Originally Posted By WendyAz Just looking for others ideas on ways to save money on food, drinks and other things when we go to DL on Feb 21- 24th. If anyone has some great ways to save $$ with 4 kids, let me know! Thanks, Wendy
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Mine are 9, 11, 16, 19 only the 9 is a girl... There are lots of ways to save - Water - restaurants give free cups of water upon request Soda - we avoid soda unless we are in an area with refills Food - there are many places you can share food and save money with the portion sizes you are served Redds Pizza Port - Don't get pizza - it's too much - you can order a couple of the adult pasta dishes and share them also one of the bread sticks...Soda's are refillable Plaza Inn - Pasta is too much here but you can get the cobb salad - or if you are like me get the cobb salad lettuce (comes with chicken, eggs, bacon, blue cheese and I think tomatoes) We get what we like and get a couple extra plates - it's a huge salad - you can get different dressings also. Also the chicken dinner or pot roast is enough for at least two people (breast, thigh, leg) again soda is refilable StageCoach, Golden Horseshoe, and in Dca teh farmers market all have chicken, mozerella and fish strips with fries - again you could probable get 3 orders and have plenty. The first two (SC and GH) also have chili bowls and chili fries we usually cut the chili bowl in half and share it. White Water Snacks (in GCH near pool) they have a grill food is plenty (nachos are huge with meat) prices are good and drinks are refilable. For breakfast - Tomorrowland terrace has a nice egg breakfast with lots of food and it comes with a juice. in DTD - the burgers at ESPN zone are huge and easily shared - Here's an idea that I use for snacks throughout the day I give each of the kids $10 for the day this money is for soda, ice cream, candy or any other snacks they want - if they run out of money they are done (funny the first day or so they spent it quickly - after that they were much pickier)
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Another good thing is to bring in fruit if you can...otherwise they have a nice fruit plate - but a piece of fruit is pricey...Also the fruit parfaits are an okay deal and a nice choice.
Originally Posted By dlkozy Bring in your own bottled water and refill at Plaza Inn/or Rancho Z. We were paying for a big family reunion of 10 last time and the $$$ we saved on water ($3 at DLR) alone was HUGE! It is surprising how bringing in your own snacks such as trail mix, jellie bellies, MMs can deter spending LOTS of $$$ on snacks. Afterall, the Jellie Bellies at DLR, (bought by the pound on Main Street) are the very same ones you can get at Target for LOTS less!
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP Disneyland is the only park I know that allows you to bring in food, take advantage. Also, if money is tight for us we walk out to the McDonalds next to Howard Johnsons. Traveling in the off season, (Jan and Feb and again from the second week of Sept till the week before Thanksgiving) can save lots in hotel costs as these times hotels run specials, such as the entertainment rate at HoJos to fill rooms. Lastly, your kids are old enought that you can be totally open with them about your budget: this is how much we have, this is how much things cost, what do you suggest we do? I would even suggest to them that you can go this year with this budget or wait a couple of months or even a year to be able to save up more and be able to buy more/eat fancier meals/ect. See what they say. Generally when kids are presented with facts and some options they become alot less whiny about why they can't have this or that.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I personally don't carry in the water bottles - if we want water we get a free cup of it... We used to carry it but there has been alot of controversy on the refilling of them and the breakdown of the plastic... Each of the kids also bring in one of those back packs with the drawstring straps with the snacks and such they might want - usually they start with a 100% juices.
Originally Posted By godalejunior Place a grocery order and have it delivered to the hotel. You can take a quick trip back for lunch or leave it in a locker.
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP Basically, it comes down to: don't buy any food in the park. (And, while you're at it, don't buy merchandise there either.)
Originally Posted By WendyAz Thanks for all the great ideas. We have gone many times in the past and not really had a budget. We just went hog wild but this time I really want to be prepared and save money overall. Keep those great ideas coming! )
Originally Posted By homedisney Outside of the park, for a good sitdown meal, we like to eat at Mimi's. Their meals are huge! and yummy! Dinners come with a basket of breads too. My husband, myself, and our 4 year old often share one dinner and get an extra soup and a side of mashed potatoes. Even then, we seem to have food leftover. I think the portions seem even bigger when we get our order to go. Also, if you splurge on a sitdown meal at Disneyland, your AAA card will get you a 10% discount at the Plaza Inn, Ariel's Grotto, PCH Grill, & Goofy's Kitchen. If you purchase your parkhopper passes through AAA, they include free parking at the Mickey & Friends parking structure --and the price is the same as ordering the passes online through Disney. If you have a car there anyway, this will save the expense of the transit system.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^^I agree. Two adults can easily share a Mimi's entre. Even my bottomless pit teenage son has trouble finishing one by himself.
