Re: going from parks to food courts

[alexis123]

yes we will have a car. how easy is it to drive over?

 

[Belle5]

Alexis123,

Welcome to the DIS! I must agree with whoever said "time is money". You are paying a lot of money just to be at Walt Disney World and it sounds like you are planning on losing a lot of that vacation time traipsing to remote food courts because of an idea you have about what one place can offer that another can't. You have a bunch of seasoned WDW vets trying to explain to you that you are going to waste a lot of time, unnecessarily, trying to take advantage of a dining option that isn't much different than what you could have in or near the theme parks. Many, many vegetarians dine in the theme parks every day. It is really not that unique to be a vegetarian and WDW makes sure they can eat wherever they are at on property! You probably need to drive to POR on your first day and get it over with because you sound like the type of person that has to find out for herself. After that, you may want to have counter service options in the theme parks chosen ahead of time. I think you will find those restaurants will allow you more time to have fun on your vacation. Good luck with your planning and your vacation!

 

[alexis123]

thanks everyone, i deffinatly agree about "time is money". to me it even sounds like driving would waste to much time so i guess the farthest we will go is to DTD to eat.
So just answer this IS IT TO MUCH OF A HASSEL TO GO FROM A PARK TO DTD? thanks

 

[crisi]

yes we will have a car. how easy is it to drive over?

That depends.

Let's say you are at MGM - its pretty close to POR. You got there early, so you are parked pretty close. And when you decide to leave, you are at the front of the park. It will probably take you maybe 30 minutes before you are eating at POR.

Lets say you are at the back end of Epcot - maybe somewhere around the Italy pavilion. Its going to take about 20 minutes to walk to the front of the park. You got there a little late and its a busy Epcot day, so you may need to take a tram to your car. But Epcot is still pretty close to POR, so maybe you'll be eating in 30 minutes.

Let's say you are at the back end of MK. Its a small park, you can get to the front in less than 15 minutes - unless the parade is going on! But from the front of the park, you may still have a 20 minute trip to your car by monorail or boat and tram. And POR is about five miles away from there.

Then there is the potential of a wrong turn. We aren't good Disney navigators (and therefore don't tend to drive on property) since we often find ourselves lost.

Add in the equivalent amount of time to get back - if you are doing this at the end of your day, you'll only have half the travel time (but then you'd probably be better off off property) - but if you are planning on reentering the parks, you'll have to get back.

Even with a car, I'm guessing that from the time you say "lets eat" to the time you are back in the park on a ride will not be less than an hour - and closer to (or in excess of) two. Which is a lot of time at Disney for a counter service meal - particularly for a first trip. (Veterans of Disney often do odd things, like waiting an hour to eat at Beaches and Cream after getting there from the MK (a half hour trip at best) - but they understand the trade off - and they've already ridden Pirates and if they miss it this year, they'll see it next if they want.

 

[crisi]

thanks everyone, i deffinatly agree about "time is money". to me it even sounds like driving would waste to much time so i guess the farthest we will go is to DTD to eat.
So just answer this IS IT TO MUCH OF A HASSEL TO GO FROM A PARK TO DTD? thanks

DTD is farther than POR. And parking there is more of a hassle.

 

[Clubhouse Mickey]

I know you said you did some research. If you haven't checked this out yet, here is also some info on vegetarian options. Go to this page and scroll down, there are multiple links on the left hand side.

http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm

I didn't find where you mentioned whether or not you had kids, the ages of the people in your party, etc. I think that if you prefer to go to a resort to eat and are doing so with the idea that it might provide a slightly quieter atmosphere and some needed down time to recharge in addition to just the food options, then that might work just fine for you.

On the other hand, knowing what is available in the parks so you are able to take advantage of anything that sounds good to you vs taking a long break for dinner would give you even more options to mix it up through your stay.

good luck with whatever you decide and don't be swayed... everyone has different priorities and you should feel comfortable with whatever your decision.