Saving money on food

[labagit]

Looking up the price of those incredible sounding beignets got me to thinking about food spending in general.

My daughter is 10, an adult by ticket standards and at Goofy's Kitchen we were told. Will she be able to order a kids' meal in the park?

Which places have serving sizes large enough to share and which don't?

We are planning on bringing some snacks in to save money. Any other tips?

 

[utahkennedys]

At the counter service places you can order whatever you want, I have been known to order a kid's meal for myself on occasion.

DH and I split lots of meals, for example, we get a double cheeseburger and cut it in half. We also split sandwiches at places like Riverbelle Terrace. Personally we dislike the food at DL because we are used to WDW which to us has much better food at better prices. I suggest reviewing the DL menus to get a feel for what's available.

We bring snacks in too, and bottled water. Otherwise, you can pay $2-3 for a piece of fruit and about that for water. That's a great saver right there we think.

 

[dizzyami]

If you are at a counter service place - they will have no idea who you were ordering a kids meal for.

We definitely bring snacks to save on the costs - try to bring a breakfast (pop tart, bagel, granola bar) to eat in the morning, so we hardly ever spend $$$ in the morning.

We still swear by White Water Snacks - just inside GCH from DCA - they have huge portions for the price IMO. (and it is yummy!!!)

 

[DangerMouse]

This is something I always work on each trip. Finding food deals in the parks.

1. Kids' meals are available to anyone in the park, not just kids. I often order a kids' meal for myself.

2. Two of my favorite places in DL for splitting meals is the French Market (pork sandwich is huge) and Pizza Port (Chicken Fusilli is large and oh so yummy). White Water Snacks in the GCH is a great place to split meals. I even find that my kids can split a kids meal because the portions are so big. I like splitting the Steak Nachos with my dh or else I order a chicken strips kids meal for myself. They have really yummy all white chicken strips with fries.
A great place in DTD is Tortilla Joe's Taquerilla Take Out Window. They have really reasonable prices on their tacos and burros.

3. For snacks I try to concentrate on high protein ones that will stick with you. I like turkey jerky, frozen go-gurts, and trail mix.

We normally only budget for one meal in the park per day. We eat breakfast at the hotel (oatmeal in the microwave and fruit), then snack and have an early dinner. We also allow one visit to an ODV cart for a churro or cotton candy. This really helps us keep our costs down.

Hope this helped!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

We ate breakfast in our hotel room before heading to the park. (We bought plastic bowls, spoons, milk and cold/hot cereal at the grocery store once we arrived.) We also bought water bottles and snacks at the grocery store, and brought some into the park with us each day.

We ate most lunches and dinners in the park, and only a couple times bought a snack - Just had to try the Dole Whip! We shared meals if we weren't very hungry, but usually each got our own thing since we did very little snacking and a lot of running during the day.

I found it helpful to peruse the restaurant menus before our trip, not only to figure out which restaurants were likely to have something for everyone (DH is restricted to a very low-fat diet), but also to get an idea of the prices and plan accordingly. That way the sticker shock wasn't so bad once we were actually there!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

man I totally give you guys props for doin all that...me? forget it...I dont even bother going to the store anymore....I just buy everything high price or not...I dont like churros and I dont get popcorn so my main things are mickey pretzels, corn dogs, frozen lemonade with cherry splash, dole whip floats (thanks to pixie for making me want one lol), bengal bbq skewers, and funnel cakes yum!!...last weekend I ate all of the above except for the funnel cake...they were closed

 

[DangerMouse]

man I totally give you guys props for doin all that...me? forget it...I dont even bother going to the store anymore....I just buy everything high price or not...I dont like churros and I dont get popcorn so my main things are mickey pretzels, corn dogs, frozen lemonade with cherry splash, dole whip floats (thanks to pixie for making me want one lol), bengal bbq skewers, and funnel cakes yum!!...last weekend I ate all of the above except for the funnel cake...they were closed

With a family of 5, we could easily spend $200 or more per day if we ate all our meals and snacks at DLR. The only way we are able to afford our DL trips is if we are very, very frugal.

 

[Amy&Dan]

With a family of 5, we could easily spend $200 or more per day if we ate all our meals and snacks at DLR. The only way we are able to afford our DL trips is if we are very, very frugal.

Same here. We have my family of four plus my fil, and if I didn't pack some snacks and water bottles our costs would be out of control. Also thats five park hoppers/Ap's plus airfare etc. Even with my suitcase full of food, we can't seem to go to DL without dropping 3K. Every little bit helps.

And one of my family's favorite places to eat and save money is the Plaza Inn (lunch and dinner). The fried chicken meal has three pieces of chicken plus potatoes, green beans and a biscuit. We get two, plus a couple of side salads and it feeds all five of us. And the chicken fusilli at Redd Rockets is also great for sharing. I have yet to find a cs place at Disneyland that doesn't have huge portions. We always order less than we want and are always glad we did! You can always go back for an additional meal but if you don't finish you have just wasted money that you cannot get back!

 

[PattiPB]

Half the time at counter service I get a kids meal! It's enough food (considering I like to snack! ) and I get a drink.

