os while abroad?

Miss_Cinnabon

Ok soon be time for orlando but wanted to know how do people manage going food shopping abroad without going mad and spending loads of money:rotfl:

as i normally mealplan/budget/take lists here how will i manage when we go on holiday, dont want to spend all my money in one go:D nice as the thought may be!

we are going to be eating out maybe 5/6 times maybe but will mainly be making sandwiches/meals etc the rest of time, any tips would be great.

susie

lil_me

I don't know about Florida but when we have been on holiday in the past we asked locals where they shopped and went there instead of the tourist places. Usually find much more interesting food aswell as better prices. Maybe see if there is a Wal Mart near where you are staying

A quote from an American website

You can save a lot of money by buying your groceries at Wal-Mart Super centers. Wal-Mart has a policy where if you take in your local grocery ads they will match their competitors prices

If you're going self catering a good breakfast we find does the adults but your son being diabetic will of course need his more regular meals. Could you take tinned meats etc with you? Maybe even snacks like raisins etc for the kids? I don't know what the regulations are like on aircraft now. Coffee and tea is supposed to be yak out there so would take some.

Some googling came up with this http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/Florida/Orlando-764037/Shopping-Orlando-Supermarkets-BR-1.html try googling orlando and groceries, could include phrases like cheapest, value etc

Hope you all have a great time

Miss_Cinnabon

yeah the tea is meant to be awful there, so im packing some of dh's faves and the bread is meant to be sweeter there so was thinking of making my own.

not sure if i can take tinned meat in?

susie

lil_me

http://www.newcastleairport.com/General/News/BAN+ON+PERSONAL+FOOD+EXPORTS.htm argh, maybe not, just found that...seems foot and mouth outbreak has stopped it, I never thought of that. Have been looking for any up to date info on Defra site but found nothing so far

added another link on my post with Orlando shopping info

lil_me

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/fmd/public/index.htm#4 Found some more, seems much more than just meat is effected. There is a list of what you are ok to take. I was going to suggest dried milk but that's just answered that one.

tiff

We went to Florida last year. I dont believe you need to take anything with you really but thats just personal choice. Walmart sell fresh produce and everything you need. We found it cheaper than the UK. We did eat out quite a bit, but made a few meals in the villa. One of the best meals we had was during our second week, kids didnt want to go out to eat (again!) so we did jacket potatoes in the oven, steak on the electric bbq thingy and salad.

Cant think of any tips, just try to apply your old style ways and you will be fine. Stay away from the processed stuff of which there is plenty!

Dumyat

eating out can be quite cheap. places like Denny's have kids eat free nights. there are a few all you can eat places which are OK like Ponderosa where its under a £5 per person for steak. look out for the voucher books in the hotel lobbies and shops, they have lots of deals too.

shopping is cheap too. walmart is ok but I prefer Publix supermarkets. Winndixie is another which seemed to be cheaper.

just checked Dennys website - kids eat free nights are tuesdays at "selected restaurants"
I'd be careful about taking food into USA. they have very strict regulations and once when we flew into MCO there were customs dogs sniffing the bags for food.
didnt find bread sweet when we were there. there is a huge choice though, much more than supermarkets here.

duchy

Remember huge portions are common in the US and the doggy bag is very common-if you can't eat it all and it's something you want-ask for a doggy bag and take it back to the villa . Left over chilli for example can be reheated for jacket potato toppings. You'll see lots of Americans do it-just don't do it in the All you can eat places or buffets !
Food in the US is cheaper than here so if you shop at Walmart or Target you'll get a lot for your money especially if you avoid the junkier food.
Avoid the supermarkets nearest to Disney like at Crossroads-they are expensive and when eating out look for Early bird specials which are everywhere and great value.
You can't take any fresh food into the US-I've seen customs even take fruit from the plane from kids-never had any problem with dry or tinned stuff though (chocolate, tinned Haggis <don't ask !> pickled onions etc )as gifts but I've always put them in my checked bag not as hand luggage.

Dumyat

to be honest food shopping is the easy bit its the rest you'll need to watch for temptation! if you are going shopping for clothes check out here http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=17
sign up for their newsletter and you can print out a voucher to get extra discounts. we bought three pairs of trainers for under £40 (one pair costs £80 here!)

and Walmart sell disney t shirts etc cheaper than at disney

dlb

I would throw os out the window for the 2 weeks.LOL
When we were over there we Ate out for every meal (apart from a few of the free hotel breakfast)
6 of us were eatting out for approx £20 a meal for all of us this was for all you could eat and included drinks and deserts!!
Kids meals for a dollar!! The only thing we got in for the room was crisps nibbles ect, we had a huge all you could eat breakfast then a snack at lunch(the meat cobs at the flametree bbq at animal kingdom are to die for!!) then another all you could eat at night.
Kyle have a great time and eat loads!!

Miss_Cinnabon

some good info here thanks, will take a look at the links as well, am really going to stay away from the processed foods in the shops as we hardly eat that here, baked tatties might be ok but ds1 cant stand them, has a major strop whenever we have them.

only foodstuff i will take in is the teabags as dh just has to have his cup of tea, cant understand it myself really, yukky stuff:D

it was really ideas of meals i could do in the villa and how not to go mad shopping for food:rotfl:

will have to have a think, today is packing day:rolleyes: so trying to work out in my mind what all to take with me

susie