Dining on a budget

[Diznut]

Not doing the dining plan.
Any tips or suggestions for someone on a tight food budget?
Thanks!

[DisneyTwinsMommy]

-Do sit down lunches instead of dinners, they are cheaper and fill you up for the remainder of the day.

- Split CS meals, lots of times they are HUGE... If it is a double cheeseburger, ask for an extra bun (i think it's $.75 ish) then share the fries.

- Have breakfasts in the room, you can bring things from home, or do Garden grocer for some groceries.

- The crystal light drink packets are great! Ask for a FREE cup of ice water and mix it in!

[MarkC]

Above post is spot on with great ideas-- can't stress enough remembering to ask for a free cup of ice water.

If you have a car, just outside of the complex on the east side of the downtown disney hotels there is a Taco Bell and McDonalds, along with some other choices. There is also a McDonalds near Blizzard Beach and one at downtown Disney. Bring some granola bars from home so you can snack on those in the middle of the day. Then you won't be so hungry at mealtime.

[megustamex]

We always rent a car so we buy provisions for the room, but even buying items at the hotel gift shop is cheaper than eating out every meal. We usually don't have a fridge. We bring our own cereal to the food court at the hotel and buy milk every day. If you're staying in a room with a fridge you can save money by keeping the milk in the fridge. Some days we bring peanut butter sandwiches to the park or buy cheese/lunchmeat/bread at the gift shop before we go and have that for lunch. You can just do CS for evening and skip TS altogether if you are really trying to keep it cheap. We figure on the days that we do all of this we only spend $20 a day for food over and above groceries we would buy at home,since we would usually spend about $10 for dinner anyway at home, and we spend about $30 for 2 CS adult meals and 1 or 2 CS kids meals.

[faline]

There is also a McDonalds near Blizzard Beach and one at downtown Disney.


If not already closed, the one at Downtown Disney is slated to close.

[faline]

We If you're staying in a room with a fridge you can save money by keeping the milk in the fridge. .

You can also bring a cooler with you and use ice from the vending machine.

[kakn7294]

Fruit is a relatively inexpensive (and healthy) snack and available at several locations in each park and at the resorts. At TS locations, lunch is usually cheaper. We like to do a buffet breakfast at least once - fills us up for a good part of the day and we usually skip lunch and have a light dinner on that day. We usually eat breakfast in our room - granola bars, pop tarts (we actually like them "uncooked"), donuts, etc. Adults can also order from the kids menus, especially at the CS locations - some of the meals are very filling if you have a smaller appetite.

[Missy_Mouses_Dad]

We always bring snacks to the parks in my day bag...trail mix and swedish fish (mmm!!). Also, we use kool aid or some other drink mix in the little packets to mix with water. Another suitcase item is bags of microwave popcorn from home. Granola bars are very good for at the parks. Earl of Sandwich in Downtown disney is very reasonable and the sandwiches are scrumptuous.

As a plus, packing these things in suitcases, makes more room for souvenirs on the way home. :thumbsup:

[lighteningqueen]

Wolfgang Pucks downtown is the best value for the money on a dinner meal. If you are not really really hungry then you can split the chicken alfredo or one of the flatbreads etc. They have huge dinner like portions. Pecos Bills Cheesburgers are thick and huge. I cannot eat 2 mpattys and so I gave it to my hubby and he had a triple decker which lasted with him all day long. Trex nachos are the hugest amount I have ever seen or eaten Too many for 2 Can be a meal.DHS Starring Rolls have humungus sandwiches about 6 inches tall or taller can be shared.. Desserts are huge as well. Columbia Harbor House is a great place as well with larger amounts to really fill up on. Most all other places do not really give you the huge amounts that some posters say, Some people eat tiny amounts and most of the dinner places just give an average amount of food so if you are a hearty eater....You need to do buffetts. If you eat the last bit of breakfast hours, and the food is just as good as the first hours... you can go all day long for the most part on that one meal and then snack at n ight. Or at least we have and my hubby is a good eater not fat just eats..

[WelshieLover]

We found the sandwiches sold at the bakeries were fresh delicious and large enough to share. We also would order the chicken and ribs lunches at the counterservice locations that offered them. They were large eonough to share also.

