Shareable size meals?

[bowmandanielle]

We are going to WDW for the first time in 35 days!!! It will be myself,Dh,DS(9) and DD(7). What are some of the places to eat that have sharable size meals...and are ok with sharing? (Do they even allow sharing at sit down restaurants) I plan to have breakfast in the room in the morning, lunch in the park and dinner is kinda play by ear depending on kids stamina. I am trying to get somewhat of a game plan together before we arrive and are totally over whelmed by it all.

 

[powellrj]

Many people report they share meals. We have never been able to. I guess it depends on how much your family eats. I will say, we really aren't snack people, so we tend to eat meals and not snack much.

 

[Marionnette]

We are going to WDW for the first time in 35 days!!! It will be myself,Dh,DS(9) and DD(7). What are some of the places to eat that have sharable size meals...and are ok with sharing? (Do they even allow sharing at sit down restaurants) I plan to have breakfast in the room in the morning, lunch in the park and dinner is kinda play by ear depending on kids stamina. I am trying to get somewhat of a game plan together before we arrive and are totally over whelmed by it all.

You cannot "share" meals at any of the character meals nor at the dinner shows or other all-you-can-eat establishments.

Some TS restaurants will permit you to share without a problem while others will charge you for the extra plate. I prefer to order an appetizer for my entree rather than share a meal if I am not hungry. Splitting a dessert never seems to be a problem at TS locations.

The kids' meals are not very large and can be ordered by an adult at CS locations. They definitely cannot be shared unless the adults have very small appetites. However, they can help to stretch your budget if you don't want to pay $10+ for an adult lunch. Children's meals run about $6-$8 and they include a small beverage.

My daughter (age 24) and I can easily split a shawarma platter or a vegetable platter at Tangierine Cafe in Epcot. However, the meal is not something that most children would be interested in eating (lentils, tabbouleh, couscous).

Other than that, there are not a lot of super-large meals that are good for splitting with another person. Disney used to be notorious for their oversized platters, but they have really downsized portions over the last few years. You won't walk away hungry, but they are no longer big enough for two adults to eat and feel satisfied.

I've seen suggestions that you bring along some "additions" to stretch out a meal. Perhaps some hummus and cut vegetables, pre-packaged apple slices or a power mix of nuts and dried fruit. When you add those to a meal that you buy at a CS location, you might be able to split the meal with another person.

 

[Ali]

My family doesn't share meals either, except for the french fries. We all get an entree. I think you could probably buy an adult sized meal for the kids to share and buy an extra drink. If you are someone who eats like a bird then maybe you could share the chicken plate at Cosmic rays.

I always wonder how people share meals. The burgers are now 1 patty, but thicker so you could cut them in half, I guess, if half a burger will satisfy you.

I think there are probably pictures of foods on the web somewhere so you could see what people are buying and trying to share.

Good luck!

 

[jsmla]

I just returned from visiting WDW with two girls ages 10 and 13 and we shared two counter service meals between the three of us several times. At Animal Kingdom we shared one order of the Beef Lo Mein and a side of fried rice and had leftovers. Off the top of my head we also shared:

Mexico/Epcot-one order of nachos and one kid's empanadas meal

Riverside Mill/Port Orleans Riverside-one build your own pasta and one build your own salad

Riverside Mill/Port Orleans Riverside-two chicken nugget meals (adult)

We each ordered our own meal at Be Our Guest lunch due to individual tastes but had a ton of leftovers from both the turkey and beef sandwiches. The thirteen year old did eat all of her kids' pasta meal.

We also shared one breakfast meal (supplemented with bagels brought from home) several times.

 

[Moniqu17]

My husband and I share cs meals quite often. Some places will have option like flame tree bbq where you can get ribs and chicken. It cost more but less than two separate meals. It's easy to share at Sunshine seasons in epcot which is cs meal but nicer like a sit down. We will share the rotisserie chicken and 2 sides.

It's more of a stretch to share a burger and fries but you might be able to get away with the burger, fried shrimp and fries meal at ABC commissary.

You can go to all ears to get a feel for menus and what's included in the price. Some places will have more selection that make it easier to share than others. Also if we are hungry and need a snack we feel better about buying and sharing a dole whip later on!

 

[MomRN]

In my experience, my husband and I were never able to share a meal. However, if I wasn't "starving" but could stand to eat a bite and my ds (7) wasn't complaining of being hungry we could often share an adult meal.

