Disney without free dinning in 2014

[tinksgilrs251520]

Hey all,

So i have a question mainly to the people who dont use the DDP..... Do you do more QS than TB or just QS???? What is your game plan trying to keep food costs down because if 2014 is anything like this year and there is the two week gap (which are the dates that I wanted to go) I am trying to figure the best way to Keep food costs down without feeling cheated... I hate not knowing the discounts yet... Wish i lived in the UK then I would know....lol another question is totally off topic but if i take in a small cooler for like cheese and crackers whats the best way to do that ??? keeping them cool enough for lunch....Also would you book the last two weeks and hold out for free dinning or go ahead and plan the way I am with cutting a lot of QS service out and doing a couple of snacks during the day and then do a table service at night ... Please help............ (really)

 

[pumpkinmomma]

Hey all,

So i have a question mainly to the people who dont use the DDP..... Do you do more QS than TB or just QS???? What is your game plan trying to keep food costs down because if 2014 is anything like this year and there is the two week gap (which are the dates that I wanted to go) I am trying to figure the best way to Keep food costs down without feeling cheated... I hate not knowing the discounts yet... Wish i lived in the UK then I would know....lol another question is totally off topic but if i take in a small cooler for like cheese and crackers whats the best way to do that ??? keeping them cool enough for lunch....Also would you book the last two weeks and hold out for free dinning or go ahead and plan the way I am with cutting a lot of QS service out and doing a couple of snacks during the day and then do a table service at night ... Please help............ (really)

We don't use the dining plan. We usually do 4 table service meals in a week, but we tend to book them for lunch instead of dinner. Then we grab something quick for dinner. We usually do breakfast in the room.

We only do 1 or 2 character meals tops. We don't do very many buffets because none of us eat enough to justify the cost. If you like to do lots of character meals, then you will definitely have to cut back there to keep costs down.

We don't really pack snacks, we just grab something in the park. We do take a couple of bottles of water. We don't drink much soda, so we don't end up spending too much on drinks. We typically don't order dessert at meals, we usually just grab something sweet for a snack later in the day.

It's not as bad as one might think. The best thing to do is look at the menus on all ears and get an idea of costs, etc.

We usually go in summer so we kind of like having a table service meal at lunch. Gets us out of the heat and is a nice break in the middle of the day. We usually don't head back to the resort midday, so this works well for us. It saves quite a bit of money, too.

 

[HopperFan]

Most trips we do not have the dining plan. If off property I try to get a resort with breakfast included. If not or if on property I take yogurt, packages of muffins or breakfast bars, banana etc and we eat breakfast in the room.

We pack our lunches and carry them in a backpack. The sandwiches we put in a flat tupperware so they don't get crushed. You can put a freezer pack next to if it you feel like it's too warm. We take Pringles because the can keeps them from getting crushed. Sometimes some snacks. We take bottles of water and we refill them at the parks. If you don't like the taste take the small flavor packets. Easy to find an out of the way spot to enjoy lunch. We buy some snacks like ice cream. Dinner we might do counter or table depending on which park. I do have TIW discount card so that helps out. And family rule is order glasses of water, no need to spend or drink soda.

 

[MackenzieFL]

We'll be going in 2014. We go every September.

When we're trying to be very budget conscious we either camp at ft Wilderness (we are big on tent camping so it's no sweat for us) or go to a value resort.

We get counter service mostly; occasional table service. Our big meal would be in the middle of the day, around 2/3 pm.

We bring our own foods for breakfast (cereals, parmalot milks, yoohoo, juice boxes, fruit cups, protein bars, etc.) and that cuts out 1 meal per day. Plus we get to relax an extra hour or so because we don't have to run out to get breakfast. It just works out well.

We also bring snacks, like nuts, seeds, beef jerky, crackers, etc.

We're diabetic (runs in both hubby & my family, plus one kid has it), so we don't usually do park snacks. If we do, we split them-- imagine 5 or sometimes 6 people sharing 2 dole whips, lol. But for us, 2 is good. We also split meals-- like at Pinocchio village Haus, my husband and I will get 1 extra side salad, and get the pizza/salad combo, then we each eat a salad and split the pizza. The 2 youngest can also split one. One kid gets a whole one to himself (growing boy, non-diabetic, lol).

Often we'll make a pit stop to the supermarket for sandwiches or wraps and such on our way out of the parks instead of going out for dinner, so there are trips when we actually only eat out 1 meal & 1 snack per day.

