saw this on the chicago tribune's website:
Beat the cost of Disney dining
Don't be goofy; try these places
By Arthur Frommer
King Features
Sunday, July 8, 2001
When it comes to cheap eats with the Mouse, it's occasionally a Walt Dismal World. Often in the Orlando theme parks, you're stuck paying $6 to $8 each for the most moderately priced, counter-service sandwich plus at least $2 for a simple, medium-size soft drink--the going rate in all the parks. And once you're on the premises, you're a captive. Especially at the Magic Kingdom, where egress requires at least two forms of transportation and miles of blank highway, the idea of ducking out of the park for a quick bite is simply not feasible.
But despair not. And don't be goofy--save money! A number of cherished (if hard-to-find) dining oases are available to the sharpest-eyed budget tourist visiting the four main Disney parks.
- At the Magic Kingdom: The best bargain eateries at the original Disney theme park are in the lakeside stretch between Liberty Square and Frontierland. There you'll find a sublimely priced stand selling big baked potatoes for $2.25. Add bacon bits, cheese or sour cream for 50 cents each, and you can make quite an acceptable (high-carb) meal of one of these spuds.
But the best bargain, by far, has got to be the smoked turkey legs, which are sold from an anonymous-looking cart across from the Country Bear Jamboree. For $4.50, you'll get a gargantuan hunk of bird that must weigh at least 2 pounds. The meat is sweet and moist, and there's a lot of it--chances are you won't be able to finish the giant limb.
- At Epcot: In general, the better-priced food options are along the left side of the park. Among counter-service spots, the lowest-priced serve the usual artery-cloggers (hamburgers, frankfurters and the like) at standard rates. Thus, The Electric Umbrella, in Innoventions East, and Liberty Inn, in the World Showcase's United States area, serve up a cheeseburger and fries for $5.59, veggie wraps for $5.50 and kids meals of a hot dog or chicken strips, fries and a drink for $3.25.
Healthier and cheaper foods are had at the Wonders of Life pavilion in Future World. Pure and Simple serves soups and vegetarian chili for just $2.80, fruit cups for $2.25 (plus 50 cents for frozen yogurt) and cereal with milk for $2. (Salads, though, cost an offensive $6.25.) Baked potatoes are on hand at Epcot, too: Head to The Land, where they cost $3.60 with broccoli and cheese.
Epcot offers several all-you-can-eat options. A popular old-timer, the Biergarten, in the Germany area of the World Showcase, is $13 per adult and $6 per kid for lunch, which isn't bad by Disney standards, but $19 per adult and $8 per kid for dinner, which is. For far more pleasant and authentic European fare, try the cheaper Restaurant Akershus, in Norway, where toothsome waiters and waitresses will direct you to an endless supply of real Norse food. There's smoked salmon and mackerel, mashed rutabaga, sour herring and marinated Edam cheese, plus stuff like mac and cheese for picky kids. At lunch (11:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.), it's $12 for adults and $5.25 for kids. Make your dinner reservation at 4 p.m., and you'll pay the lunchtime price--which is $6.50/$2.75 less--and be on hand just as the more expansive dinner menu is being trotted to the buffet.
Epcot also houses one of the coolest budget secrets in all of Walt Disney World. At Innoventions West, you'll find Ice Station Cool, where the Coca-Cola company has installed self-service stations for eight free soft drinks from its international product list. For absolutely no charge, you can sample such carbonated concoctions as Krest ginger ale from southern Africa, the sickly sweet Smart Watermelon from China, VegitaBeta from Japan and a somewhat-bitter Beverly from Italy, plus four others.
- At Disney-MGM Studios: Here, the cheapest options cluster along Sunset Boulevard, which is the road that leads to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The Toluca Legs Turkey Co. sells that amazing power poultry for a quarter less than in the Magic Kingdom, or $4.25 for each biceps-building leg. At the same stand, baked potatoes cost $3.50 and come with sour cream, bacon and onions.
Next to that, at Rosie's All American Cafe, cheeseburgers or veggie burgers with cheese are just $3.50, chicken strips with fries and a drink are $3.25, soup is $2.50 and apple pie is $2.25--all uncommon values at Walt Disney World.
- At the very least, MGM is the easiest park from which to scoot over to the real-world bargain places along U.S. Highway 192. Give yourselves 10 minutes each way to reach them from the parking lot.
At the Animal Kingdom: Affordable dining options are weaker here. At most food outlets, expect to pay $8 for simple entrees. Counter service is slightly better, particularly at Pizzafari (near the Camp Minnie-Mickey entrance at Discovery Island), which sells penne with meat sa uce, caesar salad and breadsticks for $6. Your brightest hopes line the walkway between Africa and Asia. When it came to animal appreciation at Disney World, the venerable gobbler didn't make the cut. The Turkey Legs Cart is at the entrance to Asia from Discovery Island, and those humongous (and sort of gory) legs sell for $4.50.
Chickens are cheap, too. Chakranadi Chicken Shop, in Asia, offers $3.95 pot stickers with spicy broth and $3.95 chicken satay with peanut sauce. If Animal Kingdom has renewed your affection for all of God's creatures, stick to the $2.25 ears of corn.
