Saving on Snacks in the Parks

You might not think so, but snacking during a full day at the Walt Disney World parks, can be expensive, and even time consuming.  But there are ways to save your money and your time, and many of them are quite simple.

1. Bring easy to carry snacks in your luggage.  Unopened, wrapped and dry products such as granola bars or dried fruit snacks are fine to take through security in your carry on bag.  However, some people like to bring an extra empty piece of luggage (when flying on a carrier such as Southwest) to carry back their souvenirs and so you can carry down your snacks in one of these.
2. Bring snacks in a small cooler if you are driving.  Then as with the luggage snacks, bring some with you in a backpack to the parks.  The security check people turn a blind eye to food being brought in.
3. Order snack items from the delivery service, Garden Grocer, right to your Disney Resort room.
4. If you are staying in a Disney Springs Resort Area hotel, there are snacks available in stores in the Crossroads Plaza, a short walk from the hotels.
5. Some hotels have a buffet breakfast (perhaps even included), and if so, take a few items with you such as muffins or apples.
6. If you are not staying in a Disney Resort, and are flying into Orlando International, town car service is a limousine that includes a 20 minute stop, on the way to your hotel, for groceries.  
7. Instead of enjoying a mid-afternoon snack, head back to the resort or hotel for a break, before returning.
8. If on a Disney Dining Plan with snack credits, be sure to make use of them.
9. Plan ahead by thinking about a special treat that you may like to try such as a Dole Whip (after reading a guidebook or website), and then figuring out when and where you can get it that makes sense during your day.
10. Get extremely lucky like we did!  After we stepped off the Tomorrowland Speedway, my wife asked a cast member to explain where a hidden Mickey was on the track.  After he did so, he promptly gave our family a certificate to get ice cream treats anywhere in the park that day!  So that is how I tried my first Mickey Ice Cream Bar.

   

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