Table Service restaurants on a budget...

buzzrelly

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Sorry, guys! I love the show, but I think y'all completely missed the mark on this one. When I think of dining on a BUDGET, I think of maybe $80-$100 tops, including tips, for a family of four.

I believe calling that show "TS DINING ON A BUDGET," is a misnomer. If your list was titled, "TABLE SERVICE RESTAURANTS AT WDW THAT ARE A GOOD VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY," then I think you hit the mark. But I wouldn't consider any $30/PP buffet to be a great place to eat on a budget. For four of us, that's about $150, including tip. In fact, based on the way we eat, personally, I don't even get the "good value for your money," aspect of them. Do I still do buffets/AYCTE occasionally? Yes, but only because there is something else there that I am looking to add and am willing to pay for, i.e.. characters, entrance to an empty-ish park, dibs on getting on Soarin' or FEA before all the crowds, etc.

My favorite BUDGET TS restaurants are The Plaza and Via Napoli. My family of four can get a delicious meal for under $100 at both of those places. I'm also thinking Sci-Fi, Beaches & Cream, maybe Grand Floridian cafe (though I've never eaten there) should have made your list. Tusker House? I love it, but definitely not on a budget!
 
I definitely get your point as these definitely weren't the cheapest options for Table Service in general ....

I took it more as "if you want to do a character meal, this is a cheaper option that we think is really good" ... "if you want to a signature like California Grill, a great option is to eat at the lounge rather than doing a full meal" - that sort of thing

So if you want to the different types of table services experiences, here is how to do each of them "on a budget"
 
I had this conversation with my son as we listened to it. I think some people on the team are finally speaking up and saying that they wouldn't pay for certain restaurants because they are just too much money and not worth it, but in general Pete decides what is good and what isn't and he seems to have a different sense of food value and what a budget is.

When people talk about budget meals I always think of the questions here about which meals can be shared among a family so they only have to pay for 1 thing while multiple people get to eat. I always disagree with that whole idea because I don't think the meals are too large for one person but we don't snack around the park and are actually hungry when we go to eat. Or when people ask "Does that buy a separate bun and splitting a double burger tip still work?" Budget means spending a smaller amount of money and we don't do table service meals when we are on a budget.
 


I had this conversation with my son as we listened to it. I think some people on the team are finally speaking up and saying that they wouldn't pay for certain restaurants because they are just too much money and not worth it, but in general Pete decides what is good and what isn't and he seems to have a different sense of food value and what a budget is.

When people talk about budget meals I always think of the questions here about which meals can be shared among a family so they only have to pay for 1 thing while multiple people get to eat. I always disagree with that whole idea because I don't think the meals are too large for one person but we don't snack around the park and are actually hungry when we go to eat. Or when people ask "Does that buy a separate bun and splitting a double burger tip still work?" Budget means spending a smaller amount of money and we don't do table service meals when we are on a budget.

Yikes…I've never heard of people doing that. My mom and I will often order a pizza and a salad and split it, but if I was going to split a sandwich I would just cut it in half. I certainly wouldn't ask for a second bun :rotfl:

I recall people at Pecos Bill (before the menu change) would just buy a bun and then fill it up with stuff from the toppings station ..... people can get creative when they want to save $ / don't have a lot of $


I think it comes down to what a person means by "on a budget" - there are different levels of that. As mentioned above I took this eposide more for "if you wanted to have ____ experience but do it in the most cost effective way, here are options"
 
I recall people at Pecos Bill (before the menu change) would just buy a bun and then fill it up with stuff from the toppings station ..... people can get creative when they want to save $ / don't have a lot of $


I think it comes down to what a person means by "on a budget" - there are different levels of that. As mentioned above I took this eposide more for "if you wanted to have ____ experience but do it in the most cost effective way, here are options"
Oh yeah, I've seen this quite a bit over they years - one time the entire Fixin's Bar at Electric Umbrella was taken up by a whole group of people who were together, to the tune of 2-3 people deep, and MOST of them did not go up to the counter, or purchase anything. Really ticked me off to watch this - especially since I couldn't get anywhere near the bar to put "stuff" on my own purchased food, and they left the bar in an empty, disgusting mess when they were done with their first round. I left as I saw quite a few of them getting up to go get MORE awhile later - afraid I was going to lose my temper, and make some Ms. Manners remarks that might not have been so well received. I mean - being on a budget is ONE thing, but that......sorry, is NOT that, IMHO.
 


I don't eat burgers so I've never done the second bun thing but I think that's a very creative way to save some money. You're not doing anything at all wrong. Disney happily sells you that second bun. If they didn't want people doing it, they wouldn't offer that option.

One of our favorite budget meals at MK is to get the fajita platter at Pecos Bill's. It is far too big for one person so we get that and buy an extra pack of tortillas (again, Disney offers that option). My wife and I split the platter and usually still have some left over. So many meals are too much for one person (which is true everywhere, not just at Disney) so splitting things to save money and not overeat is a great option.

I agree that the show wasn't really about "budget" options, just good value options for the price paid. My issue was more that I don't think of buffets as table service experiences. When I say table service, I mean I sit down and a server takes my order and brings me my food. I think buffets are a 3rd category along with CS and TS.
 
