Budget-food related tips

[Belle1962]

FOOD RELATED tips
Getting ready for our trip, I found this document I had been working on for my family. Thought I'd share it:
Keep a cooler in your room or rent a fridge.
1. Eat breakfast at the room. Pack or purchase at Walmart ($10) a small toaster–can do:
Poptarts, frozen waffles, peanut butter toast, bagels, cream cheese, juice, donuts, other breakfast pastries, cereal, FRUIT, anything that pops into a toaster.
2. Eat your big meal at LUNCH–especially if doing a sit down meal. Try to get the last lunch seating possible–they often start putting dinner food on the buffets around that time and you can actually get ‘dinner" for lunch prices.
3. Take snacks into the park in your fanny park: fruit roll ups, fruit snacks, peanuts, slim jim, beef jerky, peanut butter crackers, combos, small boxes of pretzels, raisins, those Smuckers Peanut Butter and Jelly cracker kits (.99cents at my grocery store), Kraft cheese & crackers, etc.
4. Water is FREE at all of the parks. Any counter service will give you a cup of ice and water for FREE. If your kids won't drink plain water bring Kool-Aid, Gatorade or other powdered drink mix with you (in Ziploc bags) and add to the cup of water.
5. Order water with your meals not soda. It is FREE and your body will appreciate it.
6. Keep peanut butter, jelly, lunchmeat, bread, cold fried chicken, fruit, raw veggies in the cooler/fridge in your room. Check your freezer aisle for things that can be put in the toaster–you'll be surprised.
7. Split meals. Portions are huge and if you can get two people to agree on the same item there will be plenty for two. If you don't think there will be–get an appetizer and split the appetizer and main course. (Or main course and dessert–LOL)
8. Dessert or appetizers only–make reservations for dessert or appetizers only at some the restaurants you want to experience but won't want a full meal at. (This will not work for buffet meals). (Sometimes we go in for appetizer & dessert–in my family that can constitute a meal)
9. Check the prices—sometimes a buffet meal for a family is more expensive than ordering off the menu-because at a buffet EVERYONE is charged, while at other restaurants you can share meals. Check Deb Will's site for prices (www.wdwig.com)
10. Check out the kids meals. Usually a sandwich, chips, cookie and drink. Even for adults this is sometimes enough. (Who can eat in the heat anyway???)
11. Eat at off times–this will save TIME and time is money at WDW.
12. Budget some money for snacks at the parks. If you do the majority of your snacking from your fanny pack the kids will appreciate a "park bought" snack all the more. If your kids are old enough though you may be able to reason with them—If I buy you the $3.00 ice cream cone, you won't have anything to take home. OR I can buy you the $3.00 whatever and you can take it home.13. Ghiradelli's: the sundaes are HUGE—share them.
14. Determine how hungry you really are before you order. A lot of people order from remote control–I need a drink, an appetizer and a main course—and don't realize your appetite can change with the activities you are doing. If you really aren't that hungry don't order all that food. You can always order more food–but once ordered you are paying for it–regardless if you eat it or not.

[Snoozan]

Belle-These are GREAT tips. I printed them down and am going to give them to a friend of mine who I'm helping with plan a trip in April this year. There's 2 adults & 4 kids going so these tips will be very valuable to them. Thanks for taking the time to write this post!

[Belle1962]

Snoozan--thanks. These are mostly tips I've gotten over the years from here.

[mooses41]

4. Water is FREE at all of the parks. Any counter service will give you a cup of ice and water for FREE. If your kids won't drink plain water bring Kool-Aid, Gatorade or other powdered drink mix with you (in Ziploc bags) and add to the cup of water.

