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Category Archives: Dining Plan
Disneyworld Dining on a Budget Tips & Tricks to Save Money
Not everyone out there can always afford to get the mack daddy Disney Deluxe Dining plan. I can’t tell you how many trips we have taken over the years we we didn’t do any Dining Plan at all. Most times it was when we would rent a vacation home or stay off site with a kitchen.
With our economy just starting to show signs of life again and everyone learning to maximize what they have I have compiled a list of Tips & Tricks I have learned over the years visiting Walt Disney World to save money.
- Go while the kids are young – Kids under 3 get in free at Walt Disney World. Most toddlers or infants are not going to eat much at all so they can just share off your plates. Perfect way to save some money especially if you goto a buffet like Boma of Chef Mickey’s.
- Pick up snacks – There is a Walmart not far from WDW, actually there are a bunch! Check out the map here. If you add in Publix, Albertsons, Walgreens they are all literally a stone throw away. Take a cab, or drive over and pick up some snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day and eating less at meals.
- Water Water Water – Filling up on water will cause you to eat less and in turn save you money at meal times. We have all heard our parents say you going to fill up on that drink before the food even gets here..Well use it to your advantage
Also when ordering your meals ask for water instead of pop or tea to save some big bucks! - Eats Snacks that are more like a meal – There are plenty of snacks at WDW that are so huge or so filling they are almost a meal. Use those to curb your hunger and save some money.
- Freebies – This is not a guarantee but the past couple times we have gone to Main Street Bakery with our toddler she sat there with her face pressed to the glass staring at all the goodies. After a few minutes of this one of the girls in the back was so nice she gave her a little treat on the house. Both times it has been a marshmallow treat but hey its still free right?
- Club Cool = Free Drinks – Speaking of freebies..Make sure to check out Club Cool in Epcot. There you can sample pop from around the world free of charge for as long as you like, as often as you like. We have been known to stop off here going into the World Showcase and exiting the Park.
- Bring Food in the Parks – This kinda goes hand in hand with heading to the grocery stores. Pack some sandwiches, chips, fruit in a soft cooler and find a nice place to have lunch. When your done eating the soft cooler will fold up for easy storage.
- Find Cheaper Eats – Your not going to find coupons to the Disney Restaurants but you may have to pass the Casual Dining Restaurant for a Counter Service option to save some money. Each park has a restaurant that is a really good value here are some of my favorites:
- Animal Kingdom – Flame Tree Barbecue – Good food for sharing, and most meals are under $10
- Epcot - Tangierine Café – Platters are great for sharing and most are under $12
- Hollywood Studios – Starring Rolls Cafe – Most desserts here are so huge they NEED to be shared!
- Magic Kingdom – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe – Chicken & Ribs Combo is a lot of food for $13
Well I hope this list will help you make the most of your Disney Vacation without breaking the bank. If you have any Tips & Tricks to help Dining on a Budget at Walt Disney World let us know in the comment section.
Top Quick Service Places to Grab a Bite in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is sort of the red-headed stepchild of Disney parks, often dismissed as nothing more than a zoo. This is too bad, really, because of all the Disney parks, it has what is arguably one of loveliest themes and incredible attention to detail. But we’re not here to discuss the merits of DAK, we’re here to talk about the food. After all, it is a big park and you’re going to need some sustenance to get around it.
First of all, you’ll find two things missing from Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Plastic straws and lids for your drinks. It’s for the animals, so we willingly give those things up even if the paper straws feel a little, well, creepy. If you’re worried about your younger children spilling their drinks on themselves, bring a sippy cup/straw cup from home and pour the drink in it. Problem solved.
Ironically, DAK has the worst quick service options of any park for vegetarians. I wrote about it here, but if you want to save yourself the trouble of clicking I’ll simply tell you that your best choices are probably veggie burgers or Pizzafari. For the rest of you, here are my top five in no particular order:
Picnic in the Park is one of my favorite quick service options in Disney World and the abundance of quiet, pretty areas to enjoy your meal make it an especially nice choice for DAK. Order anything from healthy sandwiches to roasted chicken and sides. Feeds 2 – 6,depending on the price. For more information, check out this post on The Disney Food Blog (scroll down past the updates for the review).
Safari Turkey. Did I just recommend the turkey legs again? Yes. Yes, I did. I know they’re not for everyone, but they’re cheap, huge and filling. Oh, and they taste really good. Just can’t get into the turkey legs? They have chicken wings as well.
Yak and Yeti Counter Service. Asian style noodles, sweet and sour pork, egg rolls and the like. The chicken fried rice is pretty good. Nuggets and burgers for the kids.
Pizzafari. I believe Disney can do just about anything. They can take a stressed-out adult with a powerful job and too much responsibility and make him feel like a kid again. They can make you forget that the person in the mouse costume isn’t really Mickey Mouse, if only for a few minutes. And they can create rides that make it seem perfectly reasonable to wait over an hour to experience them. But they can’t make pizza, or at least not yet. I’m holding out hope for Via Napoli, but that’s another post. Pizzafari isn’t great pizza, but it’s probably the best quick service pizza you’ll get in any of the parks. Better yet, your kids will probably like it and there are salads and slightly addictive bread sticks. Bonus points for plenty of seating in cheerful rooms. As noted above, this is a good place to take your non-meat eating friends.
