In my previous articles on dining on a budget at Walt Disney World, I covered breakfast and lunch. Now, let's talk about dinner.
With the savings you'll have from those first two meals, you could splurge on dinner, if you wanted to. But if you want to save money on the last meal of the day, try these tips on for size:
- Split an entrée. Many of the main dishes offered at Walt Disney World restaurants are big enough for two to share. Add a cup of soup or a side salad to your half of the entrée and you should be able to skate by for under $15 and still enjoy gourmet dining.
- Drink water. Why spend almost $3 on a glass of soda or more for an alcoholic beverage with your meal? Tap water is free at Disney and great for hydrating you after a hot day at the parks. Ask for a slice of lemon and add sugar to taste at the table for an impromptu homemade lemonade.
- Order appetizers. Make it a tapas dinner and order from the appetizer menu. Most of them will be priced under $9 and the portion sizes will fill you up. If you’re in a group, each order a different appetizer and share to get a little taste of everything. Some of my favorite restaurants to do this at are Jiko at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Sci-Fi Dine In at Disney-MGM Studios and Planet Hollywood at Downtown Disney.
- Make use of free food. Some restaurants in Downtown Disney offer complimentary bread sticks or slices as you wait for your meal. Wolfgang Puck’s full service restaurant offers an array of sourdough, olive bread and flatbread, with butter, and Raglan Road offers complimentary slices of Irish soda bread with a Guinness and olive oil reduction [pictured above] for dipping. Yum! Le Cellier at Epcot also offers diners an array of bread sticks to nosh on while waiting for their meal. Use these free food offerings to your advantage and you won’t need to order a huge meal at high prices.
- Earl of Sandwich. I’ve touted this eatery in previous articles – and with good reason. This Downtown Disney sandwich shop offer great food at good-sized portions for not a lot of money. Eat dinner here and you can get a huge made-to-order sandwich on fresh baked bread for $5 or less. Pair that with a cup of tomato soup with homemade croutons, a cup of potato salad or a side salad ($1.25 each) and a homemade earl of grey tea-lemonade mixture ($1.75), and they’ll be rolling you out of there for under $10.
- Join the Safari Club. The Rainforest Cafe chain has a special frequent diner’s club called the “Safari Club” which costs $15 to join. Once a member you get your choice of a free appetizer (their choice - usually the chicken quesadilla) with any entree or 10% off your check, as well as jump-the-line-privileges (this allows you to get bumped up to the next available seating). You also get sent a welcome packet, as well as a $5 gift certificate for your birthday. And the Safari card is good at all of their restaurants nationwide, including the two at Walt Disney World at Downtown Disney and Animal Kingdom.
- Eat at a buffet. The Trail’s End dinner buffet at Fort Wilderness isn’t high gourmet, but for $17.99, it’s an all-you-can eat feast of pork ribs, fried chicken, chili, hand-carved roasted meats, potatoes, salad and dessert. Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages are included in the price. If you simply must gorge for dinner, this is the place to do it for the lowest price on Disney property.
I hope you enjoyed these tips and articles on how to enjoy a great dinner at Walt Disney World without spending a lot of money. If you have any tips or suggestions, please leave a comment.
Next in this series of dining at WDW on a budget: Snacking at Walt Disney World
The copyright of the article Budget Dinners at Disney World in Budget Dining Options is owned by Michelle Snow. Permission to republish Budget Dinners at Disney World in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