 

[North of Mouse]

I just returned from visiting WDW with two girls ages 10 and 13 and we shared two counter service meals between the three of us several times. At Animal Kingdom we shared one order of the Beef Lo Mein and a side of fried rice and had leftovers. Off the top of my head we also shared:

Mexico/Epcot-one order of nachos and one kid's empanadas meal

Riverside Mill/Port Orleans Riverside-one build your own pasta and one build your own salad

Riverside Mill/Port Orleans Riverside-two chicken nugget meals (adult)

We each ordered our own meal at Be Our Guest lunch due to individual tastes but had a ton of leftovers from both the turkey and beef sandwiches. The thirteen year old did eat all of her kids' pasta meal.

We also shared one breakfast meal (supplemented with bagels brought from home) several times.

Wow, y'all must eat like birds to have 'tons' of leftovers! Either that or you do lots of snacking. We don't, and as others have said, don't find the meals very large at all if you are hungry and really mostly eat at mealtimes. And, no, we are not considered 'big eaters' either! Just ready to eat with all that walking exercise.

 

[texasroni75]

We share at nearly every meal in WDW. We don't eat like birds, and we do include a dessert with our meal or a shared snack after the meal. We just found that when we each order our own meal, we have a lot left over (enough that we feel like we have wasted money). If we find that one or all of us is still hungry enough we may go back up and purchase another meal. That rarely happens though.

I like to watch others getting their food before us to judge if the portions are enough for us. It's pretty easy to do when you are eating at a CS location - if the portions look too small, order more!

Now, if I was there without my kids, would I be able to finish a CS meal by myself? Probably - but likely I'd be doing it to not feel like I'm wasting, and not because I was SO hungry I really needed it all. I can honestly say I have never felt deprived or suffering by sharing - even when I went to WDW pregnant and I was pretty cranky and not shy about expressing it if I felt I wasn't getting enough food .

 

[Marionnette]

We share at nearly every meal in WDW. We don't eat like birds, and we do include a dessert with our meal or a shared snack after the meal. We just found that when we each order our own meal, we have a lot left over (enough that we feel like we have wasted money). If we find that one or all of us is still hungry enough we may go back up and purchase another meal. That rarely happens though.

I like to watch others getting their food before us to judge if the portions are enough for us. It's pretty easy to do when you are eating at a CS location - if the portions look too small, order more!

Now, if I was there without my kids, would I be able to finish a CS meal by myself? Probably - but likely I'd be doing it to not feel like I'm wasting, and not because I was SO hungry I really needed it all. I can honestly say I have never felt deprived or suffering by sharing - even when I went to WDW pregnant and I was pretty cranky and not shy about expressing it if I felt I wasn't getting enough food .

Could you tell us where you are getting all of these shareable meals? Anyone can make that claim (and it's not that I'm doubting that you've been able to make it work for your own situation) but without a point of reference, it really doesn't help.

A PP mentioned sharing a kids' empanada meal and a serving of nachos between 3 people. It works fine for her, but looking at a picture of those meals, I can already see that it would never work for my husband, my daughter and me to share the same thing. All three of us would walk away, still feeling hungry. So, scratch another one off the list for me!

 

[tinkerone]

not sure if this will help but here is a link to the food pictures at wdw.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2284684&page=255

it should give you some ideas.

 

[texasroni75]

Ok! Our last trip we were a group of 2 Adults, 2 kids (one age 9 and one 12) and a toddler. I'm pretty sure I posted a few on another thread somewhere, but here goes:

Pizza Planet - 2 adult meals here with dessert - easily fed us all. In fact, I remember having some cupcake left over.

American Pavillion at Epcot - 2 adult meals here and one child meal. We split it among our group of 5.

We also split meals at Tangierine Cafe in Morocco Pavilion at Epcot, Sunshine Seasons in Future World, and Pinnocchio Village Haus In MK. (See below)

Two adult meals, one child's meal. Split among our group of 5.

The Shawarma platters from Morocco - they were enormous - I think they were the biggest of any meal we had our entire trip. We bought 2 of them (and one child's chicken nugget meal) and we pretty much left one entire platter still intact.

 

[Marionnette]

Ok! Our last trip we were a group of 2 Adults, 2 kids (one age 9 and one 12) and a toddler. I'm pretty sure I posted a few on another thread somewhere, but here goes:

Pizza Planet - 2 adult meals here with dessert - easily fed us all. In fact, I remember having some cupcake left over.

