SUPER Cheap Eats - on & off property

[pixiewings71]

One thing to keep in mind is that the restaurants on Harbor Blvd. (McDonalds, Denny's, IHOP, etc.) prices are slightly inflated compared to your local restaurant, so it may not be entirely cheaper eating there. I'm not sure about the Mimi's Cafe though.

Denny's and Mimi's are not higher priced then our local restaurants (or the Denny's we stop at on our way from Nor Cal to So Cal). iHop is insanely overpriced, cost us over $50 to eat there with 4 people, 2 were kids and we didn't get appetizers or desserts, just your standard meals and drinks. We avoid the iHop.

OP do NOT Please.....do NOT eat at Captain Kidd's, even with the $8 buffet don't eat there, it's disgusting!! Such a waste of money!

We share at Rancho Del Zocalo, Plaza Inn (fried chicken & a side salad is plenty), Pizza Port (1 salad, 1 slice of pizza and we are good). As others have mentioned the corn dogs are huge!! And Taste Pilot's has good stuff as well, we don't really share there but we have in the past when we aren't that hungry.
In DTD we share at RFC, but the plate we get is just over $20 so that may not work for you. There's pizza available at Naples in DTD and don't forget to look for Happy Hours in the area. In DTD and at the GW, HH is always a good way to save money!
In the GW we like to eat at Bubba Gump, it's about $20 per plate but we can share easily, also at CPK or PF Chang's. PF Chang's won't really be budget but if you can find a coupon for a free appetizer you can do that and then 2 more dishes and you'll be full. We love the lettuce wraps there, so if you did the lettuce wraps and then a meat dish and a rice or noodle dish (they do have gluten free noodles) you'd be stuffed.

 

[Girimama33]

I have a questi about the Patina Group that some people mentioned. When you sign up for that do you put the state you want t use it in or the state you live in? Also, it asks your favorite restaurant.....Are the disney ones listed? Is it best to select one of those? I'm not sure if the discount is based on the things you select there so I want to be sure before I submit anything. THANKS!

When I signed up for mine, I selected Naples in DTD since you have to select something. I just got my certificate last week, and it does not state where I have to use it...so now I am thinking about moving my dinner to Catal.

 

[tnshsms]

bump.

 

[busymom232]

there is a brand new walmart that was just oppening as we left about 5 minutes from disneyland so i suggest getting snacks and all that there.... i must admit i didnt really find disneyland all that expensive food wise (maybe cause i was expecting it to be alot more) the charecter meals are crazy $$$ but thats cause your payin for the charecter time, also drinks and snacks are crazy but thats why u hit up walmart before.... but real meals i find about average and u get a fair amount of food... i would suggest an adult and a child sharing a meal when possible or even 2 kids sharing if possible as i know my 3 little ones hardly ate there food as they were so excited ot just get moving again so we all just ended up ordering 2-3 things between the 5 of us... the mexican place (rancho) was ok food ( i make amazing spanish food so thats why it was ok lol) and a good amount of food... test piloits is good we shared an order of chicken strips and a chili cheese fries between the 5 of us and were good..... and every resturant will work around gluten or other allergies... at goofys while we where there the table next to us had the chefs coming outevery few minutes with speical plates of food for someone at there table as they coudnt eat the buffet food

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We usually take breakfast items with us when we drive to WDW, but we are flying in for a trip to DLR. Is there someplace we can get something to have in the room? (cereal, breakfast bars, poptarts, milk) -- no car, and staying at DLH, so would need someplace close by (or is there something in the hotel we could stock up on and just have in the room, if not to save $, at least to save time in the mornings and not waste touring time)?

Whitewater Snacks in the GCH has a little store for milk, eggs, cereal packs, etc. Or you could order ahead from Vons.com and have your groceries delivered to your hotel. I believe the DLH will hold your groceries for you if you can't be there for delivery as long as the groceries don't include alcohol.

there is a brand new walmart that was just oppening as we left about 5 minutes from disneyland so i suggest getting snacks and all that there...

The new WalMart is located at Ball and Anaheim, behind the shoe store.

 

[jlmarr]

The new WalMart is located at Ball and Anaheim, behind the shoe store.

There is another one being built on Euclid and Katella, about a mile west of DLR, where the Pep Boys used to be. I understand it's going to be groceries only, not a full-blown WalMart.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Yes, the one on Ball also looks more like a grocery store than a mega WalMart.

 

[madmaxx]

I'm not sure if this helps, but I put together a menu with prices for our family trip this fall. Prices are rounded to the nearest .50 cents.

http://disneyland-california-menus.warpedvisions.org/

I'm hoping to use this quick menu in the parks (on my phone), so we can find reasonable priced meals before the kids hit bottom.

