Is dining at a restaurant a must?

[kotzally]

Do most people eat at a restaurant for each meal of the day? I haven't ever experienced DW so I don't know what the average day is like.

Are there affordable options in the food courts? Is it like being at a zoo or airport? High prices but descent food? Could you eat on $20 a day at the booths?

I could see eating at a restaurant once daily during our 3 day stay but unless the food is terrible everywhere else, I can't imagine more than that is needed.

We will be staying off site, but it seems to me that going to Walmart and getting breakfast and lunch foods for 3 days would be a good idea!

Suggestions?

 

[MelanieC]

Hi there -

We used to do two sit downs per day (except at AK), and last year did the DP where we did one sit down and one QS the second 9 nights of our vacation (did 2 sit downs the first 9 nights during the days we were at Disney).


This year we are doing 1 sit down only, and the rest at QS. I'm normally not a fan of QS type meals, but Disney has some of the best park food out there. You could easily get away with eating only fast food and never eat a hamburger or pizza. The food options are better than a normal zoo or airport in my opinon. Many really good counter service locations.

For prices, I'd say most entrees at the counter service locations are between $7-9, with some places being more like $9-13 per person with some being even higher. Then you need to buy a drink for between $1.5-$2.60 or higher depending on what you get. Do you eat desserts? Then it's even higher.

You could do a QSDP that is around $31.99 PP, this gets you two counter services per day to use on any meal. You get 1 entree, 1 drink, and 1 dessert per person no matter what the cost of your meal is. You also get resort drink mugs that are refillable during your entire stay at your resort only. You also get 2 snack credits per person that you can use on many snacks (most are roughly $2.50-4 per snack).

Do you mean $20 per person a day or $20 total a day? Possibly you could do $20 per person a day if you got the cheapest thing on the menu and maybe shared a drink. $20 a day for two people - definately not.

The regular Dining plan (DP) you get 1 table service, 1 counter service and 1 snack per person per day. You get an entree, drink and dessert with both table service and counter service. Not every place at Disney is included on the table service and the better sit downs are usually 2 table service credits.
This is around $41 -46 per person depending on what time of year you go.

We go to Walmart and get breakfast bars and poptarts and eat them in the room while getting ready. For only being there 3 nights, you could easily do counter service and not get bored and the price will not be too bad. The QSDP is a nice way to not worry about costs and get snacks as well.

 

[TDC Nala]

If the OP stays offsite, they are not eligible for any of the Disney dining plans.

It also doesn't look like dining is a priority for the OP's visit. Nothing wrong with that. Take a look at the menus online for the counter service places, see which of them have the sort of food you prefer.

I agree, $20 per person per day can be done with planning. $20 for two people per day eating inside Disney parks likely can't be done unless the two share all their meals. Plus, you really don't need to buy a drink at any counter service if you are fine with a cup of ice water.

 

[shocker]

Is it like being at a zoo?

yea, you got the zoo part right

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Because we're staying Club Level, we're only planning on 1TS per day, with the exception of two days we're doing 2TS. We're hoping to find some decent CS/QS for lunch in the parks.

 

[shocker]

We always bring food in the room for breakfast, saves time and money.

We also found that eating one all-you-can-stuff meal in the middle of the day really held us over. (this is easier if no young kids are involved). Although more expensive than a CS meal, we were able to eat less often if we could really get our belly full. We often spent $$$ on CS food to find ourselves hungry again in the short term. We also like the restaurants that serve AYCE family style, then your food is brought to you (no standing at the buffet line), is air conditioned, no food tray needed, and a welcomed break to the day. Then we could snack later or just eat again once we got back to the room.

