Inexpensive Meals

[suzieqinga]

We will be staying onsite in July, and I'm trying to figure out how to feed the family without spending a fortune! I've checked out the links to the menus, and see that all of the food onsite is quite expensive. We will make a grocery stop on our way in to the hotel so that we can eat some in our room. I don't mind splurging for a meal or two while we are there, but not for every meal every day.

We will not have a car. Is it within walking distance to catch the I-Ride trolley to an offsite restaurant? Any other suggestions?

Thanks so much for any tips!!

 

[bbchurch]

I don't know which hotel you are in but we just got back from Royal Pacific and there are alot of cheaper places to eat on International Drive which is just on the other side of interstate 4 from the hotel. However it is not what I would classify as "walking distance" Sure you could walk there but you would have to cross one really big intersection not to mention the nearly one mile jog just to get to International Drive. You could take a taxi, there always seemed to be one parked out front everytime we came and went, or you could take the lynx bus I thought I saw a bus stop sign somewhere around the convention center part of the hotel although I may be mistaken. Hard Rock and Portifino Bay is a long way from International Drive but they are both close to Vineland Ave and Kirkman Rd which also has several cheaper restaurants but again it is not exactly right outside the hotel. Bottom line it would be a long walk in my opinion. They kinda have you "trapped" if you don't have your own car.

 

[FOV]

This will be our first trip to US/IOA but when we go to WDW we try to eat out one meal per day. In the morning we have breakfast in the room (we stop at the grocery store and buy fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal and milk and OJ.) This not only saves $$ but it saves a ton of time - one kid eats while the other is in the shower etc.. Store your perishables in the hotel mini frig (home of the $10 Hershey bar ) or you can use your own cooler.

We have pb&j, granola bars, carrot sticks etc.... for either lunch or dinner. Apples are great snacks and we usually have something "junky" in the room like poptarts or some cookies. This works great for us.

We always bring a backpack into the park with extra clothes and our snacks. Buy a case of bottled water before you leave home and bring one bottle per person into the park and refill the bottles at the drinking fountains. This is much better than drinking soda all day. I have been told it is okay to bring a backpack into US/IOA as long as you don't overdue it! (I wouldn't try a cooler - lol!)

I have read many good reviews for Sal's, which is at PBR. You could get pizza one night for dinner - it will probably be more expensive than the pizza you buy at home but it won't be as expensive as some other restaurants.

 

[murf]

I assume you are aware of 3 other ideas

#1 is to get a Universal Fan card or get AAA card
both can be used to reduce 10% food costs in the park.

Another thing to consider is that with the heat in summer, 2 meals a day seemed to be more than enough. I suggest the variety packs of cereal in the mornings which also can be carried as snacks while in the park that are waterproof. consider asking the hotel if they have transportation, since if they have a van that can take you to the trolley stops, you could also do that a couple times. Remember to not be afraid to ask the hotel for transportation , becuase its a service and you are the guest they are serving, so take advantage of that. If you decide to use the cab, remember that if you spend 10 on a cab that still far cheaper
than 10 dollars per person to get to a more reasonable restaurant. I recommend eating bfast in the room and a bigger late lunch when entrees are cheaper, then a lighter late evening snack if you are really wanting to conserve..

 

[PartyofSix]

First wanted to add info on sal's pizza is resonably priced. Not a rip off. I think PBH has the best prices on restanrant food than the other two hotels. The gelato bar is great it's on the piazza. Also Mama Della's is a great sit down meal for 30-45 depending on your entree for two people. And you get TONS of food. Okay my other suggestion is FLippers Pizza. While staying at PBH i ordered flippers for the girls all the time. They had all types of sub's, pasta dishes and ofcourse pizza. Oh and salads. The kids meals w/drinks were like 3.95! The prices where so low! I ordered a case of drinks from the the first time to have in the room to replace the soda's in the mini bar! There only .50 a piece i belive. Call star service when you check in or just look up the number on the web and take it with you. Great food. Piping home and very authenic italian food!

 

[pixie dust gal!]

I second Flippers Pizza. Being from NY, we are soooooo picky about our pizza - and this is great pizza. We do the same thing. We order pizza and subs to the resort for lunch/dinner in the cabana. It is a nice change when you don't feel like going out or going to city walk - you won't regret choosing Flippers.

