I sure won't lie! One of my favorite things to do at Disney is to eat! Disney has so many great restaurants, but it's not just IN the parks that have good food, but outside too! Disney Springs, the Resorts, they are all  known for having an incredible variety of unique and wonderfully delicious foods. 

While that's great, what if you are at the park and want a quick bite? We've got suggestions for you! All of these places are included on the Quick Service Dining Plan, so they aren't going to cut into your budget, but they will provide a nice place to stop, rest and fill up your stomachs! Quick Service doesn't mean fast food! Your portions won't be small, and neither will the value for your meal if you go with one of these favorites! 

At a Quick Service restaurant, most entrees will be $14.99 or less, but the average price for a burger and fries (or similar) is $10-12, same as at a fast casual place back home. 

These are where we always suggest at Hollywood Studios, and why! We've even got a few suggestions for who this might, or might not, be appropriate for. ​

Backlot Express


Located right near the stage for the Jedi Training Academy and Star Tours, Backlot is our must go to, every time. We love the menu, the ample indoor and outdoor seating, and the serve yourself drinks. You know free refills are a rarity at theme parks, so that's a small part of why we love to stop here! 

While there is plenty of seating indoors, this seems to be a place where tours reserve, so often it gets crowded, and you might have to hover for a few minutes to get a spot, unless you are willing to eat outside. Outside seating is covered, but in the summer it can still be hot. 

The menu is one of those something for everyone, but right now, the food is a little bit more Star Wars themed. Chicken and Dark Vader Waffles is my personal favorite, while my kids love the massive Star Wars cupcakes, and Mr. Disney Magic always gets the Royal Guard burger. 

Portions are generous, and anyone can find something to eat here, picky eaters or adult palates alike. 

PizzeRizzo

Taking over where the old Pizza Planet (Which wasn't really like Pizza Planet in Toy Story) Rizzo the Rat is serving up personal pizzas, salads and meatball subs. The pizza is about on par with Disney Pizza, but the fact that there's pizza, and that's such a kid and adult pleasing food can really make this place a lifesaver on a rainy, or hot day when you just want to sit down for a while. There is a ton of indoor seating, including on an upper level which makes it fun to people watch. 

Desserts are cannelloni or tiramisu, so not a big selection, but fit in with the Italian theme, as does the rest of the decor. 

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Woody's Lunchbox 

While we have not eaten yet at Woody's Lunchbox, I'd be remiss not to mention the newest edition to Disney's Holloywood Studios quick service. If nothing else, the visual apeal of this retraunt, along with the location is going to make it a favorite for kids, though the crowd levels are going ot be high. We will update this with more information soon, but thus far, the menu is looking good! Brisket melt, monte cristo, and grilled cheeses, along with other tasty lunchbox favorites! We sure can't wait to sink out teeth into them and try! There will even be breakfast sandwiches, and soft serve ice cream.

​Disney and Juicy Juice have teamed up with an "Incredible" offer! But any 3 specially marked packages of Juicy Juice Juice Boxes (easy to find, look for the ones with the Incredibles on them) then go online and enter the code to get a Fandano movie ticket good for ANY Disney movie. There are so many great Disney movies coming out this year, and as long as you use your code by March, 2019, it's good for any of them. The ticket is only valid up to $7.50, so if you have an overpriced movie theater like we do, you might still have to pay a few dollars, but it's still an awesome deal!  What are you going to see? We are thinking Ant Man and the Wasp, then Mary Poppins or Wreck it Ralph this fall!

​​How do you know if renting a Disney stroller is the right thing for you? What is different from bringing your own?  We often bring ours, but these reasons make Disney strollers temping!

Disney strollers can be great for when you’ve got an older kid, who can usually walk, but might get tired, say, at Epcot or Animal Kingdom, where there’s more walking than rides. Maybe your child has an illness or injury, or the hassle of folding and loading on and off the bus or monorail is too much or, maybe you even just want to lug around a lot of stuff, but it won’t fit into a locker, and you don’t want to carry it constantly. If any of those apply to you, renting a Disney stroller might be the way to go.

