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[TinyAngel]

Going in May half term for 4 days/5 nights. Trying to do meals on a budget i.e. money does not stretch to ADC, Inventions or Walts etc.

We're first timers so trying to eat cheaper (!) but do I need to book? ie. Agrabah Cafe, Vapiano, etc. Also any recommendations for great but budget places on site please!

We don't have any half board deals etc, just breakfast at Santa Fe, as when we booked this was the only package available...

thanks so much!

[polar vixen]

You should have the option of adding a meal plan before you go......it may work out cheaper....otherwise you could perhaps get by on a buffet a day if you fill up well at breakfast.....I'd definitely go for buffets as you can really fill up rather than the burger places . Buffets are about 10-15 euros more than a burger meal but you're really only limited by how much you can eat. I'd also recommend booking in advance. Queues can be atrocious but if you don't mind waiting that's not an problem.   

[grovesie]

We would always make reservations. We were at the Silver Spur during the Feb half term and they were turning people away who did not have one

[Slimy yet satisfying]

Yes, usually I wouldn't bother but was also there in Feb and the restaurants were packed due to the free half board offer.

[dlpowl]

Have you thought about ringing up the agent who you booked with and asking them to change your booking to include the current offer of 30% off and free Half Board?  This will involve you paying more so they will usually do it!  And if it's not a lot more money then I would definitely consider doing it.  Just to be clear cos I know you're a newbie, I don't mean ring up and add on a meal plan, I mean ring up and say when you booked this current offer wasn't available and can you change you current booking to include the current offer of the free Half Board.  It sounds crazy but they do do it!

Don't underestimate how expensive it is to eat at Disneyland Paris.  The buffets are around €35 per adult and even the counter service meals, which is just basic burger and chips type stuff, can be anywhere from €14 - €20 per adult.  So if changing your deal to include the Half Board works out to be a good deal then I'd definitely do it.  The buffets that you get with the meal plan are great for families as there's lots of choice and you can really fill up.  We walk around 10km a day when we are at DLP so we need at least one proper meal a day, we could never just survive on the counter service food.  Plus, we don't eat fast food or processed food at home so eating too much of it at DLP wouldn't agree with us.

My best advice is to think about what everyone has said here and bear in mind how hungry you will get cos of the walking, and then do some sums.  I'd definitely get a quote for changing your offer to free Half Board as well.  As for booking restaurants, we always book as they get very busy and during school holidays it will be manic.

[Andybear]

Going in May half term for 4 days/5 nights. Trying to do meals on a budget i.e. money does not stretch to ADC, Inventions or Walts etc.

We're first timers so trying to eat cheaper (!) but do I need to book? ie. Agrabah Cafe, Vapiano, etc. Also any recommendations for great but budget places on site please!

We don't have any half board deals etc, just breakfast at Santa Fe, as when we booked this was the only package available...

thanks so much!

I've only ever had counter service meals at DLP and I highly recommend Hakuna Matata and Cowboy Cookout Barbeque.  Not bad prices and good size portions, particularly the delicious Hakuna Matata chicken strips and Hakuna fries    I've never had a burger there because I don't like burgers so if you want a counter service meal but not burgers it's not a problem 

[Thaliel]

Golden Nugget is a great place for quick and delicious food at a very decent price. You might want to avoid tea time (4pm-5:45pm), maybe, since there will be characters appearing and thus the place might be crowded

[Beatles]

We are just back, a family of 5. We didn't book any meal plans ahead so paid as we went and we were also on a budget.

Some restaurants don't take reservations but if you are going for something special definitely book ahead, we learned this the hard way but not getting to Café Mickey even when I tried to book more than a week in advance for ANY day during our 5 day stay.

Of all the restaurants we ate in, Vapiano was definitely our favourite and best value. Wish they had the restaurants here!

[Andybear]

We are just back, a family of 5. We didn't book any meal plans ahead so paid as we went and we were also on a budget.

Some restaurants don't take reservations but if you are going for something special definitely book ahead, we learned this the hard way but not getting to Café Mickey even when I tried to book more than a week in advance for ANY day during our 5 day stay.

Of all the restaurants we ate in, Vapiano was definitely our favourite and best value. Wish they had the restaurants here!

I suspect the reason you couldn't get a reservation for Cafe Mickey a week in advance was because it was the last week with characters there - everyone rushed to book it so they wouldn't miss out.

[elisje]

Golden Nugget is a great place for quick and delicious food at a very decent price. You might want to avoid tea time (4pm-5:45pm), maybe, since there will be characters appearing and thus the place might be crowded

We where there at tea time a few days ago and we where almost the only people in the restaurant.
It was really great food with a nice show.

[Beatles]

We are just back, a family of 5. We didn't book any meal plans ahead so paid as we went and we were also on a budget.

Some restaurants don't take reservations but if you are going for something special definitely book ahead, we learned this the hard way but not getting to Café Mickey even when I tried to book more than a week in advance for ANY day during our 5 day stay.

Of all the restaurants we ate in, Vapiano was definitely our favourite and best value. Wish they had the restaurants here!

I suspect the reason you couldn't get a reservation for Cafe Mickey a week in advance was because it was the last week with characters there - everyone rushed to book it so they wouldn't miss out.

Thanks, unfortunately I didn't know this, but it didn't take from the trip thankfully x

[Martin1977]

We went full board this year and it worked out cheaper than the year before when we went just paying each meal. Sure people will disagree but that was our experience. Buffets are good as you help yourself to as much as you can eat which was great for the piglets.....meant kids ;-)

Recommend booking table at the restaurant you want to go to a couple of days before if you want a certain time to eat at.

[Zee79]

We went full board this year and it worked out cheaper than the year before when we went just paying each meal. Sure people will disagree but that was our experience. Buffets are good as you help yourself to as much as you can eat which was great for the piglets.....meant kids ;-)

Recommend booking table at the restaurant you want to go to a couple of days before if you want a certain time to eat at.

We only used to pay as you go but as you said it worked out cheaper buying the meal plan as we ate at buffets on an evening & i now have 2 swimmers for daughters who can eat for England haha When they introduced paying for breakfast i sat and worked out how much it would cost us for food because we aren't really bothered about breakfast, we would brought porridge for the kids, but it worked out cheaper having a meal plan.

[Dolph7800]

You don't HAVE to book every restaurant.You can eat on the fly if you want to, If you were willing to eat in the Village at Planet Hollywoods, Annettes, Vapiano's, Five Guys, Rainforest etc... these can be done without bookings. Some don't take bookings, but you could always try booking for the evening or the next night whilst you're there. I've never eaten dinner inside the parks, these would be the ones you'd need to reserve early doors - we book a character meal at time of booking to guarantee that.

Rainforest is usually not too bad to get in as they don't take the meal vouchers. Vapiano is very reasonably priced, as is Annettes if you skip the starters for instance. Plus there are vouchers sometimes in the station or online for money off at some of the village restaurants. We even ate at Hakuna Matata for dinner once which worked out cheap and not too small even for my large appetite. We spend a lot less on food than we thought we were going to.

As I've mentioned in another thread, a lot of people go a bit crazy with the dining side of Disney. If you must eat somewhere specifically, then book it up. Otherwise, you won't go hungry you'll find somewhere - just avoid going once the parades/fireworks finish as the queues get pretty brutal then - even late at night, seeings queues at 9/10pm was an eye opener for us!