Favorite budget friendly restaurants.

[JJIRmom]

We are planning on going August 2021. Normally we go in September when they offer free dining but even if they do offer free dining for next year I am more hesitant about pulling my kids out of school for vacation. So we will be doing dining VERY different from when we have gone in the past. Normally we are all about getting the most use out of the dining plan. What are your favorite restaurants in each park that won't cost us an arm and a leg.
We are okay doing breakfasts in our room. We are not always big breakfast eaters, just coffee, juice, cereal or bagels should work for us. So we are looking for lunch and dinner places. DH is completely against us bringing lunches to the parks in coolers. So that won't be an option for us either.
I have been saving all the money that I have in both my Ibotta account and Fetch account to cash out for Starbucks gift cards and Landrys. We will plan on using the Landrys gift card at T-rex cafe in Disney Springs and at Yak & Yeti in AK. We may splurge on 1 or 2 more sit down (we LOVE Ohana and maybe Cape May breakfast) , but the rest we would like QS.
Just for reference we are 2 adults and 2 littles. The 2 littles usually share a meal since 1 eats like a bird.

 

[lotsohugginbear]

DS: Earl of Sandwich, Blaze pizza,
Polite Pig and Chicken Guy. Probably 10-15$ per person and good food.
AK: Flame tree. Folks like Satuli, but I haven't been.
MK: Tricky with Covid -- the quick service has been pretty blah. I still love Sleepy Hollow for waffles. Cheap, filling and excellent!
HS -- use the gift cards to Starbucks to get the carrot cake cookie. You're on vacation. It's okay to have a big cookie for breakfast. Sci-Fi Dine in
is fun and reasonable. It can be a hard reservation to get.
Epcot: Sunshine Seasons, Yorkshire fish shop, Les Halles.

Resorts: Seek out Beaches and Cream @ Beach Club. I love their grilled cheese, tomato soup and sundaes. Contemporary Cafe at the Contemporary is also good.

 

[JJIRmom]

DS: Earl of Sandwich, Blaze pizza,
Polite Pig and Chicken Guy. Probably 10-15$ per person and good food.
AK: Flame tree. Folks like Satuli, but I haven't been.
MK: Tricky with Covid -- the quick service has been pretty blah. I still love Sleepy Hollow for waffles. Cheap, filling and excellent!
HS -- use the gift cards to Starbucks to get the carrot cake cookie. You're on vacation. It's okay to have a big cookie for breakfast. Sci-Fi Dine in
is fun and reasonable. It can be a hard reservation to get.
Epcot: Sunshine Seasons, Yorkshire fish shop, Les Halles.

Resorts: Seek out Beaches and Cream @ Beach Club. I love their grilled cheese, tomato soup and sundaes. Contemporary Cafe at the Contemporary is also good.

Yum that carrot cake cookie sounds amazing. I can't believe I've never heard of it. Definitely will put that on my list of things to try. Lots of great options that I've never tried before, Thanks!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Before I saw that you said "in each park", I also was going to recommend Polite Pig at DS, oh well.

AK: Satuli Canteen
EP: Sunshine Seasons
MK: I don't care for any quick service here, so I'd go to Contempo Cafe on the way in, or during a break
HS: Not a fan of the quick service here, either. I'd go to Sci Fi, or eat at DS before or after visiting the park.

 

[shu24]

I'm pretty darn frugal so I research menus before we go and we usually have a game plan of what we want to get.

Always filling is the Mickey Pretzel and cheese. That has been our lunch many times.
We like DLuxe Burger in DS. Usually we each get a burger and share a regular fry. We find that the burger, fry and shake is just too much food for one person unless you are really, really hungry. The burgers are quite large, so consider sharing fries and shakes, if you decide to get them.
The food in Pecos Bill's is our fav in MK, though the options are not great now with Covid. If they return to the regular menu, the 3 taco platter is great for sharing.
I'm not very impressed with HS for food. I say eat a Mickey Pretzel with cheese and buy a fun dessert. LOL
AK- we usually get one of the bowls in Sutuli Canteen.. They feel more like a real meal and are pretty filling.
EPCOT- best value for us is at Tangerine Cafe (currently closed ) where we share a swarma platter or the vegetarian platter.

We save money by carrying water bottles and/or drinking water the whole trip. I don't mind the taste of WDW water, though I know some do. We are used to filling at water fountains, so that will be out now, but we plan on asking for cups of water at QS locations.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

I agree with not taking lunch into the parks, part of the experience is the food. If you are trying to stick to a budget maybe skip character meals this trip. Often you can get Disney gift cards at Target and if you have a red card 5% off. I usually get mine at BJ’s warehouse anywhere from 5-6% off and use my Disney visa for another 1% reward dollar.

 

[JJIRmom]

Thanks everyone. Lots of delicious options to choose from without feeling like were "missing out"

 

[CheshKAT]

We are planning on going August 2021. Normally we go in September when they offer free dining but even if they do offer free dining for next year I am more hesitant about pulling my kids out of school for vacation. So we will be doing dining VERY different from when we have gone in the past.
IOhana and maybe Cape May breakfast) , but the rest we would like QS.
Just for reference we are 2 adults and 2 littles. The 2 littles usually share a meal since 1 eats like a bird.

We can get a good bang for our buck at Flame Tree BBQ in AK. The portions are huge and totally sharable.

