Mickey bars, popcorn and Dole whips. Oh my!
Even if you’ve never been to the most magical place on earth, you know there is no shortage of snacks and treats to pick from while taking in the Magic.
Everywhere you turn there are vendors offering you something that looks and smells amazing. The caramel apples alone will make your mouth drool.
Indulging is part of the fun when you head to Disney World, and rightfully so. Disney World offers some of the most unique snack and meal options around!
Yet, all those snacks can add up quickly! The price of snacks for a day at Disney World might seem a little less than magical…
The Cost of Snacks for One Day in Disney World
Without bringing any of our own snacks, we tend to spend $35 a day on snacks inside the park per person alone.
For a family of 4, that’s 140 dollars a day!
Trust me, that’s not that hard to reach or super outlandish of a number.
For us that means purchasing two Dole Whip floats, two dole whips and 4 bottles of water for one snack session cost $30.
Purchasing two funnel cakes, two Mickey pretzels, two fruit smoothies and two more bottles of water for another snack puts us at $50.
Garlic knots times two, baked Mac and Cheese times two, two bottled waters and two frozen lemonades add up to $46.
Add in another beverage break for two more bottles of water and two powerades adds another $17.
That brings our total snacks to $143 for one day!
Over the course of a 7 day trip, snacks can add up to almost $1,000 for snacks at Disney World!
Holy moly!!!
So, that being said, do you want to save yourself some money on snacks at Disney World?
Heck, yes!!!
Want to know the easiest way to do so? By bringing snacks from home! Bringing snacks from home allows you to save money while in Disney World.
Plus, you might have a more magical trip if everyone’s tummies are happy!
How Do You Know What Snacks from Home are best for Saving Money at Disney?
Let’s dive in and learn what snacks are going to help you:
- Avoid multiple sugar spikes (and then subsequent crashes!): Mainly because pure sugar snacks aren’t going to be your friend when you’re in the warm sunshine.
- Help you not pay the equivalent in next month’s mortgage in snack purchases. Almost $1,000 over the course of one week for snacks is a LOT of money.
- Save you time, because you aren’t spending it all standing in line to buy snacks! More time, means more fun and more rides!
Best Snacks to Bring From Home to Save Money at Disney World
Individual Trail Mix Packets
Trail mix that comes in individual packets can help alleviate stress during your Disney trip.
Let’s be honest, we can all agree that the best part of trail mix is the M and Ms.
Eating trail mix is one big game of ‘who can find (and eat!) all the M and Ms the quickest’.
This game is not so great when played among siblings and one sibling is losing. Fights break out in a heartbeat if there are no M and Ms left by the time the trail mix bag gets passed around.
Save yourself an argument and some sanity by purchasing the individual trail mix packets.
Plus, trail mix is a great snack as it can help keep you family members from getting too hangry!
Lara Bars or Protein Bars
Lara Bars are some of my favorite quick and easy snacks.
Yes, some Lara Bars are healthier than others (I’m looking at you peanut butter chocolate chip Lara Bar), so if you’re going for something healthy make sure you do a little Lara Bar research.
If you’re not a Lara Bar fan, protein bars make a great long lasting in between meal snack.
We might throw a few granola bars in our Disney parks bag as well, but they don’t seem to hit the spot. Plus, hunger always strikes again about 20 minutes after consuming said granola bar.
Bananas or Oranges (Clementines)
Who doesn’t love a snack that comes with it’s own wrapper?
Pretty much no one, that’s who!
Bananas, oranges, clementines, the list goes on and on with the large variety of fruit that can come with you into the parks.
Aside from having its own wrapper, you can’t really get any healthier in regards to a snack.
If you’re having fruit a while after eating a big meal, maybe supplement it with some nuts or trail mix. Especially if you know the sugar in fruit might make your sugar spike and then crash!
Peanuts, Cashews, Almonds
Pretty much any type of nut is a great item to add to your snack list. Nuts are packed full of energy and can help keep your hunger satisfied.
There are also packets of mixed nuts (aka more trail mix!) that you can purchase ahead of time for an easy serving size.
We really like these bags found here on Amazon.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Okay, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich might seem like more of a meal than a snack.
Trust me though, you’re going to be burning through a lot of calories in Disney World. Sometimes it’s even possible to walk up to a 1/2 marathon a day in the parks.
If you have the time (and the supplies), pack yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Not only will you be super grateful that you have a substantial ‘snack’ on hand, you’ll be able to make it to the next meal without threatening to eat ALL. THE. MICKEY. BARS.
Pro Tip
You could always get a Mickey bar after your sandwich too. ‘Cause chocolate and peanut butter. Enough said. (Yes, this is a pro tip!)
Apple Slices with Peanut Butter
If you have the means to put together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you can probably swing apple slices with peanut butter as well.
The combo of a juicy apple with delicious peanut butter can help solve about 99% of all hunger emergencies on your vacation.
Additionally, you’ll most likely end up being a superhero if you whip this snack out.
You’d be my superhero at least. Mainly because this snack currently sounds delicious…
Pro Tip
Pre-slice your apple before you head to the parks. Using one of these tools, an apple slicer, (we really like this one!) helps you to keep the slices nice and even.
Plus, it allows you to put the apple back together once sliced.
Why would you want to put the apple back together once sliced? Well, if you put it back together and place a rubber band around the apple, you’ll help prevent the apple from browning.
Be sure to place the apple in a ziplock bag after being sliced to help keep everything in one place.
Reusable Water Bottles are Key to Saving Money at Disney
If you take a look at all the items listed in my pay-out-of-pocket snack examples, you’ll see we included lots of bottles of water.
Therefore, one very simple change of bringing your own water bottle into the parks is going to save you a ton of cash!
Did you know that you can always ask for a cup of ice water at a quick service food location in Disney? Use that water to fill up your water bottle.
Alternatively, you can purchase a filtered water bottle, like this one from Amazon to use on your trip.
Having a handy bottle that filters the Florida water means you get better tasting water anytime you want!!
Conclusion on How to Save More Money at Disney World with Snacks
There ya go! A simple way to save a LOT of money on your Disney World trip, by bringing your own snacks.
Now, a lot of the fun at Disney World is found by enjoying the different snack options offered around the parks. By all means, try a few of the snacks out.
Perhaps you could bring some of your own snacks and plan to indulge on a few Disney snacks as well.
Ultimately, any snacks you bring will help cut down on your overall cost!
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