How do you save on dining in WDW?

[Jess4WDW]

Hello!

Our next visit will be our first without the dining plan. I plan on eating more breakfasts in our room and I have a disney visa, anything else I can do? Any suggestions on how to save on dining would be greatly appreciated! I've heard of purchasing Target cards but not exactly sure how that works. Thanks!

 

[dhardawa]

I always wait for free dining. No free dining = no trip to Disney. That said, pack snacks from home and order drinks to be delivered to your resort. I find that some of the non-Disney owned restaurants in Downtown Disney are cheaper and have larger portions. If you want a sit down meal, do it at lunch when prices are often lower.

 

[marmalade]

We tend to go when it is hot, so while we aren't technically trying to save on dining it just happens because it is too hot to eat. We have skipped having a traditional meal and just got snack type foods, ie. Mickey pretzel, popcorn, egg rolls for lunch.

This is my go to website to check out what restaurants have and the cost www.allears.net

 

[mom2rb]

We have DVC. We have groceries delivered and do breakfast and dinner in the room. We make our big meals in restaurants at lunch when it is cheaper. We also have pizza delivered and make two dinners out of that.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Hello!

Our next visit will be our first without the dining plan. I plan on eating more breakfasts in our room and I have a disney visa, anything else I can do? Any suggestions on how to save on dining would be greatly appreciated! I've heard of purchasing Target cards but not exactly sure how that works. Thanks!

As far as the gift cards go, there a couple of threads that are already started regarding how to do this and what's the best bang for your buck You will find lots of useful information in the threads. I think they're called "Disney Gift Card Deals" and "Most % off Disney Gift Cards". I would be happy to answer any other questions you have regarding the gift cards but I think anything you need to know is in those threads

 

[starwart]

Yes I agree you can buy the disney gift cards and use them to pay for your meals inside wdw. Also you can buy frozen microwavable meals in grocery stores, warehouse clubs or in wholefoods. You may find that those pre packaged meals are more flavorful / delicious than what they offer in some of the wdw restaurants.

 

[HarkiQuinn]

Order a cup of water instead of a fountain drink. And if you can, try to share meals if you can.

 

[AaronInWI]

My wife and I either bring food from home or stop at a grocery store so we can eat breakfast in our room (cereal, yogurt, fruit, we bring a toaster from home for toast and waffles); most of the rest of our meals are QS meals, which we typically split. For example, we'll get a hot dog and fries from Casey's and cut the hot dog in half and split the fries. (This also helps cut down on the number of calories we're eating, but that's another thread entirely.)

 

[Jess4WDW]

Thanks everyone for the tips!

CalDisneyMomof2, I will be checking out those threads! Thanks so much

 

[maxiesmom]

You can bring food with you into the parks. There are only a few rules--no glass, no alcohol, and at the Animal Kingdom no plastic straws or lids.

For what it is worth, Disney doesn't ok guests bringing their own toasters for use in their rooms. They do provide toasters and microwaves in the food courts. What you can get away with may be another thing.

 

[kristenrice]

At counter-service locations, you can order items a la carte (i.e. sandwich, no fries) which is cheaper than the advertised meal. You can also order a kid's meal to get a smaller portion at a lower cost.

Sharing at non-buffet/AYCE table service locations is also a great way to save. I find that it is cheaper for us to share a single app/entree/dessert than it is to order just 2 entrees. It also lets us try smaller portions of different things without going hungry.

 

[abmitch01]

DD 15 and I share an adult's meal, we get ice water to drink or we both get kids' meals if I can find something tolerable like a turkey sandwich and fruit. We've always stayed off site and that's saved us a ton on food. We love Sweet Tomatoes, a salad bar place that emails you coupons like 3 meals for $20. There's one near DTD. You never leave there hungry. My kids love it there. We're about to stay onsite for the first time. I'm having Amazon Pantry deliver a box of diet soda, water and snacks and cereal.

 

[AaronInWI]

For what it is worth, Disney doesn't ok guests bringing their own toasters for use in their rooms. They do provide toasters and microwaves in the food courts. What you can get away with may be another thing.

Wow, I honestly didn't realize they frown on that. I guess I won't be doing that again. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Dayton Flyer]

Eat at the QS restaurants that allow you to get your own drink (there are very few of these) then split a drink.

Eat at the QS restaurants that have a toppings bar and make yourself a salad out of the lettuce, tomatoes, etc. for free.

Split meals. Order kids meals if you don't have a large appetite.

 

[monorailsilver]

I have never done the dining plan & don't plan on it...ever!! LOL unless for some reason my kids turn into eaters.

Breakfast-we ship down cereal, pop tarts. I may bring some lenders bagels with me for the first few days or I may make muffins of some sort. I have done oatmeal & I requested a microwave at the Poly (my son has a few food allergies so I was able to make him his own Rice Krispie treats this way). I ship disposable bowls too. My husband gets to ship very cheap so it works out for us.

I also ship down snack like chips, etc...

Last August (boo hoo it's been a year), we had water shipped plus my sister gave us her extra & we all had water bottles. The rule was no soda in the parks only water. I lost weight for the first time ever in WDW! So all our meals at quick service, we drank our water. When we had pool days the kids could drink whatever they wanted/could fill with their resort mugs.

