Food & Things

[pms122765]

We will be staying for 1 week at the AK - paid for this one - just bought at the BCV though - looking for help on how to save a few $ on food - things etc...

Our boys are 3 & 5

Me 38 Wife 39

Any ideas on Re-fillable mugs, vouchures, wishes if you go with a silver plan etc...

What benefits to DVC members get?

Thanks

 

[Granny]

The biggest savings we have experienced with DVC is that we eat breakfast at the villa...very inexpensively after buying some cereal and bagels and such from a local food store.

And we save on soft drinks since we buy that as well. Really, we don't use the refillable mug program much anymore since it's easier to get a cold drink from the villa (with more selection as well).

DVC does offer discounts on many WDW restaurants. So more money can be saved that way. There is no DVC discount on any kind of "food plan", however.

 

[pms122765]

I see when we will be staying at the Villas - but what about this trip - staying the Animal Kingdom

 

[RumpleMom]

We just spent 3 days at the AKL. We purchased the refillable mug at The Mara (sort of a food court) and found we could easily share a hot breakfast item, as they are generous and we are not big breakfast eaters, and shared a sweet roll.

In the past we have packed the little boxes of cereal, paper bowls, spoons and just purchased milk and juice. We have found it saved time and money to send Dad to get these items, while the rest of the family gets ready for the day.

 

[pms122765]

Any advice for someone who does not have a car?

 

[ErinC]

You can still purchase cold breakfast items in the gift shop at AKL (no car neccessary). Probably cereal, poptarts, donuts, milk, & juice. These prices will still be a little higher than the grocery store, but not too bad, and still a big savings over restaurant food. Plus, we like to do breakfast in the room, it's just easier for us, and then get on with our day. We make lunch our nice sit down restaurant meal, as the prices are a lot less than dinner, and usually it's the same food. Then we eat some type of counter service for dinner. This plan usually works best for us.

As far as DVC discounts, check out the member website, some are valid all the time for members, some only when you are staying at a DVC resort. Be sure to take your blue member card, as I think you will be asked to show it for the discounts. Have a great trip. I might also suggest that you check out the budget board here, there are some excellent money saving ideas to be had on that board!

 

[rocketriter]

We've done the "wishes" thing and do not recommend it unless you can buy only 1 wish per day. They turn out to cost you about $35 apiece, which means that if you use them for fast food breakfasts or lunches then you're paying $35 per person for hot dogs.

When we did it, we fought back by scheduling PS for every lunch and dinner at a fine (and expensive) restaurant. The good side was that every time we turned around, a waitress was telling us, "Go ahead, add on a lobster tail for each person in the family. It's covered in your plan!" The bad news was that this taught our children to love lobster (and steak and prime rib and rack of lamb and everything else expensive...) and after a while, bloated from round after round of appetizer-salad-entree-dessert, we stopped having fun and started feeling like mountains of food were holding us hostage. Bur-r-r-r-rpp!

 

[pms122765]

I too thought the wishes would end up costing more than we could really eat.

I used to eat a lot - but I don't think I could eat a full meal after the 3 & 5 yr old ran us ragged at the parks.

By the way - what is PS?

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Originally posted by pms122765
By the way - what is PS?

It is a priority seating. The Disney method for taking meal "reservations".

HBC

 

[B'rer Karen]

Originally posted by pms122765
Any advice for someone who does not have a car?

If you have a towncar service take you from the airport to your hotel, most of them include a short grocery stop.

 

[Deesknee]

We have always chose to eat a hearty brkfast, take fruit in a backpack or purchase at the park, then grab a sandwich for dinner.
It works for us, but may not work for others. We started this when our kids were about 3 1/2.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

We do breakfast in the room and bring snacks in a backpack. Each of my kids carries their own in their own pack. By snacking we can delay lunch a few hours, miss the crowds, still pay lunch prices at the locations (check the SVC site prior to going to see what discounts are offered) and get a DVC discount at many of them (we at in Morocco for lunch prices and at 20% off for DVC members). We then usually eat a smaller dinner or even lite snacks becasue we are so full from lunch. You kids are still young. You can save by having them share a meal or even order a larger portion for you and have them eat off your food.

I wouldn't do a buffet because they won't eat enough to make it worth it. Just my opinion. My kids are 6 & 8 and still share meals often.

 

[teo403]

Before DVC, we bought the refillable mugs and still ate breakfast in the room (either cereal that we brought with us or a light breakfast like a bagel or muffin, etc.) My carry-on was filled with juice boxes, mini boxes of cereal, peanut butter crackers, goldfish, etc. We also carry snacks and juice boxes with us when we go to the park. Buying bottled water outside of the park really saves money too.

 

[amee]

We have owned DVC for 3 years now and have tried lots of differnet "money saving" methods.....one of the best by far is the purchase of vouchers through hotwiresavingsclub.com These vouchers cost 11.00 and are worth quite a bit more toward food purchasing at various restaurants throughout the world. Our favorite is Beaches and Cream at Beach Club. There is a very informative thread on the dining forum about these vouchers. We use them everytime, now. The Ice Cream Social is a great value "charactermeal" that has been a big hit with our kids.....The other tip commonly found on these boards, which we like to do is to make the latest lunch reservations at a sit-down place that we can......the food is usuallly the same as dinner and it cost less. We too, always eat breakfast in the room and then bring some sort of snacks until lunch.......the other tip we discovered last trip was that often i only need the kid-sized portions of some counter service spots......they are happy to allow adults to order kid meals!

have fun!