Eating in Disney Frugally

[sandgrace]

We usually stay at SSR and there is a shopping area 10 minutes away that h as a Sweet Tomatoes, Chevy's, Fuddruckers, Joe's Crab Shake, Perkins, BW-3 Qdoba, Millers Ale House, Subway, IHOP. We usually get a rental car for about $125 for a week. Scored a great deal a few weeks ago on a car from Dollar for $60.00!!! for our May trip

Great deal on the rental car! Did you use a coupon? We're going in May too, and have debating whether to rent a car...at $60.00 for the week that debate would be over!

 

[crisi]

THANK YOU! I always feel like a glutton when I read those posts. We can all finish our meals! We also don't snack all the time between meals because its just not a habit we are in. We will share snacks, but at meal times its every man for himself!

My son and husband - no way.

My daughter and I (or my Mom and I) - usually. We aren't big snackers either. But I'm a "single hamburger at McDonalds" is sufficient sort of person - so a double patty at WDW is huge to me. And I'm not a big fry person - so splitting fries is easy.

In fact, it occurs to me that its 1:20 in the afternoon here and I've consumed a piece of toast - I need to eat before I get cranky.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I recommend getting milk offsite if possible, you do NOT want to buy it in the gift shop.

Not sure about Dolphin but at Disney resorts milk is one item that isn't too over priced. If you stay at a DVC a dozen eggs is a bargain.

 

[GoofyMB]

In addition to the tips posted there are a few Birthday/Rewards programs you can sign up for. If you would like to eat a sit down meal at Rainforest Café, T-Rex or Yak & Yeti join the Landry's Select Club & select the month you are going as your birthday month. It cost $25 as a one time joining fee but they load the card with a $25 welcome reward and for your birthday month every year they give you $25 reward. Therefore, you have $50 to apply to your meal for only $25. Also, about a month to 3 weeks before you go join the club for Earl of Sandwich and you will get a n email with a coupon for a free brownie as a welcome (it has a limited time you can use it which is why I suggested that time frame for joining) and for your birthday you will get an email coupon for a free sandwich. Also, sometimes some of the restaurants at DTD are on Groupon or similar sites.

 

[nym4588]

We usually stay at SSR and there is a shopping area 10 minutes away that h
as a Sweet Tomatoes, Chevy's, Fuddruckers, Joe's Crab Shake, Perkins,
BW-3 Qdoba, Millers Ale House, Subway, IHOP.

We usually get a rental car for about $125 for a week. Scored a great deal a few weeks ago on a car from Dollar for $60.00!!! for our May trip

Love Sweet Tomatoes!

 

[lizabu]

If you stay at Dolphin and they arrange your airport pickup the car from the airport includes a 30 minute stop at Super Walmart. Just be sure to tell the driver you want to stop.

Garden Grocer doesn't deliver to Swan/Dolphin. They have their own grocery delivery service. I think it's called "pantry". I remember thinking it was pricey. Breakfast in the room is a great idea. You can get cereal, fruit, yogurt, drinks etc. the rooms all have a mini fridge. I've never seen microwaves or toasters anywhere. If you were desperate for a microwave you could always call them and see if they're available upon request.

Picabu has a couple of good family meal options. Someone already mentioned the rotisserie chicken with sides for $25. We found out they will let you make substitutions. Had chicken last night? They will let you swap it out for roast beef. They sell a large pizza for $20 too. You can get a side salad and there you go. I like to split meals too. I always feel bad if I don't finish what I have but when the portions are so big I feel sorry when I eat it all. I think there is a thread on the restaurant board where people recommend foods that are easy to split. I know when we went to Backlot Express (not sure if I got the name right but it's a CS in HS) we ordered bacon cheeseburgers. They were huge. We easily could have split them.

We ran out of bread and milk and a few other items. On day we just got off the bus at Beach club and walked across the street to Hess. They have things like cooked hot dogs and donuts too. It's not far to walk back from the beach club to the dolphin.

 

[bless7ings]

Sorry everyone, I guess everyone is assuming we are flying. We are driving, unless we get super ticket prices like we did one year. I was just asking about the delivery prices because everyone kept mentioning them and I was wondering if people opted to have them delivered instead of going to get the groceries themselves? That is why I was asking if they were fairly inexpensive?

With having a car, we would stock up on groceries before we got there. If we ran out of things it sounds like the Hess store might be our best bet in order to not take too much time away from Disney? What prices are milk in Disney vs Hess vs grocery store?

Also, bigger question - Where should we buy our groceries before we come in? Where is it the least expensive for deli meats etc? And then if we felt we needed to go back where is the quickest, least expensive grocery store from the Dolphin?

 

[oldfastpassxpert]

The Hess was reasonable for milk as well.

 

[Shanora]

For those that are from Canada, how do you get food through customs??? I was thinking I'd like to bring food with us… but I worry about how to get it through customs…. *sigh* Last thing I want is to be held up in customs at 10pm at night.

 

[crazymomof4]

subscribing bc if the FREE DDP is not offered for Sept dates we will be looking into ways of cutting down the oop food budget.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

For those that are from Canada, how do you get food through customs??? I was thinking I'd like to bring food with us… but I worry about how to get it through customs…. *sigh* Last thing I want is to be held up in customs at 10pm at night.

