Food at Disneyworld
A range of dining experiences is available at nearly every turn throughout Disneyworld. You will need to plan to spend about $5 per person, per meal at the minimum. There are some items for about $4, but more often they are at least $5 or $6. About the only way to cut corners is to split meals between people (but then people get hungry). You get good food and a good value for your money, but eating for less than $5 is very challenging. Many places offered a Chicken Wrap (about $7), which is a large tortilla filled with diced chicken, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing. These tend to be large and split well. The hamburgers are good-sized and come with a lot of fries. Most often, a "fixings" bar is available so that everyone can embellish their hamburger just as they want. One food place in Tomorrowland featured pizza and chicken tenders in Kids' meals for less than $5 each. Even the McDonald's in Animal Kingdom features about the same menu and prices as the rest of Disneyworld.
Buffets and character meals are widely available, but typically range in the $10-20 per meal prices. The character meals and dinner shows are a great treat, and at least one should be planned in your agenda. Don't forget that the resort hotels offer some great dining experiences. You don't have to be a guest at the Grand Floridian, for example, to enjoy the 1900 Park Fare character breakfast with Mary Poppins. All of the resorts are accessible by monorail or bus. The Polynesian character dinner with Mickey and Minnie is great fun.
Each of the country pavilions in the World Showcase of Epcot offers the less expensive and the more luxury choice of dining. Stop by for a delicious pastry in Norway. Skewers of teriyaki beef and chicken with rice are available for less than $5 in Japan. As I mentioned before, the Millennium Village has a less-traveled dining area in air conditioned comfort, with multi-cultural choices for $4 and up. The German Oktoberfest Biergarten is a show in itself, along with traditional German food ($10-20 range).
You may often read in Disneyworld travel articles that you can bring your own food and water to cut down on expenses. Realistically, that would require lugging around more bags than you may want to deal with. You would be limited in the food that you can bring in, as you can't pack anything that would spoil. Even water bottles can get a little heavy when filled. Water fountains are very plentiful. If you have children under age 3, water bottles may be a good idea, just because little kids can't get up to water fountains very easily and they may need a ready drink all day long.
The more you lug around with you, the more you have to deal with whenever you enter a ride. Strollers have to be parked at the ride entrance. Bags will either have to be left with the stroller or carried with you on the ride. Most rides have some compartment to keep your "stuff" safe. Remember also that you will more than likely leave with more than you came with, as most folks want some mementos to bring home.
Basically, Disneyworld is more enjoyable if you have planned a budget to include meals onsite. Even if you drive there and have the choice of leaving to go elsewhere for food, you will find that Disneyworld is vast and set apart from everything else, so other restaurants aren't "next door". Enjoy all of your time at Disneyworld!
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