Eating outside the parks

[lalasmama]

I know it's a long time away yet, but we're going to DL from November 14-21 (me, DS14 & DS11). We're trying to keep costs low so we won't eat in the parks most nights. Do we need to make reservations for restaurants in Downtown Disney or along S Harbor Blvd? If so, can we book that day, or do we need to book further in advance? Whilst I know a couple of places we want to eat, I'd prefer to decide Where each day - but without having to queue for an hour!

A few thoughts here... Leaving the parks to eat meals is going to cut into park time (obviously). And there's a (albeit small) chance that you aren't able to get back into DL or DCA after dinner due to high crowd volumes. Have you considered doing some Quick Service or Counter Service options (all under $10: corndogs, hot dogs, tomato soup and grilled cheese, turkey leg, skewers, etc)? Those will typically save you at least a few dollars over DTD restaurants. It's a good idea to have reservations at DTD restaurants, but not imperative.

Restaurants in the general area are higher priced than, say, the ones I would find in Oregon. I think DD and I eating at IHOP was around $20--and kids eat free there. I think McDonalds (a meal for me and a Happy Meal for DD) was around $12. I don't remember how much Mimi's was (thinking around $50 for DH, DD, and I).

Personally, I'm willing to pay a few dollars more for my food in Disneyland, just to avoid the hassle of walking to the entrance gates, through the esplanade, down to Harbor, to whatever restaurant on Harbor, pay a similar price to what I would pay at Disneyland, then walk back to Disneyland, through security with my leftovers, then wait in line at the gates again... and then figure out a game plan based on the 90-120 minutes that I missed in the parks (what are FP times now? where are the crowds at?).

 

[sherilaine]

A few thoughts here... Leaving the parks to eat meals is going to cut into park time (obviously). And there's a (albeit small) chance that you aren't able to get back into DL or DCA after dinner due to high crowd volumes. ).

November 14-21st the park is going to reach capacity? There is like nothing going on then - that seems like a very strange thing for the OP to even consider. Perhaps it was busier last year on those dates because that is when Season of the Force opened but otherwise I don't think that is a peak time like Christmas when the park reaches capacity.

 

[nikkislaght]

Wherever you decide to eat outside the parks, stay away from Captian Kidd's! It looks like a bargain, but is some of the worst food in Orange County.

I second that.. omg 7 yrs later and I still shudder.!!!

 

[nikkislaght]

We like to go left on Katella and walk down couple of blocks to Bubba Gumps and The Cheesecake Factory . also as part of the Garden Walk complex you have smick and mccormick
, Both Cheesecake factory and Smicks have gift cards that you can buy now . we start to buy these types of cards a couple of months before our trip . so we dont have to worry about it.

 

[lalasmama]

November 14-21st the park is going to reach capacity? There is like nothing going on then - that seems like a very strange thing for the OP to even consider. Perhaps it was busier last year on those dates because that is when Season of the Force opened but otherwise I don't think that is a peak time like Christmas when the park reaches capacity.

Honestly, I was too lazy to look at when Thanksgiving falls in comparison to when they are there, as well as any marathons, etc.

 

[tlovesdis]

The marathon is Nov 10-13, 2016 and Thanksgiving is Nov 25th. So the 14-15 might have some Marathon leftovers, which shouldn't be too bad and then the 21 will start the busy Thanksgiving week. 16-20 should be pretty decent.

 

[amyg1975]

We like to go left on Katella and walk down couple of blocks to Bubba Gumps and The Cheesecake Factory . also as part of the Garden Walk complex you have smick and mccormick
, Both Cheesecake factory and Smicks have gift cards that you can buy now . we start to buy these types of cards a couple of months before our trip . so we dont have to worry about it.

Buy discounted gift cards, if available, through a site like raise.com! We don't normally leave the park to eat either, but we did once, for Bubba Gumps, because it was near our hotel and we had a gift card.

 

[ryanthekiwi]

I agree with many of the previous posters. I am very frugal (ie cheap) and just got back from 5 days in the parks. The best deals we found in the park were sharing a Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans and fried chicken with extra pieces at Plaza Inn. The Monte Cristo was truly gigantic and comes with fruit on the side. That sandwich plus a bowl of gumbo easily filled up me, my wife and my three year old daughter and we are all bigger eaters. The sandwich was $19 ++ and the gumbo was $9++ The chicken plate is $16.50 and each extra thigh is $2.50. The extra pieces are a serious bargain. One night we just ordered a plate of four thighs with gravy and paid $10 for a filling plate of food while we watched the fireworks. I also found the corn dogs to be a pretty good deal. $6.50 if ordered without chips and one filled me up no problem. If you're going to share food, I suggest having a "snack bag" along with you as well. We had granola bars, fruit bars, chips and drinks that we used to supplement our shared meals if they weren't quite enough.

You could probably save at Mimi's or Earl of Sandwich but the amount saved would be $5/person or less, and wasn't nearly worth the walking and time spent to us.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

YES! EOS is a great deal. I beleive all of their sandwiches are $6.99 and they are good!!! Totally forgot about that one!

I think EOS offers AP and AAA discounts.