This and the restaurant one wouldn't work for me as I can't stand florida water. They are good tips though. Thanks!:bounce:

[momof2boyz2girlz]

We have spent alot of weekends on hockey trips and I have learned a few tricks too.
#1. I invested in an aerobed, it is much cheaper than getting a rollaway and much more comfortable. Plus, it doesn't take up much space.
#2. Always bring food with you. Even if you plan to eat out, kids get hungry and thirsty so they can at least have a snack.
#3. I usually bring an electic frying pan with me(instead of a toaster). This will do everything, from making pancakes, french toast etc. We make alot of grilled cheese, it will warm bagels, canned soup etc. I even saw one mom making sloppy joes in her room with it!!!!
#4. I always bring lots of beverages. Water, soda and juices.

Have fun and happy saving!

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.............................................. We bring a hot pot, great for soup, hot dogs, chili etc... Go to a garage sale to get your toaster, it's only a dollar or two and you can use the space on the way back to pack your souvenirs.

[kntheboys]

besides the toaster, a slow cooker or crockpot can do wonders!

chicken breasts in undiluted tomato soup with italian seasoning--yummy (don't defrost chicken). Serve w/ rice.

pinto beans with a can of tomatoes and chili powder and cumin. soak beans night before and cook all day. Adde cheese and wrap in tortillas -- burritos!

frozen pork roast with beef or cx broth-- cook all day, drain liquid and shred with 2 forks, add BBQ sauce and serve on buns.


frozen beef roast with onion soup, water, and good seasons ital dressing packet. cook all day, shred and serve on hard rolls-- french dips! yummy! even better w/ cream cheese!

[Jackie824]

Ok My tip is to shop at Publix, if you are staying at a place where you can cook and have food. Last yr we stayed at the Sheraton Vistana, and after we checked in it was kind of late. So, we headed for the closest grocery store which was clos to the Disney Marketplace. Oh boy, what a wrong choice that was. The prices were OUTRAGEOUS!!!I mean a bunch of prepackaged grapes were almost 6$.. So we only bought essentials that nite,Milk and bread. The next day we found the Publix and got our food for the week. The prices are reasonable. In Marchwe are going to Disney and staying at the Hilton Grand Vacation club, and we will find the nearest Publix. I wont make the same mistake twice. So I guess my biggest tip is to shop at Publix, and carry your own bottled water in the park, its alot cheaper.

[Girls Scout Leader]

We are being picked up at the airport by Happy Limo, and includes a 15 minute grocery stop, but to cut down on packing food and using that 15 min wisely, we aare gong to pack a box with non perishable, non crushabel snacks....cereal, frit-pudding-jello-cups, snack bars, crackers, pringles, disposable bowls, spoons, papertowels, zip top bags, and personal size soft coolers. And then we are going to mail it ahead of time to ouselves at our resort to be there when we arrive! The grocery stop will be used for bread, milk, lunchmeat, fresh fruit, bottled water and pop ( too heavy to mail). After eating breakfast at the resort, pack a lunch to leave in the lockers at the park ( each park has lockers near the front). It helps to spend the extra $$ to get a fridge in the room, so not much messing with ice. Be sure to use a small zip top bag of ice for you lunch, though!

[DVCajun]

Question to those who bring a crock pot or electric frying pan: how do you pack these items if you're flying down??

[trustknoone]

Instead of mixing in ziplocks you can actually buy individual packages (in boxes of 24) of crystal light. No chance of spills
You can order this from http://www.DiscountCoffee.com/

4. Water is FREE at all of the parks. Any counter service will give you a cup of ice and water for FREE. If your kids
won't drink plain water bring Kool-Aid, Gatorade or other powdered drink mix with you (in Ziploc bags) and add to
the cup of water.

[nancycels]

i know its a lot more expensive than it is at home, so i save all my free coupons(for instance,
right now i have several oj coupons, some poptarts, thomas' english muffins etc, i save
these for fla and it saves me more than it does at home where groceries are cheaper!

[robinb]

If you're staying at a Value or Moderate resort you can use the toasters in the food court. We did this at All Star Sports. We bought bagels and cream cheese (in a plastic tub) at the Publix and toasted them at the food court. Butter and jam are also available there.