Originally Posted By quincytoo >>>Bring in your own bottled water and refill at Plaza Inn/or Rancho Z. We were paying for a family of 4 last 7 times and the $$$ we saved on water ($3 at DLR) alone was HUGE! It is surprising how bringing in your own snacks such as trail mix, jellie bellies, MMs can deter spending LOTS of $$$ on snacks. Afterall, the Jellie Bellies at DLR, (bought by the pound on Main Street) are the very same ones you can get at Target for LOTS less!<<<< Ok, so I copied,pasted and cut a bit....but the idea is still the same and good advice!!! We do the same and then when we DO buy a churro (or 4) it isn't as much as a sting on the wallet!! As for Mimi's YUMMY food and so extremely resaonable prices well OMG the huge meals are an added bonus as far as I am concerned!!!! If you bring in your own bottle of wine the corkage fee is only $1.00!!!! We didn't but were shocked to see it in print and wondered if it was a misprint but they assured us it wasn't!!! Most restaurants corkage fees are at least $15.00 and up provided they let you do it!!
Originally Posted By NJ AP My husband and I must be bottomless pits, or else starving by the end of the day, because we can often finish our dinner at Mimi's. I'm a size 8 and he is about 150 lbs., but after a full day in the park, and only eating a bowl of cereal or a muffin for breakfast and a PB sandwich for lunch (with food made from the grocery store) we are really in the mood for a big dinner. There have been times we have brought left overs back to the room and had them for lunch the next day, but not often enough to count on during dinner. One word on leftovers, though, the HoJos does NOT have a microwave in the room. I agree with post #10 -- just don't buy any food or souvenirs and you will be fine. LOL When you do buy food or a souvenir, let it be a conscious decision. There is a Disney Outlet Store down Harbor Boulevard a few miles in an outlet center. They have great bargains. We've bought $50 sweatshirts for under $20. Enjoy!
Originally Posted By marmarl This is how we do it: Go to the Walmart on Euclid - they have a huge selection of Disney memorabilia, so you can avoid spending too much on souvenirs in the park. Also, you can pick up boxes of granola bars and other snacks. Bring in your own water bottles and sodas - avoid buying ANY drinks in the park. You can bring your own drinks to many of the restaurants. Don't listen to the "White Water Rapids is a great deal!" schpiel. We've found they raised their prices and the food is marginal. A good deal is the Cove Bar in DCA. Lobster Nachos are huge! Enough for 2 or 3 to share depending on how hungry you are. Also, we like The Bengal BBQ in DL. The Corn Dog cart is fun. It's a good amount of food for the price and they offer apple slices instead of chips. If you don't have an AP, but there's a chance you might upgrade, DO IT! It gets you 10% off pretty much everywhere (for food at least). Those are my best ideas for now. Have fun!
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<My husband and I must be bottomless pits, or else starving by the end of the day, because we can often finish our dinner at Mimi's>> If its you only "real" meal of the day, I can understand. But if you aren't famished, I think that it will be hard. It also depends on the dish. For instance, the Pork Chop entree comes with two very large pork chops, a huge pile of mashed potatoes and veggies. I cannot eat the whole thing with a normal appetite.
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF If your kids are young enough to appreciate this, you could always get a cheap blank book for each of your kids at Target or somewhere similar before your trip. Look for Disney-themed stickers as well to decorate the books. Presto: Instant Autograph Book! It seems the kids are more excited about having autographs of their favorite characters over anything they can get in the park. At least, the kids I know do.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains <Don't listen to the "White Water Rapids is a great deal!" schpiel. We've found they raised their prices and the food is marginal.> Hmmmm - I was there 10 days ago - the kids and I shared the french dip - a burger - and steak nachos with 3 drinks with AP discount was right around $32. We ordered 2 drinks to share and they alone were about $5... The food was better than most in the parks - especially the burger - maybe it's when we go in and order the food and then it's made - instead of food sitting in the warmer thingy waiting to be picked up. I agree with the outlet store - the prices are good. We don't generally get the Disney Clothes they sell at Walmart as souvinears - they are the same quality as all walmart clothes - which is fine for regular clothes - but if I am getting a Disneyland sweatshirt I want it to last - you can usually find those for about the Walmart price at the outlet - The nice thing is the price tags are still on the outlet merchandise - so you can really see if you are getting a good discount at the time or not. How much and what you bring into the parks depends on if you are getting a locker or not - if so then you have somewhere to put it - if not you need to think about how much you really want to carry around. Walmart is the best priced to get juice, soda and snacks - We usually try and go somewhere that sells either fruit leather or flat fruit - we try and stay away from the sugary fruit snacks... I haven't been in the cove bar for food - My kids really weren't interested in sitting in a bar to eat. My friends have said the food is pretty good though. I have only had Bengal BBQ once mostly because the line is usually really long and the time I did go they gave me the wrong sauce and being the pansy I am it was way too hot - my SIL got the right order and her's was taste - if you are treating it as a snack it would be a good price - but if you are planning it as a meal it tends to add up... Another good thing to bring in is sliced apples - they have those prepackaged ones at costco or the grocery store... they are less there but easier to carry than whole fruit...
Originally Posted By grammy954 I don't know about anyone else, but my kids don't seem to understand that I don't want to buy them a drink and snack every hour on the hour. A few years ago, I decided to put that responsibility on them. I get them Disney Dollars each day (whatever the budget calls for), and they can get snacks or souveniers or play games or save it for the next day or whatever. It didn't take them long - even the little ones, to understand this was their budget and there would be no more until the next day. The first day they ran out before lunch, but since then, they are quite good about it.
