What's the cheapest way to eat at DW?

[megan&joeysmommy]

My family of 4 (DS-3 1/2 and DD-10mo) is going to DW for the 1st time in Sept. and we've been trying to figure out the best way to eat cheap.

We are already locked into Mears shuttle so a grocery stop on the way is not possible. I've read to ship a box of groceries, go buy them at Fort Wilderness General Store, etc., but is that worth the effort?

I've also read that they will let you share a meal at certain restaurants. We always share with our 3 year old at restaurants, but have never shared a meal ourselves. How does this work?

We are staying at ASMovies and will be needing to go back for naps in the afternoon. Is their food court worth eating in for the price? Is it cheaper than counter service in the parks?

Also, if you could pick one or two restaurants to eat at (park or resort), which ones would you pick for the ages of our kids and get the best value for the meal?

I will appreciate any and all advice you can give on this. We can't wait to get to DW!

 

[Debbie]

I've also read that they will let you share a meal at certain restaurants. We always share with our 3 year old at restaurants, but have never shared a meal ourselves. How does this work?

When we took the whole crew in 1999, the kids ordered a meal at ESPN, told them they were sharing and they brought the meal on 2 plates.

When DH and I went for our 1 and only parent's trip in 2000 , we often would order 1 appetizer, 1 entreé and share the meal. It was more than enough, and we got to taste a few things that we mightn't have done if we hadn't been sharing.

For menus and prices, be sure to check out
WDWIG .

Also, character meals are not cheap, but you could do the Ice Cream Social for a reasonable price (and it's a good way to cool down in the afternoon!)

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[nicknamy1996]

We usually eat breakfast in the room (except 1 day eating the biscuits and gravy at ASMo[they're Great], and we always do Crystal Palace breakfast with Pooh and friends.) But for the other days we do breakfast bars or cereal which could both be packed in your luggage if you wish. You can buy milk at the resort. So this may save you a couple of bucks. (don't forget spoons and bowls[Because if you have to pay 11 dollars for some bowls you pretty much lose most of that money you were planning on saving..speaking from experience here...but then again those bowls were nice souviniers and we still use them almost daily])

To save money in the parks, share meals. Even some counter service meals are big enough for 2. For sit down I like the idea of an entree and a appetizer, perhaps add a salad. This should easily feed the 4 (3) of you. And if you happen to get hungry later there is always something to snack on.

Also every time you enter or leave the All Stars you drive past a McDonalds (it's priced a little higher than normal but still a good price)

Also if you really want a money saving tip... Drink water! You will usually pay 2.00 for a glass of soda or juice throughout the park (sometimes more!) Several years ago my wife and I stopped drinking soda at restaurants (we eat out a lot) and have probably saved 100's if not 1000's by now.

Let's assume you are at WDW for 7 days at 2 meals a day and 3 drinks per meal. Just at 2 dollars a drink w/ tax and tip thats over $100 you will spend on soda alone. In one week!(Of course you might only order 2 drinks, and skip a meal or two, and not need to tip on counter service meals. But you get the point) Drink water all week and you could at a trip to Chef Mickey's and still save a couple of bucks.

Unless you are staying for a long time I don't think shipping the food will save you much money. By the time you pay for the food, then pay for the shipping, then pay for the milk at the park. I don't know if you save a lot. But I've never really looked into it either so don't take my word on that.

I would not plan on leaving the parks just to eat somewhere else just to save money if you are going to be going right back to the park. By the time you leave the park, catch the monorail (depending on park) then catch the tram, then drive to a restaurant to buy food(which may be a little cheaper but you may also have to buy 3 meals to feed 3 people) then drive back you lose more time than the money you saved.... However if you are leaving anyway (going shopping or somewhere else) you can always try to schedule that around a meal and try to save a couple of dollars.

Ok! I will stop rambleing now! Have a great trip!

Oh, I'm pretty sure the meals at the resort are just about the same price as the ones in the park but they are usually big enough to share as well and you have lots of options to choose from.

