Two sit down meals a day

[NYCgrrl]

I think that differences in touring styles, how long a Disney vacation is, and how often you go, can make a difference in how and where you choose to eat along with other factors.

 

[GillianP1301]

OR --- maybe those people actually do think it's too much food? Why do you feel the need to explain other people's opinions and lifestyles based on your own?

Definitely, some do and I have no problem with that opinion at all. I just wish people who think it's too much money would just say so, because there is nothing wrong with that opinion either.

 

[TinkerMama88]

We do 2, sometimes even 3 sit down meals a day. Dining is an important part of our Disney vacations for a few reasons. First, they ensure we have built in breaks/cool down periods (we always go late August) and second, I consider restaurants attractions in themselves and with character meals, we save time on having to queue up for them during our park time.

Yup! This is almost exactly how we plan! We also go in late August and use mid-day TS lunch to cool off and let the younger kids rest (as opposed to heading back to resort etc). We eat a late dinner around 8-8:30 either in the parks are at a resort somewhere. We also occasionally use character breakfasts to avoid seeking out characters in the parks.

We do DxDP and tend to hit the parks from Rope Drop til close. The 2-3 TS meals work well for us and don't feel like too much food or time. I should also add that we are all night owls so the late dinners are really just our normal dinner time lol so it doesn't phase our kids who are used to eating at that time anyway.

As others have said- it really comes down to what works best for yall and how it fits into your vacationing style!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We also regularly plan two TS meals a day. It's usually an early breakfast (so we're not burning any morning park time) and a well timed dinner for our evening plans. While I don't always feel the food quality matches the price of TS food, I appreciate that it's typically a more relaxing experience that affords me a few more options.

 

[disneycat321]

On our 8 night trip in late July this year, we had 2 TS meals 4 of the days. We had one each of the remaining days, including arrival and departure day. Honestly, I was nervous about it because I spent too much time reading other people's opinions on these boards...but it worked out very well for us.

Here's why lots of TS worked for us:
1. We love Disney restaurants, and they're a big part of the experience for us.
2. We didn't do the dining plan, so we didn't feel pressured to get the most expensive thing (that's how my brain works) or dessert. We aren't really dessert people, and would rather get sweet snacks or ice cream later.
3. It was July. Breaks in AC are a necessity.
4. We are just two adults. Less expensive to feed us at a TS than if we had kids.

The only mistake we made was a TS lunch the day we had Ohana for dinner. Other than that, no issues. We never really had to wait much for a table or the food, but then we are only a party of 2.

It's really up to you and what will work for you personally.

 

[626titch]

We do 2, sometimes even 3 sit down meals a day. Dining is an important part of our Disney vacations for a few reasons. First, they ensure we have built in breaks/cool down periods (we always go late August) and second, I consider restaurants attractions in themselves and with character meals, we save time on having to queue up for them during our park time.

As far as the time it takes, on average a TS/non character meal is 50 - 60 minutes. Character meals are more in the 60 - 75 range and a signature is 75 - 90 minutes. That's a relaxed pace, never feel rushed, always see all characters.

I dislike QS meals mostly because I don't like lining up for food and I like even less carrying a tray of food while trying to find a table and keep track of my son. I still do the odd QS to fill in a 3rd meal if I don't have them all as TS.

That's pretty much how we've eaten at Disney World the last 8 yearly trips we've taken. As an example, I have a 10 night trip coming up and I have 19 TS, 5 signatures and 6 QS (of those 7 are character meals) and I can't wait!

Wow! Your plan sounds so similar to mine for what I’m planning for my partner and I’s anniversary! Right down to late August!

Can you tell me a little more about your schedule? With this same plan—I’m a bit unsure when to schedule fast passes and the actual dining. We want our schedule something like Grab/Go breakfast, rope drop, rides as crowds build, (fast passes start at 10ish?), TS lunch (12ish), Resort Break/Pool/Nap, Parkhop around 6, TS Dinner 7, then enjoy the rest of the parks? Or maybe Dinner right at park close so that I can maximize time? Snack credits for everything else.
just a bit confused in that region!

MOST IMPORTANTLY: You say you go every late August! I want to do the last two weeks of August! How have crowds been in that region? How about park hours? I love the parks late at night and haven’t gone in over 7 years!

 

[Dug720]

For me it's not a time issue as much as it's an amount of food issue. If I have 2 sit-down meals a day, especially in the heat, I feel so overfull and sluggish. I have ONE day on my trip next week where I have 2 sit-down meals planned only because one is a meal with a friend and the other because I don't want to miss Skipper Canteen, but I'm planning for eating light at at least one of those.

 

[Dug720]

I’m a bit unsure when to schedule fast passes

No fast passes right now, so nothing to stress over there.

 

[626titch]

No fast passes right now, so nothing to stress over there.

This is for a 2022 trip which I’m very positive they’ll be back for! Lol

 

[Lisa_lvspplmvr]

With little ones it would be nice to sit in the A/C and regroup . I know I really enjoyed the break. When my kids were little and we brought my parents the sit down meals were some of our most memorable moments . You will be able to feed everyone something they will probably all like . QS can be hard to please everyone. Try it . You can always cancel a few meals if it’s too much. Just try to plan restaurants in the area you are visiting that day . Have a great trip !

