Money-Saving Dining Tips for Disney World
Food is one of the biggest expenses of a Walt Disney World vacation, so eating on a budget can be difficult. Here we’ll share money-saving tips on recommended restaurants, what to eat & avoid, hacks for cutting your dining expenses, and ideas for “dining on a dime” at WDW. (Updated February 23, 2023.)
With the ‘Free’ Disney Dining Card Discount at Walt Disney World for Summer through Fall 2023, it’s a great time to revisit this list to think of ways to stretch those dining cards even further. These dining cards are not all-inclusive–not that regular Free Dining was, but most people got more food than they could possibly eat with it! You’re likely to have out of pocket dining expenses as a result if you don’t plan accordingly. With the advice here, you can reduce your Walt Disney World dining budget, spending less out of pocket as a result.
Before we begin with the money-saving Walt Disney World dining tips, we have a couple of “rules” that we’ve imposed upon ourselves. The first is no spreadsheets. Budgeting can be done by loosely following common sense strategy and tips. Eating inexpensively does not require advanced analytics or being a master statistician. Walt Disney World planning obsessives will probably consider this heresy, but I hate spreadsheets…
I would not wish spreadsheets upon my worst enemy–let alone people I’m trying to encourage to have “fun” on “vacation.” From my perspective, spreadsheets are antithetical to the core concept of vacationing. Not only that, but visiting Walt Disney World is already complicated and stressful enough without introducing even more ‘rules’ and planning parameters to the mix. I understand others vehemently disagree, so to each their own. If you enjoy making spreadsheets, feel free to go nuts at it.
You can use the principles here to create the same kind of comprehensive lists that Disney Dining Plan diehards used to make when planning where–and what–to eat to maximize their value on that. Thankfully, the new Disney Dining Card promo is much more laid back and straightforward than that.
Second, we seldom dine off-site. Part of this is wanting to remain immersed in the Walt Disney World bubble. Another part is the practical reality that spending time and money to get off-site quickly eats away at any financial savings. Vacation time is valuable, and how much of it are you willing to “spend” to save ~$5 per person on a fast food entree?
Admittedly, ‘no off-site dining’ is one that’s getting more difficult to justify as a hard and fast rule for ourselves, especially with the Orlando area’s burgeoning dining scene. With that in mind, we’d refer you to our List of Great Restaurants Near Walt Disney World if you’re interested in venturing off-property.
The upside is that the restaurants on that list that we’ve tried are superlative–most are better than the best of Walt Disney World. The downside is that almost all are pretty far off-property. (If you are willing to venture off-site, the nearest exceptional option is the Kissimmee location of 4 Rivers Smokehouse; a different twist on 4 Rivers is also available at Disney Springs.)
With that in mind, here are our money-saving tips for dining at Walt Disney World…
EAT: Hype-less Hidden Gems – When a restaurant at Walt Disney World becomes popular, its prices rise and quality generally falls. It’s a tale as old as time that can be witnessed in several restaurants, with Le Cellier being the most foremost example of this classic ‘dining downfall’ arc.
However, the converse is also true. When a restaurant is less popular, there’s less of a reason to raise prices. Not only that, but restaurants that are less popular generally have to try harder to attract and maintain an audience, and the culinary teams are given more freedom to experiment and try new things.
Honestly, the less you hear about a restaurant…the better it probably is. That applies to both the cuisine quality and value for money. No offense to Be Our Guest Restaurant, ‘Ohana, Chef Mickey’s, or California Grill, but I’d take the restaurants on our List of Underrated Restaurants at Walt Disney World or Top 10 Best Value Table Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World over all of the highly-hyped
EAT: Groceries for Breakfast – With a handful of exceptions, breakfast at Walt Disney World leaves a lot to be desired. Most counter service restaurants offer a limited selection of phoned in entrees with staples like powdered eggs and rubbery paper-bacon. Table service restaurants tend to do things better, but breakfast is still overpriced for what you get, time-consuming, and most items aren’t memorable.
Even for those who aren’t on a tight budget, we recommend grocery delivery for breakfast. (See our Tips for Grocery Delivery at Walt Disney World.) We tend to focus on things like fruits and vegetables, since those are overpriced at Walt Disney World and there’s not really anything to do in terms of preparation.
It’s a great opportunity to get healthy, nutrient-dense foods in order to give you energy and start your day on the right foot, save money and time…and make you feel a little less guilty about eating 4 cupcakes and 3 orders of ice cream later in the day. After all, you had carrots and oatmeal at breakfast!
