Epcot dining portion questions

[pixiewytch]

Our family will be spending two days of our trip in Epcot and since I haven't been there in years I would like to spend the bulk of my TS dining here. We are however on a budget and I can't afford $100 dinner tabs. Our first solution is to try for a big lunch since the prices are a little cheaper and have a CS dinner. I'm just wondering if it seems feasible to only order an entree and dessert or a salad and dessert, etc. vs. eating soup to nuts. Is this frowned upon by staff? The three of us aren't exactly buffet style eaters and we do prefer quality vs. quantity. My four year old will most likely pick at anything we order for him anyway.

My narrowed down choices are chefs de france, le cellier, and rose and crown. Any input on portion sizes and eating on a budget would be great.

 

[Mickey&Donald]

DH and I are about to try Le Cellier and Chefs de France for the first time next week, so can't give you opinions on that one. However, on our last trip we did eat at Rose & Crown. I remember their portions to be pretty hearty, and that I was beyond stuffed at the end of the meal. Rose & Crown has a lamb stew as an appetizer that is very filling, so paired with a salad or a side of veggies, would make a nice lunch.

Good luck deciding!

 

[catheren]

Be careful some of the TS restaurants prices aren't cheaper at lunch. The menu may be different but $$$ for lunch.

In April our party was myself, DH, DD and DDBF age 17. We didn't opt for the free DD meal plan -- too much food! DH usually had a meal, DD and DDBF ordered salads or soups w. a dessert, they asked for children's menus on days they had snacked a lot, they even split an adult entree. Never did a CM give us a hard time.

 

[bicker]

Some of the better TS restaurants have significantly reduced portion sizes, so you might want to beware of that. The only one I know of is Chefs de France, but others have apparently done so as well.

 

[gatour]

I normally eat just a salad and an entree and find the portions adequate at the Table service restaurants for both lunch and dinner. I think your plan is reasonable.

 

[mmmears]

First of all, we never order an appetizer, entree, and dessert for each person at the table . That is way too much food!

We order an entree for everyone, and usually an app or a dessert to share. Or maybe sometimes we'll get a salad or two to start with. No-one ever seems surprised at this -- when we go out with friends they usually do the same thing.

Also, if you look at the menus, the Rose and Crown is one of the better-priced restaurants at WDW -- and it happens to be one of our favorite for food, service, and location.

 

[S.Poppins]

Le Cellier was our hands down favorite. It is the only place we are repeating this trip. There was plenty of food. Of course we were on the DDP w/ 6 people, so 6 app. 6 entrees, 6 desserts. They also bring an endless supply of great bread. Hated the Mexican restaurant. Trying France this time.

 

[travelitis]

We've split recently ( June, July ) at RM and LeCellier with no problem at all. At Le Cellier we each got beer cheese soup then split an entree, and that was too much food. That's with any decreased portion sizes courtesy the DDP waste that goes on.

For those of us who don't do the plan, the DDP is not a good thing. There's now less food for our money thanks to people ordering more than they could eat just because it was included. Disney sees the waste which means less money in their pockets, so they cut back the food cost (increasing profit margin) by cutting portions. Sorry, but it's irking to order a favorite and see it downsized while the prices only go up.

 

[S.Poppins]

We were actually very careful with what we ordered. Even though we could get 6 appetizers, most of us just got a small salad and sampled a couple of appetizers - which were not all that big. We wasted very little food. It was too good to waste. I loved the fact that on the DDP we were able to try a variety of food that we would not normally try. Going as a kid, we packed sandwiches and we were lucky if we got to eat a burger at a CS - forget TS. So it is such a blessing to take our family to a nice restaurant everyday of our vacation and not have to read the menu from right to left.

 

[Mickey&Donald]

For those of us who don't do the plan, the DDP is not a good thing. There's now less food for our money thanks to people ordering more than they could eat just because it was included. Disney sees the waste which means less money in their pockets, so they cut back the food cost (increasing profit margin) by cutting portions. Sorry, but it's irking to order a favorite and see it downsized while the prices only go up.

Sorry, I fail to see how someone not finishing their meal would cause prices to increase. Once a meal is paid for, Disney doesn't care if you eat all of it, eat none of it or wear it as a hat. That money is in their pocket at that point.

 

[webray]

That is not frowned upon at all. Don't rule out buffets though, especially in EPCOT. Biergarten is one of the best values in EPCOT and the food is fantastic.

Any, why think of only TS meals...when the largest portioned CS meal..which is totally fantastic is in Morocco. You all could share that for sure.

We learned long ago, when we were still taking three kids to disney, CS is not always cheaper than TS.

 

[disnut8]

I've eaten at all three and all three are good choices. I'm not a big eater and if there's something on the appetizer list that I like, I'll just have that for my meal. My husband will order just an entree. The portions are Le Cellier are pretty big. Even my burger loving husband had to take a pause to finish his lunch there. You can always split whatever you order at any of the three. If your four year old will only pick at the food, ask for an extra plate and share your meal.

Once at Le Cellier, my son ordered the cheese soup but we all wanted to try it. I asked for three spoons. The server brought out three smaller bowls of the soup and charged us for one. I find Disney World restaurants very accommodating and never hesitate to ask for substitutions or spliting a meal or having extra forks with dessert.