Five Easy Cheapskate Tips to Save Money on Food At Disney

By Amanda, Disney’s Cheapskate Princess.

You’re certainly going to need some cash to get to Disney, be it Disneyland or Walt Disney World. Tickets, accommodations, food, travel costs, and souvenirs will all set you back a pretty penny. Over at Disney’s Cheapskate Princess, we look for ways to save you money for and during your hard-earned Disney vacation. We asked our Facebook fans what their favorite tips were for first time visitors, and here are five pretty easy ways to save some cash on your next vacation, even if it’s not exactly your first time to see the Mouse.

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1. Water…

Bring your own water to the theme parks. Not only is it excellent for you to drink, but drinking water you paid $.25 to $.50 a bottle for will save you a ton of money. Buy from Costco or Sam’s Club for deeper savings on large quantities, and pack your water in a soft-sided cooler.

2. Whoa…Free water!

Skip hauling in your own water bottle and just drop by any quick service restaurant. They will happily give you a cup of ice water for FREE!!

My only issue with free water from restaurants is you have to stand in line to get the free cup. This can take time, depending on what hour of day you are in line, and time is money at Disney. Decisions, decisions, but you definitely need to be drinking water, especially in the sweltering heat of the summer. I would make that spring through fall; Orlando is pretty deep in the south, and it can be warm during all times of year.

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3. Dine at the right time…

Eat at sit down restaurants for lunch. Using Chef Mickey’s buffet as an example, lunch is $15 to $35.99 per person. Dinner is $36 to $59.99. That is a Christmas price, by the way, as they don’t have a lunch menu unless things are really busy at the parks. Now the selections of food will be different from lunch to dinner, but judging by those numbers, you can pay half as much to enjoy lunch as opposed to dinner in the same restaurant. That’s quite a substantial savings.

4. Bring your lunch…

Bring your own lunch in a soft cooler, put it in a locker, and come back for a picnic lunch later on. This will work for dinner as well. If you have a stroller or somebody willing to tote the bag, you won’t even have to pay for the locker. Sitting on a bench may not be the ideal spot to dine on vacation, but you can use those savings to splurge later on.

5. Bring snacks too!

If you’re hauling in your own water,  bring in snacks too. With water ringing in around $.30 to $.75 a bottle and finding a snack under $3 nearly impossible, buying snacks from Disney vendors will really add up. Compare that to $.50 bottles of YOUR water and $.35 for YOUR crackers, and wow, now you have saved up enough money to buy a Disney cupcake or ice cream dish and share with your friends and family.

Better grab your own spoon, because that Disney ice cream goes fast.

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There you have five simple tips for saving money on food at the Disney parks. Let us know if you have any money saving ideas on snacks and dining we didn’t mention today, because you know, we can’t all get to Disney when they offer free Dining.

Thanks for stopping by Couponing to Disney for a quick money saving tip. Keep clipping those coupons and dreaming Disney!