[sstw1]

Hi, We will be going to Disneywold the second week in December for 5 days and plan on staying on property where meals will be served. Any suggestions which of the properties have restaurants that will be more IP friendly than others? I will be in either Week 8 or 9, and don't want to blow it. Thanks in advance!

[joefla70]

What price class hotel were you thinking of staying at? Disney World has three different classes (deluxe, moderate and value). The nicer restaurants tend to be at the deluxe resorts like the Contemporary, Polynesian, etc. But pinpointing what type of resort will help in figuring out what restaurant might work best.

The problem with lot of the restaurants at Disney properties is that they are the "all you can eat" style buffets. They are really good, but the problem with them is that they are a waste for people like us, because we are not going to gorge ourselves on all sorts of different foods. Plus, they are pricey (usually about $35 to $40 per meal). There are, however, alternative restaurants in most of the hotels which serve a-la-carte items.

Disney World has a website that lets you explore the different restaurants they have, and you can sort by category. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/

Here is another site that provides the menus for Disney restaurants: http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

One word of advice: If there is any particular restaurant that you want to eat at (either in one of the parks or in a resort hotel) I would start making your dining reservations NOW. The closer to your trip, the harder it will be to get a reservation. It is almost impossible to get a reservation at one of the nicer restaurants when you are there. So definitely book ahead. EPCOT has a lot of nice, fine dining restaurants in the World Showcase part of the park. Most of the other parks do not have fine dining. But the deluxe resorts do. You can make reservations for any of the restaurants online, or you can call 1-407-WDW-DINE.

What parks are you going to? Are you planning to do any fine (or non-fast food) dining in the parks? If so, I might be able to give you some tips on where to eat. A lot of the quick service restaurants in the parks are fast food, or offer very little options for people with particular diet needs, but not all.

For example, in the Magic Kingdom the Columbia Harbor House (across from the Haunted Mansion) has some healthy alternatives. They have a grilled salmon served with couscous and steamed broccoli. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/med...house-menu.pdf

Lately Disney has been making an effort to give their guests healthier food choices. You even see concession stands with fruit and vegetables. In the past it was all fast food and junk food.

Another tip: As far as I know, Disney lets you bring your own food and drink into the park (however, I don't think they'll let you bring a big, hard cooler in the parks).

[free1]

We stayed at the Port Orleans property. The outer properties were a bit camp like but the main property was excellent. Great shuttle and near the pools/restaurants.

[usmcvet]

Originally Posted by joefla70

What price class hotel were you thinking of staying at? Disney World has three different classes (deluxe, moderate and value). The nicer restaurants tend to be at the deluxe resorts like the Contemporary, Polynesian, etc. But pinpointing what type of resort will help in figuring out what restaurant might work best.

The problem with lot of the restaurants at Disney properties is that they are the "all you can eat" style buffets. They are really good, but the problem with them is that they are a waste for people like us, because we are not going to gorge ourselves on all sorts of different foods. Plus, they are pricey (usually about $35 to $40 per meal). There are, however, alternative restaurants in most of the hotels which serve a-la-carte items.

Disney World has a website that lets you explore the different restaurants they have, and you can sort by category. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/

Here is another site that provides the menus for Disney restaurants: http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

One word of advice: If there is any particular restaurant that you want to eat at (either in one of the parks or in a resort hotel) I would start making your dining reservations NOW. The closer to your trip, the harder it will be to get a reservation. It is almost impossible to get a reservation at one of the nicer restaurants when you are there. So definitely book ahead. EPCOT has a lot of nice, fine dining restaurants in the World Showcase part of the park. Most of the other parks do not have fine dining. But the deluxe resorts do. You can make reservations for any of the restaurants online, or you can call 1-407-WDW-DINE.

What parks are you going to? Are you planning to do any fine (or non-fast food) dining in the parks? If so, I might be able to give you some tips on where to eat. A lot of the quick service restaurants in the parks are fast food, or offer very little options for people with particular diet needs, but not all.

For example, in the Magic Kingdom the Columbia Harbor House (across from the Haunted Mansion) has some healthy alternatives. They have a grilled salmon served with couscous and steamed broccoli. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/med...house-menu.pdf

Lately Disney has been making an effort to give their guests healthier food choices. You even see concession stands with fruit and vegetables. In the past it was all fast food and junk food.

Another tip: As far as I know, Disney lets you bring your own food and drink into the park (however, I don't think they'll let you bring a big, hard cooler in the parks).

Great info, thanks.

[sstw1]

JoeFla, thank you so much for the information. Not sure which class - most likely the moderate - and yes, will most likely be eating while at the parks. Will definitely check out the restaurant next to Haunted Mansion - I love salmon!

Thanks again!

[le506]

yes you can bring food and drink into the park just no hard sided coolers and they will check/look at everything at the gate

the link JoeFla gave for allears is great because it shows everything with prices, it is one of our favorite planning resources.

Animal Kingdom will let you do Picnic in the park and you could do a rotisserie chicken and the tofu/squash and green bean sides (http://allears.net/din/akpicnic.htm)

I just was looking the menu for Be Our Guest that opens in November- they have a turkey meatloaf served with broccoli and zucchini! and a veggie Ratatouille that doesn't look too far off plan....

[juliana77]

We stayed in a value resort (All Star Movies) and the restaurant was like a cafeteria - lots of a la carte items, so that could work for you. We really liked it there and would stay there again.

[joefla70]

Originally Posted by sstw1

JoeFla, thank you so much for the information. Not sure which class - most likely the moderate - and yes, will most likely be eating while at the parks. Will definitely check out the restaurant next to Haunted Mansion - I love salmon!

Thanks again!

You're welcome. Just so you know, the Columbia Harbor House is nothing fancy and isn't table service. You stand in line to get your food. Most of the restaurants in the Magic Kingdom are like that. There are a few that are table service (Liberty Tree Tavern, Crystal Palace, and Tony's Town Square, the Plaza ... and Cinderella's Royal Table.)

By the way, if you don't have your heart set on staying on Disney property, and you are not that particular about which exact hotel you stay at -- as long as it is nice, you can get good deals on really nice resorts in the area through priceline. I have stayed at resorts like the Hyatt Grand Cypress for $100 per night or less. There are only a handful of "resort" level hotels in the Disney area listed on Priceline. If you are interested, there is a website where people list what prices they have got for certain hotels on certain dates. They also discuss bidding strategies on the site.

http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/for...d#.UJEjB4ZYqAQ

IMO, while staying on property is a great experience -- especially if it your first visit or you are staying at one of the deluxe resorts that are right at the park (like the Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Grand Floridian) -- and you have the time to enjoy the resort, it is very pricey! The deluxe resort hotels can be $300 per night! In my personal experience I have found that when we go to Disney World we hardly spend any time in our rooms because we are in the parks the entire day. ( Because the lines get to be so long, we like to get there as soon as the park opens. I have found that if you do that, you can get on a few rides with little or no lines -- whereas the lines can be 45 min to an hour long a couple hours later.) So, to me it seems like a waste to spend a lot of money on the hotel if you are going to be in the parks all day and not spending time at the resort.