Favourite Cheap Eats & Snacks (not Disney!)

[Lilpickle08]

Hello

I'm in full planning mode and trying to compile a list of cheap eateries and snacks at Universal (and beyond - we have a car).

What are your favourites?

We can't afford flashy meals and we're a family of 4 with 2 teens.

Thanks!

[Orlandoguy]

Denny’s do very cheap breakfasts , also sign up to restaurants to get on there mailing lists you often get offers then, when signing up if it asks for your date of birth enter it as a date when your there you often get free desserts or starters( no one has ever asked me for proof of my bday) you won’t get much in the way of cheap food at universal but a refillable cup is great for soft drinks , city walk has Panda Express and a Burger King which are easier on the wallet, main courses can be huge so there’s nothing wrong in sharing one between two ppl.
Since u have a car you could always go to Walmart to get room essentials and take in snacks and drinks into the parks, you could leave it in cooler in ur car or put it in a locker at the enterance to the parks

[FloridaNuts93]

Cheddars Scratch Kitchen
Panda Express
Denny’s
Culvers
Steak and Shake
Fazolis
Arbys
😀

[cornishfrogboy]

Hooters! Nothing like you might expect and with decent food at decent prices.

Wendy’s.. cheap and the Baconator is excellent

Bahama Breeze. Great value, particularly at happy hour.

Outback, as above.

NYPD Pizza. Really good.

Golden Coral.. an ‘experience’ everybody should try.

Olive Garden, well priced Italian.

Have a look at my 2022 Toronto/Florida trip report link from my signature and you will effectively get a run down of most of the above! It is all on one thread, so shouldn’t take long.

[Egon]

Whatever happened to ponderosa and sizzlers? They were great in the 90's

[Keegan]

Red Robin Burgers
Bahama Breeze
Chick Fil A
Steak and Shake
Applebees
Orange Chicken from Mall/Outlet food courts
Bob Evans

Also not as cheap as others but we love BJs restaurants and Cheesecake Factory.

Also absolutely anything from the Publix hot counter, those subs and fried chicken are fantastic

[mick]

Can't help with eating in the parks as I don't think that we've spent a single dollar in WDW or Universal since 2009.

To be honest I didn't think that the words "cheap" and "Disney" co-exist in the same dictionary.

We eat around 80% of breakfasts out and you can get a substantial cooked breakfast at the likes of IHOP, Perkins, Denny's, Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel for around $15 each. (they had all gone up a bit between Nov 2021 and last month ) For old times sake we also re-visited Golden Corral for breakfast. Has polarised opinion on here for years but still good value at around $12 each.

Dinner can be had at most of the above at a reasonable prices as well. Or if you fancy a bit of fast food (we're not experts but at 76 our appetites don't stretch to our usual Longhorn, Carrabba's and Bonefish Grill every day now ) you could try Culvers and Chick-fil-a. Both much better than the golden arches.

Mick

[deanobrown]

Originally Posted by Egon

Whatever happened to ponderosa and sizzlers? They were great in the 90's

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Ponderosa was always our go-to in the 90s for breakfast.

I think there's still just one left (up near Old Town?). Cant speak for the breakfast, but had a steak there a few years ago and was still as good as it used to be!

[canaveralcath]

tijuanaflats/

Love their food!

[Sandra & co]

Don’t forget your lays chips and fritos jalapeño cheese dip for snacking in the room or villa