$600!!!

[DSLRuser]

I always budget dinner for 4 @ $125. After drinks and tips that tends to be accurate. (1 child , 3 adults)

 

[Harambe]

I think Disney has gone wild with the buffet prices. We don't do them as much, and also only do about 6 or 7 TS dinners per 10 day visit. We don't do ddp because we usually only have lunch and dinner at restaurants, with some days being 2 QS places and other days being 1 QS and 1 TS. Also, the 10% discount for Visa members is handy - on a big bill for 4 people, you do see some savings! And of course, eating breakfast in your room saves plenty of money, too.

 

[kreckl]

That's only one buffet! The kids are huge eaters, so a buffet is actually fine for us. When I think of all of the other meals too, $600 for 4 meals seems like a lot to me!

 

[Turn the Page]

You know, when we were there last fall I really didn't find the prices to be all that out of line compared to sit down places at home. A little more, yes, but not all that much.

When DH and I go out it is pretty typical for us to spend around $100 including tip. More if we order a bottle of wine. Of course, at home, we don't eat out every meal like you do on vacation. We had a 2bdr villa on our last trip and cooked almost all of our meals there. I have to say, it doesn't work for everyone but that is the way to go for us. I just feel like the cost of food adds up so much over the course of a week, cooking in the room saves so much money, the quality is often better (unless you are eating at signature restaurants every day) and unless you are eating QS each meal I think eating in the room saves a ton of time too.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

We've switched up our restaurant choices the last couple of years. We're happy at the Plaza for dinner vs. Crystal Palace which we used to always do, Beaches and Cream vs. Cape May Cafe, Via Napoli for pizza vs. Chefs de France. We'll do one character meal each trip instead of three or four and go for breakfast or maybe lunch instead of dinner. For the same price we can have an amazing meal locally, I just stopped feeling like the value was there. The food and menu options used to be much better, imo. I still enjoy going to the restaurants I just try to find more economical choices that we enjoy.

 

[goofy4prez]

That's only one buffet! The kids are huge eaters, so a buffet is actually fine for us. When I think of all of the other meals too, $600 for 4 meals seems like a lot to me!

I guess I'm a bit of a free spender at WDW when it comes to dining. I easily spend 3X that for our group of 4; but then again we prefer signature restaurants for dinner. Like a previous post, I spent $600 for two last year at V&A in the QVR. I personally think that for a family of 4 spending $600 for 8 nights is pretty good. I commend you, I couldn't do it and be happy.

 

[kreckl]

No- that's only for 4 table dinners! We prefer a sit down meal everyday....That's not figuring in all of the other meals and snacks.

 

[Aliceacc]

Lunches are cheaper than dinners. You can sometimes get a late lunch and call it dinner.

 

[goofy4prez]

No- that's only for 4 table dinners! We prefer a sit down meal everyday....That's not figuring in all of the other meals and snacks.

Perhaps I'm getting slow in thinking as I get further and further past age 50. Are you saying four sit down dinners for each individual which would be a total of 16 for the group at a cost of $37.50 per meal which would be pretty good? Or are you saying 1 sit down per person for a total of 4 TS's at a cost of $150? The way I'm understanding this is the former and not the later, which at $37.50 is pretty good. Sure I get there are still snacks and CS's to add in, but that total if I"m thinking right is really not bad in Disney.

Or another possibility; are you saying that you are spending $600 at one meal (Boma?) for the four of you In the words of a 70's TV icon, Vinnie Barbarino, " I'm so confused." LOL

 

[MaryKatesMom]

When my DD's moved to the 9-12 category, it was a bit of a sticker shock for sure.

I went to the beer garden for lunch and for myself and 2 DD's it was $92 and one of the DD's only had a spoonful of mac and cheese and bread. We had to move to TS's that would let us order the kids meals and away from buffets. Not all restaurants allow children over 9 to order kids meals.

 

[mrzrich]

Lunches are cheaper than dinners. You can sometimes get a late lunch and call it dinner.

This used to be the case, but many Disney restaurants have converted to one all day menu.

 

[L&Lfan]

We usually spend around $1600 for 8 TS meals for two adults (male) but that includes several rounds of cocktails.

