$40 a day for food?

[Miss Kelly]

I'm budgeting $40 a day for food (per person). Do you think this is enough? We are planning 1 sit down meal a day and the others will be counter service or food court. This does not include snacks, as they have been accounted for elsewhere in the budget. I've tried looking at the menus but it's too early to determine what we will want next year. In addition, we will have our own water bottles to take to the parks each day and *might* eat a few breakfasts' in the room before heading out.

Thanks!

 

[DizGeek]

It can be done no problem...especially with counter service.

 

[Dizzy4Dizney]

If your sitdown meal is a lunch or breakfast at the bakery, then yes. $40 is very tight to include a sit down meal for dinner. I budget $55 per day per adult, $30 for my DD.

 

[jann1033]

if you plan on your big sit down meal for lunch , especially with vkl vouchers which is enough to split as long as you can agree on what you will eat, a light breakfast usually in the room and a counter or q/c dinner most nights you should be fine especially if some are kids and you have other snack money planned.

we eat 2 meals aday out ( usually in room breakfast, a lunch and dinner or a large late breakfast and dinner)& have a budget of $33+ a day per adult for 6 1/2 days ( really 7 but 1 is a travel day and only included 1 meal at wdw ) . that is about what we used last trip, a little less this time cause we are not doing as many expensive dinners, just Boma and Trail End once each, sit down lunches at crt, bd, rfc( really dinner but with voucher), chefs and lecellier with vouchers,2 akv days) ( lunches on sit down dinner days), 2 breakfasts out( TE andWC)and 3-5 q/c vouchers which will be used at resort food courts probably ( haven't decided yet which will lower the amount we use the other 2 since i allowed $30 for that meal which will be 23+) and 2 nights of sampling at ecpcot which cost us about $30 per meal last trip

 

[DWhittles]

We will be there for 7 days and I've budgeted $700 or $100 a day for food.
The reason is because my husband refuses to plan meals. He flat out hates PS and would rather go with the flow. The only PS he's told me to make is lunch at the Castle. He hates to eat outdoors so we always end up eating at a sit down restaurant which as we all know can get expensive!
My theory is that if we have money left over, more souviners for me!

 

[crisi]

This is really a "it depends" question.

We discovered all the "mid range" sit down places (Le Cellier, Teppanyaki, Spoodles, Boma) came to about $140-60 for four adults and two children at dinnertime. Often including multiple courses and drinks - and tax and tip. So $25 or so per person - probably $35 for the adults and $10 for the preschoolers. Budget blowers for sit down are alcohol and fancier restaurants (Narcooses was much more expensive). We often split dessert or appitizers.

For lunch, we kept the same 6 people around $40.

If you eat your sit down over lunch, it will be cheaper. If you only drink water, it will be cheaper. If you think "sit down" means the California Grill, Flying Fish and Jiko, it will be more expensive. If everyone needs their own dessert it will be more expensive. If you will split meals, it will be cheaper.

For us, breakfast is a particular budget killer. I simply can't stomach $1.50 for a donut or a $2 cup of coffee. And I hate wasting precious morning park hours on food. So, except for our character breakfast, its always breakfast in the room.

 

[2Disneybuggs]

I wonder of Rachel Ray of Foodnetwork ever went to WDW for her $40 a day show.Im sure if you do counter service it can be done.

 

[DizGeek]

Originally posted by 2Disneybuggs
I wonder of Rachel Ray of Foodnetwork ever went to WDW for her $40 a day show.Im sure if you do counter service it can be done.

I saw parts of one episode when she did $40 a day in Orlando.

 

[sconnell]

I think that's do-able. Just do a little homework with the menus at allearsnet.com. If you did Donald's Breakfastasaurus at AK mid morning then an early dinner at a counter service, you would have some left over. You could apply that to another day.
BTW, what ages are you traveling with?

 

[miche61]

I think 40/day per person is very doable.

We are planning on 50-75/day for four people for our next trip. It will be me, DD11, DD8 and DS8. I usually share with oldest DD, and the younger two share. We usually get one large pop, and a large glass of ice water. We will have b-fast in the room, we'll be packing a few snacks, etc. and will have a grocery stop for water and a few other things. I have not included our surprise Chef Mickey's b-fast in that budget, that's separate. I am very sure we will be able to do it.

Michelle

 

[DWatWDW]

Thank you!

I was starting to worry that the $100/day ($25 per person) I planned for 2 adults and 2 kids was doable, with people worried about $40 per person. We are going to eat breakfast at the resort. That leaves $50 per meal. We can go cheap and get a $20 pizza at the resort, then spluge with $80 for the next meal, or just do $50 per meal.

 

[Miss Kelly]

Thanks for the responses.

We are a family of 3 adults and 2 children (although the 12 year old will be considered an adult??) So, it equals $200 a day for all of us.

My plan is to eat our sit down meal for breakfast or lunch. We are going to be at WDW for 6 days. The real killer will be the character breakfast. I hope to get vouchers for that.

Thanks again!

 

[jann1033]

Originally posted by DWatWDW
Thank you!

I was starting to worry that the $100/day ($25 per person) I planned for 2 adults and 2 kids was doable, with people worried about $40 per person. We are going to eat breakfast at the resort. That leaves $50 per meal. We can go cheap and get a $20 pizza at the resort, then spluge with $80 for the next meal, or just do $50 per meal.

we ususally find that's what we want to do anyway...last time we had more "dinners" along with sit down lunches and ended up not keeping some dinner ps just cause we were tired of eating! we don't care for sandwiches much but ended up wanted more "casual burger type" food than i thought we would so this time i planned more that way which happily meant fewer "$80 dinners"

 

[disneysteve]

Let me throw in my 2-cents from a true cheapskate.

Last trip in November 2003, we were 3 adults and 1 child (8 yo). We averaged just under $17/person/day for all meals, snacks and beverages. We ate breakfast in our condo each morning. We at lunches and dinners either in the parks, the hotels or offsite. That figure includes our travel days as well as our actual park days.

So you absoulutely can do Disney without spending a fortune on food if you plan well, drink water (tap not bottled), share meals, bring in some snacks purchased offsite ,eat breakfast in your room and eat some meals offsite.

 

[Chicago526]

I usually budget $45 per day, $25 for the sit down meal and $10 for each counter service meal. But I don't travel with kids, so you may be figureing child prices. But every time I budget $45 per person per day I've always been right on the nose!