Your suggestions will be appreciated,,,the food has gotten too expensive!!!

[GOOFYsince71]

After The Last 4 visits to WDW being on the Free Dining,,,
I have not payed too much attention to the actual Rise in Prices
at the Restaurants over the years!! Sure we would look to the
Highest price item,,,,(on free dining) to get the best deal for the
plan,,,,but never realized that going back and NOT having Free dining
Would cost sooooo much!!!
We will be splitting a lot of stuff,,,with Turkey Sandwiches pricing
out at $12.49 at most counter service,,,,a REAL meal would be out of the
question for 2 people.....Heaven forbid if you leave something on the
plate then,,,,cuz a doggy bag won't do you any good!!
I have a feeling that next years trip will be planned during Free Dining,,,
but as late in the year as possible to avoid the scorching September Heat!
ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD SNACKS WILL BE APPRECIATED!!

 

[Minniemama350]

We did a trip one time where we ate cereal and fruit in the room;packed a sandwich and a piece of fruit for lunch and then ate in a restaurant(sharing food sometimes) for dinner, cs or ts. It was very economical. We also had a bottle of water we brought in(now there's a taboo subject) and drank before we purchased any drinks.We had our cake and ate it too! We had a great trip. Different from the DDP, but it was still great! We ate PBJ's,those frozen smuckers ones.Everyone could get them out when they wanted to.

 

[mkleinbe]

For my family, eating out and eating well is part of vacation. Therefore, we choose to pay for the DDP. Would that be an option for you guys? We stay in a value (POP). We also looked in to the QSDP and are still bouncing that idea around. Two CS meals and two snacks.

As for tips on eating cheap, definitely bring your own water if you're driving. Even with the DDP we bring two cases of water with us and take a few bottles in to the parks with us.

 

[GOOFYsince71]

thanks for both ideas,,,,,,I never did Quick Service...I will look into it!
I wanted to bring my own water because of kidney stones,,,I can't drink
certain bottled water,,,I think Disney does either Aquafina or Dasani????

 

[TDC Nala]

Disney sells Dasani water exclusively.

 

[loveysbydesign]

You can get free cups of ice water from any CS place and bring Kool-Aid singles or tea singles to add to the cups and mix in! That's what we do to save money!!! As well as eating breakfast at the condo and packing bagels or sandwiches, fresh fruit and snacks in a small soft sided cooler.

 

[Planogirl]

I wonder if the free dining price will also go up to reflect these changes? I sympathize, free dining has never been a good deal for just the two of us plus we've stayed offsite lately.

I would concentrate on interesting counter service places and definitely stay away from buffets. The buffet prices are amazing.

 

[TDC Nala]

Not sure how the free dining price could go up - you're already paying rack rate for the resort - one way it's thought they might handle it is to offer quick service dining free at value resorts for all free dining offers. Still waiting on the general public offer for 2010 to see if it's the same as past years.

The British free dining offer is no free dining at values, quick service at moderates and basic DDP at deluxes.

 

[dioxide45]

Food prices are up everywhere. Even at the local McDonalds and TGI Friday's. Eating out is getting expensive especially for just fast food. It could easily cost a family of four $20-$30 to eat at McDonalds these days.

When we travel, we just budget the cost of food in to our costs. We usually stay offsite in Orlando, so we can buy our water, breakfast and snack items at the local Wal-Mart. It helps save us some, but we don't scrimp on dinner, usually eating out, though rarely at Disney.

 

[MHSweb79]

We bring in water bottles & little snacks in our backpack - there's no taboo on that. Sometimes the free ice water tastes funky and sometimes it's filtered, but we did get those on our last trip. We also eat breakfast in our room (this is one of the few times my family gets Pop Tarts - they love it!) and I'll also bring some apples, juice boxes, mini-cereals, etc.
There are a lot of CS meals you can share, like the chicken or chicken & ribs at Cosmic Ray's. We rarely eat at TS restaurants when not on the dining plan. They are WAY overpriced for the quality of the food.

