Which TS restaurants are cheapest?

[jenn-]

I was all excited about planning our next Disney trip when it hit me, MIL and SFIL never do the dining plan, and we always do the dining plan (it is financially sound when you have 4 kids). This has never been a problem before since they were always in a second room, but this time we will all be together, so either I talk them into it (highly unlikely), or I have to figure out how to eat with out it . I won't lie, I am a cheapskate when it comes to meals. If I am sitting there paying out of pocket at the time of ordering, I will be buying the least expensive thing on the menu I can eat. There will be no $25 buffets, or $30 steaks for this belly that week. I know the cheapest option would probably be the counter services, but I live a low carb lifestyle so no pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fries, or chips for me (or DH for that matter). That means I get to eat salad for a week if we plan for counter services. So since I know I will be cheap, I need to know where I can get a decent variety of inexpensive meals. I think I could handle any where that the average adult plate would be at $15 or so. Any advice would be very helpful.

 

[vicki_c]

I don't know the answer as to what is cheapest - but you can get an idea by reviewing the menus on allears.net.

I think the Plaza in MK is pretty reasonable for TS - I've only had lunch there - it was sandwiches, mostly, from what I recall, but I don't know what the dinner menu looks like.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Seriously explain the savings with the dining plan to the inlaws! I think even if you pay for one of them, you will still make out better than paying OOP for 6. Maybe give it as a present for a birthday/early Christmas present etc..

As for there being a cheap TS restaurant. Im not sure what you consider cheap, but for a family of 8, expect around $250 per TS if you dont drink alcohol. They auto include an 18% gratuity for partys of 6 or more. My bills with party of 10, including 3 kids under 9 years old, usually with one bottle of wine added up to around $350. Signatures were over $600 (Yatchsman was over $900!!)

 

[erinmomof2]

I thought Sci Fi and Plaza were reasonable. Also 50's Prime Time wasn't too expensive. You can take a look at all the prices and menus at Allearsnet.com

Hope that helps,
Erin

 

[catne]

Can you talk them into the QSDP -might be the ticket for all of you. No table service, but sounds like you don't want to pay that much OOP to eat table service, and the cheaper table service meals are pretty much limited to pasta, sandwiches & pizza meals that are not at all low carb friendly. The Plaza won't help much with a low-carb diet--sandwiches or salads, period,lunch & dinner. But counter-service is not limited to just dogs/burgers, either, if you know where to eat you can get some filling low carb meals.

Try Cosmic Rays in the MK 1/4 chicken dinner-lots of good protein there, comes with mashed potatoes (not low carb) and green beans (are low carb)

At Epcot, try the grilled salmon at Sunshine Seasons (or grilled pork chop - very good sized protein portions on both) - can get it with salad for a side,and I think steamed veggies.

At DHS, for low carb you may have to go Hollywood & Vine, or stick with the salad options at counter service.

At Animal Kingdom, the ribs at Flametree are not low-carb friendly, but the chicken is, and you can get cole slaw with it which is usually o.k. for carb counters.

Counter service at resorts might have some good options for low carbers, especially if you can order kids meals ala carte and they'll eat the parts you can't on the low carb diet (like would your kids want chicken nuggets & the delish mashed potatoes that come with your Cosmic Rays chicken dinner? That would make it a pretty good value for a low carb dieter.)

 

[jenn-]

Seriously explain the savings with the dining plan to the inlaws! I think even if you pay for one of them, you will still make out better than paying OOP for 6. Maybe give it as a present for a birthday/early Christmas present etc..

Their argument isn't the cost of the plan, but rather they don't need that much food. Maybe if I point out that appetizers aren't included anymore I can change their mind. SFIL goes to Disney for the rides, I go for the food.

 

[jenn-]

Can you talk them into the QSDP -might be the ticket for all of you. No table service, but sounds like you don't want to pay that much OOP to eat table service, and the cheaper table service meals are pretty much limited to pasta, sandwiches & pizza meals that are not at all low carb friendly. The Plaza won't help much with a low-carb diet--sandwiches or salads, period,lunch & dinner. But counter-service is not limited to just dogs/burgers, either, if you know where to eat you can get some filling low carb meals.

Try Cosmic Rays in the MK 1/4 chicken dinner-lots of good protein there, comes with mashed potatoes (not low carb) and green beans (are low carb)

At Epcot, try the grilled salmon at Sunshine Seasons (or grilled pork chop - very good sized protein portions on both) - can get it with salad for a side,and I think steamed veggies.

At DHS, for low carb you may have to go Hollywood & Vine, or stick with the salad options at counter service.

At Animal Kingdom, the ribs at Flametree are not low-carb friendly, but the chicken is, and you can get cole slaw with it which is usually o.k. for carb counters.

Counter service at resorts might have some good options for low carbers, especially if you can order kids meals ala carte and they'll eat the parts you can't on the low carb diet (like would your kids want chicken nuggets & the delish mashed potatoes that come with your Cosmic Rays chicken dinner? That would make it a pretty good value for a low carb dieter.)

