Expensive Disney World Snacks Aren’t Always the BEST
Here at DFB, we make it a point to know all about ALL the food in Disney World. We know the best restaurants to visit, which fast food stands have the tastiest snacks, and all the eats you absolutely can’t miss when you visit the parks. Right now, we have to WARN you about something very important when it comes to Disney food.
Are you ready? We need you to know that the most expensive Disney World snacks are NOT always the BEST Disney World snacks. Sounds simple enough, right? But we know a lot of people are spending TOO MUCH on their food in Disney World when they really could be getting better eats for less! Here’s a list of 8 overpriced snacks to AVOID and 8 great deals to find instead!
Of course, whether a snack is worth the cost is going to depend on your own preferences and budget. But from our extensive research (we’re in the parks EVERY day), we’ve figured out some eats that just don’t seem to live up to their price tag.
Disney Snacks That AREN’T Worth the Cost:
Ghirardelli Sundae
The irresistible smell of chocolate will draw you to the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop in Disney Springs, where you’ll find a variety of chocolates and lots of ice cream sundae choices. But those sundaes aren’t always worth the cost — we recently paid $17.25 for the Lands End sundae, which we think is way too expensive for a fairly simple treat.
Now, these sundaes are tasty and certainly shareable (especially the one that we got), but all of the options on the menu now are at least $14.75, and we think there are better and much cheaper treats in Disney Springs. For example, you can get a HUGE (we’re talking almost 1/2 pound) cookie at Gideon’s Bakehouse for $6. Grab 2 of them and it’s still cheaper than 1 sundae at Ghirardelli!
Click here to see our recent review of the Lands End Sundae.
Treats at Amorette’s Patisserie
The display case at Amorette’s Patisserie (also located at Disney Springs) is very tempting. All of the treats are beautifully decorated and promise luxurious flavors inside. However, most of these desserts (even the small ones) cost at least $9 and aren’t big enough portions to split between multiple people.
We might not mind paying that amount so much except that we haven’t usually been impressed by the desserts we’ve bought here. The flavors sometimes fall a little flat, which is especially disappointing with an expensive treat. Instead, we like to visit Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie in the France pavilion of EPCOT’s World Showcase to find tastier (and generally cheaper) treats.
Check out our review of a NEW dessert at Amorette’s Patisserie.
Blue and Green Milk
Star Wars fans will be delighted to learn that you can taste the iconic Blue and Green Milk — as seen in the Star Wars movies — in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. But a word of warning about this snack: the price seems to be driven by the experience and novelty, not so much by the portion size or quality.
By that, we mean that drinking Blue and Green Milk can be really fun, especially if you haven’t tried it before and love the Star Wars films. But you’ll pay $8.49 for a pretty small cup of the drink, and that price jumps up to $15 for the same amount if you add alcohol. Many people don’t even like the taste of the milk, as both varieties have unusual flavors and aren’t what people expect when they take a sip. Our advice? Try it ONCE, and get the Blue Milk (which is generally the fan favorite, although opinions are divided).
Still set on your Blue and Green Milk? Check out our HACK here!
Souvenir Cups
You can find souvenir sippers throughout Disney World, especially at locations like Big Top Treats and the Main Street Confectionery in Magic Kingdom. These cups are pretty cute, and they’re a fun way to get a Disney drink. However, most of the cups cost $10 or more, and although they come filled with a drink, that drink cannot be alcoholic and you don’t get free or discounted refills. So is it really worth it to pay more than $10 for a regular drink when you could get one for $4 at any quick service restaurant?
Now, you’re mostly paying for that souvenir cup (not just the drink), but we’ve found that those cups tend to live on the top shelf of our cupboards, gathering dust, once we get home. Despite our best intentions to make good use of the souvenir, they don’t usually come down from that shelf. And even in the parks, the cups aren’t really a convenient container as they’re not sealed, so you can’t just throw them into your park bag. We’d prefer to get a drink with a disposable cup or sealed lid and then spend our souvenir money on a mug or thermos, which we use much more frequently at home.
Click here to see a new souvenir sipper in Disney World.
