How to save money on food????

[Hawk]

If your driving, why would you want to bring groceries from home?? There are plenty of food stores outside of the tourist traps of WDW i.e., Costco, Publix, Winn Dixie. Get a cooler for ice & drinks at the room; you can bring one or buy one, they're cheap enough. Ice is free at resorts. Buy water and snack food at Costco or similar discount store. Heed the advice of the above comments.

Don't bring a refrigerator; its a waste of space on the way to and from WDW.

Have a nice trip.

Hawk

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Hawk
If your driving, why would you want to bring groceries from home?? There are plenty of food stores outside of the tourist traps of WDW i.e., Costco, Publix, Winn Dixie.

Don't bring a refrigerator; its a waste of space on the way to and from WDW.

When we drive we always pack our non-perishable grocery items. While its true that the offsite supermarkets are cheaper than Disney, they are still far pricier than the stores at home. When we get to Florida, we just pick up milk, juice, fresh fruit, etc. Also, we are on the road for 18 hours and like to have food with us along the way to lessen the food spending during the drive.

As for a refrigerator, we have an Igloo cooler that plugs in to the power outlet in the van and into the outlet in the hotel. That way we can keep stuff cold while driving and have a mini fridge when we reach our destination. It is a great appliance and I highly recommend getting one if you do much traveling by car.

Steve

 

[jennypenny]

We drive and I bring my crock pot with me. I have a few meals prepared and frozen before we go (chili, meatballs and sausage, chicken and dumplings). I bring them with me, and keep them frozen in a cooler. You can put them on low before you go to the parks, and we you get back you have dinner ready! It's much cheaper to eat out for lunch than dinner. And we think some of the non-character all you can eat buffets are a pretty good deal (relatively). We like Biergarten in Germany (I think $15 for lunch), Hollywood and Vine in DS, and the Trails End Buffeteria at Ft. Wilderness Campground (just a boat ride from MK).

 

[Hawk]

Originally posted by disneysteve
When we drive we always pack our non-perishable grocery items. While its true that the offsite supermarkets are cheaper than Disney, they are still far pricier than the stores at home. When we get to Florida, we just pick up milk, juice, fresh fruit, etc. Also, we are on the road for 18 hours and like to have food with us along the way to lessen the food spending during the drive.

As for a refrigerator, we have an Igloo cooler that plugs in to the power outlet in the van and into the outlet in the hotel. That way we can keep stuff cold while driving and have a mini fridge when we reach our destination. It is a great appliance and I highly recommend getting one if you do much traveling by car.

Steve

Steve: I have always found the prices at the discount stores the same or cheaper than those in Vermont. However, the items I am talking about getting are those you mentioned; milk, juice, fresh fruit ect. as this is all we keep in the room. We eat most of our meals at WDW or nearby locations now that we rent a car at MCO.

The igloo cooler is a grand idea. I don't think I have seen one that plugs in - so there is no ice mess? I take it that the cooler has a universal plug for both car and room electrical outlets. Excellent!

I can't believe Jenny above brings a crockpot! How do you keep it from spilling? When we drove (once in 2002 with camper), we had 7 people in a Ford Expedition and would not have had room for that, but it sure is a good idea if you have the room.

Hawk.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Hawk
The igloo cooler is a grand idea. I don't think I have seen one that plugs in - so there is no ice mess? I take it that the cooler has a universal plug for both car and room electrical outlets. Excellent!

I can't believe Jenny above brings a crockpot! How do you keep it from spilling?

Our Igloo cooler has 2 power units. One plugs in to the car power outlet. The other plugs in to a regular wall outlet. We've used it for years (actually we're on our 2nd unit) in many different places. Coleman sells a 40-quart one at Target for $89.99. I think the AC plug may be extra. But its well worth the investment.

As for Jenny and the crockpot, I think she meant she packs a crockpot and uses it in her hotel. I don't think she meant she cooks along the way.

Steve

 

[summersfam4]

We always pack snacks to take to the park, but due to limited space with the new baby last year we had to make adjustments. Dh doesn't want PB&J to eat to avoid a sit down lunch, so at his suggestion we make wraps the night before (like you get at Publix only smaller). With deli meat, cheese and a few other things to add taste you can make them on flour tortillas, or on lavosh bread like Publix does. They wrap up smaller than sandwiches and pack real easy in the insulated diaper bag we carry along with a cool pak. This along with other small snacks like mentioned above saves us from buying lunch at all, plus it's easy to eat (we even ate them in line one day). I do have to mention though that seeing as we are pushing a stroller we do have extra packing room. Happy Saving!

Kelly at least 10 trips
DH at least 7 trips
DD 5 years, taking 5th trip this year!
DD 10 months taking 2nd trip this year!

