jl0630

We are planning a trip to Disney this June....what places would you recomend to eat in WDW that are reasonable, with good food? We have 3 children (7, 11, and 13).

Pumpy

Reasonable and WDW are pretty much mutually exclusive. At night, go to downtown Disney and there are a variety of places from expensive to relatively inexpensive. However, inside the parks its hard to find what I would call a real bargain. PS: Be sure to buy the refillable mugs at the hotel as they will easily pay for themselves in 1-2 days.

jnl81

Go to wdwig.com
This is a really good web site that can help with everything you want to know!

Patrick

I'm confused by your post. By reasonable do you not mean the usual definition -- getting what you pay for? While the restaurants may not be super cheap or even what one would call bargains, I have yet to eat in any of them that I would call "unreasonable". I think Epcot's restaurants in particular are generally good and decent or "reasonable" for what you get, especially weighing in the atmosphere or decor of most of them.

On the other hand if you are really saying, "where can you get a really great meal that is a "steal"?", the answer is simple -- it ain't gonna happen.

jayne

We really like the Sci-Fi Theatre at MGM Studios. We eat there every time we go to WDW. The Pinochio restaurant in Magic Kingdom has a nice view of the load-on area of the Small World ride and you can get a slice of pizza and salad pretty inexpensivly. Many of the hotels on WDW property have food-court type eating establishments (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack fare) that are pretty resonable with good to fair food. They are especially good when kids are tired and you just want to go back to the hotel and relax and get a quick bite to eat. You can eat there, take it back to your rooms to eat and watch TV, or maybe you want to eat somewhere on the beautiful landscaped grounds or by the pool. You can ride the resort bus and get off and any of the hotels to look around and to eat at their restaurants. The Beach Club has a dinner buffet that is huge, although not exactly cheap - it was worth the price. The drink containers on property are good for coffee, tea, soda and hot chocolate! - just be sure to bring a little bit of dishwashing soap to clean them with - after a few days of rinsing them under the bathroom tap they seemed to need a little more cleaning. Although the meals from the quick resaurants in the parks are more expensive that what you would pay outside of the parks in a fast food type restaurant they have gotten better and are better than you may have had at some other amusement park type places. You will probably want to eat fast because there is so much to do. Don't worry, after a few days in Disney "World", reasonable will take on a completely different meaning.

gail

If you are keeping track of food expenses, it is the beverages that will torture you with their cost. While you can mentally adjust to this at meals, it is the frequent drinks to help deal with heat that can push you towards bankruptcy. Bring a water bottle for each of you and pre-set a limit with the kids for additional purchased beverage items ahead of time.

Don't know where you are staying, but we usually eat major meal of day (sometimes noon, sometimes evening) out of park - both for cost and since WDW food gets tedious fast.

Epcot has better food than Magic Kingdom.

ilisa

We love Restaurant Akershus at Norway in Epcot. The dinner buffet is about $14.00/pp and has a wide range of cold and hot dishes. I don't recall how much the lunch is. We find it it delicious and a good value. Across from the restaurant is a bakery that also serves delicious open faced sandwiches if you want something quicker. They always fill us up. I would stear clear of the restaurant at Mexico. I don't consider it a good value because the food is not much different that what you would get at Chi-Chi's. If you are staying on property, I definitely recommend buying the refillable mugs. They are about $10 per mug and entitle you to unlimited beverages at your resort. Since a soda or coffee costs almost $3.00, you recoup the cost in almost no time.

Dreamer2

I agree with Jayne about the Sci-Fi diner at MGM! Your kids would love sitting in the old convertibles, watching clips of old horror movies, while enjoying a burger.
Also fun, but not so reasonable, is the Living Seas restaurant at Epcot, where can sit in front of a huge aquarium and watch the undersea world. It's also nice and dark and cool in there to get out of the hot June sun.
At the Magic Kingdom, the best buy is PB&J's (or cold fried chicken) at Aunt Polly's on Tom Sawyer's Island. However, if you are needing A/C, go into the Diamond Horseshoe Salon and see the review while you eat.
When there is some form of entertainment during the meal, I feel like it's a value-added bargain!
Also, make sure the 11 year old orders kids meals whenever possible. When my youngest still qualified for "kids", but wanted to order a choice off the adult menu, I often ordered for him, and he'd order for me, and then we'd switch! (I often prefer just a small bite for lunch, basically just to refuel and pass time while others eat.)
I also love the above suggestions regarding water bottles. If you bring the self-filtering, you can basically used hotel ice or water from any tap!

schmerl

For information on dining and all other aspects of WDW, to to www.disboards.com

Rachel

In additional to the info provided by other posters, i recommend bringing your own bottled drinks (water, gatoraid, etc), in plastic of course. You can refill them at drinking fountains and even the food concessions will fill them with water. Bottled Disney water is at least $2/bottle. In June, you'll need a lot to keep hydrated. I also suggest packing snacks so that you're not at the mercy of WDW everytime a child needs a snack. Granola bars, small packs of cookies, raisens, etc. You know what you're kids like. Stop at a supermarket (off the grounds) before you check in to your hotel. Finally, another great site for Disney tips is www.mousesavers.com Have a fun trip

Topper

The problem with the mugs is packing them and keeping up with them

ElCheapo

I notice that at least one, and possibly 2 of your children will probably be ordering from the kid's menu. EVERY restaurant at WDW has them and the meals are a good value. Most include dessert such as a scoop of ice cream. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge a month or so after it opened and their snack bar sold a PB&J with grapes and a rice krispy treat for under $3. The PB&J was on nice homemade bread, it was a great value, and the kids loved it!

