Anyone a lunch packer?

[gibsontrio]

Hello! My family are not big eaters, so we don't do the DDP. We also don't like to stop much to eat. We do have Ohana and BOG booked, but otherwise we are packing lunch and snacks. I have a car booked to take us to either Walmart or Publix when we arrive. Are there any others who bring lunch/dinner to the parks ? Obviously buying water, granola, breakfast items, bread/PBJ , and a few of those on the go chicken salad/cracker boxes. Anyone else pack lunch ? What are your go to food items?

PSA: We are staying at CBR , so we are on site. We'll just have that small fridge and thats it .

 

[bababear_50]

A few of my favorites

:Mini naan bread circles
:croissants/bagels/melba toast
:Humus
:fruit cups/fruit kabobs
:cheese chunks
: pretzels
:spinach dip
: cut up veggies (peppers/carrots/celery/broccoli etc.).
: Kielbasa stick
: greek yogurt
I always pack medium sized baggies.


Hugs Mel

My favorite salad,,although I am not sure if you have a kitchen to make this.
Kraft italian dressing pasta salad
What You Need

• 3 cups cooked, drained rotini pasta, (1 1/2 cups/375 mL dry)
• 1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing.
• 1 cup Kraft 100% Parmesan Grated Cheese.
• 1 each: red, yellow and green pepper, chopped.
• 1/2 cup each pitted black olives and slivered red onion.

 

[kymom99]

Buy a styrofoam cooler

 

[Louie7080]

In addition to above, we bring in raisins, other dried fruit such as mango and dates, hard boiled eggs for breakfast while waiting to get the park or standing in some other early morning line, and deli style turkey slices. The Walmarts I have been in sell hard boiled eggs.

 

[Darcy03231]

Unless you're bringing a cooler to the parks with you I would stick to stuff that holds up well in a backpack and in the heat. Some things that come to mind are:

Jerky
Nuts
String Cheese
Fruit
Cereal bars
Granola Bars
Cut up raw veggies
Pringles/potato sticks
Fruit cups
Fruit snacks/roll-ups

Basically, stuff that won't get crushed easily. My mom had peanut butter crackers in her bag once and they were peanut butter bread crumbs when she went to pull them out.

 

[pjlla]

Look for stuff that is shelf stable so you don't have to worry about packing ice or keeping things cool..... I've found shelf stable hummus snack packs (with crackers), shelf stable meat products (kind of like Slim Jim, but not so gross and salty), those chicken salad kits you were mentioning, fruit that won't smoosh easily (and/or squeezie fruit packs), and of course, all of the other things that were mentioned here. Don't worry at all about carrying water.... any stand that sells fountain soda will give you a cup (or multiple cups) of filtered ice water for free.... and it tastes FINE! Enjoy your trip!........P

 

[Klayfish]

We bring all of our own food into the parks, lunch, dinner, etc... Easy things are pb&j, packaged snacks, etc.... you'll want/need a cooler if you're going to bring anything perishable in. We've got a gigantic one, but you won't have the resources to do that since you're onsite. No need to pack water, you can get free ice water at any QS.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I'm a meal packer/room eater for all my trips, Disney or otherwise...to make travel affordable, we tend to eat out only 1-1.5/times per day of our trip, so bringing meals (and planning hotel meals) is a requirement.

I have a nice soft sided Eagles cooler bag, like this one...https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/st...c7AYIY86527xhYEH6P6KidIEHCJVcWihoCJU4QAvD_BwE

So, anything we don't want crushed or needs to stay cold goes in that bag, while my spouse will have a non-insulated back pack (usually to lug water/juice...aka the heavy, not squishing stuff)...

Usually I shop on site...but we are doing Niagara Falls and driving, so I'm bringing food. Breakfast is free every day at our hotel, so I'm planning light lunch (since it should be a big breakfast), drinks, and "dessert" for the room. I've already found some stupid cheap Amazon single serve snack deals (chips/cookies) that I'm taking with me, plus a big jug of Goldfish. I also found Horizon chocolate milk and regular milk at my store for stupid-cheap a few weeks ago. Before we leave, I'll be adding squeezable yogurt (shelf-stable), squeezable apple sauce, 2 loaves of bread, Nutella, PB, honey, bananas, clementines (or pears - whatever is cheaper), shelf-stable salami and pepperoni (at Aldi's - for my spouse), shelf-stable ready to eat quinoa veg bowls (at Aldi's - these are for me - kids are doing the nut butter/fruit sandwiches), Capri sun roaring waters, bottled water, soda, paper plates, ziplocs, flushable wipes (good for every clean up), and a box of plastic silverware. We'll take drinks and lunch on the go as we're exploring and have dessert in the room before bed. Dinners are planned (and mostly paid for)...

 

[tvguy]

To be honest, I can't imagine lugging lunch and snacks around the parks. We like to travel light. We just budget to eat in the parks.

 

[Klayfish]

To be honest, I can't imagine lugging lunch and snacks around the parks. We like to travel light. We just budget to eat in the parks.

We don't. We leave it in stroller parking and go enjoy our day, then come back when we're ready to eat.