EAT: Disney Springs Restaurants – When it comes to dining at Walt Disney World, your dollar goes much further at most Disney Springs restaurants than in-park ones. This is largely true because Disney Springs is (almost) on a level playing field with real world restaurants. It’s nearly as easy for on-site guests to dine off-site as it is to eat at Disney Springs, and it’s absolutely as convenient for locals (for the latter, Disney Springs is probably less convenient).
The main result of this is restaurants at Disney Springs charging premium pricing…but with significantly less mark-up than in-park dining options. The secondary result is that Disney Springs restaurants must compete on quality. Cuisine-wise, Disney Springs is the epicenter of Walt Disney World’s culinary scene. (Sorry, World Showcase, but it’s not even close.)
Some of our favorite value options on the counter service front include Blaze Pizza, Chicken Guy, and 4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck (the last is by far the best). For table service, try Boathouse, Morimoto Asia, Homecomin’, STK (lunch or happy hour), and Raglan Road. Note that every single one of these restaurants has a lengthy menu, with prices that are all over the place. To save money, you’ll (obviously) want to order from the lower end of the price spectrum.
EAT: Hotel Food Courts – Similar idea here as with Disney Springs; hotel guests are less of a captive audience. You’ll find prices that tend to be a few dollars cheaper per entree, and quality that tends to be better.
The difficulty here is making dinner at a hotel food court work within the context of your schedule. This either means leaving the park (which wastes time) or doing a late dinner, which may not be feasible. Regardless, it’s something to consider.
AVOID: Epcot Festivals – We enjoy the various special events at Epcot, but “fun” and “value” are not the same concept. It’s not really any secret that the food items at Epcot’s festivals offer poor value for money. In reviewing almost every booth at these festivals over the last few years, I’ve probably written some variant of the line, “a fair price by regular Walt Disney World food standards” fewer than a dozen times.
Without exception, you will be better off spending the same money on a comparably-priced counter service entree, rather than the 2-3 snacks that would buy you at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, or any of the other events throughout the year.
AVOID: Signature Restaurants – Pretty straightforward. Walt Disney World’s most expensive restaurants are its ‘Signature’ options, which are altogether incompatible with dining on a dime. This isn’t to say you can’t scour the menu for good values, but you can do the same at cheaper restaurants with better results.
To that end, consider Sanaa, Sebastian’s Bistro, one of the aforementioned Disney Springs restaurants, or something in Swan & Dolphin if you want to splurge a bit. It’s also worth considering Three Bridges Bar & Grill or Toledo – Tapas, Steak & Seafood, two new restaurants at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (the latter is the rooftop restaurant in Gran Destino Tower).
AVOID: Soda & Sides – We’ve been harping on these two things for a while, so regular readers will probably have their eyes glaze over at this point. It’s worth reiterating that ice water is free, and you can get your caffeine fix by packing coffee packets and making your own. (I can’t remember the last time I bought soda at Walt Disney World.)
The other big one is not spending extra on sides, or specifically ordering entrees that don’t come with them (pizza and salads, for example). Sides at counter service restaurants tend to be overpriced, meaning that you might pay an extra $5 for a small side of coleslaw or pickles. (Looking at you, Regal Eagle!)
This is also why we highly recommend doing grocery delivery and eating your daily servings of fruits and vegetables before even leaving your hotel room. Fruits and vegetables are important fuel, but they’re absurdly priced in restaurants and at snack stands throughout Walt Disney World. Also, there’s zero difference between oranges and carrots delivered to you by Walmart+ and those sold at Walt Disney World, save for the price. You’re not missing out on anything ‘fun’ by saving money on those.
AVOID: Overhyped Desserts – This one pains me to write. Snacking is a big part of the Walt Disney World experience for us, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone swear off snacks entirely for the sake of a budget.
However, it is worth noting that most snacks don’t offer commensurate nutritiousness and ‘filling-ness’ for their cost. Basically, be weary of snack costs, target the ones under $5, and be judicious with your snack expenditures–but don’t give them up completely.
A good example here is cupcakes, which are now $6 at most locations around Walt Disney World. Years ago, Disney cupcakes developed a strong following and have largely rested on their laurels since, increasing in price as they’ve decreased in size and quality. You could totally swear off cupcakes at Walt Disney World in favor of cheaper, better snacks.
AVOID: Disney Dining Plan – Good news! It should be very easy to avoid the Disney Dining Plan in 2023, since it’s still not back. (See When Will the Disney Dining Plan Return? for our predicted timing of its comeback, as well as our rationale.)
