Seven Easy Ways to Save Money on Food During Your Disney Vacation
Food at the Walt Disney World Resort can be expensive. Believe it or not, the average character dinner buffet costs approximately $46 per adult and $26 per child ages 3-9. These calculations don’t even include the most coveted reservation of all: dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom’s iconic castle which runs $70-$80 per adult and $38-46 per child depending on the time of year. No doubt about it, eating out at Disney is not cheap. However, there are ways to minimize your costs if you plan correctly. Here are seven easy ways to minimize food costs while enjoying your time at the most magical place on Earth.
1. Bring breakfast foods from home.
Enjoy cereal, milk, muffins, and fruit in your hotel room. Packing groceries is easy if you drive–just bring a cooler and your favorite foods. If you fly, just add a box or two of cereal to your suitcase. All Disney resort rooms on property have mini-refrigerators, and you can buy milk at all the hotels. Put the fruit (sturdier varieties like apples, oranges, and pears) in your carry-on bag so that it doesn’t get jostled and bruised. Instant oatmeal is also a quick and easy breakfast that doesn’t take up much luggage space.
Most of the hotel rooms have coffee makers that you can use to make your hot water for oatmeal, coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. Coffee pods or K-cups are usually provided, along with sugar and non-dairy creamer, but that’s it. If you are a hot chocolate or tea drinker, bring it with you. And, remember to bring bowls and spoons if you plan on eating cereal, as well as a tiny container of dish detergent.
2. Load up on your favorite snacks before you leave home.
Bring a box of granola bars, some Slim Jims, and a jar of peanuts. Cleveland airport security loves my mom and her peanuts (hint: put them in your checked baggage). Choose snacks that will travel well. A can of Pringles is much easier to transport than a bag of chips. If you have a cooler in your car, fill it with string cheese and other goodies. Pepperoni, cheese, and crackers are easy snacks that are full of protein and can substitute for a quick meal if needed. If you’re flying, use frozen bottles of waters in a soft-sided collapsible cooler to keep your snacks cool. A hidden bonus: After eating all those snacks, you’ll have more room in your suitcase to bring back souvenirs!
3. Pack sandwich items for quick lunches.
Believe it or not, Disney does not care if you bring food into their parks. There are a few rules–no glass, no hard sided or rolling coolers, etc.–but for the most part, security is pretty accommodating. Bring lunch meat from home (in the soft-sided cooler, of course), pouches of tuna, cans of chicken, a jar of peanut butter. Any of that will work. You can use flour tortillas instead of bread (easier to pack) or buy a loaf of bread in the gift shop. Also, remember to pack condiments from home (small packages of ketchup, relish, mustard, and mayonnaise work well). If you’re making tuna or chicken salad, bring a bowl to mix it in and a fork., as well as a can opener if needed. A knife is also useful, but please put it in your checked luggage. And, remember to bring sandwich bags!
4. Bring refillable water bottles or bottled water and juice boxes from home.
Staying hydrated can be expensive when you are paying $3.00 for each bottle. Save money by bringing a refillable water bottle or by bringing your own drinks. If you are flying and don’t have room, try ordering from Amazon Prime Now for two-hour delivery or a service like Garden Grocer. All quick service dining locations in the parks will give out free ice water. If your children don’t like plain water, add some flavored drink packets to your list–they don’t take up much room. Furthermore, if you’re a Pepsi drinker, you’ll need to bring your own. Disney World only sells Coca-Cola products.
5. Treat your family to a character breakfast instead of a character dinner.
Prices for character breakfasts range from $31.00 per adult at the Tusker House in the Animal Kingdom (admission not included) to $60.00 at Cinderella’s Royal Table, with most being around $35 per adult and $20 per child. A character breakfast outside the parks is a great choice for your resort day or check-out day.
There are several resort character meals to choose from, including ‘Ohana, Chef Mickey’s, 1900 Park Fare, Trattoria Al Forno, and Cape May Cafe. Breakfast at ‘Ohana at the Polynesian Resort features Lilo, Stitch, and friends and is $31 per adult and $19 per child ages 3-9. Little princesses will enjoy Trattoria Al Forno’s Bon Voyage Breakfast at Boardwalk Inn with Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Ariel, and Prince Eric. This breakfast runs $34.00 for adults and $20.00 for children. Reservations are necessary and can be made 180 days in advance (up to 190 days if you are staying on property). Keep in mind that meal prices change with the seasons–at busier times of year, expect to pay a little more.
In addition, you can click here to find out more about character dining at Walt Disney World.
6. Consider splitting a pizza at your resort for dinner.
Pizza is available at every resort. and usually there is more than one way to order. First, you can order from room service or the resort delivery service (don’t use under-the-door flyers–those are a scam) and have pizza delivered to your room for around $20 (including delivery charge and tip), or you can pick one up in the hotel food court for a little less. We’ve done this several times. With two people, we have enough for dinner and lunch the next day.
