Food Costs - How Much Did You Spend on Your Last Visit?

[3DisneyFanz]

I can't imagine that the DDP would be beneficial to your group. The only way it really works out for adults is if you eat exactly the way the plan is laid out (always ordering a soft drink at every meal, each person ordering a dessert at every meal, etc.) and everyone is ordering the most expensive items most of the time.

We've only gotten it when it was "free" and even then my wife completely stressed me out when she would order a $10 chicken dish. I have always felt completely stressed to find the most expensive items at the most expensive restaurants so the it kind of kills the fun of the Disney dining experience.

In general we aren't big TS people because we don't want to give up that much time out of our day. We'll typically hit one dinner following an AK day which will probably cease once they put in the show and later hours.

We've really gotten to a point where the 3 of us eat for about $60 bucks a day which is less than what we spent on our last trip to Myrtle Beach.

 

[isaboo]

We stopped getting the dining plan when my oldest turned 10. I just pulled up my folio from last August at AoA. We billed everything to our room, and our total bill at the end of 5 nights was $1321.79. I just went in and added up the charges that were not food (ice skating at HS for the Frozen thing & souvenirs) and the total for that was $289. So total for just food was $1032 for 5 nights for 2 adults, 1 Disney adult and 2 children. We ate at AoA food court, Beaches and Cream, Crystal Palace breakfast, 50's prime time, Via Napoli, Trail's End, and T-rex. and various other QS. We did order from GG for breakfast in our room, bottled water, and snacks so that's not included in the total. I believe the dining plan would have cost us about $1100 plus tips.

We ate what we wanted when we wanted. My teenager and I do share quite a bit because we like the same things and she has a tiny appetite. This works well for us!

 

[Accident]

For how we dine at disney, we never use the meal plan unless it's free. Groceries and continental style breakfast in the room most days, quick service lunches and 1 table service is a stretch most days. We have almost any option to dine we want at home so it's not a treat for us to run around like many do to enjoy things they just can't experience back home. We do hit some places we like or more unique in their food option. Our trips are 2 adults, father and daughter (adult daughter, not teenager).

We did do 2 trips last year and had some budget wiggle room so we decided to try it again to see first hand how the costs changed. (11 days OOP dining) and 8 day (tried the meal plan but paid for it, not a free option). We spent 35% more including the cost of the meal plan on the second trip for less days than on our first trip. For us the shocker was how much higher our food bill was trying to get the most our of our dining plan. We wanted to higher cost entree for example. It just turned into a lot more gratuity to pay per meal that wasn't included in the meal plan cost.

Now we do like to aim for free meal plan trips, there are some restaurants where we love some of their options and it's really expensive to OOP those places for what we're looking to eat. If we OOPed those places, this would probably be a very different post.

 

[mousefan73]

I did keep track one year and we did come out ahead with the DP. But the savings IMO arent so significant that it would make a difference in affording or not. If money is an issue, daily TS meals are out of price range with or without DP for larger families. If eating 2 real meals a day ( qs and Ts) then I would look into it. General rule of thumb I've figured out ifyou do character DINNER meals, ohana etc. then DP might give an edge if you add a qs meal in there. Gives you the mug and snacks which also add up.


We like the DP. We eat all meals and max out the credits. We do come out ahead and perfect for us types ( penny piches who usually say no icerCream to the kids due to sticker shock). This is are way of forcing ourselves to spend and enjoy life for a week.

 

[kmb584]

We went earlier this month and had 8 days of ADRs with a few QS meals thrown in. Some days we had two ADRs, other days it was just one. After my 20% TIW discount and with snacks thrown in, I spent $876 on food for myself and daughter.

 

[cbellasmomma]

This thread is kind of scaring me...I was hoping we could spend under $1000 (like $700 max) for 6 days (most of which will be just dd and I) including bringing snack stuff, etc. We have a 1900 Park Fare dinner and Ohana Breakfast as our only TS ADR's. BOG breakfast one day too. Under $700 doable?

 

[larissawbb]

This thread is kind of scaring me...I was hoping we could spend under $1000 (like $700 max) for 6 days (most of which will be just dd and I) including bringing snack stuff, etc. We have a 1900 Park Fare dinner and Ohana Breakfast as our only TS ADR's. BOG breakfast one day too. Under $700 doable?

You could buy a bunch of discounted gift cards and charge the food to your room including tips. Then pay the balance with the gift cards. That may help some.

 

[CodeGoddess]

You could buy a bunch of discounted gift cards and charge the food to your room including tips. Then pay the balance with the gift cards. That may help some.

Do you plan to do simple breakfasts and lunches?

We use to do breakfast for a few dollars a day per person because we are not big breakfast people. If you look at the resort menus oatmeal is $3, pastries $2-4, etc. or if you are in the all stars resorts you can walk across the street to the McDonalds (my dad use to do that and bring back food while we were getting ready).

Lunches you can do cheap or expensive. Splitting a turkey leg and bake potato were always cheap and filling but if you want to sit down some where you are probably close to $15-30 per person (based on menus online).

 

[Mike&AllisMom]

We are trying to do the math to decide if the DDP is for us since we want to a nice sit down meal each night and a couple of those be signature restaurants.

Has anyone added up what it cost them for food on their last trip? I'm curious how it compares to the DDP pricing and if you saved money.

Also for those that did the DDP, how much did you end up spending in gratuity?

We are spending an average of $114 per day for each person, includes tax & tips. We do 2 sit down meals a day, many are signature. We are purchasing the TIW card to save 20% on most meals - it's $100 and available for AP holders & FL residents (this savings is included in the $114 per day already). The dining plan is great if it's "free" otherwise for my family of 4 I prefer to pay out of pocket. We don't all get apps or desserts at every meal.

