Food prices in DL are ridiculous!

[auntyjenn]

Food prices in DL are ridiculous, and hardly anything for kids. We brought a lot of food into the park. On the way home my sister said, "After being in Disneyland airport food prices seem so much more reasonable."

 

[kkheburn]

The food prices are pretty high. Im hoping to keep our spending low this year so we will bring our own snacks and eat off site. We will have one or two treats in the park.

 

[wannagoback]

It certainly adds up fast! I brought food and snacks from home for DD3 because she is a picky eater and I did not want to pay that much for food that would end up in the garbage can. Also, bringing breakfast foods helped eliminate the cost of one meal each day... made the other purchases less painful.

 

[bumbershoot]

...my sister said, "After being in Disneyland airport food prices seem so much more reasonable."

Of course, if she's from WA like you (and me), that's not a fair comparison b/c SeaTac has "street" pricing, not horribly inflated like other airports!

 

[cseca]

I agree... until we went to vegas.
EVERYTHING on vegas strip is crazy... a regular cup of coke is over $3.
Pastry starts from $4.
I just flew from vegas to DL and now I think DL food price is ok... it's all relative I tell you.

 

[heatherleigh]

I just got back from rural Alaska, so DL prices would probably seem very reasonable to me now. I was seriously looking at the airport refreshments on my way back, thinking how cheap they looked lol. The town I was in for two weeks in Alaska has the worst prices ever! One jug of Clorox bleach is $10. A half gallon of milk (not even organic) is $7. I was horrified.

 

[mr.bungle]

depending on what you want to feed the kids, there should be a lot of inexpensive options. Corn Dog Castle in DCA is roughly $5 and change for a large (we usually share) corn dog and choice of a bag of potato chips or apples.

Also, depending on your situation, you could leave the park and dine on Katella or Harbor blvd near the convention center. there are places like coco's and denny's that are relatively inexpensive walking distance from the parks.

My fiancee and i have had AP's for the last 3 years and being on a budget, we try to share food as much as we can or bring our own food or eat offsite.

for a free quick snack, check out the Mission tortilla factory at DCA. if you watch the 3 minute video and walk through, each person gets a free fresh tortilla. if you havea b-day button, they give you a bag of tortillas.

 

[HeatherBelle614]

I think that's true with any amusement park or major event anymore, though. A hot dog at a ballgame in DFW is $7.00; not very different than the hot dog price we payed at WDW this summer. At our local Six Flags, the food is just as much there, too.

Of course, I haven't been to DL yet (*crosses fingers for next April*) but I just always assume it's going to be a bit high.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

kids meals are 5.99 every where and even adults can eat those. yes its more for other foods

 

[DizMe]

Does anyone know whether or not an adult can order a kid's meal at Rainforest? I have a AAA discount card that gives a free kids meal with purchase of an adult entree. My sis and I are going in November and she has had gastric bypass surgery so kid size is perfect. Would they let us do that, do you think?

My family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids) does a lot of meal sharing. We don't drink soda so that's also a big saver. I guess I'm pretty lucky we don't snack much, either. I sometimes read posts about all the things people order in DLR and wonder how on earth they manage to afford it!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

id ask when you call tell them about the sergery and that you know this would be perfect size for her

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

It is pricey for sure. We never eat all our meals in the parks. We have 2-3 total in either the parks and DTD. Every other meal is offsite. We get Mimi's, Subway, McDonalds ect...

Helps us save quite a bit, since we are not big on sharing or us adults eating kids meals. Our 10 year old doesn't even eat kids meals anymore. LOL

 

[AbigailsMomSarah]

We just got back and I was actually pleased with the ammount of healthy selections for kids and didn't think the prices were too extreme.

