Planning food for our trip is overwhelming me.

[beaded]

Oh my word. So many choices. And we want to stay on a budget.

There are 5 of us - 2 adults, a 19 yr old, a 11 yr old (who eats like a bird) and a 9 yr old. We will be there in December (11-16) and are staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort. My kids are not really into characters at all - never have been - but they would probably enjoy seeing any Star Wars characters. They could not care less about princesses and Mickey. LOL! I am planning on about $1200 for meals - we eat cheap usually and we will bring some snacks, lunchmeat, and breakfast items to our hotel room. So help me plan this.

I can tell you that I want to try Tonga Toast - sounds delicious. I don't care if I try it at Kona or Capt. Cook's - we aren't super picky. We don't mind QS, but I don't want to eat fast food our whole trip either. So if I can squeeze one table service in, that would be good. More would be better, but I am realistic about our budget also. We are good with sharing meals too.

So, can you point me to the places where I can get the most bang for my buck - places where we will get to experience Disney Magic without completely breaking the bank. In other words, plan my meals for me while we are there. LOL!

 

[Minnie17]

How many days in the parks? What time are you leaving on your departure day?

 

[sharonabe]

You need to take a look at the menus either at allears.net or here at wdwinfo.com. Fast food at Disney does not have to be your regular fast food. Take a look at all the places in EP World Showcase. AK has some interesting options as well. HS has the least in variety for fast food (QS/CS), so that might be where you want to plan a TS. Both 50s and Sci-Fi have shareable and/or cheaper meals. MK also has some great choices that will keep you away from burgers and chicken nuggests.

 

[rosiebean]

Honestly, looking at your budget and family size, I think that you can totally do a few sit-down meals, especially if you bring your own snacks and water into parks and have snacks/sandwich fixings for your room. That's how my family usually travels, and I've never spent even close to what the dining plan would cost per day (which is currently 60-something dollars per Disney adult per day). My kids (9, 10) eat much less money-wise per day.

A typical day for my extended family (we travel with a large group to WDW usually) is to:

• have breakfast in our room most days (we will do a breakfast 'out' one day during our stay)
• bring water and snacks with us into the park
• get a QS meal if we get 'peckish' (some of us share) OR have our table service meal later in the afternoon
• take a late afternoon break in our room before hitting the parks or going out to dinner...we have snacks/sandwich makings on hand for those who are hungry
• have our table service meal at night OR get QS meals if we had table service during the day.
• Get back to our room and snack more if we're getting late night munchies
• We've never gone hungry. And, again, I've never gone over that 60-something dollar a day mark per person for food. We actually don't eat a lot of CS meals because our in-room breakfast and snacks are usually enough to keep us going with one table meal. I think you'll be fine!

Also, if you're staying five nights/six days, that doesn't necessarily translate into three full meals per day. Depending on when you arrive, you'll have one or two meals that first day. Likewise, depending on when you depart, you'll have fewer meals. So you're really looking at four days when you'll need three meals (and meals in your room count ).

If your 11-year-old eats like a bird, you an order appetizers at sit down places, have her snack off of someone else's plate, or even ask if she can order a child's meal...some restaurants allow that, though some charge a bit extra. If you're eating counter service, they don't ask if the person eating a kid's meal is actually a Disney kid (9 and under)...my mom and one sister eats CS kid's meals if they don't share one.

A few suggestions for meals based on my experience:

1. Magic Kingdom area hotels are fun to visit before or after going to MK, or during your time at MK for a mid-afternoon break. You could go Poly to get your Tonga Toast before hitting the park, for example. We've had breakfast at CS at Poly and GF, and the large breakfast (with eggs, bacon/sausage, potatoes, french toast, AND biscuit) is always more than enough to share unless someone is a really big eater or extraordinarily hungry. Kona has slightly more expensive, but equally large offerings that can be split.

2. 50's Prime Time in Hollywood Studios has enormous servings. Their Mom's favorite sampling and the fried chicken are more than enough to split and still be incredibly full. The only person I've ever seen NOT be too stuffed to move after eating here is my 6'6 20-something nephew who has not bee full since he was about 12. The atmosphere at 50's is also a lot of fun.

3. Via Napoli in Epcot has good pizza and is so reasonable that some people on the dining plan pay out of pocket when they eat there. I had dinner here with seven adults a few years ago; our party had two light eaters, one male who eats a lot...and the rest of us were 'average'. It was a somewhat late ADR and we were hungry! Still, we shared one large pizza, one entree sized salad, and one appetizer and were very satisfied. I was very surprised at how little the bill was for the amount of food we received. I think it averaged a little over $20 per person, and that included our pitcher of Sangria and dessert .

