Really Cheap Meals?

[yesiamcrazy]

In Epcot the Kringla bakery (counter service Norway) has this listed:
Norwegian Club Sandwich - turkey, ham, and bacon with Jarlsberg and Muenster cheese with fresh tomatoes, sliced red onion, and lingonberrry mayonnaise $7.99

Ham and Apple Sandwich with Jarlsberg and Muenster cheese $6.99

Roast Beef Sandwich with Jarlsberg cheese $7.99

Salmon and Egg Sandwich $7.99

Vegetable Torte with roasted mushrooms, spinach, potatoes, Jarlsberg and Muenster cheese $5.99

 

[TwoAtDisney]

These are our favorite cheap & filling meals -

PECOS BILL'S at MK - SPLIT - Very Filling & under $8 each. When you pickup your food at the counter, ask for 2 extra plates. Use one plate for the other person & the third plate for some fixits from the bar - freshly cooked mushrooms, and/or make a salad.
1. Large Bacon Cheeseburger with Fries - Cut the burger in half & each person fattens it up at the fixit bar! Plus the fries. Plus the extra fixits on the 3rd plate.

2. Taco Salad - will get some ground hamburger in bottom; at fixit bar, fill it up. Share & keep going back to fill it as many times as want. Ask for salad dressing of choice or use the salsa on the salad bar. Then when done with the salad part, divide up the shell & eat it like nachos covered with melted cheese and/or salsa from the fixit bar.

STARRING ROLLS at DHS - SPLIT - Very filling & under $8 each. 1 sandwich (ham & cheese or turkey & cheese) - these are stacked high with meat. Comes with small bag of potato chips. Buy 1 cupcake - they are huge; cut in half.

FOOD COURT at POR - OMG! The pasta (made to order) is HUGE! Even the 2 of us cannot eat it all! AND - under $8 each.

FOOD COURT at POFQ - The Po' Boy Sandwiches - piled high & huge & under $8 per person. Comes with on-site made chips. We always get the BBQ shredded pork.

SMOKED TURKEY LEGS - I know they are at MK, but I think also at some of the other parks. We split one & then buy a Dole Whip Shake to split (to us, the shake is too rich to eat a whole one).

POP CENTURY FOOD COURT - They have a sundae for about $4 - can have 3 dips ice cream + topping of choice + whipped cream + cherries (& I think other items like sprinkles, nuts, etc). It is huge & we have to share it!

If you have money left over one day, try Rainforest Cafe. The servings are huge; easily can split & they don't care if you do so. We love the Rasta Pasta & the Pastalaya.

If you have a car, there is a Golden Corral close to Crossroads. The breakfast & lunch buffets are inexpensive & would keep you full most of the day.

Of course, if you have a car, it will be easy to eat on $8 per meal per person - lots of choices.

If you don't have a car, take a bus thru the hotel zone. Get off at the hotel closest to Crossroads Shopping, walk to the shopping center, & buy some cheap goodies at Goodings. Also a Taco Bell there.

Enjoy!

 

[Totallytrue]

Are you staying at a Disney resort?

We are staying at the Fort Wilderness Campground ^^ I've stayed there once before, and loved it!

And thanks (to you and everyone!) for all the amazingly great advice! I no longer feel like we'll have to skip meals (and that's a good feeling)

 

[DawnM]

Great suggestions.

We take our own lunch into the parks with us.

Trail mix
carrot sticks
PB&J sandwiches
crackers
Pringles
fruit (grapes, etc...)

Then we have a little more $$ to use for dinner.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

We are staying at the Fort Wilderness Campground ^^ I've stayed there once before, and loved it!

And thanks (to you and everyone!) for all the amazingly great advice! I no longer feel like we'll have to skip meals (and that's a good feeling)

Not sure if you are in a trailer w/ fridge and electrical, or a tent site, but either way you can easily pack stuff for breakfasts and snacks in the parks. And personally, I wouldn't count those things I would buy to eat at home anyways as part of my vacation food budget.

 

[TravelMommy]

There are some very filling and budget friendly snacks and meals that can be found in all of the parks. Have a great trip!!!

 

[queenbetsey]

these are all great suggestions and what we do a lot. we usually get the quick service and split meals. places with the fixins bar like pecos bills and cosmic rays you can load up your burger and makes it really filling
as pp stated the sandwiches at starring rolls are huge, share it and then a cupcake to share. they have some of the best cupcakes on propery.
at epcot I morocco they hace a como plate that is really big also and you get to try something different.
by sharing meals you get to eat throughout the day and don't get hungry.
also since you are at the campgrounds you can load up on food to eat back at camp.

 

[Pooh2]

When we camped at FW, we had breakfast at the campsite (poptarts, granola bars, bagels and cream cheese, oatmeal packets and cereal), brought peanut butter and jelly for lunch, nuts, fruit.

We ate one table service per day, if you get the later end of lunch seatings, it is cheaper than going at dinner time. If you have a large meal at 3:30, you will likely just need a snack from the campsite later in the evening or a Mickey bar while you watch the fireworks.

