Have no car. Want food outside parks. Possible?

Sleepy

<font color=royalblue>I'll have to remember that o
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Mar 9, 2000
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This will be our first visit to WDW with no car. We never ate outside the parks when we had a car available, but now that we are trapped in a location without American food, we desire something other than park food, but don't want to rent a car for this purpose. I know there used to be a McDOnald's at DD, but I see this might be removed? While we do have McDonald's here, they don't serve breakfast, so this is what I was hoping for.....breakfast there. Other than McDonald's, are there restaurants within walking distance (10-15 minutes) of DD? We are hoping for maybe a Hardee's, Taco Bell, KFC or a Chic-Fil-A. Maybe a Denny's?
 
The only Fast Food type restruants on property are McDonald's. I thought they had just renovated the one on property. Other than that you need a car to get off property. I think that is one reason Magical Express is free, if guests are stuck on property than they eat and buy things only from Disney.
 
I never paid much attention to the DD area, but it is my understanding that it is on a major highway??????? And there are hotels across the road NOT owned by Disney????? Would I be wrong to also assume there are NON Disney restaurants within walking distance of the DD area? Again, I never paid much attention to anything past the parking lot area of Downtown DIsney before and wish I had.
 
When I was in DTD in Feb I wanted to try to walk to a grocery store... well I started to walk and there was nothing in site for 15 minutes as I walked so I turned around... I'm sure they were there somewhere but a pretty hefty walk... maybe ypu could take a cab to one of those restaraunts.... :cool1:
 

I have never seen any other fast-food restaurant in DTD except for McDonalds. I also have never noticed anything across the road from it either. There is also McDonalds food served at some locations inside the parks-AK and Epcot oh, and there is a McDonalds French Fry cart in MK. It takes snack credits too!

I would say that if you have to take a cab to get to a Taco Bell, it's probably not goin to be worth it. DTD does have a lot of great restaurants. I'm sure you can find something you all like. Good luck! :)
 
Earl of Sandwhich is wonderful and very afforable. They are in DTD and next to the Pin Station area. Sandwhichs run about $4-5 I think and sides are all .99 cents (chips, p. salad, slaw, even cups of soup). The sandwhichs are hot kind of like Quizno's type. They have a huge variety and very different combos. Drinks are $2 I think and there is a soda station so you can get refills. We love this place.

Also all the DTD area restraunts are about 1 to 1 1/2 miles I think. It's doable but I don't think it would cost much to taxi it there. There is a great place called the Cross Roads at the entrance to DTD, just take the bus to the marketplace area of DTD (rainforest cafe', etc) and then call a cab from there... or you could walk, but I think like I said it's about a mile or so. They have a place called Jungle Jims (about 50 different types of burgers, chicken, etc.) pretty cool, they have Uno's, a wing place, Taco Bell, about 10 different places to eat.

If I could be of anymore help, PM me or post here.
 
Mapquest says it's .8 of a mile down the road from the Rainforest to Cross Roads. You would turn left out of the parking lot down the main road (if DTD was at your back) and then go straight across at the main road after the .8 mile to the Cross Roads.

Found this online:
Crossroads of Lake Buena Vista
Shopping Center/Mall, Shopping Neighborhood, Lake Buena Vista

Directly across from the main entrance to Walt Disney World, 11 restaurants and more than 25 shops cater primarily to tourists. Upscale and casual shops are geared to sun and surf, electronics, and children, but the necessities, such as the 24-hour Gooding's supermarket (PHONE: 407/827-1200), post office, bank, and cleaners, are also here. You can find the usual franchised restaurants as well as some local spots, such as the casual Pebbles. While you shop, your offspring can entertain themselves at Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf. To reach it, head out the Disney entrance/exit of Lake Buena Vista or take I-4 to Exit 68.

Address: 12545-12551 Rte. 535, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA
 
When we get tired of WDW food (won't happen this time because we are on the food plan) we order in pizza. We have a refrig and microwave so we get groceries from one of the delivery services. It is easier to have a few things available for breakfast and snacks than to go off property.
 
Right at the entrance to DTD at Crossroads there is a McDonalds and I think a Taco Bell. There is also a Perkins? there. We had breakfast there on our departure day one trip. There is also a TGIFridays.

I think it is walkable if you really want to eat at those places. It would be a decent size walk though. It would probably be a cheap cab ride though.

Maggie
 
I wouldn't try walking, that was a busy road and I don't remember if there were sidewalks? I would take a cab, much safer!
 
There is a very large McDonalds right near the All-Star resorts. It is not within walking distance of the resorts, the road is constantly busy and there are no sidewalks. It should be easy to take a cab there from any WDW area. This McDonalds does serve breakfast (I had pancakes and sausage there in December).
 
Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. To us, a cab expense would be worth it to get what most people would consider substandard food. During our vacation, we do plan to eat alot of park food, but want to experience "American" fast food as much as possible before heading back home.

lovewdwdvc, noting my location, I think you can understand me when I say that groceries or pizza delivery is a wonderful idea and we do plan to do this, but our only options on a daily basis is pizza or cooking food from a grocery store. We just need a change from the usual.
 
You must try Jungle Jim's then if you want Americanized Food, it's pretty good and great atmosphere. Lots of fast food at the Cross Roads
 
2angelsinheaven said:
You must try Jungle Jim's then if you want Americanized Food, it's pretty good and great atmosphere. Lots of fast food at the Cross Roads

What is Jungle Jims? I'd be willing to try someting new. Clarification is I am American and just want to experience all our "usual" places we frequented before we moved. (Taco Bell, Hardees, KFC, etc). Thanks in advance for the description of this Jungle Jim's.
 
Try Giordano's. The are on Apopka-Vineland, and they deliver to selected Disney resorts. They do a wonderful Chicago-style pizza (and a great NY pizza too) and have a whole collection of salad and pasta and other items as well.

They are a bit on the pricey side for pizza, but it does taste very, very good.

Enjoy your trip.
 
Public transportation picks up at the TTC. You can either go to Sea World (then onto Downtown Orlando) or Kissimmee. Around Sea World you can transfer to a bus that goes down International Drive which is LITTERED with restaurants!!!

If you choose to walk to the Crossroads it really isn't too far and there is a sidewalk the whole way there. The road is a bit busy, but the sidewalk is in a few feet in from the road.

~ Jen
 
I would like to rec. Bahama Breeze which is located offsite and is far from substandard! You'll get some very good Americanish food (with an island flair). We ate there in Jan. (our local relatives rec. it) and it was excellent. :cool1: I had the seared Ahi Tuna and it was one of the best meals I've had. It was only about 10-15 minutes away from the world (we were staying at CBR). I don't think a cab ride there and back would be too expensive. You can check them out at www. bahamabreeze.com That's my pick for offsite dining. :wave2:
 
If I remember correctly, the road leading from DTD to Crossroads runs through the DTD hotels row - very safe for walking. And after long days in the parks, what's a mile walk each way?

Also, if you want to take a day or two away from Disney, there are car rental locations at some of the DTD hotels. Dh and I did that when we spent two days near Sea World before heading home.

OT, but we learned why it's a good idea to stay on Disney property, at least for us. We live nearish to Niagara Falls, so that's a common night out for us in good weather and we don't need to go on vacation to someplace like that (touristy schlop). Even when we stayed at a condo, we were a mile from the "back entrance" to Disney and only ate in the condo or in the parks.
 








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