We all know that meals at Walt Disney World are expensive. Disney is kind enough to allow you to bring in your own food inside a soft sided cooler. However, what if you don’t want to pack your own food but you still want to save money?
Located just outside the gates to Walt Disney World are 100’s of eating establishments. They have just about everything that you can think of! The prices are very reasonable and they accept coupons. You can save a pretty penny by leaving the parks for your meals.
However, you need to decide if the time investment is worth leaving the parks. You’ve paid a lot of money for your park tickets. It is going to take at least 10-30 minutes to get to your car from the main gate of the park. Then you will have to factor in drive time and potential traffic. Add in the time it takes you to eat and drive back to the park and you are looking at 1.5 – 3 hours for an inexpensive meal!
So before you decide that going offsite is the way you will save money on your dining costs, consider just how much time you are spending doing just that.
If you have a family of 4 and you bought 5 day tickets for everyone (2 adults and 2 children), each hour of park time is equivalent to about $22 for your family. 3 hours away from the parks to eat is costing you $66 in park time. Something to think about!
Learn more about Walt Disney World Dining and get suggestions for where to eat, how to use the Disney Dining Plan and more.