4. Rain Forest Cafe in AK is one of our usual spots, because the menu is so large we can usually find something for everyone. We often just eat appetizers here, which makes the cost very reasonable per person. Some will get get soup or a side salad to go along. When we get entrees, we share. They're huge!

5. We're trying Spice Road Table in Epcot for the first time this year. So far, reviews are good, and we're planning on doing our usual...splitting small plates and sharing an entree or two.

6. Some snacks (such as turkey legs in Hollywood Studios) are very reasonable for the amount of food you get. Several people can snack on one turkey leg and be happy!

As someone else said, look at menus and prices. But there are definitely options out there that will give you flexibility to to CS and have a few sit-down meals too!

 

[Parker Clan]

Trails End is great for your $. We never do the DP, so we always budget for food, eating breakfast in the room every morning and bringing snacks/drinks in the park is a great way to save $. We liked the food in CBR food court actually too lol

 

[loves to dive]

As others have said the quick service places are not your usual fast food so I'd suggest you look at the menus for those. I'm an adult woman but I don't eat heavy or large meals and if I'm eating at QS I always get a kid's meal. There have even been times that was too much food for me. When I go to TS, I usually get an appetizer and either a salad or my meal or another appetizer, not to save money but just because I don't eat a lot but bonus, it saves money. You don't have to carry drinks into the parks, any of the QS locations will give you a free cup of water if you ask. Some give you a smaller cup, some give you a full size, some put ice some don't. You just have to ask. At Chefs de France the adult Mac and cheese can easily be shared by two adults as can the french onion soup. If you have a small eater, there is no TS restaurant I've ever eaten at that didn't have a meal that couldn't be shared between and adult and a light eater.

 

[Hopefully]

As others have said the quick service places are not your usual fast food so I'd suggest you look at the menus for those. I'm an adult woman but I don't eat heavy or large meals and if I'm eating at QS I always get a kid's meal. There have even been times that was too much food for me. When I go to TS, I usually get an appetizer and either a salad or my meal or another appetizer, not to save money but just because I don't eat a lot but bonus, it saves money. You don't have to carry drinks into the parks, any of the QS locations will give you a free cup of water if you ask. Some give you a smaller cup, some give you a full size, some put ice some don't. You just have to ask. At Chefs de France the adult Mac and cheese can easily be shared by two adults as can the french onion soup. If you have a small eater, there is no TS restaurant I've ever eaten at that didn't have a meal that couldn't be shared between and adult and a light eater.

I'm older now and not a huge eater but I would not be satisfied on your plan. It really varies. You are a light eater.
For example, I don't think sharing a cup of French Onion soup, mention by another poster, would work for me.
DH and I ate at Via Napoli in the past. We shared a side salad for 2 and a large pizza. DH also had dessert. There was only 1 slice of pizza left over
I don't think most meals at TS are shareable.
Spice Road Table portions, in particular, are small. I wouldn't count on sharing there.

 

[Disgirl614]

Magic kingdom - The plaza restaurant (Table service, mostly sandwiches)
-Be Our Guest Restaurant ( Quick service for lunch, Table service for dinner)

Animal Kingdom - Yak and Yeti (Table service, Asian food)

Hollywood Studios - Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge (the lounge is connected to the actual restaurant, it is an outside patio that has small plates, we go for lunch, you can not make reservations)
- 50's prime time cafe (Table service, reasonably priced comfort food, fun experience!)

Epcot - Via Napoli (Table Service, very good pizza)
- Sunshine Seasons (Quick service, many options)

Resorts- Kona Cafe (Table Service, Polynesian Resort, very good sandwiches for lunch)
- Whispering Canyon Cafe (Table service, Wilderness Lodge, fun experience)

Disney Springs - Earl of sandwich (Quick service, delicious sandwiches!)
- Wolfgang Puck express (Mix of table service and Quick service, excellent and reasonable)

If you are looking to splurge one night, some of my favorite restaurants are Le Cellier (Epcot), Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge), Cape May Cafe (Beach Club)

I would also suggest looking at the menus on the Disney website! Hope this helps!

 

[loves to dive]

I'm older now and not a huge eater but I would not be satisfied on your plan. It really varies. You are a light eater.
For example, I don't think sharing a cup of French Onion soup, mention by another poster, would work for me.
DH and I ate at Via Napoli in the past. We shared a side salad for 2 and a large pizza. DH also had dessert. There was only 1 slice of pizza left over
I don't think most meals at TS are shareable.
Spice Road Table portions, in particular, are small. I wouldn't count on sharing there.

Yep, it wouldn't work for a lot of people but OP said her daughter was a real light eater so it might work for them. By the way, it's not a cup of soup there, it's a huge bowl.

