Taking in lunches at Disney. What do you take? Need ideas.

[growinupdisney]

We also have a cooler backpack...we usually freeze capri suns and those keep everything cold, we don't drink soda so we always bring water bottles as well. I usally always pack nabs,granola bars,slim jims for the kids to snack on between meals but this year i had thought about bringing a lunch in we always end up throwing so much away because we don't eat it all. We have started sharing some meals to help but maybe if we bring in lunches we can just get small things from the cs we like and don't want to skip like the eggrolls... yummy!

I had thought about bringing some cutup chicken and salad mix and ceasar dressing mixing together and that morning before we head to the park put the mixture in some wraps for chicken ceasar wrap for lunch.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

You mention that you don't like the new buns - what kind are they using now? I'm hoping it isn't whole grain buns cause neither DH nor I can eat those.

Yes, I believe they are. Dh is the burger eater and I think all of his burgers were on whole grain buns when we were there in December. He must not have noticed, because if he had, he wouldn't have eaten it, he doesn't like whole grain or wheat bread, but I did notice a slight difference.

Suzanne

 

[crusoe2]

Yes, I believe they are. Dh is the burger eater and I think all of his burgers were on whole grain buns when we were there in December. He must not have noticed, because if he had, he wouldn't have eaten it, he doesn't like whole grain or wheat bread, but I did notice a slight difference.

Suzanne

Thanks for letting me know. That's a bummer. I actually like wheat bread but can't do whole grain. Neither can DH. I hate that we won't be able to partake. Call me crazy but the burgers down there just seem so good for some reason. I guess we'll have to look for something else to eat at the CS places tho.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We do not take lunch into WDW but do at our local park where we sometimes get season passes.

We have learned:
-Take some of the use or reuse plastic container to put stuff in so it does not get mashed.
-Whole fruit is a pain, gets mashed and often goes un-eaten
-Frozen grapes are great!
-Bags of frozen fruit put into those plastic containers is good and thaws during the day.
-go-gurt freeze nicely
- meat and cheese with cracker to go with it at lunch stays much fresher than sandwiches
-trail mix is great.
We can not do peanuts but before DGS we did a lot of peanut butter.

At WDW we split meals to keep portions and cost at bay.

 

[ZiPaD3doDAH]

I usually bring drinks with me cause buying drinks can get expensive!

I think brining lunchables is a good park lunch.

It's already pre-packaged and good!

 

[Jen117]

I am stocking up on the Starkist tuna pouches whenever I have coupons. These are a great protein punch! Plus, they now make them already mixed as tuna salad, so you can take some crackers and have a nice protein rich snack or meal.

We are also planning on taking in sandwiches, cubed cheese with ham or sausage and string cheese. Fruit snacks, goldfish, those pretzel with cheese dip Handi-snacks and mini-Pringle packs are favorites in my family.

We also freeze water bottles to keep things cold. Then drink them during the day after thawed. Buying drinks in the parks gets really expensive.

 

[chelebele]

Great ideas guys!! Thank you! I hadn't thought about the tuna packs. My kids love the hickory smoked tuna mixed into tuna salad on ritz crackers. That would be a nutritious addition. I'll just have to take something to keep the crackers from getting smooshed. DH will carry the backpack with the food, and he's not very careful with things. We will definitely freeze some capri suns and maybe do lunchables one of the days. And the frozen gogurt will work great too. I want to make a grocery list and we don't go until May!

 

[DawnM]

We almost always take in lunches! We have a backpack cooler

Sandwiches
water bottles (a couple frozen)
string cheese
cookies (oreos, etc...)
a large can of pringles (fits nicely in the outside pocket!)
trail mix
granola bars

 

[EKW]

I've never taken in lunches...here's why: many restaurants serve the same items at lunch and dinner. So, I take note of the latest lunch times at each restaurant and book our meals accordingly. Then, we either grab snacks or eat at the resort.

Of course, if you don't want to eat in the parks at all, that won't work for you. It works really well for my family...and I don't have to tote food around the park all day.

 

[IleneF]

We bring bagels and tuna pouches, we don't require mayo. Also get the pickles in little cups (like the fruit cups). Love pickles with my tuna. Sometimes I'll do pb/j as a change up. Always have GORP in little plastic
bags for when I need a snack quick. We also like the little pouches of Florida Sun fruit snacks.

 

[Darcy03231]

I don't pack a lunch for the parks but I do pack one for work everyday. Things that I like are:

100 calorie snack packs
Individual fruit cups
Individual trail mix pouches (I've made my own using snack bags)
Yogurt or Gogurt
Trail Mix bars (my family likes them better than granola bars)
Peanut butter crackers

Things I pack when when go to the beach are:

Slim jims/beef jerky (kids and DH love these)
Sandwiches - I have square plastic containers I put them in so the don't get squished
Frozen water bottles & capri sun
Fruit (again in plastic containers)

 

[mom2t]

We were there 2 weeks ago and saw several families with small coolers in the bottom of their strollers - 10x12. We took in sandwiches and chips several days to save money. The food is so high in Disney now.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Grapes! If you have the ability to freeze them, even better. they are really refreshing when it's hot outside. You didn't say what time of year you're going, but I would also take pickles. In our area there is a brand that sells tiny little packs (like the portable jello cups size). Pickles help to keep from getting dehydrated and are also very refreshing when they are really cold.

We make a customized snack mix. Each member of the family gets to pick out an item or two to go in the mix then we put it in snack size ziplocs. the kids love that they got to participate. things like chex, cheerios, raisins, yogurt covered raisins, dried fruits, m&m's (that's the item that always goes in and nobody else can pick 'candy' because it's already in there ) nuts, small crackers (gold fish, oyster crackers), dried vegetables, you name it. We've made some really wacky combinations and the kids are always willing to eat it because they got to pick things out to go in it. This is also my way of sneaking in new things they might not normally eat.