Eating without DDP?

[sherreis]

We're going to DW the week of Thanksgiving. We've decided that the DDP is not for us as DS11 does not eat adult portions or even child portions. We are thinking of combining CS with some suggestions for other dining (not too expensive). Any ideas? If it was just me and DH, the DDP would be awesome.

DH is saying he wants to go out of the park (we're staying at Disney but we'll have a car) for lunch and then back to our resort for awhile. Go back to DW towards end of day and eat CS for dinner. I don't want to lose that much park time. It's my boys first trip to DW and DH only wants to do 4 - 4.5 days in the parks. So, I need ideas that make staying in the parks worth it. Don't want to be eating junk at every meal.

Thanks.

--Sherri

 

[lovesdumbo]

There are some great CS places with portions large enough to share. I really enjoy both Tusker House and Flame Tree BBQ at AK. Tangerine Cafe in Morocco and Sunshine Seasons at Land in Epcot are also both really nice.

I would think you'd be better off having dinner offsite if your DH wants to eat offsite.

 

[crisi]

It isn't easy to get on and off site - particularly if you are staying onsite. Remember that WDW is the size of Manhatten - you are talking about driving over to Queens just for lunch. A lot of time....

You don't say when you are going. Also keep in mind park hours, if the parks aren't open late, an afternoon break won't be worth it. If its January and cool, the parks won't be open late and you won't need it.

Tusker House has a great Salmon and another great Chicken meal. If you and your son are both light eaters, easily split. I've split the wrap at Peco's Bills and the sandwiches at Cosmic Rays. At Spoodles we've been known to get a couple of flatbread appitizers and munch our way through. If you are there in October while Food and Wine is going on, you can snack your way through Epcot quite well....or not during Food and Wine the counter service back in World Showcase can be unusual and good. The best bargain at WDW is to go over to Trails End Cafeteria and Fort Wilderness. But its a per plate charge, for a picky eater, it may not be a great value.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

It seems that there are more counter service places that are giving different options for meals other than hamburgers and chicken strips.

 

[KimWDW]

I can't imagine leaving the world for lunch when there are so many fun options in the parks. So much time would be wasted! I hope you can convince him otherwise.

 

[sherreis]

Thanks for your replies. We're going the Saturday before Thanksgiving and will have seen every park before Thanksgiving Day, knowing that it will be super crowded that day and the day after. We plan on going Thanksgiving morning and probably Friday afternoon-evening, before leaving to drive home on Saturday (16 hr drive). We're hoping to spend Thanksgiving afternoon and evening with family who live in Orlando so I don't have to worry about that.

Last night, he wanted to know why we needed to spend the money and stay on-site and I told him it was for flexibility so if he wanted to leave us for awhile and be able to go back to our room, he could do that. (DH has a lot of chronic back pain whether he walking, standing, or sitting). I think he liked that idea.

Thanks for the NY analogy. DH grew up in Brooklyn- he'll understand that one!

Tusker House, Flame Tree, and Pecos Bill must be good. I've seen them mentioned many times aorund here. It really helps to hear from people who've eaten at these places plus to hear that the food is not like McD's.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Here's a couple of photos:

Flame Tree BBQ-grilled chicken salad ($6.99) it was much bigger than it looked and pulled pork sandwich ($7.29) served with beans and corn on the cob.

Tangierine Cafe-chicken rollup($9.95) and chicken platter ($11.95)

All the counter service places will give you free ice water.

 

[sherreis]

Now, I'm hungry! Thanks for the pics. That truly shows how big the portions are. I am just so happy that with CS meals we won't be eating hamburgers and such all week.

--Sherri

 

[princess-rn]

There are many places around WDW that you can get good "healthy" CS meals. Our favs are Backlot Express in MGM (wonderful Turkey sandwich), Cosmic Rays in MK (great Chicken noodle soup and chicken sandwiches) Flame tree bbq in AK (too good for words) and of course you have tons of choices in Epcot in the WS. I would like the 2nd what someone said about it not being easy to get off site. We drove last year and thought we could save tons of money by eating a few meals off site. It was crowded (bumper to bumper traffic at times in MAY) and we didn't know our way around Orlando. So we wasted about 2 hrs of precious WDW time and ended up eating at the food court in our resort.

Have a great trip!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I agree that driving around Orlando can be very tricky, and that there are a number of interesting QS offerings now. Generally, it would be hard to do a quick hop for lunch.
I've also learned not to trust those maps the car rental places give. t's easy to lose a lot of time driving around, even if you know your way, there are lots of traffic lights and traffic.

If you have a car, it CAN be fun though to have a non-park day. There ARE other things to see in Orlando, so if you are going to have a down day, then yeah, there are inexpensive places to eat off property. If you plan a trip to the outlet mall for shopping, eating off property then would make sense. Another time to eat off property is during arrival and departure.

Sweet Tomatoes gets lots of positive feedback (It's a giant salad bar, soup bar, breads, dessrts...not a lot of meat, but a good deal for the price.). I-Drive has a few good places, many are quite touristy, and some are traps, but there are also some worthwhile stops. It's especially good if you are from a part of the country with few chains. Orlando is the premier place for companies to try new chain concepts, so you're likely to find something new. If you're from a big city though...don't be surprised if it all looks familiar. Still, many consider a trip down I-Drive an essential part of a trip to Orlando.

There is a Waffle House located just off property for a cheap meal, but don't expect it to be fancy. There are also some nice high end places at many of the Orlando resorts - if you're willing to pay convention resort meal prices. You can also pick up a few items at a grocery store, if you plan mid-day trips to your room, but confirm that your room has a decent fridge first. Last, many of the resort gift shops sell things like milk and chips for lower prices than you find in the parks. If you're staying at the Boardwalk, for example, it might be worthwhile to pick up a snack or two there on your way back to the resort from Epcot or MGM.
Last, lunch at your resort might not be cheap, but it can be a nice respite from the noise and crowds. Often the resort restaurants are fairly quiet at lunch time, when most guests are in the parks.

 

[sherreis]

Thanks everyone. DH has agreed to not go out of the park at those times. We'll be offsite the last 2 days of our trip so we'll save those restaurants and all the traffic for then. Depending on the price, we may stay offsite the first night we arrive since we figure we won't get into Orlando until 3-5PM if we're lucky. It's a long drive.

I can't wait. It's been 17 yrs since I've been there and have never seen MGM or AK. Travelling Thanksgiving week is a novelty for me because for 25 yrs I've always to work Thanksgiving or the day after.

--Sherri