Deb

 

[the Dark Marauder]

FOV has the right idea

 

[Flyfly_Eclipse]

We just got back from staying onsite also and wanted to keep money down too. We brough powdered donuts, the mini boxes of cereal, bowls, spoons, and a cooler with the milk (and sodas) in for breakfast. We also had a package of Oreos for snacks as well as cold cuts and bread for sandwiches.

We ate once at Hard Rock Cafe which isn't TOO bad...especially if you share with someone.

We didn't eat at any other restraunts in City Walk and stopped at Circus McGurkus (SP?) in IoA which my parents like a lot and isn't too bad.

Don't bother with the pricy food at Mel's...it's not a good value (taste-wise)

Majority of the time we ate in our room though. We had a large cooler and a minni-fridge we plugged into at the room to keep things cool.

 

[damo]

Many times we split meals. We found that one meal was way too big for one person. If you eat at the Enchanted Oak in IOA you can easily feed four people with two meals.

My other suggestion is to order kid's meals. No one ever questioned us about it and they is plenty of food in a kid's meal for an adult. The restaurants by the pools have good kid's meals.

At Mythos, the pizza of the day is about $6.99 and it will feed two people as well. It is excellent. Not your average pizza.

I second the idea of a late lunch and a snacky dinner.

 

[suzieqinga]

Thank you SO Much for all of your tips and suggestions!! You guys are awesome!

 

[Paris]

Suzie, I think that by the time that you pay for a cab or trolley both ways you will probably find that you have spent about as much in money and far more in time than you would have if you were to eat on-site.

Something that I have never done, but it would probably make sense for what you're looking for: why not take the free shuttle from the hotels to Wet & Wild. That drops you right into the vicinity of the many cheaper restaurants in the area. Just make sure you do this during the day (check when the last shuttle leaves the water park).

Saving money when you eat offsite is easy if you learn to compromise. A burger and a soda off-site will run you about the same as a burger and a cup of free ice water in the parks with a AAA, Fan Club or Anual Pass discount.

You don't have to snack out at the park. No one will stop you from sharing the huge servings at some of the places (like Mythos, Confisco's and Enchanted Oak).

For some more tips check out

The Penny Pincher's Guide to IOA

 

[patman]

Have Pizza delivered to the hotel. The delivery charges are reasonable.

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

My son and I have just got back from our stay at the royal pacific and our visit to universal/IOA. For the two of us we managed to only spend twenty dollars a day. First, we had breakfast in our room (cereal) And we would usually have a lunch meal about one o'clock. We ate at what ever park we were at. We would get one combo meal of fries and a Large Drink with no ice. When you order with no ice it double the amount of pop you get. Then I would ask for a small glass of ice. Then divide the fries , split the sandswich and and split the large pop with my son. For the two of us it cost about 12 dollars. Later, for snack I would get a bag of grapes. And there would be enough left over for my son to get to a frozen treat later during the day. Then for dinner my son and I would have ham and cheese sandswiches and corn chips and a pudding cup and a soda back in our room. by the end of the trip I think my son was sick of ham and cheese but it helped us to stay with in our budget and let us spend money on other things.

To make a meal strech a little further when purchasing at the parks order an extra order of fries or some places serve corn on the cob as a side order this is a fairly inexpensive way to give your family a little extra with out spending a lot of money.

Most children will not eat very large portions. Therefore, it only makes sense to have them share a meal when traveling as a family.

 

[ltribble31021]

One of the things we always do at Universal for a quick lunch is
over near Jaws (close to Finnegan's Bar) is a hot dog vendor. They are about $3.00 each but they are huge. We each get a hot dog and then there is a dessert shop right there also. After the hotdogs we get a HUGE slice of cheesecake to share. It is delicious and more than one person can eat.

 

[Debbie7452]

The roasted chicken dinner at the Jurassic Park restaurant (sorry the names are fuzzy now) was really huge. I think I split it 3 ways between me and two of the kids. The service there was incredibly slow but it turned out to be a nice, economical, and tasty change from burgers.

Don't forget about all your options in Citywalk either. Nascar cafe wasn't too expensive. One last idea...La Trattoria in Portofino is in the Orlando Entertainment book. This was a nice meal for us.

On the Budget board I saw a great idea to order a double burger and pay for an extra bun (50 cents at Disney). Voila, you have two burgers for a reasonable price! Ditto the drink...no ice and cup of ice on the side. Also ask for ice water along side (not bottled). We did this at Seaworld recently. The counter service workers were more than happy to oblige all my requests. My Husband was amazed. Have fun!