How to eat at Disney’s Nicest Restaurants for a fraction of the cost
While on vacation at Walt Disney World we like to indulge. We don’t eat out when we’re home, we live a very frugal lifestyle so we can live big when we are at our home away from home: Walt Disney World. But did you know that you don’t have to throw away your savings to eat at some of the best, and let’s face it, most expensive restaurants on Disney property? There are a few things you can take advantage of that will bring your dining bill down to a fraction of what it could be. Here are a few things we’ve done in the past that have allowed us to enjoy 7 of the 16 Signature Restaurants that are found at Walt Disney World.
Registered for our Honeymoon
We celebrated the beginning of our marriage at Walt Disney World. We had a truly epic vacation, staying at the Grand Floridian in their concierge building, going to all of the parks and dining at some incredible places. On this vacation we ate at 4 Signature Restaurants: Cinderella’s Royal Table, Le Cellier, Hollywood Brown Derby and Narcossee’s. Now friends, the only meal we paid for was Cinderella’s Royal Table, all of the other meals we paid for by our registry. When you honeymoon at Walt Disney World you can register your vacation. You can put on that registry: park tickets, meals, merchandise, night stays. We had friends who pooled together to gift us unforgettable meals during our honeymoon. It was such an incredible way to mark the beginning of our journey together as husband and wife.
Discounts
If you are a member of the Disney Vacation Club, then many of the restaurants found on the Signature Dining list actually give you a discount. The size of the discount depends on the time of year, but currently you’ll get 10% off at the following restaurants: The Boathouse, California Grill, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Citrico’s, Flying Fish, The Hollywood Brown Derby, Jiko-The Cooking Place, Le Cellier, Morimoto Asia, Paddlefish, STK Orlando, Narcossee’s, Tiffins, Yachtman’s Steakhouse. Same goes for those who are Annual Passholders. They also receive a discount at restaurants, including select Signature Restaurants.
Dining Plans
Walt Disney World has three dining plans, two of which can help you save at these special table service restaurants. Disney Dining Plan and the Deluxe Dining Plan both provide guests with meal credits to be used at table service restaurants for each day of your vacation. Over our last two vacations we’ve returned home and done the math to check and see whether we have saved money by investing in these dining plans. On our last vacation we dined on the Deluxe Dining Plan, which costs $116 a day, so it cost us a total of $930. We ate a total of $1138 worth of food so we saved just a little over $200. For the full details click here. On our vacation last January we dined on the Disney Dining Plan, $75 per day, a total of $937 for our vacation. We consumed $1187 worth of food which means we saved $250. By dining on the dining plan we have saved significant money. You simply have to make the reservations at the restaurants, show up and give your server a tip. The rest has already been taken care of by purchasing your dining plan. Just remember when your planning out your restaurants that the signature restaurants require 2 table service meal credits. So plan accordingly.
Free Dining Plan
Every year, typically during the summer and fall, Walt Disney World has a deal for guests who are staying on site and purchasing a park hopper pass, they get free dining plans. For those staying at value and moderate resorts you get a free quick-service plan and those staying at deluxe resorts and deluxe villas get a free Disney dining plan. Talk about dining at some nice restaurants for a fraction of the cost. You’l be dining there for free! You can still stay at one of the value resort or moderate resorts and receive the Disney dining plan you’ll just have to pay a small cost. With this deal, play around and see which makes the most sense for your family and budget. But if you want to dine at some fantastic restaurants at a fraction of the cost this is one of the best way. Make sure to book the deal early because there are only a certain amount of rooms set aside for this deal.
For more posts on Dining at Walt Disney World take a look at these:
Free Dining Plan. Is it the best deal for you?
Our Experience on the Deluxe Dining Plan
Deluxe Dining Plan vs Disney Dining Plan
Quick-Service Dining Plan vs. Disney Dining Plan
The 5 Worst Restaurants for the Dining Plan
