Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cutting Your Dining Time at the Theme Parks
Even if you confine your meals to vendor and counter-service fast food, you lose a lot
of time getting food in the theme parks. Here are some ways to minimize the time you
spend hunting and gathering:
1.
Eat breakfast before you arrive. Restaurants outside the World offer some outstanding
breakfast specials. Plus, some hotels furnish small refrigerators in their guest rooms, or
you can rent a fridge or bring a cooler. If you can get by on cold cereal, rolls, fruit, and
juice, this will save a ton of time.
2.
After a good breakfast, buy snacks from vendors in the parks as you tour, or stuff some
snacks in a fanny pack.
3.
All theme park restaurants are busiest between 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. for lunch and 6
and 9 p.m. for dinner. For shorter lines and faster service, don't eat during these hours,
especially 12:30-1:30 p.m.
4.
Many counter-service restaurants sell cold sandwiches. Buy a cold lunch minus drinks be-
fore 11:30 a.m., and carry it in small plastic bags until you're ready to eat (within an hour
or so of purchase). Ditto for dinner. Buy drinks at the appropriate time from any conveni-
ent vendor.
5.
Most fast-food eateries have more than oneservice window.Regardless ofthe time ofday,
check the lines at all windows before queuing. Sometimes a window that's staffed but out
of the way will have a much shorter line or none at all. Note, however, that some windows
may offer only certain items.
6.
If you're short on time and the park closes early, stay until closing and eat dinner outside
Disney World before returning to your hotel. If the park stays open late, eat dinner about 4
or 4:30 p.m. at the restaurant of your choice. You should sneak in just ahead of the dinner
crowd.
Tips for Saving Money on Food
Every time you buy a soda at the theme parks, it's going to set you back about $3, and
everything else from hot dogs to salad is comparably high. You can say, “Oh well,
we're on vacation,” and pay the exorbitant prices, or you can plan ahead and save big
bucks.
For comparison purposes, let's say that a family of two adults and two teens ar-
rives at Walt Disney World on Sunday afternoon and departs for home the following
Saturday after breakfast. During that period the family eats six breakfasts, five