 

[frannn]

Pack snacks, like granola bars, cereal bars for B'fast and the parks
Bring Brita water bottles, fill w/ice in the AM, then refill at parks
If you are all holding up well at the parks, buy 1 counter service lunch with an extra side and share. This may only serve as a snack, but the counter service meals are comparable in price to the AS foodcourt, so why waste time going back to the resort?
If you are eating large sit down meals, do this at lunch- less $ than dinner. You can save $ at some places for lunch with Annual Passes as well (if you have them). The character meals which seem to be the most popular are Cinderella's Royal Table and Chef Mickey's. The food isn't great, but the characters are. I've never been to the Ice Cream Social, but it is the least expensive character "meal". Also try the Wilderness Campfire- this is free and Chip and Dale are there. They play Disney movies in the outdoors. I've never attended, but I heard its lots of fun. Try Trails End Buffeteria for a good, lower priced WDW buffet, but there are no characters. Are you going to pack diapers, wipes, baby food for your DD?

 

[dturner]

Last September I stayed at the All Star Sports with my DS (7) and almost everynight we ate in the Food Court (mainly because we didn't have a car and were too tired to walk to the McDonalds), big portions for the price but it cost $15 for the two of us. We never had breakfast, just filled up our refillable mugs with soda and ate an early lunch in whichever park we were in - counter service mostly for about $15.00 for the two of us - again the portions are generous. My favorite counter service in each park is:

MK - Cosmic Ray's - great fixings bar
MGM - The place right inbetween Star Tours and the Indiana Jones show is a good place to eat.
AK - only had the character breakfast at Restaurantasaurus - cost $30.00 for two of us - plenty to eat
EPCOT - the Electric Umbrella

I second what people said about bringing snacks with you. I had cookies, crackers, goldfish, etc. which I packed and brought with me and I'm glad I did.

This year I'm going to drive so I'm going to have my cooler with me for soft drinks (not staying on site this year for the refillable mugs, boo) and will again bring lots of snacks and I'm budgeting for two meals a day, one in the park and one outside the park when they close.

 

[Lewisc]

For 4 people a towncar or maybe even a car rental won't cost any more than Mears.

Contact whoever you bought your package through and try to delete the Mears transfers.

 

[waughzee]

At counter service restaurants, if you order a double cheeseburger, ask for an extra bun (they will charge you for it, but it is under $1) You can then each have your own burger!

 

[megan&joeysmommy]

Thanks for your help everybody! I think I'll check out the menus and see what we could share. We could stand to be on a diet anyways.

I forgot about cereal bars as a possibility so we'll definately do that. We're used to water at restaurants so that's no problem. To buy milk for cereal, do they sell anything larger than those mini cartons of milk? We are huge fans of milk so it would be nice to get that in a bigger quantity and keep it cool with ice from the ice machine.

I wish we could get out of the Mears thing, but we booked through Travelocity and when I called about it, they charge $50 to change and had never heard of Tiffany Towncar service. It's pretty cheap though since we only have to pay for 2 adults and the kids are free. It'll cost $56 RT for Mears.

My husband wondered if he could catch a city bus to Walmart from the AS. Has anyone done that? Do city busses stop anywhere in DW?

Sorry to ramble on again. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Mic]

Some of our trips have been more budget than others. For our first few trips, I planned at least 1 character meal a day, sometimes 2, and spent more money than I want to admit! We usually drive, so there is no excuse for us not to save money on food. Since you are flying, and using Mears, you will save the most money by bringing poptarts, cereal, bagels,etc. in your luggage. An idea is to pack a duffel or small pilot's case with food, and fill it with souvenirs for the trip home. A better idea is to pack a soft-side cooler with food(you have to pack very well to get the most in here), and unpack it and fill with ice on arrival. Ice is free at the All-Star resort. Try to pack enough non-perishables for at least most breakfasts...this will save you money and TIME. For things like milk and juice, purchase these in the GIFT SHOP at the resort; these items will cost more in the food court. I am not sure if the gift shop sells ham and cheese, but I know the general stores at the Boardwalk and at Old Key West do. Since you will be captive on Disney property, the general stores will most likely offer more in the way of food for the room since most of their rooms have kitchens. A lot of folks plan on doing something "free" on arrival day that does not require park admission. If you are already planning to go to Downtown Disney anyway, they have a Gourmet Pantry you could shop at for perishables, or you could take a nice, relaxing boat-ride to OKW and pick up a few things at the General Store. Just being able to fix a few sandwiches and breakfast in the room will save tons of money. The All-Stars have a microwave at the food court you could use if you needed. Since drinks are bulky, just plan on purchasing 1 or 2 refillable mugs for your family to share(we purchased 6 once, and it was a waste...3 would have been plenty). We now make lunch our big sit-down meal of the day for 2 reasons: it is cheaper, and by lunch we are usually ready for an air-conditioned break. A lot of times we will eat a light dinner, so counter service then is great, especially if we share or order kids meals or salads. And drink water with meals, unless the drink is included. Your 3-year-old would probably enjoy a character meal, so I suggest a late breakfast instead of dinner. A 10:30 am breakfast could substitute for lunch; we have successfully used this strategy a few times. Our favorite plan is to try to get Cinderella's or Donald's breakfastsaurus on the day MK or AK has early entry. We enjoy the park from 8 to 10:30 am, then have a late breakfast just as the park starts to get busy. Be sure to pack at least a few bottled waters (to refill) and put a few snacks in the diaper bag each day you go to the parks. Security will check your bag, but they have no problem with you carrying these things in. Sorry to be so long-winded. I hope this helps!

