The Do's and Don'ts of Food at Disney World
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| Sharing some Nachos in the Mexico Pavilion |
Do: Bring your own meals into the parks
A peanut butter sandwich with carrot sticks and some fruit
is a perfectly filling lunch that will cost a fraction of what you will pay for
park food. If you are going to have a stroller with you, then you can easily
bring in a small cooler or lunch bag (just remember not to pack loose ice) so
you can pack just about anything. You can also leave food in your car or hotel
room if you’re planning on taking a mid-day break. If you don’t want to deal
with a cooler, there are still plenty of shelf stable options that will fill
you up. An added bonus to packing in a lunch: you can save time by eating while
you wait in a long line!
Don’t: Pay for water
Ever. You might be thinking: “I know water is expensive, but
I don’t want to pick up germs at a water fountain.” That is a really good
point, but you don’t need to risk getting sick to get free water. Just go to
any counter service eatery with fountain drinks and ask for a cup of ice water.
You will get a free cup of ice water even if you don’t buy anything. We use
these cups to re-fill our water bottles to make it easier to carry. Stay
hydrated for sure (especially if you’re in Florida in the summer) but don’t buy
bottled water.
Do: Bring energy packed snacks
It will be way cheaper and healthier than buying mouse
shaped ice cream sandwiches and pretzels. Try to stay away from snacks that
contain items like chocolate that are likely to melt, especially in the summer.
As tasty as chocolate chips might be in gorp, it will create a sticky mess. If
you want you can still splurge on some mouse shaped food (because it is super
fun after all), but you will be happy to not have to get out your credit card
every time you or your kids get hungry. If you want, you can even beat the
system by bringing your own Mickey shaped food into the parks. On our last trip
we brought our own Mickey shaped sugar cookies for dessert that were delicious
and not overpriced.
Don’t: Skip meals
I sometimes come across advice as I’m scouring the
Disneyfied web (like a good Disney fan) that suggest only eating two meals a
day during your trip to save money. The idea is to skip breakfast and eat a
large meal around 10:00 am and then another large meal around 3:00 pm filling
in with snacks as you get hungry. Eating only two meals will save you money,
but also might leave you cranky and exhausted. You’re going to need lots of
energy to get through what can easily be a very long, fun packed day. Instead
of skipping a meal, throw a peanut butter sandwich and an apple in your bag or eat
some cereal in your hotel room so you can have three meals while still saving
money.
Do: Share meals
Portions are often enough for two people at many of the
restaurants. Two people can easily share a single burger and fries meal from
one of the quick service restaurants (the Disney term for fast food). You won’t
really be able to take home food you don’t finish and it seems like a waste to
throw food (and thus money) away. My family of four adults almost always splits
meals when we order food in the Disney Parks. Sometimes we order an extra side
of fries, but two meals is usually plenty for all of us. If you need a snack
later, you can always get one, but you will feel way better about meal prices
if you start out by sharing.
Don’t: Book sit down meals all the time
They can be fun once or twice (especially the character
meals) but they’re also expensive and time consuming. You paid for the rides,
ambiance, and character experiences. Don’t waste time eating in sit down
restaurants every meal when you could be hanging out with Mickey Mouse.
Do: Consider staying in a hotel off Disney property
You can find lots of hotel options within a few miles of the
park entrances that will save you money on both the room and your meals. One
option is to find a hotel that serves free breakfast. This is common in most
hotels now, so you might be surprised to learn that the hotels on Disney
property do not offer free breakfast. Getting a free meal every day will save
your family quite a bit of money. You can also get a condo where you can
prepare your own breakfasts and even simple dinners on some nights. You will
pay way less for a frozen pizza at the grocery store than you will pay for a
slice of pizza in one of the Disney Parks.
Want an idea of how much a family can save by following
these tips? Below is a comparison of what a family of four with two adults and
two kids under nine years old would save on food during a day at the Magic
Kingdom in Disney World. In scenario A the family is staying at an All-Star
resort on Disney property. In scenario B the family is staying in a hotel off
Disney property and went shopping at Walmart for some of their food as well as ate some park food. The charts below don't have tax included so you should keep in mind that some of the actual prices will be even higher since Florida has a 6.5% restaurant tax. (Prices are accurate as of 7/15/19)
Scenario A
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Scenario B
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Breakfast $42.24
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World
Premier Food Court
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Breakfast Free
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Continental breakfast and coffee in hotel
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1 Bounty Platter with Mickey Waffles ($11.29)
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1 Cheese Omelet ($10.99)
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2 Mickey-shaped Waffles kid's meals ($6.49 each)
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Main Street Bakery (Starbucks)
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2 Café Americanos Tall ($3.49 each)
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Snack $10
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2
Mickey Pretzels to share ($5 each)
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Snack
$4.65
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4
Granola Bars ($1.16 per bar)
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Lunch $46.66
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Columbia
Harbour House
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Lunch $10.49
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4
Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwiches ($1.48 each)
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1 Lobster Roll ($15.99)
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4 Fruit cups
($.56 each)
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1 Lighthouse Sandwich ($10.69)
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Carrot Sticks
($.27 per serving)
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2 Uncrustables Kid's meals ($6.49 each)
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4 Water Flavor
Packets for free water ($.42 each)
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2 Dasani Water Bottles ($3.50 each)
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Snack $19.96
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Aloha
Isle
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Snack $.80
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Trail
Mix ($.20 per serving)
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4 Pineapple Dole Whip cups ($4.99 each)
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Dinner $49.54
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Cosmic
Ray's Starlight Café
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Dinner $31.07
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Cosmic
Ray's Starlight Café
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2 1/3 lb. Angus Cheeseburgers with fries ($13.29 each)
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2 1/3 lb. Angus
Cheeseburgers with fries to share ($13.29 each)
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2 Chicken Breast Nuggets kid's meals ($7.49 each)
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1 extra order
of fries ($4.49)
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2 Fountain Beverages ($3.99 each)
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4 Free Waters
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Dessert $23
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4
Mickey Ice Cream Sandwiches ($5.75 each)
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Dessert
$23
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4
Mickey Ice Cream Sandwiches ($5.75 each)
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Total
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$191.40
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Total
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$70.01
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