Value Resorts Food Courts

I know some of yall save up and splurge on food when you go to WDW.Unfortunately some of us can't splurge on food.I haven't done the dining plan yet either but I plan to on our next trip.But basicly I started this thread just to say,that everyone eats fast food of some degree.The food at the value resorts food courts to me,are a better grade of fast food.They even have plate meals with slices of pork loin with veggies and bread and many other healthier meals too.But there also is pizza,quesadillas w/fries,chicken noodle soup,chinese food in a take out container,burgers w/fries,plus a lot of other good stuff.They also have a variety of desserts ranging from muffins to ice creams and such.I have never had a bad meal from any of the food courts.We have eaten at all three of the AllStar food courts and many times at POP Century's food court.Each food court has some of the same items but also certain items are found only at specified food courts.For instance,our last time at WDW,POP Century's food court offered a TV dinner meal consisting of two pieces of fried chicken,mashed potatoes and green beans,served in a tin foil serving container.However,the allstar resorts do not have this item.But they have things there that POP food court does not.
So all in all,the food is good quality food for a better grade of fast food but yet it's not gonna "break the bank" by eating at the more expensive restaurants,just to say,"well we ate at the so n so".Maybe you did,but we had three meals for the price of your one.Of course some of yall out there are rich and can afford expensive meals all the time.That's cool if you can.But a big majority of us can't afford that and the food courts do just fine for most of us.Well,that's my review for today.Join me next time when I review another one of WDW's little known out of the way places that might just tickle your fancy and save you some money too.Bye now,see ya real soon.

I will say I think that the Pop Century Food Court is one of the most efficient quick service locations on WDW property.

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Originally Posted by kat228

I will say I think that the Pop Century Food Court is one of the most efficient quick service locations on WDW property.

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Yep! I agree with you, on that also.I don't know,maybe it's just me,but eating at fancy-smancy restaurants and spending all of your money just to eat,is a bit ridiculous! But that's just me.I guess because I am not rich nor well-off,maybe I see the value of a dollar and tend to reserve my spending to a minimum.Anyway,I do like POP food court alot.It's our favorite of all the value food courts.

We do like to splurge on food a bit. But, the free dining plan helps quite a bit with this.

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Originally Posted by Park Hopper Dad

Yep! I agree with you, on that also.I don't know,maybe it's just me,but eating at fancy-smancy restaurants and spending all of your money just to eat,is a bit ridiculous! But that's just me.I guess because I am not rich nor well-off,maybe I see the value of a dollar and tend to reserve my spending to a minimum.Anyway,I do like POP food court alot.It's our favorite of all the value food courts.

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Just you, I like eating out :D But then again, we don't go to movies, spend time at bars, buy a ton of clothes, etc. And our only child is our puppy. So nice meals tend to be our splurge, especially on vacation.

That doesn't mean I *always* like a sit down meal at Disney! But the options at the Value resorts is pretty good. My favorite quick service meals are at Columbia Harbor House and at Tangierene Cafe (Morocco.)

I've seen some good reviews of the food courts at Pop and All Star etc so I'm planning on having a trip over to one or more of them during my next visit. Looking forward to getting some cheap and cheerful grub and then wandering around the resorts to take some pics of the great fun themeing :thumbs:

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Originally Posted by kat228

Just you, I like eating out :D But then again, we don't go to movies, spend time at bars, buy a ton of clothes, etc. And our only child is our puppy. So nice meals tend to be our splurge, especially on vacation.

That doesn't mean I *always* like a sit down meal at Disney! But the options at the Value resorts is pretty good. My favorite quick service meals are at Columbia Harbor House and at Tangierene Cafe (Morocco.)

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See everyone's situation is always different.Since yall have no kids,money is easier for yall to splurge on food a little more.I love Columbia Harbour House too!I love the fish planks.We haven't eaten at the Morocco restaurant yet.But if you haven't eaten at the food court at POP,or even at the three Allstar resorts,go check them out sometime.To me,they are alot better than any fast food joint outside of Disney property.Places like taco bell,mickey d's,burger king,arby's,just to name a few.The food court foods are much better than these and more.Anyway my friend,enjoy.

Free dinning is the way to go its great! We have paid for the dinning plan on two of our trips we would never do that again. Without free dinning we would live off resort food courts and some park QS and still feel we ate real food.

I'm with you Kat on your QS picks and also like Flame Tree BBQ and the Backlot Express

I have absolutely no problem with the food courts at the Values. In fact that where we dine the most when staying at one of the Value resorts.

We arrived at Pop Century on Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and wouldn't you know that they were serving a meal with Turkey, gravy and all the fixins!! We all got our traditional Thanksgiving meal with no fuss and Man it was good!!

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Originally Posted by Gatorhead

I have absolutely no problem with the food courts at the Values. In fact that where we dine the most when staying at one of the Value resorts.

We arrived at Pop Century on Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and wouldn't you know that they were serving a meal with Turkey, gravy and all the fixins!! We all got our traditional Thanksgiving meal with no fuss and Man it was good!!

