How much food to bring/buy when on dining plan?

[parkbr]

Hi,

We're family of 3 and our DD is 2.5 years old, staying at CBR for 14 days.
We are on DDP and will do most lunches and dinners with DDP credit, so I wonder how much else to pack for extra food? We're flying to MCO and will have extra suitcase for food.

My DD eats a lot - she sometimes eats as much as I do. So I think she eats fairly good amount.
My DH and I have normal appetite.

I was thinking of bringing some cereal boxes (maybe 2-3 kinds) and some sort of bread for breakfast.
and bring 2 different types of fruits each day for snacks. (AM and PM snacks: 2*3 = 6 fruits / day)

So that will be something like:
21 apples
21 bananas
15 pears
15 plums/peaches
15 oranges

Is that too much as we will have snack credits?

We get 2 snack credits per day (2 adults, DD free), and with our snack credits, we want to use them for like Mickey Mouse ice cream, Dole Whip, Pretzel, bakery goods, etc.
and simply pack pouched apple sauce for my DD?

Please help me!

 

[apdismom]

we were at Disney with a 5 year old and 2 year old on the DDP. we never bought one thing with our money and still had dining credits left and my kids are always hungry! We are trying to decide if we would rather pay out of pocket than waste credits next time we go. The servings for us were quite large and I could easily share a meal with a child while my husband could as well.

 

[apdismom]

I'd like to add the only thing we brought with us were beef sticks because both of my kids love them.

 

[prprincess]

Everyone is different, but I'm thinking it might be too much. I have two boys, ages 9 and 11, who eat on a CONSTANT basis when we are at home. So on our arrival day I Ubered out to Publix and bought a ton of snacks and water to take to the parks with us. The water we used but, but the snacks were mostly left uneaten. They ate them on our two non-park days, and even then I still had a ton left and as well as most of our snack credits (we ended up using them to buy Mickey shaped rice krispy treats as souvenirs). The meal portions are generous and include a snack/dessert, but again, my boys eat on a constant basis so I truly don't think that they filled them up. So I chalk it up to them being excited to be at the parks and their tummies were just distracted. So instead of six fruits a day, maybe you'll just need three?

 

[TwoMisfits]

Hi,

We're family of 3 and our DD is 2.5 years old, staying at CBR for 14 days.
We are on DDP and will do most lunches and dinners with DDP credit, so I wonder how much else to pack for extra food? We're flying to MCO and will have extra suitcase for food.

My DD eats a lot - she sometimes eats as much as I do. So I think she eats fairly good amount.
My DH and I have normal appetite.

I was thinking of bringing some cereal boxes (maybe 2-3 kinds) and some sort of bread for breakfast.
and bring 2 different types of fruits each day for snacks. (AM and PM snacks: 2*3 = 6 fruits / day)

So that will be something like:
21 apples
21 bananas
15 pears
15 plums/peaches
15 oranges

Is that too much as we will have snack credits?

We get 2 snack credits per day (2 adults, DD free), and with our snack credits, we want to use them for like Mickey Mouse ice cream, Dole Whip, Pretzel, bakery goods, etc.
and simply pack pouched apple sauce for my DD?

Please help me!

2 problems with the fruit - probably too much and some of those won't survive the flight or the length of your stay.
Since your daughter has no DDP, I can see her wanting fruit 2x/day. So, I can see 28 options for her for the trip.
But, I don't know that you or your husband will need more than 1x/day and probably not even that.

If I were you, I'd probably bring green bananas, some apples, and then maybe some dried fruit or fruit sauce pouches more survivable in a suitcase.
So, probably 8-10 bananas, a 3lb bag of apples (aka 8-10), and a few pouches of sauce/dried fruit (Aldi has some nice dried options) (10-12 servings).
If you need more, you can likely use some snacks you don't get to use for desserts for some fruit.

I would bring the dried cereal and some ziplocs (perfect breakfast and/or line snack) and I'd bring a bread product and peanut butter for anytime she might need/want a meal b/c she slept through it/rode through it/hated her food at it. Bagels, tortillas, english muffins - whatever her favorite, non-squashy type is...