 

[Blondie58]

Cosmic Rays has a footlong dog that will feed two adults. It is yummy and comes with all the toppings you want. They are the exact same footlongs that used to be sold at Casey's. We also love the nachos at Pecos Bills. One order is enough for two unless you are a big eater.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Trails End buffet at FW is the best TS value at WDW IMO. Great food (same kitchen as Hoopdedoo) at a great price, and it gives you a reason to visit Fort Wilderness which is awesome.

 

[Shellyred8]

DS: Earl of Sandwich, Blaze pizza,
Polite Pig and Chicken Guy. Probably 10-15$ per person and good food.
AK: Flame tree. Folks like Satuli, but I haven't been.
MK: Tricky with Covid -- the quick service has been pretty blah. I still love Sleepy Hollow for waffles. Cheap, filling and excellent!
HS -- use the gift cards to Starbucks to get the carrot cake cookie. You're on vacation. It's okay to have a big cookie for breakfast. Sci-Fi Dine in
is fun and reasonable. It can be a hard reservation to get.
Epcot: Sunshine Seasons, Yorkshire fish shop, Les Halles.

Resorts: Seek out Beaches and Cream @ Beach Club. I love their grilled cheese, tomato soup and sundaes. Contemporary Cafe at the Contemporary is also good.

I have to agree with most of this post!

Just a couple of additional comments based on our trip last week:
AK: The Adult food at Satuli was good. I had the hot dog from the kids menu and the bun was dry and crumbly and the hotdog was barely warm. In normal times, this hot dog is wrapped in some sort of yummy pretzle dough. I was disappointed. DH had one of the bowls though, and that was yummy as usually.
MK: We had the fruit and nutella waffle at Sleepy Hallow and I was disappointed with it. Normally I love it. The waffle was greasy/oily, dense and overcooked. In normal times, the waffle has been light and fluffy and just the right amount of crispy on the outside.
HS: We usually like the ABC Commissary. If it is open when you go, I would look into that. It usually has some nice options besides burgers and hotdogs.

Happy planning!!!

 

[Shellyred8]

Cosmic Rays has a footlong dog that will feed two adults. It is yummy and comes with all the toppings you want. They are the exact same footlongs that used to be sold at Casey's. We also love the nachos at Pecos Bills. One order is enough for two unless you are a big eater.

I had this hotdog when we were there last week. It was my first time having a footlong hotdog at WDW. I agree, it will feed two!

 

[Aela]

I have to agree with most of this post!

Just a couple of additional comments based on our trip last week:
AK: The Adult food at Satuli was good. I had the hot dog from the kids menu and the bun was dry and crumbly and the hotdog was barely warm. In normal times, this hot dog is wrapped in some sort of yummy pretzle dough. I was disappointed. DH had one of the bowls though, and that was yummy as usually.
MK: We had the fruit and nutella waffle at Sleepy Hallow and I was disappointed with it. Normally I love it. The waffle was greasy/oily, dense and overcooked. In normal times, the waffle has been light and fluffy and just the right amount of crispy on the outside.
HS: We usually like the ABC Commissary. If it is open when you go, I would look into that. It usually has some nice options besides burgers and hotdogs.

Happy planning!!!

Word is, the waffles changed across all of Disney.

 

[MarkS2112]

AK Satuli very good bowls and pods for kids
AK flame tree is great barbecue, plenty of food
AK Yak and Yeti has good selection and always had good meal there
HS sci fi or 50s prime time each different but fun and decent prices
HS rondos roasters is great bu probably kids won’t like
Epcot England fish and chips Mexico has great tacos etc. plenty f choices in the land pavillion
MK is tough so probably Pecos Bills and Columbia Harbor House is great
DS homecoming and Ragland road

 

[Shellyred8]

Word is, the waffles changed across all of Disney.

Hopefully it's just a temporary thing! It would be horrible if that's what their waffles were like forever. They used to be so good!!!

 

[MOPNB]

Rides are more important to our family that food - so back in the day of paper fast pass cards (remember those?) - we started to bring PB&J sandwiches, granola bars, apples, and bottles of water in a back pack. I don't mind standing in line for security to check - I figure that I would be standing in line more for food anyway. We have eaten our lunches in line for Test Track in the past, and love to find a quiet place away from everyone to sit and snack for a moment. Our picnics are some of my favorite Disney memories with my daughter and my husband - we sit and talk about our favorite rides, what to do next, etc.
But that's just us. San Angel Inn Restautante is my favorite place to eat.

 

[DLgal]

Via Napoli is a great deal if your family can agree on pizza. The super huge pizza is like $50 but can easily feed 5 people. If you stick to just that and the free bread and drink water, you're out of there at about $12/per person after tip. That's a steal for any TS meal.

 

[disneygirlsng]

Via Napoli is a great deal if your family can agree on pizza. The super huge pizza is like $50 but can easily feed 5 people. If you stick to just that and the free bread and drink water, you're out of there at about $12/per person after tip. That's a steal for any TS meal.

You can also get it half and half of two different toppings (or topping combinations) if you can't decide on one!

 

[GamGam]

Flame Tree Barbecue: tons of seating and tables, ramble down toward the water--there is shade and a breeze usually, you can watch all the characters go by on their boats. When last we went, we had 2 yo twins and a 5 yo and there was room to roam and wiggle. Even got to see the lighted boats for Rivers of Light...not any more. Worth its weight in gold in hot weather.

 

[DLgal]

You can also get it half and half of two different toppings (or topping combinations) if you can't decide on one!

True! I more meant if everyone can agree to EAT pizza in the first place.