food savings?

[DNSDisney]

Any ideas on how to save on cost of food while at the world?
Thanks
Sharon

 

[tink2dw]

These are some of the favorite ways to cut those food costs.

Eat breakfast in your room with items bought at a near by market!!
Breakfast bars
bagels and creme cheese
Cearel and milk
fruit

Share counter meals[meals at wdw tend to be on the big side]with serve your self condiment bars. Like Peco's Bill's.
Buy a Double cheese burger minus the fries $1.00 cheaper split it with 1 meat patty and 1/2 a bun each then make a salad from the condiments,lettuce,tomatoe and so on.

Take your own snacks and a juice box to the park in fanny packs.

Buy water offsite, WDW sells an 8oz bottle for $2.50. That will buy 6 24 oz bottles at walmart!!

 

[tax58]

We eat breakfast in the room, we carry water into the parks and we usually eat lunch rather than dinner in the park. Lunch is cheaper and still big portions.

 

[DNSDisney]

Has anyone ever used one of those electric coolers in there room and if so what temp do they keep food at? I mean would mayo go bad in a week in one?
Thanks,
Sharon

 

[Pink Flamingo]

Has anyone ever used one of those electric coolers in there room and if so what temp do they keep food at? I mean would mayo go bad in a week in one?

We take a collapsable or styrofoam cooler, fill it with ice from the ice machine at the resort, & we've never had any problems with food or milk spoiling. One tip if you do this ~ you might want to take large ziplock bags to put the ice in, as the water from melted ice tends to leak out of some collapsable coolers. Or you could just sit the cooler in the tub before you go out to the parks each morning.

We also usually buy a refillable mug at the resort & get our fill of soda there. We take our own water bottles into the parks & just have water with our meals there.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

Lots of great idea so far! Last time we went we brought snacks and ate breakfast in our room. You can also refill a water bottle at the water fountains as needed.

In Epcot try eating at Electric Umbrella, Innovations East or Liberty Inn. They have good prices and you can check menus at AllEarsNet. They offer a cheeseburger & fries for $5.59 and a kids meal for $3.49.

Eat 2 meals a day instead of 3. Maybe eat a late breakfast/early lunch around 11 then have a slightly early dinner at 4. Of course, bring your snacks to munch on in between ;-) This would also have you eating at less busy times.

Looking forward to reading other tips!

 

[wtg2000]

I stayed at WL last week. A banana at Roaring Forks was $1.09. At the shop it was $.40. A single-serving box of cereal at RF was $1.60ish. At the shop you could get a package of 10 that worked out to about 60 cents each. We just bought the milk at RF and had a relatively cheap breakfast.

Also, share entrees. We ate at D-MGM's Rosie's. We ordered one order of chicken strips and fries and a salad. There are 3 large chicken strips - we had one each. It was enough.

At AK's Flame Tree we ordered 2 entrees for 3 people and split. The portions at WDW are so big you can save a lot of money this way.

At sit-downs, share appretizers and desserts, and drink tap water. It can really cut down on the bill.

 

[singitalto]

I have an electric cooler and we used it last Sept when we went to WDW. It kept things cold-We used it for milk and stuff, your mayo should be fine. If your a little worried, just put the ice bucket into the cooler and put the mayo in that. It will keep the mayo real cold!! I just love my electric cooler.

 

[Mom+4]

Before our first family trip to WDW, someone on these boards suggested that you try to figure a food budget by looking at menus/prices on WDWIG or other websites, and then put the $$ for each day in an envelope. When leaving for the parks each morning take ONLY the envelope for that day. That way you control what you have available, and don't spurge just because you have money in your pocket. We have done this on 2 trips, and had money left over each time. I take any remaining $$ from one day and put it in my extra envelope, then use all the "left over" money on the last day for something special. On each trip we have had "extra" enough money for an additional character meal on the last day.

