Disney Dining on a Budget....

[WDWmazprty]

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http://thedisneyblog.com/2011/10/14/disney-dining-on-a-budget/

Disney Dining on a Budget
Posted on October 14, 2011 by The Disney Chick


Let’s face it – in WDW, you’re constantly surrounded by food. At every turn, a popcorn vendor. Around every corner, a turkey leg just begging to be chewed on. And every breeze carries with it the delicious smells coming from a nearby restaurant.

Of course, succumbing to all these culinary temptations adds up, and you can end up with a hefty tab by the end of the trip … without even factoring in the cost of all those souvenirs. Fortunately, there are ways to still have your (Mickey cup)cake and eat it too. Here are five tips that my family employs to help keep our dining costs down:

1.Splurge on a great restaurant. This sounds contradictory, but I’ve found that planning to have a nice meal at one of WDW’s fancier options can help keep your spending in check. Do your research ahead of time, pick which restaurant you’d like to visit, make your reservations, and start looking forward to it. That way, when you’re walking around the parks and you stop by what I would call a “mid-price” restaurant (Garden Grill, Yak n Yeti), you can fight temptation knowing you’ve got a world class meal coming up later.

2.Don’t buy breakfast at the hotel. They charge per slice of toast, for Pete’s sake. The breakfast options at the WDW resorts are pretty decent, but they’re nothing special and totally overpriced. If you’re staying at a resort with a kitchen, I recommend stopping by Wal-Mart or another grocery store after you’ve checked in and stocking up on basic, simple, breakfast items. Orange juice, bite-size donuts, cereal snack packs and milk, fruit, etc. (Also, we always buy a case of water bottles so we never have to buy them in the parks, where they cost $2.50 each.) You’ll save a lot by eating breakfast in the room. For a special treat, pick up breakfast in the parks before you leave – for example, after the fireworks, swing by Main Street Bakery (or the Norway and France pavilions if you’re in Epcot) and pick up some pastries for the next day. They’re delicious, and it’s still cheaper than having breakfast in the hotel cafeteria.

3.Eat your way around the World. The World Showcase, that is. Sure, there are some good (note: that’s good, not great) restaurants in Epcot, but they’re nowhere near as tasty as the dining options in the various resorts, and they’re pricey little buggers. For my money, the best food in Epcot is usually found at the quick service options within each pavilion, and eating your way through the World Showcase is a great way to sample a little bit of what each country has to offer, get a full belly, and have a relaxing evening.

4.Snack like you mean it. There’s no need to shell out big bucks for a sit-down lunch – not when there are so many things to do! By snacking your way through the afternoon, you can eat enough to stay full, without shelling out your hard-earned cash for an overpriced meal. Plus, the best lunches are Dole Whip lunches, amiright?

5.Embrace the chicken tenders. Yeah, I know, there are other options at the parks – tacos and baked potatos and hot dogs and burgers – but somehow it always comes back to chicken tenders. Don’t fight it. One order with fries is enough for the whole family, and besides, you have that fancy meal to look forward to (see #1).
How do you keep costs down while dining in WDW?

 

[brightlillstar]

I'm definitely a grazer. DH and I have started to spend more on dining recently. On our last trip we did DDP, and this trip we're getting TIW and have 4 TS meals planned, but before that we used to eat on $50 a day a lot of the time.

We'd usually grab a snack for breakfast, or get a Mickey waffle and split it. For lunch, either grazing with lots of snacks - dole whips, frozen bananas, you name it, or counter service, sometimes splitting meals because they can be large, and dinner would also be counter service. We'd plan a few nicer meals per trip as the article suggests. You can def eat around the world, too. Grab something counter service ro snack at every place and split it as you walk. you'll get full quickly.

