Cost effective dining tricks

[Jmljasmine]

I'm looking for tricks to not have to pack all our food but also enjoy some vacation food on our next trip. We had previously had 1-2 sit downs a day, a counter service or so and an occasional snack. To feed my crew though of 18mo, 3yo, 5yo, 7yo and DH and myself, we need a new plan. We can't spend what we use to due to hotel and ticket costs way higher for us but don't want to pack/make everything. I've also heard portions are down so that messes with plans since we have always shared in the past. Any tricks? At the moment we may try for 3 table service for the whole trip total, otherwise QS, snacks, and our own food will the the options.

 

[mamamia2005]

You can get free cups of iced water at all QS locations. In the UK we have little bottles of Robinsons squashed ( or supermarket equivalent) that flavour the water, so we bring a few of those over with us. Not sure if they have anything like that where you are.
We have taken to doing a Walmart shop on our first day for bottles of water and soda ( diet Pepsi is my poison of choice lol!) and take a few of each to the parks each day. That saved us loads of money.
Probably 2 or even 3 of your children could share an adult QS meal. You and your DH could eat a kids QS meal each and maybe get an extra side of fries to stretch it a bit further. The "extras" you get with the kids QS meals such as drinks, bags of fruit etc could be shared by the children.
Epcot often has festivals on, and some of the booths have some good value items. We like watching Vlogs such as all ears to get an idea and a list together of what we'll want to try.

 

[Disneylover99]

Bring a pack of fresh dinner rolls or some wraps with you.

Every-time we eat at the Polite Pig or a quick service that serves up meat, I always think man, I could make 4 or 5 sandwiches out of this. I wish I had some bread. Lol

 

[serenitynow]

Consider using Doordash, Uber Eats or Grubhub for delivery from area fast food and quick service restaurants.

 

[Belle1962]

1. Popcorn can stretch. Fills you up. Get the refillable buckets. 2. You don’t have to go to Walmart you can use their delivery service. Buy items to have breakfast in your room. 3. Buy snacks for in the park. 4. Go with your sharing ideas and buy ziploc and a small cooler so you can take anything left over with you.

 

[loves to dive]

I don't really do Disney on a budget but I can address the meal sizes. I've been 3 times in 2022 and I have not noticed the portions being any smaller. So, if you shared before you should certainly be able to share now. Personally, the adult QS meals are too large for me so I always buy a kids meal. Even those tend to be too large for me so I usually put the fruit in my bag for a snack later. I always get the free water since I don't drink soft drinks anyway so that does save. We rarely snack between meals, we do use snacks as our meals often but the rare occasions we do, we find the popcorn a real good cost savings. When my son was younger, we did bring breakfast items with us and ate in the room but I did not pack a lunch.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

I don't know where you are staying but at the value resorts food courts (could be at other resorts too?) they sell a pizza meal of a large pizza, 8 slices, a salad and breadsticks for $30.00. It is enough for 4 adults so it would probably feed the whole family. Also, at Fort Wilderness at P & J Southern Takeout they sell family meals of fried chicken and ribs with sides for around $25.00. It is the same food sold at Trails End Buffet. If you have purchased the drink mug they have soda machines there as well to fill up. We love sitting outside at their tables and having a picnic. It is a short boat ride from Magic Kingdom and even has a playground for the kids. I don't think a family can eat for less at Disney than these two examples.

 

[Jmljasmine]

I don't know where you are staying but at the value resorts food courts (could be at other resorts too?) they sell a pizza meal of a large pizza, 8 slices, a salad and breadsticks for $30.00. It is enough for 4 adults so it would probably feed the whole family. Also, at Fort Wilderness at P & J Southern Takeout they sell family meals of fried chicken and ribs with sides for around $25.00. It is the same food sold at Trails End Buffet. If you have purchased the drink mug they have soda machines there as well to fill up. We love sitting outside at their tables and having a picnic. It is a short boat ride from Magic Kingdom and even has a playground for the kids. I don't think a family can eat for less at Disney than these two examples.

These are still the prices? That's great! Something similar here would cost double that. (And we've pretty much slashed eating out at home because of it. )I love the idea of a picnic at fort wilderness. I think we will definitely do that for an early dinner after break before heading back to MK for the afternoon.

 

[isabellea]

At the Dolphin on the boardwalk, I saw that the Picabu restaurant offers a family meal (whole chicken with 3 sides of your choice) for 28$.

Our plan to save money on food is to eat our breakfasts in the room. We drive so we bring our electrical kettle and disposable bowls/spoons and have a filling oatmeal with fruits before heading to the parks. We also bring water and snacks such as Kind bars and nuts.

 

[Richie248]

Our plan to save money on food is to eat our breakfasts in the room.

Same! I pack a toaster and have breakfast in the room most every morning. Mostly due to the fact that I'm an early bird and like to get my morning workout in before the parks....plus lot's of locations don't open early enough for me to get anything (as I like to rope drop). I use the in-room Keurig for hot water so I'm able to make oatmeal. I also pack noodle cups in case I want a late night bite if I get back to the room late.

 

[DISNEY1975]

We go to the local Winn Dixie before checking in. We get a couple cases of water and snacks. I suppose you could also get breakfast items..cereal/milk, muffins, fruit, juices, granola bars etc..

You can also order pizza to your room from local pizzarias. You can eat by the pool. (Or go to Via Napoli for a TS and share their large pizza. Kids will enjoy eating out and its cost efficient)

If you dont have access to a car, Garden Grocers will deliver. I havent looked at Instacart or Shipt, but they may too.

