Recommendations for one TS meal, CS meals for diverse needs, plus food payment strategies

[Little E]

We are headed to DL for our first, and quite possibly our only, trip in August of this year. I know the 60 day window for making dining reservations is fast approaching. We plan on bringing breakfast and snack stuff, so we can do breakfast in our room and carry snacks in the parks to avoid "hangry" moments. We plan on doing CS meals for lunch and dinner. However, I'd like to do one TS meal while we are there.

Here's the scoop on my family...I'm traveling with DH, DS16, and DS14. My guys are very ride centric...we don't do a lot of parades, shows, or M & Gs, which is why they prefer CS meals to TS meals. DH and I will eat pretty much anything, DS16 is a moderately adventurous eater, while DS14 is picky, picky, picky. For basically every WDW trip we've ever taken, he has eaten chicken strips or hot dogs at every restaurant. We all like steak, pizza, and/or pasta. I'm a new GF eater, which adds a new twist to finding places for us to eat, too.

We have always done the WDW dining plan on previous WDW trips, so paying OOP without magic bands has me thrown for a loop too. With this in mind:

1. Based on what my family eats, what TS restaurant would you recommend? My guys do NOT want character dining of any kind.

2. What CS places would you recommend, based on my family's info above?

3. What's your strategy for paying for food at DL? Because we have always done the DDP at WDW, food has pretty much been paid for before we start our trip. I'm not sure how to budget for food and how to most efficiently pay for it. Is it best to set aside cash to pay for meals? Disney gift cards? Pre paid VISA? Any advice or info anyone could share would be so greatly appreciated.

 

[smartlabelprint]

My favorite counter service in Disneyland: French Market
My favorite quick service in Disneyland: Bengal BBQ (Vegetarian so I get the veg skewer)
We've been to Jolly Holiday with my gf/df kids and they were very helpful. We didn't go there last trip but I plan to in December.
Sometimes we go to plaza inn. DH usually gets the fried chicken. I have to get salad or pasta which I wasn't impressed with there. I don't know, the pasta always seems a little watery like they didn't drain it properly. Odd.
My fave table service is Blue Bayou. People always make comments about how the food isn't great, especially for the price. But I'm not a foodie and I've always liked my salmon. DH has always been happy with his steak. We love the atmosphere. It's acceptable for kids. We made the 11:30 am reservation because our kids eat early. We were seated waterfront. Next time I'm not sure we'll take my kids. They are disabled (FASD) and I wasn't able to enjoy my meal as much as usual. They usually do really well eating out but possibly being overstimulated from the park doesn't allow that for us. We eat here once a trip. Usually we have one of my sibs watch the kids while we dine. We will definitely do that again. My next trip is me and a sib but her budget doesn't afford it so we probably won't go there this time.

My fave at DCA is Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta. It didn't take much longer to get a gf df pizza for our kids.We eat here every trip.
My fave snack is at award wieners. They have a delicious vegetarian option. However, the bun is different and the portions are a lot smaller since they added fries that this location. I am seriously considering skipping this trip. I found a copy cat recipe online and it is very similar Plus I don't have to use the mushrooms since I don't like them.
I liked the veg chili in a cone at the cone #3 this trip. Very much. I didn't eat the cone. Looked gross. I think they can put it in a cup.
We have eaten at Wine Country Trattoria for table service. I've never been super impressed but all was OK--just not much in the way of vegetarian choices. We haven't eaten there since we wanted to do WOC seating several years ago.
I haven't tried Carthay Circle. The menu seems too out there and a little expensive for me. I AM going on the free tour next trip since I'll be alone!
I've been to the bread bowl soup place in DCA. It was Ok. I haven't been back in awhile but if my sis wanted to go I'd go.

If you want Mexican while you're in the park avoid the Cocina Cucamonga in DCA it is wayyyy worse than the one in DL. But at DL we quit eating at that one when the value seemed to go down. They had a 3 taco platter. Then it changed to 2... It's not amazing but it's good. So thats a good option IMO.