Sometimes my dh & I would split a meal if we knew it was going to be a big one.

But we spent on average $40/meal for the 5 of us, dh, me, dd12, ds 9 & dd7 (their ages last year).

We did 2 sit downs on our non park day & I knew they were going to be $$$$ spent.

I also had around $1500 in pretty much free money to use on food & souvenirs, maybe it was $1200. I had around $500+ on my Disney Visa so that helped. And I had a ton of gift cards from reward sites. I did also buy around $100 of gift cards at one point and my husband recycled metals that & gave us a good chunk of change.

We arrived on Saturday & left the following Monday (10 days). My dh had to start digging in our cash that we brought around Thursday or Friday.

That was after Chef Mickeys ($200 ish) & the WCC ($125ish) and buying our resort mugs ($80ish). I also used that money to buy milk for the morning.

If I was to ever do the dining plan it would be for the quick service & I'd pay OOP for the few TS meals we go to.

We aren't going for another 4 years & I have about $50 in landrys gift cards I can cash in but by the time we go, I should be up to $75 and that will pay for TRex.

 

[Laura66]

Eat at the QS restaurants that allow you to get your own drink (there are very few of these) then split a drink.

Eat at the QS restaurants that have a toppings bar and make yourself a salad out of the lettuce, tomatoes, etc. for free.

Split meals. Order kids meals if you don't have a large appetite.

It take issue with the second suggestion. That's not eating a salad for free - that's stealing. Those condiments are for paying customers to put on the food they bought at the establishment.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Rent a car and eat off property.

Next month we are going for 5 days and our rental car is $62.00 total. So that is $12.40 a day for the car. I am sure by eating off property we will save more than $12.40 compared to Disney crazy food prices.

By having a car we will stop at Super Target on our way to Disney and pick up a case of water and some soda's. Muffins and banana's for breakfast.

We always stop at the Hess station by the Car Care Center and have lunch. They have a very nice cafe' area with plenty of sitting. The last time we got 4 hot dogs, 2 bottles of pop and a bag of combo's and the total was $7.35 for two people. Yet the hot dog combo meal inside MK at Casey Corner is $7.79 per person.

We have stopped at that Hess station to get a whole pizza for $8.99 to take back to the resort. Certain days of the week you also get a free 2 liter of pop with the pizza.
That station has Nathan Hotdog, Godfather Pizza, Quizno's and Dunkin Donuts.

 

[pampam]

I'm not sure what resort you will be staying at, but here's a good tip. This is for Pop Century food court, but I'm sure most of the resorts have something similar. I found this out by just a fluke. The man ahead of me was buying several plates of bread for his family to toast in the toaster, and the CM cashier suggested he go to the pizza stop in the food court and ask for a loaf of bread. It is not listed in the menu, but it is most certainly available. There is a choice of white or wheat (brown). It cost about $0.10 more that buying from Walmart.

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

-Many times I would order a "kids meal" at a counter service restaurant or at our resort POP Century.
-Always ask for water...it is FREE at all counter service restaurants both in the parks and at the resorts.
-If you do want a Character Meal...choose the Lunch option...always cheaper than Dinner. (or get a late breakfast Character Meal which will hold you till dinner.)
-Split an adult CS meal in the parks or at your resort...no one questions you.
- Remember water is FREE...don't waste money by buying sodas on your vacation...they add up $$$.
-We have also shipped water and juice boxes to our resort ...you can ship just about anything you need ...we used Wal-Mart.com
-We pack granola bars, cheese crackers, goldfish etc in our bags for snacking .

 

[LovesTimone]

Some of the items you can make homemade to bring along, Mini muffin, Rice Krispy Treats, homemade trail mix, mini brownie bites or cookies. You just need to store in an air tight container. If you have a Disney ears cookie cutter it works great, and makes them special

I have friend that use's Garden Grocer they prefer this method rather that shipping a box. This way they can get some items like fresh fruit and cream cheese for bagels and other items for the baby. And adult beverages for the evening without breaking the bank.

When DD was little she was a picky eater... so I would bring "her bread" for toast in the mornings, I think all the food courts have a toaster, also I would bring her cereal and just buy a carton of milk. Also when DH and I had both girls we loved to stay at CBR, We would use the courtyard area in the mornings for breakfast, I would get breakfast started outside while DH was in the shower and getting dressed, then we would switch off, I would hit the shower, get ready, check the bags for the day, Then change the girls into their park outfits for the day, and head out. This worked really well for us, and saved money for breakfast, and the kids would get some food in them.

Also a soft sided cooler is great for the parks, we took in the gel freezer pack thingy, to keep thing cool - along with capri suns, juicy juice, bottle water, and a must have coke for mom... grapes, or apples, and string cheese. Then in a smaller air tight container crackers, chips or dry cereal. I preferred a hard container to keep things from getting smooshed.

You can share meals, head over to all ears, they have current price and menus so you can look ahead to see what you can share ahead of time.

I have another friend that gets a double cheese burger meal and a extra bun and splits it up patty so that each kid gets a whole burger, they choose some where were a toppings bar is, so that each kid can put what they want on their burger, then she puts all the fries together so that no-one can say he got more..

Have a wonderful time.