If possible, eat your main meal at midday and snack or eat lightly in the evening. You'll save money and you'll beat the crowds if you can arrange to eat at off hours like 2:30-3:30.

I enjoyed Restaurant Akershus (sp?) but my children definitely did not. All they wanted to eat were these little bitty deviled eggs they had on the buffet. They just weren't into all of the pickled and smoked fish. Go figure.

Have fun!

Lee4

When at WDW last summer, we tried to eat breakfast in our hotel room each day. We bought soft drinks and bottled water at a local grocery store, for this purpose, along with some snack-types of food. Then, we usually ate lunch or supper in one of the parks. We also went off-property a few times to save some money. I highly recommend Chevy's--a tex/mex type place not far from the Disney Village. The food is great, huge servings, and excellent prices.

Inside the WDW parks, I really enjoyed the barbecue place at Animal Kingdom (can't remember the name). The food was delicious and I believe you got a side order or 2 with your sandwich/meat order.

At Magic Kingdom, I'm a fan of the bakery on Main Street. We often stopped here to pick up pastries for our breakfast the next day (or snacks during the day). The prices were slightly higher than what you'd pay outside of WDW, but the food was always tasty and a nice size too.

At EPCOT, I love the French bakery (I'm quite the dessert fan!). We often had something here for our lunch or mid-day snack. Since it's a vacation, I didn't feel too bad about eating this type of food. And, we usually skipped bigger "meals" b/c we just wanted another light snack or something light.

Make sure you follow the other posters' advice and bring your own water bottles in the park. We always carried one back pack in the parks and kept some bottles in there. Then we filled up throughout the day as needed.

karenvk

We were at WDW in November. Stayed off site in a rental so we were able to have breakfast at home each morning. We brought water bottles each day (filled them the night before and put them in the freezer so they would slowly thaw throughout the day - and we could refill them in the parks!). We did have lunch each day in the parks and they were reasonably priced. In fact, the kids meals at each park were $3.49 which included a sandwich, pizza, hot dog (or whatever the theme of the restaurant was), beverage, chips or carrots and dessert (usually cookies). It was a decent value. I agree with the other poster that the Flame Tree BBQ at Animal Kingdom was quite good. We also hit Pizza Planet at MGM and there are plenty of options at Epcot (we ate at the food court in the land so everyone could get what they wanted...). We ended up doing most dinners at restaurants outside the parks or at home. I don't know if you have that option but it's certainly less expensive than having to eat all your meals courtesy of Mickey!

BELLA

I WAS IN DISNEY WORLD FOR CHRISTMAS 2002 I FOUND THAT MOST OF THE FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS HAD HAMBURGERS AND FRENCH FRIES WHICH I DON'T EAT
I ALSO AGREE THAT THE MAIN STREET BAKERY WAS GREAT. WE ATE BREAKFAST THERE A LOT . MANY THINGS TO CHOOSE FROM (BANANA NUT BREAD / CROISSANTS FRENCH TOAST ETC) VERY REASONABLE AND THE LINE MOVES FAST THE FRENCH BAKERY IN PARIS AT EPCOT WAS ALSO EXCELLENT
FOR DINNER WE PREFERRED TO EAT AT THE
BETTER RESTAURANTS
WE ATE AT: CAPE MAY AT THE YACHT AND BEACH CLUB (NEW ENGLAND CLAM BAKE)
PLUS OTHER FOOD ABOUT $20.00 A PERSON
BOMA AT THE ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE
BUFFET OF ABOUT 60 DIFFERENT FOODS
(BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP ETC) $20.00
OHANA IN THE POLYNESIAN HOTEL
FOOD COMES OUT ON SKEWERS
DELICIOUS SHRIMP $20.00
PINEAPPLE IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE
BE SURE TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR THE BUFFET'S

gmoney

The restaurants at Epcot are the best bet if you go for lunch. Most places server lunch until 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon which can make for an early dinner. The prices are much lower and the menu is similar to dinner. Have to agree about the Norway rest. it is the best value at WDW in my opinion, especially for lunch price. In MK I would have to say that libery tree tavern (also for lunch) is a nice break from the hustle and bustle, and the food is good. check Deb Wills site "wdwig.com" they have posted the menus with prices for every single place to eat at WDW.

Sara

We thought that the Italian Restaraunt at MGM was pretty good (can't remember the name of it). It was in a corner of the park, near New York, New York and Star Tours. I know that Ilisa recommended skipping the Mexican place at Epcot because the food is similar to what can be found at other resteraunts, but we still like to eat there because of the atmosphere of the place, with the erupting volcanoe, the boats going by on the River of Time, etc. - the kids think it's pretty cool. And the food court in The Land Pavilion is a pretty good deal, lots to choose from to make everyone happy.

ilisa

Sara, I think you are referring to Mama Melrose's. We have always enjoyed it there.

hugglynn

We were just there over Christmas, and I think the Rainforest Cafe just inside the Animal Kingdom would be a neat place for kids. The ceiling occasionally erupts in a thunderstorm, there are monkeys and other animals chirping about (fake, of course) and the menu is kid-friendly and pricing is "reasonable". In addition, treat the kids to their dessert Volcano--when it is being served, the waiters all scream V O L C A N O, making a big presentation out of it.

jl0630

Thank you all for your tips! I didn't think about taking a backpack into the park with our water bottles....that will help a lot just doing that! They don't mind if you do that? You'd think they would mind that they are losing alot of money that way!