Best way to save on food?

[verlee]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Lots of good ones!

 

[hgoff79]

Just a few ideas:
*Order two turkey legs for $12 (or even one, those things are ridiculously huge for $6)
*Bring a crockpot and freezer meals for the resort, or lentils and canned veg
*Buy pastries/bagels at your resort or in the park the night before. We used snack credits to buy three pastries/bagels and the five of us split them for breakfast. The cherry turnover at Main St. bakery is plenty big for two people, and a school bread from Epcot is a totally delish breakfast for $2 each.
*We agree that Cosmic Ray's portions are really large (especially the 1/2 chicken)

 

[dalt01]

*Bring a crockpot and freezer meals for the resort, or lentils and canned veg

what the heck dont forget the george foreman.

 

[lbdpw1285]

eat/split breakfasts or lunches. carry a snack to eat at dinner when prices are highest. most lunch and dinner menus are fairly similar. why pay dinner $

 

[mom22bless]

what the heck dont forget the george foreman. you have got to be kidding. if i were in my room at riverside and smelled a pot of vegetable soup or sauerkrout and pork from the next room i would be on the phone to the front desk so fast..... i mean..... i dont even think they allow such things. letting a crockpot cook all day while you are at the park.............get real.

 

[hgoff79]

Hope you're not in the room next to us, then! We stay at moderates...

Actually, we do the deluxe dining plan, but from what I've read on here, it's relatively common to bring a slow cooker. If you haven't ever used one (and that wouldn't surprise me in the least) you might be surprised to know that the plug fits into a normal outlet-gasp.

And for the record, some people have severe dietary restrictions due to allergies, lifestyle choices, etc. Should they just not be allowed to come to WDW? Because I'd have no problem bringing my $400 blender and making green smoothies and whipping up some raw vegan food for the family. Or wait, would that be allowed in your world because it's a high-end top of the line appliance? You get real.

 

[mommyof3rookies]

I'm bringing my crockpot (we're staying off site in a condo with a FULL kitchen). If I had a George Foreman I'd be bringing that too, and I am bringing my margarita machine, LOL!!! I am not a huge fan of park food. I would rather throw something I know we'll like in the crockpot for dinner than spend money on food we don't care for. We're also eating breakfast before we go. For lunch we're doing some character dining, more for the experience than the food.

 

[samefay]

but was wondering if the poster below the post about the crockpot was concerned about fire codes more than anything. Usually items like hot plates and crockpots are not allowed in hotel rooms.

 

[Pumbaa_]

ok, please be nice to each other

thank you,

 

[BriarRosie]

Thanks, we will! Are the kids portions bigger then where you would find elsewhere? $4.50 sounds reasonable.
We have ressies. at Boma and plan a night at T-Rex. We couldn't go and not have a few exciting dinners. We just don't want to make food a big expense.

I think it is interesting that so many think being budget conscious means not being able to afford to go. I just have different priorities.

Thanks again!

I strongly urge you to reconsider T-Rex, if only for the reason that I've heard more than once that you're getting overpriced food (even by Disney standards!) for mediocre food, in a LOUD setting. I heard about it first on the DIS Unplugged podcast, but a friend of mine recently confirmed the same situation when he went there. (I tend to skip Rainforest Cafe and Planet Hollywood, too.)

There are so many other good places to have dinner. I think a reasonably priced dinner (by Disney standards) is Kona Cafe at the Polynesian resort. You will more than likely spend less there than at T-Rex, and you'll probably have a better experience.

Of course, you could ignore my words of caution and eat at T-Rex. If you do, I'd want to know if you should have heeded the warning.

 

[SunnieRN]

My favorite ways to save money on food costs are:
to bring drink packets and ask for ice water at the cs locations.
Start with one meal and split it. Then if we are still hungry we buy more.
We particularly enjoyed cosmic rays, earl of sandwhich, sunshine seasons and pizza-fari as for three of us we got one pizza and breadsticks!
A lot of the resorts have flatbreads and calzones big enough to share.
We brought LOTS of snacks from home! We ended up bringing a lot back home. It was too hot to eat much.
This time we will be on the dining plan and will probably use one credit for breakfast and one for lunch most days as the meals are too big to get one each. We will probably use our dessert as a snack if we get our own meal.
Either way have a wonderful vacation!
Oh, a great snack is to share an ice cream cookie sandwhich from the main street bakery. They are huge!

 

[snookiedoodles]

Lots of great ideas....

We have brought our own breakfast, I pack high dense cereal, like granola, some of that milk that does not need refrig - Parmalot, and some throw away bowls and spoons.

We eat breakfast in the room, we are full, and off we go.

