Eating in the parks on a budget

[disneylover102]

The ways I live on a budget: cut the temptations for a bunch of souvenirs. Get invalid Fastpasses for souvenirs instead. Pizza slices at Pizza Planet are pretty cheap and they can sustain you. Go to McDonald’s across the street and get a kid’s meal. Otherwise just share/get kid’s meals when possible.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

A lot of the quick service meals are really quite large/filling. I frequently share with my 4-year-old so a meal that’s $14 or $15 feeds us both.

 

[Sun_soakin]

A lot of the quick service meals are really quite large/filling. I frequently share with my 4-year-old so a meal that’s $14 or $15 feeds us both.

agreed! We also brought snacks when our kids were younger (trail mix, bars, apples, uncrustables); this also helps cut down time spent in line for food. Sometimes I bring bagels, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, etc for a quick breakfast in our hotel room if we want to get early starts. If we are staying super close (like the grand), I’ll sometimes bring things to leave in our hotel room for mini-meals like crackers, cheese, salami, tuna, shrimp, fruit bowl, etc. We munch while changing for the pool.

 

[midnight star]

All the advice so far has been good. Another thing I do is I will bring little snacks like granola bars, chips, apple sauce. Those items are way overpriced in the parks. I also always bring a water bottle so I can refill it.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I'm going over menus on allears.net and my eyes are glazing over at the food prices for quick service lunch and dinner options at DL and DCA. What are some good options for getting enough food for the money? Maybe some better options at Disney Springs? I can share a plate with one kid and the other child will only eat pizza or fries and chocolate milk. DH thinks he will starve if he shares a meal (even though I'm quite sure he won't.) I'm a decent eater but when I tour the parks there's too much to do besides eat.
I'm happy to bring in snacks but don't want to fuss with a whole picnic. We are walking to parks from a motel.

You've gotten some very good advice and suggestions already in this thread. Just to clarify, at DLR, we have Downtown Disney, not Disney Springs. (If you do a search here for Disney Springs, you will get threads for WDW only.) Tell your DH that sharing meals is just a start. If he is still hungry after his meal, he can get more food. But have him look at the receipt first, before going back for more. Share meals and snacks! One churro or ice cream sundae can be split between 2 or more people -- then everyone gets a taste and no one gets stuffed. The free cups of ice water are a huge money saver! The cost of sodas and bottle water in the parks over a multi-day trip can really add up fast. Just drink the free water -- you can drink soda back at home. EOS used to offer a AAA discount -- ask if they still do that. And bringing in protein snacks really helps, too -- hand them out throughout the day so that no one is ever starving when you sit down to eat. That will save money, too.

 

[Jperiod]

We usually get by with a meal and a snack (and a good breakfast in room). One of the kids' most favorite "snack" of empty carbs is a loaf of sourdough at the pacific wharf bakery (not the fancy shaped ones). I think it's about $6 and they give you all the butter you want. Enough for the 4 of us plus sandwiches in the room the next day.

In general, we find most nicer CS meals huge such as plaza inn, rancho, Flo's, and french market. You can substitute sides too. The typical burger & fries places are harder to spread around unless a half of burger fills you up fine. We skip bangle bbq and tropical hideaway (though the dolewhip sundae is huge and shareable) because we find those portions quite small for the money.

 

[mich311e]

We have frequently made PB&J in our room and brought those with apples, granola bars/protein bars, and nuts in my backpack. We also bring our own bottles of water.

When we get CS we always ask for water.

Rancho Del Zocalo also has filling kids meals, I eat those if I'm not quite hungry enough for a full meal. And as previously mentioned they do substitute sides. I'll get the cooked veggies rather than raw carrots normally included with the kids meal.

My husband and I are at the share meals point in our marriage (22 years) LOL. Mostly to cutback on calories but also save money. Plus, we get to try more of the great food that way! If we split a meal we have room for a churro or dessert later.

 

[Boku41]

Lots of snacks from home. We do jerky, fruit snacks, trail mix, goldfish, Costco muffins (they still taste great even when flattened in a backpack). Makes waiting in line easier and you can probably get by just buying one meal a day. Love the sourdough bread to fill everyone up.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

I hope we can pack snacks in our luggage! Usually we fly Southwest and bring a duffel with snacks and food but flying American this time so that's not happening. I think we are staying close to CVS.
This is our first trip without a stroller (yay!) but I'll miss that storage space for all our "junk."