Basically because of our dietary issues, food is rarely a big focus of our vacation. So it's not hard to work it out to keep the food budget low. As long as we've got some crackers and peanut butter to go back to, maybe a fruit or sugar-free jello cup, we're good. We'd rather play than stop to eat, and just munch when we get back from the park.

 

[nooneshome]

When we don't have FD it isn't a big deal. We aren't big eaters and we don't like being tied to ADRs. We bring plenty of breakfast foods so we eat breakfast in our rooms. This saves lots of time so we can make RD. We usually eat QS for lunch. For lunch we might share or just not order fries with our meals. Same with drinks, i can only drink so much soft drinks. I rarely eat fast food for lunch so it is no big deal for me to eat a burger or chicken. It amazes me that people don't ask for just a plain burger without the cheese or other extra on the menu. They think they have to get what is on the menu. This saves money. i also bring some snack foods in the parks.

For early days we might eat in our room or grab a pizza hut pizza or go to DTD and eat at the Earl. We do one TS every trip - DW's choice.

 

[mythreeboys]

This year is the first time we are doing the dining plan. I booked it cause I thought (and I'm still holding out hope) free dining would be offered and I feel the kids are finally old enough to make it cost effective. We typically do only Qs meals and only a few TS meals. I think the most TS meals we have done during a week long trip is 3. We usually eat a small breakfast (piece of fruit) and then catch an early lunch and eat a eat a good dinner. Or we do a character breakfast and stuff ourselves and then skip lunch and grab an early dinner. The kids were all young enough and serving sizes were large enough that they could split meals with each other and us.
Do they have insulated backpacks? Or maybe find a backpack that you could a small insulated bag in? I've never taken anything cold into the park, but we do always have granola bars and other snacks and drink mixes in our backpack.

 

[BringingUpDisney]

We decided to go without the dining plan this trip because it was just too much food. We are getting APs so we can get the TIW card. It works out for us because the APs will cover 2 10-day trips, and the same with TIW.

We also tend to share the food. We either get 1 QS for the three of us, 2 adults and one 3-year old, or 2-3 appetizers at a TS along with a dessert to share. We prefer to eat lighter so this works for us. We are staying 11 nights and plan to have a total of 12 TS ADRs.

 

[vicki_c]

We have never done the DDP in any fashion, nor do we care to. For the last few years we have been AP holders, so we purchase the TiW card and love the flexibility and discounts that gives us. We eat about 1 TS a day (TiW doesn't work at most CS locations only a selected group mainly @ resorts), somedays 2. Dining is expensive on our trips, but I've yet to calculate it where the DDP would be less.

 

[Sparkly]

We're offsiters so don't do the DDP and don't feel the need to scrimp either.

2x QS meals (entree and side, no desserts) and drinks costs around $30? We eat breakfast in the condo or offsite and bring snacks. I do sometimes like to splash out for a Mickey bar or two in the parks though!

 

[ZoZo]

I've never done the dining plan. I eat mostly QS, with only 3 or 4 TS meals in a one-week trip. Almost always eat breakfast in the room; saves both money and time. Don't like to be tied to too many expensive TS meals - I like the flexibility if QS meals instead.

Regarding bringing snacks (cheese and crackers) to the parks, you could put a small cooler in a locker during the day. Easier still would be to bring things that don't need to be kept cool. I love bringing "Jif to Go" peanut butter tubs from home to pair with purchased apple slices or celery sticks. Also like to bring snacks like trail mix, granola bars, goldfish pretzels, small cans of fruit juice, grapes.

 

[AquaDame]

We have never done the DDP when it wasn't free (and even then only once!) and still generally do one TS a day, and the rest are CS. We tend to split the TS meal and get an appetizer and a beer as well to split, and tend to have a snack as well some other time too. Even with everything we get it is still way less $$ than the DDP!

 

[JenluvsDisney]

We don't do free dining because my kids are older than 10, which means they'd have to be on the adult plan and they'd never eat enough food to make the cost worth it. We either drive to Disney (from Canada) or fly and rent a car when we're there, so we've always got our own vehicle. We hit a grocery store as soon as we arrive and purchase all our breakfast stuff so we can eat that in the hotel room. We also pick up snacks that we can take into the park with us. We usually book lunch at whichever theme park we're visiting and that ends up being our "big" meal for the day. Then we eat suppers offsite where the prices are much better than Disney prices. Our favourite offsite restaurant is Sweet Tomatoes. It's an "all-you-can-eat" place with a huge salad bar, soups, pastas, baked potatoes, etc. For about $10 per person you can have a good sized meal and that includes the drinks and small sundae bar. After a day of treats in the parks my kids love getting offsite for some veggies