 

[Tiger926]

We always eat at least 1TS and sometimes 2TS meals per day, and have pretty much eaten everywhere, so we know the menus well. Some TS restaurants are very reasonably priced, actually. Here a few:

Tony's @ MK and Mama Melrose @ DHS - Chicken Parm/Spaghetti with bread, can easily be shared $16.99

ESPN Club @ Boardwalk - Sandwiches start at $9.99 and come with fries

Plaza @ MK - Sandwiches start at $10.00 and come with salad/fries

There are more, as these are just off the top of our heads. It sounds like you've already checked out www.allears.net, but perhaps you can do it again, looking for more reasonably priced items? I say that because in your original post you say that you obviously got the most expensive items so as to maxmize your plan. Not sure how much more you needed to maximize since you were getting it for free, but with this comes a bit of a shock as you said when you now have to pay on your own.

There are reasonable TS and CS places that serve good food at good prices, and some of them can be shared as well. Also, you can get adult meals for kids to share, depending upon how your kids eat. As well as bring in your own water bottles and juice boxes to drink. I would also suggest to not snack on junk food all day, as it's empty calories and a waste of money. Save it for your meals!

I wish you luck in planning your vacation. Happy eating, Tiger

 

[hildarumpole]

Free dining isn't always the best bargain. We went to Disney on the 4/3 room and ticket promo last June and paid full price for the DDP. When the free dining came out, we priced going back in Sept. for the same amount of time at the same resort. To our surprise, it would have cost us $200 more. You might be better off getting a discount on your room rate and either paying for the DDP or paying OOP for meals.

 

[dancin Disney style]

It certainly does not have to be expensive to eat at WDW....I think a lot of people just are not willing to do the work that it requires to save a few dollars.

Do the research find the places that offer large portions and split meals. Find places that offer really inexpensive meals...ie Earl of Sandwich. Get groceries to have in your room for breakfast and snacks. Eating breakfast in your room saves you a lot of time as well as money. Use the resort refillable mugs for drinks. One beverage can cost $2.50 plus tax so you don't need to many before the mug has saved you money. If you and your spouse or kids drink the same thing you can share a mug....that just means more trips for refills but does save money. Buy a case of water or bring a refillable bottle to avoid paying $3 per bottle in the parks.

My family of four, my kids are 18 and 10, stayed for 14 nights last year and only spent $815 on food. That included dinner out every night, breakfast in our room all but 2 days and lunch made in our room half of the days.

 

[GOOFYsince71]

x

 

[marielynn724]

definately do a big meal for lunch instead of dinner. the prices for the same food is cheaper at lunch than dinner. then later in the day when you get hungry again get a CS snack.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Thanks so much for your input,,,I am sitting at the computer now,,,going over all the menu's,,,My problem is I have gotten so use to the Free Dining,,that I don't think I can
go to my favorite spots to pay out of pocket...Wilderness lodge is my favorite for BBQ,,and frankly, I can't imagine paying 14..99 for the meals! I am off to see if the QS dining is right for me....maybe a pacifier to wean me away from Free Dis Dining!!!!!!

What is it that you mention for $14.99?....if that's something at a TS ....that's super cheap. Anything CS that is $14.99 would most likely be large enough for 2 people. If that's the case you add a dessert to share and you have a meal for 2 for $20.

 

[Tiger926]

What is it that you mention for $14.99?....if that's something at a TS ....that's super cheap. Anything CS that is $14.99 would most likely be large enough for 2 people. If that's the case you add a dessert to share and you have a meal for 2 for $20.

Since she said that Wilderness Lodge is her fav BBQ (not sure what she means here either?) except perhaps she's talking about Trail's End Buffeteria, which is the cheapeast TS buffet on property.

Some good suggestions on here for saving money - some TS places are super expensive and some are not. Research and planning are required!

Sounds like OP is doing her homework, Tiger

 

[GOOFYsince71]

What is it that you mention for $14.99?....if that's something at a TS ....that's super cheap. Anything CS that is $14.99 would most likely be large enough for 2 people. If that's the case you add a dessert to share and you have a meal for 2 for $20.

x

 

[GOOFYsince71]

Since she said that Wilderness Lodge is her fav BBQ (not sure what she means here either?) x

 

[B-Ride]

The British free dining offer is no free dining at values, quick service at moderates and basic DDP at deluxes.

I seem to remember the Brits having a two tiered offer last year so I was expecting the same for North America. However, the August/September offer was the standard of previous years.

Still, Disney seems to be heading more towards these tiered deals. Makes sense from their perspective but not great for people staying in Value resorts.