TS Dining on a Budget

[chloelovesdisney]

whoops...no availability on the Sunday I want GG! wow.... I guess it's a popular place....

I didn't think they took reservations there, did you call?

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Okay wait, hold the phone. I've never stayed at the poly but my favorite restaurant is Ohana, what is this room service thing???

 

[princesserin1350]

I would highly recommend the Trail's End breakfast buffet at Fort Wilderness. It's a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the parks, and it is a great value OOP. We ate at 9:30 am and didn't touch another piece of food until 6 pm!! Great value, and taking the boat back to MK was so relaxing.

 

[Vernie822]

I was just going to suggest Trails End!

Another thing I personally like to do is eat a bigger breakfast somewhere like Trails End or Boma, then I don't need anything but a snack to hold me until dinner.

Ohana room service--- DO IT! We stayed at the Poly and we didn't get a chance to do it because we actually had an ADR there and my fiance wanted to keep it but we will soooo do it next time!!

I know Landry's (they own Yak and Yeti) has a Landry's select program? I think you can get a $25 gift card for signing up or something. I could be totally off here because we don't have one (I actually get Landry's gift cards for 'appreciation' points at work) but it's a thought.

Other suggestions - Beaches and Cream.. We love it there.. Food is decent (obviously if you're on the dining plan you're not thinking cheap burgers and fries..) and the ice cream sundaes are so big you can split easily.

Sanaa - We love the bread service.. Honestly I made a meal on that last time we were there and it was SO GOOD! I think it was like $15.

Be Our Guest lunch.. Your boys can always split the adult sandwich or something, I think it's a decent option as a TS even though it's really a QS.

Definitely Via Napoli and pizza.. Fooooor sure!!!

 

[quandrea]

I ate at The Plaza many years ago and thought it was really good and the prices are good for OOP. We ate at the house of Blues a few months ago and I thought that was delicious also. We did Tusker House in Animal Kingdom for breakfast and that was my favorite breakfast.

My husband's favourite place to eat on property. Go for lunch. May be cheaper at some places. Your breakfast for lunch idea is great. We do that. My kids prefer apps to the kids meals and they are often healthier/cheaper. I think you'll discover some hidden gems on this trip. Splitsville is delicious too! Our kids share a pizza.

 

[samsteele]

Most of my suggestions for OOP TS have already been mentioned so I would second:

Trails End: dinner buffet. Least $ dinner buffet on property and tasty
Beaches & Cream
Yak & Yeti: appetizers are reasonable and fun for a light lunch. Entrees at dinner could easily be shared
Sanaa: bread service is huge and dinner entrees could be shared. Some of their lunch entrees are very reasonable but that means taking time mid-day from AK and that isn't always convenient
Restaurant Marrakesh: do this one for lunch (not dinner as many of the same entrees but higher price). You could do a CS for dinner that day in Epcot eg Sunshine Seasons. Marrakesh has some fun, interesting combo specials that are a great lunch value. Their lamb is particularly good. The decor inside the restaurant is incredible & something everyone should see.
Wolfgang Puck Express: at Dis Springs. Not a true TS but you'd never know it. Exceptional food at reasonable prices. You order your food in line then sit down and it is brought out to you by your server.

 

[Lmans77]

We did the Poly deal last year and saved money by not using the DDP. Now you might be trying to save the most money possible since you are used to free dining but I just wanted to share out experience. My end of trip room charges was exactly the cost of the dining plan...and included some alcohol, and a few souvenir purchases. And we ate some pricey meals (Ohana, 1900 Park Fare, etc). It's just that because we ate those larger meals and buffets, our appetites led us to share counter services, etc. And believe me, we do not eat like birds. We like our food.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

whoops...no availability on the Sunday I want GG! wow.... I guess it's a popular place....

Call the restaurant directly and see if they have availability! We typically are able to get day-of reservations at Swan/Dolphin restaurants, but you have to call directly.

 

[TexasTSL]

We did the same thing last year for the first time. We had always had the dining plan, but we also got an agency special and went without the dining plan. We actually loved it! Some of the places we did were Beaches & Cream, 50s Prime Time, Sci Fi, Trails End - one time breakfast and one time dinner, Via Napoli, The Plaza and Wolfgang Puck. We often split meals, and I actually enjoyed no dining plan, even though I didn't think I would! Even at counter service places, I would split meals with my DS4 most of the time, and we had plenty of food. It was nice not having that too stuffed feeling and not having to get desserts. We had more room for snacks that we really wanted as opposed to desserts we just ordered because we were on the dining plan and felt we had to. We are going to do the same thing again this year at the Grand Floridian! Have fun!

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

A few weeks ago, my DH and I went for the first time without the dining plan. We used to do split stays at the DVC resorts just to get the DxDDP for the first part of the trip. I came to hate the split stays, so we decided to stay put and not do the dining plan. I loved it!

We split an app, entree, and dessert at Liberty Tree Tavern (one of our favorite meals and left full).

We ate lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe to get the skillet. We had a 10% off DVC discount which made the skillet under $20. You can't split, but we ate so much we could probably have just split a CS meal or gotten snacks for dinner.

We both had our own apps and then split a spaghetti entree at Tutto Italia. I can't recommend it though; we didn't like the spaghetti, but we have paid OOP for a pizza at Via Napoli and loved it and will be doing that again in June. Used our DVC 15% discount for both places.

We ate at Shula's where my DH got a free $53 steak with the purchase of my $51 steak. A little expensive still but a nice savings, too.

A few years ago, we got a chicken bucket to go at Trail's End that fed four. It seems like it was about $25. Do they still do that?

As others have said, the Landry's Card is a good deal. We will be getting it for this June's trip and eating at Yak and Yeti.

I second the breakfast buffet at The Wave. We paid OOP for it last year and loved it. Very good deal!

 

[Donnainnj]

Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch. Love it, esp for our August trips. The air is always so cool in there. Perfect place to get away from the heat.