On the DDP you can actually do very well. We did it during F&W and since every meal comes with dessert, we'd ALWAYS get our desserts to go and save them (in the ice bucket sometimes) to eat as breakfast the next morning, or snacks during the day, and we'd sometimes use snack credits for breakfast, but what we saved them for was tasting portions at food and wine. That was a blast.

This time we have TIW and so far 4 sit down meals planned. We'll probably add more. After doing the DDP, we really got to appreciate the dining at Disney and how it's its own experience, so I would also suggest skipping some meals out at home and saving that money for some choice meals at Disney

 

[Zummi Gummi]

5.Embrace the chicken tenders. Yeah, I know, there are other options at the parks – tacos and baked potatos and hot dogs and burgers – but somehow it always comes back to chicken tenders. Don’t fight it. One order with fries is enough for the whole family, and besides, you have that fancy meal to look forward to (see #1).
How do you keep costs down while dining in WDW?

I've never heard of one chicken tenders combo with fries being enough to feed an entire family lunch.

 

[CaptainShortty]

I've never heard of one chicken tenders combo with fries being enough to feed an entire family lunch.

Me either and I've eaten quite my fair share in my lifetime. I mean it is big enough for two children probably but one hit about the age of 10/12, for the most part you're going to need your own, IMO.

 

[wdwmemories]

I agree that breakfast is one of the best ways to save big time on food. Stock up on cheap breakfast food, eat lots, and then hold out for a nice dinner.

 

[njDizFan]

I like to occasionally schedule midmeal buffets. Meaning instead of eating at 8-12-6, have a larger meal at say 10 or 3. I know it may not be the healthiest option to gorge yourself enough for 2 meals but its a time and money saver.

 

[minniemickeyfan]

I don't see how some of those ideas would save money on dining.
If one person had 3 snacks I would need to budget $8-12 a day-that's easily a counter meal. Sharing one order of chicken nuggets and fries?

 

[lighteningqueen]

I have to agree eating snacks is a huge waste of money.. They are usually just high carb for the moment snacks, nothing rib sticking. Go to Pecos bills and share a double meat burger. They are thick meated and you can buy an extra bun there. Share the fries.. Eat at Starring Rolls and Backlot in DHS. You can refill your drinks there so you can buy just one, share it. I feel if you can POP tart Break then eat a meal late afternoon around 4-5 you can save money. Maybe a big snack on the way out..It can be done if you know which restaurants have the biggest portions and which snack is big enough to split but have some substance to it to make you fuller..

 

[slappy magoo]

A little OT, but I remember a similar thread started back near when I first started visiting this forum. The person was, if memory serves, hawking a "how to save money at WDW 'book' that was little more than a pamphlet, but she offered a few suggestions for free, I guess trying to entice people to learn more. Most of the suggestions were of the "no, duh" variety, but one of them was ridonkulous - she suggested doing what she did to save money on food, spend your first night at a Deluxe resort at the Concierge level (she had stayed at the Poly), and you'd be "allowed" to keep going back for free continental breakfasts and drinks ans snacks or, you know, just to relax and get away from the hectic pace of WDW touring...

So basically her big "tip" was getting away with stealing, and when it was pointed out to her, she insisted she was not stealing because she was allowed to do it, never once thinking she was allowed because people thought she was still staying at the resort and only a thief would try to do what she was doing. Thread got locked, from what I remember...

Anyway, continue...

 

[britdaw]

We have budgeted a small fortune for food, but mostly because for almost every day that we're there (8 days) we have 2 ADR's booked. I downloaded an awesome app that has all the menus for every restaurant in the World in it, though, so this has helped me be able to budget a little more smartly for our meals and realize that in a lot of the places we're going to eat, my girls can probably share a plate of food, or that I may just want to eat an appetizer or something. One thing, though, that I definitely plan on doing is going to Sam's before we leave to stock up on things like Pop Tarts or granola bars and things we can have in the room for lunch or dinner. I know the more you eat in your room the more you can save, so I always plan to do that whenever we go on trips.