Here are some of the things my kids had during our stay:

- kids meal containing a turkey wrap, apple slices and bottled water while from the counter by the Jedi training show

- kids meal containing yogurt, apple slices, string cheese, whole grain fish crackers and bottled water from a counter in toon town

- a chicken sanwhich and salad (shared from the regular menu) at a sit down place in New Orleans square

- fresh grapes and ddried apples from a fruit stand in California Adventure

 

[silence]

I agree, being on vacation at the Happiest Place on Earth can be pricey.

However, over all, I found the food to be reasonably priced. I mean, for us, we are eating out no matter what, we are away from home. We ate at places on Harbor twice our last trip.....and paid MORE than we would have paid if we had eaten in the park.

Beverages are what kill me. You have to pay so much for water or soda....and I really hate bringing our own and carrying it around all day. It wasn't so bad when we used to have a stroller all the time...but now, we suck it up and end up buying it.

 

[DizMe]

We just got back and I was actually pleased with the ammount of healthy selections for kids and didn't think the prices were too extreme.

Here are some of the things my kids had during our stay:

- kids meal containing a turkey wrap, apple slices and bottled water while from the counter by the Jedi training show

- kids meal containing yogurt, apple slices, string cheese, whole grain fish crackers and bottled water from a counter in toon town

- a chicken sanwhich and salad (shared from the regular menu) at a sit down place in New Orleans square

- fresh grapes and ddried apples from a fruit stand in California Adventure

Wow! Those choices sound awesome!! So glad there are alternatives to burgers, fries, and soda now. And I can't even think of corn dogs without shuddering...

We've taken advantage of the fruit from the carts, too. Oh, and the giant pickles are yummy!

And...ahem...I must admit to eating the mother of all artery cloggers every time I go to DL. Yes, I'm talking about the Monte Cristo. But it's not such a bad deal when you split it 4 ways, lol. I order it at BB and share it with my 3 girls so we each get a triangle. Combined with bread, salad, veggies and potatoes, it's plenty for us. Sure, it costs $22 or something, but not so bad when you share it like we do. You can get a MC in Cafe Orleans for less, but I don't know whether or not it comes with the sides. I love the sides.

 

[mommaU4]

It can be expensive but there are so many ways around it. There have been lots of threads on saving money on food in DL.

We have a family of 6 and it adds up fast. I never buy drinks if at all possible. I bring in soda and/or juice boxes, and water. So not having to pay for six drinks saves money right there.

Also we do a lot of sharing. And we try to eat breakfast in the hotel and just do two meals in the park instead of three.

I used to think DL food was expensive until I went more places. For example, the circus came to Vegas and they were selling snow cones for around $8, popcorn was $10 and cotton candy was around $12, if I recall correctly. The prices were all way too high.
I told my DH, "Disney doesn't seem so bad now!!" LOL

 

[DoomBugger]

Disney is expensive food-wise. That and merchandising is where they make their money. Also, the dollar is not worth anything anymore.

There are ways around it (backpack of goodies) no doubt.

I laughed when I saw a pizza at DD for $40 recently.

 

[mariezp]

Our last trip to Six Flags Over Texas was even worse than Disneyland prices! It certainly made me realize that Disneyland is not any more overpriced than a lot of other entertainment venues. At least they do tend to lean towards generous portions.

As for eating outside the park... one can't always assume they will save a few dollars just by eating outside of the park. It seems to me that even the local restaurants jack up the prices because they are near DL. The Denney's and McDonalds on Harbor are way over priced compared to the ones closer to us at home.

 

[mommaU4]

The Denney's and McDonalds on Harbor are way over priced compared to the ones closer to us at home.

That is so true! We went to an IHOP near Disney because we like it there and eat there frequently enough to know their usual prices.
The one we went to near Disney had most of their items priced anywhere from $1-$3 higher then the other IHOPs we'd eaten at. Add that increase to each member of a family of six and that's quite a chunk added to your bill.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i wont go to that mc d's they were rude to me and ripped me off.
its one thing to rip me off hay im at dl im not going there to save money. BUT to be rude about it well thats one thing i wont put up with for get you ill order my pizza hut stuffed crust meat lovers who needs your overpriced burger lol