Taking your own snacks into the parks

[dtum]

For those of you bringing actual meals to the park, where do you eat? DS has a large family and we are considering packing sandwiches, etc. instead of buying CS meals. Our other thought at this time is, since we are driving, leave the park and go to McDonalds for lunch and a little break.

 

[sambisc]

We took peanut butter crackers and pb&j sandwiches...the sandwiches were great to have mid morning after an early start at the park.

 

[6packdoesdisney]

For snacks, I like:

-Quaker Chewy bars/other granola-type bar
-PB crackers
-Fruit snacks
-Teddy Grahams
-Pretzels
-Goldfish

I put a few of these items inside a sandwich-shaped tupperware container. It's flat enough to not be bulky in my backpack and keeps things from getting crushed. Inside my PackIt, I also like to take cheese sticks and Buddy Fruits. (Yes, I know I eat like a kid )

I often go with friends who bring their own lunches in. This is usually PB&J. Last week we had 11 kids and 4 adults, and we brought a loaf of bread, lunchmeat, and cheese plus condiments. We had an assembly line going and made sandwiches for the kids & ourselves. We also had chips and fruit to snack on.

I also bring my own water bottle. I have a S'well bottle that does a great job of keeping water cold for hours at a time, even in the Florida heat. It's so nice to have cold water all day long, for free!

Love the Packit Bags! Must have them......going to order some now!
Thanks for sharing this idea!

Nice thread topic, OP!
I am finding it helpful in planning a few snacks for our upcoming visit!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

When our kids were little little, they loved for us to bring dry cereal like cheerios and lucky charms. I forgot about goldfish. They loved goldfish back then.

Sometimes we bring in some fruit snacks now and lance cheese crackers and granola bars but mostly we don't bother anymore. We just get snacks in the park when we want them.

 

[indimom]

These are items we've used at Disney and elsewhere over the years for a quick snack or meal on the go:
Granola Bars
Beef Jerky (we make our own, much cheaper and my boys love it)
Trail Mix (I love those large bags from WalMart but you could make your own.)
Celery and PB
Baby Carrots and Ranch Dip
Apples, Grapes or Cuties (less mess with these oranges)
Goldfish Crackers, Pretzels, Chips, Cheese Crackers, any snack pack really.
PB&J
Deli Sandwiches
Cheese Sticks
Gogurt (those yogurt tubes - they're just as good frozen)
Cookies
Flavor Packets and a water bottle. Make your own koolaid or lemonaid.

 

[mrsdrake625]

These are items we've used at Disney and elsewhere over the years for a quick snack or meal on the go:
Granola Bars
Beef Jerky (we make our own, much cheaper and my boys love it)
Trail Mix (I love those large bags from WalMart but you could make your own.)
Celery and PB
Baby Carrots and Ranch Dip
Apples, Grapes or Cuties (less mess with these oranges)
Goldfish Crackers, Pretzels, Chips, Cheese Crackers, any snack pack really.
PB&J
Deli Sandwiches
Cheese Sticks
Gogurt (those yogurt tubes - they're just as good frozen)
Cookies
Flavor Packets and a water bottle. Make your own koolaid or lemonaid.

How do you make jerky?? I would love to do that; its hard to find gluten free jerky and I would love to know exactly what's in it

 

[dtum]

For snacks, I like:

-Quaker Chewy bars/other granola-type bar
-PB crackers
-Fruit snacks
-Teddy Grahams
-Pretzels
-Goldfish

I put a few of these items inside a sandwich-shaped tupperware container. It's flat enough to not be bulky in my backpack and keeps things from getting crushed. Inside my PackIt, I also like to take cheese sticks and Buddy Fruits. (Yes, I know I eat like a kid )

I often go with friends who bring their own lunches in. This is usually PB&J. Last week we had 11 kids and 4 adults, and we brought a loaf of bread, lunchmeat, and cheese plus condiments. We had an assembly line going and made sandwiches for the kids & ourselves. We also had chips and fruit to snack on.

I also bring my own water bottle. I have a S'well bottle that does a great job of keeping water cold for hours at a time, even in the Florida heat. It's so nice to have cold water all day long, for free!

Do you have one PackIt per person or are they big enough for several sandwiches? Do you have the lunch size? Mini size seems rather small.

 

[Legendteri]

We brought in a soft sided cooler and packed our drinks, snacks and a few lunches.

We had
pretzel sticks
nilla wafers
peanut butter bars
veggie straws
clementines
pb and j sandwiches for thekids
turkey sandwiches for my husband
and for a treat we gave the kids circus cookies ( those pink and white frosted animal crackers with sprinkles.)

 

[kkhworth]

Great ideas! Anyone else wanna share?

