What food to bring?

[Barzeski]

My dd (9) is a very light eater. To save money and frustration in the World, we plan on buying food in Florida before we make our way to the parks. We do plan on eating at least one meal a day (on our 6 day trip) in the parks or at POP's food court. I know we have a tiny fridge - so space is at a premium. What do you suggest we get?

 

[magrudersmakes3]

It depends on the meal. We like to do breakfast as our in room meal. It is easy for everyone to eat while the others are getting ready and it does save a small amount of money.

We usually get yogurts, breakfast bars and fruits. If she is really picky, I would get pedia sure or ensure. My daughter is picky and on a bad day will drink one of those when she won't eat anything else.

 

[shannonstar]

My son loves things like breakfast mini-muffins, beef jerky, fiber bars, etc. These don't have to be kept cold, so that's a bonus. Also, yoo-hoo and hershey choc milk have boxes that can be put in the fridge and don't take up much space. Poptarts are a good option. It really just depends on what she likes to eat.

 

[Disneyhenry]

Whatever she likes to snack on, fruit snack, snack size trail mixes, things that fit easy into back packs that do not require refrigeration.

 

[Barzeski]

I like all of these ideas...beef jerky, trail mix, yogurt and pediasure....adding these to my list! I knew you'd be a big help!

Has anyone ever brought their own english muffins, bread, or bagels, and used the toaster in the resort food court? Also, has anyone ever brought easy mac or spaghettio's and heated them in the microwave in the resort food court? I wonder if they are okay with that...any insight?

 

[iGoofy]

We always bring Horizon milk boxes. They don't need to be refrigerated until opened and that makes them convenient.

 

[Barzeski]

We always bring Horizon milk boxes. They don't need to be refrigerated until opened and that makes them convenient.

Love it! Thanks!

 

[Sue M]

We only eat breakfast in our room, we're usually in a park at lunch time.
For breakfast we pick up Bagels, muffins, cereal, milk, fruit, a small butter, cream cheese, yogurt.

 

[monorailsilver]

We pretty much only bring breakfast foods-

In colder months I have brought oatmeal packets but with kids I bring cereal, pop tarts & bagels (those we eat first because they go bad first).

I bring pretzels, chips, some cookies, etc...whatever my kids are into snacking on.

I have brought some fruit as well.

I usually ship stuff down since we fly.

My son has some food allergies so I make sure to bring his butter & his cream cheese (dairy free) & some stuff for lunch for arrival/departure day-the sealed packages of pepperoni & salami & crackers.

 

[Kay1]

My son likes tuna kits and Jiff on-the-go. I like deli items and they usually stack pretty well in the fridge.

Have fun.

 

[trishadono]

I too like to bring Yoohoo! Also Juicy Juice boxes too. My dd17 and ds15 will still drink them in the morning. Like others have said getting drinks that don't have to be kept cold means you can put in as many in the frig as you need each day and leave rest in suitcase or elsewhere. I usually buy a half gallon of milk for cereal and afternoon snacks. The half gallon is a better bargain.

I usually bring some goldfish crackers, cashews and peanut butter. I then buy bread there.

We eat most meals at food courts so I bring the non soda drinks knowing they will have enough later in the day.

Also if not staying at/near a DVC you can get stuff there anyways. For example leave MK and take monorail to CR and buy groceries there(better selection than Value and Mods). Then take monorail back around to MK and take your bus home. This is good if you don't have a car or want to spend money on a taxi.

I also buy the individual wines like they sell at food courts at my local liquor store and bring with me. I get a 4 pack for the price of one! Since bottles small they store great and don't need a wineopener/have screwtops! Last time I got a small bottle of Rum and made DH Rum and Cokes too! Beats paying $8 or $9 at pool bar.

TIP: I usually use the red foam coffee cups disney gives in room (to take drink to pool) or you can ask for plastic wine glasses at the hotel food court checkouts! I have gotten them at Value,Mod and Deluxe.

 

[jmasgat]

I have definitely used the food court microwave with my own food (instant oatmeal)

And now that the resort rooms have a fridge, I also buy milk or juice (and bring my own cereal). Veggies (baby carrots) are good to have for snack. Plus we always buy lunch fixings for sandwiches--meat/cheese (which fit easily in the fridge) and bread.

Heck, I've even bought rotisserie chickens and sides to have for dinner!

Maura

 

[FantasiaMagic]

We usually bring/buy Thomas bagels (in the package). You can buy some butter/cream cheese and make a quick breakfast also mini muffins and granola bars are great also

 

[tink15823]

We pretty much only bring breakfast foods-

In colder months I have brought oatmeal packets but with kids I bring cereal, pop tarts & bagels (those we eat first because they go bad first).

I bring pretzels, chips, some cookies, etc...whatever my kids are into snacking on.

I have brought some fruit as well.

I usually ship stuff down since we fly.

My son has some food allergies so I make sure to bring his butter & his cream cheese (dairy free) & some stuff for lunch for arrival/departure day-the sealed packages of pepperoni & salami & crackers.

I never thought of pepperoni and salami . I bring crackers and pre cooked bacon and tuna packs .

 

[CrabbyPatty]

Last time, we did Garden Grocer and ended up with too much food (but then, we also did deluxe DP!). And the delivery fee was something like $12 (plus a minimum $40 order, I think)

This time, I'm planning to send down a box via USPS Priority a few days before we check-in (I think the large flat rate box is about $15 for 24 x 12 x 3) with stuff like nut/snack mixes, cereal, granola bars, packets of turkey pepperoni (DD loves this stuff), mix-in flavor packets for water, goldfish crackers, a few instant oatmeal packets, fruit snacks, tuna packs, summer sausage, etc. Basically stuff that doesn't need refrigeration until you open it, isn't chocolate covered, and can fit into a small backpack if we take it to the parks. If I have room, I'll add in the Horizon asceptic milk packs, or just get some milk at the resort. I'll order some water from anyplace that will deliver to Disney resorts and I'll be good to go!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

My kids are thin and not huge eaters but they do eat more on WDW trips b/c they are burning more calories walking. You may end up having to buy more food in the parks than you were planning.
Yes, I have seen people using the toasters in the food court for their own stuff. When my kids were younger I would use the microwave to heat up ravioli in the cups for them. No one seemed to care.

 

[primrosea]

We have 2 kids and bring along snacks to have in our bags and in our rooms. We always pack gogurts (and attempt to freeze them... ), small packs of peanut butter (for apples and crackers), Monster Mix singles from Target (M&M's are healthy as long as they have raisins with them, right?), plenty of juice boxes and single packs of cereal (for the bus stop, in our park bags and for the airport). We also have Garden Grocer deliver so we don't have to think about a thing before we go.

Have a great trip!

 

[franluvsbubba]

We bring our own food all the time since my daughter has do many food allergies. We've never had a problem heating up or making anything in the cafeteria.

 

[GabrielaM]

For the mornings I really recommend instant oatmeal (with some fruit thrown in if you can!). It's a great way to start the day, much healthier and more energizing than straight up cereal IMO

 

[Barzeski]

Thanks for all of the great ideas. I'm obviously doing this in part to save money, but I have no problem buying food for her if she is hungry in the parks, I don't really want to pack food to bring in. Around here, she's typically "starved," eats a few bites of something and then is "stuffed" and "nearly exploding!" Ahh, the drama. I am the human garbage disposal and clean it all up! This will save me from eating a bunch of extras.