A family of 4 CAN eat for $75 a day! This is how we did it....(LONG)

[poohluvr]

Thank you so much for putting out the time and effort to post this, and thanks for the tips!

 

[bobcat]

We have always averaged around $50/day for myself, 12yo DD and 9yo DS. We aren't big breakfast eaters and since we head back to the resort to swim many days we will sometimes have a sandwich at the pool. This always allows us to have a couple of character meals and we never go hungry.

Fruits are easy to find and I sometimes will buy one of the fruit bowls from the fruit stands and have it for lunch.

 

[pennyplanner]

NevBntoWDW,

You are very lucky to have a healthy family.

While your meal choices would not work for us, (one of my DS needs to avoid fried and fast food to keep from getting that nasty acid reflux!) I appreciate your sharing the info with us.

We are not soda drinkers either. I cannot believe what the added cost of drinking that stuff on a daily basis would be!!! Let's hear it for drinking water!

Thanks again,
--penny

 

[Took]

Question to the OP: Did your meal totals include tips? That always seems to push our totals up a bit.

took

 

[NvrBnToWDW]

Question to the OP: Did your meal totals include tips? That always seems to push our totals up a bit.

took

We only had 2 meals that required tipping and I had previously set that aside in an envelope too.

 

[cocodog]

Thanks for the great reviews. You certainly did a good job with your planning/ following through!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Well, not the Mexican food we're used to, at least. San Angel I think is more regional cooking and not what we're used to getting from our local Taco Cabana. I agree, though, it's actually one of my least favorities and I've tried it several times.

Were you referring to San Angel or the Cantina outside? We did not enjoy San Angel because, being from Texas, we are used to and like Tex Mex more than true Mexican, which is what San Angel serves. However, the Cantina serves "mexican" that I think is one step lower than Taco Bell. The cheese is that canned nacho cheese, black beans are horrid, and the meat is greasy and a heartburn waiting to happen. She had eaten at the Cantina and didn't enjoy the food, and I don't think it's becuase it's different than our Tex Mex, but just because it's gross =) LOL!

 

[Nora94]

I fed MY family of 4 for $80 a day and ate much better. Veggies, Desserts, Steaks, Prime Rib, Appetizers galore, Character meals, etc.

How?

The Magic Your Way Dining Plan. As I said in my report on it when I came back, we COULD have eaten for the same amount of money each day, but it would have been more like your meals, not VACATION FOOD.

Nora

 

[VickiVM]

I fed MY family of 4 for $80 a day and ate much better. Veggies, Desserts, Steaks, Prime Rib, Appetizers galore, Character meals, etc.

How?

The Magic Your Way Dining Plan. As I said in my report on it when I came back, we COULD have eaten for the same amount of money each day, but it would have been more like your meals, not VACATION FOOD.

Nora

Unfortunately for those of us with a pre-teen (10, 11, 12 years) who don't really eat in quantities like an adult, but get charged like one, the MYW doesn't really give considerable savings.

I'm budgeting about $800 for meals for the 5 of us next week which includes an 11, 8 and 6 year old. This is including sit downs at Le Cellier, 50's Prime Time, Liberty Tree Tavern and Cape May. But I think I can cut that down $50 to $100 by using some of the tips already discussed on this thread.

At any rate, I think that we can all agree that MYW is not for everyone and it's good to have the perspective of those who used it and those who didn't.

 

[VickiVM]

Were you referring to San Angel or the Cantina outside? We did not enjoy San Angel because, being from Texas, we are used to and like Tex Mex more than true Mexican, which is what San Angel serves. However, the Cantina serves "mexican" that I think is one step lower than Taco Bell. The cheese is that canned nacho cheese, black beans are horrid, and the meat is greasy and a heartburn waiting to happen. She had eaten at the Cantina and didn't enjoy the food, and I don't think it's becuase it's different than our Tex Mex, but just because it's gross =) LOL!

Yep, you're right - I mis-read. But I agree - I dislike both.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Yep, you're right - I mis-read. But I agree - I dislike both.

LOL =)

 

[Aimeedyan]

Yep, you're right - I mis-read. But I agree - I dislike both.

LOL =)

 

[cobbler]

Last year we went for 9 nights (so basically 8 days worth of food) and spent $635 for me, dh, ds8 and ds3. Which boils down to 79.38 a day with tip. Not bad.

I originally read the OP's report and thought there was NO WAY we could do this because dh doesn't share anything! He is a big eater.

Honestly though I can't remember if this included our luau meal or not. I am thinking not but I don't remember as I just put down a total and that was paid for before hand and I probably just tallied up receipts when I got home. But adding the luau isn't really an accurate account for food anyway as that isn't done every trip by any means.

We had 2 character meals, (a 3rd for me with a friend), a lot of sitdown meals at lunch time and food court or counter service for dinner. We also ate bfast in our room every day.

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

I fed MY family of 4 for $80 a day and ate much better. Veggies, Desserts, Steaks, Prime Rib, Appetizers galore, Character meals, etc.

How?

The Magic Your Way Dining Plan. As I said in my report on it when I came back, we COULD have eaten for the same amount of money each day, but it would have been more like your meals, not VACATION FOOD.

Nora

Just the caps alone lets me know where you are coming from and it is not a friendly place, right?! One of your family of four must have been a baby or a toddler and another child under 11 since it would have cost $35 for each adult, right? My family includes DS15 (6'2, 175 lbs) and DS12 (5'10, 165 lbs). That would be $140 on MYW and besides, we are DVC and are not eligible for MYW. I personally thought that the OP's meals and snacks looked fun and it made Disney an affordable place to eat!

 

[spectrum-turbo]

I have a question....

What are glow cubes that came with/in a couple of the sodas?

 

[kathylovesdisneyworl]

For anyone who wants to keep there food budget down for what ever reason this was very informative. There was alot of food for $75 a day. Just not for us, there is 2 and we like our sit down meals which alone are usually more than $75. The OP's informative report just goes to show if you want to or need to keep the cost down, it can be easily done.

 

[gopack]

This was great to read! You have inspired me to do more meal sharing on our next trip. We always throw away too much food!

 

[WDWendy]

I just wanted to say thanks for posting your report! I have been trying to get an idea of how much I will be spending on food and this was really helpful!!! You have inspired me to make up some envelopes to keep my receipts from our trip and on our next trip I can plan ahead even better. Thanks again!!!

 

[disneymom2one]

Although I'm all for sticking to a budget we also couldn't eat like that. Thankfully my nine year old prefers not to eat burgers/nuggets/fries and my husband and I choose not to for health reasons. We stick to a more reasonable budget of about $100/day for three people and are able to eat reasonably healthy, with small treats every once in awhile. But a seven day diet of fast food isn't a vacation to me at all.


--- MB

 

[cobbler]

I have a question....

What are glow cubes that came with/in a couple of the sodas?

They look like ice cubes and you smack then against a surface and they glow a color and you can put them in your drink. For kids meals the drink costs 5.99 and includes the little glow "ice" cube.