How to save money on food????

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by 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...........

When we have a freezer, we paritally fill the bottle and freeze it overnite, then fill it the rest of the way with water in the am. If we don't have a freezer, we just pack it full of ice in the morning.

During the day, as we drink the water and the ice melts, we just get fresh ice and water at the restaurants and refill the bottle. Ours has an insulated carrier and even on a warm day the ice will stay frozen for hours.

Steve

 

[threeboysmom]

Thanks Steve! I guess we'll have to look for wider-mouth bottles. The six packs we buy at the store have very narrow openings (standard bottle size) - I don't know how we would cram ice into them!

 

[MrsG]

When our kids were little, we always stayed at CBR. Early in the morning DH and I would walk to Old Port Royale and grab coffee, milk, danish or bagels and eat them back in the room while the kids were getting ready. We would get to the park for early opening and leave by 12 PM when it was really getting hot. Back in the room I would make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinks from a mix ( bring ingredients from home or stop in the hotel gift shop-I think all have a food area). Then we would have a nice dinner somewhere.

In all honesty, there is only so much food you can eat in a day and the light lunch was welcomed.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by threeboysmom
Thanks Steve! I guess we'll have to look for wider-mouth bottles. The six packs we buy at the store have very narrow openings (standard bottle size) - I don't know how we would cram ice into them!

Kimberly - Instead of going to the supermarket, stop at your local sporting goods store (Sports Authority, Modells, Dick's, etc.). They will have large bottles (24-30 oz) that come with a zip-on insulated liner and strap. Those bottles have wider mouths and are usually easy to fill with ice (unless you get stuck in one of those hotels that makes huge ice cubes). You can probably find them at Target or Wal-Mart too. I think we paid about $10 or $12 for ours and we've had it for several years. Don't know what we'd do without it.

Steve

 

[beansmom]

If your driving, why would you want to bring groceries from home??

I can only say that *I* personally can get things much cheaper at home on sale than paying what I would anywhere on a trip.

Tho, as memymomonica said, we also lugged home about a full suitcase full of snacks that i thought we would need there. I finally threw half of them away weeks later. I would plan but not overplan.

We fill the cooler with tuna and other sandwiches to eat on the trip down, which saves us considerably but we don't eat in our rooms. We don't usually do a big breakfast and when we're busy at WDW, a 'brunch' suits us better. Then a lunch a few hours later and we only eat about twice a day.

If I had smaller kids, I might pack snacks but my 14 yr old dd can hang with us.

 

[crz4mm2]

I just wanted to say hi Sher and Angel's momma.
I'm from Monmouth Small world eh?
Cathy

 

[AlicesAdventures]

If you like iced tea Lipton has a Cold Brew teabag that you can bring along ....order an ice water to drink at the counter service and pop one in.... ice tea instantly!

 

[fabwallsmom]

Personally, I think the crockpot idea is brilliant! I wouldn't do it myself, especially because my family is made up of those weird people who "don't like their food to touch" so that totally eliminates the crockpot! I love crockpot food, myself!

We're going this summer (still in early planning stages) and plan to eat breakfast in the room (except for one character breakfast). I considered the concierge, but I think $150 for breakfast for 5 is a bit nuts. I think that's the only time we'd use the concierge lounge. We're planning one sit-down meal a day, either lunch or dinner. Then we'll eat counter service for the other, and split meals if necessary. We'll probably fly (DH has enough frequent flyer miles to go to the moon and back), so we won't be able to pack as much food. I have dietary restrictions (gluten-free) and will bring some things from home.

By the way, the last time I was at WDW, I asked about an item on the menu at the Living Seas at dinner (checking to see if it was gluten-free). The waiter said he would check. A few minutes later the chef came out and spoke with me and told me that the item was not gluten-free. He did ask me if I liked certain things, and said he'd make something special for me. He ended up making a polenta dish just for me! So, even if you don't have dietary restrictions, remember to ask if you can order off the menu. It may be cheaper!

Robin

 

[m_dotres@yahoo.com]

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