 

[Richie248]

You can also order pizza to your room from local pizzarias.

For some reason never thought to order pizza from a local establishment! Any recos?

 

[CdnDrake]

I'm looking for tricks to not have to pack all our food but also enjoy some vacation food on our next trip. We had previously had 1-2 sit downs a day, a counter service or so and an occasional snack. To feed my crew though of 18mo, 3yo, 5yo, 7yo and DH and myself, we need a new plan. We can't spend what we use to due to hotel and ticket costs way higher for us but don't want to pack/make everything. I've also heard portions are down so that messes with plans since we have always shared in the past. Any tricks? At the moment we may try for 3 table service for the whole trip total, otherwise QS, snacks, and our own food will the the options.

I have found the meal that irks me the most (cost over value wise) is breakfast. Plus with kiddies and wanting to rope drop, those morning minutes go fast. I always arrived with the cheapest kettle I could buy and a couple dozen instant oatmeal packets and yogurt tubes. $40 total and breakfast for 5 people was settled for a 6 day trip. I could get one kid ready while another sits in bed and eats. When we went home, I just left the kettle in the room if I needed the room for souvenirs. Saved a tonne of money and TIME. Now that kids r grown and it’s just hubby and I, we still do the same. Something warm in the room to start the day and a coffee once we hit the parks. Much more relaxing. My other suggestion would be instead of having a nice restaurant sit down meal for dinner, do it at lunch and just quick service your dinner. The bonus for this strategy is that in addition to being less money, it will provide a nice extended sit down break in the middle of the day.
If you are in a room with a microwave, bring your own popcorn for an evening snack. Remember whatever you bring… is only going the one way.

 

[ChanaC]

Avoid the Food and Wine booths, or whatever festival Epcot is doing. Yes, they are a lot of fun, but I find for most items the prices and portion sizes usually don't match up and they're not a great value. For the price of two little snacks you can usually get a larger quick service meal. This is especially true for alcohol, some of the wine pours at the booth are really small.

Like others said, either pack and bring or order some basic breakfast items and snacks. Stuff like trail mix and granola bars are great to throw into your bag and snack on during the day. Uncrustables also make a good snack or meal for your younger kids. Just maybe be careful of eating something with nuts in a crowded place like a queue line, just to not set off anyone's allergies.

We just stayed in All-Star Music and were surprised that there was a coffee maker in the room with free coffee and tea. Housekeeping even gave us new packets each day. Might not be the best stuff but it can also save you some money to make it in your room, and if it was available in All-Star I'm sure it's available at all the Disney resorts. Also, there was a small drink fridge which you can keep a few things in, although they usually don't get as cold as a regular fridge.

I haven't tested this out, but I heard in the bakery in the France pavilion they sell baguettes pretty cheaply. Buy one of those with some butter and maybe jam and you have a fun snack option.

And double check any local pizzerias and restaurants before ordering! There was a scam going around a couple of years ago where people would leave fake flyers around the resorts (some at Disney, but mostly at the neighboring hotels off property). People would call, place an order, and give their credit card info but the place never really existed, or they used a fake phone number, and people ended up with no pizza but with a stolen credit card number. Double check all places on Yelp, make sure they have some legit reviews, and get the phone number directly from their websites. I usually don't like ordering from sites like GrubHub (they take large percentages of the bill from the restaurants) but at least you can see the reviews and know that you're ordering from a real place.

 

[Jennasis]

For some reason never thought to order pizza from a local establishment! Any recos?

Giordano is our favorite. It's deep dish Chicago style pizza.

 

[DISNEY1975]

For some reason never thought to order pizza from a local establishment! Any recos?

I do not. Its been a while and I dont remember the name of the place we ordered from....nor do I know if they survived Covid Definitely dont order from the places that push flyers under your resort room door. They are way more expensive than a local Mom and Pop, or even Pizza Hut!!!

 

[Debbie Jean]

For some reason never thought to order pizza from a local establishment! Any recos?

Flippers.

 

[jo-jo]

These are still the prices? That's great! Something similar here would cost double that. (And we've pretty much slashed eating out at home because of it. )I love the idea of a picnic at fort wilderness. I think we will definitely do that for an early dinner after break before heading back to MK for the afternoon.

We got the 8 piece chicken dinner from P&J last week. It was $23 something plus tax.

 

[Callsdodisney]

My daughter and I travel a lot for dance, and I have dietary restrictions that make it easier to bring my own food. I bought a plug in lunch box on Amazon ($25ish) that warms up like a slow cooker. I can buy premade breakfast burritos or meals from the grocery store, drop them in there, and have a warm meal without a microwave.

We are headed to universal in may, and I plan to pack it in my luggage.

 

[kwdw]

With the age of your kids, definitely breakfast in your room. Grocery store food for that crew in the morning will save a big chunk of meal costs.

The snacks they love from home are often what they want, so have those handy. Maybe include ones that are the special ones they only get sometimes.

You should stills be able to split meals for that crowd. Order an additional side if needed. Also, plan for drinks. I think drinks can be a huge portion of food cost at Disney. The free ice water is good. If they complain about the taste of water at WDW, bring flavor packs or buy bottled water at a store off property. For my coffee habit, I bring creamer from home to make me happy with the in room free coffee.

For the two adults… order an appetizer or side salad and an entree. Or if you fill up on snacks, order one entree. As adults, we often overeat on vacation.. try to avoid that and that will also save you money!

And well, yes, festival food at Epcot is ridiculously priced. If you want to save money, just skip it. It adds up really fast!