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JustMe29
02-23-2007, 10:07 PM
I have visions of being super organised and taking food to the park each day (eg. sandwiches etc) and putting them in a cooler bag in a locker, but then i think - we're on holidays maybe we shouldn't worry.

What do you do?

SarahJanet
02-23-2007, 11:35 PM
We usually have lunch back in our room. We stock up on a few things to store in our fridge, and since we go back for a rest anyway, we have lunch there. Saves hauling lunch around, but also saves the money!

I don't have very gourmet taste, though - my favourite sandwich is peanut butter and cheese!

Goosegirl
02-23-2007, 11:41 PM
We eat like crazy in Disneyland. We have to hit our favorite spots each time. I do take in juiceboxes and bottles of water, as well as some small snacks for my diabetic daughter. But we pretty much eat our way through Disneyland!!

Clotho
02-23-2007, 11:42 PM
We usually do breakfast in the room, and buy some staples in case we want to go back to the room to rest and have a bit. But as you said, it's holiday, and part of the fun is eating differently and not having to cook or clean or prep or anything. :)

backsthepack
02-24-2007, 04:37 AM
Nope. We eat out non stop. We always plan on doing that, but never do. I do take snacks though to keep in the room. Chips, cookies, soda, etc.

hlbtimes2
02-24-2007, 06:14 AM
We bring some snacks to the park, but not full meals, not even light meals. We find we dont really need three meals a day. We usually eat a light breakfast at the hotel, then either a big lunch or dinner, and snacks to fill in. Or somedays we have a couple lighter meals- like soup in a bread bowl for lunch and a sandwich or corn dog for dinner.

sjcivilady
02-24-2007, 06:26 AM
We usually do a couple light meals, if we're there til late. If the park closes at 8 pm, then we eat dinner after we leave - favorite place Mimi's. My favorite snacks to bring: tiny Hershey bars, Munchie chip mix, trail mix.

yohomama212
02-24-2007, 07:04 AM
Even I usually just eat in the park. I pack some dry snacks for the kids and plenty of water and make sure their sipper cups are full with milk when we head in, but that's it. For me, it's not worth the effort and planning to miss out on some of the better meals in the park. We've only eaten at Carnation Cafe once, and we usually hit Rancho del Zocalo for dinner. I want to try the Pizza Port that I've heard great things about, and once my kids stop trying to kill each other and become more civilized, I will take them to Blue Bayou. At DCA, we've only been to Taste Pilots once, and not all of us ate there. We haven't yet exhausted our dining options, so I'm working on those experiences.

That being said, we usually grab something to eat when we stop for our Starbucks on the way into the park (the La Brea Bakery in DTD, is decent, not Starbucks, but it will do). Then, every other Friday, I leave the park in the late afternoon for a couple hours to get my nails done and DH takes the kids to dinner while I'm doing that. He gets my food to go and I eat some in the car on the way back into the park. I'm trying to give my kids some of the experiences I never had and this is just one thing I can do for them.

Liz :cool:

jaymesmom617
02-24-2007, 07:51 AM
We have done it both ways. It really depends on our money and crowd situation. It usually only takes a few mins to throw a couple of sandwiches together. Then we have a nice dinner in the park. I one reason I like to bring in lunch is b/c you don't have to wait in line!! We can be done with lunch in about 15-20 min and off running. If the parks are crowded you can wait a lot longer than that in the line to get your food and then you have to wait in the line to pay for it!

I also like to have lots of snacks for the kids to keep them happy while we are waiting in line. My kids love DumDum suckers so, I buy a huge bag and then we can share with other kids in line too!

Inkyprintz
02-24-2007, 08:16 AM
We usually eat most of our meals in the park. I've only traveled with a child once when my 6 year old cousin and I spent a long weekend at WDW. I brought some water and snacks for him. He's now a teenager and some of his most vivid memories of that trip are the fun meals we had. (Including the character breakfast at which I paid $15.00 for him to eat a bowl of cereal and a couple bites of apple...) On longer trips we usually seek out a local store so we can stock up on fruit, cereal and breakfast bars. We aren't big breakfast eaters so that usually gets us through the morning. We figure if we can save money on one meal a day, we can splurge a little more on the others. But it really depends on your budget. I can't imagine how much people with kids spend on Disney vacations. (Well, I CAN imagine, I just don't want to!)

IdahoMike
02-24-2007, 09:45 AM
We always hit Albertson's or Food 4 Less when we arrive, buying a couple cases of water, granola bars, muffins, fruit, soda pop, fruit snacks, and usually a loaf of bread and some PB & J. We will make sandwiches and bring a selection of snacks with us, along with cold water. We'll still usually eat one meal (lunch or dinner) in the park, but otherwise we subsist on what we have (with the occasional Dole Whip or Churro thrown in).

samsma
02-24-2007, 10:44 AM
Who needs a meal, when you can live on dole whips, churros,candy,and those yummy tollhouse cookie ice cream sandwiches!It all keeps me WAY too full for a meal(Well except for a cookie boat in Blue Bayou):eek:

Matterhorn Mama
02-24-2007, 01:56 PM
One trick we have found is that it often works to share meals. What are you going to do with the leftovers? Many times hotels will have a fridge in the room, but not always a microwave. By sharing meals, we save money---even if we splurge and get a dessert to share. Also, we try to find a hotel that offers a free breakfast, then we splurge on one morning and do a character breakfast (the Lilo and Stitch one at Paradise Pier Hotel is GREAT!)

