Dining Budget

[PandaBear & Boo]

Our trip is for 6 nights/7 days. This is the first trip I am not using the DDP. I am trying to figure out how much to budget for food for 2 adults. We are looking at doing 3 to 4 TS and the rest QS and snacks. What do you usually budget per day or for whole trip?

 

[eticketplease]

At a minimum I would say $100 a day.

We are always way above this though.

Some tips would be to take a look at some of the menus or use the WDW app or MDE and go through the mobile order process just don’t submit lol.

Also a good way to budget is to visit the gift card section of this site to find deals there. You can add a $25 card on your weekly trip to the grocery store and before you realize you have a good sum for your trip. You can combine the cards at disneygiftcard.com so you only have to take one down.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I agree with looking at menus. Add up what you would order at every place you plan on eating, include drinks tax and tip. Most adult QS meals end up around $20 including a drink per adult. We also budget for about $100 per person per day. That’s like one sit down, one quick service and two snacks a day.

 

[Travel60]

We eat cereal or muffin in room for breakfast and usually only one other full meal (same as at home). That meal is usually $50+pp without alcohol. Then a popcorn or other snack or an apple & cheese back at room. Once a trip we splurge on $75+ meal.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

Our trip is for 6 nights/7 days. This is the first trip I am not using the DDP. I am trying to figure out how much to budget for food for 2 adults. We are looking at doing 3 to 4 TS and the rest QS and snacks. What do you usually budget per day or for whole trip?

We just go by what the DDP would have cost us and then add another $50 per night for tips on the TS meals. We always come in under budget that way.

 

[OlliePop27]

This is really interesting, thanks for sharing everyone. I am astounded at how much people spend eating on site - like it blows my mind.

I'm not trying to be critical, and it totally makes sense. It's part of the vacation for many folks. I'm frugal by nature and always do snacks/food we bring in like PB&J, granola bars, pretzels, bottled water to refill. We often do a to-go meal from cheaper offsite options for dinner, or something in the room. Maybe 1 character meal per trip that's it.

I decided to post just for people reading thinking about the cost of a trip with food being so significant. There are ways to build in significant cost savings trying to budget a less expensive trip.

 

[eticketplease]

This is really interesting, thanks for sharing everyone. I am astounded at how much people spend eating on site - like it blows my mind.

I'm not trying to be critical, and it totally makes sense. It's part of the vacation for many folks. I'm frugal by nature and always do snacks/food we bring in like PB&J, granola bars, pretzels, bottled water to refill. We often do a to-go meal from cheaper offsite options for dinner, or something in the room. Maybe 1 character meal per trip that's it.

I decided to post just for people reading thinking about the cost of a trip with food being so significant. There are ways to build in significant cost savings trying to budget a less expensive trip.

Very good points.

We don't want to leave the bubble once we are there.

We do order groceries and eat breakfast in the room but time at Disney is more valuable to us so we don't venture off property to eat unless we are stretching DVC Points and staying a night or two off site.

We enjoy the different dining options that Disney has and some options are not much more than going offsite like the filet at Toledo is $38. We are DVC so we get 10% off so that takes it down to $34.20. We then pay with discounted gift cards which at the bare minimum is 5% off which brings that filet down to $32.49 which is a bargain in my eyes.

I'm not sure what a filet is at Outback per-say but I would gather it is close to that but we would have to fight the I-4 traffic coming and going.

 

[OlliePop27]

Very good points.

We don't want to leave the bubble once we are there.

We do order groceries and eat breakfast in the room but time at Disney is more valuable to us so we don't venture off property to eat unless we are stretching DVC Points and staying a night or two off site.

We enjoy the different dining options that Disney has and some options are not much more than going offsite like the filet at Toledo is $38. We are DVC so we get 10% off so that takes it down to $34.20. We then pay with discounted gift cards which at the bare minimum is 5% off which brings that filet down to $32.49 which is a bargain in my eyes.

I'm not sure what a filet is at Outback per-say but I would gather it is close to that but we would have to fight the I-4 traffic coming and going.

Completely understood. Please don't take anything personally or critically.

It is definitely much harder at WDW. One of many reasons I prefer DLR. We stay on Harbor and have easy access to offsite food.

I agree that a steak at Outback is expensive and likely not cheaper than onsite. Not the kind of meal I would personally be ordering. Different experiences for different people, which is fantastic! Everyone is free to spend their money however they choose!

 

[Anthony1971]

We don’t make a budget but real prices from last week: CS lunch or Dinner with water was around 15 a person if you add a soda for each person 20 a person - some more some less depending on what you order if you add alcohol 27+. CS breakfast was around 10 a person add coffee 14 or just a muffin was around 4.50. TS it will depend but with soda and an app or dessert (more than DP offers) around 60 add 10 for alcohol with tax and tip most buffets and signature are more. Take things out and it goes down. Snacks vary but figure 5-8 a snack mostly around 6. What you spend will greatly vary depending on your eating habits. One can easily eat average 100 a day for 2 add alcohol apps desserts signature buffets etc you can double that.

 

[fla4fun]

If your TS are not signature, I would budget a minimum of $60 per person, per meal. You may not spend that much at each meal, depending on whether you drink alcohol and order apps or desserts, but some meals will cost more than others and that is a good average to start with. If you consistently order alcohol, appetizers, and/or dessert, you might want to add another $20 per person. For QS, I would budget $25 per person, per meal. For snacks, $10 per person, per snack, in case you want a snack and a beverage.

So, for one day, one person with a TS, two QS, and a snack, I would budget $120. That sounds like a lot, and it is, but if you budget for that and spend less, you can bring money home. On the days when it’s three QS and a snack, you would budget $85 per person.

