Is it REALLY worth it to.....

[Disneyorbust05]

bring your own or order your snacks/other food items rather than just getting stuff at the parks/hotel?

Hi everyone! I thought the idea of getting snacks from wegoshop.com was perfect since we will have two little ones in our family. However, DH thinks that we will be just fine if we don't bring any food items. He doesn't want to mess with bringing/ordering snacks or any other food items for that matter. And..I doubt that we will be eating any meals in our room. He said that whatever we need (at any hour) should be accessible in our hotel. Yeah, for a price (I am thinking). Is it REALLY worth it to make a store run or do the online thing or bring your own rather than just getting small snacks here and there? I know that they would be more expensive, but with the delivery charges, etc. to order them are you really making out a lot better over all? We will be staying at the Polynesian.

I hope this question is'nt completely ridiculous! Thanks for any advice!

 

[MomofKatie]

Are you driving or flying to WDW? If you are driving, I'd buy some small snacks and bring them along- things like Ritz bits, raisins, cheese and crackers, etc. Little ones get hungey quickly, and having a few small, good-for-them snacks available is always a good idea. You can bring them with you into the parks- just bring Ziploc bage, or get the single-serve sizes.

If you are flying, you could probably just get a few things at the market area of your resort- I'd still do this, because the snacks available at the parks are expensive, not necessarily great for little ones to eat alot of, and you'll end up standing in line for them.

Even if you don't end up eating many of them, it is nice to have them around just in case.

 

[missypie]

I love to snack in the room. For some reason I'm always hungry after a swim. It's not real healthy, but having coke and chips or pretzels in the room after a swim brings back pleasant memories of my childhood.

We eat breakfast in the room. With three kids, it saves lots of time. Some people can be eating while another is showering, etc. This time I'm going to bring a couple of those mini bottles of wine, to have a drink or two with DH on the balcony.

We also bring a few snacks into the parks. I don't know if it actually saves any money, but it can save time and be convenient. When one kid is suddenly STARVING when we are in line for something, they can eat a snack out of their fanny pack. When we have 1:45 lunch PS and a child is STARVING at 1 pm, they can grab a quick snack that we've brought without spoling their appetite.

 

[Aidensmom]

To me, the biggest advantage of bringing snacks is 1) the money I save and 2) that I know that something will be available that DS likes.

If you don't have picky eaters, and price is not a concern, it may be more trouble than its worth.

 

[Cameo]

I agree with misspie about bringing snacks to tide the kids over. It's inevitable that they are hungry while in line (or on a ride!) or while waiting at the restaurant to get seated (waits can sometimes be long). I would rather have some fruit snacks or pretzels available than have a whining child.

We also eat most breakfasts in the room. My son loves cereal or pop tarts for breakfast so we might as well have those rather than spending $5-$10 on a breakfast he won't eat.

If it was just DH and me, we likely wouldn't (and didn't) pack snacks. But now that we have to think of the kids first, there's no way around packing a few snacks.

 

[Disneyorbust05]

Yeah, we are flying and were going to pack our normal backpack snacks (which is a must with my 2). I was just asking out of curiosity if it really saves a bundle to order additional snacks and other food items that we wouldn't want to pack - rather than relying on the hotel and parks for little "extras". Thanks!

 

[m&m's mom]

Dragging snacks around just is not worth it to us.
We brought snacks the first few trips and my DH said we didn't eat them (probably true). We like to sample stuff we normally would not at home so we forgo the snacks now.
The problem we had w/ carrying the snacks is that my DD's would say they were starving and have to have a snack and then we got to the $25.00 character meal and they would hardly eat anything. That would irk me!

 

[2dogmom]

Having 2 little ones, I need to have snacks in the room. We fly into Orlando, take a towncar to our resort, and ask for a grocery stop on the way. I don't mind if my girls snack in the room because I try to keep fairly good snacks fruit, yogurt, milk (My youngest drinks a ton of milk). And of course waiting in lines I like to have snacks too. If I know we are going to a Character meal then I try to limit what my girls eat, especially the older one since I have to pay for her.

 

[stacie_d]

We usually bring some snacks for the rooms. We like the convenience of having it right there, instead of having to run across the resort anytime we need something. And, I do think it saves quite a bit of money over the course of a week.

 

[oogieboogie]

The first time we went to WDW in 2003, being the newbie that I was I packed up bunches of snacks/breakfast items to carry around. After the trip, I had to bring them all back because no one really ate them.

