Bring Your Own Snacks????

[Dona Momma]

Has anyone ever brought their own snacks when they were staying at one of the deluxe resorts???

We stayed ate POFQ last year and saw lots of people bringing in sacks of goodies from the grocery store/ you know Walmart.

We will be staying at Grand Flloridian in a standard room and was just wondering if it would look out of place to bring in a few of our kids favorites for light snacks??????

I thought we would bring in small items like indiv. bags of chips, water, etc.

[scanne]

I always bring my own snacks. Even when I stayed at the GF, Polynesian and AKL. It sure beats paying the prices of the mini bar! Don't feel funny! You're a paying guest at the hotel. If you want to bring some snacks for your kids by all means, do so!

On my honeymoon (At the GF) I brought Teddy Grahms, crackers, pretzels......all from home. Why spend the extra $$$ on jacked up snacks? Just my opinion.

[addicted_to_WDW]

Who cares what people think?!?! Ever since I paid $2.00 for an ounce of potato chips, I've brought along my own snacks. We have chips, granola bars, and fruit in the room and it saves us a small fortune. :)

[dg39]

We're staying at the CR in July, theirs 5 of us (2-rooms). We drive down and I pack alot of snacks. We bring sodas,chips,dip, fruit,veggies and anything else I can think of that we may want down there. I also bring water. Paying 2.50 for a bottle of water is unheard of for me. I won't spend alittle fortune on snacks, when I can get the bigger bag or bottle for half the price. We bring a cooler for each room, fill them with ice and put our sodas, juices and anything else that has to be refrigerated in them. Last time we rented a fridge and at 10.00 a night per room it just wasn't worth the total price. Don't worry about other people, most bring snacks also. I rather spend my extra money in the parks and gift shops. So bring all the snacks you want and don't worry about what other people think.

[jjsmom]

We brought our own snacks and drinks 2 yrs ago when we stayed at the Contemporary and didn't think twice about it. I don't think anyone objected, and quite frankly, I wouldn't care if they did.

Everyone's financial situation is different. Ours is such that, in order to visit WDW as frequently as possible, we have to cut corners. The number one way we found to cut corners, was to eat "from the room" as much as we can.

[Gillian]

I'm sure people do this all the time, even at the most Grand of all Disney hotels! :)

You could always pack your snacks in a fancy tote bag :D

[BCV23]

We always make a grocery run for snacks, pop, wine and beer. We usually stay at the Poly (26th trip in two weeks!) but have also stayed at the GF, FW trailers, and BC. One of our sons is diabetic so even if we're in concierge I buy snacks. Seriously, I think most people do.

[corvair]

BCV23...Were do you go to the grocery store. We are going in 10 days. We will have a rental car. We have never had a car so we have never been off site. Is there a store on the way from the airport that has easy access?? thanks,,,corvair

[BCV23]

Corvair...sometimes I go to Goodings which is near downtown Disney across from the hotels. It's very close but the prices are high so if my husband is driving we go elsewhere:D . He used to like a Goodings on Sand Lake Road. It closed but there is another store in that same mall. There is a new Winn-Dixie that I've gone to the last two trips that is almost as close as Goodings. It's north about half a mile past Downtown Disney. I can't think of the name of the road. I'll try to look it up when I can get to my Disney stuff. Everyone is sleeping around here!

[AllyandJack]

I bring snacks, too. I don't care about the high prices (I've been known to BEG mousekeeping for more Combos or M&Ms and last time I really enjoyed experimenting with different types of wine other my usual white zinfandel), but I'm not always in the mood for chocolate and chips. Sometimes I want popcorn or ginger snaps and I buy these at Goodings and keep them in the room.

I generally go in July and August and, with the heat, I find that my stomach is not always receptive to the "junk food" that is provided by the mini-bar. I stayed at the Grand Floridian and the Poly and YC and brought my own stuff everytime.

If you're that uncomfortable, just remember: the stuff is in a bag and nobody is going to stop you and ask you to show them what's in the bag before you can slide into the elevator and get up to your room to enjoy your food!

[BCV23]

corvair...sorry it took so long. The Winn-Dixie is on S. Apopka-Vineland Rd. If you're on 535 by Downtown Disney you head north. After a short drive, 535 turns left. Instead of turning left, go straight and the store is on your right. It is set back quite a way. There is also an ABC store right before the Winn-Dixie that has a good selection of wines. I think Goodings has a better selection of good cheeses, prepared meals, etc. but if you're buying chips, cookies and pop, Winn-dixie is fine and cheaper. That store further up by Sand Lake Rd might be an Albertsons or even another Winn-Dixie. I don't like it, however...seems grimy to me. If you're not in rush hour traffic, it's probably 15 minutes from the Poly to WDixie or Goodings if you use the northern roads in WDW.

[Dona Momma]

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments.

I do not know why I let what others think of me matter, but I do.

I will continue with my plan and pack a few snacks for the room.
I just can't see paying those high prices for snack foods. I would rather spend my extra money on other things.

We travel a lot with my DS baseball team and we always bring snacks because the hotel snacks are just too high. Soda is usually around $2.00, etc. We tend to get tired of baseball park food every single day. We always bring the basics.

THANKS!!!!

