Will I hate doing CS only??

[TJ's Mom]

We have gone 2 times on the DDP and love it. I am trying to swing a trip later this year and am looking to cut costs. We are thinking of not doing the dining plan. We will probably do 1 or 2 table service meals over all but that is it. We would be there for 7 days. Do you think we can live on counter service? If so for a family of 4 (kids 9 and 7), how much should I budget???

 

[Luv2Roam]

Depending on your wants, eating habits, how much you want to go out of your way, etc, all (or nearly all) counter service is do-able for 7 days. Not that I would want to do that.
But you do have options beyond typical park food.
The resorts have counter services that generally offer anything from pizza to meatloaf. There are nice walk up service choices in DTD (Wolfgang Express, EoS, Bongo's walk up), and World Showcase. I think there is pizza on the Boardwalk. (Never have personally done that.)
It can be done. But may take extra time and some creativity. And you will still most likely get tired of it.
Even counter service ain't cheap though.
The counter service in Morocco is not that much le$$ than going inside and having a relaxing meal.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I am a huge fan of CS. TS is way too much food for us and we hate being tied to ADR times.

 

[Mariposa]

Our first trip was CS only and we enjoyed it. Our next two trips were DDP trips- LOVED those. Our last trip? We didn't plan on doing any TSs and found ourselves making last minute ones every morning. I don't think we could do WDW without TSs anymore.

 

[clombardi]

This August trip will be our last with the DDP. We have paid for it three times and this time are getting it free. I'm getting a little tired of it. Crazy, right?

I am actually looking forward to a trip where we make 1 or 2 ADRs and have all other meals at CS. I think the key will be trying to pick a variety of CS meals. Like CHH in MK. Their food is delicious and not at all typical. Starring Rolls has great sandwiches in MGM. EoS at DTD could be eaten every day of my life! Sunshine Seasons at Epcot has a huge variety of well-prepared food.
I think you'll love your CS only trip!

As far as budget, I'd guess around $30/day for each adult and $15/day per child.

 

[ShanPooh]

That's all we used to do when I was little!
I think Disney has a lot more variety for CS than they did 20 years ago.
Check out the menus - you can actually eat something different every day now
Although there is a lot more to choose from now, every time we go down we do have to have the obligatory cheeseburger once for old time sake.

 

[ksumn1]

I definately think it's doable. You still have some vriety. You have all types of cuisine to choose from in EPCOT, and burgers, chicken, fish are available in all the parks. I look at it this way ......eating burgers at WDW vs not going to WDW at all. Pretty easy decision to me. I would try to stagger my TS meals evenly through the trip if you can so that you have a break from the CS. I would budget about 40$ per adult and $20 per child per day, but if anyone shares you'll have some left over. Don't forget to budget for your snacks. Gotta love those Dole Whips!!

 

[Densgirl]

Yup, IMO it's totally doable. My DH is jealous of you in fact. He hates being tied down to TS reservations. Scan the menus on All Ears and you'll see that some of the counter service places have great choices. I love Tangerine Cafe at Epcot for example. Columbia Harbor House in MK has some really healthy, yummy choices and Sunshine Seasons in Epcot has bargains and good food.

 

[AnninIowa]

We did CS for out trip this past February. I researched the menus on AllEars.net beforehand to find places we would like. We are light eaters, though, so not sure how your family eats in comparison. Usually for breakfast I have a banana, a couple snacks throughout the day, and then a regular dinner. We had great CS meals at Earl of Sandwich, Wolfgang Puck's, Mara (at AKL), and then we had two TS meals. Still, the food bill for 7 nights at Disney for two light eaters was nearly $600! Of course, our late night candy snacks from Goofy's Candy Co. weren't cheap, LOL!!

 

[TJ's Mom]

Thanks guys! I am feeling better. I think I needed reassurance! I am hoping to swing the trip and any budget cuts help. So it is CS over TS. Well, with 2 TS......

 

[SandraVB79]

I am sure you'll survive with CS, especially since CS has more choices than burgers and hot dogs.
Also, because you won't be so stuffed from TS meals, you'll be able to enjoy more snacks or try more different things (instead of each eating his own CS meal at the same time, buy one CS meal, share, little later buy a different CS meal, once again share, ...) That way, your food is more spread out over the day. I enjoy my food more when I don't have to "stuff" myself, sometimes I wish at a TS, I could have my appetizer, return 2 hours later for entree and return two hours later for dessert, lol!

 

[HM]

That's how we do most trips. We've never felt the need to have a large sitdown meal every day. I think you'll be fine.

 

[fairestoneofall]

We went for a week last November. We stayed in SOG, so the DDP was not available to us. We did have a three TS meals and ate CS the rest. We survived quite well. We were even able to split meals at some CS restuarants.