dining at disney

Hey guys! We’re back with another round in this series and we’re ready to dive in to the big question: Dining at Disney.

After deciding on where to stay, it can be one of the biggest questions to tackle. To do the meal plan or not to do the meal plan? Which places are the best? And of course, the most pressing… where do I get my hands on those awesome cupcakes everyone has been raving about? {If no one has freaked out to you about them, they missed out… they really are the best}

Of course you can also do Disney super affordably and never even eat in the park at all. Fortunately, Disney lets you bring in snacks. So there are plenty of ways to get around it. We definitely enjoyed bringing in some of our own snacks for the kids while we were waiting in lines, and everything in between. But today, from the down low on meal plans, allergy concerns and what not to miss… Even a few birthday tips. We’re diving in to devour the big questions.

(Pun intended. I’m writing about Disney. It’s practically expected.)

First up: Meal plan or no? 

Just like in our last post, it all depends on what’s best for your family. There’s practically a million and one variations and offers on which package to purchase, where you’re staying, and just why you really want to do it. To see a great break down of the basics (which will be especially helpful if you’re a first timer) check out this link here.

A few basics to remember: • Under 3 eat free.  • It all depends on how much you would normally eat. We love it, but always feel like gluttons and always have food left over. {Hashtag: DisneyDetox} • Watch your calendar because you can make reservations well in advance, and the popular places fill up fast. {Hashtag: peoplearepsychoandsoarewe}

Us: We decided to do the meal plan again, this time. Why? It was included in the package we decided to purchase, again. Which means it was “free”. I’m sure it’s not actually free, but the value for the moolah was worth it to us in the long run. Though in hindsight, if I’d known how obsessed all of our kids would be with all of the characters, we would have paid for it anyway. With three young kids, it’s a great way to affordably eat at some super fun places and meet some awesome characters… all without waiting in line. I want to do it “all the way” while they’re young and we can. Just put that one in  your back pocket if you have littles obsessed with characters.

Kristy: We waited for Disney to announce which month they would be offering a free dining plan package, and we chose to go that month–for us, that was last September. I loved the idea of getting all the eating benefits with them eating the cost. Since this was our first trip, and our girls were preschoolers, we catered our sit down meals to the character meals that would excite them the most. I was nervous that the one snack, one quick service, and one full service meal credit per day wouldn’t be quite enough for us, but I had NO idea that the serving sizes would be so plentiful and that every meal would also come with a dessert! We found ourselves trying to use up all of our remaining snack credits on the last day so that none of them would go to waste!

We packed juice boxes and breakfast bars and pop tarts and usually ate breakfast at the bus stop in the morning (except for that last morning) so that we could maximize our park time, and that was a good choice for us since we were there for a shorter time. After having the free dining plan, I cannot imagine going back and not doing the dining plan, but I also know how much it saved us, so I will keep my eyes and ears open for when Disney offers that FREE plan!

Andrea: We’ve done a trip with the meal plan and without. I’m not that opinionated either way about this. It was nice to have the meal plan for convenience sake. We did the middle plan where we got one quick service, one sit down and one snack per day. It doesn’t sound like a lot of food, but we felt like we “had” to eat all the time. We tried to be so careful, too, to plan out our meals to use all of our credits. We messed up somewhere and still had two quick service meals each left at the end of our trip. We kept our receipts and at the end of our trip discovered that we had saved about 15% by using the meal plan. However, if we had not had the meal plan, we probably would not have eaten near as much as what we did with the meal plan. If Disney is offering the free dining plan, then it’s a no-brainer!

Our second big trip with the kids we didn’t do the meal plan. We still planned out all of our meals months in advance in order to make reservations, though. We were not disappointed that we didn’t use the meal plan this time. I’m not a huge fan of it, but it does save a little bit.

Jillina: It depends on how many in your party under 3, how much food you would normally purchase, etc. The answer is different for each family. We have done both and saved money both ways there is no right answer for us here.

 Whatever you do, don’t miss the cupcakes.