American Pavillion at Epcot - 2 adult meals here and one child meal. We split it among our group of 5.

We also split meals at Tangierine Cafe in Morocco Pavilion at Epcot, Sunshine Seasons in Future World, and Pinnocchio Village Haus In MK. (See below)

Two adult meals, one child's meal. Split among our group of 5.

The Shawarma platters from Morocco - they were enormous - I think they were the biggest of any meal we had our entire trip. We bought 2 of them (and one child's chicken nugget meal) and we pretty much left one entire platter still intact.

Thank you for taking the time to share your info. I can see how those portions might satisfy 2 adult women and 3 kids (one of whom is a toddler). My family of 5 (2 adult women, 2 young men and 1 middle age guy) would starve on those meals. My boys would laugh at the two personal pizzas and ask me when their food was coming!

It really depends on the ages and gender composition of your group.

 

[lions1995]

Cosmic Rats has some larger meals. I think one is a chicken and ribs combo.

 

[monorailsilver]

Wolfgang pucks express has pretty big portions too.

 

[jsmla]

Wow, y'all must eat like birds to have 'tons' of leftovers! Either that or you do lots of snacking. We don't, and as others have said, don't find the meals very large at all if you are hungry and really mostly eat at mealtimes. And, no, we are not considered 'big eaters' either! Just ready to eat with all that walking exercise.

Just the occasional shared snack-popcorn or a pretzel, that kind of thing. I am a light(ish) eater. The 10 year old ate like a bird. She's a two spoons of mac and cheese and then it's, "I'm full." kinda kid. She, maybe, ate three bites of her sandwich and a couple of fries at Be Our Guest. We did share a "grey stuff" cupcake which she managed to choke down ;-)

Here's the (kinda gross, sorry) evidence from the Yak and Yeti counter service.

 

[jsmla]

Could you tell us where you are getting all of these shareable meals? Anyone can make that claim (and it's not that I'm doubting that you've been able to make it work for your own situation) but without a point of reference, it really doesn't help.

A PP mentioned sharing a kids' empanada meal and a serving of nachos between 3 people. It works fine for her, but looking at a picture of those meals, I can already see that it would never work for my husband, my daughter and me to share the same thing. All three of us would walk away, still feeling hungry. So, scratch another one off the list for me!

Not three adults, just one 53 year old and two girls-10 and 13. Wish I had a picture from Mexico but we actually had a few leftover chips there!

ETA: In all fairness, I have to admit that, while DD (now 26) and I always shared at Disney-something we still do in most restaurants, it would have been ridiculous to expect that from the guys in our family. Our DS could eat two adult meals and be hungry half an hour later. Everybody's different-I missed soooo many desserts as a kid because I was never a member of the clean plate club.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I think you could split 3 meals over 4 people but not 2 meals over 4 people. I often just order kids meals for myself. I totally admit to being a picky eater and can almost never finish an adult meal myself. Our kids are little but do well with the kids meals also.

 

[bowmandanielle]

Thanks for the replys. Myself and the kids are not big eaters so it looks like we could share a few meals and be ok. I will bring things in our bag incase they get hungry in between meals. And i will definitely be the lady watching other peoples food before we order!

 

[Disney845]

Places that I can remember sharing and being satisfied include:
- La Cantina de San Angel in Epcot's Mexico pavilion, we have shared the nacho plate on more than one occasion and have not finished it
- Pizzafari at AK and Toy Story Pizza Planet at HS, we have shared the personal pizza and side salad meal (I would eat salad and 1 slice of pizza, he would eat 3 slices of pizza)
- Yak and Yeti Cafe (not sit down) at AK - we have shared honey chicken and side of rice
- Columbia Harbor House at MK - we have shared the chicken nugget and fish meal (he would eat the fish, I would eat nuggets, and share fries)
- Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD - we have shared a pizza

Disclaimers: SO (adult male) and I (adult female) do not generally split anything because we have different taste/desires when it comes time to eat. At counter service, I could easily eat a child's meal and be satisfied with the serving of food, but I rarely am interested in the offerings, so normally get my own adult meal. The only thing we would split at a sit down restaurant might be an appetizer or dessert, but never entrees. We do snack, so are never "starving" at meal times. We more often than not get separate beverages due to taste preferences.