Disney rents strollers at all of its parks, and even Disney Springs! They offer two options, a single stroller rental of $15 a day, or for a multi day stay, $13 a day. They’ve also got the double stroller, $31 a day, or $27 a day for a multi day stay.

We've got an awesome, FREE printable packing list for you to use next time you want to add a little Disney to your trip. Print out out for each member of the family, and you could even print out one more as a to-do checklist before you leave the house! 

Click on the picture below or above to download! Printable will open in a new window, then right click to save, or just print directly. 

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​There are more printables coming soon, leave a comment if there is one i particular you would like! 

Everyone has had that kind of vacation before, the sort where nothing goes right. You can read about ours HERE and while some things like injuries or illnesses just can't be planned, there is nothing like having a vacation go wrong because of something YOU have done and could have prevented. No one wants that! You've worked hard to save and go, so why ruin it for yourself?  I admit, #5 is too easy for me!


Here’s our top 5 ways to ruin your Disney vacation.


1. You Arrive Late


After sleeping in and a leisurely breakfast, you finally load up and head to the parks. The gates opened at 9, but it's a Saturday, or maybe a random Tuesday. Everyone else is sleeping in, or at work, right? You pull into the parking lot around 11am and plan to stroll around and jump into that headliner ride everyone's talking about. Maybe you'll even ride it a few times before lunch at noon. 


You pull in, surprised at how many cars are already in the parking lot. It takes longer to get through security than you thought, and by the time you finally make it to the ride you wanted to go on, the wait says 120 minutes. How did that happen? 


It happened because experienced park goers know that you can do more, and ride two to three times more often in the first few hours of park opening that you can almost the whole rest of the day. That means, the lines are shorter, the crowds are less and around 11am, that's when the people who slept in late, maybe had a longer drive, or are planning a late night at the park arrive.



2. You Have No Idea What You Want To Do


It's 10am. You've done that must do ride, in fact, you did it twice because the line was so short, but now, you and your friends can't agree on what you would like to do. Mary wants to walk around and see what catches her eye, while Jeff wants to do everything in Tomorrowland before moving on to Adventureland. No one can agree, and as you start walking in circles, the line that was only 30 minutes long on your last lap through Fantasyland is now 60. In fact, all of the lines are so long now, no one wants to wait in them, so you keep walking around, hoping to find a shorter line, but you can't. Finally, you all get so frustrated, hot and tired you leave the park, around 2pm, feeling like it was a waste of time, and money because all of the lines are way too long and you only got to ride one ride. It’s not fair, and Disney’s a their of money and time.


You get on the bus to go back to your resort with the same family you rode over with, but they are laughing and happy, talking about all the rides they did. How is that possible? Didn't they see all the ridiculous wait times for the lines? Yet, they did so much! How did that happen? 


It happened because while you started off right, knowing what you wanted to do, from there you couldn't agree on what to do next and didn't really have a plan of where to go and when. That time spent arguing and aimlessly wandering, hoping to find a short line only made the lines longer, and you feel more frustrated. A plan, even the most basic of plans, can make sure that you go from attraction to attraction, without long lines and frustration. 


(Need some ideas? You can go HERE to check out our FREE Animal Kingdom touring plan, and follow the links to the other parks for more FREE touring plans, as well.)


3. You Don’t Eat/Drink Because It's Too Expensive


It's well after lunchtime and the everyone is hungry, but that Mickey pretzel your kids wanted was $6! No way! Nevermind it could feed two of them. You'd love to sit and take a break in the air conditioning at Cosmic Ray's, but it's $10 for a burger and fries, plus the drink is $3? How is it everything is so expensive? Meantime, you get crankier and crankier, everyone's out of energy. People are complaining, and tired, hot and thirsty. Someone gets dizzy from the heat, and you have to stop off at the first aid clinic. There are loads of people walking around eating, drinking, not caring they are spending way more than you think they should. What a great trip, huh? How did that happen? 


