Disney Dining - Just Ordering Drinks and Appetizers

[Amy]

But did you do that in the dining room at the California grill or was it at the bar/lounge area?

Main dining room. Wife and I split 3 or 4 appetizers, had some drinks, that was it. No worries. Now, of course, things could have changed, and security might now drag you off to that "special" tunnel under the MK...

I'm guessing those apps and drinks added up to quite a bill though!

Yeah I think with two jalapeno margaritas and the chip & dip trio...our bill was around $50. That's a heck of a lot of money for two drinks and some chips & dip.

Yikes!

I always hate the fact that the drink menus don't have any prices on them. I might want to try one, but I hate to ask how much they are...and since I don't drink very often, it's hard to find one that I know what all the ingredients might taste like!

[jderoche5]

Be careful….Their margaritas pack a punch!

[Wizzard419]

They are by the book with their pours, no more no less (I think they may use the automated pour).

While the establishment may not care, I would imagine a couple occupying a table at a sit down place and spending less than a full meal and leaving a standard tip would burn the server and kitchen staff a little since they are chasing less money than normal.

[Amy]

They are by the book with their pours, no more no less (I think they may use the automated pour).

While the establishment may not care, I would imagine a couple occupying a table at a sit down place and spending less than a full meal and leaving a standard tip would burn the server and kitchen staff a little since they are chasing less money than normal.

By the time you order a few apps and drinks, aren't you going to be fairly close to the price of a full meal if you didn't order apps and drinks?

[jderoche5]

We've dropped $120 at La Cava without even flinching. Adds up quick.

[Amy]

We've dropped $120 at La Cava without even flinching. Adds up quick.

Yikes! I'd definitely flinch!

[Wizzard419]

We've dropped $120 at La Cava without even flinching. Adds up quick.

But did your check at CA grill stay in line with what a normal table would order for a full meal? Even though you may not have stayed as long, they usually won't be able to squeeze an extra seating in at that table for the night.

[UncleScrooge477]

They are by the book with their pours, no more no less (I think they may use the automated pour).

While the establishment may not care, I would imagine a couple occupying a table at a sit down place and spending less than a full meal and leaving a standard tip would burn the server and kitchen staff a little since they are chasing less money than normal.

We were in and out faster than a regular meal, which helps. We had been at the Calif Grill in Dec of 2012 for my parent's 60th wedding anniversary, and THAT was a loooong meal, including a special dessert for them. We tipped well, though, since we knew we were tying up our waiter for at least 1.5 seatings, if not two!

[UncleScrooge477]

We've dropped $120 at La Cava without even flinching. Adds up quick.

But did your check at CA grill stay in line with what a normal table would order for a full meal? Even though you may not have stayed as long, they usually won't be able to squeeze an extra seating in at that table for the night.

I would say that our appetizers and drinks were on par with a regular table. Keep in mind that we haven't every had a DDP, so we were always out of pocket. Will it may be imagination, it seems like our meals tend to be longer than those on a DDP. But who knows???

Most of the time we visit for real meals we aren't actually in the parks. Very often the Premier Dining meals for us are days we are shopping, or, during the holidays, hotel-hopping with my folks to look at all the Christmas decorations. Tends to make it more leisurely. If we are theme park commando mode we tend to offset meals with crackers and such - we don't want to lose any minutes eating when we can be disney-ing!!!