Some Random ?'s

[ThreeMusketeers]

So, I'm planning all the dinners out for our trip, and need to keep budget in mind.

We are 6 adults and 3 kids...so the days we are in the parks and want to see Wishes or Fantasmic, I don't think we're going to want to leave to get meals then trudge all the way back.

What are some fairly inexpensive meal choices for dinner type service while at:

MK
and
MGM

And on that note:

Since we are going as a group, with kids ranging from 5-10, we're having a hard time deciding which is best Universal Stuidios or MGM.

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[lady9]

At MK try Cosmic Rays. There are lots of choices and many of the portions (1/2 chicken for example) can be split between people. The salads are quite large as well.

The only restaurant we like in MGM was Prime Time 50s, very fun, decent food but certainly not inexpensive. There are typical burger and hotdog places there are well.

For young children, I'd stick with MGM, older children would enjoy Universal.

 

[lindsmom]

I know this isn't what you were asking, but wanted to throw my two cents in - if you're thinking of budget, it will be a lot less expensive to add a day for MGM than to buy tix for Universal. I think that if you ever plan to go down again, the older children will like Universal, but for now they'll all enjoy MGM enough to justify saving the money this time around. That will make dinners more doable also.

 

[ceecee]

Yes, a lot less to add Hollywood Studios (aka MGM) to your package than Universal Studio tickets. We thought about doing two days at Universal, but it adds on a lot of $ since we wanted to stay in one of their hotels for the fast pass thing. Unless you are buying your Disney tickets and don't have the package deal.
MK has Cosmic Rays (better for the kids too) and we love Columbia Harbor House. Both are big meals and you can probably share.
Prime Time and Sci Fi (kids would like this)at HS are also large meals although not as cheap as counter serves. You could get early tickets to get a spot for Fantasmic at Mama Melrose and several other places.

 

[G2MAmber]

Not sure if you are looking for Sit down with servers but My family loves Casey's Corner at MK. And as for MGM I would vote for the 50's Primetime Cafe!! It is so fun and probably my favorite food in all of Disney World! I love some Grandma's cooking!

I would just stick with MGM. We went to Universal on our last trip and I wasn't that impressed with it at all. We ended up going back to MK in the afternoon.

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

SUCH a good point!!!!! (About mgm and $$ saving, I was showing dd rides from universal tonight and she was scared, so I think mgm will be good this time around! Saves us $$$ too! Awesome, thx guys!

 

[karliebug]

At HS counter service options good for kids are pizza planet and backlot express. Sit down options great for everyone are sci fi restarunt and Hollywood & Vine . You can get the Fantasmic package at H&V and it is a buffet with something for everyone and yummy desserts. At Mk, for sit down, try Crystal Palace. It is a character meal buffet or ride the monorail to the contemporary and do Chef Mickeys. None of these places is budget, but if you do a late lunch it is cheaper than dinner and if you do a late breakfast it is cheaper than lunch. We usually do Chef Mickeys or CP at the last breakfast seating around 10:30 and it keeps us full until dinner.

 

[tzolkin]

Not sure if you are looking for Sit down with servers but My family loves Casey's Corner at MK. And as for MGM I would vote for the 50's Primetime Cafe!! It is so fun and probably my favorite food in all of Disney World! I love some Grandma's cooking!

I would just stick with MGM. We went to Universal on our last trip and I wasn't that impressed with it at all. We ended up going back to MK in the afternoon.

Casey's is a tradition for our family. Every trip we usually go there twice. We get a few orders of the corn dog nuggets and fries (nacho sauce to dip ). We always say we're sharing because we're just eating it for a "snack" but we're always all full enough that we consider it a meal. One trip we did this while waiting for Wishes to start and then got an ice cream sundae to share.


OP- You mention planning out dinners and not wanting to leave an re-enter the park to eat. Do you mean that you don't want to leave at all that day or that you just don't want to leave at dinner time? We usually leave for a mid-day break. If you did that you could always eat somewhere else for lunch and then just get something quick in the park for dinner. Or you could eat some snacks in your room in the afternoon (we always have cheese, fruit, and veggies) and then eat a larger dinner in the park that evening.

Certainly every family is different, but we never eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Disney. Usually it's one large or maybe two smaller meals and mostly snacking. Even the basic TS and CS dining plans only offer two meals per day and others always mention having left over credits, so I don't think 3 full meals is something you will likely need to plan for.

 

[reginaastralis]

I have to agree about Universal, it's a little "older" in terms of rides. We have APs to Disney as a family, but my boyfriend and I have APs to Universal only. We go when my daughter is in school for "day dates" ... she just doesn't meet the height requirements on enough of the rides to make it worth it.