It's just not worth it to drag stuff around. Since we rent a car nowadays, if I wanted a late night munchies, I can easily just go to Walgreens/Publix outside WDW. Plus, since I have to carry our stuff, I'm certainly not going to go around carrying a backpack full of snacks. Heck, I hate carting around a fanny pack!

Eating at WDW is a big big part of our vacation. I'm not going to bother with snacks from home when there's a whole world of eating awaiting us.

 

[blanq]

Will bringing your own snacks save you money? Yes, provided your kids actually eat them, and you don't end up throwing them out.

You don't say when you will be going to WDW, but if it is during a busier time, I would highly suggest you bring snacks for your kids. Lines for snacks in the parks can be very long indeed, and if you have a child who is hungry "now", you just might save yourself some meltdowns if you come prepared with ready-made snacks.

Also, it isn't always the easiest to find a healthy snack, without going out of your way, at the parks. Depending on the age of your kids, controlling their sugar intake, and ensuring they get some healthy options might be a priority. Providing your own snacks can help you control their intake. You can always throw in a Mickey bar or two !

In the past we have brought snacks, and everyone stored them in their fanny packs, mainly for convenience. A side benefit is saving money.

 

[Kermit]

We like to take snacks for the room (not the parks), but we drive, so getting the snacks isn't an issue. I like always having food in the room, especially when I'm in my jammies. Plus, having healthy snacks in the room helps me eat healthier. I know that healthy snacks are available at the resorts, but I don't usually pick them since the cookies are so close. When I'm in the room and all I have available are apples and whole wheat bagels, I choose one of those.

 

[SnowyPrincesses:)]

I think it also depends on how long you're staying... we are going for almost two weeks and so we plan to use wego shop for things like fresh fruit and nuts and things like that. The resorts ARE expensive if you add up those things. We are also going to order juice bottles that we can chill overnight buying 12 bottles with other sensible items even with the delivery fee is still cheaper than buying 12 individuals at the food courts.

Sat morning is our big fundraising yard sale- send pixie dust that we'll have good weather.

 

[cseca]

One thing I always do on my trip is bring my own bottles of water.
I drink water like nobody's business and I can't stand park water. They taste really weird to me. And paying $2.50/bottle is a bit much (yeah yeah... i know i'm paying $400 for my AP... hehe).

If I have a solo trip or a short trip I will pack a 24 pack. But if I'm staying longer I will make a grocery stop or use we go shop.
So far I've been able to get away with packing those bottles no problem.
Oh and if I stay at a DVC resort, then I would pack easy microwable or toaster stuff plus breakfast items. Such as Pasta Pronto, ramen noodles, pop tart, cereals, etc. It helps in the food fund area... might not be much but every little bit counts.

 

[Traveliz]

I bring them whether I fly or drive - it saves no money to order them and have them delivered when I can buy on sale throw in the suitcase and have right with me. Everything I have ever brought has traveled fine.

Liz

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We also like to rent a car and hit the grocery store on the way to WDW for drinks, breakfast items and snacks. For us it does save $$ and allows us to eat a regular breakfast and keep fruit in our bags to balance out some of the not so good (but fun) things we eat. To us it's no hassle at all; it's our routine wherever we go.

 

[Briarmom]

OK, I may have missed this somewhere, but I think it also depends on your childrens' ages. My ds6 is fine NOW without extra snacks (just one Mickey bar per day) but when he was little it was nice to throw them in the diaper bag. I also do that now with dd1. I am talking Ritz PB crackers or fruit snacks here. Not a bag of groceries. I find it also helps if you need to do ride switching. A snack may help while ds and I ride Splash and Dad and dd wait for us. Again, I did not see your childrens ages, but reading for content has never been my forte!
HTH and have FUN!!!

 

[Cookie Princess]

DS wakes up hungry at 5:00 a.m. (grrrr...) so we always have some individual boxes of cereal for him to munch on before we hit the food court for breakfast. We also bring a very few other munchies for the room and water bottles. One year I brought a whole big luggage bag full of snacks. DH was cranky when he had to carry them down, he was even crankier when he was lugging most of them home. OOPS...sorry. We love the snacks they sell at WDW so don't bring any into the parks.

 

[bucky1023]

I never eat meals in my room, but i usually like to bring some snacks just to leave in the room (bag of pretzels, cereal bars, some cookies). This stuff is usually the things that I bring on the plane just in case.