How much for food per day for a family of 4?

todzwife

<font color=darkorchid>There's nothing worse than
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
I'm trying to figure out the budget:lmao:
DD has severe food allergies so we'll be bringing a lot of her food. Other than that, I plan to split a gluten free plate with her if there is something "safe" for her to eat. DS will eat a child's meal. DH will need a big boy meal.
So 2 adults and 1 child x 2 meals a day (we'll be bringing our own breakfast).

About how much would that be? $30 per meal or so?

Snacks...

We'll be bringing water bottles and refilling them as we need.

I'll be bringing some snacks as well but there are some things you HAVE to get when you go to DL.;)

Any suggestions? I'm guessing about $75-$100/day??? Does that sound right.:confused:
 
I'm budgeting $300/day or $100/meal for 3 adults and 2 toddlers! Each character meal or sit down will be more >$100 and Counter service meals will be <$100. Add in snacks and drinks int the park and $300 should be enough... I'm hoping it is high though ;)
 
I think you've got a good plan. We don't have as many or as severe allergies as you do, but we're definitely on a budget. I like to err on the side of having $ left over, so I budget $100/day. That way we can save $ one day and spend it on a character meal the next...or "adult" beverages or Tigger Tails or whatever. My husband always gets on to me for packing so much stuff that it looks like we're going on a remote safari for a month, but he never complains when we haven't gone over budget ;)
 
I really need to figure this out for my family. There will be two adults, and three children. We typically buy two adult meals, and one child's meal and share everything between us. My husband was guessing $100 per day, but I really think it will be more like $125 when you include snacks and treats.
 


Ok here is my estimate for 1 day for 3 Adults and 2 Toddlers:

Carnation Café Breakfast
$8.49 Apple Pancakes
$8.49 Croissantwhich
$9.49 Croissant Bennedict
$6.98 Mickey Jr Waffles with Strawberries
$5.58 Milk x2
$6.18 OJ x2
$- Water x1
$45.21 Total
$9.04 Tip
$54.25 Breakfast

Hungry Bear Lunch
$17.18 2x 1/3 lb. Bacon Cheeseburger
$8.49 Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
$3.29 Onion Rings
$2.79 French Fries
$5.99 Chicken Breast Nuggets
$2.99 Arroz con Pollo
$8.07 3xSoda
$3.18 2xApple Juice
$51.98 Total
$- Tip
$51.98 Lunch

Aeriels Grotto Dinner
$95.97 3 Adults
$17.99 1 Child
$- 1 Toddler
$113.96 Total
$17.09 Tip
$131.05 Dinner

Snacks
$18.00 6x Sodas/Water in the park
$5.50 2x Dole Whip
$5.80 Corn Dog
$29.30 Total

Total for Breakfast, Lunch,
$266.59 Character Dinner, and Snacks

Now this is for a day with a Character Dinner. Without a Character dinner I could see a Counter service Dinner being priced more like the counter service lunch + $10. So Maybe just under $200 on days without character meals and $275 for days with character meals
 
We aren't doing any character meals but we are doing the BB with my entire family on one of the days for LUNCH. We'll probably do counter service for most of the other meals...white water is one of our favorites.

We MAY do a breakfast if I can find somewhere that does gluten free pancakes but my kids aren't huge eaters, they graze all day so I'm bringing lots of healthy snacks for them.
 
Here are some menus to assist:

http://allears.net/dlr/din/menu/menus.htm#dl

I've read in other posts, for allergies, when you make your PSs, mention to the customer service rep that there are allergies, and they can advise or point you in the right direction. I'm working from memory here, but I'm sure I read somewhere that someone has had gluten-free pancakes and waffles made, but it did have to be previously mentioned. Someone else may be able to provide more info on that.
 