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says................................... Hey DV CAJUN, we always pack a hot pot, no problem. A crock pot I would pack on carry on, because if they throw your baggage around it could break. Frying pan is no problem, even an electric one. In the luggage of your choice, pack a couple pairs of pants or towels on the bottom. Put in pan. Fill pan with socks, underwear, t shirts, what ever fits. If it's electric, with a top, then put the top on and cover with 2 or 3 pairs of pants, or 4 or 5 shirts. They can toss your luggage around all they want and your electric frying pan will survive!!

[Humpbacks1962]

I like the idea of shipping supplies to your hotel, and picking them up at the counter when you check in.


Wanda

[kandj2]

Wow! Great tips! I just got back and I have a few more for ya:

Brita water bottles are great for the parks! They filter out that nasty Disney swampy water and actually make it taste great! These can be purchased at Walmart for $7 each.

Take a George Foreman grill with you. You can make grilled cheese sandwiches, steak, burgers, chicken.... they are easy to clean, cook fast and are really easy to store.

Another essential item for your fanny pack is Shout wipes! You would be shocked and amazed at the nastys that are on the seats of some of these rides.

We packed in our fanny packs: 2 fruit snacks, 1 pb cracker pack, 1 rice krispy treat and 1 choc chip granola bar. Those items curbed our cravings for PB, Fruity candy, chocolate and crunchy stuff. We ate a big breakfast in the room, our snacks at the park, a light lunch at the park and a big dinner.

My final tip is for the poor smokers who attempt disney. I am one and am the first to agree that it is a disgusting habit. Fellow smokers... invest in the patch at disney. You are an outcast in the parks - there are few places to indulge in our nasty habit and if you try to sneak you will get caught. I did.

Have a great trip!

:) Kerry

[SlightlyGoofy]

At the risk of being repetitive, I have to say I like the microwave that we bring. Nothing to wash afterward and there is a wide variety of microwaveable food out there. More expensive than regular food but much cheaper than Disney food. We drive down but if you are staying for very long you could pick one up for about $50 and leave it when you go. IMHO

Belle, those are great tips and are sure to be printed out and carried by many future Disney travellers. We have used many of them during our many trips.

Slightly Goofy

[Dallas_Lady]

DH and I are not big breakfast people and really want to just have a bowl or cereal and fruit and head off to the parks each morning. But I do NOT want to pay $10 a day for a fridge! How well does having a cooler in the room work? We are flying down and I don't see how we can bring a hard-sided cooler. But if we stop at the grocery store, I am guessing we can get a styrofoam cooler. Has anyone done this? We are staying at POR, where in the world are the ice machines??

[kntheboys]

hi--

just got back 2 days ago-- Wal-mart has styro coolers right up front by customer service (Kissimmee store did) I noticed.

We had a backpack with sandwich stuff for lunch in the parks. To keep the lunchmeat/cheese cool, I made 2 small freezer packs about the size of ziploc bags with my foodsaver. (they don't leak like ziploc bags do.) I think you can buy freezer "pouches" with gel in them -- this would be the same. I just used a gallon size ziploc, slid in the package of lunchmeat and cheese and some cheese sticks, and put a freezer pack on each side of it. It lasted all day...

If you want to use a crockpot in your hotel, I would suggest either bringing a "slow cooker"-- the kind that is rectangular shaped and comes in 3 parts (grill, pot, lid). That way you can pack it just like it was described about for the electric frying pan. My other suggestion would be to just buy a cheap ($15-20) crockpot at walmart when you get there and leave it. In the long run, it would pay for itself in a meal or so!

[ReneeQ]

Dallas Lady - if that is all you want for breakfast, you don't HAVE to have a cooler. You could take a large box of cereal, sytrofoam bowls, canned or "snack pack" fruit, bananas, etc. None of that has to be refrigerated. You could buy a pint of milk each morning at the resort. That is really enough for 2 bowls of cereal (it was for us).