I like to look at the menus on http://allears.net/dlr/dining/menus.htm

 

[smartlabelprint]

Oh, I also want to add that we buy disney gift cards for 5% off at target using our target card. That's how I pay. But the problem with that is not being able to order in the app now...

 

[agamble]

For your ordering I would just pay with your credit card so you can do mobile ordering. Although you lose the convenience of the dining plan, you won't be overpaying for your picky kids dining.

If you are all fans of steak consider the steak house at the Grand for your table service.

People love the hot dogs at the little Red Wagon. They would be fast. If your boys would prefer fries over chips they can order corndogs at the Stage Door cafe.

We enjoy both Mexican Restaurants. Rancho has great burritos for your big eaters. You could get tacos or a salad that are GF. Cocina Cucumanga in DCA has a wonderful salad. It's also in a cafeteria style area on the Wharf at DCA. This would make it easy for your boys to get soup bowls at the cafe while you have something without bread.

Really there are a lot of CS restaurants to choose from and you can find plenty of GF items. My mom said the GF hamburger buns are pretty good.

 

[AustinTink]

People love the hot dogs at the little Red Wagon.

Don't they only sell corn dogs at The Little Red Wagon? We always get hot dogs at the Coke corner on Main Street and at Award wieners at DCA.

 

[AustinTink]

When my son was still a picky eater (thankfully he grew out of it) we would always book a TS at Naples so he could get his pizza and pasta fix. For a steak inside the parks, the Blue Bayou has a decent bone-in ribeye. We go there every trip.

The fried chicken at the Plaza Inn is really good and a nice option for CS that feels more like a sit down option.

 

[ParkHopper1]

If you are staying on site, you can enable charge privileges on each guests hotel room key and it all gets charged back to the room for any in park purchases (not DTD FYI except Disney owned and operated stores). Almost everywhere including food carts accepts credit cards thus room charge privileges and gift cards...roaming vendors do not.

Other option is to pre load your food budget onto Disney Gift Card and distribute to each person which can be used for anything including putting the balance of the card towards your room payment on the last day should you have any $$ left on them.

 

[agamble]

Don't they only sell corn dogs at The Little Red Wagon? We always get hot dogs at the Coke corner on Main Street and at Award wieners at DCA.

Corn dogs are also at the Stage Door Cafe in Frontierland and they sell them next to Goofys Sky school too.

 

[Malcon10t]

You like steak? Steakhouse 55!! I try and make it there every other trip. And they are great with gluten free!

CS - Rancho is good, and we love French Market.

 

[AustinTink]

Corn dogs are also at the Stage Door Cafe in Frontierland and they sell them next to Goofys Sky school too.

No, sorry, I worded that poorly. I meant they don't sell hot dogs at Red Wagon. Only corndogs. And, now, I am craving a corndog! Darn it.

 

[azdisneylover]

We are headed to DL for our first, and quite possibly our only, trip in August of this year. I know the 60 day window for making dining reservations is fast approaching. We plan on bringing breakfast and snack stuff, so we can do breakfast in our room and carry snacks in the parks to avoid "hangry" moments. We plan on doing CS meals for lunch and dinner. However, I'd like to do one TS meal while we are there.

Here's the scoop on my family...I'm traveling with DH, DS16, and DS14. My guys are very ride centric...we don't do a lot of parades, shows, or M & Gs, which is why they prefer CS meals to TS meals. DH and I will eat pretty much anything, DS16 is a moderately adventurous eater, while DS14 is picky, picky, picky. For basically every WDW trip we've ever taken, he has eaten chicken strips or hot dogs at every restaurant. We all like steak, pizza, and/or pasta. I'm a new GF eater, which adds a new twist to finding places for us to eat, too.

We have always done the WDW dining plan on previous WDW trips, so paying OOP without magic bands has me thrown for a loop too. With this in mind:

1. Based on what my family eats, what TS restaurant would you recommend? My guys do NOT want character dining of any kind.



