Food on budget.

[tadi]

Hello, I will be in WDW for 10 days with spouse and 2 kids 8 -9. I am staying off property. What are my lunch/dinner options on budget <30 for four. I am open for sandwiches, pizza etc. Since I didn't wanted to cut on fun, I kept my trip for 10 days, but do want to budget on food.

In tips thanks.

 

[lkrasnavage]

earl of sandwiches are a good choice in dtd, i think they are $6 each and are excellant.

 

[MickiLovesWDW]

well, this may be a litle last minute but a good way to save money all week on all meals in disney is to add the disney dining plan to you pass. You can choose the offering of 1 free sit-down meal a day, a free snack a day, and a free couter service meal each day, all of this in one single day for only a little amount of money. we do this every year

 

[VirginiaMom]

I've learned that whether at Disney or a local restaurant, drinking water saves money.

This hit home when we went to a local Mexican restaurant and spent about $24 on food, and $12 on sodas! That was my wake-up call that water was a) cheaper and b) healthier!


The other big budget saver I've seen is to order double cheeseburgers and ask for an extra bun. Then load up the burger with lots of condiments.

Have fun!!

 

[dogodisney]

well, this may be a litle last minute but a good way to save money all week on all meals in disney is to add the disney dining plan to you pass. You can choose the offering of 1 free sit-down meal a day, a free snack a day, and a free couter service meal each day, all of this in one single day for only a little amount of money. we do this every year

She is staying off site so she cannot get the DP.

 

[Justsyd2]

While the "order a double cheeseburger and an extra bun," is such a great idea, I've been reading on the boards that Disney has caught on and is charging a little under $2.00 for the extra bun.

Perhaps you and your spouse can split a nice counter service meal with an extra drink, and order two kid's meals.

Take a look at allears.net. You will find a listing of all of the restaurants with menus and prices.

 

[super_crunch]

We always eat with a budget in mind at WDW.

We often share CS meals, or get items ala-carte (for example...at the backlot express at DHS, my dh asked if he could get a hot dog without fries and they took $2 off the price).

I also bring a backpack full of snacks and bottles of water so we don't need to buy drinks or snacks while in the park.

 

[brymolmom]

Since you're staying offsite - bring one meal with you. Load up a soft-sided cooler with sandwiches, fruit, chips, drinks - whatever suits you. Then you can have one meal out of your cooler and spend a bit more on dinner and still be well within your budget. This also works well for sharing some C/S meals - just order 2 pizza meals and split between you - using some drinks and side items from your cooler to fill everyone up with half the meal. We always do this when staying offsite. Extra bonus - no lines to wait in when you want lunch!

 

[LAWalz23]

At MK, Cosmic Rays has a great chicken and rib platter that can feed two people. Also at DTD. Wolfgang Puck Express is very reasonable. I agree with the suggestion for drinking water to save money because drinks are $2 to $3 each.

 

[taymaesmom]

I also will order a kids meal for myself and save some money. I think most adult counter service meals are way too much food so I will often get a kids meal, plus they have lots of healthier sides like fruit and carrot sticks.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

When we stayed offsite we would eat a large breakfast and carry in the soft cooler bag with a water bottle each (which we filled at water fountains inside when empty) and snacks and/or sandwhiches. There were also times that after a large breakfast we might only need a snack inside and would leave at 2ish and head back for a break, swim, and meal and come back in for the evening.

 

[etoiles]

We are also interested in food/dining on a budget. We plan to eat breakfast in our hotel room and bring a water bottle with lots of snacks into the park. Also I will take advantage of the free cups of ice water you can get at CS and we will take individual envelopes of Crystal Light or whatever to add to it.

I am interested to hear what other tips everyone has.

 

[Tara922c]

Since you are staying off property, you can go to a fast food place for breakfast, or one of the many buffet resturants. Some of them offered "all you can eat" for only 3 or 4 bucks! I always bring my own water bottles, and snacks into the park. I would also consider sharing things at the counter service places for lunch. Instead of buying each person their own smaller soda, pay the few exta cents, and get a large soda, and share it. You could even order a large soda, no ice, and ask for a couple of cups of ice. It may seem cheap, but 2 bucks here, and there can really add up after extra days. I have gone to one park in the morning, left and went to a sit down restuarant outside the parks, and then went to another park for the evening. Yes it took about 2 hours, but it was nice to get away from the crowds for awhile.

 

[tadi]

Thanks for replies. I really appreciate it. For now, the plan looks like will be.

1. Eat breakfast at hotel . It is complimentary . I have found that saves us lot of time and money. One of us and one kid go to get breakfast, while other of us and other kid get ready (bath etc), then switch places. That way we are up and ready to go in hour, with our breakfast already done.

2. Pack snacks (cookies, crackers, chips, veggies-carrot, fruits, may be cakes, granola bars, etc, drinks, water etc for park.

3. Dinner, conter service dinner (without drinks is good idea as suggested above), or even get sandwitches packed in the morning and keep those in cooler box (soft). lkrasnavage suggestes eral sandwitched (I will find out what/where they are). Throw in one nice sit down dinner on propoerty for one day to make it memorable.

4. We are not fan of to much drinks any ways, but like to drink lot of water. Kids love cold water, we can use cooler for them. We both can sustain on any kind of clean water.

Now one question, will I be abllowed to take soda cans into parks or just the bottes are allowed ? (I already understand the soft cooler part. i.e. no hard coolers, which are cubersome anyways). Smaller soft ones can be put into backpack for better manageablity.

Any more suggestion tips. This all is already looking like it is maneagable in budget with one nice memorable dinner thrwon in.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ofhs93]

I don't think they are going to let the cans into the park....the possability of a sharp, crushed, aluminum can is going to probably raise the red flag. We just brought water bottles in with single serving drink powders to add to them if we wanted some flavor

 

[Grumpy92]

Trails End - FW, Earl of Sandwich - DTD, Konas-Poly, Beaches & Cream - YC/BC
Riverside Mill Foodcourt - POR Love their carving station dinner for less then $10, Great make your own pasta or salad stations too.

EC: Sunshine Season, Tangerine Cafe, Yorkshire County Fish Shop

Check out the menus
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

Eat lunch at FS restaurants instead of dinner. The menu is often very similar but the prices are lower.
If you are eligible for Tables in Wonderland you also might consider joining that. Your length of stay might allow you to recoup the fee in the discounts you receive. http://allears.net/din/dde.htm

 

[JenJenFer]

In the past, we have brought in Subway sandwiches. We would eat those early and then have a late lunch, just before the end of the lunch time. I would also freeze a couple of the bottles of water to take with. It keeps the sandwiches and snacks cooler.
I have never brought a cooler in the park, just a backpack. What do you do with the cooler when the food is gone?