For our family of 9 food is a major expense. We are always on the lookout for ways to save on this budget category, especially on vacation. This post will cover different ways to save money on food at Disney World.
I want to start with this disclaimer: We are not foodies! Yes, we like good, basic, yummy food but we are not going to be looking for anything gourmet. This makes it a little easier for us to use these tips. On one of our vacations to Disney we ate almost all our meals in the park. By the time we left, we all agreed that we would rather bring more lunches. On the last few days we were tired of park food and spending a lot of money for food we didn’t just love. Because we had one member of our party who wasn’t very adventurous with food, we ate at mostly similar places which most likely diminished our Disney food experience.
If you are foodies or big eaters, read this about the Disney Dining Plan!
EDIT: as of May 2020, Disney Dining Plans are not available until the end of 2020. This is subject to change so stay tuned.
If you love trying all different kinds of foods and dining is a major part of your Disney experience then a Dining Plan may be perfect for you. You can save a lot of money if you love to eat the more gourmet foods–steak, fish, lobster and such. This is also a great option if dining with Disney characters is top on your list. Hearty eaters will also find that the dining plan is an economical choice.
You also might find that the dining plan will save you money if you like to have a glass of wine, beer or cocktail with your meals. This is now included and the savings can really add up.
So, on to the tips…
10 Ways to Save Money on Food at Disney World
1) Costco/Grocery Store
This is our main method of saving money on food at Disney World. We stop at Costco for supplies for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Since we we usually stay in a house through Airbnb we have a full kitchen to store everything. We stop at the grocery store for a few items that we didn’t want Costco sizes of such as peanut butter. The other place we go is Trader Joe’s. We don’t have one in AK and we LOVE the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. These make great snacks in the parks.
But what if you are staying in a Disney resort without a kitchen? Each of the rooms at the Disney World resort has a mini-fridge and coffee maker in the room. This will be perfect for breakfast necessities and snacks. Many of the near-by hotels will also have these items but you will want to check and make sure. If staying off-site many have free breakfast included.
HOT TIP: We love to bring string cheese, yogurt, cut veggies and drinks into the park. We always travel with a couple insulated lunch boxes. If we have access to a freezer we also bring ice packs. If not, we will bring plastic baggies and fill them with ice from the hotel ice machines.
2) Bring Snacks from Home
- 1) Take a snack box as luggage. Bringing a box of snacks (and possibly lunch items) even with baggage costs will save money. You can bring a lot of snacks in a box for the $25-35 baggage fee.
- 2) Use snacks a filler in luggage. Granola bars, fruit snacks and strips, baggies of trail mix, and applesauce pouches (these probably should be in a baggie in case of explosion) work great to fill in the nooks and crannies.
3) Order from Amazon Prime Now or other Grocery Delivery Service.
With Amazon Prime Now you can get grocery items of all kinds delivered right to your resort in 2 hours. If you order over $35 there is no additional delivery fee. There is a $6 fee at your resort if the groceries are received by the front desk.
Shannon at WDW Prep School has a great post on the grocery delivery services. She describes the ins and outs of using these options.
4) Eat Outside of the Parks
There is so many restaurants around Disney World. Pretty much any road that leads away from Disney World will have a plethora of places to eat ranging from fast food to fine dining. Google maps will be your best friend to help you find a place to eat. Our favorites off-property restaurants have been Panera, Giordano’s Pizza, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Sweet Tomatoes and Chick-fil-a.
5) Share Meals
Many meals in the Parks are big enough to share. Especially for kids. One adult meal split between two children will be cheaper than two kids meals.
A couple of things to note: if on the dining plan quick-service credits are not split between children and adults so children can order adult portions and share. This is a good way to stretch credits. At table service restaurants you are able to share for only one dining credit as long as it is not a buffet or family style
If paying out of pocket you can also share as long as you are not at a buffet or family style restaurant.
Shannan at WDW Prep School has a nice list of restaurants that have large enough portions to share.
Kristin at Couponing to Disney has a nice list of shareable meals.
Sharing meals can be accomplished at restaurants in and out of the parks. Pizza at Giordano’s is a great inexpensive option to share. The Chicago style deep-dish pizza is so delicious and filling. We always have our kids share an adult Mac-n-cheese at Panera instead of getting two kids meals.
6) Order off the Kids Menu
If you are paying out of pocket you are free to choose from the kids menu. While at most quick service restaurants the kids menu is basic kids fare. But at some you will find the Disney Check Menu which has healthier options. Many table service restaurants have much more interesting kids menu options.
7) Share Snacks
So many snacks at Disneyland are HUGE. We always share caramel corn, lemon and pineapple Dole Whip, and Mickey pretzels. There are so many good options. When you share you can try so many more delicious treats. How great is that! One thing I never share–Mickey ice cream sandwiches–just don’t even ask!
Decide ahead of time your snack threshold. Will it be one snack/person/day? Will you share a certain number of snacks a day? When our kids were younger (and not as many of them) we gave them a gift card with an amount that gave them $5/day for snacks. They could use it up however they wanted to. They loved to have control of their own snacks.
8) Bring refillable bottles or buy bottled water outside of the park
Bottled water in the park costs $3.50 a bottle. That can add up rather quickly. Refillable bottles can be filled up at water stations around the park. We filled our insulated bottles with ice in the morning and we were able to have cold water almost all day. In addition, you can always ask for a cup of water or ice at the restaurants and quick-service counters.
Purchasing bottled water outside the park is also an option. Before using refillable bottles we would bring a couple of bottles per person in small backpacks (along with our snacks). Yes, we began the morning a little heavy laden but our load lightened as we drank the water. In hot weather, since we have had freezer available, we would bring at least one froze bottle and one chilled. The frozen would melt by the time we were ready to drink. If only partially melted, we would add water from drinking fountains to hasten melting.
HOT TIP: Line your backpack with a plastic bag to keep condensation produced by melting bottles from soaking through your bag (in very hot weather this has a nice, welcome, cooling effect).
9) Eat Bread
We could seriously make a meal of this for our whole family. The Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie located down the cute little street in the France Pavilion sells baguettes for $2.95 each. With some butter that they have setting out, I will eat a whole one for a meal. Just add some cheese brought in our insulated lunch bag and we would be golden! The other thing we have done is make sandwiches. If you place a grocery order with lunch meat use your baguette’s for bread. You can find condiments such as mustard and mayonnaise at quick service locations. This is a very delicious way to save money on food at Disney World.
10) Make a Plan and Stick With it
Set a food budget before you go. Plan ahead how many meals you are going to eat in the parks, off-site or bring yourself. IF you deviate do so with cheaper options. Look up menus at restaurants to see what it will cost your family to eat there. The Disney website has a list of all their restaurants with menus for your preplanning.
In closing…
There are so many options on ways to splurge and save on food at Disney World. You can apply some of the tips above and not others. Any steps you take to save will make a difference. Take some time with your family to create a food action plan that fits your budget and how you want to eat.
Do you have a favorite tip to save money on food at Disney World? Share in the comments below so that others can benefit from your great ideas.
Happy travels to you…until we meet again!
Other posts you might be interest in:
Comments are closed.