inexpensive food

[parrothoo]

Can you realistically eat for 5 cheap at the parks? We really don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on food for the week but after looking at the menu's I'm starting to have doubts. We are staying on Disney at the All Star Movies Resort.

 

[kmflowers]

If you have a car, you can get a pizza from the Hess station on property. I know the one by Magic Kingdom and the one across from Downtown Disney normally offers a large pizza for something like $7.

 

[lauralong81]

Can you realistically eat for 5 cheap at the parks? We really don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on food for the week but after looking at the menu's I'm starting to have doubts. We are staying on Disney at the All Star Movies Resort.

You can also take food into all the parks, within certain guidelines. We've taken sandwiches and snacks and bottles of water and juice boxes before. That saves a lot of money. Otherwise, for even the "cheap" meals, you are looking at the very least $8-$10 per person for fast food type food in the parks.

 

[Loveallthingsdisney]

Can you realistically eat for 5 cheap at the parks? We really don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on food for the week but after looking at the menu's I'm starting to have doubts. We are staying on Disney at the All Star Movies Resort.

We like the Fish and Chips outside kiosk at Epcot, and in May 2011, discovered the French pastry shop has a wonderful sandwich, when teamed-up with a Napoleon, makes a great meal for $7.00 (fountain ice water to drink) I don't like paying an arm and a leg for Disney food. Earl of Sandwich at DTD is good, and the Mickey bars and Dole Whips are great snacks at the parks. We also liked the Biergarten for a very late lunch, which also became our dinner.If you really want to save, it's great to have a car and go just a bit South of the AllStar Resorts--Bob Evans, Outback, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-a just to name a few,and our favorite-Giordanos for pizza.

 

[blondietink]

We find we can split many of the counter service meals between two people which saves money. We love Flame Tree Barbeque where the portions seem HUGE! Also love the food court at POP where they service chinese food that can easily be divided in two.

 

[minnie mum]

If you rent a fridge at the resort you could buy breakfast groceries at one of the nearby Publix or Walmarts (if you have a car). Have breakfast in your room and pack your own drinks and snacks to take into the park with you.

 

[parrothoo]

Thank you all so much....every idea was all things we talked about....we are renting a fridge and we will have our own car plus a cooler so this should work out well...I did not know we could take small food items into the park so this is huge help. My kids are not real big on eating huge amounts of food when its hot and they are riding rides also...(not a great combo...LOL) I remember the food being really good and large amounts when we stayed at All Star Sports some time back so we can easily share food that way also...Love this board and appreciate all the help you all have provided so far.

 

[smidgy]

hubby and I easily split a funnel cake from sleepy hollow (MK) for breakfast.
if you have a cooler and a car and a fridge... we bnring bread, lunchmeat, mac salead, chips etc. and eat lunch in the room somtimes on our mid day resort/pool break.

 

[danceintherain]

You can absolutely bring food into the parks with a few exceptions.
The following are not allowed to be brought into the Disney Theme Parks:

* Items with wheels, such as wagons, skateboards, scooters, inline skates, shoes with built-in wheels, two-wheeled or three-wheeled conveyances, strollers larger than 36" x 52", suitcases, coolers, or backpacks with or without wheels larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (coolers required for medication may be stored in a locker or at Guest Relations), and any trailer-like object that is pushed or towed by an ECV wheelchair or stroller
* Alcoholic beverages
* Weapons of any kind
* Folding chairs
* Glass containers (excluding baby food jars and perfume bottles)
* Pets (unless they are service animals)
* In Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park (for the safety of the wildlife), balloons, straws and drink lids are not permitted. Note: they now have biodegradable paper straws.

Mousesavers has some tips for eating cheap in the parks:
http://www.mousesavers.com/meals.html#cheap eats

My parents have 6 children, and when they took us to Disney we brought sack lunches with us pretty much every day, and had counter service for dinner.

 

[EvilQueenT]

we do a lot of sharing if we eat in the parks themselves. the portions are huge imo...it's great don't get me wrong but we share. if you're not on the dining plan it's no problem, most of the time you can ask the kitchen to split it onto two plates before they bring it out.

the other way is call pizza hut for delivery or hit the mcdonalds by dtd.

 

[KTJAY]

We've gone to disney.....eating on a budget-some tips we did:

Split meals-huge CS meals are at cosmic ray's, Flametree bbq, sunshine seasons, mexico,england,

Cheap meals-ham and cheese croissants/sandwiches/quiche @ france bakery $4 or 5 then split desserts after

If we did do a TS it was usually a breakfast buffet (a little later like 10am and cheaper) then have a snack for lunch and CS for dinner.