DD is almost 13, and we have some issues at sit-down restaurants. At both BB and Cafe Orleans she found nothing on the adult menu and ordered mac and cheese off her DBro's kids menu. At BB they charged us adult price for mac & cheese, but at Cafe Orleans they charged us kids price.

We could NOT go as often if we bought soda/water and more than 1 meal a day in the parks. I am not embarrassed grabbing fruit from the cont. breakfast for a mid-morn snack, and carting drinks---I'd rather go more frequently!

 

[PattiPB]

Chiming back in with for Plaza Inn! DS8 and I split a chicken platter or the pasta---plenty of food for a decent and healthy lunch. Pull out those brought-from-home water bottles and soda and I'm good to go!

 

[hlbtimes2]

We dont find the food prices that bad in the parks. What gets us is th drinks! Pop and water is almost $3 a bottle. You can get a cup of ice water, free, at any place that sells pop from a fountain, rather then by the bottle. Just getting the free water with meals saves a bundle and its good for you!

I order kids meals for myself sometimes. Then either dh and I share a salad or a dessert. Or I get a regular meal and share with one of the kids.

Riverbell Terrace has meals large enough to share. I've heard if you ask for all drum sticks at French market you get a lot of them and it makes it easy to share with kids. I havent personally tried it.

Plan for some light meals- soup in a bread bowl (various places in both parks), a corn dog (ask for no chips and save a little bit both in calories and money!).

 

[Adi12982]

AAA Discounts
American Automobile Association (AAA) members save 10% on food and beverages (excluding tax, gratuity and alcoholic beverages) at the following locations:

Plaza Inn in Disneyland
Wine Counry Trattoria in DCA
Ariel's Grotto in DCA
PCH Grill at Paradise Pier Hotel
Goofy's Kitchen at Disneyland Hotel
Disney Rewards Visa Discounts
Disney Rewards Visa cardholders get 10% off at select dining locations at the Disneyland Resort:

Disneyland

Rancho del Zocalo
Carnation Café
Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port
Disney’s California Adventure

Pizza Oom Mow Mow
Wine Country Trattoria
The Vineyard Room
Disneyland Resort Hotels

Steakhouse 55 (from 6:00 pm -10:00 pm only)
Yamabuki
Disney’s PCH Grill
Offer valid through 9/30/07. Present a valid Disney Rewards Visa card at time of purchase and use your Disney Rewards Visa card or Disney Rewards Card for purchases. Not valid in combination with other offers, discounts, promotions or with any previous purchase. Excludes alcoholic beverages, tax and gratuity.

There is another ay to save Found it here: http://www.mousesavers.com/dlmeals.html#aaa

 

[familyoffiveAZ]

The night before, I place a few bottled waters in the hotel freezer. By morning it's frozen solid. Throw a few frozen and a few non-frozen ones in the bottom of the stroller, head to the park, and drink as needed. Oh -- the non-frozen bottled water gets added to the iced one as it melts. I can't stand warm water.

At lunch, dh and I won't order any beverage with our meals (at $2.50 a pop, probably more now, that's a $5+ savings each meal and as we all know, beverages is where most restaurants make their money). The kids get a soda included in their meal, so we all just split that amongst ourselves. Free refills on those btw at (all?) cafeteria service restaurants. And again, bottled water brought from home.

 

[momto2nenas]

Well we must be real cheapskates b/c we eat breakfast at the hotel, will go back for pb sandwiches or lunchables, and then eat dinner and a snack in the park, lol.

My kids love pb sandwiches so its not an issue for us!

 

[DangerMouse]

Another good tip is if you can't stand the taste of water from the water fountains, take a Crystal Light single packets with you and add it to the bottle. You can get a free cup of ice from any counter service restaurant if you find the water isn't cold enough, but I use the above poster's method or keeping our water bottles cool as well!

 

[tirby]

I did some searching too. I have a thread called ..
"Most meal for the Money"
Search that and there is a lot on it for help. I dont know how to post the link but thats the title....

 

[DangerMouse]

Here it is:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1271153&referrerid=&highlight=most+meal+for+the+money

 

[earthflower]

There is another ay to save Found it here: http://www.mousesavers.com/dlmeals.html#aaa

Thanks

 

[labagit]

Thanks, everyone, for the tips and for bumping the other helpful thread as well. I'm off to make some notes so I don't ask the same question again in a week like I've been doing.

 

[cedarparkgirl]

I am all for saving money! We will be in the parks for 3 days. We will eat breakfast in the hotel, pack snacks and PBJ's for the kids since they would be really happy with pbjs (they are very picky), we are doing 1 Princess Character lunch, and my husband and I will likely eat at some of the recommended take out windows.. I am looking forward to White Water Snacks for our lunch, because I like eating! I plan on leaving the parks early afternoon for naps, swimming, and just a break. We will eat somewhere outside the parks for dinner before coming back. I am thinking Fast Food or/and some sit down restaurants that are kid-friendly, inexpensive, and fun. I read somewhere on here that IHOP has kids eat free on Tuesday, so we may do that on a Tuesday night to keep the costs down. And I am planning to buy a churro and a dolewhip!