Food prices anxiety!

[jrandall]

Am I crazy to be having anxiety over how much I need to spend on meals? It will be 3 adults, 1 child, 2 toddlers under 3. We are bringing my MIL so I am factoring her meals in as well just to be on the safe side. I haven't been on vacation in awhile (or with kids) so I am seriously freaking out at how much I will be spending. I am planning to do 4 TS meals but may cut it down to 2. I am figuring we will eat breakfast in the room and I'm also planning 1 snack per person a day so even if we don't use that it is planned for. I am really trying not to plan too much but I can't seem to decide how much to bring without planning out some. Also we are driving so may need a bit more for anything on the way. I'm factoring $1200 fir all of us for an entire week sat-sun. Does this seem reasonable? I know everyone has different touring/eating ideas so that is probably a hard question to answer. Has anyone had a similar situation to compare! I think I just need to ease my mind in some way.

 

[clambert1273]

lol ours will be about 3K for 9 nights - 3 "adults" and 1 under 9

 

[smcabee]

Can you do it for $1200 sure. Depends on what you eat and drink. As you mentioned everyone is different. Your best bet is to check out the various menu sites and look at the prices and compare those to your budget. My wife and I spend close to $2000 on just the two of us for food/drink during the week but we routinely do multiple signature restaurants and have cocktails.

 

[BellsFam]

I used a combination of the AYCTE prices listed here in the boards, the website distripplanner(which is outdated) and the disney website for menus...

I made mostly estimates where I had to and other factors... I've gotten to $1350 for two adults one child based on our ADRs also (a lot of character buffet)...I've also added about $250 for in park snacks... So $1500 all together...

Do I think it will come in less, hopefully! But I'm over estimated so id rather plan for the over and end up under than vice versa!!!

 

[nat8199]

We are going to spend an absolutely absurd amount on food for our family of 5. It is well worth it, though, for a week in the world without having to cook!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Disney is crazy expensive and my family are 3 meals a day people. When we go on vacation I don't like to think about money so I want to make sure I have enough. I even factor in souvenir money. When we were booking our Disney package I went through and calculated everything and we decided to get the dining plan. It was just easier for us. We will have 3 meals a day and everything is already paid for and I wouldn't have the exact same anxiety that you are going through. Everything at Disney is super expensive I mean cheeseburgers are $15.99 at most places in the parks...Where do they get the cows from that allows them to charge that much, lol. Anyways I have expensive taste, so for us without the dining plan to go from Sunday-Saturday for me, my hubby, my DS8, and my DS1 1/2 it was going to be around 2K...You can do Disney on a $1200 budget but thats probably assuming everyone gets the cheapest thing on the menu and no deserts or apps and definitely no signature meals.

 

[sharonabe]

Can you give us an idea of the TS you're thinking of doing? Does everyone want a beverage other than water? Any alcohol? Will the 2 under 3 yrs need a meal of their own or will their share with the table? A little more info will help us help you.

My family of four Disney adults could eat for your $1200/week and include some TS, but we prefer water and don't do many desserts.

 

[jrandall]

I know it's so hard to figure this out without planning everything. Of course the other two adults are no help & do not plan anything at all. But they have never been to disney so I'm taking over the planning. I may even budget $1500 so we are not so close. I took into account snacks but no wine or anything so that should probably be added too. This is getting too complicated

 

[clambert1273]

www.distripplanner.com

Plug in all the places you want to eat and snacks etc... at the bottom it will give an OOP price

 

[Jojo200]

We go often. I have 4 adult children, but looking at your family configuration I am still not sure how I could even fit 2 table service meals into your budget. I would not panic, there are plenty of good counter service places to eat at (indoors and outdoors) and we never seem to finish our individual meals so you could split some meals and just order more if needed. We bring a case of water because it's painful to pay what they charge. Having a plan ahead of time is good though, especially on a budget. With the introduction of the magic band charging I am always in sticker shock when our bill gets emailed to us on the last day. I love the convenience, but it is easy to spend a lot more than you think that way for us with so many grown children who want to eat their way through Disney.

 

[jrandall]

We only drink water and coffee daily (I'm bringing bottled water & juice for kids)
but maybe a glass of wine or two through the week.im thinking a snack would replace any desserts. We probably wouldn't get these with a meal. My plan is to do Boma since we will be staying at AKL probably once for dinner and once for breakfast. Akerhus for breakfast, Via Napoli dinner. My 8 year old barely eats but I'm figuring a meal for her & probably another kids meal to share with the 1 & 2 year old (unless a buffet then will share with us)

 

[sharonabe]

Disney is crazy expensive and my family are 3 meals a day people. When we go on vacation I don't like to think about money so I want to make sure I have enough. I even factor in souvenir money. When we were booking our Disney package I went through and calculated everything and we decided to get the dining plan. It was just easier for us. We will have 3 meals a day and everything is already paid for and I wouldn't have the exact same anxiety that you are going through. Everything at Disney is super expensive I mean cheeseburgers are $15.99 at most places in the parks...Where do they get the cows from that allows them to charge that much, lol. Anyways I have expensive taste, so for us without the dining plan to go from Sunday-Saturday for me, my hubby, my DS8, and my DS1 1/2 it was going to be around 2K...You can do Disney on a $1200 budget but thats probably assuming everyone gets the cheapest thing on the menu and no deserts or apps and definitely no signature meals.