Or a cheaper TS lunch like the plaza, sci-fi, some 50's PT menu items, via napoli has big pizzas you can all split.

Order kid's meals from the CS-some of them are big.

Some snacks we've found that are almost meal size:

huge baked potatoes @ liberty sq market in MK
egg rolls in AK and MK probably Epcot too in japan or china
corn dogs, hot dogs, sides of chili- caseys in MK,Herbies's in DHS, kiosk in AK
Huge order hand made chips-friars nook
Most desserts in disney are splitable too!!

This is making me hungry and i want to go to disney

 

[Princesca]

If you Google around, you can find some interesting tips. Some I've come across:

For instance... if you find a place where you can get a double cheeseburger, that has a fixins bar, you can order an extra bun for a quarter, make two burgers instead of one, top 'em off heavily from the fixins bar, and split the fries.

Drink water instead of soda... it's free if you get tap, and it's better for you.

Order off the kids' menu.

Character meals are cheaper at breakfast, so go then if you want to do them and make that your big meal of the day.

 

[Mysteria]

When are you going?

Be careful about drinking tap water as the pp suggested. Not that it was a bad suggestion. I just know many people who don't react well to tap water in Disney (or Florida).

 

[dandave]

When are you going?

Be careful about drinking tap water as the pp suggested. Not that it was a bad suggestion. I just know many people who don't react well to tap water in Disney (or Florida).

That same free tap water is used for making tea, coffee, fountain soda, ice, etc. It's fairly difficult to avoid, unless you only drink prebottled beverages.

 

[chartle]

1. For instance... if you find a place where you can get a double cheeseburger, that has a fixins bar, you can order an extra bun for a quarter, make two burgers instead of one, top 'em off heavily from the fixins bar, and split the fries.

2. Drink water instead of soda... it's free if you get tap, and it's better for you.

3. Order off the kids' menu.

4. Character meals are cheaper at breakfast, so go then if you want to do them and make that your big meal of the day.

1. I think most of the double burgers are gone in favor of larger burghers and the bun price if available is/was much more than 25 cents. At some point like $3.

2. Water from a CS place is filtered so its better than just out of a fountain. We took Brita filter bottles and didn't buy a single bottle of water, OK one at DTD before we hit teh road.

3.

4.

 

[chartle]

That same free tap water is used for making tea, coffee, fountain soda, ice, etc. It's fairly difficult to avoid, unless you only drink prebottled beverages.

But its filtered, not like the water out of the fountains. No way Coke would let WDW use that liquid they call water unless it was filtered.

I had lemon aid or Iced tea all week and never tasted the funk in the normal water.

 

[dandave]

I never suggested drinking out of a water fountain. I live in Florida, and I still don't drink the fountain water. People do some crazy things in those fountains...

ETA: The free tap water that is given out at all counter service and TS restaurants is the same water used to make ice, tea, coffee, fountain soda, etc. That's what I had said previously.

 

[iteachlit]

I'll second (or third) the Cosmic Ray's suggestion. The BBQ platter could easily feed two adults or one adult and two kids.

It's not bad food either, as far as counter service goes.

 

[Princesca]

The point is, you can find a lot of info. Googling it. If we don't get free dining, I'm going to be identifying one or two restaurants in each park that are reported to have lower prices or big portions, and those in our party who are budget conscious will eat at those places.

Failing that, there are plenty of things you can take into the park that are portable and filling... bananas and nuts come to mind first and foremost. I wonder if anyone's ever tried to take self-heating MREs into Disney. Technically, you could eat them without heating them, and the heating mechanism is just saltwater poured into this little pouch.

 

[maxiesmom]

hubby and I easily split a funnel cake from sleepy hollow (MK) for breakfast.

My dad and I did that during our last trip too! The Disney breakfast of champions!!

OP--I second the idea of having breakfast in the room. Even doing that just a few mornings can save you a lot. Cereal, bagels, doughnuts, whatever. Also, don't over order. Disney portions are quite large. Order less than you think you will need to start with. I still sometimes share a meal with my sister or a niece, they just give you so much.

As far as the water fountains go, they are perfectly fine, as long as you don't touch any of the metal parts with your mouth. Not too long ago there was a show on tv that explained why they are designed the way they are, and it is to keep the germs from falling back onto the spigot part. That is why the water shoots out in an arc. I certainlly wouldn't skip getting a drink from a fountain when you are thirsty. Being dehydrated at WDW is no fun at all.