Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
card.com
. Each $20 card is valid for one child age 11 or younger and requires that the
child be accompanied by one adult paying for a full price entrée.
You can save money at some Disney World-area restaurants by purchasing discoun-
ted gift certificates from
restaurant.com
. Most certificates are for a specific amount (usu-
ally $25) at a discounted price (usually $10). The certificates do not expire and can be
printed at home. You can only use one certificate per restaurant per month (but that means
you could use one certificate at each restaurant during your vacation). Occasionally there
are other restrictions, so be sure to read the information provided on the site carefully.
Some restaurants require you to buy a certain number of entrées, for instance. Note that
restaurants occasionally drop out of the program, so call the restaurant before you go to
reconfirm that it is still participating. If a restaurant is no longer a participant, you can
change the certificate for another restaurant by contacting the site's customer service.
BUFFETS AND MEAL DEALS OUTSIDE WALT DISNEY
WORLD
BUFFETS, RESTAURANT SPECIALS
, and discount dining abound in the area surrounding
Walt Disney World, especially on US 192 (known locally as Irlo Bronson Memorial
Highway) and along International Drive. The local visitor magazines, distributed free
at non-Disney hotels, among other places, are packed with advertisements and dis-
count coupons for seafood feasts, Chinese buffets, Indian buffets, and breakfast buf-
fets, as well as specials for everything from lobster to barbecue. For a family trying to
economize, some of the come-ons are mighty sweet. But are these places any good?
Is the food fresh, tasty, and appealing? Are the restaurants clean and inviting? Armed
with little more than a roll of Tums, the
Unofficial
research team tried all the eateries
that advertise heavily in the free tourist magazines. Here's what we discovered.
CHINESE SUPER BUFFETS
Whoa!
Talkaboutanoxymoron.Ifyou'veevertriedprepar-
ing Chinese food, especially a stir-fry, you know that split-second timing is required
to avoid overcooking. So it should come as no big surprise that Chinese dishes lan-
guishing on a buffet lose their freshness, texture, and flavor in a hurry.
For the past few editions of this guide, we were able to find several Chinese buf-
fets that were better than the rest and that we felt comfortable recommending. Unfor-
tunately, however, our endorsements seem to be the kiss of death: We return the next
year to discover that quality has slipped precipitously. We tried to find a new buffet to