 

[luvmylatte]

Small pouches of cookies like the ones you might pack for a school snack
Go go pouches of applesauce
Apple slices with dipping caramel ( yogurt can spoil)
Capri sun pouches fronzen the night before work double duty by keeping things cold and staying cold till drink time.
Bottles of water. Cheaper to bring in then to buy at WDw. Last visit my 32 pack of water cost as much as one water at MK

 

[parkhopping]

Do you have one PackIt per person or are they big enough for several sandwiches? Do you have the lunch size? Mini size seems rather small.

I have the mini size, and yes, it's fairly small. It's just me so I don't need to carry a lot...it's plenty of room for my needs. I like to keep it as flat as possible and not expand it, because it fits better in my backpack that way and keeps things cooler longer (I think). When I keep it pretty flat, there's enough room for 2 Buddy Fruits and a couple of cheese sticks (I buy the Land O Lakes kind that are more like a cheese rectangle; you could probably fit 2-3 string cheese sticks in with the Buddy Fruits if you wanted to). If I expanded it I would have room for a sandwich or two, and maybe some cheese sticks as well. ETA: Here are some photos.

Laying flat - the knife is for size reference:

Standing upright and expanded:

With 2 Buddy Fruits inside and pressed flat:

And expanded:

If possible, I'd get the minis because I've read better reviews for them than the regular size. They come in much larger sizes as well, intended for you to carry groceries, and those get the poorest reviews. It seems like the smaller the bag, the longer it keeps things cold. My theory is that there is less air and fewer items in the smaller bags.

Something else to keep in mind is that the mini fridges in the resorts (in my experience) do NOT have a freezer compartment. If you're staying DVC or in an offsite condo this may not be a problem for you. And I've never stayed at a deluxe, so maybe their fridges do have a freezer. Check with your resort to be sure. These won't do you much good if you can't freeze them!

Love the Packit Bags! Must have them......going to order some now!
Thanks for sharing this idea!

You're very welcome! Mine has been so helpful! See my tips/info above

 

[DanceDrawDream]

We found a box of these individual bags of trail mix/cereal/raisin things at Target, that was great for a "breakfast on the go"...we would eat it on the bus ride over

 

[Fantasmic23]

My DS (10) has type 1 diabetes, so bringing snacks into the parks is an absolute MUST for us!

We love taking those 100 Calorie snack bags (Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Cheez-Its, etc.) into the parks. They're lightweight and fit easily into my park bag. In the past, we have also taken Goldfish, Teddy Grahams, Pirate's Bootie, etc. I look for anything in a "snack size" pouch.

 

[Barahona6]

For those of you bringing actual meals to the park, where do you eat? DS has a large family and we are considering packing sandwiches, etc. instead of buying CS meals. Our other thought at this time is, since we are driving, leave the park and go to McDonalds for lunch and a little break.

With a family of 6 we bring lunch when we go. There are so many quiet places where you can sit and eat. The kids don't mind having their food in their lap they just want to eat quick and get back to riding rides. the long wait for food is not their cup of tea!

 

[tomgreen41]

In doing my research on my trip, I found that money saving trips are way too under-rated and not talked about often. This is unfortunate because, as a guy with a large family, we love to travel but also want to stretch our travel dollars.

First YOU CAN TAKE FOOD INTO DISNEY.

Second, we've done 4 days in the parks so far and haven't had to spend a dime on food. Here's what we've brought in on the various days:

- popped popcorn
- mayonaise, mustard, bread (in containers), meat, pickles, cheese
- candy
- crystal light / water bottles
- yogurt, jello
- chips

Etc.

 

[dtum]

How do you keep things cold? Thinking about getting a locker to store food until ready to eat, but afraid in July things will spoil.

 

[DJBass]

Soft sided insulate kids lunch boxes in a backpack. We plan on soft ice packs. Yogurt, sandwich, fruit. Protein bars like Larabars or vega. Plus pre workout /hydration mixes (vega or gu) in water bottles. We only have 1 day we are going to possibly stay in a park all day (DHS) and will eat there that day lunch and dinner at table service.

 

[bellaally]

I really don't like taking any thing that squish or not hold up well in the heat. I also try and pick foods that don't require you to use your hands to touch it for the kids because this is how they normally get sick play then try and eat food. My kids are toddlers and don't really eat meals they just snack all day. I normally pack bottled water, food squeeze for the kids. Also snack size things like cracker, fruit snacks, granola bars, pringles snack size, pretzels etc.

 

[ZoZo]

We eat breakfast i the room. Usually cereal, milks, fruit, and/or juice. It's easy, quick, and inexpensive! Helps to have a fridge in your room.

I bring some snacks with me but not a ton. I make my own trail mix (nuts, raisins, M&Ms, Goldfish pretzels). I also like those little "Jif to Go" peanut butter tubs (bring from home) to pair with either apple slices or celery sticks (purchased at resort food court or CS restaurant during the day). I even add my own raisins, and make "ants on a log" (celery, peanut butter, and raisins).

 

[Annie78]

Fruit leathers! They pack flat, don't need refrigeration, aren't messy to eat, and help prevent the digestive slow-downs too often caused by travel.