Planning, Budgeting, and Saving for Walt Disney World Vacations are a way of life at the Chip and Co Household. I am constantly looking for ways to save some extra money so I can make yet another trip to our home away from home.
Today I am going to teach you some tips and tricks to really maximize your money while still taking full advantage of the food at the Walt Disney World Resort.
- One of the biggest money savers is while you are sweating at the parks remember you can stop by most quick service restaurants and ask for a water. By law they have to give you a cup of ice cold water.
- We all love Kona Cafe. I for one fell in love with Tonga Toast. But did you know just downstairs in the Polynesian Resort at Captain Cooks you can get Tonga Toast for a lot less. Great to grab when you are in a hurry. As you can see in the picture above the menu is pretty limited and there is no Kona Coffee.
- Starring Rolls Cafe in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is my favorite snack shop in all of Walt Disney World. I have confirmed this from several sources that if you ask one of the Cast Members behind the counter would it be possible to get a piece of Grapefruit Cake from the Hollywood Brown Derby if they are not to busy they will walk over and grab you a piece. I would be very polite and not get upset if they don’t have the time to do it. I am going to try this on our next trip and let you know how it goes.
- Every time we have gone to Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at the Port Orleans Resort it has not been busy. What would make me venture all the way out to this resort you might ask? The Beignets of course! Hot, fresh, and delicious! They are a very inexpensive treat and a good way to start the day.
- Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of my favorite buffet. I love the fusion of Asian and Indian cuisine. Having good friends who are from South Africa we have tried many of these dishes before ever eating here. One dessert talked about a ton all over the internets is the Zebra Domes. But how can you get some ZD’s without having to get the full buffet at Boma’s? Stop by Mara’s of course! Stop by and pick some up to take back to your room for later 🙂
- Another trick you can try is going to restaurants that serve a la carte or have a menu you can order from. Split appetizers or find where they serve up a fruit tray and split it. For example at the Grand Floridian Cafe you can easily split several items or meals to save money.
- To piggyback on the tip above if you drink water instead of Pop, Juice, or Coffee you will save money. Try bringing in Mio Water Enhancers to flavor up your water or Star Bucks makes single serving packets to make your own coffee. If you ask any server at a Table Service restaurants for hot water they will bring it for you free of charge.
Well that is all I have for now. These are some of the tricks I use when I visit Walt Disney World. Our next trip we are paying out-of-pocket so I really need to stretch our dollar further than previous vacations where we did the Disney Dining Plan.
If you have any Quick Tips let me know in the comment box below.
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At Art of Animation resort, we saved some money by buying a two liter bottle of soda instead of individual drinks with our meal. The cashier gave us disposable cups at the register. Any of the quick service locations at the resorts will probably do the same.
Let me add that their pizza is surprisingly good. It’s hot, fresh and well seasoned. My kids declared it the best pizza of the trip.
Um, I thought Chip wrote that you could get Tonga Toast for less at Captain Cooks vs for free. I can’t imagine they would give it away although I would certainly not oppose that if Disney wanted to do that!!!!! Thanks for the tip on the to go Kona Coffee, though!
Good idea!
Not necessarily a budget feature, but did you know that you can get sushi at Starring Rolls Cafe? Yup, I <3 to use a counter-service credit for this yummy lunch. Two of our favorite counter-service meals to share are 1, the sandwiches at Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe and 2, the middle eastern yummies at Tangierene Cafe. Sadly, one of our top favorites has been discontinued, and that was the Chicken & Ribs Combo meal at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland @ the Magic Kingdom.
You mentioned Captain Cooks has Tonga Toast for free but no Kona coffee. However, you can go to the Kona Coffee bar upstairs and you can buy Kona coffee in a paper cup and bring it downstairs to Captain Cook’s.