Now, at POR you could be "miles" from the food court/gift shop, so it might not be worth the walk each morning. Though, if you like to walk, it might be nice. Especially if you buy the refillable mugs and want to go get coffee anyway.

Also, the milk is usually MUCH cheaper in the resort gift shop refrigerator than in the food court refrigerator. Not sure why.

[CherylA]

If you're just looking for milk for cereal in the morning buy or pack the juice box size parmalot milks.
Throw them in your sink at night and cover with ice (free at the hotels) and you'll have cold milk in
the AM without having to make a trip down to the food court or gift shop to buy milk.

Cheryl

[SandraC]

Regarding the Publix post ~ we shopped at Publix in Daytona Beach, then went to WDW, after a few days we needed to shop again and went to Goodings. How far in the WDW Publix from CSR. We were planning on groceries shopping before we checked in.

[aide4]

We just got back last night and here are a few things we did. I packed one suitcase with cereal, small boxes of raisins, the packages of cheese and crackers,peanut butter and crackers. Even took cookies my mom baked for us!! We had a rental car so we stopped at Wal-Mart in Kississimee. We were going to buy a styrofoam cooler but found a regular cooler with wheels(like a suitcase) for 19.98 and bought that instead. We then bought milk, juice,beer and had plenty of room in the cooler. When we came home we used the cooler to pack stuff in,we put a lock on it and checked it!! It worked great!!

[Belle1962]

:bounce:

[vellamint]

Does the CBR have a microwave and a fridge......and if they do = where are they? Thanks

[Jinnyboom]

Vellamint.....to my knowledge the food court at CBR has a microwave that you can use...as far as a fridge is concerned...you would need to rent one....$10 per day plus tax.....we are going the styrofoam cooler/ice route for our December stay at this resort.

[SandraC]

We rented a fridge last year ~ it was a waste of money for us. I thought with a baby, I would need one for milk and such. NOPE! Ice would have been just fine. S

[FergieTCat]

Here's another tip:

Pack all your food/snacks/drinks in an extra suitcase. At the end of your vacation, you can use that suitcase to lug home souvenirs.

Just thought I'd toss this in as a safety precaution -- if you use a toaster, be sure unplug it when you leave the room. We have one at work that never really turns off.

[Belle1962]

:bounce:

[bennytobunny]

This may seem to be a dim reply but why not hit the ponderosa, young children upto 5 can eat free from the buffet, the cheapest meals are only $7.50 and you can eat as much as you like and all refills of soft drinks are free also, and all you can eat breakfast is $3.50, each time we come over from the U.K and there are 2x2 we find it more expencive to eat in by the time you get all you bit's and pieces we usually buy cereals etc and drink and bits for making a light lunch and then have a good meal in the evening. It works for us, it may not for everyone.

[Snow Brite]

Having lived through the Depression she always has good ideas for saving money/resources.

We went to the movies and she bought one extra large cup of soda with no ice. Then she asked for and got two small cups with just ice. She poured the the soda from the xrta large cup into the two with the ice and we each had a cup of soda. LOL! I would have NEVER thought of this! It saved almost $3 as the difference in price from a small to a xtra large is only about $.75. She of course still has a funny consience and would not go back for the free refill you get with an xtra large. ;) I think this would work at Disney too and plan to try it when we go. If the counter service places give free glasses of ice it should work just fine.

She is also a great meal splitter. One of my favorites that I saw her do was to order a huge double Quarter Pounder for her and Grandpa , then open it up in half, give each of them one bun and a patty for an openfaced burger. I've also seen her get a KFC 4 piece meal and split that between the two (with the soda trick from above). I think this concept would work at Disney too. If you just ordered a bit larger meal than you normally would and split it it would be less than ordering two smaller seperate meals.

She alo walks away from every fast food type restaurant with all the leftover napkins, ketchup and plastc silverware leftover from our meal. She would never go get more from the self service area as that would be stealing, but if you take whats leftover from your meal then thats okay. :p She then uses these for picnics and never has to buy these things.