[dBugged]

We always bring snacks. We usually bring granola bars and other types of snacks into the park to munch on around lunch time. Usually breakfast and dinner are our bigger meals, so the snack thing works out good for us.

[Ricola]

Bring your snacks and don't give it a second thought! :)

[ZeroHero-NS]

Just thought I'd chime in here...

Normally I visit WDW with about 4 or 5 other family members or friends. If we all snacked off of the minibar or at kiosks in the parks and hotels we wouldn't be able to afford to go back!

I rarely eat out at Disney, and know little about Disney World dining. Perhaps I'm missing something "magical" but the way I see it I can buy just as delicious things at Publix then I can at Disney.

We usually stack up on sodas, crackers, (and soda crackers :D ), granola bars, some huge chip bags, and sometimes even cold meats which we can snack on!

Minibar prices are absolutely insane, but I can see how they trick people into using them. Stayed in March at Portofino Bay Hotel (Universal) and found ourselves reaching for some late night snakcs which cost us a small fortune.

Pay attention to kids too :) I can always see my little one eyeing the bars and bags in the fridge, and quickly remind her that we have things just like the fridge does... only cheaper.

[micnminnpooh2]

Both of my boys and my husband like to have a bowl of cereal before bed. I brought with us the gladware bowls. We bought a cooler, cereal, and milk at walmart. It saved us @15.00 a night. The kids said we should do that every time.

[LKS]

We haul all kinds of food into the CR. We will have a big cooler with milk, OJ, lunch meat, mini carrots, ranch dip etc... and a big box with cereal, bowls, cups, spoons, bread, chips and all that. We do breakfast all but one day in the room and most lunches too. We eat when we come back for a swim. For 5 of us, we save a small fortune. Not even the bellman gives that cooler a second look. I do try to pack everything in a way that makes it easy to load on the luggage cart (ie, not in the plastic grocery store bag.)

[Tigger73]

Stayed at Poly last year, on our way from the airport we stopped on a Super WalMart. We picked up snacks, cereal, water, pop and some fruit. In addition, we picked up a styrofoam cooler, around $5.00. We would fill the cooler with ice before we left for the parks and when we returned, never had a problem.

We fiqured we saved around $100 or so, but even more so we saved a lot of time and trouble.

The Super WalMart was excellent, quick service and low prices. Their prices were probably 50% lower than the grocery stores on or near Disney property. Definitly worth the extra half-hour.

[MELSMICE]

Get the snacks & don't worry what anyone else thinks. People that stare or make comments are wishing they had done the same thing.

We stayed at CR in Mar/Apr & had an small portable fridge that we plugged in(my mom & dad met us there & brought theirs) & we also had a toaster oven in our room.

Not only saved money but also time in the morning & it was great for making individual pizzas for lunch or a snack, along with toasted cheese sandwishes.

Do what's best for you. You'll want snacks around anyway just to munch on in the evening or afternoon when you go back to the room.

[kml2000]

Has anyone ever brought a small microwave into the room???? My parents have one from when my dad travelled and he took food with him because he doesn't like to eat out. We are travelling by car so it would be EASY to bring. Very small, compact, mainly for re-heating...popcorn, etc.

What do you think??

[jdads2]

We brought in a few grocery bags of snacks when we stayed at the Poly. We also brought a soft sided cooler so we could have something to fill with ice and store milk and pop.

We ended up not needing the pop, we got plenty with the refillable mugs.

Next trip my parents are driving down and they are stopping at a local store before they enter the world....wait till they see our shopping list:D

[MELSMICE]

jdads2 - we also sent my parents the shopping list & they met us there. Boy, was my dad shocked when he read it. He forgot what it was like to feed growing children!!!! My mom laughed at him. It worked out great though. We didn't have to make that extra stop before checking in at the hotel or go back out to get anything.

kml2000 - I'd give the microwave a try. Like I said, we brought our own small fridge to the room & a toaster oven. No one said anything. The worst thing that could happen is they ask you to put it back in your vehicle.

[mrsltg]

Kml- careful with the microwave... definitely call ahead and make sure that the hotel is wired for such an appliance. Older buildings may not be able to handle the energy that it takes to run even a small microwave. If the hotel says "no prob", I'd definitely do it!

DH and I bought breakfast stuff and snacks at the grocery store and I'm sure it saved us a ton of money! It was just nice to be able to eat a doughnut while getting ready in the morning for another day of being a park commando!

[Vlahakis2001]

We always stay at the GF. They have many snacks, sodas and beverages in the rooms. (Mini-Refrigerator) They also have what they call Re Useable Mugs (featuring a character on each different one) with a mug (cost around $ 11.00) you can go down to the quick food shop called Gasparilla Grill and Games and refill your mug with any beverage and walk out with it for free. I believe the sodas are a dollar. We felt that it was a good deal because we ended up using it more than the $11.00 worth. Plus you can use it again on a future trip. I suggest that you still bring some snacks, as the prices for the snacks can be steep. We have been to the Grand Floridian 7 times in the past 10 years and we love it. I hope you enjoy your trip. :)

[B3LM]

We brought our own snacks last year when we stayed at CR. We picked up breakfast foods, snacks, and bottled water for the week.