Packaged food is not a problem. A box of granola bars, muffins, instant oatmeal, even things like almond milk, can all be packed in a suitcase with no problem. What you can't bring are fruits, vegetables, seeds, meats, etc.

Teresa

 

[powellrj]

Not sure how attached you are to the Dolphin, but have you thought about staying at Bonnet Creek? It is also on Disney property, next to CBR, but it seems to have more of what you are looking for. It would come with a full kitchen and laundry, plus extra bathrooms and bedrooms. It may also be a little cheaper. Just an idea.

 

[Keli]

Not sure how attached you are to the Dolphin, but have you thought about staying at Bonnet Creek? It is also on Disney property, next to CBR, but it seems to have more of what you are looking for. It would come with a full kitchen and laundry, plus extra bathrooms and bedrooms. It may also be a little cheaper. Just an idea.

We love, love, love bonnet creek! And we almost always average $100 a night for a two bedroom condo.
Lots of room, we generally take turns cooking a nice breakfast/clean up and then we also grill out at least once for dinner during our stay and often eat dinner in the condo 2-3 times during our stay.
We do commando style park visits and by evening we're all worn out and the kids don't want to get out of Bonnet Creeks pools and the adults don't want to leave the jacuzzi. It's just easier to buy taco fixings or chili or get some takeout and take it to the condo to eat there.
We make one large grocery run at Walmart when we get there and usually one or two short trips for stuff we've run out of or more snacks.
And we always take a backpack with small snacks into the park. Granola bars, animal crackers and flavor packs for the water. It's not that we don't buy any food in the parks, we usually do, but sometimes you don't want to stop and you've got a hungry kid before anyone else is ready to eat. Makes it much nicer for everyone when they can have a little snack whenever/wherever.

 

[Shanora]

Packaged food is not a problem. A box of granola bars, muffins, instant oatmeal, even things like almond milk, can all be packed in a suitcase with no problem. What you can't bring are fruits, vegetables, seeds, meats, etc.

Teresa

Sweet!!! Good to know. Thank you!

 

[Jaya]

When I used to take the grandkids to Disney years ago, at lunch time one would want a Coke and one would want a Sprite and one would want lemonade....... I'd pay something like $2.75 for a soft drink for each one and then they'd drink about a third of it. So I stopped being Good Grandma and became Mean Grandma. I took collapsible drinking cups and they shared one drink (if they couldn't agree on the drink, then they got water from the drinking fountain.....believe me, they started agreeing on a drink right quickly). Voila! Over five dollars saved right there.

 

[jensen]

I was wondering what ideas you all had to eat inexpensively while staying on Disney property in a regular room?

I guess it all depends on what you consider to be expensive. I would compare the prices and food selection at the counter service restaurants to be like your typical chain - Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday. You don't get to sit down and be waited on, but you also don't tip.

The food court at POR is wonderful! They have a create your own pasta bar that is the best deal on property IMHO. For about $12, you get a HUGE dish of pasta - we are talking a half pound of pasta - topped with shrimp or chicken, your choice of sauce and lots of other ingredients. Comes with a bread stick. DD and I always share this for dinner. We leave stuffed and never finish it... and I consider us to be big eaters.

We also always share a pizza at Wolfgang Puck Express. The pizzas are 12" wood fired and cost about $12 each. Any of the pasta dishes at this restaurant are also big enough to share.

Many other meals on property are large enough to share if you order an extra side. Say order the chicken and ribs combo with a side of onion rings at Flame Tree Bar-B-Q in Animal Kingdom.

The sandwiches/fries at Be Our Guest with a side of French Onion Soup make a nice meal for two.

Art of Animation resort food court also has some great options for dining.

 

[DisneyDiana!]

What are the prices like for groceries in the resort store? I was planning on buying a couple of items. I can't see myself paying $14 for delivery when I can pack it with me or just buy it down there. How much do they charge for things like a loaf of bread, bagels, milk and doughnuts?

 

[hsmamato2]

you driving changes everything..... first, you will pay a parking fee at dolphin, so be aware of that 20 per day...
also just drive to the nearest super walmart or target and get easy and quick breakfast foods, things you don't need to toast,etc. resort stores are ridiculous if you have car...it's probably a 10 min. drive, plus some time to shop. frugal= time
at Dolphin last fall a smallish box of Capt. Crunch cereal was 9.00 and milk is pricey too. p-r-i-c-e-y
so it's cheaper if you have no car to buy it, than a full breakfast for 4 on property, but it's frugal to stop at walmart ,buy 3 boxes of cereal ad a gallon of milk,maybe some o.j.,and spend less than 15.00 for it. that's breakfast

 

[lizabu]

What are the prices like for groceries in the resort store? I was planning on buying a couple of items. I can't see myself paying $14 for delivery when I can pack it with me or just buy it down there. How much do they charge for things like a loaf of bread, bagels, milk and doughnuts?

The prices are similar to what you would pay at a convenience store. DH took a cab from the Swan to super walmart and it's only like 10-15 minutes away.

 

[crisi]

The prices are similar to what you would pay at a convenience store. DH took a cab from the Swan to super walmart and it's only like 10-15 minutes away.

Though cab fare will be more than the delivery charge for Garden Grocer.