She is so great! I have really come to appreciate her mind set, even while we giggle behind her back when she hands us each a half a stick of gum "because a whole stick is just too much for one person"...

Jennifer

[PhotobearSam]

You CAN pack a hard sided cooler when flying. (my fiance used to work for an airline)

Just make sure you bring a luggage strap and a roll of packing tape to secure it once they have inspected it.

On the way down it can be used to bring down snacks.

While there it can be used to hold ice and milk etc etc.

On the way back, fill it with souvenirs or clothing and only tape it up once they have inspected it at the airport.

There is no shame in this and is ok by airline standards. It is checked as normal luggage.

I do this all the time when I travel to see my parents on the east coast of Canada but I don't come home with souvenirs.......I come home with LOBSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

[ncbyrne]

trustknoone:
I went to the link you listed to buy the Crystal Lite pkgs. Great idea!
However....the cost of 24 packets is only $4.98, but the shipping charges are $6.63! Definitely NOT a bargain.
Anyone know of a regular store that carries this product?

[vellamint]

This is strange to ask .... but what is a luggage strap and where would I get one? Thanks.

[sneetch]

I think I've seen them in the luggage section at department stores. You could probably find one at Walmart or Kmart.

[momof2boyz2girlz]

Here is another site with the crystal light packages. You have to buy in a much larger quanity but it is free shipping.

http://www.foodservicedirect.com/food.cfm/SubCatID/3/SubClassID/462/ShowProducts/1

[singitalto]

Boy do I appreciate this thread. We are going to WDW in Sept and are getting Cont breakfast with the hotel, but I want to be real frugal with lunch and dinner.(With the exception of a few sit downs).

My plan as of now is we will eat breakfast at the hotel, Bring lunch to the parks or counter service (I've done the one with the soda and ice- it only works if everyone wants the same flavor soda) And eat a nice dinner on the way back to the hotel-off Disney grounds.

Anyone else with good crockpot ideas???

[weluvpluto]

This thread has such great ideas I'm just bumping it back up!

:wave:

[weluvpluto]

Sorry double posted:eek:

[PhotobearSam]

I saw a luggage strap today at Sears.
It is a wide flat strap that you put around a suitcase for extra support so it doesn't open on the flight.

They cost about $7-10 and can be found at most luggage places.:)

[mickey7861]

momof2boyz2girlz

Thanks for the link to the Crystal Light place. The larger order is fine for my family since the four of us all drink the iced tea anyway. It'll also be convenient for work to mix in with my water from the cooler.

[matu8063]

I am staying at PO R what would i write on a package that I am sending myself. Any ideas!!!

[Jinnyboom]

Matu............Your name (of course);) the resorts address and YOUR ARRIVAL DATE.

[Belle1962]

:bounce:

[2minnies]

We always pack pringles too because they don't smash as easy in our luggage....but save your empty containers all year for the other "breakable" snacks you want to bring too. Cookies travel great this way!

[tink2dw]

When we were at WDW we found that Salty snacks just made us Much too,thirsty!! So,instead of Fries we always chose the fruit that they offer with Bugers. It really helped to cut that thirst!

At Epcot at the Electric Umbrella,we ordered the Ala Cart, Chicken Strips and the Large Fruit box. Dh and I shared the Chicken strips. But there was enough fruit for the 3 of us. It had a great varity of fruits!! It was a good choose!!

[jeanneg4of4]

lipton tea COLD BREW . we drink alot of ice tea and this new tea is awsome. just add a tea bag to a glass of COLD water (with ice) . you get wonderful tea in minutes without the instant taste.I have plans of taking my own water and tea bag and adding ice when needed. a refressing drink all day and tastes like freshed brewed

[ChiTownZee]

Some of these tips are great! But regarding, toasters, grills & crockpots.......are these allowed by hotels? It seems they would be a bit of a fire hazard.