2. What CS places would you recommend, based on my family's info above?

3. What's your strategy for paying for food at DL? Because we have always done the DDP at WDW, food has pretty much been paid for before we start our trip. I'm not sure how to budget for food and how to most efficiently pay for it. Is it best to set aside cash to pay for meals? Disney gift cards? Pre paid VISA? Any advice or info anyone could share would be so greatly appreciated.

Welcome to this side of the boards!

3. When we go to DL, we carry a few Disney gift cards loaded to the max just for meals/snacks. We also have Starbucks cards, Jamba Juice and sometimes Patina Group (Naples, Napolini,Tortilla Joes,Tortilla Joes Take out,Catals in DTD). We also have cash.

1. TS DL = I would suggest Carnation Cafe. We (family of 5, 3 teenagers) all agree on eating here at least once every trip. Everything on the menu is delicious with generous size portions. We never have room for dessert. When we have MM, we will make reservations for an early lunch around 11:30.
DCA = Haven't had a TS in DCA.
DTD = Tortilla Joe's is good Mexican food for a good price. (They do have hot dogs on the menu .) This a another place the family agrees on eating at on our trips. Nachos are large, the guacamole is so good. Chicken burrito is huge.
Naples is nice place to sit and enjoy a meal. We usually go to the Napolini take out window to get the pizza to go.
Jamba Juice is where we go to grab a smoothie (with boosters) to keep everyone hydrated. It helps keep the immune system fighting all the germs at the parks too. DH had a breakfast burrito or two from here. He likes them.

2. CS DL = After MM, if we are in Tomorrowland, we will get a late breakfast at Galactic Grill (Tomorrowland Terrace). DH loves the breakfast burrito. We haven't had lunch or dinner from here in a long time, so we can't say.
Pizza Port (by Space Mountain) has a variety of food. It is a bit loud for me. We sampled a lot of Pixar food there. It was nice inside because of the air conditioner running full blast. My kids snacked a lot on churros (lots of different flavors to try, specialty doughnuts, etc), all the places we got snacks from took Disney gift cards.
DCA = Fidler, Fifer & Practical (Starbucks) for a light breakfast, a sandwich, salad, or something sweet along with a great beverage from Starbucks. If you have a Starbucks card, you earn points, but you can't use them here at this location. Their turkey sandwich is good, as well as their salads. A great place to grab something to sit and watch the hustle and bustle on Buena Vista Street. Clarabelles next door has Dreyers Ice Cream. We will get the Mickey's kitchen sink. Great souvenir too.
Flo's Diner has a good breakfast. We all can find something to eat and we always get the fruit platter to share. They recently changed up the menu, so, I can't say how good dinner is. I know the roasted chicken with the mashed potatoes and mixed veggies was so good, and large enough for two to share. The shakes (in a souvenir cup) are very good. Nice place to grab a table by the window and watch the racer cars go by or the crowds while you dine.
Cozy Cones have yummy snacks in cones. I love the different flavored popcorn and a Pear-O-Dice drink, and a seat on the bench to people watch for a bit.
Paradise Wharf = every eatery there has good food with good sized portions. You can't go wrong. I suggest checking out the menus. Figment posts lots of pictures of the foods sold at the parks. I hope someone links one of the threads.
Smokejumpers Grill has good burgers, chicken nuggets, onion rings. Food is good, but every time we go there, I get slightly disappointed because of the name of the place, I expect smoked/bbq meats. (Like ribs, chicken, etc). Nope.

Grand Californian Hotel - White Water Snacks. This place has something for everyone. The downfall to this place, IMO, is they close too early. (9 pm). You can enter GCH by Grizzly Rapids. You enter the hotel and make a left, go down to the end and you are there. Very peaceful in here, lots of choices. Steak/chicken nachos, pizza, burgers, chicken nuggets, salads, sandwiches, etc. Great place to grab a bite to eat and plan the rest of the day. If you have MaxPass, you can pull passes and be close to the parks to head back in! Bathrooms are next door to WWS too. This place takes Disney gift cards.

I suggest pulling up the menus and see the $$ to get a guestimate on food. Our teenagers eat/snack nonstop. Check out the threads with pictures so you can see the size of the food. Many of the dishes are large enough to share. (Helps to save room for the treats to try). Have fun planning!

