Sharing weekly tips that will save you time, money or simply make life easier on your upcoming Walt Disney World vacation.
Money Saving Tip: Bring Your Own Water & Snacks
Let’s face it, vacations are expensive. As a Mom of 5, I’m always looking for ways to save money on our Disney World vacations. One way we do this is by bringing our own bottled water and snacks into the Parks with us on every trip. In addition, we eat a light, simple breakfast in our Resort room on most mornings.
photo credit: Disney Parks
When you take into consideration that you can purchase a case of 24 water bottles for around $9.00 and one bottle currently sells for $2.50 in the Parks, you can see how quickly the savings can add up. It’s extremely important to stay hydrated in the Florida sun.
With all of the walking at Disney, my kids work up their appetites and often want snacks in between meals. Offering them goldfish crackers or a granola bar instead of paying approximately $4.00 per snack in the parks saves a significant amount of money over the course of a week. If you pack some small Ziploc baggies and buy a box of crackers you can easily re-stock your backpack each morning.
You can bring a cooler into the Parks as long as it is not larger than 24″ (61 cm) long x 15″ (38 cm) wide x 18″ (46 cm) high. I recommend a soft sided cooler. These are great because you can collapse it when you’re done, making it much easier to store this way. Otherwise, you’ll be lugging around a cooler all day, or paying to rent a locker to store it.
If you prefer not to bring a cooler, and just want to put some water bottles in your backpack you can request an empty cup with ice at the Quick Service restaurants. Then you can just pour your bottled water into the cup and you’ll have a refreshing chilled drink in no time.
I highly recommend a local grocery delivery service in Florida called Garden Grocer . Their prices are comparable to the stores in my home town. You should place your order at least 5-7 days in advance of your arrival, because delivery times can fill up quickly. You can order both beer and wine from Garden Grocer as well (they just don’t list it online). What you will do first is place your order for your regular items. Then, when you get to the 3rd Step in the process (Check-Out), you will see a “Order Info: Special Instructions” section. You’ll include a note about the additional items that you are interested in. For example, “How much is a 12-pack of beer”? The more specific the better, so include brands of beer and wine that you would like. Be sure to leave them with a phone number and email address so that they can contact you. An employee will be in touch with you soon (generally within a few days of placing your order in my experience). They will go over pricing with you at that time and will add your choices to your order. If you aren’t in the room when your delivery arrives, Bell Services will store your order for you (they’ll be sure to refrigerate the perishables). Since most airlines have luggage weight restrictions and a per bag fee, this service is super convenient. We buy cases of water, granola bars, breakfast muffins, sunscreen and more.
Click below to place your order!
Hope this helps you save some hard earned money on your next Walt Disney World vacation!