 

[Lesverts]

This thread is kind of scaring me...I was hoping we could spend under $1000 (like $700 max) for 6 days (most of which will be just dd and I) including bringing snack stuff, etc. We have a 1900 Park Fare dinner and Ohana Breakfast as our only TS ADR's. BOG breakfast one day too. Under $700 doable?

I went with my Dad for a week and we spent maybe 700 on food including two more expensive meals at BOG and the Galactic Breakfast. We didn't eat 3 times a day though and used CS often.

 

[angierae]

For more comparison's sake, according to my planning spreadsheet (numbers will get updated as 2016 prices roll out) our 9 TS meals average out to $64.25 each for two adults (including tip) and our 9 CS meals average out to $26.50 for two adults but that's not getting drinks for all of them because 3 of them will be at the resort food court and we'll have mugs.

The TS prices range from $80.92 for the most expensive (Ohana) to $33.76 for the least expensive (Kona breakfast) (Both before tip)

 

[CodeGoddess]

For more comparison's sake, according to my planning spreadsheet (numbers will get updated as 2016 prices roll out) our 9 TS meals average out to $64.25 each for two adults (including tip) and our 9 CS meals average out to $26.50 for two adults but that's not getting drinks for all of them because 3 of them will be at the resort food court and we'll have mugs.

The TS prices range from $80.92 for the most expensive (Ohana) to $33.76 for the least expensive (Kona breakfast) (Both before tip)

This is great. I had guesstimated $40 before tip for two for TS and $20 before tip for two for lunch. So it looks like I am pretty close to what you are showing.

 

[Eandbmom]

This is not including tips as I paid cash and didn't write it down. At the time we had 2 adults, 1 disney adult, and 1 child. We paid $1287.51 for the dining plan (2014). If we would have paid OOP it would have been $1608.77. So for us quite a savings. And no worries about what we were ordering. Next year it will be 2 adults and 2 disney adults so not quite as good a deal, but we still booked the dining plan.

 

[larissawbb]

I just end up getting the dining plan so my husband doesn't freak out over the prices. I do however order breakfast, water and beer from Garden Grocer.

 

[cbellasmomma]

Do you plan to do simple breakfasts and lunches?

We use to do breakfast for a few dollars a day per person because we are not big breakfast people. If you look at the resort menus oatmeal is $3, pastries $2-4, etc. or if you are in the all stars resorts you can walk across the street to the McDonalds (my dad use to do that and bring back food while we were getting ready).

Lunches you can do cheap or expensive. Splitting a turkey leg and bake potato were always cheap and filling but if you want to sit down some where you are probably close to $15-30 per person (based on menus online).

Yes but my only problem is most of the trip will just be dd and I so "running out" is not an option unless she comes with me. And (thank goodness for most of my life) she is not an early riser - 7:00 usually. So I'm stuck with what's in the room or what I can buy. I started a thread about bringing a toaster and geesh! Fahgetaboutit! I would rather pay OOP for golden egg omelettes. I am planning on buying $200 worth of discounted (5% off ) gift cards and then putting any excess (up to $700) on a credit card. Then we are into "omg disney is so freaking expensive" funds of another $300 cash.

That reminds me - when you put Gift Card amounts in the system and have a credit card on file which do they charge first? Or is that even possible?????

 

[larissawbb]

LOL your the toaster lady! If your flying Southwest , you could pack a suitcase with a few breakfast items. I know someone who brings a nuwave in her suitcase along with instant pancake mix. She also has them for her kids dorm rooms because they are as safe as a microwave. You could bring your own instant oatmeal, fresh fruit , cereal etc. Most gift shops have milk. Just use the coffee maker for hot water. I don't think that they load gift cards in the system. You can charge things to your room and then pay it off with gift cards at the front desk before it hits the preset amount and charges your card. I think the preset amounts are $500 value, $1,000 moderate and $1500 deluxe/dvc. I am not certain on those numbers though.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Wow! I'm not the OP, but I really thank everyone for posting. Now I feel so much better about what I spend since it's MUCH less. When I go solo, I know I'll be spending much more than half of what 2 people would spend. Not having anyone to share meals with, and some meals are just too big for me, meaning lots of waste. Yet, I now don't feel so bad that I'm spending $125 (at most) a day for food-eating what I want, when I want. And I don't have TIW or use the DDP.

 

[CodeGoddess]

Wow! I'm not the OP, but I really thank everyone for posting.

Agreed. I can't thank you guys enough for all the posts. <3 We are having our family planning cookout in a week here so I am taking all this information back to them so we can create a guesstimate for what each persons trip will costs.

 

[CraigInPA]

On our last trip, my wife and I spent an average of $90 per person per day (including tip). We had 7 sit down lunches, 2 sit down breakfasts, 7 signature dinners, 'Ohana dinner, and Cape May Cafe dinner. The daily spend was between $140 and $250 per day. We ate all our normal favorites, including the whole Maine lobster at Narcoossee's. To do this with the dining plan would require the deluxe plan, at $109.53 per person, and would not include the tips (which were $12-$17 per person per day). So, our OOP "magic our way" dining saved us about $30 per person per day.

 

[angierae]

This is great. I had guesstimated $40 before tip for two for TS and $20 before tip for two for lunch. So it looks like I am pretty close to what you are showing.

The menus at allears.net are invaluable, but for fixed price buffets check the post here in the forums, it is far more accurate than the range allears will give you.