cutting back WDW food bdgt - what would you bring along?

[newholidayx2]

Usually bring cereal bars, cheerios, raisin bran, water bottles, rum, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, popcorn

thinking I want to cut down on my WDW food bdgt
solo - planning $40 per day. $20 AR lunch for a salad, $10 dinner/snack and $10 drink (Hey! its vacation. Thats enough to buy 1 drink)
Will be w/out fridge first 4 nights while at Pop, then I'll have a fridge 4 nights at Coronado. Last 5 nights Im in a BCV studio - microwave, fridge

 

[brightspark]

This is a tricky one that we are working on too... we're going to try and make sandwiches sometimes to eat in the hotel... we're coming from the UK, so we can't bring too much with us, but probably like you will bring snack bars, crisps/pringles, maybe some boxes of cake.

We reckon we spend around £40 or $20 a day on food. It really mounts up when you're there for over a week.

We're at a DVC resort for most of the stay so will have a fridge which means we can buy milk and cheese / ham and make have sandwiches.

We also plan on buying fruit from a non-park source.

When we stayed a the Carribean Beach a few years ago I also found that buying extra fruit at breakfast made an excellent mid morning snack...

 

[Navysailor_disneyfan]

It be hard to save on food for disney if your on site. Normal i bring water and granloa bars. If someone is hungry I just get them the food or something not too much. I normally just close my eyes and pay It the only thing i dont penny pinch. Nothing worse then DW, DD,DD, and DS cranky when they are hungry

 

[lovedcookie]

OP - Thanks for posting this. DFi and I haven't yet been to WDW but we're planning on bringing a few things to help save a bit of money.We realize though that we won't have as much of an opportunity as others to save as we will be staying onsite (@ POP) because we're too young rent a car. Here's what we're thinking of bringing granola bars, small packets of trail mix, chips, maybe a small amount of candy that won't melt and bottled waters.

 

[debbiepump]

Learned a long time ago, with all the food in the parks, hard to plan on cooking in the room. Usually will bring some cereal (buy milk there), mwave popcorn (but now that's getting a bad rap) and maybe some cheese and crackers to snack (a freezer pack and insulated lunch bag does great) and perhaps some nuts. Does us fine. I've thrown so much food away because we've overeaten in the parks. OH! COFFEE (I am from Seattle (Starbucks country) afterall!

 

[fakereadhed]

We have saved on food on family trips. I don't mind, but my DH does. I wouldn't mind it on a solo trip, because I wouldn't have to hear the whining, but I'm doing the DDP this time- one last hurrah for the cost saving version before 2008. I figured it's $40/day without scrimping. But if you are planning on alcohol, it would be more. In the past we have brought/bought oatmeal and cereal bars, bag of mixed fresh fruit(oranges, apples, etc), cereal, canned chicken spread, Saltines(the box is great to put your bread in to take to the park), Pringles, definitely coffee. We have kept milk cold using the old trashcan as a icebucket trick. It really works well if you fill the ice once in the morning and once at night. One of our favorite things is to bring our stuff in a backpack and make sandwiches at Tom Sawyer island and eat at the picnic tables there. Very quiet and peaceful.

Lmwave popcorn (but now that's getting a bad rap)

What has microwave popcorn been doing that I don't know about?

 

[twotoohappy]

Try and get one of the free fridges from the budget board.

We pack when without a fridge...

bagels
trail mix - lots! Trader Joe's has ones with almonds,cashews, cranberries,etc.
wheat thins with sleazy cheese lol, that's what my dd calls cheeze wiz
beef jerky (you'll need protein)
crystal light individual packets to add to the water at the parks
instant oatmeal (if you can get hot water)
regular cereal
drinkable soup (for when you get to the villas - microwave in the can and go)
tuna in the packages, not the can
peanut butter crackers
peanut butter (put it in your checked not carryon and we we do the squeeze tube so no need for knives)

hmmm.... that's all I can think of for now.

 

[ChisJo]

I've brought in the past cookies, puddings, fruit cups, individual apple sauces, ichiban noodles (I like them raw!), bread, peanut butter and honey, candy (twizzlers, gummy bears), you can now get individual servings of pringles and snack mixes, water bottles, crystal light (to add to the water, you can get these in individual packages too), granola bars/protein bars, tuna snacks (you get the flavoured tuna, and some crackers to go with it - very yummy!). If you like tea (iced or hot), that works good too, and individual juice boxes or soda cans as well works great in the parks!
I never buy breakfast when I go - it seems to be the least cost effective meal of the day (I always have cereal, bread (toast) or oatmeal). The other thing I do is I get my BIG meal at around 2pm, and have a lighter meal later on in the day as the restaurants have basically the same menu, but more expensive in the evening.
I rarely snack - I always bring something into the park with me so that I don't get the temptation. The other thing I do is to always keep my tummy full - so I snack on what I brought often so I don't waste money on snacks that are just unhealthy for me anyways.

 

[Taja]

Since you won't have off site transportation, one thing you can do to restock snacks and bottled water is go to one of the Hess stations on site. There is one across from DTD and another across from BWI. Just be sure to watch that traffic!

Not very convenient for carrying a heavy load, and selection will be limited (never really looked, but best guess is a lot of processed foods), but I know several people who always stop there for snacks and drinks when they arrive at WDW. Significant savings over park/resort prices.

If you have one, pack a folding insulated cooler. The newer ones are great; you'll need at least a 12-can cooler if it's older to hold the 20 oz bottles prevalent at WDW. Pack some one-gallon zip-top bags for the ice so you don't have to fuss so much cleaning the cooler.

While not as healthy as fresh fruit, the individual serving fruit cups are handy and not too expensive--particularly if you catch them on sale. I usually pack a couple of those in my checked bag for the first two mornings in case I don't feel like going off site to shop when I arrive at WDW.

 

[DisneyShannon]

I have always been a disney world solo traveler. One of my best memories is sitting on a bench in epcot and just looking around. I open up a baggie of crackers and soon enough these beautiful birds comes over wanting some of my snack. I asked the man sweeping the sidewalk if I could feed them and he said yes. That was such a great time for me.

 

[sramille]

I always pack some food. Usually, oatmeal bars for breakfast at a minimum. Last time I was in Disneyland, I packed a couple bottles of water, powerbars, trail mix and potato chips. Put the chips in a cheap plastic container so they wouldn't get smooshed. I threw the plastic away when I was done, but I could have packed it with other stuff in my suitcase instead. That's the best part of bringing food and water.....hopefully, you'll consume it while you're there and you automatically have more room for souvenirs!

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I always bring the packets of tuna and a sm. squeeze bottle of mayo, roll-up bread, the long-shelf-life boxes of soymilk, my own coffee and filters, powdered coffee creamer & sweetener, granola bars, all my snackies, snackpacks of fruit, cereal. A small Brita pitcher/filter and refillable water bottle. Packets of Crystal Light. Don't forget plastic utensils/paper or plastic bowls. I usually bring an insulated lunchbox with some raw veggies/fruit in it.