budgeting...how much do you spend?

[Hayleybot]

So...How much does everyone set aside for food in the Parks and souveniors? I figured Dh and I would eat probably two meals a day plus a snack for three days in the park and throwing in the occasional kids meal since DS doesn't eat much/eats what we have would be at most $100 a day. Is that outrageous or not enough? I was also thinking $150 in souveniors for the three of us.

 

[kymom99]

Our meals for 3 of us averaged around $45 each for lunch at counter service places. We had 3 adult meals at Hungry Bear with 2 fountain drinks and a cupcake for around that much. Then we had 3 meals at Flo's for about the same. No dessert that time. (Our 13 year old is starting to eat like a grown man! )

 

[BlueBayou]

So...How much does everyone set aside for food in the Parks and souveniors? I figured Dh and I would eat probably two meals a day plus a snack for three days in the park and throwing in the occasional kids meal since DS doesn't eat much/eats what we have would be at most $100 a day. Is that outrageous or not enough? I was also thinking $150 in souveniors for the three of us.

A lot of places have portions large enough to split. My DH and I frequently do that. If you are not eating fancy sit down meals - $100 could work.

 

[ToodlesRN]

I always use the $100 a day figure, some days were not close to spending $100 and others we go over. This includes food and souvenirs throughout our trip for 2 adults and 2 children. We do spilt meals to save on cost.

 

[interstate70s]

Our family of 4 averages about 40-60 for CS but our kids are still ordering off the kids menu. We usually get drinks, dessert occasionally. We don 't buy a lot of snacks as I usually bring those. TS really depends on where we eat. If you google specific restaurant menus, you can find prices and get an idea.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

wow i guess im cheap i spend 25 at a meal for two of us and a kid.
we do plan one meal of some type a day. this time we will do two char meals surfs up and plaza inn and cct, other then those we plan on 25 (sun dinner at stage door cafe). we will plan 25 for dinner at the Halloween party.
15 for a lunch at the village hus.

we take pepsi and split it with free cups of ice, and drink free glasses of ice water it worked we only bought one cup of soda one time in may the suviner glass

 

[interstate70s]

wow i guess im cheap i spend 25 at a meal for two of us and a kid.
we do plan one meal of some type a day. this time we will do two char meals surfs up and plaza inn and cct, other then those we plan on 25 (sun dinner at stage door cafe). we will plan 25 for dinner at the Halloween party.
15 for a lunch at the village hus.

we take pepsi and split it with free cups of ice, and drink free glasses of ice water it worked we only bought one cup of soda one time in may the suviner glass

I never thought of splitting the drinks! Good idea, thanks!

 

[CheshireGato]

Another way to save money on drinks is to get free cups of ice water and add crystal light powder packages.

 

[Rubygoose]

My kids Dd5,Ds2.5 like to snack all day, eat small breakfasts and lunches but will eat a large dinner. They often share a kids meal between the two of them. At Plaza Inn we ordered one adult chicken dinner and one child's chicken dinner between the four of us, and they gave us an extra Mickey shaped plate so the kids could share. We like to plan the character meals between regular meal times, that way we kind of combine two meals into one. We did Minnie and friends at 10:00am, had a very light breakfast that morning (I think the kids had goldfish crackers while we walked to the park) then we skipped lunch, had icecream at around 1pm and then had an early dinner.

 

[Carolynleanne]

We only do one purchased meal and one purchased snack a day at the park - and we usually only do counter service. So for us it's about $30 a day for two adults and one young child.

 

[belle'ssister]

Another way to save money on drinks is to get free cups of ice water and add crystal light powder packages.

Do all the counter service restaurants give free ice water?

 

[squirrel]

Do all the counter service restaurants give free ice water?

Yes, any place that has the fountain drinks should be able to give you free ice water or a cup of ice.

At WDW, I had the CM use the same (disposable) cup to refill our reusable ones as we were completely out of water. This saved wasting a few disposable cups.

I also bring Crystal Light and Nestea packages to flavor the water, it's not great tasting in FL. Not sure what CA water tastes like, it's been awhile.

 

[CrazyDuck]

Food: $50 per person per day
Souvenirs: $100 per person per day or $500 per person per trip (whichever is less)

 

[Steamboat Philly]

Seeing these responses makes me think I went a little overboard this year! My DW, 2 DD's and myself went for 5 days in June and probably spent appx. $2300 total. And that's even with our 20% CM discount! But we did do a lot of TS. Blue Bayou, Carnation Cafe twice, Steakhouse 55, Goofy's Kitchen, and Wine Country Trattoria. So I guess it really just depends what kind of food/experience you're looking for.

 

[lana772]

Seeing these responses makes me think I went a little overboard this year! My DW, 2 DD's and myself went for 5 days in June and probably spent appx. $2300 total. And that's even with our 20% CM discount! But we did do a lot of TS. Blue Bayou, Carnation Cafe twice, Steakhouse 55, Goofy's Kitchen, and Wine Country Trattoria. So I guess it really just depends what kind of food/experience you're looking for.

Don't feel like you went over board. I was a little shocked at how cheap some people manage it. We (family of 4) always budget $400 a day for meals. We do at least one sit down meal a day (adv cost $150 for lunch at Blue Bayou or breakfast at Storytellers). We have had days that we didn't budget enough and we have had days we had extra. One DL trip a few years back we had enough left over when we came back we treated the kids with a Playstation. I guess it all depends on where you eat. We also always include enough for those spur of the moment treats like a cupcake or Mickey cookie.

 

[lana772]

So...How much does everyone set aside for food in the Parks and souveniors? I figured Dh and I would eat probably two meals a day plus a snack for three days in the park and throwing in the occasional kids meal since DS doesn't eat much/eats what we have would be at most $100 a day. Is that outrageous or not enough? I was also thinking $150 in souveniors for the three of us.

here are links to menus and prices.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/dining/menus.cfm

http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/menus/dl/Disneyland.shtml

 

[disneychrista]

I plan $15/meal per person per day and always spend less.

We are not huge suvieneer people, this is really something personal to the person. T-shirts $25, Sweatshirts - $50, Pins - $10. I am planning on $100 for this trip because I need/want a new T-shirt & sweatshirt.

 

[lana772]

Remember it's almost $5 for a Dole Whip (thats $20 there if the whole family wants one), $3.50 for a scoop of ice cream and $3 for a Mint Julep. One trip for a pretty small drink will be $12 for the family.



Sorry- just saw that you are a family of 3 ... $15 for Dole whips then

 

[lana772]

You can save $ on souvenirs by purchasing things ahead at the Disney Store in the mall and surprise your children with them there, but if your child wants a stuffed Mickey in the park be ready to pay at least $30 for it.

 

[Spixydust]

We always do one meal at one of the food stands, a chimichanga or a turkey leg or a corn dog, and one TS meal.

We spend our days planning our route around our favorite food stands Chimi stand doesn't usually open until after 11, sometimes later than that.

It makes me sad to get there ready to sink my fangs into a chimi and they don't open until much later.