A word of advice on reservations:

Cristin: Go ahead and make a calendar for your stay. Map it out with what parks you plan on visiting on what days (if you’re staying within Disney World, I would recommend adjusting which parks you visit on what day based upon the Magic Hours schedule for that day). But also keep in mind that if the restaurant you are wanting for a certain day is booked, you may have to be flexible and move some of your dates around so that you don’t miss out. And don’t be scared to spend a day at a park and then “hop” on over to another one for dinner followed by their fireworks show. That’s a win/win in my book. {Our two cents: This is where park hopper passes came in handy for us with three little ones: we could eat in Epcot with the princesses and then venture to The Magic Kingdom for the fireworks, etc. We found that we couldn’t plan too much ahead, because kids are, well, kids.}

Breaking it down by park

Favorite quick service places in Epcot: 

Cristin: Sunshine Season Food Fair – The Land Pavilion. This is a food court type set up which makes it easier to please your entire group. Plus they offer a different type selection of fast foods such as specialty salads, sandwiches, breads, desserts, and soups.

Us: La Cantina de San Angel – this quick service spot is located in the World Showcase in Mexico. And I was eyeing their cool light (hey, inspiration is everywhere). YUMMY.

Favorite Table Service Places in Epcot

Cristin: Coral Reef Restaurant – Located beside the Nemo and Friends ride.  The inside of this restaurant is basically a huge fish tank. Every table in the place has a view of the extra large tank making it easy to entertain your little ones while enjoying their yummy food.

Le Cellier Steakhouse – located in the World Showcase in Canada.  This place is one of my top two favorite places to eat while in Disney World. They have wonderful steaks and the yummiest Cheddar Cheese Soup! Mmmmm…..

Tutto Italia Ristorante – located in the World Showcase in Italy.  You guessed it- they have delicious Italian food. Pastas, breads, the whole nine.

San Angel Inn – located in the World Showcase in Mexico.  I’ve put this spot on my favorites list not because of their food, but because of the ambiance.  The food is not your typical Americanized Mexican Food.  It’s way more authentic, so if you’re into that, then awesome. HOWEVER, the set up in this restaurant is so unique and fun, you truly feel like you are in a marketplace in Mexico. Not to mention the kid friendly ride inside the restaurant making it perfect for keeping the kids entertained while waiting on a table, food, or check.

Teppan Edo – located in the World Showcase in Japan. This is like a Hibachi Grill where the food is prepared on a giant flat grill in front of you.

Us: Best Character Meal in Epcot per the Mills fam: Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Even our boys were fans. Worth every single moment, in our book. And the food was awesome. Couldn’t recommend it more.

Kristy: The next night we went to the princess dinner at Akershus Castle in Epcot. We really debated on which princess meal to choose, and we opted out of Cinderella’s castle meal for two reasons… 1) We didn’t want it to eat up two of our sit down meal credits. 2) We didn’t make reservations in time. Disney came out with the free dining in May, and it was for September. We probably could have eaten at an off-time, but we used that as our out. Honestly, I regret it. With two little girls totally enraptured with the whole princess phenom, it was a mistake, and I hope we didn’t miss our window. That said, Akershus was wonderful! Our girls love Mulan, and she, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, and Snow White hosted the meal for us. The food there was my favorite as well!

Favorite snack places in Epcot: 

Cristin: Fountain View Ice Cream – is now a Starbucks. But hurray for Starbucks!

Favorite Quick Service Places in the Magic Kingdom

Cristin: Casey’s Corner – this is located at the end corner of Main Street.  It’s a straight up hot dog joint… so if that’s not your thing then skip it.  But if it is, these dogs and fries are pretty tasty.

Pinnochio Village Haus – This quick service spot in Fantasy Land has a viewing area that overlooks It’s a Small World.  We tried their food this trip and I was quite impressed with the menu.  They had some unique flatbreads and sandwiches which is a nice change from all of the burgers, pizza, and fries.

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe – located in Tomorrow Land, this is set up more like a food court with several options such as burgers, salads, soups, chicken, etc. Plus, there is a pretty neat looking robot that entertains the kids in the seating area.

Kristy: Our quick service meals at the Magic Kingdom were Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe and Columbia Harbour House–both for lunch. We enjoyed both, but those meals were more means to an end for us, a quick heat break and nourishment fill-up. We chose them based on where we were in the park and what our next goal for the day was.