You've listed all the counter services we hit at part of our DDP . Most places are good at subbing out additional veggies for the potatoes, and since we are both in maintenance level of our weight journey, we even splurge on ribs every once in a while. I will have to look into that plan a bit more. Thanks for the suggestions. Oh BTW Hollywood & Vine is definitely not a carb friendly buffet (or it wasn't when we were there in '07).

 

[eaj1228]

We thought the breakfast at Kona was a pretty good deal. I got the Big Kahuna it had French toast, Macadamia-Pineapple pancakes, eggs, home fried potatoes, and ham, bacon, or sausage for $11.99. It was too much food. I wish I would have shared it with someone.

 

[abc999]

Pick a couple of places you think they would really like, show them how much it would cost to eat there with and without the meal plan... that is how I sold it to DH the first time. Now he won't go without the Deluxe Plan.

 

[marciemouse]

Don't overlook soup as an option at TS places! Some soups are really filling (as well as low carb) and don't cost nearly as much a typical entree. The lobster bisque and French onion soup at Le Chefs de France are both really yummy and definitely filling enough for a lunch. To make it a dinner, you and your DH can each get a soup and then split an entree. Even quite a few CS places have soup, just in case you're sick of salads!

If you end up not getting the dining plan but don't want to do all CS (it can get boring!), have TS for lunch when the menu is cheaper and then do CS for dinner.

If you are forced into more CS than you'd like, remember that you can customize: order the grilled chicken sandwich with no bun, substitute veggies for the french fries, etc.

I think someone else mentioned Sunshine Seasons in The Land at Epcot... a great option, too!

 

[Debbie-TN]

50's Prime Time is pretty inexpensive if you don't order desserts or drinks. We also drink water to save on meals. If you want a good cheap breakfast try Whispering Canyon. If it hasn't gone up, they have a family skillet for 10.99 per person for as much as you can eat. Of course, you will have to pay for drinks if you want them. Look up the restaurant menus for these two places so you can see what they have.

 

[bcrook]

I was all excited about planning our next Disney trip when it hit me, MIL and SFIL never do the dining plan, and we always do the dining plan (it is financially sound when you have 4 kids). This has never been a problem before since they were always in a second room, but this time we will all be together, so either I talk them into it (highly unlikely), or I have to figure out how to eat with out it . I won't lie, I am a cheapskate when it comes to meals. If I am sitting there paying out of pocket at the time of ordering, I will be buying the least expensive thing on the menu I can eat. There will be no $25 buffets, or $30 steaks for this belly that week. I know the cheapest option would probably be the counter services, but I live a low carb lifestyle so no pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fries, or chips for me (or DH for that matter). That means I get to eat salad for a week if we plan for counter services. So since I know I will be cheap, I need to know where I can get a decent variety of inexpensive meals. I think I could handle any where that the average adult plate would be at $15 or so. Any advice would be very helpful.

I understand that by getting the Dining Plan, you can eat at really expensive places for bargain, like $900.00 for a party of 10! Wow!!!!!

But during our trip last year my family of four - including DS11 and DD14 - ordered whatever we wanted at the TS restaurants, we had a great time, and we spent less than the dining plan would have cost us. We ate Coral Reef, Ohana, 50's Prime Time, Tokyo Dining, Fulton's, Cape May, and 1900 Park Fare. We didn't always get dessert, but we did when we wanted it. This didn't include alcohol.

We didn't shy away from the more expensive options. Basically you have to spend $40.00 a day per person, and we generally spend about $10.00 per person at the counter service. That means you get a $30.00 meal and drink left. buffets cost less than that. We also like to eat big lunches at TS and eat counter service for dinner. Lunches are much cheaper. At Coral Reef for dinner I like the Grilled Mahi Mahi for $26.00. The Lunch buffet at Biergarten is $20.00, You can get a grilled NY Strip at Tokyo Dining for $27.00.

I think if you take the money you would have spent on the dining plan, and take a look at the menus at allears.net. You will be pleasantly surprised at how good you can eat. Then if someone doesn't want to eat a lot for a meal, you save the money. You probably won't want to book Narcoossee's! Although, that $15.00 Cobb Salad at Brown Derby is reasonable...

I go for the food too, I never buy the dining plan, I eat well, and I come out ahead. That is for the adults. I have no idea how all this works with the youngsters.

I will be there on Friday - I can't wait. We have Chefs de France on Saturday!

 

[ljcrochet]

I hope you can confince you MIL that they need the dining plan. Otherwise, what about putting the money you would spend on the dining plan onto a pre paid visa card. Just use that all week, and think of it like the dinning plan. This way you can splurge if you want to. You and your DH can share a desert if you want. Or if you are not very hungry you can get an appetizer for your meal.

