Any way to cut costs on meals @ WDW

[luvmyfam444]

Several years back WDW would sell an extra bun & we would take a patty off & make a second hamburger that way. Is that still an option? Is there any other way to stretch a QS meal besides just cutting the meal in 1/2?

 

[uccats97]

1.Don't order soft drinks, drink the free ice water instead.
2.I personally enjoy eating a kid's meal where I get an entree and 2 small sides and a drink, especially at places with free refills like Backlot Express, Sunshine Seasons and
Restaurantosaurus. Then I enjoy a snack later on and don't feel stuffed.
3. I find the new toppings bar at Pecos Bill makes the burrito bowl (and other entrees) much more filling. It doesn't save you any money unless you split the meal though.
4. You can always bring your own food like Uncrustables in to the park. They work well if you take them out of the freezer in the morning and are thawed out by lunch.

 

[Alesia]

We generally split 2 counter service meals between the 3 of us. It's still more than enough food.

The extra bun thing hasn't worked in quite a while

 

[luvmyfam444]

We generally split 2 counter service meals between the 3 of us. It's still more than enough food.

The extra bun thing hasn't worked in quite a while

yes, it was years ago.

 

[luvmyfam444]

1.Don't order soft drinks, drink the free ice water instead.
2.I personally enjoy eating a kid's meal where I get an entree and 2 small sides and a drink, especially at places with free refills like Backlot Express, Sunshine Seasons and
Restaurantosaurus. Then I enjoy a snack later on and don't feel stuffed.
3. I find the new toppings bar at Pecos Bill makes the burrito bowl (and other entrees) much more filling. It doesn't save you any money unless you split the meal though.
4. You can always bring your own food like Uncrustables in to the park. They work well if you take them out of the freezer in the morning and are thawed out by lunch.

typically we bring one meal into the parks. Was hoping for some option like the buns just in case. Are the burgers 2 patties still? I guess I could bring in my own buns if they are. ha

 

[uccats97]

I haven't seen a double burger in a long time. They may exist somewhere but I wouldn't count on it.

 

[bababear_50]

Hi
I collect Airmiles which I can then turn into Starbucks Gift Cards,,two locations in Disney Springs and one location in each park.
Sure helps keep my daily costs down plus I can pick up a few souvenirs along the way.
I drink 1 coffee and 2-3 tea a day so having the resort mug saves me money.
Hugs Mel

 

[Judyat]

We were down there for a month at SSR and OKW. Had cheerios and fruit for breakfast and then had an early dinner. Loved the Earl of Sandwich at DS. Didn't need lunch and drank water throughout the day.

 

[kymom99]

I would suggest planning your meal breaks so you aren't grabbing whatever is nearby. So often we planned to leave the parks at a certain time to go back to the room but got busy and stayed later. The heat would cause us to get cranky and thirsty so I would buy some bottles of water for way too much money. I know ice water is free, but I think you know what I mean when everyone has had it! I walked up to the closest kiosk. If you come up with a general plan I think you will stick to a budget better. Also, as long as they allow it, carry in some stuff. Individual packs of crackers, nuts, beef sticks, etc. can ward off hunger until you have time to sit down and eat a proper meal. I agree with buying kids' meals. Also buy just the entrée and split one side.

 

[Nohal]

We have a quick breakfast in the room and use our mugs for coffee. DH & I share meals. As PP said you can always order a QS kids meal. We go during free dining and find that some of the counter service meals are big enough to share. We aren't big eaters so might not work for you if you have big eaters in your group.

 

[maxiesmom]

A tip I like it to order your meal without fries. It will save you a dollar or two. I'm fine eating 2 or 3 fries, so getting a whole serving of them is a huge waste. If the person I am with has fries, I will eat a couple, or I'm fine without.