 

[LIFERBABE]

I just thought of the funniest thing! What if Wal-Mart had a shuttle! Michael Eisner would keel over!

You can take the City Bus from the TTC and most likely transfer offsite to get to Wal-Mart and it probably wouldn't cost you more than a buck fifty. Don't know how long it would take though.

 

[geffric]

Just like everyone said bring snacks, we also bring canned tuna and crackers so we can have a dinner or lunch in the room. If you have room in the luggage, plastic bottle of jelly and PB plus crackers and you will have special sandwiches, for snack or dinner. Also, don't buy water, bring a bottle and refill it, bottled water cost 2.50 each. We do lunch as a major meal if we eat out nice because it is cheaper.
Another place at Epcot is the food court in the land. We love Cosmic's rays at MK, the fixin bar, has lots of lettuce and tomatos so we make a big salad and split burgers.

 

[bobcat]

The pizza at the All Stars is a pretty good deal and my kids love it. You don't have to have it delivered but can order and pick it up in the food court.

Peco's Bills in the MK has a wonderful toppings bar. My DD and I will split a double burger and we are full.

Cosmic Ray's, also in the MK, has a family chicken meal that I have heard is delicious.

Eat at sit down restaurants at lunch.

Bring your own snacks for the room.

Usa a Brita water bottle in the parks.

AK has a meal deal that you can get at any of the counter service restaurants. For around $11 adult/$5 children you will get a combo meal and then two coupons to use for a bottle of water/soda and popcorn or ice cream. Since soda and ice Cream are both $2.50 with the kids meal you are really saving a ton. Tusker House is my favorite AK eatery.

 

[Janell Ebert]

Breakfast in your room with soft sided cooler with milk from gift shop. Lunch at counter service at what ever park. Go to web site that list menus and look at them. We like Columbia House in MK, Dole Whip and turkey legs we also like Peco Bill's., we also like Columbia House eat upstairs by Haunted House. We have cookie sandwich at bakery. In Epcot Ice Cool to fill our bottle of sample of drinks from other countries. We have eaten baked potatoes by Tower of Terror and like the take out place in Japan also shaved ice by Japan. We also have fish and chips at Rose and Crown take out. At Animal Kingdom son likes pizza place we like the barbaque place to share. We have ordered pizza at All Stars food court. We also like to go to Riverside Resort and eat their and share in food court. McDonalds closes at like ten so watch that if your counting on eating when you get back. Casey's in MK also has a good hot dog. Take snacks jerkey, fruit leather type stuff, granola bars, something salty, rice crakers, trail mix etc. Costco carries lots of this stuff. We always rent a car and make a trip to Costco. So we eat their either pizza, chicken bake or dog. While we have film processed one hour We always go to Sea World. Sea World has good food.We also have pig trough at Garidellis by Disney store in Down Downtown Disney.

 

[kylara]

YOu can take the Lynx from the TTC. The bus that goes to the Wal-Mart is the #56. The cost is $1.25 each way. The first one leaves the TTC about 7:20 am and runs just about every 1/2 til 9:50pm. But it might just be easier to take this same bus to Old Town, cross the street to the Publix. Would save a lot of travel time.

