Frugal Food Spots In The World

[alwaysmagical]

Hey guys - leaving on Sat and wondering which restaurants/CS are going to give us the best bang for our buck. 2 adults, no kids - one is a heavy eater, one is not. We will probably split some of the food, and everything is entirely OOP, no dining plan. Any tricks, tips, or recommendations?

 

[olecow]

The Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney has great sandwiches for a great price. I will say that while food is expensive at Disney (duh) the portions they serve you are quite large, no matter where you go. This should be fine for the heavy eater. If you're a lighter eater I find you can do just fine with some of the snacks they offer. There are a lot of nutritious snacking options in the World. I prefer the non-nutritious ones. The ice cream cookie sandwich at the Main Street Bakery is not only delicious and reasonably priced, but it's almost as big as my head, so I've used it as a meal replacement before. There is also a lot of fresh fruit in the parks for snacking.

My family also brings our own snacks (granola bars, trail mix, etc.). We also try to eat breakfast in our room (instant oatmeal, Pop Tarts, Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, etc.) which saves a lot of money. I'm sure you'll hear a lot of other great ideas as well. Have a great trip.

 

[Marionnette]

Hey guys - leaving on Sat and wondering which restaurants/CS are going to give us the best bang for our buck. 2 adults, no kids - one is a heavy eater, one is not. We will probably split some of the food, and everything is entirely OOP, no dining plan. Any tricks, tips, or recommendations?

It's pretty much the same advice that you will get by doing a search, since this question is probably THE most asked question on this board with regards to saving money at Disney.

• Share meals
• Don't buy water or soda. Get free ice water from the counter service restaurants.
• Skip desserts
• Any combo on a menu can also be ordered as single items.
• Buy a combo and then add side-dishes to stretch a meal that won't quite feed one person.

I will also add two less popular pieces of advice:

• Don't waste time seeking that bargain restaurant. Find a CS location near where you are when you are hungry and eat there.
• Eat what appeals to you and not what is considered to be a bargain. Uneaten food is not a deal.

 

[HM]

The light eater could try children's meals if they are appealing at all.

My DD and I travel together a lot and split meals quite often. The best meals to split are the Shwarma platters at Tangerine Cafe in Epcot and The Rotisserrie Chicken and Ribs at Cosmic Rays in MK. Very large servings and fill us both up. One of our new finds is the soups that are available at many CS places. We find that if we split some fries and each buy a cup of soup, it makes a good meal.

 

[Dizisfun]

If you go over to one of the resorts for meals or a meal, they are a little less expensive. We usually eat just one meal a day at the parks, we snack on items that we have packed in our backpack the rest of the day....

We also eat breakfast before going to the parks.....

 

[pookybean]

Flame Tree BBQ in AK is also great for sharing, they give LARGE portions. 4 of us usually share 2 meals from there.

 

[mapleleafmom]

this is cost saving and sanity saving as well

we tend to get sick of disney counter food quickly...so we bring celery and carrots in our bags...they complement a shared meal really well..as well we can snack in line...

we also carry nuts, raisins and pretzels..oh and dd likes to bring along an apple.

then we'll often share the burger platters..or order 2 meals for the 5 of us..(baby is the 5th) we'll almost always order milk for the kids..as it's filling and hydrating and we drink water all day..

 

[disney1990]

Cosmic Rays (MK) has a great chicken combo that DH and I share all the time. We also the platters at Tangerine Cafe (Epcot).

 

[reginaastralis]

This works for us, and obviously it won't work for everyone ...

But when my bf and I head to Disney, we usually share, even though he's an eater and I'm not. I'm even less of an eater in the heat. Our hardest thing is finding something we both like ...but that's another story. After we split, if we're still hungry (which we hardly ever are) there are a ton of "snacks" and such to fill us over.

For example, we shared the beef dish at the CS in China, and some ginger ice cream. We weren't starving as we left, but he can always eat more, so we shared egg rolls as we walked around China. By this time, I was practically rolling, I was so full ... but it works.

 

[Mic]

NOTHING beats Earl of Sandwich!! I could eat there once every day! We also like Wolfgang Puck Express at Downtown Disney. We like Sunshine Seasons (the counter service at Epcot in The Land, near Soarin') for sharing; lots of options and self-serve drink counter. Tangierine cafe in Morroco is good for sharing a platter, and Fish-n-Chips in UK is good. Epcot has the best counter-service choices of any park in my opinion. At Magic Kingdom, Pecos Bill's is a traditional favorite because of the fixings bar, and the ability to order a kids burger or a salad with no chicken. Cosmic Ray's has chicken plates large enough to share, which we pair with a kid's meal or salad, and has a fixing's bar. We always eat at Pizzafari in Animal Kingdom; we can share a kid's pizza and a salad, and they have good breadsticks with marinara. Hollywood Studios is our least-favorite park for food, but if we must eat there, the area near Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster has several counter service choices, and Backlot Express is not bad.