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I hope we can pack snacks in our luggage! Usually we fly Southwest and bring a duffel with snacks and food but flying American this time so that's not happening. I think we are staying close to CVS.
This is our first trip without a stroller (yay!) but I'll miss that storage space for all our "junk."

Can you order snacks and basic groceries, e.g. peanut butter, bottled water, cereal, etc., to be delivered to your hotel? That may end up saving you a bit of money in the long run.

 

[WonkaKid]

FWIW, I nearly always pack my own lunch when I visit DL. Not only is it cheaper but I’m also a vegetarian and I don’t eat refined sugar. Merely a suggestion for you. I realize that part of the fun of going to the park is getting treats. As far as I’m aware, food is not cheap at any of the places in DL.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... As far as I’m aware, food is not cheap at any of the places in DL.

"Cheap" is a relative term. Compared to other theme parks and compared to the food places just outside the park gates, the prices at DLR for the amount of food you get isn't bad at all. And many of the meals are sized to share, which makes the price even better. As you said, bringing in a bag lunch makes the meal cost per day much better. Many families do try to eat breakfast at the hotel (either in the room or the free hotel meal), then bring in bag lunches and snacks, and treat themselves to an in park dinner. That can help everyone feel like the day is special while still maintaining a reasonable budget.

 

[az4boys]

Does your family like bread? We are a family of 6 and one of our favorite snacks is a large loaf of sourdough bread from the bread factory at DCA - usually shaped like a Mickey head. Go inside and you can get butter to go with it. We all get pretty full for less than $10. It works great if you want to eat an early breakfast and a late lunch.

 

[Bunless]

Red Beans and Rice for $7.59 at Jazz Kitchen Express

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Red Beans and Rice for $7.59 at Jazz Kitchen Express

And for some this is a shareable portion. We share this so that we can leave room for beignets! With the free ice water, this is a very affordable meal.

 

[rentayenta]

Carnation Cafe's burgers and sandwiches are enough to share. Also at Plaza Inn you can share easily. Get doubled mashed with gravy on the fried chicken meal; the beans are hit and miss.

 

[DLgal]

My best advice here is SKIP THE KIDS MEALS. They are a horrible value for the amount of food you get. If your kids are young, share an adult CS meal with them. A slice of pizza from Alien Pizza Planet or Boardwalk Pizza is HUGE and about $8. Definitely enough for 2 kids to share one slice and just supplement with a fruit or veggie side or some Gogo squeeze or something. Also, you can buy a lot of CS stuff "a la carte" for less money than the combo meal. At Plaza Inn, for example, you can buy single pieces of chicken, sides of mashed potatoes or veggies, biscuits, etc, so you can piecemeal or supplement a full platter so you have enough to share. You can order the fries as a side most places, can order the burger without the fries, etc. Hit up the produce stands for some fruits or veggies that everyone likes and split them between meals.

Don't bother leaving property. You won't save much and will waste a lot of time. Just share stuff. Portions are huge.

Also, it goes without saying, but if you are on a budget DO NOT buy soda. Period. It's ridiculous what they charge in the parks for a soda. Bring refillable water bottles and just drink water.

 

[DLgal]

Carnation Cafe's burgers and sandwiches are enough to share. Also at Plaza Inn you can share easily. Get doubled mashed with gravy on the fried chicken meal; the beans are hit and miss.

Or just order an extra side of mashed and an extra biscuit. That's what I do with my son and we share one platter that way. I think the veggies are always great. I've never had bad ones.

 

[disneychrista]

Best money saving tip I can give is skip the soda and get water. I do this every where I go. I haven't gotten soft drinks at at restaurants in years.

 

[Funtimeswithteenagers]

We are a family of 5 and always on a budget. Food adds up fast! Last time we went we packed our food in and ate while we stood in line. I let each kid pick 1 treat a day while we were there. It saved so much money. Another tip I used to save money is I bought each kid a $50 gift card and they got to use that if they wanted souvenirs or an extra treat.
We are able to drive so I go to Costco before we leave. A friend flew and ordered from a local store and had food delivered. I think it was Vons?