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Cool.I'm glad to see there is someone else that appreciatesthe food courts at the values.I know a lot of people feel like they have to spend $100 or even more on a meal at WDW,but I guess if you have it,spend it! Well a good majority of us don't have it,at least to spend it on expensive meals,so for us,mostly it's the food courts unless we are at a park.However,we do try to eat at either Wolfgang Pucks Express or Earl of Sandwich at DD.Sometimes we have bee bleesed to eat at both in the same trip.To us,that's "eating high on the hog".LOL!

I think for the most part, food quality is probably pretty much the same at most food courts, with the resorts probably having better food than the in-park food courts, with a few exceptions (like Flame Tree).

Last time we were at POP we only had snacks there since we were on the Basic DDP. Snacks were ok, nothing special, and nothing we really couldn't get at any of the other resorts, be it value, moderate or deluxe. I did notice some unique items like breakfast pizza that looked pretty good. That being said, I don't think the counter service at values are any better than the counter service, at say POFQ. POFQ has just as much unique items (jambalaya, gumbo, shrimp po'boys, etc). and is just as good of quality as the food at the values. I think resort wise, all the food courts are pretty much on equal footing, with neither having better food, nor more variety (not selections, but variety) than any other. The one exception I would say is Roaring Forks at WL. Food was pretty standard in selection (burgers, nuggets, etc) and if you were lucky, there may have been 6 items on the breakfast and lunch/dinner menu each. Some major changes need to be done there.

That being said, we generally do make ADR's at places during our trips. Breakfast is generally CS or food we brought from home like pop tarts or something. Lunch, as well, is generally CS. We like having a nice sit-down dinner through. We'll generally stick to the mid-range priced table services; only generally going to the signature locations if we're celebrating something. To save money, we've split meals at table service restaurants and even made a "lunner" (skipping lunch and having an early dinner). Depends on the restaurant and our financial situation at the time.

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Originally Posted by Flrancho

I think for the most part, food quality is probably pretty much the same at most food courts, with the resorts probably having better food than the in-park food courts, with a few exceptions (like Flame Tree).

Last time we were at POP we only had snacks there since we were on the Basic DDP. Snacks were ok, nothing special, and nothing we really couldn't get at any of the other resorts, be it value, moderate or deluxe. I did notice some unique items like breakfast pizza that looked pretty good. That being said, I don't think the counter service at values are any better than the counter service, at say POFQ. POFQ has just as much unique items (jambalaya, gumbo, shrimp po'boys, etc). and is just as good of quality as the food at the values. I think resort wise, all the food courts are pretty much on equal footing, with neither having better food, nor more variety (not selections, but variety) than any other. The one exception I would say is Roaring Forks at WL. Food was pretty standard in selection (burgers, nuggets, etc) and if you were lucky, there may have been 6 items on the breakfast and lunch/dinner menu each. Some major changes need to be done there.

That being said, we generally do make ADR's at places during our trips. Breakfast is generally CS or food we brought from home like pop tarts or something. Lunch, as well, is generally CS. We like having a nice sit-down dinner through. We'll generally stick to the mid-range priced table services; only generally going to the signature locations if we're celebrating something. To save money, we've split meals at table service restaurants and even made a "lunner" (skipping lunch and having an early dinner). Depends on the restaurant and our financial situation at the time.

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I agree with you.One thing though,except for the food court at The Land pavilion at Epcot,I am not aware of any food courts at any parks.It's either sit down restaurants or counter service.Am I missing some food courts in the parks somewhere? However,I have to disagree with you about the food at the parks.I have never had a bad meal at any restaurant at any Disney park.NEVER! Pinocchio Village haus has great salads,Columbia harbour House has great fish baskets,Pecos Bill's has great wraps and so on.I'm not going to name every park and the eateries,but we have always had good food everywhere we eat.But sadly,I do know that sometimes some people will have a bad meal or bad service and that just goes with the territory I guess.As we don't live in a perfect world.But by in large most all meals are pretty good.
If truth be known,I would bet most of the guests that eat at the fancy expensive restaurants and spend in excess of $100 or more per meal,have probably saved up for it;so they could splurge on a once in a lifetime trip to WDW.Of course I also know that there are a lot of rich people in the world and money is no object.
We were blessed to go to WDW for 10 years in a row until '08 when I lost my job,so we haven't been back since then.So where we went every year for 10 yrs,food was no big deal to us,because we knew we would be back there the following year.Anyway,gosh,didn't mean to write a book,but that's the way I am,I have a gift of writing and I make good use of it.HA HA LOL!

I am so glad to hear this about Pop Century! This will be our first trip in 8 years where we have actually stayed on property (usually we stay at a rental home) and I've never stayed at a value resort. I am thrilled to hear that we will have some decent, inexpensive meals at our resort, hooray!

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Originally Posted by Park Hopper Dad

I know some of yall save up and splurge on food when you go to WDW.Unfortunately some of us can't splurge on food. I haven't done the dining plan yet either but I plan to on our next trip.

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I have never understood the need to "splurge" on food at Disney. Just because you're on vacation doesn't mean you need to spend twice what you'd spend on a chicken dinner back home. But you're right... people will do it. As for the dining plan, I don't eat $100 a day on food to warrant the plan.