Just reserved vac 11/15-11/22 Food Questions

[momloveson]

Yippee!

Just made reservations today for our family trip to WDW. Thanks to all the help I got from the resorts forum. We're staying for 7 nights (3 at Pop C and 4 at French Quarter). Took advantage of the BAP deal and really feel like we're getting a bargain. Got hubby to budget in more than $50/day for food for the 3 of us LOL!

Can anyone give me the skinny on ideas to save money on meals? I read in one post about entertainment cards. Are any of these places at downtown disney? Plus, I see vouchers on ebay, but they don't seem like a good deal. I don't really understand what they are anyway. We'll be there 8 days total and at the main parks only 4 of those. Should we plan on going offsite for dinners on the off nights?

Would be great to hear any ideas on what to avoid. Also, is driving offsite worth it $$ wise to get breakfasts and stuff? We'd like to keep our driving down as much as possible. We want to get immersed in the Disney Vacation experience.

I'm so thrilled for our 4 year old. I'd like to work in a Character meal too, can anyone recommend a good one? The Disney Reservation one said that the breakfasts are the best value when you've got a wee one.

We're SOOOOO excited (can you tell!). This will be my first visit to WDW in 20+ years. I want it to be very magical for my son and be able to save $$ as much as possible as well.

You guys are so awesome here!
Mitch

 

[PrincessDadx2]

You can do a search for food budget threads and I think you will find a lot of information. Tips seem to be in a few areas:

1. Meal vouchers. Read the 2nd thread at the top of this board. Hotwire savings club seems to be the best place to get the vouchers from currently. Depending on your family they can be a good budgeting tool, a great value, or too restrictive.

2. Eat breakfast in. Most budget minded people eat breakfast in their room with food that doesn't need to be cooked. This can be a substatial savings.

3. Bring snacks and water. Carry water into the park rather than pay $2.50 each. You can also bring snacks for the kids, but be careful because snacks are my favorite part of the parks.

4. Share a meal. Most meals at WDW are large portions and you have no place to bring it back to. You can split a meal and maybe add a snack if you are still hungry. They will also sell you another bun for less than $1, so you can buy a double cheeseburger plus and bun for less than 2 meals.

5. Ice cream social. A budget character meal is the ice cream social at the Garden Grill in Epcot. It is a preplated ice cream sundae with the characters for about $7 a person.

You can check out all the menus and prices at www.allearsnet.com under dining.

HTH

 

[behappy]

First of all, congratulations on getting your trip arranged. When we do the parks, we split meals at counter service restaurants at lunchtime. Sounds like you've only got one child plus you and DH. A kids meal and one other meal will be plenty of food for the 3 of you, maybe too much! There are lots of different things you can split (wraps, salads, sandwiches, burgers, etc.) Some will tell you to order a double cheeseburger and an extra bun (yes, they sell extra buns)....seems like a waste to me, just cut it in half...it's still plenty of food. Remember you can ask for carrots in lieu of french fries. Agree with PrincessDadx2 on snacks, breakfast in the room and bringing your own water.

For dinner in the parks, our favorite is Cosmic Ray's in Tomorrowland (near the Castle/Teacups/Racetrack). They have a family chicken meal that is affordable and will be plenty of food...whole chicken + sides. Other places to go include Earl of Sandwich, and Wolfgang Puck's Express in Downtown Disney.

There are a ton of places to eat, not too far off property, so, if you are only planning to go to parks 4 days and don't like the offerings in the food court, there are a myriad of choices nearby.

Finally, as for a Character Meal....I'd recommend Chef Mickey's and I'd recommend getting a late reservation (like 11:00AM)...you will have built up a good hunger and 'breakfast' will carry you through to dinner, plus, the characters will be more likely to spend extra time with your family, as the crowd often thins out later in the morning.

If you did it on one of your 'off' days, you could take the resort bus to Magic Kingdom, then either walk over to the Contemporary (10 minutes max) or walk to the monorail station and take the resort monorail to the Contemporary (hotel where Chef Mickey's restaurant is). If you go early, you could spend the morning 'touring' the Monorail Hotels, or you could save
that for after your meal. You could also catch a boat over to Fort
Wilderness to see the petting zoo, and even walk to the Wilderness Lodge for more 'sightseeing'. From there you could catch the boat back to the Magic Kingdom to catch a bus back to your resort.

I know that's more than you asked for...hope you have a good trip....