 

[Narnia_girl]

Hi
I collect Airmiles which I can then turn into Starbucks Gift Cards,,two locations in Disney Springs and one location in each park.
Sure helps keep my daily costs down plus I can pick up a few souvenirs along the way.
I drink 1 coffee and 2-3 tea a day so having the resort mug saves me money.
Hugs Mel

To piggyback on to this idea: if you are not already doing Bing rewards, sign up for them and get going! I earn a $5 Starbucks gift card about every 3 weeks using Bing Rewards. Depending on when you travel you could have a nice stockpile of money in your Starbucks account.

 

[nooneshome]

I put DD on a friend's reservation and she had CS FD. The two of us split that and we only paid OOP for one meal, DD got a sandwich at the Earl. I even had a coupon for a free drink. We always eat breakfast in our room. When not using the dining plan when ordering at a CS I would just order a hamburger. No cheese no fries. I might get a couple of those cups with mushrooms if it was a place with fixings. DD and I can eat lightly so it wasn't hard at all.

Our next trip will be fun, DW DD and I will have CS FD. We will probably have extra credits that I plan to give to a friend that will be there at the same time. This depends on if our park days line up a day or two,

 

[Lvsdisney]

I'm all about kids meals and BYO food. We stayed 5 days/4 nights and had groceries delivered to the resort, ate breakfast in the room every morning (brought my own waffle iron last year and bisquick mix!) DH drinks coke so for just a little more than the cost of one bottle, wet got 6. PB&J for the kiddos for lunch (and even us adults one day) and snack chips, cookies, and other goodies. We also ordered water bottles and juice boxes. It was a little extra time checking bags at security but wOrth it!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

We had an Amazon Prime Pantry box shipped to our room ahead of time with breakfast items, drinks and snacks. You could get more elaborate than we did and even have peanut butter, jelly, microwavable mac and cheese and other meal items delivered. This would save a lot of money over eating in the parks.

 

[StuckInKS]

Are you paying OOP or trying to stretch DP credits? With credits, you can order extra sides instead of a drink and dessert and then split the entrees (for now anyway). We fed eight people with four credits quite a few times doing this. At the resort we used our refillable mugs for drinks and at the parks we ordered cups of water.

Someone mentioned Pecos Bill, but be careful not to order the nachos. Being $12.99 we assumed they big be enough to share between two people (we have done so at the nacho stand in Dinoland and at the Smokehouse in DTD), but I was shocked at how small these bowls were. Definitely not sharable.

 

[jenniy122]

Kids meals

Skip the sides

Don't get soda, it will dehydrate you anyways.

Plan ahead. You can find menus with prices online and plot them out on the maps.

Bring snacks into the parks to cut down on any impulse buys/can't wait a minute longer starvation situations.

If practical, bring/get food delivered to your room. IE I packed microwave meals like easy mac and barilla meals and nuked em in the food court when I got back to the resort at night. I flew southwest and didn't even bring my free second suitcase, so it saved a lot. Buying in MI where prices and tax are lower too helped as opposed to picking up in Orlando (not that I had a car). I supplemented throughout the day with extra snacking (fruit snacks, wheat thins) to stretch out the time between meals.

I love breakfast sandwiches, and have had a starbucks card for *mumble* years, and never have "fancy" breakfasts at home, so that was the big treat for me. There are easy ways to earn giftcards online, check out the swagbucks thread on this board. Essentially free food.

 

[gatormom2tots]

I eat the kids meals all the time. My kids often split an adult meal and it comes out cheaper.

Also, the prices are generally listed to includes fries, chips, whatever. You CAN get it without and it is cheaper, but you have to ask. It is not listed on the price board.

 

[jsmla]

I'm a big fan of brown bagging it in the parks. I know it's not for everyone but it suits the way I prefer to eat and the savings are huge.

 

[twinboysandalulu]

We have always shared meals(we are a family of 5). Our boys are almost 10 and big eaters so I know our next trip will be a little more pricey food wise. But the sharing of meals works out well for us and if anyone is still hungry then we just buy more, or the kids get ice cream. We bring in snacks and a drink for each of us(we used to bring in all our drinks but since our daughter is out of the stroller its too much to carry so we end up buying water now). I think sharing also helps up try out different things too, especially in Epcot, lol.