Before my trip, the idea of feeding my family of 5 at Disney was giving me nightmares. Since Disney was just a tack-on trip to a month long jaunt in the Florida Keys, we wanted all of the fun, but only half of the price tag. Eat cheap at Disney? Unrealistic, right?
Well, with some planning, we did it…Our total on-site food costs after a 5 night stay at Disney for our family of five was about $150.
Check out some of the items we purchased for our trip to save money in the parks!
How Can You Cut Food Costs on your Next Disney Trip?
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Bring Your Own Water
We stopped at a local Walgreens and picked up bottled water for $4/case. We used several cases on our trip, going through an average of 15 bottles each day in the park. Since bottles of water in the park are nearly $4 each, we saved countless money and stayed hydrated.
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Eat Breakfast in Your Room at the Resort
We packed cereal, paper bowls, plastic spoons, and milk for the resort room. Our room had a reasonable size refrigerator in it that we used to store the milk and water. Having breakfast in the hotel saved us money, but it also saved us time. We wanted to get to the parks when they opened (and sometimes with Extra Magic Hours that was 7 AM). By eating breakfast in the room, we didn’t need to deal with the crowds getting breakfast.
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Pack a Bag of Snacks for Each Day Before You Leave
Before we left for our trip, I packed snacks for each day in the park in a gallon sized bag. We went to COSTCO and chose a wide variety so the kids would not get bored with the choices. Each morning as we prepared to go to the parks, I grabbed one of the bags and stored it in the bottom of our stroller. With snacks on hand, they did not ask for pricy park snacks. We also packed a sandwich for each of us to bring in the cooler to the park.
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Sample Your Way Through EPCOT for Dinner One Night
EPCOT’s countries all have interesting foods to try. For dinner one night, we stopped at several of the countries to “try” new foods. We shared an entree as a family at each stop – fish and chips, tacos, egg rolls, pretzels, and more. We all enjoyed a little variety!
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Grab a Pizza (or 2) at the Resort
We stayed at Disney’s Art of Animation resort and stopped in one night (late!) after arriving home from the parks. We decided to split a pizza because it was inexpensive (under $15) and large. We were actually surprised at how good it was – it was a deeper dish pizza than we get in Philly and even my picky eaters liked it. I would totally do that again.
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Eat Dinner at Quick Service restaurants
Fancy dining is not one of our main goals in going to Disney. We eat at nice places at home that are less crowded, better quality, and less expensive. I know many of my friends of girls feel they need to go to at least one character meal with the princesses because that is an easy place to meet them all.
As a mom of boys, I know my sons don’t particularly want to meet the princesses (I am off the hook for that one!), but they did want to meet characters like Mickey, Goofy, and Chip n’ Dale. All of those characters were easy to meet on the go in the park, so we just did that!
We ate one night at the Pinnochio Village Haus and watched all the riders on Its a Small World. The boys really loved waving to all the guests. We ate another meal at a place in Liberty Square. Both were decent food, and both allowed us to eat, cool off, and then be back on our way.
Isn’t water in the park free? I keep reading that.. Just wondering. Also,any tips for those who fly in and won’t have a car? ( and therefore can’t buy food and snacks) ?
The water is free at most places, but then you need to lug around your cups. We found it was a bit more convenient to buy a pack of 24 bottles for $4 and use those – especially in the room so we didn’t have to walk all the way to the cafeteria. I also could throw a few bottles in my bag and bring them on the rides. Some of the waits are long and water was a necessity. If you bring a bottle of your own, make sure it closes (not straws, etc.) so you can toss it in your bag. A few of my friends (MamaCheaps.com, for example, use Amazon Prime to deliver snacks, etc. to the resort. One of the stroller companies (Kingdom Stollers, maybe?) has a “food shopping” service attached to it. Hope that helps!
Yes water in the park is free and they do have water fountains to refill your water bottles, I packed empty reusable ones from home. My family an I flew to Disneyworld and I packed a suitcase full of just snacks nuts, chips, crackers, fruit snacks, granola bars, what ever your kiddo likes. I of course had to check that bag but everything was fine.
Yes, good point! We just didn’t want to worry about carrying bottles we cared about – and didn’t want to keep the refillable cups upright for 5 of us! But, yes, water is free! Thanks for sharing additional tips!
Awesome stuff!! I have gone to Disney and spent 1K for a 3 night stay and less than $150 for a 5 night stay. It really comes down to knowing your stuff, bringing stuff with you, and meticulously planning. Another great tip is to share meals. for example: A quick service location, Cosmic Ray Cafe, offered a rotisserie chicken meal that two adults can share. For more head over to my site that is all about going to Disney on a budget. http://Www.planningthemagic.net
Great tips. Thanks for sharing, Krystel! We did find portions at several places were so big that we could share (or the kids could – and my kids eat A LOT!).
There are shopping services that will deliver to the resorts.
You can get free ice water from walk up restaurants but the water is horrible tasting..we got it a free times but only when desperate. You can get groceries delivered to your room before you arrive for snacks and food. We brought a toaster for bagels and things in the room as well.
Exactly! Also, all Disney rooms have a mini-fridge so you can always take it back for the next day.
Yes there are Mattie! I think one of the stroller companies also offer this service! Thanks for the tip!