Whether the Disney Dining Plan is a good way to budget, saves most people money, or offers good value for money is a series of debates that’ll never be resolved. However, none of those are the pertinent question here.
We’re asking: is the Disney Dining Plan the least-expensive way to eat at Walt Disney World? Reframing the issue should make it less contentious. Save for Free Dining (and even then, only in some cases), the Disney Dining Plan is undoubtedly not the cheapest way to dine at Walt Disney World. It may offer good value, budgeting, etc., but following the other tips here to “dine on a dime” will produce cheaper results.
With the tips here, you can do two counter service meals per day for $28 (or less). Add $7 to that per day cost for breakfast groceries and snacks. That brings us to $35, which might be a conservative number, but it’s still over $20 per day cheaper than the lowest tier of the Disney Dining Plan cost previously.
In a nutshell, that should explain how you can come out ahead by paying out of pocket for food and why it’s not the end of the world that the Disney Dining Plan still isn’t back. Who knows, after doing a vacation to Walt Disney World during which you pay as you go for meals, you may never want to return to the complex and convoluted Disney Dining Plan!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What’s your advice for saving money on food at Walt Disney World? Anything recommended here that you would not do? Anything you’d add to our list? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
In 2019 I decided to do me vs the QS dining plan for our trip with 1 adult, a teen, a tween, and a kid (9years old so an adult at Disney). We ate breakfast in our hotel room and everything else was Disney food. We did Tusker house as our 1 TS (that amount didn’t factor into my total since I was comparing to the QS dining plan) and everything else was QS. I told the kids they could eat whatever they wanted, they just had to eat 100% of what they ordered, and share when it made sense. I easily “beat” the QS dining plan by about $100 per day. My best day I came in $130 below and my worst day I beat it by $75. Pay-as-you-go is a no-brainer for us.
We went this past June and we saved money by sharing meals, ordering a kids meal at quick service locations for myself and letting my two kids share an adult entree and maybe ordering an extra side. We also ate at quick service locations outside of Magic Kingdom (Captain Cooks) and took our refillable mugs so I saved on drinks. Each kid carried their own mug so it was no problem and we drank water in the parks. We did not skip on the Epcot festival however we did stay on a budget by putting money on a gift card and used that to buy shareable snacks as well as merchandise at the festival. I also allotted a certain amount for a splurge on a character meal. I can honestly say that with all the money I saved I would not go back to the Disney dining plan when (if ever) it returns. We not only saved money but didn’t waste food like we do on the dining plan.
Completely agree with all these! There are plenty of ways to save money without missing out on any “experience”. My comment/question has to do with the hotel food courts. Have you looked at the prices at Mercado de Coronado lately? A kid’s Mickey waffle is $12.50!! At many if not all other quick service hotel restaurants (admittedly, I didn’t check them all), they are significantly cheaper! At the flagship Grand Floridian Gasparilla Island Grill, they are $7.59. Presumably, there is zero difference between these. When I asked Disney, they said hotels are allowed to set their own prices. What?! Why would the exact same thing be more expensive at one place than another? It’s not even due to an increase in hotel quality/pricing as Coronado Springs, as you know, is a moderate. AKL also sells the kids Mickey waffles for $7.59. This is just one example of price discrepancy for presumably the exact same item across resorts. Kids lunch and dinner meals are also routinely approximately a 50% increase in price as compared to other quick service hotel restaurants. What is this culinary team thinking?! Can we get some sort of Disney fan pressure to get them to make the same price for the same food across locations? Want to write an “exposé”? Thanks for your fantastic coverage of all the hot Disney topics!
El Mercado de Coronado is operated by a third party, which is why the prices are higher. I assume Disney left that part out when saying that hotels can set their own prices–it’s really only true with that one. The rest are all owned and operated by Disney and, for the most part, standardized.
Oh wow. They definitely left that part out. Why is that one third party operated and the others aren’t? Even Picabu at the Dolphin doesn’t have as high of prices. Think that’ll ever change?
We are currently staying at Coronado Springs – love the hotel but find El Mercado food quality underwhelming and pricing very poor value. Yet to try 3 Bridges.