Trails End also had take out in the evening which was cheaper than a sit down.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

My favorite cheap meal is at the counter service part of yak n yeti. The fried rice fills me right up. Yummy!

 

[2DisPrincesses]

My favorite cheap meal is at the counter service part of yak n yeti. The fried rice fills me right up. Yummy!

Agreed. It's a LOT and really good. The egg rolls are good too. I just tried these for the first time a few weeks ago and I will be having them every visit from now on!

 

[silmarg]

If u want to splurge and have a table service meal in a park that is a relative bargain... check out the Plaza restaurant in Magic Kingdom. Plenty of entree options under $15. And its real good.

 

[pocomom]

Oh if you are staying at the fort, don't miss chip n dales one night. You can bring your own hotdogs and buns and s'mores and roast them over the fire ( or buy theirs, reasonable but not as cheap) fun little show and movie after, and great character time with chip n dale, all free. Kids will love it!

 

[pocomom]

Also wanted to add , I don't know how much you are willing to carry in , but I always bring healthy snacks for my crew and typically don't buy anything for my son , who is 4 . He is picky and gets distracted at the restaurants so the food just gets wasted. I bring him a couple of things like yogurt tubes, fruit etc. so he can eat when he feels like it, and then let him pick off my plate and my oldest daughter will share with him too.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

The ham & cheese croissant at the bakery in France is delicious, filling and about $6.

 

[tina.tina]

Something no one has mentioned is that you shouldn't go wild during your trip to Walmart. I recommend making a firm list of what you need and checking it twice. Impulse buys at the store can wreck your budget for impulse buys for a snack in the parks later. If you are going to be going non-stop in the parks, you won't want to head back to your campsite to eat.

Those menus over at Allears.net are pretty accurate and extremely helpful for budgeting.

 

[crisi]

Something no one has mentioned is that you shouldn't go wild during your trip to Walmart. I recommend making a firm list of what you need and checking it twice. Impulse buys at the store can wreck your budget for impulse buys for a snack in the parks later. If you are going to be going non-stop in the parks, you won't want to head back to your campsite to eat.

Those menus over at Allears.net are pretty accurate and extremely helpful for budgeting.

I've done that - gone wild at the grocery store and ended up not eating half of what I bought.

I'd concentrate your dining dollars on what you can't do from the grocery store on your trip and what is "special"- for instance, I wouldn't do Earl of Sandwich because a sandwich is easy enough to make from the grocery store (don't forget the cooler) for cheaper. I'd avoid the burger/fry meals, because they are easy to eat anywhere. Pizza all over Disney is lousy, don't bother. At the same time, stick to what you know - this isn't the time to spend $8 on tabouli and discover you don't like it. So I'd stick to two things - hot meals (because it will get boring to eat sandwiches and cold snacks), and special things (you've always wanted to try a Dole Whip or sitting at the cafe with a pastry from the bakery in France).

I'd work on meals you can split - a rack of ribs - and then supplement with store bought snacks.

I'd make sure to buy a few energy bars (I like Clif bars), because they are filling and will keep you going.

I'd skip soda and go with water. Crystal light if you can't stand the water.

 

[ckelly10]

Earl of Sandwich at Down Town Disney is a great place for some snacks and sandwiches. Also depending on where you are staying ie if breakfast is included you can take make some sandwichs up in your hotel and take some cakes ect and use them for a afternoon snack

 

[missnic]

We drive over, and usually stop at ikea and pick up cinnamon rolls for breakfasts. $4 for 6 rolls and they're really good. We also bring poptarts and occasionally bring in leftover earl of sandwich.

 

[Totallytrue]

Something no one has mentioned is that you shouldn't go wild during your trip to Walmart. I recommend making a firm list of what you need and checking it twice. Impulse buys at the store can wreck your budget for impulse buys for a snack in the parks later. If you are going to be going non-stop in the parks, you won't want to head back to your campsite to eat.

Those menus over at Allears.net are pretty accurate and extremely helpful for budgeting.

Thank you! Believe it or not, I was planning on just going to Walmart and buying what looks good! I would have too, if not for this advice

 

[pampam]

Another thing you might want to consider is cooking some meals yourself. You didn't say what resort you will be at, but if it is a disney resort, there are toasters and microwaves in the food courts. You could buy bacon and eggs ( at the contemporary or fort wilderness if you don't want to make a grocery run off property) and cook it up for breakfast or dinner etc. I pack plastic bowls to scramble and cook my eggs in. If you wanted canned spaghetti, beans, soup, etc you could do the same thing. Also if any huge meals you are served, you can bring the left overs back, refrigerate them, and eat them the next day.

Another thing we have done, is gotten coupons from restaurant.com. There are several restaurants on Hotel Plaza (DTD) such at the Giraffe restaurant in Royal Plaza hotel, and Adiamo at the Hilton, or Kooks at Buena Vista Palace. We have eatten really well and frugally at these places.