 

[parkbr]

we were at Disney with a 5 year old and 2 year old on the DDP. we never bought one thing with our money and still had dining credits left and my kids are always hungry! We are trying to decide if we would rather pay out of pocket than waste credits next time we go. The servings for us were quite large and I could easily share a meal with a child while my husband could as well.

Thanks for the reply. BTW, I am just curious, why didn't you use the dining credit when they were hungry?

 

[parkbr]

Everyone is different, but I'm thinking it might be too much. I have two boys, ages 9 and 11, who eat on a CONSTANT basis when we are at home. So on our arrival day I Ubered out to Publix and bought a ton of snacks and water to take to the parks with us. The water we used but, but the snacks were mostly left uneaten. They ate them on our two non-park days, and even then I still had a ton left and as well as most of our snack credits (we ended up using them to buy Mickey shaped rice krispy treats as souvenirs). The meal portions are generous and include a snack/dessert, but again, my boys eat on a constant basis so I truly don't think that they filled them up. So I chalk it up to them being excited to be at the parks and their tummies were just distracted. So instead of six fruits a day, maybe you'll just need three?

Thanks.
So is it that the boys weren't full, but they wanted to play, so they won't snack, hence you had a lot of credits left?

 

[parkbr]

2 problems with the fruit - probably too much and some of those won't survive the flight or the length of your stay.
Since your daughter has no DDP, I can see her wanting fruit 2x/day. So, I can see 28 options for her for the trip.
But, I don't know that you or your husband will need more than 1x/day and probably not even that.

If I were you, I'd probably bring green bananas, some apples, and then maybe some dried fruit or fruit sauce pouches more survivable in a suitcase.
So, probably 8-10 bananas, a 3lb bag of apples (aka 8-10), and a few pouches of sauce/dried fruit (Aldi has some nice dried options) (10-12 servings).
If you need more, you can likely use some snacks you don't get to use for desserts for some fruit.

I would bring the dried cereal and some ziplocs (perfect breakfast and/or line snack) and I'd bring a bread product and peanut butter for anytime she might need/want a meal b/c she slept through it/rode through it/hated her food at it. Bagels, tortillas, english muffins - whatever her favorite, non-squashy type is...

Yes, dried cereal and ziplocs will definitely help!
She loves fruits. That's why we were thinking of bringing fruits.

I worry that it might get squished in the air, if we were to check them it.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Thanks for the reply. BTW, I am just curious, why didn't you use the dining credit when they were hungry?

I think she meant they are *normally* always hungry but had more than enough to eat on the dining plan at wdw.

For us, I think the parks are so exciting and stimulating we kind of forget to eat. We just don't need as many meals while at Disney because we are so busy doing and going that we just don't feel as hungry as we do at home. We ended up with lots of leftover credits last time so we turned them into snacks to bring home.

 

[DisneyRobin]

They sell fruit at disney world so you don't need to bring so much.

Also, if you go to any buffets, you can grab an extra banana or apple for later.

The dining plan always keeps us very full!

 

[parkbr]

I think she meant they are *normally* always hungry but had more than enough to eat on the dining plan at wdw.

For us, I think the parks are so exciting and stimulating we kind of forget to eat. We just don't need as many meals while at Disney because we are so busy doing and going that we just don't feel as hungry as we do at home. We ended up with lots of leftover credits last time so we turned them into snacks to bring home.

Well. my question was. if they were hungry, why didn't she get more food using her dining credit? I am just curious. maybe the lineup was long, etc.

Yeah. I think it's too fun to think about food! I was thinking of feeding her while we are waiting.

 

[parkbr]

They sell fruit at disney world so you don't need to bring so much.

Also, if you go to any buffets, you can grab an extra banana or apple for later.

The dining plan always keeps us very full!

Isn't fruit at Disney very expensive?

We do a lot of buffets. Is it allowed to bring a banana or two apples?

 

[prprincess]

Thanks.
So is it that the boys weren't full, but they wanted to play, so they won't snack, hence you had a lot of credits left?

Yes, that's what I believe happened. They didn't complain that they were hungry as much when we were in the parks, but on our off days they snacked like they do at home. So yes, we had alot of DP snack credits left, as well as the extra snacks that I'd purchased at Publix on arrival.

 

[ImDMous]

Some states have restrictions on bringing fruit into or out of them. I know California and Florida do, so make sure you check to see what the restrictions are. I think Florida might be on citrus and berries, so apples and bananas would be ok.

