Cheap Eats!!!

[JENOS]

My family and I (six of us) will be going on a cruise in January and have just decided to add a couple of days in Orlando (two days at the World to be specific). I wish we would have thought about this before the prices went up. The issue I’m having is I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars each meal just to eat mediocre food. We are staying off site so breakfast is covered. We have done a lot of character and TS meals and would rather focus our quick trip on enjoying the park but realize that we still have to eat.

We are planning on purchasing park hoppers so restaurant locations shouldn’t be an issue, we also have not ruled out forging this side trip for other Orlando attractions just because I’m feeling like two days is not going to be enough time to fully enjoy ourselves.


So how would your family eat while at the park if you were in our situation? Is going to a restaurant at one of the resorts too time consuming (assuming their food and pricing is better) or is going off site even an option given our time constraints. Or should we consider bringing in food if that is even allowed. Or do you have an alternative suggestion. **** We are not real huge fans of snacking, we tend to eat a good meal that will last us till the next one***

 

[kymom99]

if you go to Epcot, sunshine seasons has a wide variety. You can get a lot of different side dishes to go with your main choice. You could also hit earl of sandwich at Disney springs. Good sandwiches at a reasonable price. Otherwise, catch an Uber and go offsite

 

[TwoMisfits]

If you've already been on the cruise, you'll probably be sick of eating...with 6 folks (and 5 Disney adults), and with short park hours in Jan (pretty much 9-8 everywhere), I'd probably eat the following way...
Big breakfast in the hotel (8am)
Park bag brought of snacks/drinks (have before and/or after lunch) - I know you said you don't snack, but changing normal meal times will probably have some of your family peckish...and better a $.30 cheese stick than a $7 Churro...
Late lunch (2-3 pm) - Hot CS (no sandwiches)
Dinner at 9pm - Sandwiches, fruit in room - you could also hit fast food on the way back to your room - I wouldn't eat "heavy", but enough to just satisfy (helps you sleep better if you're not "stuffed")

This will maximize your park time and focus on the fun (and give you value for those pricey 2 day tickets)...

 

[mmbrad02]

If you opt for Counter Service, utilize the option to order through the app on your phone. You could order kids meals for adults, if appropriately sized, to save money. Or share meals. If the family takes a seat and one person picks the meal up when the app says it's ready, it's less likely to impulse things that aren't really needed. On our last trip in June I often ordered a kids chicken nugget meal for myself and found it to work just fine, and much cheaper and was sufficient for me.

 

[Southernmiss]

My family and I (six of us) will be going on a cruise in January and have just decided to add a couple of days in Orlando (two days at the World to be specific). I wish we would have thought about this before the prices went up. The issue I’m having is I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars each meal just to eat mediocre food. We are staying off site so breakfast is covered. We have done a lot of character and TS meals and would rather focus our quick trip on enjoying the park but realize that we still have to eat.

We are planning on purchasing park hoppers so restaurant locations shouldn’t be an issue, we also have not ruled out forging this side trip for other Orlando attractions just because I’m feeling like two days is not going to be enough time to fully enjoy ourselves.


So how would your family eat while at the park if you were in our situation? Is going to a restaurant at one of the resorts too time consuming (assuming their food and pricing is better) or is going off site even an option given our time constraints. Or should we consider bringing in food if that is even allowed. Or do you have an alternative suggestion. **** We are not real huge fans of snacking, we tend to eat a good meal that will last us till the next one***

We find plenty of healthy food at counter service.

2 days in January with shorter hours, I would not leave the parks for food and expect to return.

Allears.net has menus so you can look at food options for your family.

 

[lisam427]

Thank you for the suggestions!! Myself and fiancee are possibly planning a trip off-site. I had weight loss surgery and he eatS snacks and one big meal a day. I most definitely am going to use your suggestions!

i most likely will order kids meals as adult meals will be too much! On park days I plan on having breakfast at the hotel and bringing a protein bar or shelf stable protein shake, almonds, Crystal lite packets to add to our water bottles using free counter service water, and maybe a pbj and some snacks for him in a sling bag. I have Disney gift cards stashed away from birthday and Christmas so we will just use those towards meals or whatever snacks we might want. Days we are not at Disney we are most likely eating where we are staying as the hotel has a full kitchen. Thank you very much again for all of your suggestions. I will be putting them to good use.