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

I would definitely suggest splitting meals and at some locations, ordering the kids meal. Looks on the Allears website - they have full menus, with prices, of every counter service/table service location.

Of course some of the kids' selections are the inevitable mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc. and those are not a good value. But some of them are really good - smaller portions of the adult meals!

Our favorite budget friendly meal is at Pecos Bills at the Magic Kingdom. Split a double cheeseburger combo. Order an extra bun and an extra plate (they are glad to do this for you - sometimes they may charge a little for the bun, like 50 cents, sometimes they haven't charged me at all). Split the cheeseburger - each person has their own burger. Load up at the toppings bar - it is a ton of food!

At Epcot, we like to split one of the platters at Tangierine Cafe in Morocco (chicken or lamb or both). It is a huge plate of really yummy food (meat, hummus, lentil salad, couscous, pita bread, etc.) and it is a great change of pace from regular theme park food.

 

[Lunchlady]

Another vote for Earl of Sandwich. They have the best sandwiches. You can order another loaf of bread for .99 and we make 2 from 1 sandwich. It fills us up. And my husband is a HEARTY eater. I could eat their bread every meal!!!

 

[ceecee]

Cosmic Rays (MK) has a great chicken combo that DH and I share all the time. We also the platters at Tangerine Cafe (Epcot).

Also Flame Tree BBQ is great for sharing. Althought we share a lot of meals and a snack if we get hungry later. DTD Earl of Sandwich is really reasonable and delish!

 

[buckirj1]

I've always thought the counter service restaurants at the budget resorts offer a lot of bang for the buck, especially the turkey/chicken/salmon meals. Even the pasta dishes have a LOT of food.

 

[alwaysmagical]

It's pretty much the same advice that you will get by doing a search, since this question is probably THE most asked question on this board with regards to saving money at Disney.

• Share meals
• Don't buy water or soda. Get free ice water from the counter service restaurants.
• Skip desserts
• Any combo on a menu can also be ordered as single items.
• Buy a combo and then add side-dishes to stretch a meal that won't quite feed one person.

I will also add two less popular pieces of advice:

• Don't waste time seeking that bargain restaurant. Find a CS location near where you are when you are hungry and eat there.
• Eat what appeals to you and not what is considered to be a bargain. Uneaten food is not a deal.

Thanks, Marionnette, great advice!

Flame Tree BBQ in AK is also great for sharing, they give LARGE portions. 4 of us usually share 2 meals from there.

Hitting Flame Tree BBQ on the first day for lunch

This works for us, and obviously it won't work for everyone ...

But when my bf and I head to Disney, we usually share, even though he's an eater and I'm not. I'm even less of an eater in the heat. Our hardest thing is finding something we both like ...but that's another story. After we split, if we're still hungry (which we hardly ever are) there are a ton of "snacks" and such to fill us over.

For example, we shared the beef dish at the CS in China, and some ginger ice cream. We weren't starving as we left, but he can always eat more, so we shared egg rolls as we walked around China. By this time, I was practically rolling, I was so full ... but it works.

This! I pretty much see this happening every day - the heat won't be HORRIBLE, but still more than I'm used to, and I imagine I won't eat as much as usual. BF better be ready to share his food!

 

[wolf29]

Pepper Market @ Coronado Springs offers a breakfast and lunch buffet as a counter service option. We have been able to have a bit of a late breakfast and be filled up enough to just have snacks for lunch then a usual dinner. I would also agree with the votes for Earl of Sandwich.

 

[Soben]

I will also add two less popular pieces of advice:

• Don't waste time seeking that bargain restaurant. Find a CS location near where you are when you are hungry and eat there.
• Eat what appeals to you and not what is considered to be a bargain. Uneaten food is not a deal.

Totally agree with this. Yes, Cosmic Rays is a good value, but when you're on the opposite side of the park and everyone is cranky and hungry a trek across to eat may not be the best move. I would peruse all the menus in advance so you have an idea of something reasonable at each area. Or carry a good quantity of snacks to get you through. The best laid plans of mice and men...