 

[megan&joeysmommy]

What exactly is a Publix? Is that the local grocery chain? How much time difference would there be in Walmart vs. Publix? How long do you think it would take including time from ASMovies to the TTC? We were thinking that DH could go some afternoon while naps in the room are going on. Not sure if we want to go to that much hassle, but if it wouldn't take that long maybe it would be worth it.

How are the prices at the General Stores mentioned in a few posts? I'm assuming it would be less hassle to try them. Do they carry loaves of bread, meat and cheese, gal. or 1/2 gal of milk? We can bring along most things, but these items wouldn't work on a plane.

Thank you to everyone for all the great ideas! We want a fun trip, but with air from SD being so high, we have to cut back somewhere.

 

[bobcat]

The gift shop has quarts or half gallons of milk (sorry can't remember which size) and loaves of bread as well. I don't remember seeing lunch meat.

 

[mom2smjn]

HI!
I understand completely about wanting to save on food. There are 6 of us and we are all realitively big eaters....here is what we did when we stays at ASMO

packed 1 extra small suitcase with: portable non melt/non smushable snacks, loaf bread, plastic container of PB & J, those cereals that come in their own bowl w/spoon, poptarts, papercups, etc
we ALWAYS had breakfast in the room...1 adult would run down to the food court for milk,banana,hot cocoa ( free in refillable mug $9) while the other adult would get everyone dressed and ready.
Then we would eat and refill our mugs on the way to the bus stop(we bought 2 mugs and shared...then refilled them with water throughout the day) We also carried water bottles..saves a fortune(if your kids are not huge water drinkers carry a few packs of flavoring to add to the water)

we would then eat a late lunch (cheaper than dinner) at some of these great places:
Bargain MK:
cosmic ray (family chicken deal is tasty and a bargain)
pecos bill (dh's fave awesome burgers)
El Pirata y el Perico (mexican nice change of pace)
Nicer-pricier- sitdown MK:
Liberty Tree Tavern(lunch) (to DIE for potroast!!!)
Crystal Palace(pooh and the gang-decent food-lots of choices)

Bargain AK:
Pizzafari(again a change from burgers)
Tusker House(unique counter service menu little pricer but yummy)
Get the kids meal deal in any counter service in AK..I think it is a bargain.

Sitdown at AK: we love Donald's Breakfastosaurus!

Bargain at MGM:
Backlot express
pizza planet
Sit down:
50's prime time cafe(we are going this year...can't wait!)
Sci Fi (HUGE portions..definately split a meal or just order milkshakes and enjoy the atmosphere...way cool!)

Bargains at Epcot:
Any of the wide variety of world showcase counter service are really good!
Electric Umbrella

Sit downs: OMG any of these restaurants are excellent!

If we did eat a late lunch we would split a meal or have a decent snack later in the evening or eat a mini meal when we got back to the room(on early closing nights-we go in the winter)

The ASMO has a really decent food court and we did eat there a couple of times...a really wide selection of choices and an alacarte
section. the pizza was good and a decent price as well.

 

[Mic]

If I remember correctly, the 1/2 gallon of milk in the gift shop at ASMu was about the price of a gallon of milk at a grocery store, @$3. I just checked my receipt, and yes, the price for 1/2 gallon of milk at Maestro Mickey's(the gift shop at ASMu) is $2.95, and I'm sure that's the price I paid at the general store at the Boardwalk as well. The general store at OKW had lunch meat, but I did not check the price, and I can't rmrmber if the general store at the Boardwalk did(they probably did). Both stores also carry a limited aount of fruit, but no vegetables. I always worry that the kids don't get enough fruit and veggies on vacation. The suggestion to pack the cereal in a bowl is a good one, but they are a little more expensive than boxed cereal. I purchased 5 small, plastic bowls at Wal-mart for $1, and we take them on each trip to WDW(don't forget a small bottle of dishwashing soap) along with boxes of cereal. We also take a few packs of micro-popcorn, and put it in the bowls as a late-night snack(the food court has a microwave). We also make instant oatmeal in them using the microwave; the stacking bowls take up very little room in the luggage, as does packs of instant oatmeal. Plastic container of Peanut butter pack well, and we usually use small jelly packets from restaurants(packed in a small baggie). If you plan on making a few sandwiches, bring your mustard/mayo with you(the smallest size available). I am very particular about my sandwich bread(which is carried by 1 store locally), so I take my own with us packed in one of those large ziploc plastic containers. Any square plastic container would work; you probably already have one you could use, and they pack well. You can really keep your costs down by bringing as much as possible with you. Since your children are young, bringing your own juice or juice boxes is a good idea as well, and the juice boxes/pouches are great for the parks.

