Can anyone tell me the most inexpensive place to eat would be? There will be 5 of us- 2 adults, a 9 year old, a 10 year old and a 16 month old. We're staying at the Disneyland hotel.
I'd also like to know if I can bring some snacks into the park. I know some small snacks are going to be necessary to "bribe" my 16 month old when waiting in long lines..
Thanks!

ringing in Outside Food and Drink

Disney used to have a policy "requesting" that guests did not bring outside food and drink into the theme parks, but this was completely unenforced. Now it has changed its policy, and guests are allowed to bring food items, such as snacks or foods that do not require heating, into any Walt Disney World theme park. It is also completely fine to bring in bottled water or soft drinks.

One note of caution: avoid bringing in anything highly perishable, such as cold cuts. It would be easy to end up with food poisoning!

Also, you absolutely will NOT be allowed to bring in the following: hard-sided coolers, large coolers, glass containers, or alcoholic beverages. Also, you cannot bring any type of straws (even the little ones attached to juice boxes) into Animal Kingdom.
I found this at: MouseSavers.com - Disney World Meal, Snack & Drink Info - Discount Coupon for Orlando Restaurants

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Now I read something different. I read the you could not bring in any food. In the past they didn't want you to bring in food but most of the time didn't say anything. I don't know what they will do now. They do search anything you bring into Disneyland or California Adventure but I don't know if they will pull out snacks. Since you will be staying there you will probably go in a different way so maybe they will not look. I am going to California Adventure on Sat. and I will put a few snacks in my bag and will let you know if they say anything.
As for eating at the park a friend of mine stayed there and said they found it cheaper to eat in the park then at Downtown Disney. You could also walk across the street from Disneyland at night for dinner. I think the is a Dennys and a McDonalds. There are a lot of other places but I can't remember what. Also in the park there is a saloon in Frontier Land. They have shows by Billy Hill and the Hillbillys. It is great fun and even my 12 and 13 year olds like it. They serve food and dessert. We usually get a couple desserts to share and enjoy the show. You can watch the show even if you don't buy anything. Around the corner from the saloon is a place that sells hot dogs. I think it may be the cheapest place to eat at Disneyland. We also go to a place the sells hambergers and a couple other things by Splash Mountain. The hambergers are a good size and you get a lot of fries. Its about $10 per person but is a good price at Disneyland. I think it is called something like Country Bear Cafe.

Thanks for the info ladies! I appreciate it!

There is a mexican resturant right next to thunder mountain railroad. It is the cheapest and best food in the park. I have been to restaurants that are local that cost more.

Just got back from California Adventure. In order to get to the ticket booths and then into the parks for both Disneyland and California Adventure you have to get your back pack, purse, ect searched. I had a few snacks in my back pack and they didn't say anything. I also had a soda in the side pocket and nothing was said about the either. I hope you have a lot of fun.

Oh good! Thanks for posting your experience!

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We would always take snacks and a water bottle for each person (that can be refilled at the drinking fountains). Sometimes we would take those individual packets to make lemonade, etc. in our water bottles. One of those small boxes with eight or ten packs of powder (I think you can buy them for $1) would last all day. We would sometimes buy snacks or eat in the park, but we never bought beverages.

I was at Disneyland in Feb. I brought in 5 bottles of water in a insulated "wine" bag. No one said a word. We brought in lots of snacks and when I asked about food I was told I could pack a lunch If I wanted to. They do check bags and was told no glass bottles allowed.

I went 2 years ago with 16 people between kids and adults. We had a picnic one day in disney world. We sat at tables and nothing was said. we made sandwiches in our rooms. It was just alot of work so we mostley ate in the parks. They dont stop you from bringing any food in. There are plenty of places cheap enough to eat and there are turkey legs everywhere.

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When you don`t know what to do-Walk fast and look worried.

We just got back a week ago from there. I took in water bottles and tons of snacks and not one person said anything. I saw a lot of people taking in soft coolers and we also say people eating sack lunches.

No matter what the 'official' policy, if you're traveling with small children (your 16 month old), they will usually let you bring in a reasonable amount of snacks.
My kids are 5 & 8 now and have been to WDW many times. We've always brought in a few snacks, soy milk boxes and bottled water have never had a problem.