Groceries and being on MYW dining Plan

[Debs1963]

Our family of 4 -DW, DH, DS(4) and DD(6) is going to WDW in Mid-May. We are on the MYW Dining Plan. This worked better for us since it is our first trip and our numerous Character meals more than paid for the plan. I know that there is a ton of food with this plan but I still think that we will need to have some food in our room. My kids may not be hungry or be too excited at dinnertime. Also having breakfast in the room might also help us get to the parks earlier Having to buy light food and PBJ at 9:30pm for 5 bucks will defeat savings of plan. I was planning on bringing a suitcase full of food-cereal, granola bars, cereal, juice boxesetc. But then I started to think that having groceries delivered might be a better idea. Are the groceries in Orlando area so expensive that it's worth lugging groceries from home? Do they have minimal amounts that you can buy? Who has the best deals? Can I order them online before we leave? Do they hit you with a hefty delivery charge? What are people's experiences regarding bringing groceries from home vs. in room delivery?

 

[pjlla]

Most people will tell you that the food prices in the Orlando area are "normal", not overinflated (assuming you go to a regular grocery store, not a convenience store). We have bought some groceries while in the WDW area... beer, wine, soda, chips, fruit, bagels, without trouble. I know that there are several chain stores right nearby (cannot remember the names). I have had good luck shipping a box of food to myself at the resort before leaving home. But I had a slightly special circumstance... DH on Atkins, DS with food allergies... so it was important that I have certain foods available and I didn't want to take the chance of not being able to find them.

If you are using a towncar service, most/lots of them include a 30 minute grocery stop, from what I have read here (no personal experience). If you are renting a car you certainly have your choice of where/when to shop. And there has been lots of talk here on the Budget Board about using a shopping service. As I recall, most people were pretty happy with it. You should do a search here to find more information. I'm sure that there are LOOOONG threads on this topic. I'm sure that lots of people will chime in here with opinions and advise.

Anyhow, IMHO, if you can manage a grocery stop (either with the towncar or with a rental car) and don't have any special needs, then you can certainly buy whatever you need when you arrive. But if you are using ME or won't have time for a stop, then consider shipping a box of groceries to yourself ahead of time or use a shopping service. I personally wouldn't lug them along with the luggage.... too much to handle!.............P

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Bringing groceries from home, if you're flying, can be a real pain. Plus, you can't transport perishables too easily. You might be better off using a shopping service like WeGoShop.com . I've heard that their service is very good and they only charge you the actual grocery bill plus a $15 delivery fee for orders under $100.

You can tell them the name, brand, quantity or size of the items that you want and they will do the shopping for you. It might be worth it if you have a large number of groceries to purchase but if you're just looking for a box of cereal, some milk and juice, the added $15 might not be cost effective. You can purchase those items in the gift shop or the food court of your resort.

 

[luvsgrumpy]

We brought some food from home like cereal, pop-tarts, and some snacks and had a grocery stop with our transportation (Quiksilver) and got the heavy stuff there. (milk, sodas, juice boxes, and water) Having the extra space in our suitcase on the way home was really nice too.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

WE started our vacation on I-drive, so I found the directions to grocery stores on all-ears.net to be of little use. I can tell you that if you take RT4 to 192 (Go towards Celebration) there is a Publix on 192 on the left. It is a few miles up the road. I think it is very near Vineland Rd.

 

[robinb]

I think that buying a lot of groceries when you are already on the dining plan is a waste of money. Having a few snacks on hand is good, but you have already paid for breakfast! If you want a quick start to the morning, then just get cereal at the food court on the way out? Personally, I would just pack a box or two of granola bars in case the kids get hungry between their 3 meals a day. I don't think they will!

 

[Debs1963]

The dining plan only provides 2 meals a day, a sit down which we are mostly using for dinnertime character meals and a counterservice meal. We also get a snack daily for each person but it is my understanding that they are for very basic snacks form the snack carts. If we eat breakfast in our room will use our counter service meal for lunch which would be a more expensive meal than breakfast. By doing this we will be getting more for our money with the dining plan. Also, as I mentioneed earlier if my kids want a snack at night before they go to bed, buying it at the food court will get expensive. I was thinking that I would only spend about $60.00 on groceries and maybe would get some water and juice boxes. For food I thought cereal, crackers, pretzels and peanut butter and that type of stuff. Maybe I'm going overkill ? Whats other peoples experience been who are on the dining plan plan in regard to buying additional groceries?

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

We have always eaten more from the room than we did this trip w/ the meal plan.

We went to the grocery, and bought some apples, bananas, yogurt, chips soda, and bottled water. We brought 2 boxes of granola bars, and some cereal bars from home.

Any more would have been wasted. We found ourselves stuffed on the meal plan.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

I would just bring some simple breakfast foods & snacks with you. a quick breakfast in the room is easy and saves time. You can get milk at the resort gift shop. Don't forget that food can be brought back to the room. With counter service, you might not want the desert at that time. Bring back a rice krispy treat for a bedtime snack. At dinner you get soo much food that part of a meal or the desert can be brought back for later too. We used to bring quite a bit of food and always wasted it. Next trip we are taking only drinks and water.

Jordan's mom

 

[swilshire]

Prices at the Publix are similar to those at home except for milk. Milk is very expensive, so we always buy it at Sams. Apparently everyone else does, too, because sometimes they run completely out.

We always bring some groceries from home because we shop the sales and use coupons. We've tried to narrow it down through the years to the things that weigh the least and that we save the most money on at home.

The prices at Goodings near Downtown Disney are very high.

