Snacks You Bring

[DisneyPrincess5]

While I LOOOVE me some Disney meals and snacks, DH and I have gotten into the habit of bringing some food into the parks with us to help cut down the cost of food spending a bit, and it's also nice and convenient to reach into our backpack and grab a snack whenever we want.

What snacks or meals do you guys bring into the parks? We shop at Publix on our first day. Looking for ideas for convenient ideas.

Thanks!

 

[Dory71]

We normally bring 1 frozen water and 1 refrigerated in an insulated bag, werthers or jolly ranchers hard candies and payday (not chocolate so doesn't melt) snack size candies.

 

[21stamps]

I'm a snack mule too

We plan on bringing the things that I carry around every time we go on a long outing, as well. So, nature valley bars, fruit snacks, and shelf stable yogurt pouches mostly. But who knows what she'll eat by then, so I'm playing it by ear.

We just ordered a burrito bowl half hour ago.. suddenly my son decided he doesn't like avocados?!?! The kid has been eating them since a baby.. we regularly eat a piece of toast with avocado and sliced tomato.. now today he doesn't like guacamole..he says "Mom, I just decided yesterday that I don't like avocados anymore."

What??

Kids are so weird.lol

 

[DryerLintFan]

We just ordered a burrito bowl half hour ago.. suddenly my son decided he doesn't like avocados?!?! The kid has been eating them since a baby.. we regularly eat a piece of toast with avocado and sliced tomato.. now today he doesn't like guacamole..he says "Mom, I just decided yesterday that I don't like avocados anymore."

What??

Kids are so weird.lol

I learned the hard way not to ever stock up on her favorite snacks/food items. She loved these kefir yogurt pouches and they went on sale so we bought six boxes because they're typically stupid expensive. Wouldn't you know it twenty minutes later on that very same day she decided she hated them.

 

[Souvenir]

I learned the hard way not to ever stock up on her favorite snacks/food items. She loved these kefir yogurt pouches and they went on sale so we bought six boxes because they're typically stupid expensive. Wouldn't you know it twenty minutes later on that very same day she decided she hated them.

That's always been my experience too- stock up on something and suddenly no one wants it anymore.

As for OP's question- the bag check/security process has gotten so annoying that I'll do anything to avoid taking a bag into the parks. Last trip, I didn't even take my phone most days because I rarely had a pocket. (Why do baby clothes so often have pockets but women's clothing seldom does?)

If you decide to do the frozen water thing, just realize that those bottles are going to sweat like crazy and will make everything else wet.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Since I HATE Coke products, I always have my 7-11 Super Big Gulp cup and a 2 liter bottle of Diet Pepsi with me everyday.(I rent a car just to go off property to the 7-11 a few miles away). Now my DW will ONLY drink Poland Spring water (a Nestle brand, only available in the Northeast)...the week before we fly down from NJ, we ship a case down so it is waiting for her when we arrive. Last trip, 2016, we learned that BJ's in Orlando carries it, so we buy a case when we arrive. It's not a snack, but it's the MOST Important item we carry into the parks...I can deal with a little sunburn, but deprive me of Diet Pepsi for a week....

 

[kimberlymautz]

We brought a soft cooler bag which we filled with frozen water bottles (helped keep food and other drinks cold and as it melted we had water!). We'd also include a couple sodas, a few sandwiches (ham and cheese, PB&J, etc) for a light lunch, Apple slices, cheez-its, gummies, granola bars, Disney themed snacks that just happened to be from the grocery store. Saved a bunch of money and time so we didn't have to wait in line for food or tables. We did buy dinner almost every night, but we saved a lot by bringing breakfast and lunch.

 

[Bender123]

With the meal plan, the food is almost overwhelming, but we still pack breakfast items for the room and some single serve trail mix/dried fruit/granola for the parks for the rare "soooooo hungry" moments that cant be addressed with snack/QS meal options. I pack a very small bag with emergency rations, two britta filter bottles, first aid items and dollar store ponchos.

We always do an in room quick breakfast, just because mornings are super important for hitting those busy attractions that we don't like sacrificing the time and money for buffet eggs and bacon. With five of us, its far easier to have everyone eat as they are dressed in the AM and eat on the run. Most of the time we end up with one or two of the kids eating a breakfast bar at the bus stop.

 

[ninjaprincesst]

I don't get this lugging around food you can get at home and eat every day concept , to each their own I guess,but I work all the rest of the year while I'm on vacation I am not cooking, Im not lugging around snacks all day, which are most likely going to get crushed or melted in the bag, Ive worked for those 9 days to let somone else do the cooking, to have snacks which are different than our normal food, and I am not grocery shopping. If money is an issue, I would cut corners somewhere else.

 

[Sabriel]

I don't get this lugging around food you can get at home and eat every day concept , to each their own I guess,but I work all the rest of the year while I'm on vacation I am not cooking, Im not lugging around snacks all day, which are most likely going to get crushed or melted in the bag, Ive worked for those 9 days to let somone else do the cooking, to have snacks which are different than our normal food, and I cam not grocery shopping. If money is an issue, I would cut corners somewhere else.

I love me some Disney food and vegging out on vacation, but honestly, after a couple of days I get sick of it, especially if I'm staying at a resort with limited options (oh hey, Saratoga Springs).
I know Disney Springs is a boat ride away, but sometimes I want the variety without having to work for it. Enter snacks from home. That, and paying $3 per bottle of water when the whole case is $5 at home is downright offensive. Plus I hate the taste of Dasani, so I bring my own.