It happened because going into a theme park of any kind, you know prices are going to be a little higher. There are a lot of ways to still stay fed and hydrated and keep your energy levels up without calling on your inner Scrooge. Disney will let you bring in your own food and drinks! Load up your backpack and cooler, you can read about that HERE or maybe you should be on the Disney Dining Plan, where all of your food and drink is prepaid, so you get a better deal! You can read about that HERE . It's important to stay hydrated, you don't want to get Sunstroke, but if theme park beverage prices are too much for you, bring your own and save hundreds with this one tip!


4. Expect Pixie Dust



The person in front of you gets an extra pair of fastpasses. Your friend just two hotel doors down got extra towels, some of them even made into cute shapes. In the food court a woman is giving out stickers to just about everyone. What's going on? You are with your kid on the Trisaratops Spin at Animal Kingdom, and when the ride is over, they let a woman and her baby stay on without getting back in the line. Later, you are waiting outside of the restaurant you booked six months in advance at 6am. You've been waiting 20 minutes and they still don't have a table. Someone walks up, and asks it there's room for their group of three. They go in, and you are still waiting. Angrily, you demand to speak to the manager. You've paid the same as everyone else, so how come YOU aren't getting this special treatment? How come YOU are having to wait? How did that happen? 


It happened because Pixie Dust is the little extras that Disney's Cast Members sprinkle around. It's going to be random, and there's no way you can "make" it happen to you. Pixie Dust can be an extra fastpass, maybe a Mickey Ice Cream bar, a button or stickers! The towel animals in your hotel room, extra soaps and towels, or maybe even the pin that someone gives your child. Disney always, always is giving out Pixie Dust to someone, and it really does make you feel special, but you can't expect it all the time. In your hotel room, even if you leave a tip (read more about tipping HERE)  you can't expect to get towel animals, or your bathmat turned into Minnie's bow. There are so many different people working at Disney, and so very many guests, while I guarantee that you will truly feel like a special guest at Disney, you might not get Pixie Dust sprinkled on you, and if you do, it might not always happen how you want. The best way to have Pixie Dust happen, is to be polite. Be a good guest and remember that most of the people you are talking to are just like you. They work hard for a small salary. They are trying to help tens of thousands of people have a good vacation, cleaning up endless piles of soggy towels, dirty toilets, and other stuff. If you genuinely have a problem, then talk to someone calmly, and try and get it fixed. They want to make sure you have a good experience so that you enjoy your vacation and come back one day, not leave angrily. Also, treat others kindly, because when you do, you'll find your trip is much more enjoyable, with, or without Pixie Dust. 



5. Don't Rest


It's nearly 3pm and you've been going strong since the Extra Magic Hours started at 8! Last night you shut the park down at 11pm, and you are on a roll! Tired? Heck, you've got no time for that, you've got Disney Magic in the air, water in your backpack and a whole lot of get up and go! The others are starting to wilt, begging for a break to sit down, but not you! You shut the park down, third night in a row then at 6am the next morning, try to get out of bed, only to find you just can't drag yourself out. What's going on? You've got to get that bus! All you need is a little coffee maybe, but you can't even roll over to get out of bed. How did that happen? 


It happened because even Superman needs a break for a while! Ever wondered why he's Clark Kent most of the time? Being a superhero is hard work! That's a LOT of walking, and even the most trained athlete is going to need a break. Theme parks are sneaky, it's deceptive how much you can walk in a day, usually more than 10 miles (put a pedometer on your phone, you’ll be shocked!) and if you aren't giving yourself rest now and then, while you might be doing good for a few days, at some point your body is going to protest, and force you to stop like it or not! 



So you’ve read our top 5, are you guilty of any of these? Have any other ways you think could ruin a trip? We want to hear about them! 


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