Here are a few things we do to save money on food:
-Order groceries (and alcohol TBH) through Amazon Fresh; eat breakfast from groceries
-Bring a stainless steel Brita filter water bottle into the parks (that way you can refill at any water fountain/refill station without the Florida swamp taste)
-Bring snacks (beef jerky, small packets of mixed nuts) into the parks
-Pre-purchase Disney gift cards at a discount and give one to each kid for their own snacks (helps for them to budget and only buy what they really want)
-Eat a late lunch/early dinner to avoid two meals in the parks
-Save up and use Starbucks reward points for snacks or drinks at the Starbucks locations
-Buy refillable popcorn bucket and refill throughout our stay (only $2 to refill)
-Sticking with water vs. soda, slushies, milk, sugary premixed alcohol drinks, etc. However, we have no problem paying for a great cocktail and do love walking around Hollywood Studios with a cold beer.
We definitely do not avoid the Epcot festival booths though – that is our weakness! But we stick to unique items that are shareable and stay away from the drinks and ‘Instagram desserts’.
Your Disney gift card idea for the kids is great. Where do you get the discounted cards. The only “discount” I have been able to find is buying at Target and paying with my Red Card for the 5% discount. Are there any others?
I have read so many blog but your blog is unique and informative. Keep up the superb work!
We’re frugal, not cheapskates. We bring our own cereal and oatmeal for breakfasts. Buy milk at the gift shops and eat kids meals or split an adult meal. We’ll buy English muffins and toast them at the food court, and bring our old mugs because the coffee,tea, and hot chocolate are no charge. We will usually eat one good meal per week of vacation. We have saved hundreds, spent less time in food lines, and always get the water. When our entire family goes, we order food delivery.
Coffee, tea and hot chocolate are not free of charge. If you aren’t paying for them individually or purchasing a refillable mug, you are stealing them. That is theft.
When I went this passed year with my boyfriend and his two kids we were on the strictest of budgets – we had to work hard to make the trip a reality and had to make every penny count.
These are all great tips – we did breakfast in the hotel rooms each day and the free ice water is honestly the absolute best thing ever! We drank water with pretty much every meal and got free cups throughout the day to keep hydrated.
One of the most severe things that we did to save money, and honestly, it worked for us – my boyfriend and I would share quick service meals. The kids would order kids meals and the portion sizes for I would say about 80% of the QS meals we had were enough for us to share and be satisfied.
If you have a big appetite that might not work for you, but things like pizzas, burgers, hot dogs etc, highly shareable!
We even shared the BBQ platter at Sci-Fi Dine in one night as well when we had a reservation.
Though I realize that’s probably the cheapest of the cheap LOL. But something to consider if anyone is on as strict a budget as we were and have the really sacrifice to make your trip a reality 🙂
Always have QSDP free with our booking. No problems loads places to eat which are really good value. No need to book just eat when/where you want and can still have sit down meal??? Snacks for breakfast, QS only for Lunch and Dinner. Refillable mugs fantastic value can get sodas, tea, coffee, iced coffee, milk and hot chocolate good for taking back to room at night, first thing in morning to have with your breakfast. Keep empty water bottles for refilling with iced water and one refillable mug in case a point where you are going to. Use up snack credits before returning home by exchanging for sweets/treats, stuff for plane and take some back for relatives and friends. Wonderful and no stress or working out who needs to pay what or racing to get to restaurant in time.
We are glad to not be on dining plan. I don’t eat large meals and a lot of times the kids meal is plenty. Same with my 13 year old daughter and her friend who always goes with us to wdw. At restaurants, they always allow me and the girls to order kids meals…they say as long as we aren’t on the dining plan they don’t have a problem with us ordering off kids meal
We used the DP when it was first offered, in a September. Our TA told us that no one would take their kids out of school during the 2nd week of school. WRONG! The parks were crowded with plenty of kids. I can see why. It was a big cost savings for them. We used to be big supporters of the DP. When our kids were younger, it was worth it with character meals, etc. Now, with just the two of us, we have not used the DP for 4 years. We don’t eat as much as we used to now. I sometimes get the kids meals which is plenty for me. We eat when and what and where we want, which is freeing. We do have 2 TS meals we do each trip, but that’s it. We are not foodies and have found some great meals at QS and the resorts. We also are able to have snacks now, instead of feeling so full all the time. So, even though it was difficult letting go of the DP mind-set, we are much happier now, and we spend much less on food for the 2 of us. But I can see how it would help families with teenagers who eat everything but the kitchen sink:)
The Disney Dining Plan, obviously, is a personal decision. It depends on what you and your family enjoy. We like character meals and other expensive restaurants (like the Yachtsman Steakhouse) which we would not go to if we were not on the dining plan. For children (and adults too), that up close and personal experience when the character comes to your table, it is priceless. We use snacks wisely, like eating oatmeal for breakfast. We share meals (and are not hungry afterwards) so we stretch our credits. We eat all the snacks we want. Even at the Festival of Holidays, we ate continuously (and still had snacks left over for other goodies). It takes the worry out of having to know how much something costs, is paid for in advance, and there are no charge cards to pay off when the trip is over. I must be eating in all the right places because my family has no complaints about the food. I, too, have saved all my receipts (and entered them into a spreadsheet). We did not overpay (and alcoholic drinks were not consumed). Maybe it is so popular, because it can be a good deal with just a little planning. But as was said — to each his own.
