Budget of $100 per day????

[disneydolphin2]

Hello all
Is $100 a day for two adults and two kids,( aged 10 and 13 )enough for food and snacks???

We have a seperate budget for souvenirs so this would be just for food and drinks.
We are also not planning on eating onsite every day and are hoping to take advantage of some of the attractive and cheap(!!) sounding buffets located on I-Drive.
If you have been and reckon we need more please reply as we would rather take too much than not enough.........and if we have spare cash then im sure ill manage to get rid of it somehow.......Downtown Disney .. im coming!

 

[pegasusEH]

For 2 adults and 1 child we allow $100 a day and have always found that to be more than enough. We tend to go for a breakfast, skip lunch and have an evening meal.

It will depend on where you eat though and the number of drinks you buy in the parks. If in doubt, take a bit extra - it will always come in useful!

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

I think $100 is enough ... unless you like to eat at the expensive places all the time, order soda with each meal, need to eat like a pig, etc.

I think for the normal, counter-service, few snacks in my backpack types you'll be fine with $100/day.

 

[SidB]

$100 seems just about right. As per the previous message, if you're going for a buffet breakfast you won't need lunch.

We've (2 adults and 2 kids) just come back and as a guide these are the sort of amounts we paid for dinner;

IHOP £35
MacDonalds £15
Kobe (Japanese) £58
Cafe Tu Tu Tango £48
Bill Wong's (Chinese) £30
Chili's £28
Olive Garden £34
Tony Roma's £36
Takeaway pizza £15

I'd happily go back to any of the places I've listed. I think the most we paid for breakfast was £18.

Some advise;
Always use the money-off vouchers (you'll find them everywhere). Don't forget that you'll need to add the tax (7% I think) to the menu price.
Don't forget the tip (15%).
Soda is cheap (normally free refills), beer is reasonable, wine etc is more expensive.
Buy your snacks at Wal-Mart. It's so much cheaper than the local shops.
If you're beer drinkers, buy it at Wal-Mart and keep it in your fridge (most hotels have them in the room). It's way cheaper than buying it in restaurants.
If you're not too hungry think about having a main dish between 2 of you.
Don't buy any food at the parks. It's expensive and generally of poorer quality.
You'll find water fountains at all the parks. If you'd prefer soda, take your own.

When you underspend think about going to one of the more expensive restaurants. I'd recommend Cade Tu Tu Tango.

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

We always take one of those water bottle holders with a shoulder strap into the parks and refill it from the drinking fountains (our family all have the same germs so we don't mind sharing). We just have to keep my 18 yr old son from swinging it around and hitting someone!!

Anyway, I thought men from the UK liked their beer warm! LOL. My previous boss was a Brit and always preferred his warm.

 

[bengunn]

Originally posted by TRAPPED-PARENT
Anyway, I thought men from the UK liked their beer warm! LOL. My previous boss was a Brit and always preferred his warm.

UK beer is meant to be drunk warm - US beer is definitely meant to be drunk cold, otherwise it is not so nice LOL.

 

[neo's white rabbit]

Richard

One tip already mentioned here, but oft repeated is the picking up of cheap insulated water bottles with shoulder straps from the likes of Wal-Mart and refilling those from the water fountains in the parks.

The world over it seems to be drinks that cost a fortune when out and about, especially when you're a captive audience in a hot place!

Now somewhere on these boards I know I read about set meals at some of the park restaurents that give you a voucher for an icecream and a drink that you can use at a vendors stall later in the day? Would solve the issue of children who absolutely have to have something from a stall!

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

Thanks for the clarification on the beer temperature!!!

I've read about a "meal deal" at AK on these boards.

 

[BevS97]

Ak do a meal deal, I haven't seen it elsewhere.

i would recommend eating in the parks occassionally, there are some lovely restaurants and I consider them as much a part of the experience as the rides themselves. That being said, it's worth a little research to pick the better restaurants, and they are more expensive so you don't want to be having 3 meals a day in the parks.

We bought a great plastic drinks bottle in Walmart (89p I think), and then when we bought a soda, we would split it between 2 of us, giving my dd the plastic bottle which she found easier to manage than the huge disposable cups. It was also easier to carry it around the park than the typical cup that is provided.

Bev

 

[mmaria]

we take the powdered lemanade and sweet teas (i got those here at from a coffe shop) then refill our water bottles at the water fountains ,add the powder ,shake ,taste much better than the yucky water even slighty warm,saved us I would guess $15 dollars every couple of hours easy....you can ask for ice off the venders too ,they don't seem to mind.

 

[neo's white rabbit]

I think you're referring to the tea mixes they sell in Whittards?

 

[bengunn]

We bought a couple of excellent water bottles from the camping and fishing section of Walmart. I think that they were about $5-7 each and they had insulated covers with straps plus a sachet which you put in the freezer overnight and then fitted into the cover. We filled them with ice and water in the morning and topped them up from the drinking fountains around the parks. They would stay cold for several hours and were real life savers in August; what ever you do make sure that you drink plenty of water, especially in the summer months.

The meal deal is only in AK and is a real bargain; you get a meal with a drink and then vouchers to buy a bottle of soda and an icecream either later that day or on another day (but it has to be in AK). I wish that the other parks would do this as you save even on the initial meal and it is great to have to buy an icecream later on

 

[neo's white rabbit]

Hello Richard I thought I remembered it was one of your trip reports that mentioned the AK deal. You're right, it's a pity more of the parks don't do this - it's a great idea.

So, are you planning your next trip yet?

 

[bengunn]

Hi Neo,

No trips planned at the moment I am afraid. With our daughter about to finish at university and our son about to go, it is too expensive even on a budget of $100 a day (to get back on topic ).

 

[vernon]

While it's perfectly possible to get by on $100 per day, it's also easy to exceed that amount. It does depend on what type of food you're looking to enjoy. The disney dinner buffets ( Cape May, Chef Mickey etc) could easily set you back $100 on their own as can eating at any of the nicer restaurants in Epcot or on property. Alcohol can also bump up your total, wine is IMHO very expensive in the US and beers are $3 or $4 a pop. If you want a couple of beers or cocktails each plus a bottle of wine to share you should allow $30-50 per "session".

I'd put an average of $20-25 for breakfast for a family of four ( character breakfast meals $60-70), for lunch/dinner I'd allow $30 for counter service, $50 for "casual" table service with $100 and more quite easily reached at the better classy places. When you look at drinks and snacks during the day I think it's safer to allow a little more. Personally I tend to budget on $150 -175 a day.

 

[disneydolphin2]

Thanks everyone for helping

This board is great!!