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Epcot dining tip: If you
don't mind leaving the park for a little while, head to Boardwalk
outside of the French pavilion and eat at ESPN Club.
The food is excellent and you
can't beat the price! make sure you head over before the lunch or
dinner rush however, during the peak season you may wait up to 90
minutes for a table! Thanks
to Ryan for this tip! |
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One of the best ways to save money when
going to WDW is to get the meal plan. The price is great and you
get 2 meals a day and a snack. You can pick and of the restaurants
and that includes all of the character meals and nice places in all of
WDW. We have done this 3 times already and will do it again this
summer. This also includes tax and tips!!!!!!!
Thanks to Dianne for this tip!
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The child's portions of the counter meals are large enough to qualify
as a light meal for an adult. Just be sure you are alone when ordering
for your 4 "kids". If they ask, tell them you and the wife are going out
later that night.
Thanks to Michael for this tip!
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We
just came back from a six day trip to WDW and saved over $900 on
food. We had a party of six adults and one child and we went on
the Disney Dining Plan which I think is part
of the Magic Your Way program. For $30
per person per day, we ate like kings. Each day we each got
one counter service meal which could be used for lunch or
breakfast, (we used them for lunch since it
includes one drink, one entree, and one dessert), one snack (ice cream, popsicle, popcorn, soft drink or bottled
water), and then one table service meal for dinner. There was a
list of restaurants participating in this plan
so you had to stick to these restaurants but
we got to try so many of the restaurants that we
wouldn't have gone to otherwise, including, Boma, the Rose and
Crown and Cinderella's Royal Table. This
program is still pretty new and there were
some issues with the staff being unfamiliar with how it worked and
what was included. I think that they're still working out some of
the bugs but overall this program was well
worth it. Thanks
to Amy for this tip! |
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We
didn't know that priority seating was available at all restaurants
within Disney, we thought it was just for character meals. I asked an
employee operating one of the merchandise carts in Magic Kingdom a
question about the park restaurants, which he answered fully. He then
used his phone to get the operator, passed the phone to me and I was
able to be put through to Dinning and made a priority seating
reservation for that evening. Easier than going back to the hotel and
doing it, plus makes it easy for those not staying in a Disney hotel. Thanks
to Anne for this tip! |
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Since we fly down it is not feasible to pack any great amount of food
for our kids snacks and we never rent a car we have determined that
there is no need while staying on the Disney premises. So to get
groceries we send ourselves a care package of non perishable snacks like
juice boxes, bottled water (an expensive Disney commodity) crackers,
cookies, gum (you can't buy gum in Disneyworld), basically anything you
might find in a vending machine. I call the resort in advance and ask
what I need to do to mail myself a package there and we have it
delivered to our room upon check in. It works out great for those
poolside snacks at the hotel. Just make sure you send the heavy stuff
separate from the chips. We tried packing them together but the
chips get crushed (Pringles work good). Also be wary of those package
deals that include all three meals a day. You may find that you only
eat 2 most days. Thanks
to a Guide2WDW visitor for this tip! |
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If
you want to dine off Disney call the restaurants first to see if they
take reservations or if they make priority seating bookings - The
Outback on 92 does.
Thanks to Anne for this tip!
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When making a priority seating
reservation (especially during non-peak seasons), you should try making
one as late as possible. In many cases, priority seating is available
around the time a park is closing. For example, when we were at the
MGM-Disney Studios, it was to close at 7 pm, yet we got priority seating
at the Brown Derby at 6:50. That allowed us to spend more time at the
attractions, and by the time we left the park, we were almost alone as
we walked to the exit and there were no crowds waiting to leave the
parking lots.
Thanks
to Andrew for this tip!!! |
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It is often noted that food inside the
WDW parks is expensive, and it can be (especially the cart/"fast"
food/counter service). Taking along a snack and drink in your backpack
is indeed a good idea. But consider dining at least once a day at a
sit-down restaurant. Although sometimes the meal prices are a bit high,
typically servings are generous. If it's a dinner entree, take the
uneaten portion back to your room and snack on it later (make sure you
request a fridge and plastic utensils--a good money saving tactic).
Often the prices at sit-down restaurants are quite comparable to the
"quick" food places when you consider all you'd need to buy at the
snacky places to make an ample meal, plus you get more food at table
service restaurants. More importantly, you'll get a much-needed break to
rest and relax, away from the crowds! Eat off-hours and you'll also have
the traditional meal hours to take advantage of much shorter lines,
while everyone else is busy eating or standing in line at the counter
service places! I couldn't imagine going to Disney and not having a
sit-down meal break once a day. Disney restaurants are often very good
(check reviews and menus), you can make preferred seating arrangements
ahead of time so waits aren't usually bad, and they provide atmosphere.
For those on a budget who just want to sit down in an air conditioned
restaurant out of the crowds, try places like the much-overlooked Plaza
Restaurant on Main Street for lunch. By 1:00 the crowds are almost
always well away from this area. You can get a sandwich ($9-10) with
side salad (comes with it), a drink ($1.50-2), and a nice big dessert
($4-5) for about $16 (you can also request a grilled cheese, not on
menu, which I believe was under $5 last time I was there). Not bad for a
complete Disney meal. Compare this price with counter service at Plaza
Pavilion, where you will spend about $7 on a sandwich, $2 for side
salad, $2 on a drink, and $3 for dessert, and come away spending about
the same amount, and no guarantee of ample seating. Finally, even
without a reservation I did not wait more than three minutes at the
Plaza Restaurant, I got out of the heat, and I was in an area of the
park that other people were far away from by this time. It definitely
pays to strategize!