The toaster is a great idea @Nyree! I have heard the water has a taste, as well. Though I think pretty much any water besides the water from my own house has a taste!
Yes you can get a cup of iced water for free. There are also water fountains around the park if you want to fill up a bottle of water that way.
If you need groceries and don’t have a car you can use a grocery delivery service like Garden Grocer ($14 fee and $40 minimum), or Amazon Pantry for non-perishables. There is no minimum or fee for Amazon and shipping is free as a prime members and orders over $35.
If you’re staying at a Disney resort, the store will have a few items too.
Krystel
PlanningTheMagic.net
Yes! I have heard that some of the on-site resorts were charging a $10/package fee to receive Amazon orders. My friend Mama Cheaps (http://mamacheaps.com) had that happen to her on her last stay. I am not sure if that charge is consistent across all on-site hotels or only some.
I think that happens only at the resorts that are convention hotels such as Coronado Springs.
We have found that the horrible tasting water only seems to happen at some of the counter service restaurants in Magic Kingdom. We experienced this oddity in Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land. And by horrible tasting, I mean undrinkable, nasty not just an unfamiliar taste. The water everywhere else has been fine. 🙂 We prefer a cup of ice water at the Starbucks locations. It’s very refreshing and tastes great!
Those are great tips esp sampling around Epcot!
You can go to any quick service and get a free cup of water without purchase .
you mentioned a cooler. What size cooler are we allowed to take into the park.
we just got back a week ago and I definitely recommend bringing your own food! we flew southwest and I packed a suit case full of snacks and breakfast items. However I wish I knew that we could use the microwave/ taoster in our resort cafe. I would have saved atleast 100$ on breakfast food. The water does have a calcium taste,but we got the refillable mugs that you pay 17$ for and get free refills for your say,and make great suvinours!
For our family of 4,we spent around 1000$ on food and extras for 8 days…3 charactor meals and the rest was quick service and special desserts.I feel that reasonable but REALLY wish we spent less! Any advice for spending less on food is much appreciated!
Great tip about the microwave – I did not know the microwave/toaster could be used. We brought cereal and milk for breakfast.
Tap water is free at the parks, you can also have groceries deliver to your hotel.
Oh my goodness, not enough good things can be said about the Resort Pizza at Disney World! My hubby and I tried it on our most recent trip and were pleasantly surprised by the taste and quality. And the price. We enjoyed splitting samples around the world for the Flower and Garden festival and we definitely saved money (and had variety, like you said).
I use a backpack cooler (my girls are older). We keep drinks with ice packs in the cooler part and snacks in the outer part of the bag. Basically it holds everything, so I don’t bring a purse.
We pack the bottle water in a suitcase when we fly. Then that empty suitcase is used to bring home souvenirs from the trip!
These ideas are great esp for traveling wtih little ones. Bonus points for the pictures of your precious boys
The water at the parks tastes HORRIBLE.. all Floridians have said it’s something they had to get used to there.
I bought snacks and distributed them through out our suit cases even water and little cuties. So we had stuff for room and park. Once your water bottle is empty you can refill it at park or just ask at food outlets for ice water.
I stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort last fall and they did charge a $5 delivery fee for my Amazon Prime box to be delivered but it was worth it for the amount of things I ordered that we used during the trip. We also took Mios or crystal light drops to flavor the water, as Florida water has a distinct taste to it. It also gave a little more variety to drinks than just having plain water all the time.
If you rent a car, you can go to the grocery store to buy snacks (that’s what I did). I bet you could also have snacks delivered via Amazon or another delivery service.
You can get free cup of water many places in the parks.You must wait in line to get it. We always took a bottle with us and filled with water in the park and we’d carry it with us and refill as needed.
One of our carry on bags contained all kinds of 3 ounce food to eat. Things like juice boxes, tuna salad, crackers, individual cereals and pasyries…
Yes, it is. We take in one water bottle each, then refill it throughout the day with the free ice water.
We also found we didn’t need a full meal for each family member. We usually ordered 2 kids meals plus one adult meal for our family of 4. The kids meals always seemed to be a pretty good value.
Sorry but it is called vacation. No making weird sandwiches etc. Eat at the park. Meals are large, split them. Enjoy it. It’s a vacation!
Plastic straws are no longer available at WDW except at Starbucks. Can we say toddler meltdown! The free ice water at all Starbucks locations tastes ok and The Sci-Fi diner in Hollywood is very good. We opted not to buy reusable straws. We took our own plastic straws and carried a handful in a travel toothbrush holder in our day bag. We were just responsible and put in recycle bin when disposing.
Agree about funky water taste. We are investing in some long lasting thermal cups for our next trip. Many stay cold for 12 hours. We fly with a toddler and pack two cases of water in our checked luggage, snacks, and bring breakfast foods to eat or fix in commissary and save a bundle.
When my family and I went to WDW 15 years ago we arranged for a limo to pick us up at the airport. This limo fee included a 30 minute stop at a grocery store. I had the grocery list split up between my husband and I and we tore thru the store. We got done before the 30 minutes and the limo driver said that we were the first family to finish in 30 minutes! No way was I going to pay extra for the limo service or an extra suitcase.