I was pleasantly surprised at breakfast prices overall. With some sharing, I should be able to feed the four of us for $20 on days we eat breakfast instead of lunch. For lunches, soup, chili, and gumbos look shareable and reasonably cheap.

 

[tylerandalexsmom]

Wow madmaxx! That is a great summary! I was actually going through and picking out where we want to eat and calculating how much to earmark for all the food we want (not to mention all the yummy snacks!) and trying to figure out how in the world we were going to fit it all in on our trip without doing nothing but eat and going in to a food coma! I kept clicking back and forth and trying to make notes....it was great you have it all together like that! Thanks for sharing!

 

[KalamityJane]

Yes, thank you SO much! That is a great resource!!

 

[jlmarr]

I believe the OP wanted walking distance options, but I'll throw this out there anyway:

- In-N-Out Burger in Fullerton, just north of Orangethorpe

- Costco food court in Fullerton, just north of the In-N-Out Burger. This one is an outdoor food court so no membership required here. Pizza by the slice, hot dog, soft drinks, and more.

Public transit to those two places would be via the OCTA #43 bus which runs north and south on Harbor Blvd. $1.50 each way, exact change. The In-N-Out Burger is just steps from the bus stop, and the Costco is across the parking lot from the next stop.

 

[madmaxx]

Yes, thank you SO much! That is a great resource!!

No problem! I'm hoping it makes it easier for us to find good eats and keep our budget too.

 

[disneychrista]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We will have a car, so don't need to be walking distance. We are trying to cut the budget as much as possible because as I like to call it this is a "Disneyland or Bust" trip. My friend & I have been trying to get her daughter to Disneyland for 2 years.

When I go, I have a lot more wiggly room in the budget, than she will. Right now we have a 2day/3 night trip down (for 2) to $725 and trying to cut $25 off her portion. At this point food is the only way to do it. She plans to bring lots of snacks from home and if possible we will eat cheaply off site for dinner (parks close at 8).

 

[KalamityJane]

If you haven't found this site yet, it has tons of coupons for the restaurants on Harbor - you can also sign up for Mimi's and some of the other restaurants on there and they will send you coupons as well.

http://anaheimoc.org/coupons

 

[I❤MICKEY]

Oggi's in front of Homewood was super yummy and on our receipt there was a BOGO coupon for our next visit. When we were there using the coupon a table gave us their receipt because they were going home. We ate there 3 times last week. We really liked it. Huge variety, good beer and my kids enjoyed it too.

 

[Mary09]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We will have a car, so don't need to be walking distance. We are trying to cut the budget as much as possible because as I like to call it this is a "Disneyland or Bust" trip. My friend & I have been trying to get her daughter to Disneyland for 2 years.

When I go, I have a lot more wiggly room in the budget, than she will. Right now we have a 2day/3 night trip down (for 2) to $725 and trying to cut $25 off her portion. At this point food is the only way to do it. She plans to bring lots of snacks from home and if possible we will eat cheaply off site for dinner (parks close at 8).

What days are you going and where are you staying? The easiest way to cut costs is hotel.

Protein is very filling and portable. She could pack a protein bar in her bag for her own lunches and save a bundle that way. Pair that with breakfast in the hotel, also from the grocery store or from home. Spend only on dinners and do it outside the park, if possible, if you don't care about experiencing 'park food' (besides the corn dogs). Pizza Hut on Harbor is a filling, cheap, convenient dinner after the parks.

 

[awdsmama]

Does anyone have a birthday around your trip?

My birthday is 2/22 and we went 3/20-25. I signed up for the Patina Group coupon and chose Naples, it was $25 off I believe?? So we ended up splurging (ds and self) and got dessert etc and paid about $15.

I also got a coupon for Rain Forrest Cafe and I think it pretty much covered the meal if not very close.

 

[disneychrista]

What days are you going and where are you staying? The easiest way to cut costs is hotel.

We are booked at the Super 8 on Ball/Disneyland Dr. It is the cheapest that I have found. I believe we are booked for $59/night. We are looking at booking a hotel through hotwire which might save $25 ($12.50/each) but we won't book that until a few days before "just in case."

 

[Mary09]

It sounds like you know what you're doing! I only asked about dates in case you could use Gay Days tix, but you probably know about that if it applies.

 

[tefrench]

I'm not sure if this helps, but I put together a menu with prices for our family trip this fall. Prices are rounded to the nearest .50 cents.

http://disneyland-california-menus.warpedvisions.org/

I'm hoping to use this quick menu in the parks (on my phone), so we can find reasonable priced meals before the kids hit bottom.

I was pleasantly surprised at breakfast prices overall. With some sharing, I should be able to feed the four of us for $20 on days we eat breakfast instead of lunch. For lunches, soup, chili, and gumbos look shareable and reasonably cheap.

I am totally taking this with us - thank you!!!