 

[lbrad]

Whenever we head to WDW we drive ... I ALWAYS stock up on breakfast items/snacks & drinks, sometimes lunch food too ... stop at Wal Mart along the way.

Saves my family of 5 lots of $$$.

This is a wee bit harder to do when you fly ... snacks get stuffed in the suitcase

 

[SMS55]

I usually pick up some ham and cheese and makes some sandwitches to take with us. My wife always carries a small bookbag with a few personal things so we stick them in there and it saves alot on lunch. We aren't big breakfast people. Coffee which we'll get there and some breakfast bars we bring with us. The kids will get something. Once we're done at the parks, we'll head out and get something to eat before giong back to our room for the night. We'll usually go to that area on 192 west of World Drive. They have everything you want there. Our last night we'll just eat at the park. Magic Kingdom usually has extra magic hours that night. I live in Florida and go a few times a year. We go and just do the things we want. We try to stick to a budget so we can go back as often as we can.

 

[Phonedave]

When I first started going I did all the cost saving things. Packed food, split burgers, ate in the room, etc.

Now, I eat what I want. I found that in reality I was not saving all that much, and what I was saving was not worth the effort and lack of "vacation feel" for me. In addition I found I was eating more or less "crap food" - mini-doughnuts, pop-tarts, burgers, fries, chicken tenders, etc.

Now we grab a small breakfast. a bagel or some fruit or yogurt. If we feel hungry during the day, a snack is in order. Then we normaly eat at a table service place where we get a protien, starch, and *gasp* a non-fried vegetible. A "real" dinner is more satisfying to me and keeps me happy.

I guess if you are on the razors edge of funds, then all the cost cutting works. But then I have to ask, if you are on the razors edge, why are you going?

Seriously though, look at how much you actualy SAVE (factor in the cost of ALL the food you buy at WalMart) and then deceide if it is worth it. You may be suprised.


-dave

 

[righttrack]

I find that breakfasts are the best way to save. We order our food online from garden grocer and get cases of water, breakfast bars, fruit and nuts. A week's worth of breakfasts and water all day for less than $40 for 4 people, plus some snacks.

We like light breakfasts as above, and room coffee is fine, afterall it's just a caffeine delivery system anyway. While my family doesn't deliberately try to save money, we don't try to waste it either.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Another good option is the chicken and ribs combo at Cosmic Rays. It's definitely big enough to feed 3 people who dont eat a ton. My sister, mother and I shared it last time we went.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I usually bring breakfast food because that really is a big savings. I can buy a package of bagels for the cost of one at Disney. I also don't really need big breakfasts, so this one I don't mind. When it comes to lunch and dinner, I do budget so that I can enjoy those meals a bit more. Usually have one quick serve and one table serve a day. I could definitely save money by making sandwiches and bringing them to the park for lunch, but that is what I do for lunch everyday when I am not in Disney. When I am away, I want to be away and enjoy myself a bit. Now that I am a bit closer and visit more often, I will sometimes grab lunch before or after I get to property if I know I am just going to have quick serve once I get there anyway.

 

[Tiggerish]

We will always stop at a supermarket on the way in from the airport and pick up breakfast items (bread or bagels), oj, and milk for coffee/tea. There's a toaster in all DVC rooms, so we take advantage of that for breakfast, and I usually pack some cereal in a ziploc bag.

If we're staying as long as a week and have a 1BR unit, we'll take the detour to a Publix and enjoy their lower prices (and get some eggs and bacon too!), or if we're only down for a few days, we'll make a quick stop at Goodings (their prices are not bad at all when you're used to NYC prices!)

We always have table service reservations for dinner, and will usually just grab some lunch when we feel like it. The TiW card is a good money-saver for us, but TS lunch and dinner would be way too much food! We did that one trip last year, and I had to be rolled through the airport concourse to reach the gate. I just finished taking off those ten pounds, and I don't want them back! :lol: