Save money on food

[neatokimmo]

I have no problems with bringing food in the parks and have done it several times. I stick with very easy things like sandwiches, fruit, nuts etc.

I wouldn't supplement with fixing bars, and I wouldn't take a table at a restaurant. That is weird.

 

[neatokimmo]

See, we are all different. I absolutely love the meal planning and grocery order prior to vacation. It's as much fun as ADRs and fast passes for me. I do acknowledge that I'm a bit strange though.

I enjoy meal planning too, whether at home or on vacation.

 

[tasha99]

See, we are all different. I absolutely love the meal planning and grocery order prior to vacation. It's as much fun as ADRs and fast passes for me. I do acknowledge that I'm a bit strange though.

I'm the same way. I love to cook, but I tone it down on vacation. Still, I enjoy planning and making the order. I even enjoy having a cocktail in the lobby while waiting for the grocery delivery.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We enjoy dining out and find that to be as much a part of our holiday as riding Space Mountain or viewing Illuminations. We don't worry about saving money on food. We create a budget including a table service meal and a quick service meal each day. Generally that's about $60-$70/day per person. There are 4 of us so that's about $250/day for meals. We will get a grocery order of bottled water, snacks, and breakfast foods usually totaling about $100 for an 8 day stay. Our party is all adults.

 

[jen7233]

My park food planning is/was terrible. Basically, I didn't plan last trip in May. The only way I suppose we save is that we eat breakfast in the hotel from items purchased in the stores (poptarts, cereal, etc.). I brought some paper bowls/plates and plasticware with us. We also get refillable mugs and we got the popcorn refill bucket. We only did one TS meal the week we were there. Not sure when we'll head back to Disney but likely summer 2019, but hopefully summer 2018!

 

[nursejackie]

For us Brits at the moment, the food is more expensive than ever due to the weak pound but we still intend to eat the same food in December. It's a big part of our Disney holiday and we love all the planning, and really enjoy tasting the new snacks every year. I'm just working harder to earn more money but will be totally worth it IMHO

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I hate to cook and hate to meal plan, so for me, the idea of planning what food I needed to order from a Grocery delivery service and then fixing up sandwiches and stuff each morning to carry in the park sounds like a terrible way to spend my vacation. Even when we are at the beach in the summers with a full kitchen we still eat out most dinners.

When we are at Disney all we generally bring into the park with us is a bottle of water and pre-packaged snacks like 100-cal packs of almonds or little bags of pretzels.

I actually love to plan and cook. But I am not doing it on vacation.

We do eat in the room for breakfast. But we will bake and pack a loaf of pumpkin bread or blueberry muffins. Add to that some yogurt or a banana, and we are set. I take snack bags of gluten free pretzels or dried fruit because sometimes it can be hard to find a tasty gluten free snack. We keep snacky food in the room, but we have a fridge, microwave and little counter in the villa. We pack all of this and drive. Heck, we also pack in some wine.

But no cooking is done. Nothing more than making a cup of tea and grabbing a bag of something.

 

[jsmla]

I'm also one of those who can only eat so much QS. After a couple of days of it I just don't enjoy it enough to justify the price/nutrition costs. I'm a fairly light eater who doesn't do burgers/pizza/nuggets and I definitely don't need a hot meal on a 95 degree day. I do consume what I imagine to be a higher than average number of adult beverages.

I've had trips where I ate in/brownbagged it 90% of the time but that is when I'm in an off-site condo. If I stay on site I do eat with Mickey more often. On my last trip I packed a few non-perishables (bread, crackers, peanut butter, etc) in my checked bag and packed a checked cooler with cheese, fruit, veggies and condiments (decanted) that I scrounged from the fridge. I ordered produce, dairy and beer from Garden Grocer for around $60.

Here's what I ate, items with an * are guesstimates either because I assigned a value to the included meal at EMM or I lost my receipt. Some of the "room" meals were repeated.

Breakfasts

Room
-plain Greek yogurt with blueberries, cinnamon and a drizzle of honey
-peanut butter sandwich (fresh ground/whole wheat), banana

Restaurants
Pinocchio's Village Haus/Early Morning Magic buffet ($25*)
PPO @ Be Our Guest ($15)
-Scrambled Eggs de Maurice/iced tea




Lunches

Room
-homemade cheese board (cheese, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes) and a banana
-large spinach salad with pears, dried cranberries, walnuts and cheese
-spicy pinto beans/rice with cilantro and avocado, broccoli slaw
-baked (microwaved) potato with broccoli/cheese, large spinach salad, apple

Restaurants
Jungle Skipper Canteen (TiW) ($50*)
-"Tastes Like Chicken", several beers

Liberty Tree Tavern (TIW) ($45*)
-corn fritter appetizer
-Colony Chicken Salad
-2 beers




Dinners

Room
-cheese quesadilla with spinach, tomato/avocado salad, carrots/dip, pear
-bean/cheese burritos with cilantro and avocado, cherry tomatoes
-large salad w/spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, cheese and an apple

Restaurants
Flame Tree BBQ (20% TIW) ($20)
-1/2 chicken Platter, Safari Amber beer

Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge (TIW) ($50*)
-shrimp and grits
-several beers

Spice Road Table (TiW) ($45) (Illuminations view)
-Spicy Shrimp
-Hummus Fries
-Baklava
-2 beers



Snacks
Sweet Spells/Starbucks
-carrot cake cookie/tall cappuccino ($8.50)

Cheshire Cat
-raspberry lemonade ($5)

Starbucks
Unsweetened Peach Iced Tea ($4.60)



So, rounding up I spent $320 for 7 days of meals or around $46/day including some alcohol. I could have gone cheaper with fewer TS meals but I found this combo of BYO and mostly TS very enjoyable and tasty and was pleased with the value.

 

[jsmla]

A few pix

Cheese plate (POFQ poolside)




Spinach salad (POFQ poolside)




Early Morning Magic 1



Early Morning Magic 2



Quesadillas (room)




Breakfast at the POFQ bus stop




Spicy pinto beans (room)



Baked potato with broccoli/cheese, spinach salad



Bean/cheese/spinach/avocado burritos (room)



Be Our Guest (kids meal)

 

[jsmla]

Shrimp and Grits at Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge



Starbucks cappuccino/carrot cake cookie (dessert after HBD lounge)



Jungle Skipper Canteen




Raspberry lemonade




Liberty Tree Tavern

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

at what length would you save money on food in the parks.

The only thing we bring in is a couple bottles of smart water/vitamin water and something to drink for my daughter along with maybe some trail mix. Other than that we eat our meals at counter service or restaurants.

I bring this up because this past weekend we were sitting at our pecos bill for something to eat. The family in front of me ordered a plate of ground beef, nothing else. Their total was like $7. We sat a few tables away from them. The wife opens up her backpack and takes out a taco kit box. They assemble their tacos and bring them to the fixings bar where they load them up with whatever is at the bar. This is where is got funny. They opened up these 2 large yeti types of cups and pour in 2 beers from their cooler for the parents to drink while the kids drank some juice boxes. I thought the beers were a great idea but no idea how they got through security unless he had them hidden in his pockets.

We bring refillable bottles for water into the parks.

We bring snacks, like peanut butter crackers, dried fruits, etc, to help combat the hangry grumpies.

We bring Starbucks bottled drinks and sodas to the hotel room, and drink them in the morning/at night. During the day, at the parks, it's usually just water.

We'll split the stuff we get at Food & Wine, etc. We can try more things that way, without getting too full or spending too much.
We also split meals sometimes, especially at lunch. In the heat, we tend to eat less, so why waste some of two meals, when one + dessert will fill 2 of us up.

We do drive, and go off site to eat a couple of dinners. Usually at Sweet Tomatoes, to help get those veggies in, or at places we don't have close to home, like Del Taco.

We do still eat in the parks, and get snacks.

ETA: we bring fruit and breakfast pastries, and do those a few times for breakfast on the way to the parks, then eat an early lunch. Sometimes those are for lunch, as we've done a late big breakfast. In those cases, we do an early dinner. We tend to only eat 2 meals a day when at the parks, whether at the park or offsite.

 

[jsmla]

See, we are all different. I absolutely love the meal planning and grocery order prior to vacation. It's as much fun as ADRs and fast passes for me. I do acknowledge that I'm a bit strange though.

I guess I'm strange too

It's all part of the entertainment value I get out of planning. I inventory what I have on hand, figure out how to use that so I'm happy with the variety of meals I can make and then place a grocery order. For example, we had a lot of cheese leftover from our daughter's wedding so it was a very cheesy week at Disney for me . My January trips tend to feature lots of local satsumas and gumbo made from the Christmas turkey.

 

[quandrea]

I guess I'm strange too

It's all part of the entertainment value I get out of planning. I inventory what I have on hand, figure out how to use that so I'm happy with the variety of meals I can make and then place a grocery order. For example, we had a lot of cheese leftover from our daughter's wedding so it was a very cheesy week at Disney for me . My January trips tend to feature lots of local satsumas and gumbo made from the Christmas turkey.

We fly, so I need to do a grocery order. I plan out all the meals we will have in the villa. I keep it simple to avoid lots of ingredients. By the time the trip ends, the fridge and pantry are completely empty. No waste. I practised that and perfected it to an art form. The kids prefer the meals in. They eat better for me than at restaurants. None of us could do restaurants for two weeks straight. Meal prep time is always relaxing--a beverage, some appetisers. It's really one of the real pleasures of the trip. Saving money on food is just a fringe benefit. I admit to calculating the saving every time we go. Gives me a little thrill!

