Eating on a budget at MK and AK

[tinkerbellmichelle]

Ok, so say you don't have dining plan..... and you want to eat on a budget while at MK and AK..... you've probably eating the free breakfast at your off-site hotel..... but you'll need a snack and an early dinner. Maybe an evening snack.

What are you favorites???

 

[rentayenta]

I find that where we eat doesn't matter much but sharing impacts the cost a lot. Getting past the mindset of having to be stuffed to the gils and having a whole dessert with every meals saves us a lot.

 

[mmmears]

We like to share a meal at the RFC at AK -- it's not expensive if you share, you get the great atmosphere, huge portions, and a cool, air-conditioned place to relax.

 

[Planogirl]

This is one of the reasons I love Columbia Harbour House so much. Good filling food in a full serve atmosphere (upstairs) works for me!

Mainly I would avoid buffets though. They are so pricey now!

 

[hotcarib]

When the kids were young we ate almost exclusively at CS.
A few times at DL we even used the lockers for picnic lunches from home~we lived nearby back then.
Also I'm a huge believer in ziplocs with animal crackers,apples,cheese,treats and the like. Another big $ saver is the Crystal Lite type drink powders. If you bring your bottled water to the park you can just ask at the CS windows for a cup of ice water and refill your drinks that way. Sharing the turkey legs,fries, churros and larger snacks is pretty cost efficient as well.

 

[mmmears]

The PP made a good point -- make sure you bring your own snacks. We have saved a bundle (and had healthier snacks) by bringing little ziploc baggies with snacks for the parks. Those ice creams and churros can really add up (both $$$-wise, and calorie/fat-wise).

 

[kelldawn]

I have been searching for the est deals. We are getting the DDp free FINALLY for our visit, and am trying to make the most of it. I looked into Pepper Market and it has tons of meals and all are counter service. They have fajitas and large items that you could share. Split the meals.POR Riverside Mill has a build your own pasta meal at 9,00 I think. Go to allears.net and check out all the menus and their prices then print out where you would want to try and then decide the night before. I think the fajitas were 15.00 but for 2 that is 7.00 each and way more filling than burgers. Also you can split meals at TS restaurants. Look at the menus and the items on it like Yak and Yeti has a steak and shrimp meal for 24.00 I think and there is enough to feed two on there if you would like a good meal one evening. Last year we paid out of pocket without the plan and ate buffets for breakfast ate a bit later like 9:30 - 10 am on some so that it made it easier to wait until late to eat. And we were filled up until late at night. Buy only one water bottle and fill it up at the fountains or restrooms. It is so silly to pay for that water.

 

[darlak]

Buy only one water bottle and fill it up at the fountains or restrooms. It is so silly to pay for that water.

Did you know that any of the CS places or drink/snack places will give you a cup of ice water?

 

[kelldawn]

No, but we do not drink between meals so not an issue for us. We go in Dec and it is not hot then. Plus we have never had to split meals etc. I was just giving them poster above...some suggestions that I have read before of people splitting meals and it is ok with most of the restaurants. We do not buy things from the shops so we know what we are going to spend with tips and all before we go to make sure we have enough money.

 

[bluejasmine]

PB in MK makes food sharing very easy, if you get the double cheeseburger meal and load it up with toppings its easily big enough to cut in half and share, also the chicken wrap is big enough to share. CR at MK get the ribs and chicken platter and share. I hear Y&Y at AK has enough food to share..

 

[MouseMomx2]

I'm not sure if this is an option for you, but we share. We will often order the double cheeseburger combo (available in all parks) and split it. Each person still gets a whole hamburger, just half a bun...and there are always more than enough fries to split. We do this with the chicken wrap at Pecos Bills and the chicken/ribs platter at Cosmic Ray's in the MK as well. We also share sodas. We usually get two large sodas for the four of us. It saves us about $4 each time we do it.

Some great locations to share at the MK are:

• Several locations: Double Hamburger/Cheeseburger
• Pecos Bill's: Chicken Wrap
• Cosmic Ray's: Rib/Chicken Platter
• The Plaza: Table-service restaurant with prices not much higher than counter service. We split a sandwich and then split a sundae and it is more than enough.