 

[leebee]

We usually eat breakfast in our room, while getting dressed, or in the car while I drive to the parks (we often have a car, onsite or off). If we aren't renting a car, I pack mini-bagels, peanut butter, frozen yogurt cups, fruit cups, cheese, and triscuits from home. I've found if I freeze the yogurt (and last time froze cream cheese) and pack it in an insulated lunch box (with a blue ice pack) in my suitcase, everything is fine. We also pack snacks (usually nuts, fruit snack gummy things, and granola bars) to take into the parks. (obviously if we have a car, I pick up these things at the grocery store when we get to Orlando).

Meals... We like Tangierine Cafe (in Morocco) in Epcot. We often get two platters and a side for three of us to share and it's more than enough food. It's very easy to buy a variety of offerings and let people share. If you want an "experience" meal, Biergarten provides bang for the buck. The food is good, the beer is terrific, and there's a great show with an oompah band. It's also one of the more affordable buffets at WDW. I get a 10% discount when I pay with my Disney VISA or DisVISA rewards card.

In HS, we liked to go to 50s Prime Time, because their prices were more affordable, but they seem to have gone up. Still you can share plates- DD and I used to share the half-fried chicken, because she like breast meat and I like the leg/thigh combination. We usually don't need an appetizer with this; it really is enough food for the 2 of us.

At AK, it's easy to share decent pizza and salads at Pizzafari, or the BBQ platter at Flame Tree. We don't like going to Yak and Yeti because their counter service seating is all outdoors. It's hot, we're tired and need a/c, and there are lots of bees because of the trash barrels. Also seating is fairly limited- I don't like to stand around with trays in my hands, waiting for a place to sit.

At MK... it all seems the same to me. We usually go to Pecos Bill's or Cosmic Ray's because they are easy, but next time I want to try the Plaza. Seems like a lot more "real" food for only a little more money.

Lately, our favorite places to eat have been outside of the parks. We find the food choices at HS to be abysmal; we'd rather take a boat over to the Boardwalk and eat at Big River Grill, ESPN, or Beaches and Cream. At MK we'll leave and go to Kona (although our last experience was abysmal) or The Wave. Both seem to have more reasonable prices than many of the other restaurants, and it gives us a chance to ride the monorail. At AK we usually share lunches (go really light on the lunch so there's room for a frozen banana) and then go over to AKL to have a late dinner at Boma. We love Boma. It's gotten pricey lately, and we decided to skip it one trip, but we all missed it and regretted not going. If you have a Disney VISA, both Boma and The Wave will give you a 10% discount if you pay with the Disney VISA. Also... people rave about BOG but we are not fans. The nice thing is that it's QS at breakfast and lunch so you can order as little as you want and share... but like I said, we aren't crazy about the food (we've done lunch twice).

 

[BayouQueen]

H'mmm....so about $240 a day.
What we often do is have the big eaters order full meals, and then light eaters order just a soup, salad or appetizer to be brought at the same time as the other main dishes. Food at WDW is so filling and rich and big, that it can be quite overwhelming. I can tell you that I totally feel like Ive eaten at Le Cellier and enjoyed the meal immensely when all I ordered was a bowl of their famous cheese soup and then tried two bites of my husband's delicious steak. I was full!!

So maybe your husband and 19-year-old can order the biggies. Whatever works with your family.

Also...as you and others mentioned, it's easy to put together a make-shift breakfast in the room. So what works for us is light breakfast in the room, a snack type QS midday "lunch," and then early main meal, like at 4:30. Never breaks the bank and we don't feel cheated out of the fun WDW food experience.

Whatever you do, have fun! So many ways to make it work!

 

[old feller]

It was overwhelming to us too....we decided to go all quick service...easier to plan our day. Good luck..keep researching. EasyWDW.com

 

[shortnsassy730]

I think you will be fine. Check out Allears as others have mentioned. Wolfgang Puck Express at Disney Springs, Flame Tree Barbecue at Animal Kingdom, Be Our Guest Lunch, Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, Contemp Cafe at the Contemporary (huge sandwiches and large portion of fries if you want to split with someone) are some of my favorite quick service locations that don't serve just burgers and chicken and nuggets. The Plaza at the Magic Kingdom is decently priced. And as others have mentioned, Via Napoli is pretty affordable out of pocket for pizza sharing and it's really good. 50's Primetime is reasonably priced and they will allow adults to order off the kid's menu. I always get the kid's fried chicken because I must save room for the peanut butter and jelly milkshake lol. You will find most Disney owned places have no issues allowing your eleven year old to order a kid's meal.

Also all quick service locations will give you free ice water. Starbucks to me has the best ice water as its double filtered lol. When I take my nieces, I always pack Crystal light/Mio flavorings for them so that I can encourage them to drink more water since it's so hot.