Ways to Save Money on Food

When budgeting for a trip to Disney World, food is the one item that is hard to determine an exact amount.  Even if you have a dining plan, it doesn't cover everything, especially tips.  So here are some simple ways to save money on food while in WDW without starving yourself or your family.

1. Buy groceries  (if you have a car) or order them to be delivered to your resort room from a service such as Garden Grocer.  Simple items such as cereal, milk and fruit can make a good and inexpensive breakfast.  There are fridges in the room in the resorts.                                           
2. If you buy or order groceries, add snack items to the list to bring into the parks to save money and quell hunger attacks at the same time.           
3. Sometimes avoiding the dining plan (see other blog post), or even the free dining promotion, can save you big money, as it did for our family.   It depends on your family's eating habits.                                       
4. One reason for number three is that many full service and even some quick service meals are very large.  Large enough to share!                         
5. Kids (and even adults at quick service locations) could order a kids meal.                          
6. Avoid or limit character meals (see other blog post).  While the experience is often unique and worthwhile, they are either buffet or served on family style platters, and can really wreck your budget.  If you do choose to go, perhaps select a breakfast as it is usually cheaper, and you might be able to skip lunch.                                                               
7. Bring refillable water bottles, and refill them with iced water available free most quick service dining locations.   We used Brita bottles with individual filters to improve water quality and taste.                                                                       
8. There are many very good to great quick service dining choices and resort food courts with unique, delicious, good quality and inexpensive food choices.                                           
9. Birnbaum's Official Guide to Walt Disney World has a few coupons in the back pages, including some Disney Springs and Epcot restaurants.                                                                                         For more Disney World planning tips blog posts, click here.                                                                                                                                             To get blog updates and other trip planning information, please Like my Facebook page, Top 10 Planning Questions for Walt Disney World.