Dining Budget

[joedplumber]

So we are in the super early stages of planning/budgeting a July 2013 5 night trip to WDW! Yay!!!

Anyway, we visited on property in 2012 and used the dining plan.

This year we are going with another family and are planning on staying at WBC.

So, since we used the dining plan last year I really have no idea what food actually would cost out of pocket.

What I do know is that we are 2 adults and 2 children and we plan on having breakfast & coffee at our room (as we always do) and having QS for lunches and TS for dinner and 1 character meal (Chef Mickey).

My thought of a budget was $180 a night for meals or $900 for the whole trip. My only adjustment might be is to add to the $900 what the cost of Chef Mickey would be.

Can anyone comment and let me know if that sounds like it is in the ballpark?

Thanks!!!

 

[eliza61]

One easy thing to do is to go to allears.net and check out the menus. It will give you some price ideas.

Some things that pop in my head.

1) we eat way different in the summer than we do in the winter or fall. I'm sure you know July is africa hot so when we go in the summer (in August) we seem to eat lighter and spend way more money on drinks and ice cream. LOL

2) plan according to how you really eat. you'll get lots of great tips here just make sure they are doable. for example a lot of people share meals to keep the cost down. Honestly that has never been some thing that my family can successfully do. I've yet to eat at one wdw restaurant where if dh and I split a meal both of us are satisfied. so what ends up happening is that we would split the meal then snack, snack, snack. No big money savings. even my kids managed to eat their full meals (especially lunches)

3) is that 180 including tips and tax? recalculate if it isn't to get a true amount. does it include the occasional snack. I use to bring snacks into the parks but no matter how much I packed my kids (and the big kids. LOL) always wanted some ice cream or such every now and then.

180 a day (before tip) is around what we average but that's an average so some days (RFC) the tab is higher and some days much lower. I'd probably bump it up to 200 to feel comfortable.

 

[auger]

As eliza61 said, use the menus on allears to figure more accurate pricing.

We are not big on TS meals on property.
When we go, I plan for 1 CS every day of our trip.
I know that we do not buy drinks (we all prefer water to soft drinks), and we do not eat desserts.
So I figure about $35/day for the three of us (which covers tax), and I tend to add in $15/day for a snack, even though we usually only get 1 or 2 snacks the entire trip.
But I prefer to over-estimate our costs and be pleasantly surprised in the end when I have leftover money!!

For TS, you will probably make reservations anyway, so you will know where you plan to eat.
Check the menus and prices on allears.
Figure out what are the most expensive things you may choose, and set your budget to those costs.
The last thing you want to do is run short and spend more than you expected.
And remember to figure tax and tips!!

 

[tikkipoo]

I make an entire spreadsheet for our dining. With us staying 8 days (7 nights) for the 3 of us, I am predicting to spend about $1000 (includes tax and tips). That is breakfast in the room, counter service lunch and dinner on property at one of the restaurants. That is sharing meals where I think we can and eating childrens meals as much as possible.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

Another vote for looking at the menus and planning out prices. My meal budget and your meal budget could vary by quite a bit

 

[joedplumber]

Thanks everyone.

Here is my thought process.

Figure on average it's $25 per adult for a TS entry and $15 per child for a TS child's menu entry. With beverage's (no appetizers or deserts, normal for us) I am figuring $110 with tax and tip.

For QS I figure $17 per adult and $12 per child so about $70 with taxes and beverages.

I am ok with being +/- $100 off of budget at the end of the trip.

Water is always brought into the park never purchased and we do always usually have an ice cream or some other kind of snack but that is a different budget line item for us. Meal budget is strictly meals (Lunch & Dinner).

I think budgeting is one of the most fun parts of planning.. lol

 

[auger]

I don't do TS often, but the last time I did, it seems like some meals cost us more than your $25pp.
Of course, it all depends on what TS you're going to and what you order.

Keep in mind, also, that Disney changes prices often. They even up meal prices during certain crowd/holiday seasons.

Just to be safe, I would check out allears.net and make sure you will be able to eat for that $25pp.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Thanks everyone.

Here is my thought process.

Figure on average it's $25 per adult for a TS entry and $15 per child for a TS child's menu entry. With beverage's (no appetizers or deserts, normal for us) I am figuring $110 with tax and tip.

For QS I figure $17 per adult and $12 per child so about $70 with taxes and beverages.

I am ok with being +/- $100 off of budget at the end of the trip.

Water is always brought into the park never purchased and we do always usually have an ice cream or some other kind of snack but that is a different budget line item for us. Meal budget is strictly meals (Lunch & Dinner).

I think budgeting is one of the most fun parts of planning.. lol

I think you are pretty close with the exception of character meals. Also for TS meals dont forget to include tips which can add significantly to the cost PP.