Wouldn't want you get arrested when you land.

That seems like an awful lot of fruit to bring that will end up going rotten before you can eat it. I know DL has apples, bananas, oranges and other things at tons of snack locations. Seems like it would be better to buy them there when you need them then to waste a bunch of money on ones that go bad.

 

[Crystal824]

I wouldn't bring any fruit. It would be difficult to pack all that and keep it fresh during the flight. Disney does sell fruit. While it is expensive, You can use your snack credits for fruit. Also, if you are doing any buffets, they have fruit. I usually will take a few apples or bananas for later when we dine at a buffet. That hasn't ever been a problem.

I would consider bringing some more easily transportable breakfast items, the cereal that you mentioned, cereal bars, and snack items like goldfish, raisins stuff like that. You can eat that for breakfast in the room. We have done the DP several times. We always had snack credits left over. None of us were ever hungry.

 

[ithinkpink90]

I literally just packed our snacks today! We have a 2y/o DD.

I packed a bunch of dry goods-cereal bars, raisins, etc
And I also got prepacked fruit cups & veggie cups.

We are on the dining plan as well, and my plan is to substitute either mine or my husbands dessert in exchange for a fruit cup when we go to a quick service or use a snack credit for it once a day.

And I'm not sure about you, but when she does eat a bunch of fruit, her diapers are not pleasant. So I'd rather avoid that in the parks

 

[DisneyRobin]

Isn't fruit at Disney very expensive?

We do a lot of buffets. Is it allowed to bring a banana or two apples?

Yes, it's fine - no one will stop you. Once you touch the food and bring it back to your table, whatever you don't eat will go in the garbage anyway. Bring a bag or zip lock to keep your fruit clean if you'd like.

The fruit costs more than it should - about $1.50-2 for a whole fruit and 3.50-4 for a cup of fruit salad. That can be a snack on the dining plan.

 

[parkbr]

Some states have restrictions on bringing fruit into or out of them. I know California and Florida do, so make sure you check to see what the restrictions are. I think Florida might be on citrus and berries, so apples and bananas would be ok.

Wouldn't want you get arrested when you land.

That seems like an awful lot of fruit to bring that will end up going rotten before you can eat it. I know DL has apples, bananas, oranges and other things at tons of snack locations. Seems like it would be better to buy them there when you need them then to waste a bunch of money on ones that go bad.

States? Oh, I thought it was just for international crossings.

I just wanted to bring some because we want to use our snack credits for better snacks than fruits.
But I will plan it better. I think it maybe a lot of food.

 

[parkbr]

I wouldn't bring any fruit. It would be difficult to pack all that and keep it fresh during the flight. Disney does sell fruit. While it is expensive, You can use your snack credits for fruit. Also, if you are doing any buffets, they have fruit. I usually will take a few apples or bananas for later when we dine at a buffet. That hasn't ever been a problem.

I would consider bringing some more easily transportable breakfast items, the cereal that you mentioned, cereal bars, and snack items like goldfish, raisins stuff like that. You can eat that for breakfast in the room. We have done the DP several times. We always had snack credits left over. None of us were ever hungry.

We do a lot of buffets. I think 10 or 11 of them. I guess I will get some fruits from there then.

Considering my DD doesn't have a DP, we think we may be just right for credits. Like we'll get 1 snack in the morning and share among 3 of us, and 1 in the afternoon, and also share. Not sure if the portion is way bigger than I imagine, as I've never snacked there before. (when we visited last time, it was just 2 of us and stayed off-sight and packed everything.)

 

[parkbr]

I literally just packed our snacks today! We have a 2y/o DD.

I packed a bunch of dry goods-cereal bars, raisins, etc
And I also got prepacked fruit cups & veggie cups.

We are on the dining plan as well, and my plan is to substitute either mine or my husbands dessert in exchange for a fruit cup when we go to a quick service or use a snack credit for it once a day.

And I'm not sure about you, but when she does eat a bunch of fruit, her diapers are not pleasant. So I'd rather avoid that in the parks

My DD can eat like 5 apples, 10 clementines, 1 banana in a day as snacks. She's a big eater and doesn't affect her at all.
But given that it's going to be hard to pack fruits, I think I will stick to dry goods.