Another suggestion is to really take the time to study the menus/prices on WDWIG.com and make a list of restaurants in each park that you deem "reasonable" and what they offer, including prices. Then take the list for the appropriate park when heading out in the morning. That way, at lunch or dinner time, you have an idea of where to eat, and are not tempted to just walk in to the nearest place, which may not be good for your budget. These two strategies have allowed us to spend $100 per day or less on food for our family of 5.

Good luck to you.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

One other thing I have not seen posted is to buy snacks, with in the parks, at gift shops. In most gift shops, behind the check out area, there are some simple snacks. Pretzels shaped like Mickey, graham crackers, packs of character cookies, all for about a dollar. Perfect if you or your child need a snack. Not as cheap as carrying your own but we like to travel light and only have one child so this works well for us. We also almost always split a large drink three ways instead of three smaller ones. Almost as much drink and much cheaper.


jordan's mom

 

[Cindy B]

Back in August we had a $50 per FAMILY pe budget for food, per day, and we had over $150 leftover after our 2 week stay...


Money saving tips (besides the obvious)


1) Bring your local restaurant coupons to WDW.. I was able to use a Pizzeria Uno/ AND a Friendly's coupon very easily.


2) Off site, offsite, offsite.


3) Be willing to try something new, and it may be great.. We had wonderful less expensive tabouli wraps which were being sold at a food court onsite.. they were fabulous and less money!


4)Our room had a microwave (offsite), and it was a godsend. We used it for reheating Lean Pockets/HOt Pockets., microwaving entrees, and a host of other things.

 

[626]

Originally posted by Mom+4
Before our first family trip to WDW, someone on these boards suggested that you try to figure a food budget by looking at menus/prices on WDWIG or other websites, and then put the $$ for each day in an envelope. When leaving for the parks each morning take ONLY the envelope for that day. That way you control what you have available, and don't spurge just because you have money in your pocket. We have done this on 2 trips, and had money left over each time. I take any remaining $$ from one day and put it in my extra envelope, then use all the "left over" money on the last day for something special. On each trip we have had "extra" enough money for an additional character meal on the last day.

I always do this and it really works great, although I usually take the extra money at the end of each day and divide it evenly into the rest of the days. Also, if you do this, don't carry a credit card. It just gets too tempting to use it. Give your card to someone else you trust to carry (Just in case of an emergency) By doing this, you don't have to worry about running out of money with 2 days left at the park (Which I did once )

 

[DNSDisney]

Thanks for all the replies! We really need to buckle down on the $$ this trip and I am looking to save any dollar I can.

We have always used the money per day route and that has proven to be a great method of budgeting inside the world. We are just going with an extra person this time so I am concerned.
It is my niece who has to eat every meal because she is hypoglycemic. WE usually eat breakfast a snack and a late lunch then snack a bit at night but I have to make sure she has enought to eat this trip . 3 ssquare meals a day.
Any more tips ??? keep them coming

 

[wtg2000]

A specific tip if you like Japanese food. While the Teppanyaki is wonderful, if you're looking for a cheaper alternative, try the Tempura Kiku. This is in the main building right next to the restaurant. It's a horseshoe-type setting that you sit around, with the chefs in the middle. You get a waitress. It's fun and quite a bit cheaper than the main dining room - and it's filling. They servec mainly tempura and sushi. They don't take PS. It's a step up from the fast food place and gives you the feeling of a sit down meal for less cash. So if someone wants Japanese food and the budget is running low, give this a try.

 

[GlennandAnn]

You can order kid's meals! They are about the same size portions as the regular meals, but with a smaller drink. This won't work if you're a big eater, but if your appetite is not too large, this can save a lot of money.

Ann

 

[Tiiiigergirl]

For the niece who is hypoglycemic I recommend taking packets of peanuts or cheese and crackers. Even though you think you will stay on a dining routine, this ride line or that parade can play havoc with your schedule. That way she has some protein to level out sugar levels if the next meal just isn't soon enough.