Cristin: Tortuga Tavern – located near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  This quick service serves decent Mexican food if you’re looking to venture from burgers and fries.

Favorite Table Service Places in the Magic Kingdom

Cristin: Tony’s Town Square – located off Main Street.  This little Italian restaurant serves up some yummy pastas and is decorated like the Italian restaurant from Lady and the Tramp.

Us: Cinderella’s Royal Table – Look for Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and some others who come and go. {Be prepared to give up two meal creds for this one, or to pay out of pocket. But some things may be worth exchanging.}

Cristin: First off, it’s a restaurant INSIDE Cinderella’s castle!  How cool is that?  Secondly, I come from a family of ALL girls including four little girls who literally jumped for joy when meeting the princesses that meet and greet you at this character table service spot. Tip in regards to dining inside Cinderella Castle: the food is actually pretty good and this is a great option if you plan to take your child to Bippity Boppity Boutique.  They can get all dolled up and then head right over to get their picture made with all of the lovely princesses!

Andrea: Our favorite dining experience is Cinderella’s Royal Table. The food is excellent, the princesses are awesome, and they even give swords to the boys! You can’t beat actually eating in the castle!

Kristy: We chose the Crystal Palace to eat with the characters from Winnie the Pooh. This was a beautiful location, and probably my favorite buffet meal.

Cristin: Be Our Guest Restaurant (AKA Beast Castle) – This has become one of our favorites for sure.  The decoration and ambiance is SPOT ON.  It looks exactly like the real thing.  We ate there for dinner which definitely had the feel of “Be Our Guest” scene from the movie. However, you can also eat here as a quick service for lunch. We loved having dinner there and plan to do it again, but if you can’t get reservations here (start trying 180 days early!!!) definitely check it out for lunch!

Us: A tip for Beast’s Castle: A cast member who helped us book our trip told us that at night, only the main dining room is open. During the day, all the rooms are open and you can see it all. We even tried their new fast pass deal where you can pick your meal ahead of time online before you even go. It was super fast and absolutely delish. One of our faves. The line was out the door every day, so like Cristin said… book in advance. If you can… don’t skip this one.

Favorite Snacks in the Magic Kingdom

Cristin: Main Street Bakery – It’s no longer there! Now a Starbucks. Us: Again, can’t complain about Starbucks. Especially when you can get one as a snack… at any size… on your plan…

Gaston’s Tavern – the tavern has some cool and different snack items such as a giant piece of Cinnamon bread, but the real treat for me was daring to try LeFou’s Brew.  It may not sound tempting, but let me tell ya, this stuff is good.  It’s basically frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow and topped with passion fruit-mango foam. It’s so funny that i even liked this as much as I did, because I’m not really a fan of apple juice, marshmallows, or passion fruit/mango. So give it a try and see if you like it as much as I did!

Jillina: Try the Nutella and fresh fruit waffle sandwich at Sleepy Hollow in Magic Kingdom. Yummy!

Cristin: Aloha Isle – located in Adventureland. If you like Dole Whips, you are going to LOVE their Pineapple flavored yogurt and juice. Sound weird? Trust me. If it’s hot outside and you need a pick-me-up, this is the place for you.

Kristy: Our favorite snack by FAR was the Dole Whip–heavenly.

Favorite Quick Service Places in Hollywood Studios

Us: Pizza Planet – Backlot. Here you can score yummy pizza and some of their famed cupcakes. Just like the movies, there’s an actual arcade, so be forewarned on pulling your children away! It can also be hard to snag a table on a crowded day, so if you’re like me and get sick on Star Tours, be sure to skip it while your family rides and you’ll have a table by the time they show up…

Cristin: Starring Rolls Café – Sunset Boulevard. Again, like an outdoor food court with several places to choose from.

Favorite Table Service Places in Hollywood Studios

Us: Sci-Fi Dine In Theater – Backlot. Delicious and fun. The entire family sits in a little car, while you watch little clips from cheesy sci fi movies and enjoy some awesome ambience. One of our faves!