It was depressing seeing your photos of the crowds ( which looked like Manhattan on a bad day) , hearing about the decline of the food too, and expense of the Dining Plan… Spread sheets??? Really??? Transportation and parking issues??? Reservations for rides and restaurants done 9 months in advance?? Hotel rooms stripped of carpet and “de-themed”? No thanks, I will pass. I am a long time DisneyWorld fan. Have been a dozen times over the years. Have always loved it, but I can’t imagine going back now. Too much stress, too many complicated maneuvers required. The magic and spontaneity is dead. In a nutshell, they have killed the goose which laid the golden egg. The place is simply too big and filled to overcapacity with too many people. Its not a vacation and it’s not fun in its current incarnation. Walt must be spinning in his grave.
I have never bought the dining plan but thinking about it for our upcoming trip in May. We have 3 adults and 1 child and with the promotion we have the child’s food will be free. On that note should we go ahead and use dining plan or are we better off just paying out of pocket? We do have reservations for dinners each night we are there, my husband says it will be a nice break!
I think it is a nice break, plus it includes beverages, including alcoholic. With free Childs meal and so much less hassle, I’d get the plan.
Just got back from a week long vacation. Kept all my receipts and with 4 adults and a 9 and 7 year old we spent $750 on food, which is far less than the dining plan would have been. Never told my kids no to any snacks and never worried about what was ordered. We don’t do character dining and we had Prime Now deliver breakfasts. Disney wouldn’t offer the dining plan if it wasn’t making them money. We were pretty disappointed with the food this trip. We had favorites from our Oct ‘18 trip and none were as good as we remembered sadly. The quality has certainly taken a hit.
Most problems with eating at Walt Disney World can be traced to the Dining Plan.
It’s a terrible value and has ruined restaurant quality. Sad that it’s so popular.
Unfortunately, and in my opinion, the Disney Dining Plan has caused increased cost for paying (non-resort) guests and significant loss of food quality. We’d always had favorites from various quick service and specialty resort offerings, but find service and quality increasingly lacking. It is also difficult to get into the resorts. We’ve been refused access and told to go to Disney Springs and take a bus. Seriously? I can understand limiting parking for deluxe resorts for a short period. This used to be the policy. Disney is marketing specialty food and treats to pass holders, but closing off their access to the resorts at the same time. They should be smarter than that. We have now transitioned to not relying on Disney food options and most times go to the parks without discretionary spending.
The last couple times I went to WDW I planned on $50 a day to eat and it average out to around $47 a day. We eat counter service and whenever we felt like eating. I sometimes get the kids meal for dinner and get the milk to save for breakfast. One day we were eating at 11:00 at Be Our Guest so I ended up spending 84 cents for breakfast! I bought 2 slices of bread for toast and drank the milk from the previous day’s meal. For our next trip I am upping it to $60 a day. I like to graze and it works for me. I also buy gift cards during the year or at Sam’s Club where you get a small discount.
Can my 10 and 12 year olds order from the children’s menu? Specifically at signature or sit down restaurants? Thank you!
I ordered from the kid’s menu both times at Be Our Guest. It’s plenty of food.
In the past the dining plan was worth it, but now since you have to have the added park hopper which we discovered early on we never use, it’s no longer worth the dining price which get pawned off to pay for the park hopper.
I don’t think that is accurate. I don’t think you have to have a hopper to get the dining plan.
Now, you do. We went last year and in order to get FREE dining, we had to upgrade to the hopper. :/
You do not need to buy a hopper to purchase the dining plan.
You were doing a promo of free dining and they get you buy having you buy the hopper.
If you don’t do that promo and purchase the dining plan, you don’t need to purchase hopper unless you want to.
I have a Disney Visa card, but I never thought of buying more gift cards on discount. Awesome idea.