5 Ways to Save While Dining in Disney World

Thanks to Sami Cone for this useful list of ways to maximize your money when it comes to dining in Disney World.

You’ve saved your spare change and sold everything you could scrape up enough money to get to Disney World….but then you get there and forget you’ve got to eat! What’s a frugal family to do? In all our years of going to Disney, we’ve perfected a few tips and tricks when it comes to maximizing your money on dining. Here are just a few of our favorite tips:

Oscar's Special

1. Eat your main meal at breakfast
If you can’t go when the Disney Dining Plan is free, then be sure to schedule your main/biggest meal for a late breakfast…especially when it comes to character dining. Dining prices get increasingly expensive as the day goes on, so the earlier the better.

Typically, we bring some breakfast/snack foods with us, so our typical day of dining will look like this: [Read more…]

Guest Review: Tables in Wonderland Cairo Dinner Show

By Kim LaPaglia 4 Comments

Sarah Holodick is back with a great review from the Tables in Wonderland Indiana Jones dinner! Take it away, Sarah!

Indiana Jones Entrance

Matt and I had the opportunity to attend the Tables in Wonderland “Cairo Dinner Show.” The dinner was held on the set of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Hollywood Studios.

Atmosphere

Upon arrival we were offered boxes of popcorn, bottled water, beer, or a fruity cocktail. I didn’t catch the name of it, but it was pretty weak. We stuck with [Read more…]

Dining in Disneyland: “Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides” World Premiere

By Heather 16 Comments

Read about one of the best nights in Heather’s life! Our Dining in Disneyland columnist shares all the details from the

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides World Premiere in Disneyland!!

Last Saturday, I had one of the best nights of my life. It was literally that fun. I went for the food, but stayed for the movie… . Or wait did I go for the movie and stay for the food. Either way, I was happily stuffed by the end of the event. Mix a little Johnny Depp with a great meal, awesome snacks, and fun friends & well, it’s perfection.

World Premiere Park Map

World Premiere Park Map Info

The World Premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides was held at Disneyland on Saturday, May 7th, 2011. A few months back when Disneyland announced they’d be selling a limited number of tickets to the event that benefited the Boy & Girls Clubs of America, I immediately knew what I was getting my husband for his birthday. There’s [Read more…]

Guest Review: Le Cellier…From a Canadian Point-of-View

By AJ 23 Comments

Welcome back James Hummel (@DisneyNorth on Twitter) with a review of Le Cellier. As a Canadian, James offers a unique perspective when reviewing this popular restaurant! He also gives us a glimpse of a proper poutine.

I figured it was high time that a Canadian review one of the most popular restaurants in Walt Disney World. I do want to give a disclaimer first though: these are my opinions only and do not represent all Canadians. And no, I don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada (the Canadian readers will get that joke).

The entrance to steak heaven

So, as they say in Quebec, Allons-y!

Atmosphere
You’ve seen the pictures, maybe even the outside of the restaurant and, if you are really lucky like me, seen the inside too (multiple times). Le Cellier is a hidden restaurant in EPCOT. No, not hidden gem… I mean really hidden! If you didn’t know where to look, you would literally walk right by it. I mean, there is no giant doorway for this place. You have to go through the wonderful Victoria Gardens to find, what appears to be, a doorway to an underground bunker. But of course, it is all about the story. Enough talk about the outside, let’s get in from the snow…er…I mean oppressive Florida heat.

The inside of Le Cellier is inspired by the large wine cellars of the grand Chateau style hotels in Quebec City and the Rockies. For me, the restaurant reminds me of [Read more…]

Breakfast at the Bakery…the Main Street Bakery

By AJ 30 Comments

As you know, I think that anything cinnamon roll related in Disney parks and resorts is a breakfast of champions. So when I was headed to the Magic Kingdom to meet a friend at the Main Street Bakery for breakfast recently, I decided I’d get a cinnamon roll.

Main Street Bakery Window in Magic Kingdom

When I arrived a bit early, I took my time scoping out the goodies available, which included these beauties:

Main Street Bakery Pastries

…and realized that I haven’t really done a review of the Bakery, per say. It was part of the bakery throw down (speaking of, head over to that post to see lots of pics of atmosphere at the Bakery), of course, but as for really digging into the food options there, it’s been a while! So I took advantage of the situation.

I suppose it should have been a warning when the cast member at the check-out counter started pulling out the take-out containers, but when I got over to my table, I had this:

Breakfast at the Bakery

I got some pretty weird looks from folks, but I’m pretty used to that by now. 😉 And don’t worry, I took the food I didn’t eat back to the hotel room. And I subsequently found out that a cinnamon roll from the Bakery tastes surprisingly good even [Read more…]

Disney Food for Families: The DVC Villa Kitchens – Part 3

By Erin 13 Comments

Disney Food for Families columnist Erin Foster is back with the third segment in her series about making and enjoying food in the Disney Vacation Club villa kitchens. See post #1 here and post #2 here!

Save Some Dough By Buying or Bringing Groceries

In my previous post, I identified the grocery items that are sold in the Disney Vacation Club resort shops and that are available to order from your DVC resort in advance. But what I didn’t tell you was what the convenience of on-site resort grocery shopping will cost and what your alternatives might be.

Other Options for Groceries

In addition to buying groceries at or through your DVC resort hotel you can:

Use a car, taxi, or rideshare to shop at a nearby grocery or discount store. You can find a list of grocery stores near WDW in the Disney Food Blog Guide to Walt Disney World Dining e-Book.
Bring non-perishable items with you in a suitcase.
Purchase non-perishable grocery items at your local supermarket and mail them to yourself at your WDW resort hotel.
Purchase non-perishable grocery items online (via Amazon.com, Target.com, Walmart.com, the Amazon Prime Now app, or others) and direct them to be mailed to you at your WDW resort hotel.
Use a local [Read more…]

Disney California Adventure Opens Two New Restaurants July 1st!

By Kim LaPaglia 6 Comments

As we previously mentioned here, two new restaurants are slated to open in Disneyland.

Mark your calendars for July 1, 2011, when two new counter-service restaurants open at Disney California Adventure. The new eateries will share a 900 seat location in Paradise Pier where they’ll serve lunch and dinner including healthy menu items.

Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta

With an on-stage kitchen, the menu will feature flatbreads, pastas and salads tossed fresh! Flatbread choices will include cheese or pepperoni for less adventurous diners. For guests that want more variety, choose a Portobello mushroom and spinach option.

Pasta lovers can twirl their forks with spaghetti and savor meatballs on the side. Try the pasta mixed with chicken in a sun-dried tomato sauce or sample the ravioli (did we mention it is a five-cheese version?) with pesto and toasted pine nuts.

meatballs

Salads can be hearty too! Choose between

[Read more…]

Review: Animal Kingdom’s Restaurantosaurus

By AJ 27 Comments

Learn About:Restaurantosaurus

Animal Kingdom
Disney World Restaurants

I’ll admit it — this is one of my very favorite counter-service restaurants in Walt Disney World. Where else can you find this level of detail and theming while dining on the best chicken nuggets in the world?