Am I kidding myself?

[Lvsdisney]

I think it depends on your family and how much you eat. We're not big eaters so my DD 6 and DD 2.5 could actually share a kids meal! I would usually get a kids meal too and we'd save the grapes/apples as snacks throughout the day. We spent 5 days in the parks, ate breakfast in our room, and only spent $300 on food. We did bring in some snacks and drinks, so we didn't pay For those in the parks.

 

[Marionnette]

My family of six myself, DH, two teenagers, and 2 DDs 6,3 are headed to Disney the second week of March. No dining plan so everything OOP. We plan on doing counter service and have three TS Cape May Dinner, Ohana Dinner, and Sci Fi Lunch. Can I realistically stay under my food budget of 1400 for the seven day trip? We will eat breakfast in the room and I will not be bringing food into the parks. I just feel like that takes away from vacation because we pack lunches everyday in our regular lives. I have a separate budget for snacks so the 1400 would be for all the lunches and dinners for the six of us. We are definitely open to sharing. Do you think I'm kidding myself??

Is it possible? Yes. You'll get a lot of suggestions on how to make it work.

Is it probable? Not likely. Half of your food budget is going to be consumed in the 3 TS meals that you have planned.That leaves you with $700 to cover about 11 QS meals for 6 people.

Would I want to attempt it with two teenagers? No. I raised 3 kids. Teenagers are always hungry, especially the boys. There was a time when I couldn't keep enough food in the house to satisfy my sons' hunger! And on vacation, they never seemed to stop eating.

The last thing that you want when you're on vacation is to be stressing out over whether you have enough money to feed your family. Sharing meals sounds like a good idea until one kid wants chicken fingers and the other wants fish sticks. And Mom ends up eating their leftovers instead of ordering a meal for herself because she doesn't want to deal with the bickering. A $200 bump in the food budget would give you some wiggle room and allow you to relax a bit, say "yes" to the kids when they don't want to share (and maybe cover a couple of poolside cocktails for Mom & Dad).

Have a great trip!

 

[kymom99]

Regardless of your budget I would have snacks to carry around as others have said. I know you are a parent so I don't mean to insult you but older kids like to eat when the mood strikes. We just got back from a trip to dc and I had things for my son like pb bagels and cheese crackers. He ate them here and there and it kept him from getting too hungry between meals. I know you have a snack budget but it really doesn't take much to throw in some beef sticks and such. That way if you have a fp scheduled and someone is starving you are in good shape.

 

[Momto2minniemice]

I think It might be tight but you can pull it off if you share some meals. My girls were 12 and 6 a lot of the time they did not want that much to eat for one reason or another. I figured get less eat it all and then get more if needed. I understand about not wanting to pack anything but a few snacks in line can be a lifesaver for not only the kids but you as well. Amazing the power of goldfish!

 

[focusondisney]

A few posters have suggested sharing table service meals. The OP has 3 table service meals listed & 2 of them are all you can eat meals, no sharing at those, everyone at the table will be charged. So the only place they can share a ts meal would be at Sci Fi. They're burgers are good sized, but I don't know if they are big enough that a teen would want to share. We have also noticed that the amount of fries you get there has decreased recently, so again, might make sharing harder.

 

[wilkeliza]

I'm confused by all the carry in the snacks suggestions. The OP clearly stated they have a separate snack budget so the money is only for the actual meal times not those times in between where they may get hungry and want a pretzel or a muffin or something.

 

[Knaedudley]

Thanks for all the input. I think I will raise the budget to 2000 and definitely plan to pack gummies, goldfish and snacks like that for the little girls because as someone said they tend to want to eat when they get hungry and I think having snacks for them will save some additional funds in the long run.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We are 2 adults and a teen and easily spend close to your original budget on food for the week when we do a TS each night. I think your $2000 is just about right given that it is only 3 TS.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Is it possible?

The last thing that you want when you're on vacation is to be stressing out over whether you have enough money to feed your family. Sharing meals sounds like a good idea until one kid wants chicken fingers and the other wants fish sticks. And Mom ends up eating their leftovers instead of ordering a meal for herself because she doesn't want to deal with the bickering. A $200 bump in the food budget would give you some wiggle room and allow you to relax a bit, say "yes" to the kids when they don't want to share (and maybe cover a couple of poolside cocktails for Mom & Dad).

Have a great trip!

This! It's why we do DDP most of the time. I am a planner and a budget er, stretcher of a dollar in normal circumstances, but I don't want to stress about it on vacation.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Another vote for bringing in snacks. Even if we aren't going super-budget, I bring in granola bars and packages of peanut butter crackers. These aren't meant to replace fancy Disney snacks so much as, it's inevitable that you're in line for an attraction and somebody says they're hungry. The snacks (and carried-in water) take care of the immediate need. Not only does this save money (and time!), but I find that it makes the occasional Mickey bar or funnel cake that much more special. We also don't buy snacks for 6 all at once. Well, maybe ice cream, but we'll buy, say, 2 funnel cakes to split between the 6 of us.