WDW also allows food to be brought into the parks, we brought in those cracker-n-tuna/chicken salad snack packs, trail mix, apple sauce cups, raisins, and Crystal Light stir in packets for the free cups of water or to add to a bottle of water.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I would say airport or zoo is an analogy that is highly accurate (much more than most or us disney nuts want to admit)

the quickserve food is by and large very forgettable....but it is somewhat pricey...

the sitdown restaurants are usually very good quality (which is what has always set Disney apart from other amusement ventures...more than anything else measurable)...but they have become really obscene the last few years price wise after kinda letting the world catch up to them a little bit in the late 90's and early 2000's....

definitely dining is a highlight for most at WDW....but you are gonna get taken on it at least in some ways....really no way avoiding it.

And the sit downs no longer have "hidden gems" that are different price levels (a few small exceptions)...the pricing and menu streamlining that has happened over the last decade have made sure you're gonna pay pretty much anywhere you go

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I think cereal in the room is a good idea for a cheap and easy breakfast, I would just get food in the parks for lunch and dinner though.

 

[jimmiej]

We usually do one table-service meal per day. Lunch is almost always cheaper. One counter-service meal/day. Most days for breakfast, we do breakfast bars, Pop Tarts, etc.

You should try to schedule at least one meal in World Showcase in Epcot. That's a nice experience, IMO.

Here are fairly current menus:

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

and reviews:

http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showcat.php?cat=32

 

[Nadjalu]

I would say that if you are only eating one counter service meal and a snack in the parks, $20 would be ok.
Otherwise you are way under budget. Park food is expensive. You can take a look at the menus and see that.
For a burger and fries you are looking at $10 easy, soft drink $3-4 more. So if you are planning to have the majority of your meals outside/offsite then yes. If not......then no $20 isn't enough.

 

[mistee]

last year we did the dining plan and it was nice.

i liked being able to sit down for an hour or so and enjoy a good meal and it was a nice break for the kids..

their qs isn't bad either.

 

[dislaney]

We plan meals based on what kind of trip we are taking. If we are with the kids and plan on riding and seeing as much as possible, we do one TS and the rest of our meals are CS. I can't stand being too full and trying to get around the parks in a hurry. When I have gone on more adult trips with my husband or friends, we might do more TS meals and tour more leisurely.

 

[fla4fun]

Do most people eat at a restaurant for each meal of the day? I haven't ever experienced DW so I don't know what the average day is like.

Are there affordable options in the food courts? Is it like being at a zoo or airport? High prices but descent food? Could you eat on $20 a day at the booths?

I could see eating at a restaurant once daily during our 3 day stay but unless the food is terrible everywhere else, I can't imagine more than that is needed.

We will be staying off site, but it seems to me that going to Walmart and getting breakfast and lunch foods for 3 days would be a good idea!

Suggestions?

If you are staying off property, definitely plan on having breakfast at your hotel/villa. You will save a lot on your food budget that way.

There are a lot of people on the boards who go to Disney as much for the food as the theme parks, and for the most part, they don't like the CS dining very much. That is not me. I'm checking in on Tuesday for 10 days and only have one ADR, at Le Cellier. The rest of the time, I'll be dining CS or dining in my room (I'll be in a cabin at FW with a full kitchen). I think dining CS only is perfect for a shorter trip (you mention 3 days) because you work your dining into your day, instead of arranging your day around your dining.

I've been going to WDW since it opened, and I've seen the parks go from serving nothing but steamed hotdogs and questionable burgers at their CS locations, to offering a wide variety of foods. You can find many choices that you wouldn't have found just a few years ago. Epcot is especially good for CS dining. If you are purchasing a drink in addition to your meal, I would count on $10-$12 minimum per person, per meal. If you are willing to drink the complimentary iced water, it will run you $8-$10 per person, per meal. Add extra if you order any appetizers or desserts. I usually don't, because there are so many good snacks to try throughout the parks. I typically budget $25 per day for in park dining, but usually end up spending about $15 when staying where I have a full kitchen.

Definitely take a look at the menus for the different CS locations and see which ones will appeal to you the most.

 

[Planogirl]

Most full serve restaurants that we've tried are mediocre but there are notable exceptions. You could plan on a few special meals at full serve places and go for counter serve the rest of the time. There are scattered decent counter serve places with the most interesting ones being in Epcot IMO.