Kristy: Our last meal was at Hollywood and Vine at Hollywood Studios. We started out morning at the Disney Junior show, and then we got to eat lunch with all of the Disney Junior characters. I just heard that Sofia and Doc McStuffins have joined that character ensemble. I’m so thankful that we did this one on this trip while our girls were still both preschoolers. It is one that I’m sure they will grow out of, and I’m glad we didn’t miss it.

Us: We were there a few months after Kristy, and highly recommend Hollywood and Vine. Another one of our top faves especially for younger children. Sofia and Doc were both in attendance and the kids loved it… especially Malone. Perfect for any Disney Jr. fans out there.

Favorite Snacks in Hollywood Studios

Cristin: Pizzafari – Discovery Island.  We always enjoy their Italian Sandwiches and Cesar Salads at this Pizzeria.  Oh yeah, and the pizza isn’t bad either : )

Us: Flame Tree BBQ – Delicious if you love BBQ. One of our favorites inside Animal Kingdom.

Favorite Table Service Places in Animal Kingdom

Cristin: Rainforest Café – located at the entrance.  This is just like the Rainforest Cafe you have heard of/seen before.

 Places to eat NOT located inside a park

Cristin: California Grill – located at the top of the Contemporary Hotel. You can get there by hopping on the monorail from Magic Kingdom or Epcot. I had to mention this one because this is by far my FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT IN ALL OF DISNEY WORLD!! The food is delicious, and a reservation is an absolute must. The highlight of this place is the outdoor balcony, which overlooks the Magic Kingdom. Plan your reservation just right so that you are there during or right before/after the nightly fireworks show for the Magic Kingdom.  If it’s a nice night out, it’s hard to beat watching the show from the top of the Contemporary!

Us: Chef Mickey’s One of our favorite character meals located in the Contemporary, as well. A great buffet kind of breakfast, where you get to meet Mickey and friends…our kids LOVED it.

Kristy: Our first character meal was at Chef Mickeys (which was my childhood favorite and the one I think we will always visit no matter how big our kids get). That was perfect first choice. Our kids had been in the parks for a day already, so they had warmed up to meeting different characters, and they were completely in awe that they were coming to their tables. Mickey and Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto are the classics, and my girls completely loved getting wined and dined by them. We did Chef Mickey’s on a Magic Kingdom day and the transportation was super easy with a quick Monterail ride.

Us: Ohana. Our very favorite non character meal: We booked it by accident at night, thinking Lilo and Stitch would be there. Whoops. The food was some of the best we’ve had. It’s buffet style with everything from Hawaiian-style meat on a stick that the cast members serve you, to egg rolls. The cast members there were so fun with games and ambience that we didn’t regret it at all. The kids loved it. One of our top spots.

Jillina: Tonga Toast for breakfast at Kona Cafe in The Polynesian Resort. You can also find Tonga toast for several dollars cheaper downstairs in Captain Cook’s at The Polynesian Resort.

To skip:

Andrea: One I’d probably skip…1900 Park Fare. At dinner Cinderella, Prince Charming, the step sisters and the stepmother are there. It is fun to see Cinderella with Prince Charming and the step sister and the stepmother are hilarious, but the food was awful.   This was probably the worst buffet of our whole trip. Sadly disappointed.

Us: We agree with Andrea!

Downtown Disney: (Cristin) there are some restaurants that are actually on the dining plan. The current list consists of: Bongos Cuban Cafe, Crossroads at the House of Blues, Paradiso 37, Planet Hollywood, Portobello Country Italian Trattoria, Raglan Road Irish Pub, Rainforest Cafe, Splitsville Luxury Lanes, T-REX Cafe, and Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe. These are all sit-down restaurants. There are also some faster eating options there that accept quick service credits from the dining plan which are: Bongos, Cookes of Dublin, Earl of Sandwhich (This place offers a variety of sandwiches that are all very yummy!) FoodQuest, Marketplace Snacks, Pollo Campero, Wetzels Pretzels Wolfgang Puck Exress.

And don’t miss my favorite- Ghiradelli!!! My family knows that we have to stop by Downtown Disney at least one time on our trip for me to get the richest, most chocolately ice-cream sundae that ever existed.

