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

[parkbr]

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.

Thank you. I will get fruits from buffet and get dry goods for snacks.

 

[DisGin]

You could always do something like garden grocer and have fruit brought to your resort for you.

 

[mjkacmom]

Our family of 7 got a garden grocer delivery, and we had SO many snack credits at the end. Bring some granola bars, you'll be fine.

 

[Chelley00]

If we are on the dining plan we do a garden grocer order and get bananas, cereal bars, milk, bottled water and juice boxes. Then we have something for quick breakfasts in the room.

 

[parkbr]

You could always do something like garden grocer and have fruit brought to your resort for you.

I think they have $40 min and $15 delivery, no?
We fly with South West and will have 2 bags each for free. I think we'll have a lot of room left, so that's why we're thinking of just packing them.

 

[parkbr]

Our family of 7 got a garden grocer delivery, and we had SO many snack credits at the end. Bring some granola bars, you'll be fine.

Thank you. We were concerned because our 2 y/o DD doesn't have dining credit and she eats a lot.
But I will keep in mind that many of you say left over snack credits.. So maybe I will just pack less.

Can you tell me what you have ordered from garden grocer and whether it was worth it?

 

[parkbr]

If we are on the dining plan we do a garden grocer order and get bananas, cereal bars, milk, bottled water and juice boxes. Then we have something for quick breakfasts in the room.

Same comments as above:
I think they have $40 min and $15 delivery, no?
We fly with South West and will have 2 bags each for free. I think we'll have a lot of room left, so that's why we're thinking of just packing them.

 

[heather913]

I would rather pay a little extra if we needed to buy fruit at Disney than to fly fruit in checked baggage. I just can't imagine the condition they may be in on arrival. My daughter can't even get a banana to last her until lunch time in her lunch box without it getting all bruised up. So while it may cost you an extra $15-20, I feel the hassle is worth it.

Like others have said, stick to packing dry goods and buy fresh stuff there.

 

[MunchkinSweetPea]

If you have a Pinterest account search "meal worthy snacks at Disney world" or something along those lines. There are many that should work if you're hungry but don't want to exceed your meal credits. In the magic kingdom frontierland there's a baked potato with sour cream and cheese, ham and cheese croissant sandwich at the bakery in France at Epcot, chicken fried rice at yak and yeti in animal kingdom, etc. And I agree with carrying ziploc bags to take fruit with you at the buffet style meals. I've also heard that now you can substitute the dessert that's included in your meal credit for a qualifying snack item, and you could take that with you for later as well. Fruit and fruit salads count as a snack in many places.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Isn't fruit at Disney very expensive?

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

if you are doing buffets or all you can eat places at Disney your daughter will be able to have a plate with you there so she could have a meal or fruit there

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We are going to have the quick service dining plan on our upcoming trip and since Disney changed the plan back to two snack credits a day for 2017 (which is the way it was when we last did the dining plan) we know we will have a ton of snack credits to use for fruit, snacks, and a la carte items. The kids also had the option to get a pack of fresh fruit with their counter service meals which we often saved for them to have as a snack later. We are flying on Southwest and the only food items I plan on packing are some bags of cereal, disposable bowls, spoons, and napkins in a separate suitcase and I will just order milk, juice for our toddler, a case of bottled water, and Mountain Dew (a must have for DH) to be shipped to the resort. I just remember having a ton of snack credits leftover and we scrambled to use them on our last day, so for this trip I am going to make sure we effectively utilize those snack credits!

 

[speeb]

I just got back from a week with 3 adults & 3 kids. I over ordered on groceries (well, and they over delivered). Here's what I ordered (via Shipt):

- 9 Yoplait yogurts - 3 for each kid
- 1 big tub of Chobani vanilla yogurt for the adults
- 1 40oz bag of almonds, ended up with 3 1lb bags
- 2 six packs of Lenders bagels
- 1 tub of cream cheese
- 1 box of 12 packs of crunchy granola bars (ended up getting 2)
- 1 bag of apples
- 12 bananas
- case of water

Bagels and yogurt worked well because they could be breakfast or lunch. We did not finish all the yogurt, tossed about 1/3 of the cream cheese, brought home 1 full box of granola bars and 2lbs of almonds.

I wouldn't try to split any breakfast snacks 3 ways unless you can survive on 2 bites of a danish. Personally, I'd rather use a meal in the morning, snack mid day, then another meal in the evening.

