Suggestions for a young couple on a budget

[julietcf14]

My bf and I are taking a vacation to wdw in may. We are grad students in our late 20s on a budget ( so the super expensive places are probably not great for us). I was hoping to get some advice on the bet places to have a nice dinner with good food without going broke. The list is just so long that it's overwhelming so we were hoping you guys could tell us what places you think would be he best for us to look into! Thanks!

 

[tinkgirl1984]

Let me start off by saying that I'm a big fan of Signature dining...I was raised by foodies, and on family trips, it's Signatures all the way. That being said, I'm 26 and getting ready to go back to grad school in the fall to be a nurse anesthetist, and most of my friends are still in grad school also...so I'm pretty well versed in budget trips to WDW.
*If you're staying at one of the values or mods, breakfast in the food court is awesome! It's very good, as well as convenient and cheap. I could eat breakfast pizza at POP every day for a whole trip Another good option if you're not big breakfast eaters is to bring things with you like pop tarts and granola bars to keep in the room.
*I'm a big fan of counter service. There are some really great places out there. I really enjoy Pecos Bill's and Columbia Harbor House in MK. In Epcot, Sunshine Seasons, La Cantina de San Angel and Tangierine Cafe are all very good. I also really like the sushi and udon combo plates at Yakitori House. DHS has Starring Rolls (really good sandwiches and desserts). And I like both Flame Tree BBQ and Yak and Yeti CS at AK. Also, you should definitely check out Earl of Sandwich, Cookes of Dublin and Wolfgang Puck Express at Downtown Disney.
*My favorite budget TS places are Les Chefs de France (really only for lunch, the prix fixe menu is awesome), Sanaa, 50's Prime Time, Sci Fi, The Plaza, GF Cafe, Kona, Via Napoli is do-able if you share, House of Blues and Raglan Road. I find it's much cheaper to stay away from the buffets as I would never eat enough to justify the price of them.
Hope that helps! Have a great trip.

 

[smiths02]

Remember that lunch is cheaper at most places, so try that for table service. This is also a nice time to take a break. If you really want to try a character meal...try the last seating for breakfast, which would be the cheapest meal...plus you get time to do rides in the am and chances are you wontbe hungry later

Bring your own bottles of water or canteens. Bring your own other snacks

Split meals.

DH and I ate lunch at Crystal Palace and lunch at Sci Fi on our first trip...we had fun! Also, eat off site if you have to

 

[Hootch]

of tables service locations have a more casual menu with sandwiches at $10 - $12. You can get the atmosphere for a lower price.

People complain about the choices at counter service locations bu there are a variety of choices that are good.

One note on House of Blues, they have a happy hour between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM and after 10:00 PM where drinks are cheaper and appetizers are half price. Thet also sometimes have coupons on restaurant.com.

My wife (then fiance) did Disney our last year of grad school. I was certainly broke by that time but we were able to swing it.

Enjoy

 

[pumba]

if you are opting for cs meals.....there are plenty of places that are good and filling......Cosmic Rays at MK have some good meals. Half of a chicken with potatoes and veggies....around 10 dollars...

Some of the resort restaurants have good sit down meals too.....Like Port Orleans Riverside......and also the cs meals are great....you dont have to have burgers and fries or chicken tenders and fries at your meals ....

TS meals are good at lunchtimes.....check out our dining area with the restaurants and menus and sometime the right cost...

have fun planning

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Even some of the signature restaurants can be affordable if you order reasonably. The last time we went to the California Grill, we just shared a sushi roll, flatbreads and a dessert. I think the same thing could be done to great effect at Citricos and Jiko. Also keep in mind that all of these places have nice lounges that are well suited for this type of meal.

My favorite less expensive table-service restaurants are Kouzzina, the Coral Reef, Sanaa, the Grand Floridian Café and the Kona Café. Once again, Sanaa and the Kona Café have wonderful appetizer menus and you can easily build a nice lunch or dinner just by sampling two or three.

There are some decent bars that have great food for a more casual lunch or dinner as well. The Cabana Bar at the Dolphin is a real hidden gem. They have some of the best sandwiches and pub food if you just want to relax a little at lunch.

 

[smiths02]

There are also a few non-Disney operated restaurants on property that take restaurant.com certificates. If you google a coupon code, you can usually get a $25 restaurant.com certificate for $ 2-3.