I like to bring non-messy stuff that's easy to throw in my park bag as well, like Go-Go Squeez, trail mix, cashews/peanuts or whatever, it's a life saver when you want a snack but are maybe waiting in line for something or don't want to stop and join the long line for a churro or what have you.

My family's also not about waking up early to join the breakfast rush. We're the continental breakfast types unless we have a breakfast reservation somewhere, so it's much simpler to keep some pastries and muffins, etc in the room, grab one and go. Saves time that you can use to sleep in instead!

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

I'm flying southwest this time and since I don't need 2 suitcases full of MY stuff, I am going to designate 1 smaller suitcase for food. It's only me and my daughter going and we'll eat breakfast in the room (bagels, pop tarts or cereal) and then I'll pack our lunch (pb&js and some snacks like gummy bears, smartfood popcorn and whatever else). We'll probably eat dinner somewhere (like pizza or nuggets) but I always have snacks like lollipops, a small bag of goldfish... I find that if I'm waiting in line with her, having a small snack to pass the time is always helpful and yummy too! Now that she's potty trained, I have lots more room in my park bag to bring all kids of crap! Lol

 

[DryerLintFan]

It's interesting to me when people say they don't want to eat the same snacks they do on vacation as they do at home. When we go on vacation, we make sure to pack snacks that we don't typically have at home. Hostess donuts, scooby doo fruit snacks, captain crunch, etc.

You can make your trip snacks special without specifically buying them where you go.

 

[Chaset24]

The Usual

We usually bring some fruit snacks, energy bars, and maybe some mints..

 

[DfromATX]

On our last trip we had some groceries delivered to the room - lots of drinks like water, gatorade, and my Diet Cokes, plus breakfast items such as fruit, donuts, and granola bars. I agree that being on vacation we like to splurge, but we are not big breakfast eaters so we'd each bring one of those items to tide us over until lunch. I would prefer not to carry anything, but my husband didn't mind, so we loaded HIS backpack up with drinks for the 6 of us and they would be gone by like 10 am anyway. That was 6 drinks and 6 snacks that we didn't have to buy in the park, so any little helps. Don't forget you can get tap water for free.

 

[Maxwell_Edison]

I'm prone to migraines if my blood sugar gets too low or if I miss my usual caffeine intake. So I usually bring a Clif bar and one of those Starbucks doubleshot cans into the park. If I need them, I have them. If I don't need them, they keep to the next day or the trip home.

 

[disney4life2008]

None lol. What a waste.

 

[Ellen Ripley]

I've brought cliff bars in and taken advantage of the free glasses of ice water that most CS places will give you if you ask.

 

[ninjaprincesst]

It's interesting to me when people say they don't want to eat the same snacks they do on vacation as they do at home. When we go on vacation, we make sure to pack snacks that we don't typically have at home. Hostess donuts, scooby doo fruit snacks, captain crunch, etc.

You can make your trip snacks special without specifically buying them where you go.

The point is it's all grocery store crap you can get at home, and the other 51 weeks of the year I have to deal with grocery shopping and cooking and all that , I am on vacation and for those 9 days I am going to be on vacation, I'm not cleaning cooking, grocery shopping or lugging stuff around like a pack mule, and honestly we don't eat that many snacks but when I do I want something unusual and good like a dole whip, or the nutella waffle.

 

[21stamps]

The point is it's all grocery store crap you can get at home, and the other 51 weeks of the year I have to deal with grocery shopping and cooking and all that , I am on vacation and for those 9 days I am going to be on vacation, I'm not cleaning cooking, grocery shopping or lugging stuff around like a pack mule, and honestly we don't eat that many snacks but when I do I want something unusual and good like a dole whip, or the nutella waffle.

I don't keep junk food in the house. The things like kid's Z Bars are up in a shelf and only for outings. So they're still a "treat" for kiddo on vacation. I also bring a pack of Pediasure Sidekicks because of the horrible nutrition for over a week at WDW, or anywhere really lol.. and nuts are a great healthy source of protein when you need a snack.. especially if you're in line for an attraction.

Imo having snacks on hand definitely simplifies things...and are much better than adding to the all ready general unhealthiness that we're consuming on vacation. We still have the dole whips etc.

 

[21stamps]

It's interesting to me when people say they don't want to eat the same snacks they do on vacation as they do at home. When we go on vacation, we make sure to pack snacks that we don't typically have at home. Hostess donuts, scooby doo fruit snacks, captain crunch, etc.

You can make your trip snacks special without specifically buying them where you go.

Same, I buy the cereal singles and let my kid pick any sugary ones that he wants for vacations. He doesn't get that high sugar luxury on a daily basis.

We're at a zoo or amusement park often in the summer, we eat plenty of junk when out.. namely fudge, ice cream, and funnel cake sundaes. I have to balance that out somehow.lol

 

[Legendary]

The point is it's all grocery store crap you can get at home, and the other 51 weeks of the year I have to deal with grocery shopping and cooking and all that , I am on vacation and for those 9 days I am going to be on vacation, I'm not cleaning cooking, grocery shopping or lugging stuff around like a pack mule, and honestly we don't eat that many snacks but when I do I want something unusual and good like a dole whip, or the nutella waffle.

Honestly, the amount of money saved by getting free water at CS and bringing your own breakfast. lunch, snacks, light wands from the dollar store, etc. can pay for another day in Disney. Depending on length of stay and resort of course. This to me is a huge incentive to bring these items and it really doesn't take that much effort.