$100 a day?

[brocklesnar69]

Just curious... Its going to be JUST me and one other person going on a 12 day trip to WDW in January. Now, I will pretty much be in charge of spending, and I am a fairly conservative person when it comes to money. So how much per day does it cost to be at WDW? (We are staying on Disney Property and will NOT be leaving it at any time during those days expet to go to and from the airport.)

 

[linskypens]

Depending on what you buy and what you eat...you can do it for 100 a day
any full service meal or more than 20 keppsake will put you over

 

[DIS-NH]

Your bigest expense will be food. I suggest visiting allearsnet.com and viewing the menu's (with prices) for all on property resteraunts and food service.

You may not have a lot left over for shopping !!

Good Luck.

 

[twinspluscade]

You could do it for under $100/day easy if you eat all counter-service meals, and only buy a few souvouners (sp). I am not a souviner person--I just don't get into that sort of thing--so our last trip I bought just a picture album, and that was it for me (dh and kids got a few things also). As for food, you can get a counter-service meal for one person (including drink) for about $10 if you skip dessert. You can check prices for all restaurants--counter service and table service--on allearsnet.
So, it really just depends on your shopping/eating habits.

 

[hniki234]

My DBF and I can get by on $100 a day. You could even do a few TS meals and still stay in your budget.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

It all depends- I spend about $25 a day on food, but some people spend $60 on one meal. Are you planning to buy photos, pins, etc?

 

[fAnnF]

You can definitely live on 100 a day. dbf and I spend maybe 20-25 per CS meal and 50-60 for TS lunch, only 3 for a week long trip. then a some left over for suvies. the only thing we don't count as part of our 100 a day is the photopass cd we buy every trip.

 

[Steven41782]

Watch out for food and those darn gift shops and you'll be fine!

-Steven

 

[brocklesnar69]

It all depends- I spend about $25 a day on food, but some people spend $60 on one meal. Are you planning to buy photos, pins, etc?

I'll definatly buy some souvniers, but only stuff I feel I cant live without... So if I see something I think is "neat" then I'll probably pass. As for food, I was thinking of packing a suitcase full of little goodies. And I dont plan on eating at the super fancy places either. "Fast" disney food will do it for me.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Does your $100 include or exclude resort and park tickets?

 

[Miss Stitch]

We spent $100 per day last year, although we stayed off-site in hotel with free breakfast. We only ate counter service, Mcdonalds etc. Ate breakfast, then either cs at lunch or dinner and a snack at other. that was for two adults and three kids. McDonalds at DTD cost us about $30 for all of us, same for CS. So even with two meals a day we still had around $40 per day for snacks?drinks and souveniers. We also bought water bottles and refilled from the fountains. It does help that we are very plain eaters and only eat fast food, Would have loved to have a counter of TS meals for the theming but couldnt find any menus we all agreed on !!

 

[Leota]

Does your $100 include or exclude resort and park tickets?

I'm wondering the same thing. I find $100 a day for 2 very tight even if it includes tickets & resort. Undoable if not. I can't eat all Counter Service tho, I need my sit-down dinners.

I'm stressing about our upcoming Mother's Day trip & trying to keep under $125 a day for food, beverages & little extras. And I rarely buy souvies anymore. DH & I could keep it to $100 and eat a CS & a TS. But DS, my 18 yo eating Machine? - No Way.

 

[almburr]

Are you on the DDP? IF you are than it is very do able.

 

[FantasmicDreams]

It depends entirely on what you plan to eat, drink, buy...

 

[FigNewton]

Are you on the DDP? IF you are than it is very do able.

Amen to that. If you don't want to skimp on meals, the DDP is the only way to go. It's a huge money saver.

 

[Indy's Girl]

If the $100 is after resort and tickets are paid for, then it is doable. Look into the dining plan for sure , you can get it for approx. $40 a day per person. This would leave you with $60 to spend on misc. stuff, and with the dining plan you can eat table service too instead of just counter service. Counter service alone might get to be too much after 12 days!

 

[pepe of ohio]

My wife and I have, for the last bunch of visits, sharing alot of meals. Disney meals, counter service included, are huge. We do not like walking around with over stuffed stomachs so we split almost every meal. We're in our late 50's, we're not cheap, but find if we share most meals, there is room for snacks from the hand carts and desserts from TS meals. A few places we have our own favorites but mostly its a communal thing. She likes what I like and vice versa and we do the grocery stop and our fridge is loaded with sandwich makin's for pool picnics, beer and wine and pop. We do not like the Dining Plan, too much food, feeling over full is miserable especially in the Florida heat. We have some sit downs but not alot so our budget is cheap and we're happy when leaving becaused we tried alot of things we wouldn't normally.

 

[JudyS]

I think the lowest I ever spent in a day while at Disney was $7. However, that was staying in a DVC suite that had a kitchen, so I'd have breakfast and dinner in the room, and I'm not counting the cost of the groceries I had purchased. Also, I'm a diabetic and a vegetarian, so I often "sneak in" food to the parks -- it's too hard to find food that meets my dietary restrictions.

If I didn't have a kitchen, I'd probably spend more like $30 a day on food. So, yeah, it's doable, especially if you're willing to sneak in some nuts or granola bars and a bottle of water that you refill from the water fountains.

I think that if you ask on the budget board, you will find plenty of families of four who have kept their food/souvenir expenses to under $100 a day.

 

[Bete]

You definitely can't get into alcoholic beverages with that budget. If you want three meals a day, you're dead on that budget. Most Disney guests go with two meals a day.

When we go on a tight budget, we will bring breakfast items and enjoy them in our room. A couple of cans of nuts goes a long way for a good snack, too. You can bring those items whether you drive or fly there. If you are driving I'd use a cooler and bring groceries.

You'll want to stay away from any places where tips are expected--sit down meals. Use your food court at your resort; it's probably going to be the best deal. Avoid impulse items like extra beverages at the parks or that ice cream novelty, etc. One hint: In Epcot you can get FREE Coke beverages in Ice Cool Station. Use this place coming and going from that park.

If you eat at the parks, then counter service will be the way to go. Some places give you huge portions like the place in Morroco in Epcot's World Showcase. Counter service in the The Land Pavillon of Epcot has good portions, too. Depending on your appetite you can share meals. You can get tap water at probably all counter service places for your drink. All Ears is a wonderful web site to go over menus and prices everywhere Disney like a previous poster mentioned. You can get children meals to save some money.

With all this said I have to say part of the enjoyable experience at Disney World is to go and experience sit-down meals. The atmosphere is quite fun like Prime Time Cafe in MGM-Disney Studios. You can definitely share meals there; the portions are the biggest I've seen anywhere Disney. With twelve days at Disney World I would get tired of all counter service meals and/or food court meals. Also, I don't like tight budgets. Vacation should be a little more fun and that includes dining.

 

[Disney Doll]

I am assuming you are talking sopendinig money only and are not including ticket prices into that amount. Presumably you have already purchased or will be purchasing one of their long-term ticket options, and that is coming from a different part of the budget.

When DH & I go by ourselves, we tend to average about $100-$125/day on food, souvenirs and other miscellaneous. Some days we may spend $150 because we do a fancier meal, but then the next day we may just be doing "grazing" all day (like if we walk the WS at Epcot, we have a little snack in a few of the countries and never actually sit down for a meal), so maybe that day we spend $75, so it evens out.

I do allow $125/day though, because I don't like to spend my vacation saying "Well, if we have that Mickey bar, we're over budget." It is vacation, after all.