When staying off property

[Insanity Clause]

We are going to be staying off property at a friends Condo less than a mile from WDW but I had a question to all of you that have done the off property thing. We don't want to pay a huge amount for meals so we were thinking of eating breakfast at the condo and then hitting the parks and probably having lunch and dinner there. What would you recomment for a quick service and a regular sit down dinner for each other the 4 parks?

[KylesMom]

MK - TS Crystal Palace, CS Columbia Harbour House
EPCOT - TS LeCellier, CS Sunshine Seasons or snack around "The World"
AK - TS Yak & Yeti, CS Pizzafari
DHS - TS Mama Melrose, CS Backlot Express

Have Fun!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Moving this over to the Dining Forum, so all our food experts can help out

[rubato]

One way to save some money, eat the TS for lunch and the CS for dinner. Especially Character meals.

[Tink#64]

We're not big eaters, nor do we visit WDW for food, or the atmosphere of certain restaurants that are special & unique! We ALWAYS eat breakfast in the room! I pack one suitcase of food, cereal, cereal bars, bagels, etc & some of this we carry in our packs for that morning snack! Then we eat mostly QS meals, with 1 or 2 TS over the course of our visit. We stay on site & always eat lunch or dinner at the resort, grabbing something from the foodcourt & eat poolside!

Our fav's are:
QS -
Sci Fi Dine In Theatre - so unique & food is good

Cosmic Ray's - we love the lounge lizard & enjoy the food choices

Pinocchio Village Haus - we like to sit by the window & watch the boat launches in IASW

Electric Umbrella & Cantina de San Angel - both good food - we especially love the lagoon side seating at the cantina and all the funny birds that are scouring the area looking for food!

TS -
O'hana's at The Polynesian - great food and a beautiful resort!

Whispering Canyon Cafe - Loud! Fun! Good comfort food! Just like your bakyard bar b q! Good time!

Cinderalla's Royal Table - Absolutely beyond compare! Fantastic food and you're in the castle!

Mostly we just grab food - we're there for the attractions but these are our fav's! We're planning Boma's & Chef Mickey's for our next trip!

Bon Appetit!

[ElenitaB]

To save money (and who isn't about that these days), the advice you were given above is on point: TS for lunch and QS for dinner.

There are a few QS choices that will allow you to stretch your QS dollars even more (big portions that can be shared or supplemented with a little something extra and serve two):

Epcot: the great entrees at Sunshine Seasons (rotisserie chicken or pork chops come to mind); the chicken and lamb combo from Tangierine Cafe; the double bacon cheeseburger from Electric Umbrella

MK: the rotisserie chicken or chicken/ribs combo from Cosmic Ray's

DTD: split a pizza from Wolfgang Puck Express, thus leaving room for something sweet from Goofy's Candy Co. or Ghirardelli!

Other options: the Trails' End buffet (Ft. Wilderness) and making a sit-down lunch out of Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian.

[Dallas_Lady]

We are also staying offsite at a condo this time (Windsor Hills) and wanting to save a bit on the food budget. Lunch is definitely the way to go if you want table service- you can get the experience while spending a little less. Plus, I like having my big meal in the middle of the day anyway.

[KylesMom]

Our fav's are:
QS -
Sci Fi Dine In Theatre - so unique & food is good

To clarify, Sci Fi is a table service meal, not a quick service location.

[MaxPower]

Make Sci-Fi reservations as early as you can. That place ALWAYS has a wait.

[jonahbear2006]

i wouldnt bother with table services if you are staying off property, or go with a really early breakfast buffet. boma is great and so is ohana. You prob get just as great a breakfast at the ponderosa in orlando, they open at like 530-6 and its like $3.99 a person for breakfast. If you just want the disney dining experience, wow, well of course who wouldn't, epcot counter services, they are the best imho.