I've shown you how to save money on breakfasts at Walt Disney World. Now let's tackle the next meal of the day -- lunch.
So you’ve made it through an inexpensive breakfast but it’s early afternoon and you’re starving from all the walking and other physical activity. How do you stay on budget but indulge in a tasty and filling lunch? With these easy-to-follow tips:
- Eat light. There are many places throughout the WDW property where you can get a soup, salad or other light lunch for around $5. At Epcot, try the vegetable lo mein ($4.59) or the Sichuan Guai Wei Chicken Salad ($4.99) at the Lotus Blossom Café in the China showcase. Get a generous cup-sized serving of country vegetable or chicken noodle soup for under $2 at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café at the Magic Kingdom. Across the park, open during busy seasons for lunch, is El Pirata y el Perico, where you can get 2 large tacos for $4.99. And the best deal on property for lunch has to be Earl of Sandwich at the Downtown Disney Marketplace where a large cup of creamy tomato soup with homemade croutons will set you back $1.95. Pair that with a side salad (also $1.95) and a homemade earl of grey tea-lemonade mixture ($1.75), and you have a really filling yummy lunch for under $6.
- Choose a buffet and eat a “brunch meal”. As mentioned in my breakfast article, you can kill two meals with one sitting by eating a late morning breakfast at one of the buffet restaurants. At the end of the meal, save a croissant, muffin or apple from the buffet to snack on for a light lunch mid-afternoon (just wrap in a napkin or kleenex and stick in a Ziploc bag you brought with you). For more on my picks for best breakfast buffets, please read “Breakfast at Walt Disney World.”
- Split an entrée. When visiting the parks with a friend, we often split a cheeseburger or chicken nuggets and fries and then use the toppings bar to create impromptu side salads for each of us. Every topping bar has the basics – lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and raw onions. But both Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café and Pecos Bills at the Magic Kingdom add cheese sauce, grilled onions and mushrooms. For dressing, I usually use a mixture of mustard and mayonnaise or ask for honey mustard at the counter. My friend usually uses the pickle juice.
- Take advantage of special lunch menus. Many of the gourmet restaurants on property have special lunch menus that allow you to experience the restaurant and the food for less money. For example, at Le Cellier Steakhouse at the Canada pavilion in Epcot, an herb-crusted Prime Rib entrée will set you back $21.99 at dinner. Go there for lunch, and you can get a sliced Prime Rib "French Dip" sandwich for $14.99. Not exactly the same dish, but it allows you to enjoy their fabulous prime rib steak and the restaurant atmosphere while saving $7. Across the lagoon, Restaurant Marrakesh in the Moroccan pavilion offers a chicken kebab entrée for dinner for $21.99. The same dish during lunch (in a slightly smaller portion) is only $15.95 – a savings of $6.
- Order from the children’s menu. Technically Disney frowns on this, but at the counter-service restaurants, they’re generally too busy to care who you’re ordering for. How does this save money? At the ABC Commissary at Disney-MGM Studios, the vegetable noodle stir-fry is $6.09 on the regular menu. A smaller portion of the dish, paired with applesauce, fortune cookie and child's soft drink, milk or juice comes in at $3.99 on the kid’s menu. The Tusker House at Disney’s Animal Kingdom offers a half rotisserie chicken served with garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables for $7.99. On the children's menu, a chicken drumstick and mashed potatoes with applesauce and choice of child's beverage is $3.99.
I hope you enjoy these tips and articles on how to enjoy a great lunch 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: Budget Dinners at Disney World
The copyright of the article Budget Lunches at Disney World in Budget Dining Options is owned by Michelle Snow. Permission to republish Budget Lunches at Disney World in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
