We will be going in September. We have our hotel booked and plane tickets purchased. Are there any ways to save on rooms, if we already booked them and have used AAA to get a good discount? (We will be a group of 5, 2 adults 3 kids – 22 mos, 8 yrs, 13 yrs)
We plan on buying food outside the parks, for breakfast and snacks. We will need to buy a few meals in the parks or resort. Any tips on how to save money or where to eat? At least 2 sit down dinners, the rest can becounter service or whatever.
How about park tickets? I have looked practically everywhere, and can't get a break on tickets for more than $2 a piece.
Any money saving tips or tricks would be great!
My family and I love to eat at Cosmic Rays – which is a counter service restaurant in Tommorwland of Magic Kingdom. It is cheap, the portions are huge (which means the kids could split – and actually, for the adults, you could split a grilled chicken Caesar salad…they are fantastic there!). In addition to the food savings, the kids will be entertained by the animatronic Alien Lounge Lizard who sings, plays piano, and is actually pretty funny.
Also, in MGM, the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theatre is fun and not too bad on the wallet. It is entertainment for the kids (movies and "car-tables", good service (from waitresses on rollerskates) and the food is good enough for my family to go EVERY time we go back.
Other than that, Disney is an awfully pricey place to eat and stay. I will tell you though that for many of the restaurants, the price is worth the experience. Allow me to share with you my favorite picks from Disney cuisine:
Steaks: La Cellier (Canada, EPCOT) or Concourse
Steakhouse (Contemporary Resort).
Seafood: Cape May Cafe (seafood lover's dream buffet)
American: Sci-Fi Dine In (MGM) or Turkey Legs in
Frontierland (Magic Kingdom)
Asian: Japanese Steakhouse (Japan – EPCOT) or
Polynesian Luau (Polynesian Resort)
Character Meal: Dinner at Chef Mickey's (Contemporary)
Hope this helps!