I agree that menus are a good way to get a decent ball park figure for budgeting. Your particular dining habits will play a big part in how expensive meals are. When I am at WDW and the weather is hot, I mostly order kids meals at QS because I don’t want a huge meal before walking in the heat. I usually have some sort of cereal or breakfast bars in my room, so I am only buying two meals instead of three, and I usually have some kind of snacks in the room as well. Food is not a primary reason for going to WDW to me but for other families it is. Each family’s budget will be different.

 

[eticketplease]

Completely understood. Please don't take anything personally or critically.

It is definitely much harder at WDW. One of many reasons I prefer DLR. We stay on Harbor and have easy access to offsite food.

I agree that a steak at Outback is expensive and likely not cheaper than onsite. Not the kind of meal I would personally be ordering. Different experiences for different people, which is fantastic! Everyone is free to spend their money however they choose!

Not personal at all I completely understand.

Growing up we get our hands stamped and retrieved our packed lunch from the locker area. On special occasions we would eat at the Blue bayou but for the most part we would bring our lunch as we lived about 30 minutes away from DL (There was no R back then it was just Disneyland lol)

 

[MICKIMINI]

I plan on $80 for a TS meal such as Boma per person with tax and tip. QS $20 with a coffee or soda. Snacks at $10. Drinks can be crazy expensive if you buy individual bottles of water, juice or soda or fancy coffee drinks! If you do buy those, plan on $4-10 each. $120-150 a day per person is not a stretch, even being frugal if you are out for 12 hours in the heat and hiking 10 miles a day!

Use those discounted GC's, Disney Visa, DVC and AP discounts wherever you can. We bring a bottle of coffee and a bottle of water each when we head out not only to save a few bucks, but more importantly it's two less lines to stand in. We often split a QS rather than each throw away food. Better to be realistic up front in setting expectations. Enjoy your trip!

 

[eticketplease]

I mostly order kids meals at QS because I don’t want a huge meal before walking in the heat.

This is a good tip as the portions are actually pretty large but obviously smaller than an adults. You can save some money this way and not get way down with the heat.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We do one qs, one ts (we do 2 character meals per trip, and some more and some less expensive places) and about 2 snacks per day. We eat breakfast in room. We had 7 people on our last trip and we spent, averaged out, $105 per person per day. We don’t do alcoholic drinks and we’re usually too full for dessert but we do occasionally get appetizers. Plus we have an under 9 child who got cheaper food but I average out $100 for him too so the real cost of the over ten year old people is actually probably a little higher but not by too much.

 

[MICKIMINI]

This is a good tip as the portions are actually pretty large but obviously smaller than an adults. You can save some money this way and not get way down with the heat.

If DH wants his OWN QS meal, I usually get a kid's meal.

I actually think it is better deal to split an adult meal if you have a willing partner as there are choices besides chicken strips. You can ask for an additional paper plate and a cup of ice to split a drink. You can pay for an additional side if you need a bit more but not a second meal. If you want a cheeseburger but not fries just ask for it that way and they will take the cost of the fries off the receipt.

 

[eticketplease]

If you want a cheeseburger but not fries just ask for it that way and they will take the cost of the fries off the receipt.

Did not know they would do this.

Will they do this off the kids meal too?

 

[MICKIMINI]

Did not know they would do this.

Will they do this off the kids meal too?

Good question. Probably, but at a lower price point it may be worth it to put those grapes in your backpack for later LOL!

Back in the day, people would make a salad from the toppings bar (I'm talking pre covid) or get a double cheeseburger and then buy an extra bun and a slice of cheese...maybe they still do?

I'm a 50+ year WDW veteran who has seen it all!

 

[Willow Ufgood]

As I said previously, we budget based on the DDP. But we don't purchase it because it doesn't fit with how we eat. For one thing, we almost always eat breakfast in our villa. We just don't want to waste valuable park mornings doing a TS meal and most QS breakfasts don't appeal to us. For another, we rarely order dessert when eating out and if we do, we tend to share. And while some people regard the refillable mugs as nice souvenirs, we have a cupboard full of them. We don't need more. If they were usable in the parks (especially for unsweetened tea or Powerade) we would rethink our stand.

We use discounts where we can. DVC AP Disney Visa. And of course, the discounted gift cards. We rarely eat out at home, so TS dinners are a treat for us. If we had a tight budget and doing Ramen and PB&J sandwiches was the only way we could visit, then maybe that's what we would do.

 

[pigletto]

This is really interesting, thanks for sharing everyone. I am astounded at how much people spend eating on site - like it blows my mind.

I'm not trying to be critical, and it totally makes sense. It's part of the vacation for many folks. I'm frugal by nature and always do snacks/food we bring in like PB&J, granola bars, pretzels, bottled water to refill. We often do a to-go meal from cheaper offsite options for dinner, or something in the room. Maybe 1 character meal per trip that's it.

I decided to post just for people reading thinking about the cost of a trip with food being so significant. There are ways to build in significant cost savings trying to budget a less expensive trip.

There was a time we ate onsite only and table service every day of the trip . Those days have passed for us. Not only are the prices astronomical, we are Canadian and paying significant exchange on top of that (30% ish). When dinner at Ohana started costing us $300 for three of us ( two of whom are vegetarian) something had to give . There was nothing magical about being in a bubble that cost me $300 per mediocre meal.

All that to say , this next trip we’ve booked 3 table service we haven’t tried before and we will probably do one counter service per day. Aside from that it will be easy meals and take out at our Condo at Bonnet Creek. So I think an average of $100 per day for my husband and I ( adult kids are paying their own food costs) should be plenty.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I mentally prepare for $100 a day per person. Some days we spend less. Some days we spend more. But it all evens out. I don’t actually do a budget but just swipe my MB and deal with the bill when I get home. But the $100 a day per person has been in line the last two trips.