Walt Disney World - Dining for Two By Park

I thought I would make just a few suggestions if you are dining without kids. Here are some great full-service restaurants to eat at, and remember you can still dine after the parks close on early-closing nights.

Epcot:

There are so many wonderful places to eat here, as dining is an important part of Epcot. One favorite past-time is to simply circle World Showcase and try different authentic foods. With any of these, be sure to have a reservation (CLICK HERE for another entry with reservation tips, and CLICK HERE for other dining tips). Here are some favorites:

Biergarten (German)

Here you can get a lot of authentic German food for less than many of the other restaurants in WDW. It is build to look like a German town square with a very Oktoberfest feel. If you want authentic, try the bratwurst. This may not be dining for two, as if you are not in a group you will be seated with other guests, but the food and atmosphere are so good I had to include it.

Le Cellier Steakhouse (Canada)

Built to look like a wine cellar, the atmosphere is fun, and you have to try the Canadian Cheddar cheese soup and, of course, the steak.

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Norway)

Built like a 14th century fortress, there is a lot of character entertainment. The atmosphere is great, and it is a buffet.

Teppan Edo (Japan)

Beautiful Japanese decor and a lot of great Japanese food. The chefs are a whole lot of fun to watch. Like the Biergarten you will be seated with other guests, but that can be part of the fun.

Bistro de Paris (France)

This is much better than Les Chefs de France. The food is more expensive, but the food, view, and atmosphere are all worth it.


The Magic Kingdom: Liberty Tree Cavern in Liberty Square

This may not be as good as some of the great restaurants in Epcot, but it is certainly the best The Magic Kindgom has to offer. The service is excellent and the food is good. The setting is colonial, with American-style food, the best of which is New England-syle.

Disney Hollywood Studios: Hollywood Brown Derby

This was built to look like the original Brown Derby in California, so it feels just like the Golden Age of Hollywood. The dress is formal, and the food is expensive, but this is definitely one of the best places to eat in all of Walt Disney World.

There are also some great counter-service places to eat, but for full-service those are the favorites.

Walt Disney World - Dining for Two By Park

Disney Dining Plan - Is It Worth It?

There has been a lot of discussion as the whether or not the Disney Dining Plan is worth it, and I though I would put in my two-cents here.

The Disney Dining Plan is a package you can get which they say saves you up to %30 on dining and it is included in the "Magic Your Way" deal. You get 1 table service meal, 1 quick service meal, and 1 snack per person per day on the plan. (For more details on the plan itself and to find out what all that means, CLICK HERE)

As with any packaged "savings" deal or other coupon, you only save money if that's what you were planning to do in the first place. And as I have said in a previous post, the Magic Your Way package (like any other Disney package) is designed for convenience, not savings.

In other words, there are plenty of other ways to save on your Disney dining and still have a great experience.

For my previous post on saving on Disney Dining and other Disney Dining tips, CLICK HERE.

Disney Dining Plan - Is It Worth It?

Disney Dining: Money Saving Tips

As the last in our short series of Disney Dining tips I thought I would include some tips on how to save money on food during your Disney vacation. You can mix and match these as much as you feel comfortable. If you can afford to do so, I think the food at Disneyland and Disney World is great, but don't let that expense be what stops you from going.

So, here are some tips:

• Fill fanny packs with snacks: technically both Disneyland and Disney World do not allow outside food in their parks, but they rarely enforce this rule, even when they search your bags. So, give your kids (and yourselves if you must) fanny packs with snacks such as crackers, raisins, candy, whatever, and snack a little as you go.
• Eat breakfast before you go: either in your hotel (where most offer free breakfast), fast food, or at home, if you eat before you enter the park you already start saving.
• Eat lunch during an out of the park break: bring a cooler, put your lunch in it, and go to your car during lunch to give kids naps and eat your packed lunch.
  
• Eat dinner out of the park: the food may not be as good, but if you take another break at dinner you can find all kinds of food for cheap around the park.
  
