Where are the Biggest Portion Sizes for Sharing Meals?

[Ali]

Ok, For 2 adults the QS dining plan is not really a good deal if you don't drink soda and don't want a lot of desert. So run your prices without it to see how much money it will cost you per day to have the dining plan.

As a GF eater I can say that the QS places typically give you a lot of french fries with your entree because they have to cook them specially for you in the designated fryer. Since you eat GF you will need to find a way to get something to eat in your room for breakfast because you only get 2 meals. What do you normally eat for breakfast? I suggest bringing it. I know you said you can't bring produce but you can buy it in the resort food court too, don't use your snacks on it. I believe Using the QS meal plan will cost you more money.

I agree with other that 2 normally eating people will not be happy sharing a meal and you will spend more eating more often.

My boyfriend and I are going in January 2015, and this is our first time not getting the Dining Plan. It's expensive, it's always too much food, and I really don't need to eat two desserts a day. We're also not really big soda or juice drinkers. It's generally water or wine/beer for us.

BF is less convinced that we'll come out better financially without the Dining Plan. So I've suggested we split QS and TS meals on some of the days. We'll be staying at the ASMu and will not have a car, so we won't have the luxury of picking up groceries and eating in the hotel. (Unfortunately I'm gluten free, otherwise we'd bring down something like bread and peanut butter for the mornings. We're also Canadian, which means bringing down say, a bag of apples is a no no at Customs.)

So, where in WDW have you found the biggest portion sizes that would be good for splitting an entree between two adults (we're light to moderate eaters)?? Any specific restaurants or specific dishes you can think of?

 

[kerplop]

We always get "free" dining, but one year we added it up and since we don't drink soda and rarely like desert it wasn't so much of a discount as we thought. Obviously we prefer it over straight rack rate, but hopefully you can see what I mean. Anyway I think if I were paying out of pocket, you would save a lot just eating two entrees and not getting soda or desert or splitting a desert. Tons of food still and you'd save a bit more! Not as much as if you split, but I find having to search for something big enough to split and like a PP said getting snacks to be too much of a fuss or eating up the savings.

 

[KerTggr]

My boyfriend and I are going in January 2015, and this is our first time not getting the Dining Plan.

Good Call! We never found this to be a worthwhile investment even though we do a TS a day (sometimes 2). I did the math one year and def not worth it for us.

So I've suggested we split QS and TS meals on some of the days.

I recommend splitting Table Service and maybe getting a lower priced appetizer on those TS that might have smaller entrée portions. I do not recommend splitting QS as it never seems to be quite enough (at least not for my DH). Instead you might consider getting a kids meal at some of the more exotic QS that have things other than nuggets. Was always enough to fill me up and price was nice.

Personally, I recommend avoiding buffets when trying to save. We never eat enough for it to be worthwhile.

We'll be staying at the ASMu and will not have a car, so we won't have the luxury of picking up groceries and eating in the hotel. (Unfortunately I'm gluten free, otherwise we'd bring down something like bread and peanut butter for the mornings. We're also Canadian, which means bringing down say, a bag of apples is a no no at Customs.)

Try ordering from garden grocer. Or do an amazon order and have it sent to your room. I too am GF and we actually order gf cookies, gf granola bars (I like Bakery on Main), gf instant oatmeal, and gf muffins for breakfast. Place the order a few days ahead and you will be good.

Think of how you really would eat, go to allears.net and then calculate out how much you may eat, that would give you a good heads up.

That is how I made the case to my family a few years ago. On a 10 day trip we saved >$200 per person paying OOP.

 

[crisi]

Splitting meals has never worked for dh and I. It just never saves us money. Here's what happens with us.
.

My mother and I can split no problem. My daughter and I often can, although she wants what she wants. My husband and I - we split appetizers and desserts, but get our own entrees. Nothings stands between my fifteen year old son and food though, he can easily eat two entrees if he is hungry.....

