We've never eaten at a disney table service rest.

[brucec32]

I've been reading the boards a lot lately, and notice how excited people get over their dining res. I've been to disney many times as a kid and as an adult, and we've never had a table service meal ever. We always stay off site, and have lunch at counter service places. Then for dinner we eat at one of the million Orlando area restaurants. I looked into chef mickey's for our december trip, and almost fell over when I saw we could eat three dinners out of the park for the price of 4 adults at CM with tip.

Are we weird? Does anyone else skip disney table service completely?

I can only recall one table service meal, Mama Mia's at HS. Nothing comes to mind besides that, with about 25 visits over the years. Some people are really into food as entertainment and a hobby, but others are unhealthily preoccupied with it and I get the impression from reading some trip plans and reports that a few see WDW as mostly an excuse to walk from restaurant to restaurant as the main activity of their day, under the guise of visiting a theme park.

Needless to say, the rep WDW has for attracting a certain weight class demographic is not unwarranted.

 

[Trek Girl]

Whenever I went to WDW with my family as a kid, we never ate TS. In fact, we usually only ate one meal in the parks, and that was lunch at a QS spot. We would have breakfast at IHOP and grab dinner on the way back to the hotel, which was always off-site. And of course, there were snacks throughout the day at the parks.

TS was just too expensive for a family of five. I didn't experience my first TS restaurant until the first time I went without my parents. Now, DH and I usually have one or two TS meals whenever we go. It's just me and DH, and with just the two of us, TS isn't that much more expensive than a lot of places we eat at when we're not at Disney.

So, no - it's not weird that you've never eaten TS.

 

[MissVeronica]

I can only recall one table service meal, Mama Mia's at HS. Nothing comes to mind besides that, with about 25 visits over the years. Some people are really into food as entertainment and a hobby, but others are unhealthily preoccupied with it and I get the impression from reading some trip plans and reports that a few see WDW as mostly an excuse to walk from restaurant to restaurant as the main activity of their day, under the guise of visiting a theme park.

Needless to say, the rep WDW has for attracting a certain weight class demographic is not unwarranted.

 

[scrapquitler]

We have been to WDW 7 or 8 times and have eaten exactly 2 meals in TS restaurants. The reason we are not fans of eating at TS is 1. Usually when we are at Disney, it's hot, and we don't like to eat big meals when it's hot. We'd rather eat snacks or small meals (hence sharing CS meal). and 2. We figure that our time in the parks is very short in the scheme of things, and we don't want to 'waste' 1 1/2-2 hours of our park time to sit in a restaurant to eat our meal. This feeling has been especially true when we have taken off-season trips when the parks close relatively early. (And it's the same reason why we don't do mid-day breaks)

 

[bjscheel]

We used to do more character meals when the kids were smaller- the dining plan was a better deal in those days too, and once or twice we got free dining. They were fun, too, with little ones. Now, we don't like to have so many reservations (and even more so now with FP+), and don't like the cost. So we pick 1 or 2 TS for the week.

After our trip earlier this month, I might cut that down even further. We did BOG and RFC (RFC is kind of a tradition). Our steaks at BOG were too highly seasoned and so was DH's RFC steak- I tried a bite and the seasoning was SO strong. Even the fries at BOG were super salty. I admit we lean heavily towards plain foods and so TS is more of a problem for us. (We would like to taste the meat instead of a bunch of salt and spices!) The high cost just wasn't worth it for food we didn't care for. It was neat to go to BOG once though.

 

[pad406]

We like the restaurants, for us it's part of the holiday. The dining plan suits as we don't have to worry about the cost, or getting higher priced items from the menu. And DS wouldn't be happy f we didn't. We did dining with an Imagineer on the last trip and one of the first questions they asked everybody was "What's your favorite part of Disney?"

DD - RNR
DW - The shows and atmosphere
ME - SM
DS - The restaurants

 

[msmama]

I'm on onsite person so I would never rent a car simply to eat differently.

I find that sometimes we eat more TS, sometimes less as my son grows. We actually ate more when he was littler than we do now that he's 6. Still, we both like to sit and relax for awhile inside so TS suits us. We are more likely to do TS lunch though.

It also suits our touring style as we go at a slower pace and skip mountains.

I do tend to go at "slower" times but I've never had problems making a reservation either the night before and even the morning of sometimes. Might not be my first choice restaurant, but I've always been able to get in somewhere.

 

[dougsmom98]

We've never eaten in a table service restaurant in Disney. We also stay off site. For the price of one table service dinner, I can buy a 1-2 day ticket to go to the parks more often. We only eat off site and even then, we often eat take out so we don't have to purchase drinks at $2 a beverage (times 6 for our family) or leave a large tip. I might consider a table service dinner for a VERY special treat if I didn't have to make reservations well in advance. We go during peak season because we are teachers and we have no vacation week choice, I have no desire to plan my schedule around a dinner made 3 months or more in advance. With three teen age boys and a 6'5" husband with an appetite, eating a la carte or trying to skimp on food to keep the cost low at a table service is impossible.
So, to answer your question original poster, you are not "weird" or the only one that doesn't eat at table service restaurants.