I don't eat burgers so I've never done the second bun thing but I think that's a very creative way to save some money. You're not doing anything at all wrong. Disney happily sells you that second bun. If they didn't want people doing it, they wouldn't offer that option.

One of our favorite budget meals at MK is to get the fajita platter at Pecos Bill's. It is far too big for one person so we get that and buy an extra pack of tortillas (again, Disney offers that option). My wife and I split the platter and usually still have some left over. So many meals are too much for one person (which is true everywhere, not just at Disney) so splitting things to save money and not overeat is a great option.

I agree that the show wasn't really about "budget" options, just good value options for the price paid. My issue was more that I don't think of buffets as table service experiences. When I say table service, I mean I sit down and a server takes my order and brings me my food. I think buffets are a 3rd category along with CS and TS.


We definitely will share things as well or I have found the kids meals are often plenty of food for me ... the Mongolian Beef kids meal at Sunshine Seasons is one of my go-tos

As for the categories, I get what you are saying, and especially when thinking of budget it is very different to look at a buffet (or pay-one-price) vs ala-carte table service, but I guess for the dining plan things are wither Quick Service or Table Service so probably how they view them
 
Definitely nothing wrong with sharing at all! And totally agree that buffets are a "gray area" when talking about TS, but also yes - that's how Disney classifies them.
 
I particularly appreciated the tip about the California Grill Lounge. We aren't interested in using 2 TS credits to eat at CG on our upcoming November trip, but I could definitely see us having an appetizer and a drink or two in the lounge. :thumbsup2

As a matter of fact, I have not been able to score a BOG or 'Ohana ressie for our first night, so we may just do a mini monorail pub crawl (CG Lounge, Trader Sam's, Mizner's Lounge) before going back into MK for the fireworks.
 
I particularly appreciated the tip about the California Grill Lounge. We aren't interested in using 2 TS credits to eat at CG on our upcoming November trip, but I could definitely see us having an appetizer and a drink or two in the lounge. :thumbsup2

As a matter of fact, I have not been able to score a BOG or 'Ohana ressie for our first night, so we may just do a mini monorail pub crawl (CG Lounge, Trader Sam's, Mizner's Lounge) before going back into MK for the fireworks.

Monorail pub crawl sounds like a great option!

Just a note about the Cali Grill Lounge - if it is super crowded they might not let you up, at least until some people leave .... so might want to stop their first on your crawl to scope out the situation.
 
Monorail pub crawl sounds like a great option!

Just a note about the Cali Grill Lounge - if it is super crowded they might not let you up, at least until some people leave .... so might want to stop their first on your crawl to scope out the situation.

I'm thinking CG Lounge first (arriving by 5pm), then Trader Sam's (arriving by 6pm), and lastly Mizner's (if there's time). We may need to just leave it at two stops since I would like to be in MK by 7:30pm to do "Jingle" Cruise before we stake out a spot for HEA. Never done a pub crawl before . . . how much time should we expect to spend at each stop?
 
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I'm thinking CG Lounge first (arriving by 5pm), then Trader Sam's (arriving by 6pm), and lastly Mizner's (if there's time). We may need to just leave it at two stops since I would like to be in MK by 7:30pm to do "Jingle" Cruise before we stake out a spot for HEA. Never done a pub crawl before . . . how much time should we expect to spend at each stop?

Honestly I definitely would look to do no more than 2 in that time - unless you are just looking to down a quick drink and move one. I’d rather relax with a drink and just hang out. Plus, easy to hang out in Trader Sam’s for a while and watch the antics. And if you have to wait for a monorail, could take a bit of time between stops.

I think a calm drink with maybe appetizer at the CG grill and then a drink or two at Trader Sam’s would be great - especially if next stop is Jingle Cruise as Trader Sam himself is on the Jungle Cruise so sort of go together
 
Honestly I definitely would look to do no more than 2 in that time - unless you are just looking to down a quick drink and move one. I’d rather relax with a drink and just hang out. Plus, easy to hang out in Trader Sam’s for a while and watch the antics. And if you have to wait for a monorail, could take a bit of time between stops.

I think a calm drink with maybe appetizer at the CG grill and then a drink or two at Trader Sam’s would be great - especially if next stop is Jingle Cruise as Trader Sam himself is on the Jungle Cruise so sort of go together

I think that sounds perfect - thanks! I hadn't even considered the connection between Trader Sam's and Jingle Cruise lol. :thumbsup2
 
I'm not an expert on dining, but at what table service restaurants on property can someone feed 4 people for less than $100 including tips? I feel like I never see entrees for less than $20, and even if you only order that and drink water it's still $25pp after tax and tip.
 
I'm not an expert on dining, but at what table service restaurants on property can someone feed 4 people for less than $100 including tips? I feel like I never see entrees for less than $20, and even if you only order that and drink water it's still $25pp after tax and tip.

I would recommend Splitsville dining room at DS. Yes, the entrees will broach on $25 on the high end, but you can easily get a few appetizers (suggest nachos), a pizza or two, and still stay well under the $100 ceiling.
 

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