Thanks
to Julie for this tip!!! |
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Tell people to keep calling up to the day
before for the Cinderella breakfast. I called today and got a
reservation for next Wednesday, exactly what I wanted. :-) People who
made reservation two months ago are now canceling their reservations.
Thanks
to Aida for this tip!!! |
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Character meals are a great place to get young kids used to being
around them. They come around often enough that the kids really relaxed.
Thanks to Chris for this tip!!!
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Dining. Save money by requesting a
fridge in your hotel room. Go to Downtown Disney and by a few snacks
and sodas. Eat something before going to the parks, then each lunch
around 3:00 or 4:00. This cut down your meal to one per day and then
have a late night snack. Thanks
to Jennifer for this tip!!! |
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We had lunch at
Cinderella's castle. It was the best meal value we found during the whole trip. Kids meals are a healthy portion for $4.99
including drink. Much better deal than a $5.00 hotdog and fries.
Thanks to Jeff for
this tip!!! |
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Everyone talks about how expensive the
food is at WDW, but what we discovered was that though the price seem
high the servings were huge. So buy one meal and split it between two
people. No one will go away hungry. Another tip for Magic Kingdom is to
put off eating a big supper until 1 hour before the night parade. While
you wait for the parade someone can go get the food and bring it back.
That way you can have a nice meal and a place to sit during the parade.
Thanks
to Amanda for this tip!!! |
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If you want to see, take pictures or otherwise
interact with Disney characters, I highly recommend that you schedule a
character meal. We did breakfast at both Magic and Animal Kingdoms.
Although pricey ($16.00 for adults), we got into the parks before other
people, ate, interacted and took pictures of at least 5 characters at
each venue. This will save an undeterminable amount of time waiting in
line elsewhere in the park. Thanks to
David for this tip!!! |
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The short order lunches throughout the park are pretty much as
expected for fast food. They are quite expensive too; definitely worth
packing your own drinks to save a few dollars that are better spent on
other things.
Thanks to Stan for this tip!!! |
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The
McDonalds at Crossroads Shopping mall was always crowded during
breakfast hours. There is a Burger King
next door which was relatively free and we drove thru there quite fast.
Thanks to Sekar
for this tip!!! |
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Here is a good restaurant to try in
Orlando: Boston Lobster Feast where they serve you lobster, prime rib,
fish, shrimp, crab legs, oysters all you can eat! With a 20% off coupon
(party of five) you get all this for $20 per person! It was very good.
It's at South Orange Blossom Trail at Sand Lake Road in front of the
Florida Mall. Thanks to
Christine for this tip!!! |
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While
we were in Florida, we went to a Dinner Theater called Capones.
It was really good. It is an interactive show, and they really
brought the audience into the show. I had sent away for the "Orlando
Magic Card", and I received a book with it that had a coupon for 50% of
the tickets, so for $20.00 per adult and $10.00 per child (with the
coupon) it was well worth it. We had a lot of laughs!!!!!
Thanks to Cara for
this tip!!! |
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Very nice place to sit behind Flame Tree BBQ in
Animal Kingdom (follow the path to the left of the counter). There is
a lot of covered seating with ceiling fans. It was 90 degrees and we stayed very cool.
Thanks
to Toni for this tip!!! |
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If you decide to eat lunch in the
park most of your McDonald type eating places on the kids meals have
only chicken McNuggets. If your child likes hamburgers or
cheeseburgers be prepared to pay for the adult size meal because they
only have Chicken nuggets for children.
Thanks
to Robin for this tip! |
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One
other tip has to do with eating at Cinderella's Table for Lunch or
Dinner. Make sure you make your reservations in advance but
consider eating a late lunch as opposed to Dinner. It is not
quite as crowded. Your chances of getting a reservation close to
your vacation time are much better (if not booked far enough in
advance). Many of the menu items for lunch are on the dinner
menu but are much cheaper on the lunch menu. If you book lunch
around 2:15 you can see the 3:00 parade right after lunch.
Dinner does not start until 4:00 but I believe the last reservation
for lunch is 3:00.
Thanks
to Scott for this tip! |
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My
wife and I went to the Castle because she wanted to look at
the menu for lunch. I told her that there was no way that we
would get in because I thought that one could only get in by
reservation. One of the hostesses came over and asked if we
wanted to eat there........she just had a cancellation for 2!
The meal was wonderful. The view was excellent. And it was
worth every penny to get away from the crowds for a little while!
So, the old cliché is true "It never hurts to try!"
Thanks to Rusty for this tip! |
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If you want to eat at a Disney restaurant at
the hotels or in Epcot, you can make reservations 180 days in advance.
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We love Jungle Jim's for dinner -- located
outside of Disney at the CrossRoads. |
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Right
before the parades start, the food lines are usually at their
longest. If you really want to grab a bite to eat and you are
traveling with a family, split up. Someone find a spot while
another gets the food. Its the best way to go!
Thanks
to Megan for this tip! |