Hungry Teens!

[snowwhitesmom]

Best bets for feeding hungry teens in the parks? We will be staying at ASMo - thanks to all!

 

[blueberry22]

the dining plan

 

[kandeebunny]

Dining plan if thats not possible I suggest doing your sit down meal at lunch at a buffet. Bring snacks from home (granola bars etc)

 

[MAKMOM41]

First are we talking boys or girls? Teens will enjoy the counter service food. The Prime Time Cafe & Sci Fri are both Moderate priced sitdowns in Disney. They are fun for the whole family. Now I think the buffetts are great deals when you factor in drinks,appitzers, main course & desert + Characters visting me! I have been searching the menus for our June trip my freinds have 2 teen boys.I think these are moderate priced compared to other DISNEY dinning options. ESPN Club, Trails End Buffett...any buffett,Beaches & Cream, Ohanas, Whispering Cannon. There are more.

Now blueberry is correct in IMHO about the dinning plan if you are staying at ALLSTARS. Not if you are staying in Moderate or Deluxe compared to AP pricing for the room vs food.

 

[snowwhitesmom]

Thanks so much everyone!

 

[maggiew]

Onsite I recommend Trails End Buffet.

If you have a car and the time, you can go to Cicis pizza or Sweet Tomatoes. These are both all you can eat. They are by downtown Disney. They are both very cheap. I know the sweet Tomatoes by me has dinner for around $8 all you can eat. I think Cicis pizza is similar in price (maybe less).

Maggie

 

[dixipixi]

Hi! Since we have 2 teens, I thought maybe I could help.

Our plan has always been to have one large meal per day (usually buffet). We have a reasonable breakfast at our hotel (sometimes we even eat pop tarts, etc. in the room). We're not much on the large buffets at breakfast because we just don't eat very much early in the day.

Around midmorning we will have a snack in the parks. We try to plan our large meal for sometime in late afternoon. We always have at least one more snack and depending on how late we are up and about, may even have one more small meal.

DH and I do not always eat when they do (especially the snacking). But we have learned they are far easier to get along with when they're full!

Our kids have always had their own spending money. If they want additional snacks, candy, etc. in the parks...they are always free to buy their own. This cuts down on a lot of arguing. We've found that they are far less likely to waste their money than ours!

 

[blueberry22]

In my opinion even at the moderates the meal plan will save you money- if you have teen boys who eat alot. The price difference between the AAA rate and the AP rate is 17.50. With four teens in the room that is only $4.37 more per day per teen. The meal plan is $35. Can you feed them a sit down meal and counter service meal and a snack on $39.37 per day? Example: they eat the unlimited skillet at Whispering Canyon- 21.99 plus dessert-4.99 plus drink-1.99 plus tip and tax and you're spending about $37 just there. Thet is the part many forget- that the dining plan includes tax and tip. Obviously at values the savings on the room are even smaller. I do agree that with deluxes that the AP saving are better than the meal plan.

The other real advantage is that you don't have to constantly worry about chosing the least expensive dinners or buffets. At many nicer places you will save a bundle using the plan- dinner at CRT for 6 totaled $330- we got a $4+/- charge for a specialty drink one of the kids ordered.

If you have girl teens the meal plan might not work as well- unless by splitting the ressies (with your 2 rooms) you can cut down on the overall number of meals you have to use and the girls are willing to split meals (or unless you have girls who eat heartily). In June my dd and her freind are going to split their counter service lunches and let the boys have extra meals. (they might also use them for an occasional breakfast) The desserts they'll take for the boys to enjoy later. We plan on using their dinners- and just paying for theirs using our DDE. Neither my daughter would never eat an app, entree and dessert at one meal.

There are cheaper ways to eat at disney- but they require things like mostly if not exclusively counter service meals and/or sit down lunches. Mid day meals don't work for us (anymore- used to do it when the kiddos were young) because we are usually just coming back mid day for a rest when the kids are emerging from their beds. I enjoy being able to sit with my kids- who are all away at school most of the year- at a relatively civilized dinner, let them order whatever they want and relax. We gave up group rates at AKL- 119 per night!!!!!! in order to do POR with the meal plan (126.50) because it just allows us t enhance the vacation experience for us all.