Let’s face it — rising food costs are negatively impacting our budgets — and that’s especially true at Walt Disney World!
Dine with Mickey at breakfast. The least expensive meal of the day!
With years of Disney dining experiences between our “ears” 
, we’ve learned some cost-saving measures that can truly help. And since we’re all about sharing (unless we’ve got our hands on our favorite school bread), we want to let you in on great ways to save on food during your next Disney vacation.
In our The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2013 e-Book, we have a whole chapter about budgeting and saving at Disney World. Pick up your copy here for an extra $4 off using code 2013 for a limited time!
The legwork’s already done! Reading our comprehensive DFB Guide will help you find great membership savings, coupons, and more ideas to help you save as much as you can on your trip.
3 Great Ways to Save on Dining at Disney World
Here are just a few of the great ways to save on food when visiting Walt Disney World that we included in the DFB Guide to help you stretch your vacation dollars.
1. Eat breakfast as your biggest meal.
Before heading to your first attraction, feast on a hearty breakfast. Breakfast can not only be exceptionally filling (and can be healthier than lunch or dinner), it’s the least expensive time of day to dine in Disney World! So fill up on breakfast and have a few snacks instead of big lunches and dinners as you go through the day.
Even character meals are less pricey at breakfast!
2. Ask about an “entree-only” price at counter service locations.
Counter Service menus usually include side items, and the prices reflect those extras. Don’t really feel like fries with your cheeseburger? Ask a Cast Member if there’s an entree-only price. You may be able to knock off the extra cost (and calories!) of those fries when you order an entree with no sides!
Go ahead and ask to hold the fries!
3. Dine off-site or at non-Disney owned locations.
It’s no secret that once you enter those purple gates of Walt Disney World that food costs soar. Dining at an off-site location will offer the greatest savings in your dining budget — even if you add the cost of taxi to get there.
Or you can seek out restaurants that are not owned by Disney but still conveniently located on Disney property. While not always a guaranteed slam dunk of savings, these can occasionally offer cheaper options. One great choice is Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney!
What Other Ways Can We Save?
These budget-busting tips are in addition to dozens of other money-saving strategies we list in The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2013 — like where to get free samples, how to quench your thirst for less, foods you can bring with you, where to get discounts and coupons, when to visit for the best savings, and more!
Be sure to check out The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2013 for extensive information on money-saving methods when dining at Disney.
Our up-to-date Disney Dining discount section will help you prepare for a vacation that’s within your budget! Click here to get your copy of The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2013 E-book — and use code 2013 for an extra $4 discount for a limited time!
What ways do you save on food while on a Disney vacation? Share your tips in the comments below and help us all have extra funds for cupcakes!
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Tips from the DFB Guide: How to Avoid Crowds When Dining in Disney World -
5 Ways to Save While Dining in Disney World -
2-for-1 Tip from The DFB Mini-Guide to Epcot Snacks
I had never thought of tip 2. I don’t like fries and many places just don’t do salad sides. Thanks for that one! You’ve saved me some decent money there.
I don’t come all the way to Disney to eat at chain restaurants
Yes, it would be cheaper, but I feel like it kills the magic!
Our #1 tip when we have a car: Sweet Tomatoes. This is a salad bar + more franchise that is located on the frontage road down in the Crossroads.
We always like to hit the parks at rope drop, so we’re ready for a break at our resort at lunchtime. We’ll pop over to Sweet Tomatoes, which has a looooong salad bar with more than 40 fresh items, pay, and once in the dining room you have unlimited buffet tables with a baked potato bar, around 6 soups, a pasta bar, and a big dessert bar.
So, for about 10 bucks a person, we get our big meal of the day and will only need some Chili Cheese Fries from Pecos Bills as a snack and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich from (well, from whomever is selling those now that Main St Bakery is closed) somewhere for dessert!
We book the latest breakfast buffet possible and then skip lunch. Works perfectly at Crystal Palace! And feel free to bring in snacks. Granola bars and peanut butter crackers are great when standing on line. I also bring in powdered Gatorade and then re-fill water bottles at the drinking fountain. (Plus this keeps little ones hydrated!)
We don’t eat many TS meals at WDW due to the cost and also not wanting to be tied to a reservation. I have comparison shopped the types of meals we tend to eat and found that comparable meals at places like Denny’s and Applebee’s actually cost MORE than eating them at our resort food court. A great salmon dinner with two veggies and a nice roll is about $10; $14 at Applebee’s. My son’s favorite chicken strips and fries are $8.49 at WDW and around $10.00 at Denny’s. Snack credits from the meal plan pay for things like soup, oatmeal, fruit and yogurt parfaits, and biscuits and gravy, all of which make nice smaller meals. And we can use our refillable mugs at our resort, and choose the free ice water at park CS places if paying OOP.
We agree that Earl of Sandwich is a great value, but families could also consider Pollo Campero, a Latin American chicken place which opened two years ago in the old McDonald’s space. They have a family meal with chicken and sides that would feed four for around $17.00.
While it doesn’t save you money, this tip can save you serious calories and that “blecch” feeling in the afternoon: get apple slices or carrots or grapes (etc.) as your side instead of fries.
We got fries once or twice, and split them, but frankly, they aren’t the greatest fries in the world, and a burger with apple slices doesn’t have the same “I need a nap” inducing properties as a burger with fries.
Chad and I always share our meals and usually snack around here and there. =)
We found this out the hard way:
when ordering entree only, make sure you are paying for the entree only.
For example, your receipt should list “burger ONLY”.
We had to ask multiple cast members (with reassuring answers – but they were incorrect).
We had to get a manager to adjust our charge.
At the food court checkout register, even though your plate has only a burger, unless your receipt lists “burger ONLY”, you can still be charged for the entree with the sides!
My wife and I often split a lunch meal mid-day, then eat a full sitdown supper, and split a lunch meal 9:00 or 10:00 at night when we are hungry again. Works well for us, and the nice thing is we don’t over eat this way. We do usually go with the DP and find this works very well for us.
I save money everyday I’m not on vacation, so I don’t have to when I am. Disney time = splurge time.
I agree with John G’s Sweet Tomatoes rec. There is also one near Universal. Be sure to go to their website & sign up for the mailing list to get coupons for additional savings.
I also like Earl of Sandwich for reasonable eats, especially since they give a 10% discount to annual pass holders.