 

[agamble]

No, sorry, I worded that poorly. I meant they don't sell hot dogs at Red Wagon. Only corndogs. And, now, I am craving a corndog! Darn it.

LOL! Completely my mistake. Yes, only corn dogs. Don't know why I said hotdogs. We don't eat meat so I haven't had a corndog in years. Disneyland's corndogs are good.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You can see the DLR menus (in park, hotels, DTD) on allears.net. This will help with finding places that can accommodate your family's needs and for budget estimates, too. The suggestions to use Disney gift cards are good. That will let you know exactly how much money you have in the food budget, how much you are spending each day and on what, and how much is leftover. If you need more, just add more money to the gift card. Steak, pizza, pasta, chicken strips, and hot dogs are all easily found on site. Naples in DTD will cover the pizza and pasta, also Pizza Planet (aka Pizza Port) in DL and Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta in DCA. Hot Dogs can be found at Refreshment/Coke Corner (various kinds) and Bratwurst at Troubadour Tavern in DL and at Award Wieners in DCA. Corn Dogs are at the Little Red Wagon (the best!) and Stagedoor Cafe in DL and at Corn Dog Castle (Spicy Corn Dog!) at DCA. Chicken strips are at various locations in both parks. Your youngest son will be able to order from the kids menu at all CS and TS locations if he prefers those menu choices -- you will pay the adult price and he will receive larger portions. GF at DLR should not be a big problem. You can a search on this forum for GF information. At any CS or TS location, you should be able to ask for a chef to speak with you about ingredient information or about cross contamination questions.

 

[Little E]

This is why I LOVE the Disboards! Thank you, everyone, for your feedback! This is so helpful!

One more question: at WDW, we always stay on site and pay for everything (snacks, souvenirs, etc.) using our magic bands. At the end of each day, we use Disney gift cards to pay down the balance at our resort. We are staying at the DHL, so I'm assuming we can do the same, minus the magic band? @ParkHopper1 indicated we could have our room keys connected to our cc (like magic bands), so I'm thinking that if we do that, we can charge everything to our room, and then use Disney gift cards to pay down the balance each day. Is my thinking correct here?

Again, thank you so much for all of the advice!

 

[Malcon10t]

This is why I LOVE the Disboards! Thank you, everyone, for your feedback! This is so helpful!

One more question: at WDW, we always stay on site and pay for everything (snacks, souvenirs, etc.) using our magic bands. At the end of each day, we use Disney gift cards to pay down the balance at our resort. We are staying at the DHL, so I'm assuming we can do the same, minus the magic band? @ParkHopper1 indicated we could have our room keys connected to our cc (like magic bands), so I'm thinking that if we do that, we can charge everything to our room, and then use Disney gift cards to pay down the balance each day. Is my thinking correct here?

Yes. You use your room key. It will have a "credit card like" number on the front so the cashiers can just add it to your room. There are a few locations you cannot do this, but the majority you can.

 

[DLfan4]

All the menus are online. so you can look at the menu, decide what your eating and basically plan out your meals and budget in advance.

For TS. if you all like steak, then i agree that the Steakhouse 55 is a good option for a TS. it is not in the park, it is outside the park.
if you all like pizza, then the Naples is a good option for a TS. it is not in the park, its in downtown disney.
if you all like pasta, then wine country tratoria in DCA is a a good option.

For CS hotdogs
Hotdogs at coke corner in DL. Regular HD, Chilli dog, and Ma&cheese dogs are the options.
Award wieners in DCA. regular dog, and a few other dogs like chilli dog or bacon dog and others.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

If you like buffet style dinners, this new option may work for you: New Italian Dinner Buffet Coming to the Paradise Pier Hotel - WDW Info.

 

[goooof1]

Love Steakhouse 55 (in DLH), but in the parks....go for Blue Bayou (TS). It is "iconic"....you are dining in Pirates of the Caribbean! (where else can you do that?!) Food is good, too. You can go for lunch right when it opens (~11:30 am) get there about 15 minutes early and ask for a waterside table. It is special!