• If you must eat at the park, buy snacks and other foods at the vendors not at restaurants. You may not get as much food, but it will be cheaper.

If you have any other suggestions please let me know. I know these work because as a poor college student with my family I tried them all!

Disney Dining: Money Saving Tips

Disney Dining: Best Foods

If you want really in depth information on Disney Dining you HAVE to get the Unofficial Guide (click just below):

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 (Unofficial Guides)

They have a full directory of all the restaurants, which ones are great for kids, which ones are quieter for adults, ratings, consumer advice, and much much more.

As a flavor for what it includes, I thought I would include their information on which foods are the best. This is based on discussions on their message boards:

Best Burger: Concourse Steakhouse, Disney's Contemporary Resort

Best Sandwich: Earl of Sandwich, Downtown Disney

Best Pizza: Wolfgang Puck Express, Downtown Disney

Best Drink for Adults: Grand Marnier Slush, France, Epcot

Best Drink for Kids: Muddy River Sour Apple Freeze, Port Orleans Riverside

Best Frozen Treat: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich, Main Street Bakery, Magic Kingdom AND Garbage Pail, Happy Landings, Typhoon Lagoon

Best Pastry: Napoleon, France Pavilion, Epcot

Best Salty Snack: Stuffed Pretzel, Lunching Pad, Tomorrowland, Magic Kingdom

For more information and to participate in the discussion, see WDWMagic.com.

Happy Dining!

Disney Dining - When to Make Reservations

Here is how far in advance you can make your Advance Reservations (for more details CLICK HERE) to Disney Dining facilities. In most cases 80 to 45 days out is fine, but you can tell by how far out some of these dates are, certain dining "hot spots" require even earlier reservations (thanks Ultimate Guide):

365 days in advance:
Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness

180 days in advance:
Afternoon tea, children's programs at the Grand Floridian
All Disney full-service restaurants except Bistro de Paris at Epcot
Fulton's Crab House, House of Blues, and Portobello Yacht Club at Downtown Disney
Fanstasmic! dinner package at Disney Hollywood
Hoop-Dee-Doo-Revue at Fort Wilderness
Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Polynesian Resort
Victoria & Albert's at the Grand Floridian (Chef's Table only)
Wolfgang Puck Cafe at Downtown Disney

90 days in advance:
La Nouba by Cirque de Soleil at Downtown Disney

30 days in advance
Bistro de Paris (dinner only) at Epcot

Happy dining, & stay tuned for more...

Disney Dining: The Basics

Today I thought I would begin a short series of posts on Disney dining. You've all heard that dining at Disney World or Disneyland is expensive, and it is. But there are some great tips on how to save, where to go if you don't mind the extra cost, what the costs are, what categories there are, when to make reservations, and more.

Here I will simply try to cover some of the basics, which are (in no particular order):

• Advance Reservations = Priority Seating: in other words, when you make a reservation you don't actually have a reservation, you are simply seated before the walk-ins
• For the more popular dining (i.e. dinner shows, character dining, full-service dining, etc.) you should definitely make Advance Reservations or you will probably not get in. Most allow reservations 180 days in advance (80 to 45 days in advance is usually fine), but for specifics stay tuned as a complete list will be posted soon
• Dress throughout the parks at all restaurants is informal, though some of the resort restaurants have a "business casual" dress code
• Avoid fancy food, stick to the basics (at least at Magic Kingdom and Disney Hollywood)
• Don't order specialty sea-food unless the restaurant specializes in it
• Making lunch your big meal can save you money on the nicer Disney foods
• if you want to relax and don't want to be rushed through, take time ordering, and order each part separately (i.e. order drinks, take time, order appetizers, take time, etc.)
• On the flip side, avoid full service restaurants if you're in a rush to see as much as possible

And that's good to get us started. We will provide you with many more tips on dining in the next few weeks, but armed with that knowledge you can start making your plan. Bon apetit!