7 Facts And Secrets About Snacks at Walt Disney World

A full day in a theme park will make you hungry, and snacks are a great way to keep that hunger at bay until it’s time for your next meal. Here are seven facts, secrets, tips, and suggestions that have to do with snacks and snacking at Walt Disney World.

7. Vegan Choices

If you’re at Walt Disney World and do not partake of animal products, you can still enjoy some theme park staples. Kiosk popcorn, Mickey Pretzels, and Dole Whip are all vegan. You can enjoy vegan cupcakes at Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC at Disney Springs, and Sprinkles sells a vegan cupcake. There are also snack choices for people who follow other special diets or who have allergies. Ask a Cast Member at any dining option if there is anything that will fit your needs.

6. Use Leftover Credits

Guests who purchase the Disney Dining Plan are often surprised by how filling the meals are, and it is not unusual to have several snack credits left at the end of a vacation. Instead of letting them expire, use them to pick up a few things to take home with you. Decorated cookies, bags of candy, and even bottles of soda will not take up too much room in your suitcase, but they could come in handy on your trip home. (If you’re flying, don’t stock up on anything that you’re not allowed to bring onto a plane.) Be creative and then use the snacks as souvenirs, or enjoy them at home to relive a little bit of your vacation.

5. Free Chocolate

Who doesn’t like free chocolate? Stop by the shop part of Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop and you’ll be handed a free square the moment you walk through the door. Often the free square will be a seasonal or promotional flavor, so it could be something that you’ve never tried before. If you like it, purchase a package of that or other flavors to take home with you.

4. Bring Snacks With You

Food can “eat up” a large part of your vacation budget. To help offset the cost a little bit, bring some snacks into the parks with you. Disney has no problem with you doing this, in fact you can even bring a small cooler if you’d like. Glass bottles are not allowed, unless they contain baby food. Remember that your snacks will need to hold up well under the Florida sun, so you might want to leave the chocolate squares that you bought at Ghirardelli back at the hotel, and bring apples or peanut butter sandwiches instead. You can also bring in non-alcoholic drinks. If you don’t feel like carrying around some heavy bottles of water all day, ask for a free cup of ice water at most quick service dining locations.

3. Turkey Leg Facts

Turkey legs are a popular snack at Walt Disney World. Here are a few things that you might not know about them. Contrary to a rumor that makes its way around from time to time, the legs are not emu. They really are turkey meat. Each leg weighs approximately one and a half pounds. Approximately 1.5 million are sold annually. It takes about six hours for each batch of legs to cook. If you’re watching your diet, you might want to find another snack. Turkey legs each have over 1,000 calories and over 50 grams of fat.

2. Ice Cream Is Everywhere

If you’re looking for ice cream you will never need to go far. You can find frozen treats in kiosks and stores, but that’s not all. Hand scooped and soft serve are also readily available. To grab an extra-indulgent treat you might want to head to Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop once again, but this time visit the ice cream counter. There are several specialties that feature both ice cream and chocolate; a winning combination. Ample Hills Creamery on Disney’s BoardWalk brings a taste of the Big Apple to Walt Disney World, it’s the first location to open outside of New York. There are many other ice cream dishes that go above and beyond what you can find back home, and two will be mentioned here. The Sand Pail is found in the water parks. It features chocolate and vanilla soft serve, with Oreo and waffle cone pieces and other toppings. It’s served in a sand pail. The Kitchen Sink is the ultimate Walt Disney World ice cream challenge. It’s served at Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. It has eight scoops of ice cream and pretty much everything sweet that is found in the restaurant’s kitchen. It serves four, and even then there’s a good chance that you won’t finish it.

1. Seasonal Snacks

If you’re visiting Walt Disney World during a special season, you’re sure to find snacks that will fit the occasion. At Christmastime the snacks are done up big, with traditional dishes from the World Showcase countries often making it onto menus. You’ll also find lots of gingerbread. Christmas isn’t the only time when you’ll find seasonal snacks. Make sure you check to see what is available near Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, and Halloween. Cupcakes are a popular seasonal item. Seasonal snacks are great because you can’t enjoy them all year long, which makes them even more special.