Ok here is my estimate for 1 day for 3 Adults and 2 Toddlers:

Carnation Café Breakfast
$8.49 Apple Pancakes
$8.49 Croissantwhich
$9.49 Croissant Bennedict
$6.98 Mickey Jr Waffles with Strawberries
$5.58 Milk x2
$6.18 OJ x2
$- Water x1
$45.21 Total
$9.04 Tip
$54.25 Breakfast

Hungry Bear Lunch
$17.18 2x 1/3 lb. Bacon Cheeseburger
$8.49 Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
$3.29 Onion Rings
$2.79 French Fries
$5.99 Chicken Breast Nuggets
$2.99 Arroz con Pollo
$8.07 3xSoda
$3.18 2xApple Juice
$51.98 Total
$- Tip
$51.98 Lunch

Aeriels Grotto Dinner
$95.97 3 Adults
$17.99 1 Child
$- 1 Toddler
$113.96 Total
$17.09 Tip
$131.05 Dinner

Snacks
$18.00 6x Sodas/Water in the park
$5.50 2x Dole Whip
$5.80 Corn Dog
$29.30 Total

Total for Breakfast, Lunch,
$266.59 Character Dinner, and Snacks

Now this is for a day with a Character Dinner. Without a Character dinner I could see a Counter service Dinner being priced more like the counter service lunch + $10. So Maybe just under $200 on days without character meals and $275 for days with character meals


That seems like alot of food. Are you planning on being there during extended park hours?
 
i notice that when we are on a disneyland vacation, if we eat too often within the parks, everybody has "tummy issues", as we call it around our house, lol. in essence, nobody gets enough fiber, so everybody ends up pretty uncomfortable. NO FUN.

i've seen other threads on this board about the same thing, so it's not just us who experience uneasy tummies from too much DLR food.

soooo, to combat this problem, we've learned over the years, that the more we can eat like we eat at home, the better off we ALL are. we typically keep some kind of healthy-ish cereal in the hotel room (shredded wheat, cheerios), plus milk in the fridge. we carry in apples, granola bars, raisins, stuff like that. we drink only water. we often even bring in items like pb&j sandwiches for the kids to snack on.

we do eat some meals in the park, but they always seem to have the same effect. last time we visted DLR we were there for 5 days, and we actually left during the middle of most days to eat at our hotel (bought some roasted chicken at a nearby restaurant).

obviously, the best side effect of all of this is that we all feel much more comfortable when eating this way. but the other nice side effect is that we save a ton of money. we are a family of 6, and we were getting through days at DLR spending about $35-$50, and that included the meals of roasted chicken (el pollo loco) that we bought to have at our hotel.

granted, we don't typically buy a ton of snacks while in the park (we bring granola bars and raisins). we grab churros while we're at el pollo loco (2 for $1), and we don't really let the kids have too much candy or sugary drinks. so, i'm sure this saves us money in the long run while at DLR, too.

on this trip we'll probably do breakfast (cereal or yogurt and fruit) in the hotel before we leave (last year we just ate bananas while standing in line before opening on most days - but we're not big breakfast eaters), bring in some turkey sandwiches and fruit for lunch (we recently got a Picnic At Ascot insulated backpack, so cool! will keep the food safely chilled...), and then buy dinner in the parks. we're only there for 2 days this trip, so i'm hoping that's enough "normal food" for everyone to still feel their best.

so, the point i was trying to make was that with a little preparation (almost all hotel rooms have fridges and microwaves), and an insulated backpack, you can bring in healthier food and spend a lot less, if that works better for you.

hope you have a great time!
 
That seems like alot of food. Are you planning on being there during extended park hours?

Durring the 7 days we are there the parks close at 11 or 12 on all but 2 of the nights And if you look at the stuff on the list it really is not that much food for 3 adults and 2 kids!
 
Durring the 7 days we are there the parks close at 11 or 12 on all but 2 of the nights And if you look at the stuff on the list it really is not that much food for 3 adults and 2 kids!

Didn't mean to imply anything bad. Glad the hours are longer when you are going.

For the OP, we grab a quick bite from the hotel or what we ordered online while waiting in line for rope drop. We will then do a late seating for breakfast to make it more of a brunch. Snacks around 2:00, dinner around 5:30 and a snack around 9:00 for Fantasmic. We always try to have a character meal a day to get the autographs without waiting in line. and we will do BB, Tratoria and a DTD place. We average $150 per day for our family of 3. This trip DMIL is coming so we are averaging $200 for our plans
 
This past summer our family of four, including 2 teenage boys ate for about $100 a day. We did this by counter meals only and often splitting meals. Other times we just had an ice cream cone for lunch. We had a peanut mix to snack on in the morning so we wouldn't have to stop and eat during the "prime time". Oh yeah, no sodas, just free water.
 