If I had to pick at favorite at DAK, I’d probably go with Flame Tree Barbecue. I live in the south, so I’m pretty particular about my BBQ, but this place surprised me, particularly the ribs, which were moist and delicious. Onion rings, chicken, fries and sandwiches. This place will make everyone in your party happy. Well, maybe not the vegetarians. Walk down toward the water for one of the nicest views in all of Disney World.
Creating the Perfect Disney Dining Day – Where would you grab 3 meals and a snack?
I love planning for our Disney Vacations. Since I am always reading Disney News Articles, looking at Disney Food Photos, and running a Disney website I try to think of different fun ways to plan for our next vacation. In between writing Disney Food Confessions and Top Eat articles this past week I thought what would be my Perfect Disney Dining Day. Start to finish if money were no object and I had ADR’s waiting on me anywhere. What places would I choose?
My wife and I have dined at almost every Disney restaurant over the years except for some of the Higher Priced Signature Restaurants and of course Club 33.
So out of all the restaurants I have dined at what places would make up the perfect day from Breakfast through dinner including one snack. Follow along with me as I pick my favorites and then afterwards let me know yours either here or over on Facebook.
Breakfast – Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort – Tonga Toast with bacon and Kona Coffee French Press & POG Juice. Earlier this year when we went to Walt Disney World we actually ate here twice it was so good! Truly a one of a kind breakfast item!
Lunch – Le Cellier Steakhouse Canadian Pavilion Epcot – After a hearty breakfast and armed with a magical metabolism I manage to be hungry again. So I stop off at Le Cellier for Cheddar Cheese Soup with Pretzel Bread, and a Medium Rare Steak. For dessert I dive into a Chocolate-on-Chocolate Whiskey Cake.
Dinner – Boma Flavors of Africa Animal Kingdom Lodge – Fresh ingredients and unique African flavor this place is hands down my all time favorite place to eat at Disneyworld. The atmosphere is great, food even greater, and the service is spot on! This is the perfect meal to end the perfect day. But wait I almost forgot my snack.
Snack – Dole Whip from Aloha Isle in the Magic Kingdom – The Dole whip is one of my Top 10 Disney Desserts. It’s a perfect pairing for sitting at the Magic Kingdom and watching the fireworks. Since this is all hypothetical I am going to imagine I can take my time and eat this yummy dessert without it melting at all.
So that is my choices for Perfect Disney Dining Day. Now its your turn to let me know yours in the comment section below or on our Facebook Page.
This article is featured on the July edition of the Disney Blog Carnival.
Top Casual Dining options at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Area
Looking over the list of restaurants around Disney Animal Kingdom is kinda slim especially when you want a good sit down meal. I was left with 3 options to choose from which doesn’t make for a good list for our weekly series Top Eats.
So I decided to include those resorts around the Animal Kingdom Area to help expand my choices even further. That opened it up a little more but nowhere near as many choices as Epcot or the Magic Kingdom area holds.
Here are the list of restaurants that are available for a good sit down meal in the Animal Kingdom Area.
5. Yak & Yeti - Really good Asian Food, I would say even better than Nine Dragons in Epcot. For me it is more authentic and don’t get me started on the Dim Sum for two..The only downfall is the atmosphere isn’t as great as some Disney Restaurants it feels like a quick service restaurant for the most part.
4. Rainforest Cafe – I can see why this is a national chain. Great food and even better atmosphere. This is one of the places we try to visit every time we are at Disney World. I like the Animal Kingdom stop better than the Downtown Disney. It seems it’s not as busy as it’s counterpart.
3. Tusker House – One of the must eat places for my family and I to get breakfast. There are plenty of unique food choices here and seeing Mickey & the Gang dressed in Safari gear is very cool.
2. Sanaa – The most unique Dining locations in the Animal Kingdom area. The food is a fusion of India and African. Some dishes are really good while others fall kind of flat. Still a very good restaurant but no where near as good as my top choice…
1. Boma – My favorite Dinner Buffet in all of Walt Disney World. I could eat here every day and not get sick of it. There are so many choices and the food is so delicious if you have never been you NEED to go! A perfect fusion of Indian, African and a touch of Asian.
What are your Top Eats from around the Animal Kingdom? Let us know in the comment section below.
Special Character Dinner at Disney’s Vero Beach
Ahoy mateys!! Pirate fever has made its way to the beach, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort to be exact. Shutters restaurant at Disney’s Vero Beach is having some swashbuckling fun this summer with a special Pirate Character dinner every Monday night hosted by Pirate Goofy and Pirate Donald. It’s an all-you-can-eat feast with guava barbeque ribs, rotisserie chicken, brisket, barbeque pulled pork and loads of favorite sides that I thought you’d like to know about. It’s $26.99 and $12.99 for ages 3-9 thru Labor Day.