Less expensive non-reservation food options

L

LisMol

New Member
Original Poster
I’ll be at WDW for 5 days this May and we’ve booked breakfast at Cinderella’s Castle at the beginning of the week and the Star Wars dessert party for our last night.
Because those two are pretty pricey -we’re looking for other options for other dinners as we don’t really want to eat in our hotel’s food court for 5 nights.

We’re staying at Art of Animation and have a 7 & 3 yr old. We had planned to take a break from the parks late afternoon and are open to exploring other parts/resorts? Particularly interested in Ohana because of the Moana gift shop.

Any suggestions?
 
Schneewittchen

Schneewittchen

Well-Known Member
You're looking for decent quick service options, right? I'm a big fan of table service, so my experience is limited but.....

Or are you looking for less expensive table service where you don't necessarily need a reservation??? I can babble on about that too.

But here's some quick service....

For QS at Epcot, I can vouch for:
Liberty Inn - it's hard to mess up a sandwich
Boulangerie Patisserie les Halles - great grilled ham and cheese
La Cantina de San Angel - I've had worse Mexican fast food and CHURROS!!!!
Tangierine Cafe - really great shawarma, hummus, falafel, etc.

QS at MK, there's a lot of blech, but there's some decent stuff too:
Be Our Guest (lunch time) - a bunch of sandwiches, really not so bad
Pecos Bill's - decent burritos with a really great fixin's bar
Columbia Harbour House - reasonably good fried fish and shrimp

QS at Resorts:
Contempo Cafe @ Contemporary- not bad, but it can be a mob scene in the morning
Capt. Cook's @ Poly - again, not bad, and for whatever reason it's really quiet there sometimes

QS at Disney Springs, lots of options:
Blaze - brick oven pizza chain
Earl of Sandwich - yes, I love sandwiches
Daily Poutine - fries with cheese and gravy
 
Schneewittchen

Schneewittchen

Well-Known Member
I forgot to mention, the food court at All Star Movies is fine too. But it's a food court, it can be insane in mornings, and I imagine the food is similar to your home hotel's food court....
 
Schneewittchen

Schneewittchen

Well-Known Member
Enjoy a list of table service restaurants that (I like) and you can just walk right up to - sometimes.

At Animal Kingdom:
Yak & Yeti

At Epcot:
San Angel Inn Restaurant
Restaurant Marrakesh
Teppan Edo

At MK:
Skipper Canteen
Plaza Restaurant

Resorts:
Trail's End @ Fort Wilderness
Kona Cafe @ Poly
Artist Point @ Wilderness Lodge

Disney Springs:
Bongos
Splitsville
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Just a follow-up that applies to Rainforest Cafe (DS and AK), Yak & Yeti (AK), and T-REX (DS), which are all owned by Landry's: if you joint Landry's Select rewards program, you are entitled to immediate seating at those restaurants whenever you show up. ("Immediate" may not mean instant; it just means you'll be treated as though you had a reservation, and seated just as quickly.) It costs $25 to join, but you get a $25 "welcome" credit for joining (present your membership card to a server to redeem), so it ends up costing nothing.

We joined for our next trip, since my kids have been begging to go to T-REX, and we wanted to try Yak & Yeti. We didn't make reservations, and it's nice to know we won't have to plan those two days around hard-and-fast dining times, but don't have to miss out on table service with a short wait when we're ready to eat, either!
 
belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
FYI, Ohana is definitely on the pricier side and definitely requires a reservation...so if you have your heart set on that, best be prepared in both ways! If you want to visit Poly without choosing Ohana, Kona Cafe is rarely crowded. We've walked in with no reservation, we've walked in with extra people that weren't on our reservation, and very early to our reservation. No problems. Plus, the food is pretty unique from sandwiches/burgers, and there's a wide variance in price range too.
 
M

Minnie Mum

Well-Known Member
Just to emphasize the points about Ohana. It is neither inexpensive or in the non reservation category. If you want to eat cheaply, and walk up at the Poly, try Captain Cooks (CS) or Kona Cafe. Look at any restaurants menus online in advance to see if the food will suit you.
 
Pleakley

Pleakley

Active Member
Les Halles at Epcot and Wolfgang Puck Express at DS have very good food for being quick service, and I'm snobby. Blaze Pizza at DS is good for the price. Flower and Garden should still be going on, I can usually make a meal between the better booths and a few other snacks. The Kringla Bakeri in Norway is always good but it will likely still be undergoing renovations.
 