hi there, we were there last september, so then my kids were 16,14, and 12 and then my dh and i.... we averaged about 90-110 a day on snacks/food...we NEVER got 5 meals, the portions are huge(most days we got 4 meals)...i shared a meal usually with my 12 yr old...once in a while i would share with my 14 ds and we would also get a side salad...some days we even spent a little less, some days a little more...we brought in a small amount of snacks, but very little BUT we did bring in water bottles...we all drink tons of water and i figure i save a whole lot this way...we never did any character meals or it would have really upped the amount...we always ate a huge breakfast, small lunch, big dinner and snacks...have fun:banana: 9 more months and we will be there too...
sharon
 
Anybody else experience this..? When we were there, none of us had much of an appetite. I think we were just excited to be there, distracted... I think I realize, now, why my kids hardly eat anything when we go over to their cousins' for dinner; they're having so much fun or are so distracted, they're just not that hungry. Even a cup of cereal in the morning in the hotel-- I couldn't finish it, I was raring to get out the door!

When we did eat, we all found ourselves mostly wanting healthy stuff-- fruit, veggies, lots of water. Go figure, because I'm a raging chocoholic. But we still had those "tummy issues", too. (that thread awhile back was frank and funny! :rotfl: )

So when we went, we each ordered our own meal in restaurants, and a lot of it was left on the plate. This time, we'll know to split meals. We didn't need to spend so much on meals for each of us.
 
When we did Universal (Orlando) last Dec we budgeted 100.00 and we kept to it for the most part. But that wasn't character meals.

Even now when we go to DL we would budget 100.00 a day not including character meals. If we planned a character meal we would have to up that day. But we never ever ate 3 sit down meals in 1 day. We rarely were that hungry.

We ate Breakfast in our room, lunch in the park which was usually just a snack type item, and then had dinner either in the park or off site.

When we get to DL next weekend we have 1 character meal planned for the week, and other than that we will eat at counter service for lunch or back in our room if we go back for a break, and then dinner will probably be off site at a nearby restaurant.

I expect to spend 75.00 a day this time since it's just me, DD 3 & DN 10.
 
Gail, we had the same issue about not eating. The girls would start getting really unreasonable and dh and I would think they were tired/overwhelmed. We'd sit down and have a little snack and then all was right with the world. They were hungry more than tired. But b/c they were so excited they wouldn't eat more than a few bites at a time.
 
That does seem like a lot of food to me.

We typically eat breakfast at the hotel (buy cereal and fruit). We bring lots of snacks and power bars. Or course, one of the best ways to stay in a budget is to NOT buy drinks in the park. Every restaurant will give you free ice, or ice water. This saves a ton of money. We also would make PB&J. This really helps too.

Then we would have dinner out at a restaurant, sometimes in the park most of the times outside.

I bet we only spent $75 a day (if even that!) for a family of 4. Me, DH, DD16 and DS12.
 
Anybody else experience this..? When we were there, none of us had much of an appetite. I think we were just excited to be there, distracted... I think I realize, now, why my kids hardly eat anything when we go over to their cousins' for dinner; they're having so much fun or are so distracted, they're just not that hungry. Even a cup of cereal in the morning in the hotel-- I couldn't finish it, I was raring to get out the door!

When we did eat, we all found ourselves mostly wanting healthy stuff-- fruit, veggies, lots of water. Go figure, because I'm a raging chocoholic. But we still had those "tummy issues", too. (that thread awhile back was frank and funny! :rotfl: )

So when we went, we each ordered our own meal in restaurants, and a lot of it was left on the plate. This time, we'll know to split meals. We didn't need to spend so much on meals for each of us.

That's us too. We are not breakfast eaters normally so a late breakfast/brunch is about perfect. We bring snacks and waters into the park. I usually pack some lunch stuff in a cooler and leave it in a locker. Nothing major. Maybe PB&J, some fruit, and a sweet. We do a sit down dinner if we're hungry. Otherwise we just grab a decent snack.

We really find we're not very hungry at the park. That's why I make sure we have enough water, protein snacks, and fruits/veggies. Like someone else said, It helps to eat like we do at home. Keeps our tummies in balance.

Normally I can get by with budgeting about $30 pp, per day. We stay pretty well within our budget even with a sit down dinner / character meal or two during our stay. Of course, we usually split any meals we buy anyway since they're so big.

Forgot to mention it's usually myself and at least one teenage girl, but usually two of three.
 
3 adults and I plan on $85/day for 2 meals and snacks. Some days will be more some less. We will likely bring in some food for my DD15 who is vegan and has only VERY limited choice on food.
 

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