Mickey Pretzel
Can we say this? *Looks around guiltily* Despite our love for all Mickey-shaped food, we have to admit that *whispers* Mickey Pretzels are kind of a rip-off. We know they’re cute! But they don’t actually taste as good as other pretzels you can find in Disney World, and at $7.50, they’re easily beat by bigger and better pretzels elsewhere.
If you love the Mickey shape and really want a photo of the cute pretzel, this snack might actually be totally worth it to you. But for people looking for a high-quality snack or specifically a very tasty pretzel, we’d recommend heading to Sommerfest in the Germany pavilion in EPCOT’s World Showcase and getting one there for $10.29. For less than $3 more, you’ll get a significantly better pretzel. And at BaseLine Tap House in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you can get a Bavarian Pretzel with beer-cheese fondue and spicy mustard for just $9!
See the 7 BEST pretzels in Disney World.
Ice Cream in the Minnie Sink Souvenir Bowl
Ice cream sundae in Magic Kingdom? A great idea. Ice Cream Sundae in the Minnie Mouse Kitchen Sink? …Less great idea. We won’t deny that the souvenir ice cream bowl is super cute. But getting your treat with that add-on will cost $16.99 compared to a normal hot fudge sundae (with about the same amount of ice cream) for $5.49.
When the Minnie Mouse Kitchen Sink returned to Storybook Treats in Magic Kingdom, we discovered that the amount of ice cream that comes inside it had been significantly reduced since the last time we saw this souvenir. Guests are essentially getting the same amount as the normal sundae, which means they are paying $11.50 for just the container. If you’re OK with that, then we say go for it! But if that bowl is just going to collect dust in your cupboard, we’d recommend getting the regular sundae and finding a different souvenir.
Learn more about the Minnie Sink Souvenir Bowl here.
Turkey Legs
If we’re being honest, we have more issues with Turkey Legs than just the price. We probably wouldn’t want to buy one even if they didn’t cost $13.25 apiece. These iconic Disney snacks definitely don’t skimp on the portion size — there’s plenty of meat there to make it a shareable snack or even a meal. But we just…don’t like them.
They tend to have a lot of gristle and fat, which some guests find off-putting. But if you’re someone who actually loves this snack, you’re definitely not alone. Disney sells about 2 million pounds of turkey from Turkey Legs every year! We just prefer to spend that money on a different quick service meal, like Corn Dog Nuggets and Fries from Casey’s Corner, which you can get for $10.29.
Read our recent review of a Disney World Turkey Leg here.
Charcuterie Board at Oga’s Cantina
We love a good charcuterie board, so when we discovered that Oga’s Cantina in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has one, we were so excited! We were even willing to overlook the $21 price tag at first (hey, maybe space cheese is just more expensive than Earth cheese). But then the board actually came and we felt less than thrilled.
This particular charcuterie board featured some odd snacks. One of those snacks looked and tasted suspiciously like pre-strung string cheese. All in all, this is one dish that we won’t be getting again. Instead, you can often find us at BaseLine Tap House (also located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios) with the California Cheese and Charcuterie Plate, which gets you better options for only $10 (less than half the price of the Oga’s board).
See our FULL review of this Charcuterie Board here.
Okay, enough griping. Now that we’ve told you what NOT to get, let’s take a look at 8 snacks that are great deals for their price!
Great Deals on Disney Snacks:
Refillable Popcorn Bucket
If you love Disney popcorn, we think that buying a refillable popcorn bucket is 100% worth the price. You can usually find them for $13 (although specialty buckets will cost more), and you can get refills for $2.25 throughout your trip.
Especially if multiple people in your group will snack on the popcorn throughout the day, this can be a steal!
See ALL of the popcorn buckets available in Disney World right now.
Pulled Pork Nachos
One of our favorite snacks is a little less well-known. Over at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, you can find Pulled Pork Nachos at the Capt. Cook’s quick service restaurant. These nachos are topped with Cheese, Spicy Mayonnaise, Pico de Gallo, and Pineapple Salsa, and they cost $9.99. We LOVE them!
The chips are crisp and taste house-made, the pork is salty, and the pineapple salsa brings a perfect amount of sweetness to the plate. And the portion size is big enough to share if you just want a snack, or eat the whole thing yourself for a cheap meal.
