Average cost for a family of 4 CS?

[scrapbookmommy]

We are going at the end of May and will get the gc for staying in a Disney Resort. We have a few table service meals planned and will use the gc to pay for those. Plan to eat breakfast in the room most days. So we will be paying OOP for lunch cs meals. I know it depends on the family but I will be paying for 3 adults and one child. We don't plan to eat anything big just a quick meal to keep us going until dinner. I'm just trying to figure out a budget for meals. So if you had to guess what would you say an average family could expect to spend on CS meals? Thanks!

 

[stepdisney]

I would take a moment and go over to allears to check out the menus of the places you would frequent the most. They have the prices listed and you can get a very good idea just how much you will spend based on how much your family would eat and what the choices would be. Enjoy your trip!

 

[minnierocks]

Definitely check out the menus...but when we pay OOP, I budget about $30 for a CS. We do this by sharing meals. There are many places that have huge portions and if you are just looking for a light bite to eat, then sharing is the way to save some $$$...another way is to order kid's meals for everyone.
Some of the places where we share meals...Flame Tree BBQ (AK), Wolfgang Puck Express and The Earl of Sandwich (DTD), also in the resort food court. The Plaza in MK is a sit-down restaurant, but is very reasonable in price and we have shared a meal there as well.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

We usually spend between $50-$70 for CS lunch for 4 of us, 2 adults, 2 teen.

It depends though. If you only get a hot dog or turkey leg it will be less.

Sometimes if we at early at a character meal my daughter and I will split a sandwich at lunch as they are huge.

 

[Nina]

We just got back from Disney and it cost us about $50 for each counter service. That was for 4 adult meals that averaged about $8 per meal & then 2 kids meals that were around $5 each. We also split 2 large drinks instead of everyone getting their own.

 

[PoohsFan1]

For our family (2 Adults & 2 Kids (6 and 8)), we average around $40-$60 for CS meals. It all depends on if we get deserts or not. I know that when we go to Pecos Bills in MK, we spend around $46 for all 4 of us.....that is with 3 taco salads, a pulled port sandwich, and drinks for all of us.

 

[jen42002]

I agree with the pp. $50 would be a good ballpark cost for your family.

 

[lauralong81]

So if you had to guess what would you say an average family could expect to spend on CS meals? Thanks!

-
No guessing here, I'm a costing specialist (part of my job). I actually just did a spreadsheet on this very thing, trying to figure out the value of the DDP. I took all of the CS locations at all the parks, and took the menus off of AllEars. From each menu, I then figured the cost of two kids meals with two drinks (most of the time included), plus two adult meals with two drinks. I did not add for desserts, as we would not normally order them if we were not on DDP. For the adult meals I took one mid-high priced one and one lower priced one, as that is typically what we order. Math all said and done - Average overall for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids ordering from kids menu) was $32.29. I believe the range was somewhere around $25 on the low end to $45 on the high end. Also, this is no tax included.

If you want, I'd be happy to share the spreadsheet analyzing the costs of dining at Disney, including TS meals. I'd be happy to share my OCDD (obsessive compulsive Disney Disorder) with someone!

HTH,
Laura

 

[Tricia1972]

-
No guessing here, I'm a costing specialist (part of my job). I actually just did a spreadsheet on this very thing, trying to figure out the value of the DDP. I took all of the CS locations at all the parks, and took the menus off of AllEars. From each menu, I then figured the cost of two kids meals with two drinks (most of the time included), plus two adult meals with two drinks. I did not add for desserts, as we would not normally order them if we were not on DDP. For the adult meals I took one mid-high priced one and one lower priced one, as that is typically what we order. Math all said and done - Average overall for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids ordering from kids menu) was $32.29. I believe the range was somewhere around $25 on the low end to $45 on the high end. Also, this is no tax included.

If you want, I'd be happy to share the spreadsheet analyzing the costs of dining at Disney, including TS meals. I'd be happy to share my OCDD (obsessive compulsive Disney Disorder) with someone!

HTH,
Laura

Laura, you may want to check out Robinb's spreadsheets too, they are interesting and posted online. You can find them here is:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/MYM-Dining-Planner.xls and http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/2009/DisneyDiningRanking2009.htm

 

[lauralong81]

Laura, you may want to check out Robinb's spreadsheets too, they are interesting and posted online. You can find them here is:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/MYM-Dining-Planner.xls and http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/2009/DisneyDiningRanking2009.htm

Oh very cool! Our numbers look close too, very cool I was sort of hoping there would be some kids meals equations in there, but it is still very cool. RIGHT up my geeky alley!!!

 

[scrapbookmommy]

WOW! Thanks for all the responses!! I know it varies from family to family but I was just wondering about a good estimate. Thanks for all your help!