[Scott C]

I don't mean to start anything here -- but the pizza at the food court is fairly cheap compared to buying 3 or 4 meals -- no it is no my favorite -- but it works.

Thanks
Scott C

[BriarRose0708]

Not only can you get FREE cups of icewater at Counter Service locations as a previous poster mentioned, I also bring a nalgene and fill it up at the water fountains in the parks. Bottled water is a big expense at WDW and it is important to stay hydrated whether it is super hot or chilly because of all the walking you do. In my mind there should never be a reason to buy bottled water at Disney. You can use that $2.50 for a Dole Whip or piece of School Bread instead!

I also found not being on the dining plan a great way to support a small dining budget. You can order just an appetizer and dessert if that's what you like or split an entree with someone. I was there for 8 days without the DP a few years ago, and spent the same amount of money as I did four days on the plan my last trip.

Happy eating!

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

On my last trip to the World I went with two of my friends who were still in college (I had just graduated). Budgets were tight, so we were really careful with our money, but never went hungry and had an awesome time! :mickey: Here are my tips:

- Bring granola bars with you in your luggage for snacks.

- Always bring a bottle of water with you into the parks to hydrate, and fill it up at water fountains around the parks instead of buying a new one. Try to drink water with all your meals because the cost of drinks really adds up!

- If you're staying in one of the budget resorts, in the food courts they have oatmeal and fresh fruit. Grab some oatmeal and a banana or apple and it'll only cost you a few dollars.

- Eat a small yet filling breakfast, larger lunch, and smaller dinner, as lunch is far cheaper than dinner.

- Avoid buying snacks. Stick to filling meals and it'll stretch your money much farther.

Good luck!

[JerseyDad]

....fridge in the room = huge savings (especially if you're driving to WDW).

Even at $10/day....the savings that you'll get by keeping food staples and drinks in the fridge will easily amount to $30/day. Bottled water is a huge plus to have...since most of the time perceived hunger...is actually thirst. A 24 pack of water usually sells for under $4....as compared to $2.50/bottle in the parks or refreshment stands.

Also...bring fresh fruit...a bag of apples is easy to keep in the room....they are "sturdy" compared to say...a banana...and easy to take to a park.

[PetefromRI]

My wife and I easily can do 50.00 a day for both of us.We split a bagel in the morning and get a coffee with our refillable mug.The bagel is about 4.00.We split a 10.00 lunch,we each get a snack at 5.00 for both and then we do a dinner for about25.00 for 2.Which leaves us 6.00 for bottled water on the 1st day and then we continue to refill the bottle for the trip.We only do CS locations when on a budget.We started doing the QSDP for about 32.00 per person each day and we eat like vultures with plenty of snacks left over and no need to make ADR's.

[kemps@wdw]

We've never done the dining plan. We also go on a food "budget" of sorts. We usually chose 3 meals for the week that require ressies. A character meal (usually breakfast), a TS restaurant (different each year), and the HDDMR (never miss). Everything else is kinda "where do we want to go today?". We bring all our food/drinks/snacks w/us from home. The only thing we buy @ our resort is milk, and sometimes bread, and lunchmeat. Breakast is always in the room. Lunchtime is usually sandwiches in the room or @ the pool. The refillable mugs are a great idea. We also nosh our way around World Showcase a couple of afternoons or evenings and usually split meals (the servings are usually large enough), or have appetizers as meals, Lunch prices are always cheaper than dinner prices, so if we eat out, we'll do it during the lunch hours and save a little $. Take snacks w/you to the parks to avoid buying them, and take a water bottle to refill (we even take along the flavored packets to add to the water) Ice water is usually free. We have a frig in our room, and it is always full. Of course, there are simply some things you will have to or want to buy, but you don't have to break the food bank!

[jonahbear2006]

goodluck. we tried that in december and failed horribly. we really tried. we camped and brought healthy foods and cooked breakfast and between the groceries we bought and the LITTLE bit of counter services and 2 table services we ate, we spent more than we would have buying the dining plan. I wont try this again unless we arent staying on property.