off to eurodisney - how to keep food costs down!

[faddle]

We have just booked 4 nights/5 days at disneyland paris, but am worried that the food etc while we are there is going to cost us a fortune. We are going in the car/ferry so I am planning on taking a large amount of crisps/snacks/biscuits etc, and I also have an electric coolbox which plugs into cigarette lighter or mains and was thinking of taking this and using it to keep ham/cheese/butter fresh in the room so I can make packed lunches for us through the day. I dont mind eating in restaurants in the evening, but we wont be able to afford that every night, so am considering taking a sandwich toaster for at least one night and does anyone know if there is a macdonalds close by?
does the above sound reasonable?
I will be taking large bottles of water and bottles of cordial to mix for drinks through the day................... weight is not an issue as I will have the crap carrier pushchair with us.......

We went last October and like you needed to keep costs down. We had a cool box like you have mentioned and that's fine although you might need to think about where to get fresh bread from (seemingly there's a garage just outside the park which sells everything)

We ended buying the half board vouchers for the evening which i think was a pretty good deal. I think it worked out at about 45 euros for all four of us per night to eat in the hotel buffet restaurant and I thought it was good value. We splashed out on the last night though in Cafe Mickey which did cost a fortune!!

There is a McDonalds in the Disney Village and think it probably is the most reasonably priced place there to eat!! Make sure you fill up on breakfast although I've been told they are a bit stricter now about you taking stuff away to have for lunch

Have fun!

That's breakfast in your hotel and not in McDonalds as my post now seems to read

We ate in the local shopping centre which was cheaper than the restaurants in the park

I went last week and didn't spend that much on food really.

We mostly ate at Annette's diner.The burgers are lovely and are huge. Takeaway is much cheaper than eating in. It was 8 euros or so for a burger and chips. 9 euros or so for a burger,hot dog or chicken nuggets with chips and soda.

We also ate at Bella Notte and the pizzas were a good size and very filling. One with chips or salad or dessert between 2 would be fine.

There is a shopping centre which has a few restaurants that are cheaper than Disneyland. There's a sandwich shop in the train station too which is supposed to be cheaper.

We had the hotel's buffet breakfast and a late lunch and perhaps just a snack in the evening.

The croque monsieurs at Market Deli are huge, though 6 euros each and again would certainly feed 2 children, or an adult and a child.

The van across from Annette's is good for snacks too.

Where are you staying btw?

I found that the biggest expense was drinks because it was so hot there that we were going through 4 and 5 bottles each at 2 euros 50 per bottle,but apparently the service station at the Hotel Cheyenne is cheaper than the park for drinks.

we are at santa fe, so very basic! but I dont care, all we will be doing is sleeping there.
I'm not worried about drinks, we can take a couple of six packs of 2 litre water bottles (can you drink the water at eurodisney? not been to france for about ten years!)
thanks for all of your suggestions, I will be printing this off to take with us!

The service station is near your hotel sorry not Cheyenne.

There are water fountains at various points in the park. The water isn't that cold but you could fill your bottles from there.

Take a couple of butty boxes with you and stock up from the breakfast buffet!

Hi, you say you have just booked, but not the dates you are going. Be aware that the Santa Fe hotel does not have air conditioning in the rooms, only a ceiling fan, so can be hot in the summer months.
Going back to your hotel during the day will mean either a 20 mins walk, or waiting at the bus stops near the railway station for the free shuttle to the hotel, then catching one back again, wasting valuable park time. If you take some sandwich bags/ plastic bags with you, you will notice that many people take croissants, ham, cheese etc from breakfast to eat in the parks.
Disney do not mind you taking some drinks and snacks in, but do not allow full,picnics or ice boxes/ cool bags. All bags have to go through a security machine, like you have in airports.
There is a shop at the petrol station near the Santa Fe Hotel, which sells some drinks and snacks, and also a shop selling sandwiches/ drinks/ snacks etc in the railway station that you walk past to get to the parks.
There are some food / drink/ coffee stands in the Disney Village as well.
Certainly booking half board does save you money if you are there even for a couple of days. You can use the vouchers for lunch or dinner in any Disney restarant ( parks, Village and hotels) in the category that you choose to book. ( There are 3 HB categories.)
People have given you some good advice here already, but for detailed information try posting any questions on the Trip Advisor Marne La Vallee forum, as this mainly covers Disneyland Paris, and the people there can answer just about anything, as many have been going there regularly for years and know the resort very well.

I forgot to say, whenever you buy food or drink, and in fact anything in the parks, check the small pringt on your receipt. It offers you a free drink later in the day, so if you have a family, purchase things separately.
More receipts = more free drinks.
Also look out for receipts that other people leave lying around in cafes and restaurants, when they do not notice the free drink offer on it.The Disney staff do not mention the free drink later, so many people do not know about it.

Also......there are NO lockers in the parks, so whatever you take in with you, you have to carry all day.We take a couple of small plastic bottles with drinking spouts, and fill them at the drinking fountains ( usually situated near the loos).
Take some bottles of neat squash with you, bubble wrap them if flying, and put in hold luggage. We took a rucksack for this, with plastic mugs, so clothes do not get ruined if the bottle should leak. Then fill one small bottle with neat squash every morning to take into the parks,with plastic cups, and also an empty small bottle to make squash up in as you go.
In hot weather,and when queue lines are long, you need to make sure you have drink and some snacks with you before you join a ride queue, and also that kids have been to the loo first!
We also take battery operated hand held fans to help keep cool.
Be aware that the parks pushchairs ( which you can hire for the day) do not have baskets, rainhoods or sunshades.They have hooks on the back to hang some bags from though, but be careful that the buggy does not tip.

We found the cheapest places to eat were McDonald's and King Ludwigs which had really good deals on for kids (about 5 euros for a 2 course meal) when we were there.

The half board vouchers are a good deal - much cheaper than eating in the park restaurants. Watch out for some of the prettier 'sandwich' shops and patisseries. We paid nearly twenty pounds for two cups of tea, one fanta and one stale pastry.

Booking half board is certainly a good idea if you are staying there. The vouchers can be used in Disney restaurants in the parks, Disney Village and hotels.They cover the cost of lunch or dinner, including a soft drink or bottle of water.
There are 3 categories- Standard, Plus and Premium.
offers.disneylandparis.co.uk/packages/tailor-made-dreams/half-board-meal-plans.xhtml