Lets Eat at Disney!

Food is something we all eat....everyday....multiple times a day!  And going on vacation is no exception.

Here are some options while eating at Disney!

1.  Buy as you go....there are lots of food choices at Disney World and they vary from park to park.  You can buy snacks, hot dog/ hamburger meals, sit down restaurant meals or character dining meals/buffets.  Over the years we have done all of these.  We usually buy a treat/snack a day ~ my favorites are the mickey ice cream sandwiches and the cinnamon rolls at Gastons Tavern in the Magic Kindgom (these cinnamon rolls are amazingly delicious ~ when we went in April we were disappointed, the quality wasn't up to par).  My favorite at Epcot is the Chocolate Mousse at France.  The hot dog/ hamburger meals come with fries, you may be able to substitute fruit for the fries.  The sit down meals are good ~ At the Magic Kingdom our favorite is the Beauty and the Beast castle ~ the food is yummy and the décor is spectacular....straight out of the movie.  We have eaten breakfast and lunch there ~ I prefer lunch!  The  character dining is pricey and truly magical.  We have done 2 different ones.  When Amy was about 7 or 8, we did breakfast at the Castle ~ yummy food and Pricess overload for Amy and my niece Bethany.  We did a girls morning there with my mom, me, Amy, my sister, and niece.  We all thoroughly enjoyed it.  We have also done Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary Resort.  The breakfast buffet is outstanding with lots of choices ~ mickey waffles, scrambled eggs, biscuits, lots of fruit, drink choices, etc.  Its set up really well to eliminate long lines for waffles or whatever.  The characters at both walk around to each table so you have time for pictures and your own personal meet n greet.  This meal featured....Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy ~ maybe Donald Duck also.

2. Disney Meal Plan ~ This is a length of stay meal plan that is for 2 meals and 1 snack a day.  Can either be used at the on property hotels and/or at the parks or Disney Springs.  My opinion is this is pretty pricey per person.  We tend to do less expensive meals on vacation unless is something really spectacular like fresh seafood or ethnic foods on our travels.  But, cost aside, this is a tremendous stress reliever in that its already paid for ahead of time (and I think this plan can be loaded onto your magic band for even more convenience). We did have this once when we stayed on property, as it was a freebie for the time we were there.  We took breakfast stuff, ate lunch at the parks and then dinner either at the Parks or at Disney Springs.  This is a lot of food ~ drinks (tea, coffee, or soft drink) were provided with every meal plus dessert.  Lots of places honor these meals so we had fun with this.  By the end of the week, we still had credits, so we got snacks to go.

3.  Take your own.  YES, you can take food into the Disney parks.  You can take a soft sided cooler with freezer packs (no hard coolers or anything on wheels that you pull).  Each park has lockers that you can rent and put your bag in there....or tote it.  This was really easy when we had a stroller or mom had a wheelchair.  We just hung it on the handles or but it in the stroller basket.  We do peanut butter and jelly, pretzels (chips will crush to dust), granola bars, unmeltable candy etc.  Greg and I are doing this next time.  Then go out to eat or eat at the condo for dinner.

You can carry in drinks (NO glass allowed, we take the plastic soft drink bottles or water bottles).  We usually are holding one and have a spare in my bag.  At any counter service restaurant you can get FREE ice water.  They will gladly give you free water, even if you don't buy anything.  This is an awesome thing, especially in the hot months.  Take a bottle you can pour your ice water into ~ one that can be closed and stuck in a bag.  Then you don't have to dump it out when you get on a ride.  This time we are carrying the little koolaid type mix in packets to flavor the water.  Last time, we also had a cooler bag in the car with drinks on ice and a snack for after the long day.

Every fall is the Epcot Food and Wine Festival ~ the countries represented in the World Showcase and many extra countries will have food kiosks set up around World Showcase Lagoon.  These little bites of food costs between $4-7.  We usually go multiple days.  Our strategy is to buy one little plate of each we want to try ~ and split it 4 or 5 ways depending on how many folks we have.  If we know its really yummy, we will buy 2 so everyone gets a bigger taste.  The 2nd time back ~ everyone picks their favorite and gets their own that they don't have to share.  My favorite has always been the steak and sweet potato dish at the Africa kiosk.  2 years ago they changed it and I didn't think it was as good.  Will always gets the escargot in France ~ I don't know if he really likes it or if he just likes to see me gross out as he eats it....but I think he likes it.  Weekend nights at the Festival are jam packed and lots of folks have enjoyed the wine/beer part of the offerings....a little too much.  Weekends also have concerts.  We are going back in November to see one of Gregs favorite jazz bands, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (they sing some of the songs in Nightmare Before Christmas).

Here are a few pictures of food from different trips in the past ~ these are all from Epcot.  The 2nd one down is the steak and sweet potato dish from Africa!