 

[happytexasmom]

have you thought about doing a breakfast? Those are usually cheaper and if you do it late (ex. 11pm) it will hold you off for most of the day. We love Crystal Palace for breakfast, even if your are not intrested in the characters, the food is yummy.
Also, if your staying onsite you may want to look into the dining plan for $45-$47 you could get a TS meal a CS meal and a snack
Either way hope you guys have a great time, there is so much to do and see that even if you do not do any TS meals you gonna have a great time!

 

[happytexasmom]

sorry meant 11am

 

[Pakey]

Another thing to consider is that WDW's portions are huge. My husband and I can easily split an appetizer/entree at most of the restaurants.

The portions at the signatures are smaller but I can't think of any 1TS restaurants where I can finish the food on my own.

If you are wanting a nicer atmosphere at a cheaper price, I'd look at Saana at AKL, Grand Floridian Cafe at GF, Captains Grille at YC, Turf Club at SSR, the Wave at CR and Rose and Crown at Epcot. For fun, look at Sci Fi at DHS and Ragland Road at DTD.

 

[runner_princess]

We've been in the same boat when we were both in grad school. We tried to schedule two meals a day: a late brunch and a 6:00ish dinner, and brought snacks for the in-between. The other thing that saved us money was the dining plan - DH figured it saved around $20-$25 a day.

 

[yanna]

Another thing to consider is that WDW's portions are huge. My husband and I can easily split an appetizer/entree at most of the restaurants.

The portions at the signatures are smaller but I can't think of any 1TS restaurants where I can finish the food on my own.

If you are wanting a nicer atmosphere at a cheaper price, I'd look at Saana at AKL, Grand Floridian Cafe at GF, Captains Grille at YC, Turf Club at SSR, the Wave at CR and Rose and Crown at Epcot. For fun, look at Sci Fi at DHS and Ragland Road at DTD.

This is a great tip.... The splitting of an appetizer or entree would probably help save a lot! Thanks! I'm a newb to Walt Disney World (Won't be going until next year), but what are some of the restaurants that do have these larger portions?

 

[smiths02]

Just looked on restaurant.com...again, if you find a coupon code, you can get $25 gift certificates for $2-3
They have:
Shula's steakhouse at Swan&Dolphin
Todd English Bluezoo at Swan& Dolphin
Il Mulino Swan&Dolphin
House of Blues
Garden Grove at Swan& Dolphin
Kimonos Swan& Dolphin

Some of those places are pretty expensive, you would have to look at the menus online and decide ahead of time

 

[anolen300]

My bf and I are taking a vacation to wdw in may. We are grad students in our late 20s on a budget ( so the super expensive places are probably not great for us). I was hoping to get some advice on the bet places to have a nice dinner with good food without going broke. The list is just so long that it's overwhelming so we were hoping you guys could tell us what places you think would be he best for us to look into! Thanks!

Me and DW aren't into the real expensive places, just can't make ourselves try some of the stuff we can't even pronounce . The places we love that are on the more reasonable side are: 50's Diner, Pecos Bills, Flame Tree BBQ, Starlight Cafe, Planet Hollywood (using the coupon we get with room package), and Pop Cafe is actually good too.

 

[boggsm4]

I'm in my 20's as well we usually get the dining plan and eat at more expensive restaurants but this yr we are on a budget as well...Earl of sandwich in DTD is really good and good prices...you can look up their menu and prices online...also go to restaurants.com and there are discounted gift certificates on there...put in the Orlando zip code and there are some swan and dolphin resturants on there and the house of blues restaurant in DTD on there. We bought on for this year and they work....we bought a $50 one for $4! there Are other amounts on there we just bought that one b/c we have 6 pol with us and it is required you have to spend $100 dollars in order to use the $50 gift certificate. With the $25 you must spend $35 so it is well worth it!

 

[Niki in NJ]

I know all too well about saving money on food in disney!! My fiance is in med school and I'm in a PhD program - we basically have negative income
Do lots of advance planning by looking at menus online to see restaurant prices. As others have suggested, we always share if we do TS meals because the portions are usually large. There are a lot of affordable CS meals. We haven't done it in the past, but we have the dining plan for our June trip because we got the free dining pin. Before booking under the pin I did a lot of research on dining plans, and it seems as if many really advocate for it. Basically for under $100 a day you could have 2 TS, 2 CS, and 2 snacks. Something to maybe think about...