Read our full review of these nachos here!
Lobster Bisque
It seems illegal that the Lobster Bisque (or Bisque de Homard) at Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie is so delicious and so cheap. The bisque is served in a bread bowl, and it’s both incredibly tasty and very filling! For $5.95, you can get a hefty snack that could even work as a light lunch.
In fact, Les Halles (located in the back of the France pavilion at EPCOT’s World Showcase) is a great place to find a lot of affordable and decadent snacks, whether you’re looking for something sweet or savory.
Check out more hidden EPCOT eats here.
Full Baguette
Speaking of Les Halles, this is also where you can get a full baguette for just $3.50! If you see someone just munching away on an entire baguette while strolling through World Showcase, it might be us. The baguette is so good, with a crispy crust and fluffy bread inside.
If you don’t want just the bread, you could get some of that Lobster Bisque to dip it in, too.
Learn more about this amazing deal here!
Tropical Serenade Float
One of the new 50th Anniversary treats that came to Disney World last October is the Tropical Serenade Float, located at Aloha Isle in Magic Kingdom. This is made with Pineapple-Orange-Guava Juice, Coconut Soft-serve Ice Cream, and an Upside-down Pineapple Cake Pop. You get the entire thing for $6.99.
Earlier we complained about the sundaes at Ghirardelli’s costing $15+ — this float is a shareable treat that’s less than half that price! And as devout lovers of POG juice, we think this treat is well worth the cost.
Read our full review of the Tropical Serenade Float here.
Wookie Cookie
If you’ve been following DFB for a while, you probably know that the Wookie Cookie is one of our favorite things. You can get it at Backlot Express at Hollywood Studios. It’s a cookie sandwich made with 2 Oatmeal Cookies, Vanilla Cream Filling, and a Milk Chocolate Sash Garnish. You can get it for $6.29.
The richness of that vanilla cream makes it easy to share this dessert between a couple of people, and we love the soft oatmeal cookies. For a very tasty treat that won’t break the bank, it’s hard to beat this classic.
Find out how the Wookie Cookie has CHANGED.
Carrot Cake Cookie
But you can actually find a fantastic cookie in Hollywood Studios that’s even CHEAPER than the Wookie Cookie! Head to the Trolley Car Café (the Starbucks location in this park) to get the Carrot Cake Cookie — a fan-favorite treat that has stood the test of time.
Much like the Wookie Cookie, this is actually a cookie sandwich, made with soft Carrot Cake Cookies and a Cream Cheese Frosting Filling. For just $4.99, it’s seriously a STEAL (although it was even more of a steal before it got a price increase earlier this year — this treat used to be $3.99!). Around the holidays, you can often find this treat as a Red Velvet Whoopie Pie instead, which is also very good but not quite as good as the OG version, in our opinion.
Learn more about the Carrot Cake Cookie here!
Karamell Küche Treats
And for our final recommendation for treats that are worth the price, we recommend…everything in Karamell Küche. This bakery in the Germany pavilion of EPCOT’s World Showcase is not to be missed. Just follow your nose — the amazing smell of caramel will lead you right to it.
There are plenty of decadent and affordable treats in the display cases here. We love the Caramel Popcorn for $6.99, the Caramel Flight (which comes with 4 different caramel pieces) for $6.49, and the Caramel Butter Bar for $4.49. Almost everything we’ve had here has been completely delicious.
See our review of the Werthers Caramel Flight.
If you’re visiting Disney World soon, keep these snacks in mind so that you really get the BEST bang for your buck when it comes to food. And if you’re looking for more guidance on the best way to spend your money in Disney World, find out which hotel rooms are worth the upgrade and how you can eat around the world in EPCOT for under $100.
For some money-saving tips, check out our posts about 15 cheap but filling Disney World snacks, the best budget-friendly lunches in the parks, and how to get the MOST discounts for your Disney World trip. We’ve even got a full page dedicated to all of the current deals and discounts offered by Disney World.
We’re always on the lookout for the newest snacks and Disney deals, so stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates!
Click here to check out 15 non-negotiable Disney World snacks.
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