 

[NewRVLady]

Last trip we did one- Liberty tree tavern for lunch MK

In the beginning are at lots and all were just ok

We now plan on going for food fest and grab small plates -

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

We have visited regularly since 2000 and over that time the number of TS meals we have per trip has steadily declined. After way too many disappointing meals that cost way too much we tend to stick with the one or two we like. I would rather spend more on a resort than eat at their TS restaurants. We do a combination of off site dinners, QS meals, and a TS or two.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Character buffets have a tendency to be extremely expensive for the food that you get. You're also paying for the character interaction.

We don't skip the Disney TS restaurants, although there are some that I find to be far below par and I don't dine at those places. When I'm on vacation, I just accept that some things are going to cost me more than they would at home and I just budget for it.

I wouldn't say that it's "weird" to forgo the Disney TS restaurants, but it's not something that I would not do just to save a few dollars. Going offsite takes time away from being in the parks. When you're paying between $70-$100 per day for that park visit, Taking three hours away to travel round trip to an offsite restaurant is not worth the money you save on food, IMO.

3 hours would be a LONG offsite trip. But, I think the point was to eat the offsite meal at the conclusion of the day and not return.

OP, we did one TS meal & IMO it was one too many. And it's ironic when talking about wasting time because that was one of my main beefs. From the time we stopped what we were doing to make sure we were on time for our res, then waiting, then pictures, more waiting, seating, more waiting, food service, character interaction, and finally leaving, it was at LEAST 2.5 hours. I'll never book another lunch. NEVER! And probably not a supper. Maybe breakfast.

 

[Dean1953]

Our family of 6 will spend 20 days at WDW from Dec.21-Jan. 10 with AP's (which we will use for at least a week at some other time). That brings the average day at WDW costing around $25 to enter the park. We are staying off site at Orange Lake Resort, which is a 15-20 minute trip to WDW. The plan is to come to the park at RD most, but not all days, and stay for 4-5 hours. Then go back to OL for lunch, swimming (if not too cold), other resort activities and then dinner between 5 and 6. If we fill like it, go back to the park for a couple of hours, then repeat next day. My 180 window is coming up and except for a Candlelight Processional package that I may make, I may make only one dining reservation, for New Year's Eve, as we probably can't leave the parks that day, if we want to attend the night time activities. Over our 20 day stay, I'm looking for quality time at Disney, not quantity. Plus, I've never stayed on site, so I don't know what I'm missing.

 

[Marionnette]

Our family of 6 will spend 20 days at WDW from Dec.21-Jan. 10 with AP's (which we will use for at least a week at some other time). That brings the average day at WDW costing around $25 to enter the park. We are staying off site at Orange Lake Resort, which is a 15-20 minute trip to WDW. The plan is to come to the park at RD most, but not all days, and stay for 4-5 hours. Then go back to OL for lunch, swimming (if not too cold), other resort activities and then dinner between 5 and 6. If we fill like it, go back to the park for a couple of hours, then repeat next day. My 180 window is coming up and except for a Candlelight Processional package that I may make, I may make only one dining reservation, for New Year's Eve, as we probably can't leave the parks that day, if we want to attend the night time activities. Over our 20 day stay, I'm looking for quality time at Disney, not quantity. Plus, I've never stayed on site, so I don't know what I'm missing.

You're going during Christmas time and you think you'll be able to get back into the parks later in the day when you're an offsite guest? I wouldn't be too confident about that until after New Year's. Definitely stay in the parks for New Year's Eve, Christmas Day and the day that you do the CP.

 

[Dean1953]

New Year's Eve is the only one of the four "big" days (Christmas Eve and day and New Year's Eve and day) that I plan on staying at the park all day (either Epcot or HS, definitely not MK) that we will stay at the park through fireworks (at least, that is the plan). The other 3 days, we will leave at 1or 2, or when the crowds become unbearable. We will also follow easywdw's recommended park for the day, which won't be MK for those days. The plan is to go to the parks at night the other days but that will depend on the crowd estimation and the weather. That's why I added the 3rd week in a, hopefully, lot less crowded time frame. The last thing that I want to do is burn out on Disney over the crowds, so we will play it by ear. Somehow, I don't think that the 4th and subsequent FP plus possible selections will be of much help from Dec. 24-Jan. 1.

 

[barbmouse]

We don't do a lot of TS restaurants but really enjoy them when we do. It just adds to the whole magical experience IMO. Our favorites are character breakfasts (Chef Mickeys), Ohana, Hoop De Doo, and more!!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

As we have been able to visit fairly often in the last 6-8 years, we don't get hung up on making sure we do as many attractions as possible. We have our favorites that we want to do, but we don't feel like we have to do everything every trip. One of the benefits of being able to go often.

So, when we do go, we don't mind spending some down-time in a restaurant. We prefer to stay on-site and we don't like to leave the "Disney bubble." My vacation at Disney World is as much about time away from "real life" as it is about the attractions. The last thing I want to do when I'm on my Disney vacation is go to a chain restaurant where I can go at home, and see sports and news on the 25 TVs in the place. Ugh. It's much more enjoyable for me to go to Disney restaurants.