 

[mjkacmom]

I just got back from a week with 3 adults & 3 kids. I over ordered on groceries (well, and they over delivered). Here's what I ordered (via Shipt):

- 9 Yoplait yogurts - 3 for each kid
- 1 big tub of Chobani vanilla yogurt for the adults
- 1 40oz bag of almonds, ended up with 3 1lb bags
- 2 six packs of Lenders bagels
- 1 tub of cream cheese
- 1 box of 12 packs of crunchy granola bars (ended up getting 2)
- 1 bag of apples
- 12 bananas
- case of water

Bagels and yogurt worked well because they could be breakfast or lunch. We did not finish all the yogurt, tossed about 1/3 of the cream cheese, brought home 1 full box of granola bars and 2lbs of almonds.

I wouldn't try to split any breakfast snacks 3 ways unless you can survive on 2 bites of a danish. Personally, I'd rather use a meal in the morning, snack mid day, then another meal in the evening.

Lol I remember trying to use up the credits the last day. I sent DH to get some bagels with the snack credits, I think he got a bag of lenders bagels with a credit! It was hard to spend them down.

 

[Crystal824]

I think you are going to have more food than you think. If you are doing mostly buffets/ family style, your 2 year old can eat all she wants at those. The only time you have to worry about feeding her is when you have TS order off the menu meals and quick service. My husband and I found that when DD was 2, she could usually just eat from our plates in those instances. It was more than enough. A few times we bought her a kids meal or an extra side (usually when she didn't want what we were eating). If she is a really big eater, you can split with her and also break out that fruit you took from the buffet the day before or your dry snacks. Use one of the snack credits to feed her. We always have a ton of snack credits left over.

 

[speeb]

Lol I remember trying to use up the credits the last day. I sent DH to get some bagels with the snack credits, I think he got a bag of lenders bagels with a credit! It was hard to spend them down.

Yeah, I spent 12 snack credits in Goofy's Candy Co our last day.

 

[parkbr]

Wow. So many responses!

Thank you. I read all of them very carefully and have decided to change my plans.
I will bring like 6 apples and 6 bananas to survive the first 2 days including our flight in my carry-on bags (so they won't get bruised up so badly!) and use buffet to grab couple of fruits as we needed (we go buffet 8 times!).

We will pack:

For breakfast - 2 cereal boxes, granola bars
For breakfast/lunch - 1 - 2 bags of bagel (6 or 12 bagels total) (also in the carry-on bag) with mini size jam and peanut butter (they have a fridge in the room, right? Does it have a freezer compartment as well? Can I freeze half of them and eat them as we go?)
For snacks - apple sauces (14 of them - 100g each: 1 per day for DD)

Is that better planning?

Also, do we need a case of water? If so, where can I get them?
Or can we just get them from the resort? or resort water fountain?

 

[Chelley00]

I think they have $40 min and $15 delivery, no?
We fly with South West and will have 2 bags each for free. I think we'll have a lot of room left, so that's why we're thinking of just packing them.

To me, the $15 delivery fee is worth the peace of mind for having what I need when we get there, not having to lug stuff with us (and we drive) and not having grocery shop on vacation. It's there waiting when we get there.

 

[Crystal824]

We always get a case of water. Depending on where you stay, there may be water in the giftshop. I know all the DVCs have a shop with water, but I'm not sure about CBR. You could order water from Amazon or Sam's Costco and have it delivered. I did an order from Prime Pantry this trip.

I think your plan sounds better. As for the refrigerators, I don't think they have a freezer section. If they do it is very small. I'm not sure the bagels will fit or actually freeze very well.

 

[brittanidp]

I would rather pay a little extra if we needed to buy fruit at Disney than to fly fruit in checked baggage. I just can't imagine the condition they may be in on arrival. My daughter can't even get a banana to last her until lunch time in her lunch box without it getting all bruised up. So while it may cost you an extra $15-20, I feel the hassle is worth it.

Like others have said, stick to packing dry goods and buy fresh stuff there.

I can't get bananas home safely from the grocery store!!

 

[DisneyOma]

Be prepared for your fruit to be in sad shape if you check it - the compartment isn't pressurized, or kept at a viable temperature. If you use a carryon for it, it will probably be OK, but may be bruised/squished and inedible after a few days. Could you pack vegetables instead? Carrots, celery, other solid things that hold up better?