Family of Grand Marshal want a be's

 

[TinkOhio]

Has anyone had any problems with bringing small snacks into the parks? I love the idea of packing some snacks to take inside, but what will the CM's checking bags at the entrance say?

 

[summersfam4]

and the CM's haven't said anything to us. Believe me the first time I did it I felt like I was breaking the law, but they looked in all of our bags, plainly saw the sacks, said about the snack but thanked us for our time and let us in. If anyone has had a different experience I would like to know about it though
Great question!

Kelly

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by summersfam4
Believe me the first time I did it I felt like I was breaking the law, but they looked in all of our bags, plainly saw the sacks, said about the snack but thanked us for our time and let us in. If anyone has had a different experience I would like to know about it though

I agree. Last trip, when the guard searched our bag he saw all our goodies and said he was going to come with us.

Steve

 

[vald1977]

We also had no problem bringing in small snacks and water into the parks. I did, however, see a man taking in a six pack of beer and that was confiscated .

My biggest money-saving tip when dining would be staying off-site at a hotel where they serve free breakfast in the morning. Saves us at least $15 dollars a day. Plus, we stay in a suite with a kitchen so if we were ever so inclined, we could cook a full meal.

 

[Leader of the Club]

Security wanted to take my DD's snacks--said he hadn't had breakfast and was hungry. DD told him she would bring him something extra next time!

Of course, they were both kidding around.

We bring in snacks, water and Gatorade. I do not think that is what security is looking for when they search bags.

 

[memymomonica]

I agree with bringing your own food, but don't go overboard. We weren't as hungry as I thought we would be. I bought groceries for 5 adults and a 5 year old. We ended up lugging over half of it home. We drank the sodas and bottled water in the room. We also took our water into the parks. We did very well on our budget. We had at least one sit down meal a day. It was our first visit, so we had to try a lot of snacks. I guess we are big eaters, because we couldn't of shared meals. We didn't waste anything. Even my daughter who usually eats like a bird developed an appetite. So, just try to be realistic in the food you take. Don't go overboard like we did. We even left some of our snacks for housekeeping rather than take it home.

 

[MomEars]

I'm all for saving a few bucks,maybe water bottles ,snacks and nuts,I even go as far as kids meals for adults,but eating breakfast or any food on a crowded bus (yuck),making a salad out of condiments at a food court and having the kids fill up on pickles. not my kids.You need to budget time with the family and eat at least one meal without running to the next ride,after all its a vacation.I've seen too many people hurry around like they're going to miss something,what I don't know. Budget what you must,but don't go crazy,you'll find you're wasting more than you save,and one thing you will need for Disney is your sanity. Leave the crockpots at home.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by MomEars
I've seen too many people hurry around like they're going to miss something,what I don't know. Budget what you must,but don't go crazy,you'll find you're wasting more than you save,and one thing you will need for Disney is your sanity. Leave the crockpots at home.

But I think this is exactly the reason you should bring the crockpot, or whatever else you prefer. We always have at least one nice quiet relaxed family meal back at our suite/condo/house. It only takes about 3 days before we are sick of eating out so much. Its nice to kick back in our own accomodations, whatever they may be, and have dinner without being surrounded by crowds and activity. Sometimes, that just means having a pizza delivered to the room. But it gives us a chance to unwind and not feel rushed to be anywhere. The cost savings is just a side benefit.

Steve

 

[EdDome]

Crockpots are just another matter of preference. IMHO it's only one step better than barbequing in the bath tub.

 

[memymomonica]

I don't think that is a fair statement. I can see it may be silly if you are in a value hotel room. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa at Old Key West with a full kitchen. I see nothing wrong with taking a crockpot there. I think it depends on if the person "wants" to cook (which I didn't). Also, if you are staying 2 weeks, you might want to use it on an off day. I think it is too easy to say "How silly". I think it totally depends on the individual's situation.

 

[EdDome]

memymomonica -
I agree and it is, as you say, situational. Maybe I've just seen and heard too much.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Trying to clean a crockpot in a bathroom sink is horrible. Plus it will make a mess. Leave the crockpot at home, please.

 

[memymomonica]

That's why I said "It depends were you stay". I never took a crockpot, but we had full kitchen sink and a dishwasher. Cleaning it would not have been an issue were we stayed. I am on vacation so I don't have to cook, but too each his own.

 

[threeboysmom]

Many of you mentioned taking in water bottles & wearing them around your neck with a strap - good idea!!! But how do you keep them cold? I can see if you had a freezer, you could freeze them the night before and they would stay cold probably for most of the day. But without a freezer, I would think the water would only be cold for an hour or so? Then what do you do? Just curious as I think this is a great money-saving idea, just not sure of the logistics of it...........