Sheila

 

[robinb]

Sorry, I thought the Dining Plan included 3 meals a day since that Character Breakfasts were also included. You will probably want to buy/bring some breakfast foods. We usually eat cereal (we bring our own plastic bowls and use WDW's plastic spoons) in the room or we toast bagels at the food court. Since you're staying at a moderate resort, you'll have a fridge in you room to keep milk/OJ/beer/cream cheese/etc cold. You may want to also bring your own coffee to brew in your room if you're particularly fussy about your java. I drink the Food Court coffee, but my DH hates it!

 

[LuvToPlayDisney]

We have used the Dining plan for the last 2 trips and I have just brought in my suitcase some room snacks (pretzels,granola bars). I find that we always had extra drinks left over from the Adult meals to put in the refridg for the kids.

 

[vsimeone]

The dining plan only provides 2 meals a day, a sit down which we are mostly using for dinnertime character meals and a counterservice meal. We also get a snack daily for each person but it is my understanding that they are for very basic snacks form the snack carts. If we eat breakfast in our room will use our counter service meal for lunch which would be a more expensive meal than breakfast. By doing this we will be getting more for our money with the dining plan. Also, as I mentioneed earlier if my kids want a snack at night before they go to bed, buying it at the food court will get expensive. I was thinking that I would only spend about $60.00 on groceries and maybe would get some water and juice boxes. For food I thought cereal, crackers, pretzels and peanut butter and that type of stuff. Maybe I'm going overkill ? Whats other peoples experience been who are on the dining plan plan in regard to buying additional groceries?

I would beg to differ. The snacks CAN be humongous! We have done the dining plan 3 times. We drive so it was no big deal to bring snacks from home but we honestly never touched them!!! On the last trip (12/08) we were 2 adults and our "kids" were 17 and 20 at the time - needless to say - BIG eaters!

Depending upon where you are staying (we stayed at CSR the last two times) the snacks in the food court/restaurant are big. Getting a cinnamon roll as "dessert" with our counter service EASILY was breakfast the next morning. Main Street Bakery at MK has tons of "snacks" including a HUGE chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich.

We got Mickey head rice krispie treats at DTD that I ate 1/2 of for breakfast TWO mornings!

Every family is different but just don't be too shocked if the meal plan is more than enough food!

Have a FABULOUS time!!!

 

[ceecee]

We used snack credits for muffins and ate them for breakfast. There is more than enough food on the dining plan, we have used it for the past five years and always have snacks left, especially when DD was younger. We use a lot of the snack credits for water. Pack a few apples or granola bars and you should be fine.

 

[delmar411]

we use www.wegoshop.com , they are very friendly and will bring the groceries to your room and unpack them for you. I like that you can pick your store, pick your brand items (or leave it up to them) and you can even list max prices for items (they won't get it if it costs more than you want to pay...that's great for produce).

The shopping fee is very reasonable and then you are expected to tip the person who delivers your food (10-15%). The fact that they will bring them to your room and unpack them is well worth a tip IMO!

They even offer a reduced delivery rate if you find you need more of something during your trip.

We get breakfast foods, microwave popcorn, milk, yogurt, bottled water, soda, fruits and pre-cut veggies. The fruits and veggies at the resorts and parks are extremely overpriced and using a snack credit on an apple seems so wasteful. The counter service meals seem to offer little in the way of produce so you can find yourself going w/o if you don't pre-plan.

 

[klacey1]

We also get a snack daily for each person but it is my understanding that they are for very basic snacks form the snack carts.

You can use your snack credits for much, much more than "basic snacks from snack carts." Check out the list:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2067447

DBF and I brought some light food, though, to eat at breakfast-- granola/cereal bars and fruit snacks/100 calorie packs for the plane. Honestly, anything much more than that would go to waste, I think. A couple of boxes of stuff like that won't take up too much room in your suitcase. Anything your kids can eat on the go is good-- gets you into the parks sooner!

 

[Chelley00]

DD and I were on the regular dining plan in Nov, but we ordered groceries from GardenGrocer.com

We had bottled water, breakfast foods (muffins, donuts, oatmeal-to-go bards etc), fruits, gum and mints, OJ and milk delivered to the resort. Very easy, and worth the delivery fee not to have to run to the store, shop, check out, then lug it to our room. They delivered it to the bell services, and then bell services brought it to our room.

 

[Justsyd2]

You'll get a ton of food on the dining plan. You can use snack credits for breakfast or late night snacks. I'd save the $60 you're planning to order food with to use at the resort and the parks if you need to purchase breakfast or a snack.

We took a ton of snacks with us last June. We were on the QSDP, and ended having to give the snacks away. We also had 13 snack credits that we had to use at the end of our trip, and had 1 meal credit left over. Believe me, you'll be getting more than enough on the DP, and if you use the $60 for what you actually need on the trip, you won't have a lot of left over non-eaten food at the end of the trip.

 

[mommycrawford]

I do order food for the room...more to save time than anything else.

My DD10 also tends to want to eat late...after EMH, and nothing on site is open then.

If you want a list PM me.

As far as bringing from home, produce is the thing you can save money on, but all the buffets have beautiful fruit, so you can get your filll that way.

On DDP, we often buy pickles or apples in Liberty square and such, instead of using snack credits, and save those for pricier options.

Do what's most convenient since it's vacation.

 

[mommycrawford]

I do order food for the room...more to save time than anything else.

My DD10 also tends to want to eat late...after EMH, and nothing on site is open then.

If you want a list PM me.

As far as bringing from home, produce is the thing you can save money on, but all the buffets have beautiful fruit, so you can get your filll that way.

On DDP, we often buy pickles or apples in Liberty square and such, instead of using snack credits, and save those for pricier options.

Do what's most convenient since it's vacation.