 

[Lilsia]

For me it's not a time issue as much as it's an amount of food issue. If I have 2 sit-down meals a day, especially in the heat, I feel so overfull and sluggish. I have ONE day on my trip next week where I have 2 sit-down meals planned only because one is a meal with a friend and the other because I don't want to miss Skipper Canteen, but I'm planning for eating light at at least one of those.

Same with me. I just can not physically fit that much food in me. I am more of a grazer and even 1 "normal" size meal for me lasts most of the day. I love food and wish I could actually eat a normal amount.

 

[Dug720]

Same with me. I just can not physically fit that much food in me. I am more of a grazer and even 1 "normal" size meal for me lasts most of the day. I love food and wish I could actually eat a normal amount.

It's something with me and theme parks. I just can't eat that much - especially when it's hot.

 

[Trinity88]

We like to do 2 TS meals a day when we can. We usually rope drop a park, hit the headliners, have brunch at 10:30 or so. Then do FPs, then back to the hotel for a break. Dinner is 6ish either at a resort or in a park and then we stay for night time entertainment. Works well for us. As others have said, it doesn't have to be too much food, we just order whatever we want. If we aren't that hungry, we don't have to get a heavy meal. There's nothing wrong with just ordering a salad or appetizer. We don't do the dining plan for this reason.

 

[Sparkly]

I'm from the UK and I find portions in QS and TS to be enormous. I find TS food to be pretty average, I like to eat QS and get back to the fun. I eat nuggets maybe once a trip? Burgers very rarely.

 

[Lilsia]

I'm from the UK and I find portions in QS and TS to be enormous. I find TS food to be pretty average, I like to eat QS and get back to the fun. I eat nuggets maybe once a trip? Burgers very rarely.

I don't think that I have had a burger or nuggets at WDW in over 15 years. I tried them a couple of times and was very disappointed. Not worth the stomach space, IMO. I really miss Tangierine Cafe at Epcot. It's sad to say, but one of the main reasons why I don't go to MK as much is because of the lack of decent counter service food, especially compared to Disneyland food.

 

[Moliphino]

I don't think that I have had a burger or nuggets at WDW in over 15 years. I tried them a couple of times and was very disappointed. Not worth the stomach space, IMO. I really miss Tangierine Cafe at Epcot. It's sad to say, but one of the main reasons why I don't go to MK as much is because of the lack of decent counter service food, especially compared to Disneyland food.

MK was rough last trip. We had loaded tots from Friar's Nook for lunch one day, waffles and funnel cake from Sleepy Hollow another, and little breakfast sandwiches from Starbucks on another day just to tide us over until we could get somewhere with better options. No real QS meals because nothing in that park now is very good. I miss BOG QS lunch.

 

[Lilsia]

MK was rough last trip. We had loaded tots from Friar's Nook for lunch one day, waffles and funnel cake from Sleepy Hollow another, and little breakfast sandwiches from Starbucks on another day just to tide us over until we could get somewhere with better options. No real QS meals because nothing in that park now is very good. I miss BOG QS lunch.

I wish they would bring back the rotisserie chicken at Cosmic Rays. It's nice to have a "normal" meal that is not fried. A meat and veg should be standard.

 

[CSLucas]

Haha, I guess we are the outliers. We do 3 TS meals every day while at Disney (4 on HS days if you count Oga's). We just really hate having to fight the crowds for QS and deal with trying to find a place to sit with trays of food. We did the dining plan on our first trip and found that to be way too much food (plus annoyingly ended up with credits that we couldn't use because we aren't snack or QS people... definitely didn't look into it enough before opting for it), but I don't remember us wasting huge amounts of food by doing 3 TS (just order what you want).

 

[DisLiss]

For me, sit down meals are a lot of food to eat at one time in a theme park, so I wouldn't want to do two a day in most cases.

Sure, I eat more than one sit down meal a day at home. BUT I pretty much never eat that meal than immediately go out into a very hot, very humid environment. Nor do I eat then go walk for hours. So the situations are apples and oranges for me.

I prefer to graze when in the parks. If there is a particular sit-down place that we really want to try, then I try to set it up so that we'll be doing something low key afterwards. For instance, an Epcot meal right before the nightly fireworks. It's later in the day, so the sun will be setting when we're done, and we'll be just staying in the restaurant to watch, or we'll be going to sit or stand in one spot a bit.

Also, I have kids. Just DH & I together find sit down meals easier to deal with than when we have the kids. We find it's easier for 2 people to agree on a place than a larger group, especially if the younger ones are picky. So now that we go with kids, we prefer counter service "meals". I put "meals" in quotes because we don't often even eat full meals from those locations. We like places where they offer a few sides, and we might order a side each, and split an entree instead. Like I said--we like to graze.

 

[blabadie]

Our family always plans a TS lunch and dinner. Yes, it's a lot of food, but we don't feel compelled to eat everything on our plates. For us, the time is important to recharge and rest our feet in air conditioning. It is also is a fun time for relaxing conversations about our day. After rope dropping and touring hard, we enjoy having some time to be waited on vs. fending for ourselves at QS.

We pick restaurants with special theming or character dining and the meals are a significant part of the Disney experience for us. Our children have been preschool to elementary ages during our prior trips and they all loved the TS meals and still talk fondly of them. (They are fine with long restaurant meals in "regular" life, so this might vary from one family to the next.)