One Money-Saving Grocery Tip Can Make Your Disney Resort Stay More Affordable

As the Disney-loving mom of three now-teenage offspring, I've managed to rack up a long list of tricks for making a Disney World vacation more affordable through the years. And one of the best tips in my arsenal is to eat at least some of our meals in our hotel room using groceries we either pick up or have delivered shortly after arriving.

For a family of any size, food costs can stack up quickly when you're dining out for every meal. But factor in the "magic tax" — that is, the extra cost of dining at Disney Parks — and we're talking serious money, especially for our family of five. If I'm budgeting ultra cheap (about $10 per person per meal), it can still come out to $150 per day on cheap food alone. Factor in things like drinks, snacks, and the occasional higher-end meal, and let's just say my kids need to rethink their college plans. As theme park vlogger @MeganMoves noted, you can pick up a case of water or soda at the store for what you might pay for a single beverage at Walt Disney World. 

Loading up on hotel room-friendly groceries for breakfast, snacks, and a handful of in-room meals is a great way to save money and help reduce hangriness-induced park splurges, particularly when getting in those serious Disney steps. It's also nice to not have to eat every meal out, which can be tough on some folks' digestive systems — something that was particularly nice when I found myself overcome with morning sickness for the duration of my Disney vacation one year. And since park guests are allowed to bring in any food that doesn't require heating, hotel room groceries can also help curb your park snack spending. 

Back when my family first started buying Disney hotel room groceries, grocery delivery service was more of a luxury than it is today. Since we always visit Disney during the holidays, we would generally kick off our first afternoon with a quick trip to a local grocery store in our rental car. These days, though, it's fairly cheap and easy to have groceries delivered right to your hotel room, especially with services like Walmart Grocery Delivery, Amazon Fresh, and Instacart. And depending on which resort you're staying at, your concierge may even be able to keep your food cool if it arrives while you're out at the parks.

If you're staying in a suite with a kitchen or kitchenette, the sky is pretty much the limit when it comes to grocery planning. During our Saratoga Springs stay, we fully stocked the fridge so we could have healthy meals in our room, a must for those who have dietary restrictions or require Disability Access Services (DAS) at Disney. But even if you're staying in a budget hotel, there are plenty of things you can store in your room. When we weren't staying at a resort with a full kitchen and fridge like Saratoga Springs, we brought along a collapsible cooler so we would have extra room for chilled items that didn't fit in our mini fridge. On those trips, we loaded up on healthy snacks like granola, yogurt, string cheese, and fruit. We also kept plenty of simple meal items like bagels with cream cheese or PB&J ingredients on hand. There are plenty of ways to stuff your Disney mini fridge so you have more cash for your mouse ears budget.