Where to eat?

[LoriKobz]

This will be my first trip to WDW. We have 6 in our group, including our 4 children. We've got our trip booked and are staying in a cabin in Fort Wilderness. I've done some research (thanks to this board!) and have decided to make our grocery trip from the airport to the Walmart Supercenter, and get lunch at McDonald's. Once we get to WDW, we'll be turning in our National Rental Car.
Besides the meals we make ourselves, can anyone reccomend where to eat? I've seen some posts about people paying over $100 for hamburgers! I find I can't enjoy myself paying that kind of money for food. Are there any buffets or value oriented restaurants? Any advice at all would be helpful. What is in the campground and the parks?
Also, is it feasible that we could eat all of our meals at our cabin, or is it not worth it to go back and forth?
Help please!

One more thing, laundry, any advice? Remember there's 6 of us!
thank you,
Lori

 

[campingcorgi]

Lori, welcome to the camping board! You'll love FW!

There is a very nice buffet at FW--the Trail's End. Check out the WDWIG.com site for menu informations. You will be able to eat most (if not all) of your meals in the cabins. We often plan our day so we can come back for a lunch break and rest.

There is a laundry located at the cabin pool area. You can wash clothes and enjoy the pool at the same time!!

Keep checking back here for more information, and have fun planning!!

Barbara

15 days to go

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I would at least budget for the option of having one meal in the parks. Counter service, would be your cheapest option. It ran our family of three about 20.00 per meal.You will find that there are times you will not want to leave the park but everyone is hungery and NOW.


jordan's mom

 

[jaxtrip]

Yeah, Disney food prices can make your eyes pop alittle. I'd figure on about 1.5 times the cost of what you'd WANT to pay for each meal, and that's what the meal will end up being.

I usually eat breakfast at my site, then a counter-service meal (get in a line, place your order, move deeper into the line, get a tray of food & drinks, go find a seat) for lunch and then back at campsite for camping dinner (BBQ or cold sandwiches) or another counter-service meal. Oo, and leave room for park snacks! (popcorn, mickey ice cream bars, hot cocoa, etc) Also, I believe FW mousekeeping will wash your dishes for you (but you must provide the soap!)

Be sure to check Deb Willis site for a food price preview. http://www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm

I'd recommend Pizza Planet for pizza in MGM, Plaza Pavillion and Pecos Bill (wraps) in MK, and go wild in Epcot picking your favorites OR Pure & Simple for guilt-free fare.

Of course the Restaurant Board has LOTS of opinions that may be able to help too. FW has the Trails End Buffet that seems to appeal to the majority of guests. It doesn't quite float my boat.

Have a great time!!

jax

 

[fortwilderness]

I agree with jaxtrip about the Trails End buffet. It doesn't exactly float my boat either. In my experience lunch is pretty decent both food and price wise but I personally think that dinner leaves much to be desired and is too expensive for what you get. I have been there on several occasions and that is my overall opinion. It isn't terrible or anything - I just wouldn't plan on relying on it for numerous meals.

Many of the full service restaurants can be visited at lunch time for a reasonable price. In my experience if you stay clear of the appetizers, alcohol and desserts you can really enjoy sit down meals without feeling like you are wasting money. I would recommend that you eat breakfast in the cabin each day, have a nice relaxing sit down lunch in the park you visit that day and dinner in your cabin or at a fast food spot.

Study the menus on wdwig.com and you can get a good game plan for your family regarding meals

 

[Grumpy92]

The Trails End is a convenient buffet. You can also purchase the refillable drink cups there which we loved. The Trails End in the evening offers pizza to go as well. The trading post offer a few items but they can get expensive. Just a short boat stop away is WL or CR and all their restaurants are good. When we camp we try to eat one meal out so we can enjoy some of the great Disney restaurants. As for hamburgers figure about $7 for a value hamburger meal at the parks. The hardest part is the time it takes to get to and from the parks. You might want to think about reserving a golf cart they come in handy around the campground.
So here are some suggestions:

MK: Liberty Tree Tavern, Cinderellas Royal Table, Tonys Town Square
Epcot:Le Cellier, Teppanyaki, Rose & Crown, San Angel, Akershus or Biergarten, Any of the WS restaurants are good.
MGM: Mama Melrose, Sci Fi and 50s Prime Time Cafe
AK: Tusker House (Counter Service)

Resorts Sit Down: Whispering Canyon, Beaches & Cream, Cape May Cafe, Konas, GF Cafe (lunch), Yachtsmans STeakhouse

Character: Liberty Tree, Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, 1900 Park Fare, Garden Grill

www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm has all the menus and will give you a better idea on cost.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I totally agree that Trails End is not my fav. rest. But then again, I don't like buffets anywhere. If you like a typical steakhouse buffet, then you should enjoy TE. We were there in Feb. w/ my sister, my niece and her family. They eat at a lot of buffets, because her DH is picky and they loved it. Although, it will cost more than a buffet at your local steakhouse, it is still a much better deal than any other buffet at WDW. IMHO, they all are about the same. Actually, we enjoy the mid-day break back to the RV, so it is possible to eat all your meals in. This is only feasible, if you go during a time when they have entended park hours. I do think you may feel a little deprived, if you don't allow yourself the occasional treat in the parks. We sometimes have a big breakfast then just a snack, such as popcorn, in the parks to tide us over until we return to FW. The pizza at Trails End is really good. We prefer it to any of our pizza places at home, but then again it could be because we are at FW when we eat it. It is also a great bargain! I don't think you could feed your family cheaper even if you did the cooking yourself. You can bring your own drinks and eat outside and people watch. We love the PH porch!

 

[gatorcamper]

Just got back from FW and found Trails End a great value at Disney for breakfast. I thought the french toast and mickey waffles were overdone, but the selection is large enough where you can find plenty to eat. Great donut and pastry selection. For 2 adults with coffee and 2 kids with milk, our bill came to $33. We stuffed ourselves so much we skipped lunch (just snacked). So if you look at it that way it is even a better deal.

Gatorcamper

 

[MGMarco]

I have always made a stop at the grocer before going to the resort, get all your normal breakfast items. then for miday snacks get granola bars, fruit roll ups and capri sun juices in the foil pouches, this will minimize expense during the day ,when you have to buy lunch at the counters. we will hold out most days until after 3:30 and hit a major restaurant buffet, then hang out until the dinner buffet food is out,eat some and leave with a lunch bill. We can then have a granola and an ice cream later in the evening. It takes a couple of hours to walk off a Biergarten buffet LOL!! Also I have gone to the Character breakfast and grabbed a couple of extra apples.oranges and croissants and made a lunch out of it LOL!!

 

[NHPeter]

I would agree with Jordan's MOM - plan on breakfast in the FW cabin, lunch at a counter service restaurant where ever you happen to be when you are hungry, and plan some suppers at the cabin. We didn't have kids with us when we went last December, but breakfast in the cabin was a good way to save some money and probably just as important, some time. Any sit down meal will take time that may be better spent on other activities. Plus, with 6 in the cabin, some can be eating while others may be using the bathroom to get ready? It is not always convenient to go back to the cabin for lunch, it can be very time consuming. Again, a time vs money decision.

One item that you may want to pick up on your grocery run may be water. We were disapointed at the tap water and for the first time I can remember, we used bottled water to make our coffee with.

If I recall correctly, the laundry was $2 a load of laundry and .25 for 5 minutes in the dryer. The laundry is near the pool in the cabin area, adjacent to loop 2500.