Or just tell your SFIL you need the dining plan.

I know my DH ran the numbers for what we would get on at the resturants we wanted to go and decided that the dining plan was worth the money even though we have the tables in wonderland card. We are doing the deluxe.

 

[Silver Queen]

I see that you'll be staying at the Treehouse Villas. Have you considered having some of your meals in the villa. Breakfast should be pretty easy and if you go back to the villa for a rest mid-day you could have lunch there too. Many posters have written about how much they liked some of the grocery delivery services that are available. I know that you are looking forward to eating out so you could do that for your dinners.

 

[mitsybella]

heres some maybe you will luck out and get free dining and none of this will matter but I would try to convice your MIL how much this is going to save you as a family and maybe they will want to help you out, I can't imagine how much it would cost for 4 children without using the DP and I am sure the children would love to do the character meals which would very expensive if you had to pay good luck

 

[cnjmom]

I see that you'll be staying at the Treehouse Villas. Have you considered having some of your meals in the villa. Breakfast should be pretty easy and if you go back to the villa for a rest mid-day you could have lunch there too. Many posters have written about how much they liked some of the grocery delivery services that are available. I know that you are looking forward to eating out so you could do that for your dinners.

We stayed at a 1 BR villa at SSR a few weeks ago and did this. I actually did want to do DDP but couldn't because we had a CM room discount and they weren't offering DDP with it for us to purchase. So, we ordered food from Garden Grocers for breakfasts and lunches (or dinners, if we had a TS lunch) and it worked out fine. I know we still would have done a little bit better if we could have purchased the DDP, but at least we got to experience a bunch of TS meals. (We did Akershus, CP, Chef Mickey's, Hoop Dee Doo, WCC, and 'Ohana).

I don't envy the OP, though. It doesn't really seem fair that her ILs aren't taking into account the fact that the OP has six people to pay for OOP and that the DDP makes sense for their child's family. I'm wondering why they couldn't just make do with the DDP, especially if cost isn't an issue as the OP says. If they don't normally do TS meals, couldn't they just use some of their TS at CS places? (I have seen a bunch of posts asking this but haven't read to see if this is possible, but I can't see why it wouldn't be.)

 

[jenn-]

I see that you'll be staying at the Treehouse Villas. Have you considered having some of your meals in the villa. Breakfast should be pretty easy and if you go back to the villa for a rest mid-day you could have lunch there too. Many posters have written about how much they liked some of the grocery delivery services that are available. I know that you are looking forward to eating out so you could do that for your dinners.

This will probably be reality if they don't do the DDP. I will get to spend my week making breakfast, lunch, and probably most dinners since the ILs are no good at the LC cooking bit.

heres some maybe you will luck out and get free dining and none of this will matter but I would try to convice your MIL how much this is going to save you as a family and maybe they will want to help you out, I can't imagine how much it would cost for 4 children without using the DP and I am sure the children would love to do the character meals which would very expensive if you had to pay good luck

No free dining here. We stay on DVC points (their's btw), so we don't qualify. I think I am going to start working on my ILs now. Maybe if I annoy them for the next 10 months they will agree.

 

[ljcrochet]

No free dining here. We stay on DVC points (their's btw), so we don't qualify. I think I am going to start working on my ILs now. Maybe if I annoy them for the next 10 months they will agree.

You annoy someone? No way.

You have to convince them to get the dinning plan. I need to hear about all of your TS plans. Plus if DH and I decide to push up our summer trip to May to be there with you, we will have to plan a meal.

 

[bcrook]

This will probably be reality if they don't do the DDP. I will get to spend my week making breakfast, lunch, and probably most dinners since the ILs are no good at the LC cooking bit.


No free dining here. We stay on DVC points (their's btw), so we don't qualify. I think I am going to start working on my ILs now. Maybe if I annoy them for the next 10 months they will agree.

I really don't understand the obsession with the dining plan in your case. You would spend $40.00 * 3 * 7 (nights) = $840.00 and $11.00 * 3 * 7 = $231

That is $1,071.00 that you would pay with the dining plan that you can use for OOP - I sure wouldn't be cooking in the room other than a few sandwiches here and there or a donut or two.

With a family of four all adults, I am eating at Les Chefs, Ohana dinner, Brown Derby, Coral Reef, Crystal Palace, Biergarten, Cape May, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Boma, Sanaa, and lots of counter services for 7 days, and I estimate my total cost at $1200.

You can get a lot of good meals for your size party at $1071.00! If your inlaws are covering the room for you, and they don't want to buy the dining plan, why would you pester them?

 

[ljcrochet]

It is 4 kids and 2 adults. The kids are a great deal on the dining plan. Plus there is something about looking at a menu and not having to look at the price of the meals you order. I know when i go to disney if I'm paying for the meal at the meal and i'm kind of full and the only one who wants to get dessert I will skip dessert, but if we are on the dining plan I will get the dessert with out a second thought.