 

[kreckl]

We are trying to plan for our trip. I thought we could do with fewer table service meals than usual, and save some $ since we are bringing along a friend for ds this time. So we chose 4 sit down meals ( we are there for 8 nights.) Just for those four meals- it will be $600 ( 4 people.) We still need 4 more dinners, and 16 meals for breakfast and lunch, plus snacks. We will do what we can in our studio as far as light meals and snacks but will often not be in our room. My son eats constantly, especially if its carbs which don't last long. For example if he has a muffin and fruit in an hour he's starving. Walking around all day he gets even hungrier than usual. I'm debating about getting the DP for part of our trip- it could cover more expensive meals if we plan right and then we would have snacks and counter service meals to play with. Plus I think it will save us from needing to buy 4 refillable mugs...But that would be $240+ each day as the counter service meal plan doesn't seem worth it~

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have TIW card and over a 10 day period probably spend around 1500 to 2000 for 4 people. That usually includes a bottle of wine with each dinner and a few lunches. We don't go to parks but hang out at resort all day and go out for nice dinner most nights. We get a one or two bedroom with a full kitchen so I make breakfast and lunch in room. And maybe a dinner or two. But We're from Chicago so 150 to 200 for a nice dinner for 4 people is pretty reasonable to us.

 

[2girlsmom]

4 meals for 4 people, then, so 16 consumed meals (4x4), I think $600 is pretty close. The thing about the dining plan is you have to buy it for length of stay, you can't pick and choose it. We also have TIW, and we've pretty much given up on buffets as my 17 year old never eats enough to be close to worth it. We also frequently aim to only eat 2 times per day (with a snack or two in there, of course), and schedule our TS for breakfast a lot of the time as late as possible. For example, this past weekend we went to Kona for breakfast at 10:50am (so think brunch). We had 10 of us, and after my TIW discount, the total bill was only $190 for all 10. But for lunch/dinner, we would expect to pay close to double that price. We will be back the end of the month for my daughter's birthday, and have late lunch reservations for 5 people, I expect that would be roughly a $200 meal. I'm not saying I like the pricing, I certainly don't! But then, if we go to Cracker Barrel with our 4, its still about $60-70, and that's not at Disney, I expect Disney pricing to be higher than off site.

 

[kreckl]

We are doing a split stay, so do have the option of having a meal plan for part of the trip...

 

[disneyseniors]

I agree that the buffets are getting ridiculous! We usually have an arrival day tradition of eating at Liberty Tree Tavern in MK. However, last year it was closed for refurb, so I just picked a sit down restaurant randomly. I settled on Crystal Palace, for the two of us adults. We had eaten their before with the ddp, so I never thought about the cost! Well, our buffet at lunch ran $80 plus without tip! For lunch! The food was warmed over local buffet food and not good enough for that. I know we paid for the characters, but honestly, I never even considered the characters, as we are in our 60's and it is not a priority We did not do the Disney dining plan that time, and never gave the ts meals a thought before.
Lesson learned: check out the prices before booking We did very well without the ddp for the rest of the trip mealwise, but never again at the CP for us. We saved money by going OOP this time which worked for us. I can see needing the ddp for families with children or teenagers(who never seem to fill up). Sorry, just sort of rambling, but I feel your pain, OP

 

[tami82]

I know that is what I figured ours would be. We are staying 7 nights (this time without free dining) and will be dining off & onsite this time. I need to book probably 3 onsite meals and estimation was around what you said. Ohana & Biergarten are going to be the biggest ones and the 3rd will have to be a cheaper option. I don't know if I can afford a 4th TS meal but maybe doing a counter service or two for dinner wont be a bad thing either as there are a bunch they I really like. I almost forgot that we will be doing some counter service for lunch too so this is going to add up quick.

 

[cmarsh31]

I always budget about $100/dinner for my family of 4 (DD eats off the kids' menu, DS always eats adult meals... and he doesn't have cheap taste) when we go on any vacation so for Disney that seems pretty standard. Between food and airfare, vacations involve a lot of budgeting for us.

 

[Sugart]

I usually plan on 2000 for my family of five for 6 nights. We are not big breakfast eaters, Starbucks in the parks, but do plan ts on most nights. One way we save money I guess. Then again I don't really think about it. California grill cost us around 400 last October, artist point was 300 but we were comped the entire meal except for tip. I still think there are plenty of really good affordable food options though.