated.


no doubt this depends on where you live. Glad I live where I do (lol) cause here I would have a difficult time finding a rest. where i could spend $60 for lunch unless I bought a $30 bottle of wine, including the Cleveland area(not saying there are not a few but it would not be common to spend that amount.)

 

[crisi]

We are in the Twin Cities - not considered an expensive city like New York or San Francisco.

Lunch at $60 involved chips and guac. Fajitas for two. A margarita and a couple of beers, plus pop (it was a month ago, I may be misremembering exactly what we ordered or the exact prices - but this is pretty close - I remember being surprised when I saw the bill come through at $60.

The chips and guac were around $7. The fajitas close to $20 for two. Margarita was $7, beer $5, pop $2 each. Add tax - $50. Add tip - $60.

Doesn't take much. And yes, there is alcohol involved (which adds to the budget) AND pop, AND we aren't ordering the cheapest thing on the menu - all things that had we been interested in coming out of the restaurant with a small bill, we wouldn't have done. But this is the way we ordered at Disney as well.

And it depends on what you eat. I treat myself on occation to a solo dinner of sushi when my husband has the kids. Not hard to drop $40 on sushi in the Twin Cities. In fact, Disney sushi is cheap compared to what I'm used to paying.

 

[frannn]

When we eat out at home (LI, NY), we go to a local diner or buffet. Those run us about 10-16 per person, not including tax and tip. These are definetly the lesser expensive dinner options fo a full meal. For a character dinner at WDW, we pay about 22 per person, but this includes shrimp, etc, and the personal character interaction. This is worth it to us on every trip. We do skip some meals (and snack), eat counter service, and eat off site. Admittedly, if DH and I go without the kids, we skip most of these big meals. But with DD1, last month, we did several sit down meals, 99% of which were with characters. I added this to our budget because I think that at 1 year old, that was the highlight of DD's trip. I think it really depends on how important the meals are to you. I can be pretty cheap at times, but when it comes to WDW, my wallet is a revolving door! Guess that's the price you pay for obsession...Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I wouldn't spend the $ for a sit down meal that didn't have a specific purpose, like the inclusion of characters, or my favorite foods. We always stay at the AS, so I guess you can say we pick our vices....

 

[Snoopymom]

Well, I took your advice and made the ps for Ohana's, and Maude4dsiney, I'll probably splurge on a $10 drink also, I'll just pass the bill to dh so that I won't feel guilty, lol! Actually, I'm always surprised at the good prices and the quality in the parks...not inflated at all especially compared to the food at a baseball game, lol. At restaurants, I'm just used to the idea of having a menu where I can order an appetizer for lunch or share a big meal at dinner with my 3 yr old ds. I changed the ps for Chef Mickey's because of dh and buffets, lol, so we'll do breakfast there instead since it's cheaper. We're spoiled. We can go inexpensively several times a year with driving and staying at mil's if we choose, but with ds, I'm now addicted to getting the whole disney (expensive) experience, staying on property for the pools and doing the character meals, etc....we had no idea, but we also had no idea what we were missing, lol! Thanks for all of the replies and insight!

 

[KIS]

Ohana's has a view of the MK fireworks? Is that right? I didn't know. Please say more.

KIS

 

[Maude4Disney]

Snoopymom, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Did you get a PS for a time for the fireworks? We didn't have the best seats in the place, but we did have a great view. It's great when they dim the lights and pipe in the music. Also...if you're anything like me, one drink is all it will take. The one I had was the Lapu Lapu (can't wait for another ) and it was huge and strong! LOL Dh thought he should get me another, but he would've been carrying me back to our resort. Have a good time!

 

[Snoopymom]

KIS, from what I've heard the view of the MK fireworks is beautiful with the castle in the background...they have the curtains closed beforehand and then pull them back, pipe in the music and dim the lights just as Maude4disney said. I read that it's best to make reservations 1 hour before they start. It took me some searching to find the fire works schedule for January, and I sure hope it's accurate. Also, because I made the ps for New Years Day, I had to reserve with a credit card which will be charged $10 a person if we fail to show. I read that you can arrive a little early and ask to wait for a table by the window, which we intend to do.

Maude4disney, Lapu Lapu! Yummy, thanks for the tip. Yep one will do it for me too, plus I don't think I'd enjoy the second one knowing that I just added $20 to the bill, LOL...ok, trust in the disney magic? I will try! Thanks!

 

[xlstacey]

I have to agree with everyone .. it all depends on what you want for meals & what you are willing to pay. This coming January, I have 2 ps's for the first time and one for a character breakfast at Cape May Cafe & the Rainforest Cafe (vouchers). This will be our childrens second trip and I am very excited .. okay maybe more than they are .. to be going and enjoying these 2 ps's. My dh is not so sure about the ps's and would probably prefer a fast food over them .. we'll see when we go. He often does not like to try the "new", but then goes on and on about it afterwards. I also purchased vouchers and have been planning on the best places to use these. My dh is leary of these too, but with my dd12, (who is bringing a friend who is also 12), dd10 .. they are eating as much as me nowasays, while my dd7 eats next to nothing. (she can't even finish a kids meals at McD's)

We will be eating in too as we are staying at OKW for 2 weeks and going to WDW for 5. We have friends in the area, so our trip will be a bit more than just Disney .. but love Disney and can not seem to get enough of it.

Plan, plan and plan ... and then who knows if we'll actually follow it.