Beat the cost of Disney dining
Don't be goofy; try these places
By Arthur Frommer
King Features
Sunday, July 8, 2001
When it comes to cheap eats with the Mouse, it's occasionally a Walt Dismal World. Often in the Orlando theme parks, you're stuck paying $6 to $8 each for the most moderately priced, counter-service sandwich plus at least $2 for a simple, medium-size soft drink--the going rate in all the parks. And once you're on the premises, you're a captive. Especially at the Magic Kingdom, where egress requires at least two forms of transportation and miles of blank highway, the idea of ducking out of the park for a quick bite is simply not feasible.
But despair not. And don't be goofy--save money! A number of cherished (if hard-to-find) dining oases are available to the sharpest-eyed budget tourist visiting the four main Disney parks.
- At the Magic Kingdom: The best bargain eateries at the original Disney theme park are in the lakeside stretch between Liberty Square and Frontierland. There you'll find a sublimely priced stand selling big baked potatoes for $2.25. Add bacon bits, cheese or sour cream for 50 cents each, and you can make quite an acceptable (high-carb) meal of one of these spuds.
But the best bargain, by far, has got to be the smoked turkey legs, which are sold from an anonymous-looking cart across from the Country Bear Jamboree. For $4.50, you'll get a gargantuan hunk of bird that must weigh at least 2 pounds. The meat is sweet and moist, and there's a lot of it--chances are you won't be able to finish the giant limb.
- At Epcot: In general, the better-priced food options are along the left side of the park. Among counter-service spots, the lowest-priced serve the usual artery-cloggers (hamburgers, frankfurters and the like) at standard rates. Thus, The Electric Umbrella, in Innoventions East, and Liberty Inn, in the World Showcase's United States area, serve up a cheeseburger and fries for $5.59, veggie wraps for $5.50 and kids meals of a hot dog or chicken strips, fries and a drink for $3.25.
Healthier and cheaper foods are had at the Wonders of Life pavilion in Future World. Pure and Simple serves soups and vegetarian chili for just $2.80, fruit cups for $2.25 (plus 50 cents for frozen yogurt) and cereal with milk for $2. (Salads, though, cost an offensive $6.25.) Baked potatoes are on hand at Epcot, too: Head to The Land, where they cost $3.60 with broccoli and cheese.
Epcot offers several all-you-can-eat options. A popular old-timer, the Biergarten, in the Germany area of the World Showcase, is $13 per adult and $6 per kid for lunch, which isn't bad by Disney standards, but $19 per adult and $8 per kid for dinner, which is. For far more pleasant and authentic European fare, try the cheaper Restaurant Akershus, in Norway, where toothsome waiters and waitresses will direct you to an endless supply of real Norse food. There's smoked salmon and mackerel, mashed rutabaga, sour herring and marinated Edam cheese, plus stuff like mac and cheese for picky kids. At lunch (11:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.), it's $12 for adults and $5.25 for kids. Make your dinner reservation at 4 p.m., and you'll pay the lunchtime price--which is $6.50/$2.75 less--and be on hand just as the more expansive dinner menu is being trotted to the buffet.
Epcot also houses one of the coolest budget secrets in all of Walt Disney World. At Innoventions West, you'll find Ice Station Cool, where the Coca-Cola company has installed self-service stations for eight free soft drinks from its international product list. For absolutely no charge, you can sample such carbonated concoctions as Krest ginger ale from southern Africa, the sickly sweet Smart Watermelon from China, VegitaBeta from Japan and a somewhat-bitter Beverly from Italy, plus four others.
- At Disney-MGM Studios: Here, the cheapest options cluster along Sunset Boulevard, which is the road that leads to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The Toluca Legs Turkey Co. sells that amazing power poultry for a quarter less than in the Magic Kingdom, or $4.25 for each biceps-building leg. At the same stand, baked potatoes cost $3.50 and come with sour cream, bacon and onions.
Next to that, at Rosie's All American Cafe, cheeseburgers or veggie burgers with cheese are just $3.50, chicken strips with fries and a drink are $3.25, soup is $2.50 and apple pie is $2.25--all uncommon values at Walt Disney World.
- At the very least, MGM is the easiest park from which to scoot over to the real-world bargain places along U.S. Highway 192. Give yourselves 10 minutes each way to reach them from the parking lot.
At the Animal Kingdom: Affordable dining options are weaker here. At most food outlets, expect to pay $8 for simple entrees. Counter service is slightly better, particularly at Pizzafari (near the Camp Minnie-Mickey entrance at Discovery Island), which sells penne with meat sa uce, caesar salad and breadsticks for $6. Your brightest hopes line the walkway between Africa and Asia. When it came to animal appreciation at Disney World, the venerable gobbler didn't make the cut. The Turkey Legs Cart is at the entrance to Asia from Discovery Island, and those humongous (and sort of gory) legs sell for $4.50.
Chickens are cheap, too. Chakranadi Chicken Shop, in Asia, offers $3.95 pot stickers with spicy broth and $3.95 chicken satay with peanut sauce. If Animal Kingdom has renewed your affection for all of God's creatures, stick to the $2.25 ears of corn.