7. Share quick service meals or order the main dishes without the sides.
Quick service meals are large. Consider sharing with your spouse or splitting one entree between the kids. You can also order the main dish without the sides even if it’s not listed. If you want a sandwich and no fries, just ask. It’s almost always available at a discounted price.
There are many ways to save while staying at Walt Disney World. By researching and planning ahead, families can minimize their costs and maximize their fun.
Happy traveling!
For tips on finding lodging for your family of five or more, click here.
To find out more about our next trip, read my Disney Dreaming post.
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Wow, this sounds so fun , will be planning a trip with my kiddos soon, lovely post thanks 😊
It’s true, that food can get quite expensive, especially if you have a big family. With a bit of preparation you can make incredible memories on a budget. Well done
These are great tips! We used to live in Florida and frequently went to Disney. The food is expensive (but so good!).
As an environmentalist, I love the part on bringing refillable water bottles. I can definately see this saving money!
Really nice post. Wish I read it before I went to Disney!! Spent a fair bit of money dining out! Fantastic post, look forward to seeing some more!
Great tips for our next Disney trip. Thanks for sharing
It’s true that the food there really adds up! I was there last week, and go often because we live in Florida and can buy Fl resident passes which saves some on the entrance. But I took a friends child with me and the one day park admittance was $148!! That is crazy. I was shocked at how much it is now. Then we went to go try to dine at Be Our Guest and it was going to be $70+ per person. Taking your own snacks in to avoid 1 meal is a good idea to save more time to ride and money for other goodies.
These are great tips to save money at Disney. I’ll have to use them for myself.
These tips are great, specially when we have children. And they can get hungry soon during the trip, or as soon as they see something sweet. Snacks,sandwiches and a huge breakfast can definitely work for us 🙂
Great tips! We love Disney! I always bring our own water and snacks into the parks! We typically do the dining plans too so we can try a lot of different food.
These are such good tips. We’re goint back to Disney next year and these will be so helpful 💗
Great tips! I’m all about saving money while on vacation! Thanks for sharing.
These are great tips! It always drives me crazy how much places charge for water!
I love WDW! Great tips for saving money on food!
I’ve been wanting to go to Disney so bad but have been a little scared of the cost. These are great tips to make it a little less scary. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Prices at Disney are ridiculous… and they are nothing special either! I was once lucky to be invited to the character buffet (in Paris Disneyland) but the food… well, wasn’t bad but for that price (and being in France!) it was really nothing special at all and I was glad I didn’t have to pay for it myself 😀 but yes, I agree – for all trips and vacations not just Disney – preparation and snacks from home are essential 😉
Great tips! We’re always trying to find ways to save money when we go to amusement parks.
thanks for these tips. I want to save money as the entrance ticket to disney is quite expensive
Thanks for breaking down affordable options to eat at while visiting disney.
We haven’t taken our girls to Disney yet, but we want to so badly. These sound like great ideas. Definitely need to save this!
I love disney <3 disneyland is one of my dream place that I really want to visit lucky you !
Really great tips. When my family and I went on vacation we always would bring snacks, breakfast and sandwich material so we didn’t have spend a lot of money on meals.
Great info! I remember going with my momto Disneyland and she brought cereal and sandwich stuff. I thought it was weird asakid. But tottally understand it now that I’m an adult trying to save money. I wouldn’t have thought to get a pizza at the hotel!
These are such great tips. I love the one about the Character breakfast instead of dinner. Such a great way to still get the experience and to save some money.
What a thoughtful and helpful post!! It can be so easy to get in the ‘we’re on vacation’ mind-set and then look at your bank account with dread when you get back home. Loving these simple tips, I bet they will make such a huge difference to your spending! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I have travelled extensively and have never managed to make it to a Disney resort! It is definitely on my bucket list and hope to do it soon! These are great tips and I will definitely revisit when I’m planning my trip!
I’ve done all of these except ordering the pizza. Will have to try that next time! After a long day at the park, the last thing you want to do is head out to dinner.
Thanks for making this post. I’m currently planning a Disney trip for next year. Saving money on food will be most appreciated…….more money can be allocated to all the gift store items!😀
Great tips! We totally do the breakfast at the hotel too (bur that’s also because we can’t get ourselves anywhere on time if we want to not look too disheveled.)
Thanks! I love your website name.
I have been wanting to take a family vacation to Disney. Limited funds are what has held is back. These tips are great and i will put them to use when I start the planning for next year.
Thank you 🙂
Such great content! I didn’t even know there was a Cinderella dinner! I have wanted a Cinderella wedding since I was a kid!
Thank you! You can actually meet Cinderella at three different dinners: 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Hotel, Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle, or Akershus Royal Banquet at EPCOT. At 1900 Park Fare, you can also meet Prince Charming, the evil step-sisters, and Lady Tremaine (Cinderella’s step-mother). At Cinderella’s Royal Table and Akershus, it’s usually Cinderella and other princesses. Akershus and Cinderella’s Royal Table serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the same characters all day, but 1900 Park Fare has different characters for breakfast/brunch (no Cinderella). Characters are always subject to change, but Cinderella is a mainstay for those dinners.