Also, you may want to have kids meals. I do this at home so that I don't OVERSIZE ME!!

Sometimes, I just don't want to eat out, I like to eat something that I know from home.

Just my 2 cents!

You can also have grocerys delivered to your room. I have read about this in other discussions!

 

[verlee]

You crack me up! I love your replys

 

[verlee]

I strongly urge you to reconsider T-Rex, if only for the reason that I've heard more than once that you're getting overpriced food (even by Disney standards!) for mediocre food, in a LOUD setting. I heard about it first on the DIS Unplugged podcast, but a friend of mine recently confirmed the same situation when he went there. (I tend to skip Rainforest Cafe and Planet Hollywood, too.)

There are so many other good places to have dinner. I think a reasonably priced dinner (by Disney standards) is Kona Cafe at the Polynesian resort. You will more than likely spend less there than at T-Rex, and you'll probably have a better experience.

Of course, you could ignore my words of caution and eat at T-Rex. If you do, I'd want to know if you should have heeded the warning.

Thank you that is good to know.

 

[Tiger926]

I'm late to the party here, but I see a lot of snack choices in people's suggestions to the OP to save money, and this to us is a waste of money. I'm not sure how spending $3 or $4 on a small croissant or churros is a good usage of the food budget. A $1 apple or banana would be cheaper, and fill someone up more, IMHO. Disney food is expensive, but we prefer spending it on food, and not wasted snacks. I understand that snacks will be cheaper than a meal, but not necessarily as they don't fill up, and then people are going to be looking for more food, when they could have bought a sandwich to begin with.

I think the best way for OP to save money on WDW food is to share CS meals, do not eat TS, eat off site, eat breakfast in room, and bring all snacks into parks (crackers, water, fruit).

By the way, crockpots and grills are not allowed in rooms except our DVC villas due to fire regulations. Guests should definitely not be bringing these appliances into value, moderate or deluxe rooms.

Good luck OP on your travels - we have spent literally thousands upon thousands of dollars on WDW food, and we ourselves are becoming more budget conscious as well, as WDW food is getting more expensive, service is suffering and subpar food has become the norm.

Tiger

 

[Mad4Dizne]

I give them a high five for doing so. My frugal nature would be fine with bringing in food and getting a few snacks (rest of family not so much).

 

[chicagoshannon]

When I was a kid we'd always bring our food into the park. We'd either bring sandwiches we made along with some fruit and chips or we'd stop at subway the night before and order a couple of foot long subs with no mayo. We'd cut each sub into 4 sections and usually have enough for lunch and dinner. We had 4 adults and 2 kids and 3 subs would be enough usually for 2 meals. We'd then use the condiment packets from the parks or bring our own. We'd usually get the giant mug from the parks that you could refill for $2 and share it throughout the day. (not sure if they still have this or not)

We did occasionally also eat at Pecos Bill and Sunshine seasons in epcot.

 

[phlufster]

We always go right to the grocery store on our way from the airport to the resort. We stock up on granola bars and other easy snacks that can go into the backpack. I get a box of ziplock baggies and buy the big boxes of crackers and cookies so I can make my own snack size portions. I get the fruits and applesauces that don't need to be refrigerated as well. We also get a loaf of bread and peanut butter.

In the morning we run down to the food court for a drink (we love the refillable mug) and we have peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast. Then we have packed snacks throughout the day.

Lunch is usually a meal split between us because most are enough to share. For dinner we "splurge" and usually do a TS getting our own meals, but many times have split a CS again.

We don't worry about $$ I just have a hard time paying $30 for a crappy lunch. I would rather skimp on lunch and enjoy a nice ribeye or filet for dinner. I like to spend my money where I feel it is worth it.

 

[tam626]

We stay in the cabins & order from garden grocer. We eat breakfast there & we did lunch last time there but I think this time we will do lunch at the parks & dinner at the cabin. Check out the menus ahead of time to get an idea how much you'll spend.

 

[Rylee]

Hi,

• Bring a cooler, rather than pay to rent a fridge. Just fill with ice before leaving each day, and again when you return.
  
• Bring breakfast and snack items from home... granola bars, pop-tarts, fruit snacks, cereal, bread, peanut butter, juice, etc. If driving, stop and pick-up fresh fruit.
  
• Lunch is cheaper than dinner... make lunch your big meal of the day.
  
• At Counter Service locations, split and share meals, try ordering 1 combo meal including salad and/or fries, plus order another sandwich or 2. If it includes dessert, save, if possible, for a snack later in the day. Or order the children's meals.
  
• Carry water bottles and refill bottles as needed.