 

[whozit]

I found shipping a box ahead was easier than carrying the extra food in the luggage. Also, I could buy things when they were on sale instead of getting them at a local store in Orlando when they may or may not be on sale. When I checked in to the resort, they had a note on my file that there was a package for me. You can pick it up then, or they will have bell services deliver it to your room. And, if you are flying, the airlines are enforcing baggage weight limits, so this keeps the weight of your suitcase down. Check ups.com and fedex.com to price out what it will cost to ship (I did a recent check from my zip code and I could ship a 30-50lb box for $20 or $25 dollars). I did pack some pocket bread and bagels in the luggage….they are both sturdy enough that they don’t get smashed, and I didn’t want to give them a extra few days to get moldy. We stopped for groceries on the way to the resort and bought milk, yogurt, carrot sticks, string cheese, a half gallon of orange juice, and some apples and oranges. We used a collapsible cooler in the room to keep milk, yogurt, cheese, carrots and orange juice cool (next time I’m going to get oj in juice boxes (minute maid sells them) so the oj doesn’t have to take up cooler space). The room was cool enough to leave the fruit out.

Things to ship ahead:
Breakfast:
dry cereal, cereal & granola bars, envelopes of oatmeal or cream of wheat, pop tarts, juice boxes

Breakfast, Lunch or snacks: single serving applesauce & diced fruit cups, raisins, dried apricots or other dried fruit

Lunch: Foil pouches of tuna (they also have chunk chicken, turkey and ham like this now), peanut butter (Skippy now sells one size in a squeeze tube), jelly, Kraft aerosol cheese, crackers (wheat thins, triscuits, etc), cheese/peanut butter crackers, assorted cheese/cracker and cookies packages

For snacks: rice krispies treats, pudding cups (now they have pudding in squeeae sticks too which I think will be even easier to carry to the parks), peanut M&Ms, lemon drops, Frito Lay “snacks to go” (these are chips or other salty snacks in a plastic container, about the size of a pringles can, with a recloseable snap on lid….the chips don’t get crushed in your backpack), nuts, microwave popcorn.

We had a character breakfast one day, but all the other days, we ate breakfast in our room ( it saves you money and also time). We stayed in the parks all day, so we carried snacks, a couple of juice boxes and lunch foods (none of them needed refrigeration) and an apple or orange in a backpack. A few times we got something to eat at the parks, but really didn’t need that much.

With little ones, you might also want to ship ahead diapers and wipes.

 

[susy]

I would not worry about things like bread, meat and cheese. That is going a little further than I know I would like to on a vacation.

Too bad you can't get out of Mears. Oh, well! I've also heard that the AS is the LAST hotel stop and that it takes forever!

Here are my suggestions based on the 7 trips we took last year. First of all, we go way overboard on food-and we aren't big eaters!

I don't know what you can bring on a plane, but I would bring a nice, sturdy suitcase for food (when it's empty you can use it for your souveniers).
We bring:
Water
MILK boxes (parmalat-needs no refigeration. Use the small ones)
juice boxes
sodas -you won't need this if you buy a refillable mug-you can share it.

cereal
cereal bars
cookies
crackers
candy
small canned fruit

If you brign a bottle bag on the plane I'm sure you can stash an 8oz bar of cheese in it, if your kids really need it.

Pack a soft cooler and just fill it up with ice everyday at the resort. Use a large ziploc bag for the ice.
Won't you need a another suitcase for baby food , formula, diapers?
It sounds like you guys could really use that grocery stop! If Dh goes on the bus, how will he carry it all back? That coupled with the long trip from the airport on Mears, is worth the $50 to change!

anyway, in the parks you can always share and order from the kids' menu. The wraps are usually cut in two ad really good!