Two more things - if its hot, we eat less. So its easier to split in August than February. And splitting in order to not save money, but try more things is a fine strategy as well. I don't need a whole Dole Whip, but I like to have my 1/4 of a Dole Whip and share it with my family every trip. My son LOVES fish and chips at the stand in England - and usually eats a serving as a mid-afternoon snack - my daughter, husband and I will share a second serving as a snack. The next stop over is the pastry shop in France - we don't ALL need a Napoleon, but splitting one is good..... Especially if we are there over Food and Wine, tasting our way through the World over the day (we tend to do sit down dinners) works fine for us - although as I said, I'm not sure we save money, but we TRY more things.

For saving money, the best strategy I have is to bring in semi-healthful and filling snacks - I like Clif bars - they don't melt, they are filling, and they aren't horrible for you - and your own bottled water. Then it becomes much easier to stretch a meal - because you supplement it with what you brought in.

 

[belleincanada]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone!!

I remembered that I make my own LaraBars (easiest recipe ever), so it'll be easy to freeze some of those before the trip down and bring them down with us for light breakfasts and snacks throughout the day.

And nope, BF is not gluten free. I should have said I'm more on the "gluten sensitive" side. I avoid gluten 90% of the time, because when I eat it, it tends to make my tummy hurt. But if say, a tablespoon of flour is used in a recipe, it won't affect me too negatively.

I like the idea especially of ordering a TS entree each and sharing an appetizer. That would be good! And I'd never heard of Garden Grocer before. This is all great advice

 

[Marionnette]

I used to split meals with my daughter, who was a teenager at the times that we did this. However, she is a vegetarian and I never liked having to compromise on what I wanted to eat in order to make sure that she got a well-rounded diet.

I also feel that planning my day around what restaurant has a specific meal that is large enough to split between two people is a pain in the neck.

You can make your dollars stretch by purchasing just the entree item at QS locations instead of the platter, getting a cup of ice water and bringing some extras (cut veggies, fruit, chips) along in your back pack. That way, you can each order what you want and shouldn't feel hungry when the meal is over. If you don't like plain water, bring those mix-ins like iced tea or Kool-Aid packets.

Breakfast in the room is a must-do, both in order to save money and time. You can use the coffeemaker in the room to heat up water for oatmeal if you want something hot or go to the food court to toast bagels, English muffins or bread. There are also microwaves in the food court if you want to heat up something. Hormel and Barilla make some shelf-stable meals that you could pack in your luggage and bring with you. They aren't the healthiest (high in sodium and carbs) but they won't kill you if you eat them a couple of times in your life. If you coupon, you can often get these for free or very little.

I agree with you that the dining plans are not a money-saver unless you have tweens, are staying at a value resort and you're getting *free* dining. When you factor out the desserts, the refillable mugs and the sodas, the cost of the plans outweigh what you would spend OOP. However, if your family is a refillable-mug-soda-dessert consuming bunch, then it comes out as close to breaking even with the advantage still going to Disney.

 

[wendow]

I like the idea especially of ordering a TS entree each and sharing an appetizer. That would be good!

I think this is going to increase your cost. You went from sharing a meal to buying almost 3 meals for two people. A lot of people do share one appetizer and one entree. This will slightly lower your cost since the appetizer would be a few bucks less than an entree. That is a good option at a TS place.

We go without the DDP and I have added up every single receipt from the food we bought and we have always been way, way under what the DDP would have cost us. My dh & I occasionally share but not often. I will either order a regular meal, no dessert and just water to drink (we are not soda drinkers) or if the menu has unique options, I will order a kid's meal. Some places have some pretty decent kid's meals for 5.99-6.99. I am more of a 'grazer' in my eating habits so I prefer smaller, lighter meals. Then a couple of hours later, I may share a Dole Whip or Mickey Bar with my dh.

We also tend to take a lot of snacks. One of my ds's has a milk allergy which is very hard to accommodate at places like Disney where so many of the foods and snacks are dairy-laden. So, we take in Lara bars, baby carrots, crackers, trail mix, grapes, etc. We always pack an entire suitcase with breakfast foods, alternative milks and snacks. Then we have a practically empty suitcase to take home souvenirs

The DDP is not a good value and imo, you will not have to sacrifice much to spend less money than the plan would have cost you. Just go and enjoy

 

[marmalade]

This is one of the scariest places for GF eaters, everyone gets sick!

