Dining in Orlando

• Priority seating
• Send yourselves a care package
• The Outback
• Taking along a snack
• Eat off-hours
• Cinderella breakfast
• Requesting a fridge in your hotel room
• No one will go away hungry
• Disney characters
• McDonalds at Crossroads Shopping mall
• Boston Lobster Feast
• Capones
• Jungle Jim's

Priority seating

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!

Send yourselves a care package

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.

The Outback on 1-92

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! 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!!!

Taking along a snack

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

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!!!

Cinderella breakfast

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!!! 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!!!

Requesting a fridge in your hotel room

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!!! 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!!!

No one will go away hungry

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!!!

Disney characters

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!!!

McDonalds at Crossroads Shopping mall

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!!! 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!!!

Boston Lobster Feast

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!!!

Capones

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!!!

Jungle Jim's

We love Jungle Jim's for dinner -- located outside of Disney at the CrossRoads. 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!