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Cheap Eats at Walt Disney World

We go to Disney World all of the time. That’s not a secret. But what is a semi-secret is how we manage to do it without breaking the bank. Well, that is until now. People constantly ask us about how to make the most of their money when it comes to eating in the parks, so these are the suggestions that John and I have put together for them.

First things first, the biggest money saver for the parks is to always order cups of water, not bottled water. You need to stay hydrated, but you don’t have to pay for it. Free cups of water are available at every quick service location with a soda fountain, but our favorite free cup of water {yes, you can have a favorite cup of water} is from Starbucks! There’s a Starbucks in each park and there are two at Disney Springs. {PS – Starbucks mobile ordering does NOT work in the parks, but it is available at both Disney Springs locations!}

Magic Kingdom:

  • Casey’s Corner {hot dogs/corn dogs} | This is our “splurge” at Magic Kingdom. You’re going to pay around $10-$12 for a chili cheese dog/BBQ slaw dog/plain hot dog and fries, but it’s one of our favorite places to eat! Also, the corn dog nuggets are to DIE for!
  • Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café {burgers, salads, chicken fingers, fries} | Cosmic Ray’s is home to an unlimited toppings bar, and the best way to take full advantage of that is to get a side order of fries {$3.29} and go crazy with the toppings: sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onions, sauerkraut, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sauces, etc. If you’re feeling really fancy, grab a $1 container of hot cheese with your order. You can easily split the container over 2 sides of fries unless you are like us and realllllly like cheese.
  • Gaston’s Tavern {snacks} | I’m not much of a sweet drink kind of person, but I will always go out of my way to get a LeFou’s Brew {$6.29} or a cinnamon roll {$6.79}!
  • The Lunching Pad {snacks} | 3 words: Cream. Cheese. Pretzel! They’re warm, cinnamon-y, and the best snack ever, and you can grab one for only $7.50.
  • Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn {tex-mex} | The best value here is the unlimited toppings bar! We love nachos, and the kid’s beef taco or rice bowl meal {$7.00-8.50} that is almost the same portion as the adult meals {$10-15}. We get a kid’s rice bowl meal with an extra cup of ice or cup of water {both are free} and then split the bowl into 2 plates and pile on the toppings. You can easily feed at least one adult or maybe two depending on how hungry you are for under $10.
  • Pinocchio’s Village Haus {italian} | the $13 flatbreads here are perfect for sharing, but the real winners are the tomato soup {$3.99} and the garlic breadsticks with marinara {$4.99}. We also love the kid’s meal flatbreads for under $8 that come with sides and a drink!

Epcot:

  • In Future World, most quick service places will be similar {burgers, chicken tenders, fries}, except for Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion. They have a huge variety!
  • In World Showcase, any quick service restaurant in any country is really good! Our favorites are:
  • Keep in mind that kid’s menu portions are almost always close to the adult menu portions, and yes, they will let an adult order from the kid’s meal no questions asked.

Hollywood Studios:

  • Most quick service restaurants here are the standard burgers, chicken tenders, and fries, but you can also grab a great salad or pizza at Catalina Eddie’s or PizzeRizzo. We also love Docking Bay 7 in Galaxy’s Edge or Woody’s Lunch Box {get the Totchos!} if you’re in the back of the park.
  • My favorite dessert on property is the Wookie Cookie {$6.29} from Backlot Express.
  • If you’re craving something a little more substantial or fancy, you can order the full menu of 50s Prime Time at the Tune-In Lounge, you can grab a table at The Brown Derby Lounge, or you can check out Baseline Tap House for a killer cheese board. These options are walk up and first come, first served. We love the onion rings at 50s Prime Time/Tune-In Lounge and the cobb salad and beef sliders at The Brown Derby Lounge.

Animal Kingdom:

  • Flametree BBQ {southern style BBQ} | This is one of my family’s favorite places to go! Most of the combos and BBQ plates can be shared and are under $15-20. I always get the pulled pork sandwich with fries {$11.79} or kid’s pulled pork platter {$7.50}
  • Harambe Market {african} | Harambe Market is known for it’s chicken skewer and barbeque ribs, and both of those are available as kid’s meals for $8.50. The adult menu versions are closer to $10-$15 .
  • Yak & Yeti Local Food Café {asian} | The chicken fried rice {$7.99} and egg rolls {$8.99 for 2} from Yak & Yeti are why I go to Animal Kingdom.

Resorts:

  • Capt Cook’s {The Polynesian Resort} | If you ask me what my favorite meal at Disney World is, these pulled pork nachos {$10.29} might just be the winner, and John’s would be the Thai Coconut Meatballs {$10.49}. There’s nothing quite as good as dinner on the patio with a Skipper Sipper in your hand!
  • Refillable Mugs {all resorts} | If you are going to be around the resorts or walking past the quick service location on your way to the bus stop, you will quickly make your value back on these mugs! You can get unlimited sodas, coffee, and tea for the length of your stay for only $21.99, and these can be refilled at any resort. We recently used our mugs for a monorail resort night where we had a soda with dinner at Capt Cook’s, then grabbed a refill for our monorail ride to Grand Floridian where we got a mug of coffee to drink while we walked around and shopped, and then got a final mug of coffee for while we watched fireworks from the Contemporary. Considering that a soda is $4.29 and coffee is $3.49, we would’ve spent almost $16 on drinks that night alone. Even if you just grab a drink on the way to and from the bus stop each day for 3 days, you’ll save money with the refillable mug AND you get a souvenir mug to bring home!
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