Bang for your Buck-snacks and sharables

[mom25kiddos]

We are heading to Disneyland on April 17th and have four days planned. We are a family of 7, with five kids ages 9-18. We are super seasoned at WDW and have been to DL a couple of times, but not recently. Wondering about best snacks/meals that can be shared for a large family? Only one of the five kids is a big eater, the rest are good to share or smaller meals, so wondering what ideas you suggest? Is the refillable popcorn bucket a thing? We bought 2 last time at WDW and used those things endlessly. In previous/pre-COVID travel times we would take lunches in to the park, because we always had a large double stroller. Expecting not to need a stroller this time, so want to only bring a backpack for some snacks and maybe waters. We don't have any TS booked, which is totally fine, so looking at CS and snacks and such. What are your best sharables, or bang for your buck snacks/meals?

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We are also family of 7, ages 5-15! I'm also curious about sharables.

 

[StarlitNight05]

They have whole pizzas at Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta at DCA, and Craftsman Grill at GCH (thinner/smaller and more adult like flavors, but less expensive).

A few (or multiple ) packs of beignets are also great for a crowd. I prefer Jazz Kitchen Express over the Mint Julep ones.

 

[Kit Jackson]

The portions of chicken at Flo's V8 cafe are huge and could easily feed two adults.

 

[StarlitNight05]

The portions of chicken at Flo's V8 cafe are huge and could easily feed two adults.

Oh that's right! And same for the Plaza Inn chicken meal.

 

[Epicnemesis]

Bang for you buck meals are probably going to be plaza inn, French market, and any type of bread bowl (I like pacific wharf for them as they seem to be consistently fresh there, other locations seem to be hit or miss for me). Pyms kitchen pretzels and chocolate bars are also good value on the snackier side of things. You are going to be there for food and wine so you might want to consider a sip and savor pass or two. The light eaters will probably be good with one item. The bigger eaters will probably need 2.

DL doesn’t do popcorn refills. They will occasionally do a refillable bucket for APs for like a month but that’s it.

Also pro tip. If you have a stroller or backpack bring your own water. It adds up if you are buying bottles in the park. You can also just get water cups at quick service places but they are tiny.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Funnel cakes! When Hungry Bear has the churro one available we are so happy.

 

[Epicnemesis]

Funnel cakes! When Hungry Bear has the churro one available we are so happy.

To piggie back off of this, the best funnel cake I’ve ever had is on the hungry bear menu right now. That cookies and cream funnel cake is no joke.

Dethroned the churro as my favorite.

 

[pblack]

Instead of lugging around water bottles or buying them, I'd recommend bringing a reusable water bottle and refilling it at one of the water bottle stations in the parks (there are more in DL than in DCA). I'd also recommend bringing Mio or something similar to add to the water since I'm not a fan of Anaheim water by itself. We will usually buy/bring (depending on if we're flying or driving) water bottles with us for our room and then fill up our reusable bottle with ice and "good" water before heading to the parks.

 

[DizMe]

We find that meals at Rancho del Zocalo are easily sharable in our family. You can add chips and salsa as well.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Ice cream sundaes. I'm not denying that I have eaten a whole one by myself, but nobody should really do that. I particularly like the one at Golden Horseshoe that includes a cookie identical to the chocolate chip Jack Jack cookie in DCA. The cookie is even better with ice cream and that's easily a shareable dessert for two.

 

[evilmommie]

• The pasta and salads at Alien Pizza Planet are shareable. You can also order whole pizzas there as well.
• Quantum pretzel at Pym's Test kitchen is huge and yummy.
• Prepackaged popcorn is fun to share with everyone and comes in all kinds of flavors. I was surprised how good it was the first time I bought it. Can find at all the usual candy places. Candy Palace, Marceline's, Bing Bong's, Trolley Treats.
• Kat Saka's kettle corn is delish! Love the chocolate kettle corn sprinkled with red salt. In GE.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

Second the pretzel at Pym’s and the candy bar. Both huge and fun and yummy!

 

[PirateBrigade]

Craftsman Grill at GCH has this gigantic pot of nachos that will feed, like, 4 adults. It's huge, by Disney/park standards (great location, too!)

 

[mom25kiddos]

Awesome suggestions, thank you! Feel free to add any spots outside of the parks-we have a car. Going to print this list off!

 

[pblack]

Awesome suggestions, thank you! Feel free to add any spots outside of the parks-we have a car. Going to print this list off!

One of my favorite SoCal spots that we hit up whenever we're down there is Roasting Water (they have numerous locations, closest one to DL is about 10ish minutes away). They have amazing coffee, iced teas, and smoothies. Plus they come in really cute reusable bottles and they're decently priced. They only offer the one size, but an iced mocha will set you back $4 plus you get to keep the bottle. Highly recommend if you or your family are coffee drinkers. They definitely have something for everyone.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

Instead of lugging around water bottles or buying them, I'd recommend bringing a reusable water bottle and refilling it at one of the water bottle stations in the parks (there are more in DL than in DCA). I'd also recommend bringing Mio or something similar to add to the water since I'm not a fan of Anaheim water by itself. We will usually buy/bring (depending on if we're flying or driving) water bottles with us for our room and then fill up our reusable bottle with ice and "good" water before heading to the parks.

I was just going to say this! We have a stroller with DD's old bottle bag and bring in Dr. Pepper (a daily essential for me) and a couple water bottles. We refill at the water stations but then will only drink that water by using Crystal Light To-Go packs since Anaheim water tastes funny to us. We always take a mid-day break and stock up on new water bottles before we head back to the park.

I agree with splitting meals from Plaza Inn and Pym's. At Pym's we split a pretzel and 2 chicken sandwiches with an extra side of tots for 5 of us. We also really like Napolini in DTD for quick, really good pizza. My younger kids always split a pizza. As for treats, beignets from the Jazz Kitchen are delicious, economical and really fill you up.

 

[Pluto468]

Pym's at DCA has some pretty big food, like the pretzels, candy bars and chicken sandwich. Rancho del Zocalo has big portions.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I will 3rd that Anaheim water is nasty.