We have found that if we make smart choices with our TS meals, often eating lunch, it's not that much more than what we spend going out to our local Applebee's, Chili's or O'Charley's. On our last trip, we ate 5 TS meals in the parks and with the exception of Be Our Guest (one of my birthday splurges), they were around $60-70. A dinner at any of the chains I mentioned runs us about $50 or so, so for $20 I don't have to spend time driving off-site, look for a place to eat ("what do you want?" "I don't know, what do you want?"), probably wait at least 20-30 minutes for a table and then eat something I could have any time I want at home. To us, it's just not worth it, but YMMV. (And even if we stayed off-site, I wouldn't cook in a condo. It's my vacation.)

 

[TravelMommy]

There are a few nice meals and unique meals (TS) we have had, but seriously I really wish we had just stuck to CS. As the reservation system has become more of a headache and with the cc hold we plan on not eating any TS for any subsequent trips.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

On my previous trips we've done lots of character meals. Dining was a HUGE part of our trip. We had "free" dining or the DDP. The kids were younger and the DDP saved us money.

At our last trip my kids started getting frustrated with our dinner ADR's. They would rather be in the parks. After a midday break they didn't want to be bothered with a dinner ADR. They wanted to hit the parks and prefer CS.

Next trips meals will be OOP. DS is a disney adult and some moments he eats like a grown man and some moments he eats like a bird. I will be picking more lunches. More a la carte places. Doing maybe 2-3 character meals. CRT as DD's pick (lunch), DS is CM's (breakfast) and MAYBE CP lunch for old times sake. I'm looking at places like LTT, Plaza, Captain's Grill, Via Napoli, Kona, etc. And most of our meals will be lunches which will be right before our midday break. This will help cost wise and for us with time since the kids want to hit the parks at night and not be at a restaurant. Our first trip to WDW was also OOP and we did lots of lunches and I remember that working out great. I do like to sit down and have a "relaxing" meal. I'm not a huge fan of CS all the time.

My aunt and uncle and two kids go to WDW and have never had an ADR. They love their trips and never complain. They are thinking of doing CRT on their next trip for their DD but that's it. And they aren't even sure because of the costs. They just think the price is ridiculous. Not that they can't afford it.

To each their own. I notice every trip our needs change.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

As we have been able to visit fairly often in the last 6-8 years, we don't get hung up on making sure we do as many attractions as possible. We have our favorites that we want to do, but we don't feel like we have to do everything every trip. One of the benefits of being able to go often.

So, when we do go, we don't mind spending some down-time in a restaurant. We prefer to stay on-site and we don't like to leave the "Disney bubble." My vacation at Disney World is as much about time away from "real life" as it is about the attractions. The last thing I want to do when I'm on my Disney vacation is go to a chain restaurant where I can go at home, and see sports and news on the 25 TVs in the place. Ugh. It's much more enjoyable for me to go to Disney restaurants.

We have found that if we make smart choices with our TS meals, often eating lunch, it's not that much more than what we spend going out to our local Applebee's, Chili's or O'Charley's. On our last trip, we ate 5 TS meals in the parks and with the exception of Be Our Guest (one of my birthday splurges), they were around $60-70. A dinner at any of the chains I mentioned runs us about $50 or so, so for $20 I don't have to spend time driving off-site, look for a place to eat ("what do you want?" "I don't know, what do you want?"), probably wait at least 20-30 minutes for a table and then eat something I could have any time I want at home. To us, it's just not worth it, but YMMV. (And even if we stayed off-site, I wouldn't cook in a condo. It's my vacation.)

This is so us!!!

So having an ADR stops the bickering on where to eat. My kids don't know what CS is in the area so I will just say this is what's here and that's it.

Being smarter this trip since we are paying OOP for meals is our plan. More lunches, less dinners. Which works out for our touring.

 

[Ceryssa]

I've been reading the boards a lot lately, and notice how excited people get over their dining res. I've been to disney many times as a kid and as an adult, and we've never had a table service meal ever. We always stay off site, and have lunch at counter service places. Then for dinner we eat at one of the million Orlando area restaurants. I looked into chef mickey's for our december trip, and almost fell over when I saw we could eat three dinners out of the park for the price of 4 adults at CM with tip.

Are we weird? Does anyone else skip disney table service completely?

Weird? No. I think it's all about what makes the vacation experience for you. Food is a big part of any trip for me, regardless of where we're going--at the beach I like to find the best seafood restaurants in the area, when we go to another city I like to find restaurants that have food that's not readily available near where I live. So for me the restaurants are going to be a big part of our Disney trip. Plus it's my kids' first trip so we're doing a bunch of the character meals to try and avoid eating up park time standing in line to meet characters. The convenience is worth the extra money to me, and we were able to get free dining so that covers a lot of the meal costs (though we'd do it either way cause like I said it's what's important for us). But not everyone vacations that way and it's fine! Doesn't make your trip any less fun, plus you probably get to eat at some cool places around Orlando we won't get to, at least this trip