Cheeseburgers are NOT $15.99 at most places in the parks. You can get a QS burger for $10, which is a lot compared with out of the parks, but they're not $16. A TS burger may be $15.99, but most burgers at comparative places out of the parks are $12-13. You also don't have to eat the cheapest thing on the menu or skip desserts. Signature meals would be difficult on a $1200 budget.

Question: are you getting the DxDDP for a week or the regular DDP? The regular DDP will not provide 3 meals/day.

 

[jrandall]

I think I will use that planner to get an idea if I'm on track. I don't want to plan it out too much because with my luck the other two adults will change all my plans and that will frustrate me haha! But it will give me a better idea. I don't want to penny pinch while there but want to have a reasonable idea so we don't blow a budget in one day which I can imagine my husband will do!
Also we are not doing the dining plan.
I have looked at menus & honestly I don't think the meals are outrageous. I think it's the combination of the entire week plus splurging on vacation (we never eat out) that is giving me anxiety.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Cheeseburgers are NOT $15.99 at most places in the parks. You can get a QS burger for $10, which is a lot compared with out of the parks, but they're not $16. A TS burger may be $15.99, but most burgers at comparative places out of the parks are $12-13. You also don't have to eat the cheapest thing on the menu or skip desserts. Signature meals would be difficult on a $1200 budget.

Question: are you getting the DxDDP for a week or the regular DDP? The regular DDP will not provide 3 meals/day.

We are on the Deluxe Dining plan, and at the TS locations that I looked at a lot of the burgers were up there in price. None of them were as cheap as $10. They may have been 13-14 but then add tip onto that and it gets you up there

 

[Asc341]

DH and I live in NYC, which I mention because 1) sticker prices at Disney and Manhattan are often comparable and 2) we've got access to great restaurants at home, so we don't go to Disney for the food, and almost exclusively eat QS. Having said that, we're pretty frugal, and I definitely have my "I'm paying too much" freak-out moments. What has helped me is to remember that we would be spending money at home to eat as well (even if the money is only spent on groceries) and by subtracting our average weekly food expenses from our projected Disney food costs, I find the "true cost" of our vacation meals. In our case, the vacation meal price ends up being MUCH easier to stomach after I factor in our home expenses.

 

[verleniahall]

Are you staying on site? it may be cheaper to plan yoru vacation as a package adn purchase the dinign plan - we paid oop for all of our meals last yera and we were NOt expecting the price to be as high as it was. This year - they are paid for in advance and I dont' have to worry about it

 

[minnie mum]

Since I found the websites that have both the menus and prices for the Disney restaurants, I've had much less to worry about than when I had to plan blindly. Its just another part of the planning now. Estimate the cost of eating while on the road. Factor in breakfast, snack, and drink items that you will bring with you. Pick the CS and TS restaurants you will eat at. Look at the menus to estimate costs for each meal. Estimate the tips for the TS meals. Add in an amount for extra snacks or drinks in the parks each day. And then add in a fudge factor (I usually bump up my total by 10% for unforseen expenses).

It all sounds daunting, but can be done surprisingly quickly with the proper resources. Then you can relax and have some confidence that you have a good handle on your food expenses. Even if the other adults want to change restaurants, unless they want to hit the signatures (just put your foot down and say no), you should be OK.

 

[sharonabe]

We only drink water and coffee daily (I'm bringing bottled water & juice for kids)
but maybe a glass of wine or two through the week.im thinking a snack would replace any desserts. We probably wouldn't get these with a meal. My plan is to do Boma since we will be staying at AKL probably once for dinner and once for breakfast. Akerhus for breakfast, Via Napoli dinner. My 8 year old barely eats but I'm figuring a meal for her & probably another kids meal to share with the 1 & 2 year old.

If coffee is only in the morning, you'll have a coffee maker in your room, but you might want to bring some extra coffee. The total for all of you at your three price fixed options is $368.48. Via Napoli is inexpensive if you can decide on a pizza to share, maybe an app and a dessert. This meal could easily be under $100. So adding in the tip for these and you're somewhere around $550. Kid's QS meals are $6. Adult entrees at QS are $10-12 on average. I would budget at least $4 per snack. Some will be less, some more, and you may not all have one every day.

 

[jrandall]

DH and I live in NYC, which I mention because 1) sticker prices at Disney and Manhattan are often comparable and 2) we've got access to great restaurants at home, so we don't go to Disney for the food, and almost exclusively eat QS. Having said that, we're pretty frugal, and I definitely have my "I'm paying too much" freak-out moments. What has helped me is to remember that we would be spending money at home to eat as well (even if the money is only spent on groceries) and by subtracting our average weekly food expenses from our projected Disney food costs, I find the "true cost" of our vacation meals. In our case, the vacation meal price ends up being MUCH easier to stomach after I factor in our home expenses.

I need to think this way!

 

[jrandall]

If coffee is only in the morning, you'll have a coffee maker in your room, but you might want to bring some extra coffee. The total for all of you at your three price fixed options is $368.48. Via Napoli is inexpensive if you can decide on a pizza to share, maybe an app and a dessert. This meal could easily be under $100. So adding in the tip for these and you're somewhere around $550. Kid's QS meals are $6. Adult entrees at QS are $10-12 on average. I would budget at least $4 per snack. Some will be less, some more, and you may not all have one every day.

Thank you!!! If it was entirely up to me I would plan to the dollar but I know other factors may change that so I think I will add a cushion to my original figure.