NiarrNDisney

NiarrNDisney

Well-Known Member
Here are some awesome CS restaurants and "fairly" priced TS options

__TS__

Ale & Compass (YCR)
Garden Grove Cafe (Swan)
Grand Floridian Cafe (GFR)
Fountain (Dolphin)
Kona Cafe (Poly)
Mama Melroses (DHS) may need and ADR
Olivia's (OKW)
Plaza Restaurant (MK)
Sanaa (AKL-KV)
Splitsville (DS Westside)
Trails End (FW)
Trattoria al Forno (BWR) may need an ADR
Turf Club (SSR)
Wave (CR)
Yak & Yeti Restaurant (DAK) may need an ADR

__CS__

Boulangerie Patisserie Les Halles (Epcot)
Columbia Harbour House (MK)
Cookes of Dublin (DS Landing)
Geyser Point (WL)
Hurricane Hannas (BCR)
Katsura Grill (Epcot)
Liberty Inn (Epcot)
Mara (AKL)
Riverside Mill (PORS)
Sassagoula Floatworks (POFQ)
Satu'li Canteen (DAK)
Sunshine Seasons (Epcot)
Tangierine Cafe (Epcot)
Wolfgang Puck Express (DS Marketplace)
 
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eliza61nyc

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
Not sure of the name but in Epcot, in; the building the houses "Soarin" on the lower level there is a food court that serves a variety of dishes that are not your typical burgers and fries.

large variety and pretty tasty.
 
dhuff

dhuff

New Member
Just returned from a trip last week, so it's fresh in my mind... For less expensive walk-up meals, our favorites are:

  • MK: Columbia Harbour House over in Liberty Square is always reliable. We ate there twice.
  • Epcot: Katsura Grill in Japan, and Tangierine Café in Morocco (assuming "ethnic" food is OK with your family). I've honestly never had a bad meal at any walk-up in the World Showcase area...
  • AK: Harambe Market in Africa - only open for lunch, like a food court. Restaurantosaurus was fine if you just want burgers and such.
  • DHS: We only had table service (Sci-Fi Drive In, which was great), so no opinion there.
 
dreamfinder

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Price isn't necessarily the same as quality. Most food on property tends to be similarly priced. IE a large Coke should cost the same at all CS locations, a burger with fries is usually within a buck or two at all places (price tends to shift based on toppings). The places most of us seem to think have more value offer different types of meals. IE the platters at Cosmic rays ar usually big enough for people to split, same with some of the platters at Tangierine Cafe. There are things you can do like ask for no fries to knock a few bucks of the menu price. Otherwise look at Disney Springs, specifically Earl of Sandwich and Blaze Pizza for affordable options.
 
Mainahman

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
For us its not a trip unless we eat at Pecos Bills. Quick enjoy the lettuce on the fixins bar before its gone like the guac! ha!

Flame Tree BBQ is also one of our favorites.

I dont know if its still open, but there used to be a walk up window to get slices of Napoli pizza to go.

Columbia Harbor House as well for us was a new favorite!

We tried on our last trip to eat at completely new places to us, short of pecos bills, and did fairly well, Id have to look at park maps to remember, but theres tons of good options!

YAk and Yeti was amazing, we did have a reservation, but was not too too pricey, and you could tell not everyone did, and they still got in.

Same with Napoli over in Italy. A large pizza will feed most families, and isnt all that badly priced for sit down. In fact it was cheaper than our Meal and drinks at Yak and Yeti.
 
K

Korrieleslie

New Member
Yak and Yetis walk up counter in AK has an amazing chicken fried rice side dish that is quite large for the price and very delicious. My kids all loved it and had to eat it every day we were at AK.
 
Legendary

Legendary

Active Member
Since you have kids don’t be afraid to share meals with them. We usually look for meals that can be split. The least expensive place in MK is Casey’s. They serve a foot long hot dog and fries for $11. Too much for 1 person just right for 2. Pecos Bills also has a fajita platter that can be easily shared. In AK, Flame Tree BBQ is always a must do for us. Excellent ribs and chicken combo. Options are poor in HS, sorry. Epcot, sandwiches in Norway and France, Nachos in Mexico, fish and chips in the UK. Tons of really good choices in Epcot. Go to
Allears.net they have all the menus listed with prices.
 

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