 

[JessL]

OP here. Thanks, there's some great suggestions in here! I'll definitely look at the places recommended in the parks - I especially like the chicken dinner suggestion. Last time we went we ate at Mimi's a couple of times and I remember thinking it was reasonably priced and it was great to have a good healthy, balanced meal. So we'll definitely go back there. We only really ate in DTD once (somewhere we got a really long pizza that would have fed three times more people than it needed to!) so I didn't realise the restaurants there were generally pricey as well. We're coming from Australia, and I know sometimes our cultural expectations can be different. Your serves are generally way more generous. Even the idea of eating an appetiser for a meal seems odd. Here an appetiser would be like hors d'oeuvres - small finger food items.


I'll have a look into the gift card idea too.


I've been looking at some menus and have found it strange that there are no prices on them. Is that usual for all of the US?

 

[lvdis]

I've been looking at some menus and have found it strange that there are no prices on them. Is that usual for all of the US?

I like to look at the menus here - http://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort/dining/menus. They have prices and seem to be kept up-to-date.

 

[nikkislaght]

OP here. Thanks, there's some great suggestions in here! I'll definitely look at the places recommended in the parks - I especially like the chicken dinner suggestion. Last time we went we ate at Mimi's a couple of times and I remember thinking it was reasonably priced and it was great to have a good healthy, balanced meal. So we'll definitely go back there. We only really ate in DTD once (somewhere we got a really long pizza that would have fed three times more people than it needed to!) so I didn't realise the restaurants there were generally pricey as well. We're coming from Australia, and I know sometimes our cultural expectations can be different. Your serves are generally way more generous. Even the idea of eating an appetiser for a meal seems odd. Here an appetiser would be like hors d'oeuvres - small finger food items.


I'll have a look into the gift card idea too.


I've been looking at some menus and have found it strange that there are no prices on them. Is that usual for all of the US?

Ex Aussie here and when I first arrived here I was astounded at the portion sizes ... and yes you could comfortably eat a three course meal in Oz and be happy.. I couldnt here.. and it took me a good while to get in my head that entree was the main meal.. and could feed a family of 5 .!! lol

 

[JessL]

Thanks lvdis, that's a great resource. I'll bookmark it to use while we're there as well.

It's really only dinner we need to worry about. Breakfast is included at the hotel and last time we shopped and took sandwiches and snacks to eat in the parks most days. With our dollar performing so poorly against yours at the moment the week will cost us around $7000. And that's with us being frugal and without going anywhere except DL.

Nikkislaght, so many things to adapt to! Tipping is another one. Not just in restaurants but housekeeping, taxi drivers etc. I actually created a spreadsheet for myself on our last trip to keep it all straight on how much to tip different people!

 

[ShaunaM]

Thanks lvdis, that's a great resource. I'll bookmark it to use while we're there as well.

It's really only dinner we need to worry about. Breakfast is included at the hotel and last time we shopped and took sandwiches and snacks to eat in the parks most days. With our dollar performing so poorly against yours at the moment the week will cost us around $7000. And that's with us being frugal and without going anywhere except DL.

Nikkislaght, so many things to adapt to! Tipping is another one. Not just in restaurants but housekeeping, taxi drivers etc. I actually created a spreadsheet for myself on our last trip to keep it all straight on how much to tip different people!

Hello fellow Canadian. ..we were just talking about tipping last night ....15% with exchange just climbed a lot! Your spreadsheet got me curious would you be willing to share your insights?

 

[JessL]

ShaunaM, I can't find it (probably deleted) but I got a lot of it from this site from memory - http://emilypost.com/advice/general-tipping-guide/

Given it was a few years ago, it would be good to know if those amounts are still acceptable.

 

[ShaunaM]

ShaunaM, I can't find it (probably deleted) but I got a lot of it from this site from memory - http://emilypost.com/advice/general-tipping-guide/

Given it was a few years ago, it would be good to know if those amounts are still acceptable.

Thanks for the link.....the one I have always found a bit curious is how little people tip housekeeping given all they do...

 

[sherilaine]

OP here. We're coming from Australia, and I know sometimes our cultural expectations can be different. Your serves are generally way more generous. Even the idea of eating an appetiser for a meal seems odd. Here an appetiser would be like hors d'oeuvres - small finger food items.

We find the same thing coming from Canada! Portion sizes are way bigger even when you visit the same restaurant chain in the U.S. that is also in Canada. And don't get me started on the breakfasts! But we can go somewhere for breakfast and not have to order 4 meals for all of us as we can usually split easily which is great and helps with that whole $ situation we got going on!

 

[ShaunaM]

We find the same thing coming from Canada! Portion sizes are way bigger even when you visit the same restaurant chain in the U.S. that is also in Canada. And don't get me started on the breakfasts! But we can go somewhere for breakfast and not have to order 4 meals for all of us as we can usually split easily which is great and helps with that whole $ situation we got going on!

My husband travels for work from Canada to the US and has learned that he should more often than not look around the restaurant and observe, he will frequently opt for an appetizer instead just to keep the portions reasonably sized the upside it I guess it makes sharing a lot more feasible.

 

[JessL]

I find it odd to tip housekeeping at all! Had I not done some research before my first trip I wouldn't have thought to do it and just assumed they were paid sufficiently by the hotel. Now I probably tip more than I need to everywhere just in case!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Please remember to tip housekeeping! The housekeepers are some of the hardest working, lowest paid people around. Their salaries assume that there will be tips (much like food servers' salaries). Not only is tipping housekeeping a gracious gesture, it usually gets you better service and possibly better security, too. I read that people who tip are less likely to have things stolen from the room.