 

[Hikergirl]

A few posters have suggested sharing table service meals. The OP has 3 table service meals listed & 2 of them are all you can eat meals, no sharing at those, everyone at the table will be charged. So the only place they can share a ts meal would be at Sci Fi. They're burgers are good sized, but I don't know if they are big enough that a teen would want to share. We have also noticed that the amount of fries you get there has decreased recently, so again, might make sharing harder.

Thanks for mentioning that because I went back and checked my post and I did say to share TS meals. I meant CS meals so I edited.

 

[wendow]

Another vote for bringing in snacks. Even if we aren't going super-budget, I bring in granola bars and packages of peanut butter crackers. These aren't meant to replace fancy Disney snacks so much as, it's inevitable that you're in line for an attraction and somebody says they're hungry. The snacks (and carried-in water) take care of the immediate need. Not only does this save money (and time!), but I find that it makes the occasional Mickey bar or funnel cake that much more special. We also don't buy snacks for 6 all at once. Well, maybe ice cream, but we'll buy, say, 2 funnel cakes to split between the 6 of us.

We do the same on sharing snacks. There are six of us and we typically will share 3 Mickey pretzels, 3 churros or 2 funnel cakes. Ice cream is different but we all don't eat that anyway.

And I love having my own snacks. As do my kids. I don't buy a lot of prepackaged snacks normally so for WDW, I buy those small pringles canisters and snack size cookies like oreos and chips a hoy. Those are special to my kids and lets me save some money. And yes, makes the real Mickey snacks that much more special!

 

[Donna3271]

OP,
I send a box from Amazon Pantry to the room. My kids love opening it, and seeing what is inside. I fill it with gatorade, water, snacks. And they feel it is not like me bringing home made snacks (all in the psychology with the kids!!)

The box usually runs me around $50. I fill it up, and the flat shipping rate is $5.

 

[Marionnette]

Thanks for all the input. I think I will raise the budget to 2000 and definitely plan to pack gummies, goldfish and snacks like that for the little girls because as someone said they tend to want to eat when they get hungry and I think having snacks for them will save some additional funds in the long run.

Not only will it save money, it will save your sanity! A hungry child is a cranky child. When you join a 45-minute line, you don't want to hear "I'm hungry" every 5 minutes. Much easier to break out the goldfish and peace reigns!

 

[QueenIsabella]

We do the same on sharing snacks. There are six of us and we typically will share 3 Mickey pretzels, 3 churros or 2 funnel cakes. Ice cream is different but we all don't eat that anyway.

And I love having my own snacks. As do my kids. I don't buy a lot of prepackaged snacks normally so for WDW, I buy those small pringles canisters and snack size cookies like oreos and chips a hoy. Those are special to my kids and lets me save some money. And yes, makes the real Mickey snacks that much more special!

Me too! When we rent a house to go to WDW, it's a huge deal when I make break-and-bake cookies. Normally, I'm way too cheap to buy these, but it's vacation, right? My kids say, they know they're on vacation when they smell the break-and bake cookies in the oven! Ditto for prepackaged snacks--again, I'm way too cheap to buy these on a regular day (4 kids!), but I'll splurge for vacation. I do try to go for ones with a little protein (trail mix, peanuts), just so there's less of a sugar crash. Maybe I'll throw all caution to the wind and buy some of those flavor packets for drinks, too--live dangerously!

 

[kymom99]

One time my son was teetering on the brink of a meltdown. We had been so preoccupied going from attraction to attraction we didn't realize how long it had been since we had something to eat or drink. In those cases, a pack of gummy snacks can save your life!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

thats what i budget for 2 adults and a 4 year old for a week at the parks. I wouldn't be able to feed 6 on that budget.

 

[robinb]

The food portions are huge, so pair up people to share. There is no need for leftovers. You can order an extra side or item or save room for dessert.

I disagree that food portions are "huge" as they are not for me or my family. So, OP if you're not a regular "sharer" I wouldn't count on one portion to feed multiple people.

 

[wendow]

I disagree that food portions are "huge" as they are not for me or my family. So, OP if you're not a regular "sharer" I wouldn't count on one portion to feed multiple people.

We do share at WDW but I agree with you. I would not call the portions 'huge'. They are fine for us because we do like to get lots of different foods while there (I love the snacks!) so I don't mind a light meal and then an hour later stopping for a treat.

 

[kymom99]

I have heard you can order just the main food item for less and skip the sides like buy a burger and skip the fries. You could order one meal plus one extra burger for 2 people and share the fries to save a bit.