And at the AK:

• Restaurantasaurus: Double Cheeseburger
• Pizzafari: Hot Italian Sandwich
• Yak & Yeti Counter Service: Any of the entrees are large enough to share. You can also get a very large side of fried rice, also to share, if you'd like a bit more food without a lot more cost.
• Rainforest Cafe: Table service restaurant, but portions here are huge and easily split.

We also bring our own snacks. We head to BJ's before we leave we drive to WDW and stock up on some multi-packs of pretzels, fruit snacks and peanuts. (We drive to WDW but if you fly you could just pack them in your luggage...leaving some room for souvenirs on the way home.) Each day we pack some of these into our bag and take them with us. We still get an occasional snack in the parks, but having our own keeps that cost to a minimum and insures that we're only spending money on our true favorites, not just something to get us through a moment of hunger.

Have a great trip!

 

[Colleen27]

As someone else said, I'd share at RFC on the AK day. The food isn't amazing or anything, but it is good and their portions are plenty big enough for sharing. At the one up here, my mom, DD8 & I have shared one appetizer and one dessert between the 3 of us and left feeling full!

When it comes to snacks at AK, I really don't feel like there are any must-dos, so I'd probably pack some granola bars, fruit, goldfish crackers, and things like that to snack on during the day. That way, the only snack you might want to buy is a frozen lemonade or other cool treat in the heat of the afternoon.

At MK, it would really depend on how long a day you're planning. We usually have breakfast before our day there and dinner after we leave the park for the evening, but we go during slower seasons when the park hours are fairly short. What we do in the park is share the must-have snacks; a turkey leg, a Dole Whip, a cookie ice cream sandwich. We share so that we can all try a few bites of each, rather than filling up on one and missing the rest!

As far as meals to share, Cosmic Rays chicken & ribs combo is probably the most shareable counter service meal anywhere at Disney - a half chicken and half slab of ribs with potatoes & veggies for something like $15.

 

[TheGoofster]

Actually, what we did the last time we were there (I assume you still can) was order 2 double burgers, and 2 extra buns (I think they were like $1 dollar for an extra bun), and were able to make 4 burgers out if it (for the price of 2).
Plus we would order water, and use our own flavor packs.
So for a CS meal for 4 people it only cost us like 18 dollars. (plus a couple of extra bucks if we wanted to split a desert).

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I tend to like to graze while touring the parks rather than have a big meal and feeling so full. One reason I'm not into the DDP.

People have posted about splitting a double cheeseburger at CS locations. I've never done it but I've heard you can order a double cheeseburger and a bun as a side item. Then each person has an entire burger. Adding the toppings at the topping bars located at Pecos Bills or Cosmic Rays and you're not missing out on anything.

Figaro fries used to be enough for a lunch for me but I've heard they changed them. Sadly they may not even be on the menu anymore. But any order of chili cheese fries will do it for me.

Then a Dole Whip a couple hours later and I'm good till dinner time.

The turkey legs are huge! Enough for a lunch for me.

 

[tinkerbellmichelle]

Has anyone done the picnic at Animal Kingom??? It wasn't offered when we were there last year but it sounds like it may be perfect for our AK day.

Last year we did the ddp so didn't need to really worry. But I think the Cosmic Rays at MK will do the trick Or we may just graze... do a 'snacky' sort of day ?? hmm thanks for the tips!!

 

[marcielm]

Actually, what we did the last time we were there (I assume you still can) was order 2 double burgers, and 2 extra buns (I think they were like $1 dollar for an extra bun), and were able to make 4 burgers out if it (for the price of 2).
Plus we would order water, and use our own flavor packs.
So for a CS meal for 4 people it only cost us like 18 dollars. (plus a couple of extra bucks if we wanted to split a desert).

This is exactly what I was going to say!! BUY an extra bun, and then you get 2 full burgers. Plus, we carried our own water bottles into the parks, and just filled them as needed.

The chicken & ribs at Cosmic Ray's is a huge portion to split, and the pizza meal at Pizza Planet in Hollywood Studios comes with a salad, buy an extra side salad & split the pizza. It was a lot of food for just the meal (share the pizza & the salad!).

For snacks, bring in your own stuff in a backpack. We did the individual trail mix packets. Stuff with protein (nuts/peanut butter crackers/etc) will last you longer than a bag of chips. We carried 2 'school size' backpacks for the 6 of us... one with snacks & the other with our rain panchos.