I'm just a cheapskate. I can't even fathom the concept of paying $50-$100/person/day or more just to eat. For my family, that would be $250-$500/day. Crazy.

 

[tvguy]

We don't. We leave it in stroller parking and go enjoy our day, then come back when we're ready to eat.

I'm just a cheapskate. I can't even fathom the concept of paying $50-$100/person/day or more just to eat. For my family, that would be $250-$500/day. Crazy.

Yup, DW and I dropped $250 for dinner (with tip) for just the two of us last year at Le Cellier for our 35th wedding anniversary. But that was the only meal we had all day. Had some ice cream and beverages so maybe another $30 total. But it's Disney, it costs money. And while we are considered Disney addicts by our friends because we try to go every 2 or 3 years, I know there are folks here who don't even live close to the parks and go 3 or 4 times a year, and that can add up.

 

[hertamaniac]

Hello! My family are not big eaters, so we don't do the DDP. We also don't like to stop much to eat. We do have Ohana and BOG booked, but otherwise we are packing lunch and snacks. I have a car booked to take us to either Walmart or Publix when we arrive. Are there any others who bring lunch/dinner to the parks ? Obviously buying water, granola, breakfast items, bread/PBJ , and a few of those on the go chicken salad/cracker boxes. Anyone else pack lunch ? What are your go to food items?

PSA: We are staying at CBR , so we are on site. We'll just have that small fridge and thats it .

Almonds, protein bars (non melting) and tortilla chips. You can also bring a water bottle (larger size) and refill. But, I believe you can get water at no charge at QS locations.

 

[Simba07]

We have a cooler backpack. Cold drinks at the bottom. Items needing to be cool next. Chips and the like on top. Mostly PB&J, fruits, and snack food items. By bringing lunch we can justify a TS dinner every night and a treat each day.

 

[kymom99]

Not trying to point out something too obvious, but if you use plastic storage containers, nothing gets squished. You can give each family member their own container and tell them to put whatever they want to eat in it. They should stack in a backpack or soft cooler nicely. When my son volunteered for the SCA they gave us a list of things to pack. A plastic storage container was on the list and he used it every day to pack his lunch for when they were at the work site. They also used tortillas to make wraps rather than bread because they hold up better.

 

[gibsontrio]

Not obvious at all ! I'll probably buy sandwich containers from the dollar tree then chuck them after our trip . This is the FIRST no stroller trip as I have 2 teens and one able bodied 7 year old, so everyone will carry their own lunch ( maybe not the 7 year old, she's not to bet trusted) I'd rather snack while waiting in line then sit and blow $300 .

 

[kymom99]

Not obvious at all ! I'll probably buy sandwich containers from the dollar tree then chuck them after our trip . This is the FIRST no stroller trip as I have 2 teens and one able bodied 7 year old, so everyone will carry their own lunch ( maybe not the 7 year old, she's not to bet trusted) I'd rather snack while waiting in line then sit and blow $300 .

It also helps because people get hungry at different times. You know kids can get real grumpy if they get hungry or thirsty. By the time everyone decides where to eat and you wait in line, full on melt downs can occur. This way everyone can regulate their own blood sugar.

 

[Toolulu22]

To be honest, I can't imagine lugging lunch and snacks around the parks. We like to travel light. We just budget to eat in the parks.

We opt to stay in a Villa, with a Kitchen. Reason is more about the food options available. We make breakfast everyday and have beer, wine, drinks cool and ready in the refrigerator. We'll typically have reservations for one meal per day, but that's it. My stomach couldn't handle eating 2 or 3 meals out every day for a week or two.

 

[loblolly]

We're usually fine with eating a big enough breakfast to last us to dinner, and packing snacks/water in a backpack for the day. I don't like carrying a lot of stuff, so I'm not packing a full lunch for everyone. We fit what we can in a backpack after a liter of water, or two, have been put in it, we take turns carrying the backpack, and by the end of the night it's considerably less heavy. We got the DDP on one visit, and by the end of the trip we were cashing in on unused snack credits, and I'm fairly sure my younger son didn't use all of his meal credits. We do buy some snacks at the park, and sometimes stop at a quick service place for dinner. I mean, we stay on property, so we're eating most of our meals for the week on property. It's just that we're not the family who goes to character meals or cares about having any sort of dining "experience" while there. We're the family thats there for the attractions. I love the parades and fireworks because it means that there will be shorter wait times for the RIDES And, I don't want to meet any of the characters, as long as I get to see some while walking around I'm happy.

 

[tvguy]

We opt to stay in a Villa, with a Kitchen. Reason is more about the food options available. We make breakfast everyday and have beer, wine, drinks cool and ready in the refrigerator. We'll typically have reservations for one meal per day, but that's it. My stomach couldn't handle eating 2 or 3 meals out every day for a week or two.

That's cool. But like I said, lugging stuff to the park would not be my cup of tea.

 

[Toolulu22]

That's cool. But like I said, lugging stuff to the park would not be my cup of tea.

Yea, I don't like to carry stuff around all day either.