 

[brymolmom]

We just got back from a week's trip...General rule for us is that we buy ONE meal per day...This time we had 2 TS meals and the rest were all CS. We aren't die-hards to this plan - the kids will get ice cream in addition to our sandwiches we bring in a backpack. I think it's funny how some people think it's a pain to have a backpack with food - I guess it's what you're used to. It's nothing compared to what I would bring with us when the kids were still in strollers. And we saved a TON of money. We got grocery delivery to the room with Safeway - and I think the $8 I paid for the case of water ended up paying for all the groceries in what we saved. It was HOT so we went through a LOT of water that week. And yes we got free water at CS places and refilled our empty bottles there - but we needed more than that - and convenient to have it in the bag to drink while in lines, etc. We brought PB&J's, chips, granola bars, goldfish, and some cookies. A couple times we supplemented with cold drinks from a CS place (if we had polished off all the drinks in the bag). I would guess that we spent about $600 on food total (and a big chunk of that are the 2 TS meals) for a family of 4. Easily could have been double that if we hadn't brought food, drinks and snacks with us almost every day.

 

[quandrea]

Yes, bringing food in isn't a hardship. Dd has allergies and most of the snacks are off limits anyway. We eat out once a day too. Enough of a break that it still feels like a vacation, but a nice balance with real food.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

at what length would you save money on food in the parks.

The only thing we bring in is a couple bottles of smart water/vitamin water and something to drink for my daughter along with maybe some trail mix. Other than that we eat our meals at counter service or restaurants.

I bring this up because this past weekend we were sitting at our pecos bill for something to eat. The family in front of me ordered a plate of ground beef, nothing else. Their total was like $7. We sat a few tables away from them. The wife opens up her backpack and takes out a taco kit box. They assemble their tacos and bring them to the fixings bar where they load them up with whatever is at the bar. This is where is got funny. They opened up these 2 large yeti types of cups and pour in 2 beers from their cooler for the parents to drink while the kids drank some juice boxes. I thought the beers were a great idea but no idea how they got through security unless he had them hidden in his pockets.

Wow I haven't seen that and hope I don't. I enjoy having the fixings bar but if disney sees many abusing it I could see them charging for fixings or you having to order what you want.

 

[bladiator]

I have definitely ordered a plate of food at Pecos Bill, finished it, and then made myself a full salad afterwards. I haven't just pilfered the bar because I'm too lazy to bring in my own stuff (like a bag or tortilla chips is pretty much the easiest way to make a taco salad), but I also would not be opposed. I'm not trying to rip them off. I paid a huge amount of money the rest of the time I'm there. If I were bagging it up and taking it home, that's probably where the line is crossed.

 

[Praying Colonel]

If we're staying offsite, which we started doing more of over the last few trips to have more room and save money, we eat breakfast in the condo, about half our lunches/dinners either in the condo or offsite, and about half our lunches/dinners onsite. We would not bring meals into the parks but that's us and I don't really pay attention to what others do unless they're doing the infamous can-of-corn lunch. That's a little out there.

 

[monorailsilver]

We bring bottled water, breakfast (bowls and spoons too) and some snacks for pool days.

The rest we buy. Last time in 2013 I said $40/meal for our family of 5 and we pretty much stuck to it minus the 2 sit downs and one lunch when 2 of my kids wanted some orange slushie from cosmic rays (so that was a $50 meal for us 5).

For our trip next summer, I will still do the water, breakfast and probably a few snacks. My son is 13 and just starting the eating binge so I am thinking he is hopefully starting his growth spurt (he is very short) so I need to off set his meals with snacks!

 

[DawnM]

at what length would you save money on food in the parks.

The only thing we bring in is a couple bottles of smart water/vitamin water and something to drink for my daughter along with maybe some trail mix. Other than that we eat our meals at counter service or restaurants.

I bring this up because this past weekend we were sitting at our pecos bill for something to eat. The family in front of me ordered a plate of ground beef, nothing else. Their total was like $7. We sat a few tables away from them. The wife opens up her backpack and takes out a taco kit box. They assemble their tacos and bring them to the fixings bar where they load them up with whatever is at the bar. This is where is got funny. They opened up these 2 large yeti types of cups and pour in 2 beers from their cooler for the parents to drink while the kids drank some juice boxes. I thought the beers were a great idea but no idea how they got through security unless he had them hidden in his pockets.

Oh my gosh, you were watching us?



Just kidding!

We do take quite a bit of our own food in, or did. We had many lean years with only one income, etc....we would take a backpack cooler in with a full lunch for 5 and a lot of snacks.

The last 2 trips (well, one Universal and one Disneyland) we took only a small amount of food in with us and bought the rest. We are still fairly frugal and share meals, take in snacks, etc.....and we took our own waters.