Budget & Last Minute Anxiety

[SHAMIL10]

Please review my food budget- I need reassurance that we won't have to starve the last day or two or eat crackers. Experienced DIS's please tell me I have nothing to worry about.

We are family of 5, myself, DH, DD9, DS8, DS 5
We plan to eat cereal, poptarts, etc for breakfast in room & I plan to bring at least 1 "snack" to the parks

Fri 12/17
Lunch- counter service at MK- probably pecos bills $40
Snacks- allowing $20 for something at the park.
Dinner- ESPN club $60

Sat 12/18
Lunch - Pizzafari $30
Snack - $20
Dinner - Whispering Canyon PS $75.00

Sun 12/19
Lunch Prime Time Cafe $60.00
snack 20
Dinner Earl of Sandwich/McD/ 45.00

Mon 12/20
Lunch -around the world $45
Ice Cream Social $45
counter service at epcot $60


Tues 12/21
Lunch counter service @ MGM $40
Snack 20
Dinner ????? 60

Wed 12/22
Departure Day -will eat lunch off site somewhere $40
Snack 20
Dinner @ airport $50


I think this totals up to be around $750- I actually will have around $1000 - but you know how things can go astray on vacation. Just wanted to get a 2nd opinion on our budget. We tend to be pretty casual when it comes to meals, pizza, burgers, chicken strips,etc. I think between the 3 kids they will most likely share 2 kids meals, or 1 adult meal & 1 kids meal. Thanks for your help.

 

[Jynohn]

I think you'll be fine. I was worried about the food budget on our last trip too but we ended up with money to spare

I think we overestimated how hungry we would actually be. I had lots of PS's planned, but many times after eating a big meal earlier in the day we were only hungry for a snack later on. Your budget seems pretty much on target to me.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[goofyforlife]

I think your budget looks good....

There's still corners that could be cut.....

Such as:

(Get double cheeseburger at Pecos or other Counter services ...order extra bun for about $1 more. They give you plenty of fries that will feed two.)

(If you're eating at pizzafari get AK childrens meal certificates with will include a snack. Look at the meals section on Mousesavers.com for more info on this)

But I think your budget leaves enough room to flex here and there if things cost more at one one seating....

The last trip we would bring our breakfest (bagel and fruitcups) in a backpack into the parks with us. Ate those around 10 ish and avoided kids wanting mid-morning snacks and lunch could be later.

Have fun at the parks!

 

[Kristina]

Looks really good but I'm wondering if you've thought of drinks in between meals? Although I guess it is cooler in December so everyone won't need to drink as much as we did in the beginning of November. For us it was really hot out so we brought 4 bottles of water to the parks for just the two of us, but those went pretty quickly. We always ended up buying a few big bottles in between meals, and after 14 days I guess we spent quite a bit.

Good luck and have fun! Gosh I wish we were back there now!

 

[Lucky4me]

We went in August and drank 3x the amount of water as we do in December. I'd still buy some and take a couple into the parks. You'll save a lot over buying soda.

Your budget is fine. We usually eat a quick breakfast in the room, snacks at the parks and one big meal a day. Our average is usually less than $100 a day for 2 adults and 2 kids.

 

[RobinMarie]

Looks good!

Have you considered:

Sat 12/18
Lunch - Pizzafari $30
Snack - $20
Dinner - Whispering Canyon PS $75.00

3 Kids Meals = 6.00 ea + tax = 20ish dollars.
This will include a snack for later + another beverage
Purchase an adult voucher(s) depending on how your family likes to eat.

Description of vouchers below from mousesavers.com

The Animal Kingdom "Meal Plus" Program allows you to purchase a special voucher at any Animal Kingdom counter service restaurant (Restaurantosaurus, Flame Tree Barbecue, Pizzafari, or Tusker House) that entitles you to the following:

counter service meal with small drink (non-alcoholic)
coupon for a box of popcorn or an ice cream
coupon for a bottle of water

The cost is $11.99 for adults and $5.99 for kids, which is quite a good deal considering that the higher-priced counter service meals alone can set you back that much, once you add the drink. The vouchers are only good the day you purchase them.

 

[SHAMIL10]

Thanks for the reassurance. I have looked into the meal vouchers at AK and was thinking about trying it. Also as far as drinks-when I went in May - I know I went through several bottles of water per day. We will probably bring 1 or 2 bottles in between, and probably buy a soda here or there as well.

Thanks for your replies!!

 

[FIRE ANT]

Another idea, we take those water bottles with the straps, then we can fill up anywhere. If you don't like the tase of the water you can take one of those little powdered drink things ( Like Crystal lite) and add it to your water.

 

[CheapMom]

We did the thing that goofyforlife suggested at Pecos Bills- with the double cheeseburger and extra bun. Their fixins bar rocks and we had plenty for everyone. You can add cheese to your fries at the fixins bar too (and chili maybe? someone will correct me if I am wrong) It was really cheap.
Goofyforlife - my husband used to work in Frederick- and looky looky at our counters!