Stretch Your Dining Budget by Sharing Counter Service Meals

Splitting counter service meals is an easy way to stretch your vacation dining budget. Whether you are on the Disney Dining Plan or have decided to pick your spots out of pocket, finding counter service meals large enough to share is a bonus. If you are on the Disney Dining Plan, you can save credits for a resort breakfast before you leave for home. If you are playing out of pocket, you can save $10-15 every time you split a meal. That’s more money for Dole Whips and souvenirs! Appetites can be unpredictable, and I certainly wouldn’t plan on sharing every counter service meal, but knowing that you do have that option gives you some added flexibility when laying out your dining strategy. (If you’re on the Disney Dining Plan and have young ones, don’t forget that kids can order from the adult menu for no extra charge.)

Happy Independence Day! Enjoy this article from new blogger Michael Watson with tips for saving your greenbacks and your waistline. Michael also podcasts and blogs at the delightfully named www.sixthyearseniors.com and knows the power of a good TV theme.

Five Picks for Splitting Your Walt Disney World Counter Service Meals

Carved Turkey Sandwich at Be Our Guest

Be Our Guest (Lunch) – Carved Turkey/Roast Beef Sandwiches: While a dinner in the West Wing usually requires a reservation 180 days in advance, lunch at Be Our

Guest is counter service. Both the Carved Turkey Sandwich and the Carved Prime Chuck Roast Beef Sandwich are sizable enough portions that many guests won’t need both halves of them to fill up. (Not the Croque Monsieur grilled ham sandwich, though – the portion size on that is significantly smaller.) They both come with a side of unseasoned, but tasty, pomme frites, easily shared by two. However, how to split the Master’s Cupcake, complete with the gray stuff (Lumiere did not lie – it is indeed delicious), I will leave that up to you.

La Cantina de San Angel – Tacos de Carne: Dining at Epcot can sometimes be challenging when you consider your breadth of options as you explore the World Showcase. One strategy many find enjoyable is to drink and snack around the world over the course of an afternoon or evening. Why fill up on a full meal when you have so many choices of goodies ahead on your trek? Your best bet is to start in Mexico at La Cantina de San Angel with the Tacos de Carne. Two guests can easily split three tacos, chips, and pico de gallo, even if you get make a mess tearing up the third taco. You definitely don’t need to fill up before moving on, especially with School Bread in Norway, chocolate in Germany, and crepes in France all still to come. Those are what snack credits are for!

Nuggets & Fish Combo at Columbia Harbour House

Columbia Harbour House – Chicken Nuggets & Fish Combo: Columbia Harbour House at Magic Kingdom offers up a variety of seafood and chicken options. If you are looking to split a meal, the chicken nuggets & fish combination platter makes for an easy dinner for two. Five chicken nuggets and two filets of fish can be divvied up several ways, and you have a side of fries to munch on, as well. Unlike the patriotic American spirit flowing through the restaurant, the desserts aren’t adventurous, but with an extra spoon, the chocolate cake makes for a delicious capper to the meal.

Flame Tree Barbecue – Ribs & Chicken Combo or Pork Sandwich: There is a lot of bang to be had for your counter service credit at Flame Tree BBQ at Animal Kingdom. The meat portions are all quite large and scrumptious. The combination plate gives the guest a huge piece of chicken AND a ¼ rack of ribs, plus baked beans and cole slaw. Personally, I can’t turn down pulled pork, and the pork sandwich is also a massive chunk of meat on one big bun. The condiment stations are scattered throughout the seating pavilions, so when you load up on ketchup and barbecue sauce, don’t forget a knife to cut your portions for two.

Club Sandwich at Wolfgang Puck Express

Wolfgang Puck Express – salads/sandwiches: Some guests specifically avoid the few chain restaurants that are located on Disney property. However, if you are looking to cut costs while at Downtown Disney, Wolfgang Puck Express offers several plates that are plenty of food for two. Both the Chicken Caesar Salad and the Rotisserie Turkey Cobb Salad are large enough to split. The Rotisserie Turkey Club Sandwich was also large, not to mention pre-cut, and came with a good-sized side of fries. In addition to being sharable, these options were a nice change of pace from the usual counter service fare at Walt Disney World.

Those are only five examples of what are surely dozens of counter service offerings that can serve two. I didn’t even touch on the numerous options available at the resorts. Which plates are your favorite to share? Do you have other tricks to maximize your Disney Dining Plan? Join the discussion below! Don’t forget to peruse the TouringPlans menus when conquering your next meal-planning puzzle. Menus, restaurant descriptions, and more can be found at the TouringPlans dining home.

• Facebook • Twitter • Google Plus • Pinterest

Stretch Your Dining Budget by Sharing Counter Service Meals is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.