Life is a buffet, rewarding those who don't overindulge early on with the ability to eat lemon meringue pie forever. Pace yourself with today’s Groupon: for $18, you get $36 worth of dinner with Disney characters at Garden Grove restaurant in the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Lake Buena Vista. Dinner is served daily from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Garden Grove pairs an eclectic board of all-you-can-eat dishes, from Southern barbecue to seafood, with kid-friendly company in a park-inspired setting. The dinner buffet furnishes refillable plates for adults ($35.99) and kids ($14.99 for ages 3–9); children of less than three years or centimeters eat for free. After an afternoon of teacup-whirling, diners can recharge during Seafood Sensation night, with jumbo scallops and snow-crab legs, or during Mediterranean night, with entrees such as citrus-centric lemon chicken. Southern-barbecue nights sling south of the Mason-Dixon favorites such as pulled pork and barbecue ribs. Kids can always indulge in stacks of self-replenishing chicken nuggets and platefuls of mac 'n’ cheese.

Patrons dine under the synthetic shade of a 25-foot, lifelike oak tree harboring families of squirrels who bus and reset tables. During dinner, as well as Saturday and Sunday morning meals, tables receive visits from Disney stars fresh from press junkets and hungry for handshakes and pictures.