Oops, I missed that part about being GF.

 

[LJSquishy]

Based on your eating habits (limited soda/beverages and limited desserts) you will definitely save money by not purchasing the dining plan. Or, depending on how you eat on your trip, maybe spend the same amount of money but do more TS restaurants or extra CS meals.

A Larabar (I make my own also!) and some yogurt would be the perfect breakfast...either order from Garden Grocer, We Go Shop, etc or just buy yogurt at the resort at an inflated price. Hehe, when we went to WDW in 2012 (on free dining), one day we tried just eating a giant muffin for breakfast (I got banana nut) and were SO hungry an hour later! The rest of the days we ate a yogurt/fruit/granola parfait and stayed full until lunchtime. We never eat cereal for breakfast at home so I don't know why we thought we could have empty calories for breakfast at Disney World!

Anyway, we had free dining and hated it. We optimized it as much as possible but it was still not ideal for us. It's catered too much toward sweets. All of the CS desserts are gross (Sunshine Seasons has a couple of decent choices) and generic so we'd end up requesting grapes or something. We also didn't each want a soda with each meal so we would share a CS soda and get a bottled water for the other CS meal and toward the end of our trip we'd get milk instead. At TS meals we each ordered a beverage because we couldn't stand Florida tap water...mostly juice, but only took a few sips. We turned down a few TS desserts as well because it was just too much food. We used our snack credits for breakfast to get yogurt parfaits.

I've calculated our out of pocket costs for our 2015 trip and we will save money by ordering what we actually want to eat. Now, getting free dining is better than paying rack rate, but paying for a dining plan is usually not worth it if you don't want desserts twice a day plus a snack.

 

[Gramontherun]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone!!

I remembered that I make my own LaraBars (easiest recipe ever), so it'll be easy to freeze some of those before the trip down and bring them down with us for light breakfasts and snacks throughout the day.

And nope, BF is not gluten free. I should have said I'm more on the "gluten sensitive" side. I avoid gluten 90% of the time, because when I eat it, it tends to make my tummy hurt. But if say, a tablespoon of flour is used in a recipe, it won't affect me too negatively.

I like the idea especially of ordering a TS entree each and sharing an appetizer. That would be good! And I'd never heard of Garden Grocer before. This is all great advice

Could you share the LaraBar recipe? Sounds interesting. Thanks Grammy

 

[DCbride]

I think sharing a meal mostly depends on how your boyfriend eats. Does he need a whole meal for himself? My DH is a light eater. He can live on 2-3 light meals/snacks and have one decent dinner salad and be totally fine. So sharing works for us. We generally have some type of bar for breakfast, will split a sandwich and each just get a side for lunch, and then get something to share for dinner. Example:

Breakfast- bars and a banana, apple (bars packed from home, fruit usually $1-3)

Lunch- order pork sandwich from Flame Tree,AK, split it, I usually get the cole slaw with the meal he gets a side of beans

Dinner- Split a pasta dish at Tutto, Epcot, and I get a side vegetable

Snack- He usually gets a iced cappuccino at some point, I get a gelato

But that's the portion size we eat at home. If you are both used to a full meal 3x a day, sharing would be a challenge. We buy a mug so I filll up on the way to a park, and on the way home with tea and drink water the rest of the day.

 

[belleincanada]

Could you share the LaraBar recipe? Sounds interesting. Thanks Grammy

Yup! It's literally just equal parts nuts, dried fruit, and dates. So it's really customizable to whatever you want!

In a food processor, you throw in 1 cup of dates, 1 cup of your preferred nuts, and 1 cup of your preferred dried fruit. Then, if you wish, you can add in "mix ins", such as coconut, cacao nibs, dried ginger, etc!