Grumpy Pete
02-24-2007, 02:59 PM
When I was little, about the only place we ate at inside DL was lunch at Casa de Frito and it's following incarnations. We always seemed to have our pockets filled with snacks for inside the park. We ate breakfast and dinner outside the park.
After marriage, we pretty much did the same thing when we took the kids.

The last time we went, we ate a simple breakfast and met my son and daughter-in-law at Carnation Cafe. Pretty decent. Next day I had clam chowder in a bead bowl in New Orleans Square.. Think I'm going to branch out a bit next time and see what else I've been missing. Athough I probably will skip the Blue Bayou; too pricey for mediocre to poor food. My son & his sweetie had a very bad experience there and I 've read too many similar reports.

Churros are addictive! :D I could bankrupt my self eating as many as I really want.

Bottom line: we eat breakfast & dinner outside the park and pick a place to have a relaxing lunch inside.

findingmickey
02-24-2007, 05:43 PM
in efforts to save $$$ we eat breakfast (usually mcdonalds) before entering the park. we bring snacks and water inside with us! sometimes we'll eat inside. the turkey legs are pretty big and we can both share one! or we'll leave a little early and eat dinner outside the park...like red robin down the street. don't eat at tiffys...that was a big mistake haha! :p

sierranevada
02-24-2007, 06:05 PM
We usually eat breakfast in the room and come back for a break and do lunch. We carry snacks in the park but believe me, we spend a small fortune on DL snacks - my son says that Churros only taste good in Disneyland! WE roate between the park, DTD and DLR hotel restaurants for dinner depending on our mood.

princess- ada
02-24-2007, 07:58 PM
We usually stay at a place that has breakfast. I bring soy milk so I can have my coffee in the AM and not have to pay the $$$ for a coffee. My husband and I eat food at the park or DTD. For our son however, food choices are so limited for him, we always bring him his lunch box with food we bring. We bring hotdogs ( We freeze the ballpark individual wraped ones. By lunchtime they have defrosted), lunchables, uncrustables sandwiches, lunchmeat, drinkables yogert, fresh fruit and string cheese. It's far better than him eating chicken nuggets and fries for 5 days!!!!

AZDisneyFan
02-24-2007, 09:06 PM
I always pack tons of snacks, and meat and cheese sandwiches. That stretches the amount of food that I end up buying in the park for the day.

JustMe29
02-24-2007, 09:09 PM
Is there somewhere nearby the hotels to buy groceries? We are staying in a suite with a kitchen as that was our original plan.

MouseWife
02-24-2007, 10:54 PM
Make sure and verify what type of kitchen. Some are fully stocked {cooking utensils, etc.} and some not. Some hotels offer picking up groceries for you. I've never used this so I do not know of their fee, if one for the service.

You are in Australia, can you use MapQuest after finding the addresses to local Albertsons, and even a Target {they sell groceries} and get directions from your hotel {you have that address already :) }.

Also, one thing I've found, a lot of hotels that have suites {kitchens} also do serve a nice breakfast. Some even serve a light dinner. Make sure and find out for sure so you don't over spend on foods.

We usually stay at places like this and just bring a few items like bread, lunch meat, and the ever popular peanut butter and jelly. We try to take it easy on the chips/candy and bring fruit and water instead. This way, if we do have a sweet in the park it is a real treat. And, we don't feel blah from eating too much junk or feel guilty if we decide not to work out.

Bytebear
02-24-2007, 11:12 PM
I did an advanced search for threads that have the word "grocery" in the title. There are about 10 or so threads on grocery stores nearby. I hope this link works for you:

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/search.php?searchid=522009

Squeaky
02-25-2007, 10:31 AM
we tried for the first two or three trips to bring a cooler on vacation with us with frozen foods and sandwich stuff, but we'd never eat any of it. We always ended up too tired to make the sandwiches, or having a serious craving for a monte cristop that we've finally given up on bring meal stuff. We pack 100 calorie pack cookies and snack bags (perfect size plus taste better than reg. cookies!) water bottles and crystal light to go packets (raspberry ice, which we just call "red" tastes the best!) and eat in the park for lunch and dinner (sometimes we just get fast food on our way back to the hotel.)

with_5
02-25-2007, 11:32 AM
We have a small breakfast in the room and bring snacks and water into the park. We do bring stuff for pb&j's incase we head back to the hotel at some point in the day.

rentayenta
02-25-2007, 01:37 PM
We usually eat a light breakfast in the room. Grab a coffee in DTD or the park, bring in snacks, but eat main meals in the park.

It's not worth the time or money, to me, to schlep in sandwiches and such. We did try when the kids were younger but found it wasn't worth the hassle.

mariezp
02-26-2007, 07:42 PM
We usually grab something light from the hotel's continental breakfast. Then we eat lunch at one of the resturants in the park. After that we can snack throughout the day. And finally, order take out to eat late after we make our way back from the park. We usually rent a movie in our room to watch while we eat. Makes for late meals but has become our tradition while on vacation.