A note on birthdays:  

Jillina: We celebrated our daughter’s 3rd birthday at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Yes reservations fill up here very quickly however if you are unable to get a reservation, keep trying. People cancel reservations all the time. You can also stop by the check in desk at Cinderella’s Castle and ask if they have any openings. Many times they will. Word of warning here: when we have stopped by and asked the answer has sometimes been yes, we can seat you all right now if your party is all here. So if you stop by to ask, have your entire party there with you, ready to possibly go in and eat.

You can order a custom celebration cake from Walt Disney World with 72 hours notice. To order any custom bakery cake, call (407) 827-2253. With Cinderella’s Royal Table you also have an additional option to order “Her Royal Highness” package. We chose not to order the full package, only the Princess cake. The cake was gorgeous and delicious!

One money saving tip on celebrating birthdays at Walt Disney World is to add that you are celebrating a special occasion (birthday, retirement, anniversary, etc) when making your reservations. I believe most table service meals will deliver a free celebration cupcake to you for dessert. At Chef Mickey’s a cast member saw how excited Katherine was to hug and
kiss Minnie Mouse. The cast member then arranged for Minnie Mouse to come
back to our table and  help deliver a free birthday cupcake to Katherine. It was a magical moment for all of us!

An important note on food allergies: 

Jillina: Our daughter has life threatening food allergies, and if you have someone in your group who also has food allergies I totally understand the fear of trusting and relying on others to feed that child every day. I did a lot of research on food allergies and Disney before our trip. I agree with most people, Disney really is the most allergy-friendly place to visit.

When you make your dinning reservations you’ll be asked if anyone has any food allergies. Your information is put into the system and a special ticket is given to your server when you arrive at each table service meal, notifying them of the allergy. The standard procedure is then for the chef who will be making your food to come to your table and discuss the allergy. I was very impressed with the personal attention and the accommodations made to make sure our daughter had a safe meal. Each chef went out of the way to find food that our daughter could have at each restaurant, even if that meant they suggested and made something that wasn’t on the menu.

We went to Chef Mickey’s for breakfast one day. The chef walked with me through the line showing me which items were safe. There were SO many more options than I expected them to have. However, wanting to make sure that our daughter didn’t miss anything he also insisted, yes insisted,on making her a special dairy and soy free mickey mouse pancake. Which she loved. We found this same experience time and time again.

I did feel that Quick service meals were a bit more difficult, just due to the lines of people also wanting to get their meals, and my own feeling of holding others up. When at Quick Service meals, you will be handed a book full of ingredients in each dish or a cast member will look up items for you and answer any questions. It does take some time to find food if you have multiple food allergies, like my daughter.

Believe me, I totally understand the fear of life threatening food allergies and yes, it made me pause and think, is going to Disney even really worth the risk?We packed our epi pens, and a small arsenal of allergy friendly snacks, and were diligent about asking questions and reading labels. I hope you find Disney to be as accommodating as we did!

Kristy: My youngest daughter has a life-threatening, anaphylactic food allergy to dairy. She was not quite 3 when we visited Disney World, so she wasn’t on our meal plan. I was extremely concerned about how that would play out, but honestly, as a mom, the care that the Disney cast members took in preparing her food was one of the most magical things about our whole experience for me. Before each meal, the chef would come to our table and walk me through the menu and/or buffet and tell me what her safe choices were. At our sit down meals that were buffets, we were able to fix an extra plate for her. At Akershus, they just brought Ansley a plate of her own. At the quick service meals, they gave us extra food, no questions asked. It was so humbling and so awesome. We struggle so much with not ever wanting to alienate our daughter at the table, and the best experience of all was when our hotel informed us that they had her special cheese (Daiya–for all you allergy moms) and could make her her very own pizza. That day we ordered pizza for ALL and ate it by the pool.

We certainly hope this little run-through helps with any of you who are interested in places to eat! Disney Dining offers a whole different dimension to the vacay and we must admit we recommend at least trying a few places, even if you don’t do the Meal Plan!

So spill it. We’d love to hear your take on your fave spots or any tips you have! Have an inspired day, y’all!