Once the food processor has turned the mixture into a "ball" of sorts, take it out, flatten it to your desired thickness, let them chill overnight, and then cut them up into bars, squares, whatever your fancy.

Some of my personal favourites are: Dried Cherries, Pecans, and Ginger and Coconut, and Cranberries, Almonds, and Cacao Nibs.

 

[okeydokey]

At Columbia harbor house we would order a sandwich and a clam chowder. I would eat half a sandwich (they are really big for me) and my do would have the other half and the chowder.

I don't drink soda so I carry a water bottle at all times.

Usually a regular meal and an appetizer or side is enough for us to share.

 

[Layah]

If you call ahead(24 hours) you can get a GF meal at any TS location. If they serve breads during the meal they will supply you with a GF version.


Now, we are a family of 8 and there is a way to split meals at TS. 50's Prime time has a fried chicken plate that is able to be split (unless your a person who eats a lot of food at once) there is also the idea of eating an app as the meal instead. You can split a pot roast plate or the thanksgiving turkey plate at Liberty Tree as well. Have a fruit or small serving of trail mix before or after if the meals aren't big enough. Having a healthy snack before the meal will keep you from overeating anyway.
Hope that you can find a happy medium to your food problem.

P.S. We are going in Jan. 2015 too if things go as planned.

 

[pampam]

Slightly off topic but this might prove helpful.

Dd and I have food sensitivities more than gluten. We explained our needs at Flame tree, and they were very accomodating. We each got sliced chicken breast on a bed of lettuce and tomato, with vinegar on the side, and a platter of fresh fruit to share- oranges, cantelope, and grapes. It went through the cash register as a pork sandwich meal $9.19, for mine, and DDs was a smaller portion $5.99 billed as the childs chicken drumstick meal. It was very big and very good.

 

[jchurch0409]

When I first bought the bottles I thought it would be a case of them being more pain than they were worth but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I have to say I ended up loving those darn things - we use them a lot, much more than any other water bottles before because the filter helps get rid of "funky" tastes from different water! (And for those that don't know, if you keep your eyes open there are plenty of water fountains at Disney, some of them even chilled!!)

This is a great idea! I am going to have to add this to my list!

Also lots of sharing ideas to add to my list!

 

[aribelle]

While you can't bring food with you in your luggage, you can order groceries from gardengrocer.com and have them delivered to your Disney resort. They have gluten free items.

 

[queenofthehive]

Aribelle, I have brought food in our luggage. You can bring items in your carry on (no liquids) and checked luggage. I have brought oatmeal packs, granola bars, nuts, dried fruit etc in our checked luggage and just ordered cold and liquid items from Garden Grocer.

 

[wendow]

I pack an entire suitcase full of food and take it on the plane (it gets checked)! I've taken all kinds of breads, chips, crackers, trail mix, cereal, dry pasta, cookies, etc. I have even taken some canned goods.

 

[jjsmom]

Three locations that immediately jumped in my head. There are others if I think about it:

1) Woolfgang Puck's Express in DTD. They make an Asian salad that is very filling and husband (big man, big eater) & I share.

2) Peco's Bills (counter service) at MK. My daughter (adult) and I shared a chicken wrap. That think was huge and we still had some left over. I recall us discussing that we were glad we shared because separate orders would've been a waste.

3)Brown Derby (sit down) at HS. You can share the Cobb Salad. Again, this is a very large, filling salad with meat. And they'll bring bread as well. This makes a meal. If we have this at lunch, dinner is small or nothing at all.

Some things to keep in mind: Tap water is free at any location.
You don't have to purchase a complete "value" meal at counter service locations. Share the value meal (comes with fries or fruit) or order 1 value meal and one main item separate.
Pack or order (from Garden Grocer or similar) pre packaged snacks, bars, water, protein drinks, morning convenience food, etc. to keep in your room. This will save you a ton of money, especially in the morning. We usually have a quick bite, hydrate well, then hit the parks. As soon as a counter service spot opens for lunch, we eat a real meal. While the 12-1 crowd is standing in line for food, we're back touring.