Estimating food costs of CS only trip

[Narawen]

I'm trying to determine if the QSDP would be a good choice for a January trip. I'm guesstimating $10 OOP per day for other snacks, taking us to about $45 per adult per day. What really worries me is the

If we go totally OOP, can we eat CS meals for less than this per day? I'm not sure which cost basis to use for our OOP estimates short of sorting through every CS menu and guessing what we'll eat. How much do you spend per adult per day eating just QS? $30? $40? $50?

 

[poohbear22]

You mean $10 per person per meal right? Or do you plan on sharing meals? CS meals generally run about $8 each non-inclusive of a drink; some entrees you can share, such as the rib & chicken dinner at Cosmic Rays.

For more information on pricing, check out the menus here:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm

 

[siskaren]

I do a few TS meals on my trips, but I usually have several days that are CS only, and I have no trouble doing it for under $40 a day with 3 meals and 1 or even 2 snacks.

For instance, here's what I ate one day on my December 2007 trip (OK, I'm a geek and still have the receipts from this trip ):

Breakfast

Mickey waffle and milk at POR - $8.50

Lunch

Ribs and soda in souvenir mug at Cosmic Ray's - $14.04

Snack

Dole Whip float - $4.25

Dinner

Carved flank at POR - $10.11

Total - $36.90

I had dinner at my resort because that was an MVMCP night at MK, so they closed before I was ready for dinner, and that cost doesn't include a drink because I had a refillable mug. But if I'd gotten the soda without the souvenir mug at Cosmic Ray's and had bought a soda at dinner, the total would've been about the same.

 

[sharonabe]

Allow me to give you another example of what you can get on just CS for the same price (or at least close) as the QSDP.

Note that I am not drinking sodas or getting desserts at every meal, but I am having breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack EVERY day.


AK Day
Pizzafari: Breakfast pizza, juice 9.14
Yak/Yeti: Mandarin Chicken Salad, frozen lemonade 13.40
(we go to DTD on AK Day)
Earl of Sandwich: Any sandwich and soup 9.56
Ghirradeli: 1 scoop cone 4.21
TOTAL: 36.31

DHS Day
Fairfax Fare: Breakfast Sand, coffee 8.71
Starring Rolls: Sandwich, cupcake 14.04
Backlot Express: Southwest Chicken Salad 8.83
Annaheim Produce: Apple slices w/caramel 3.72
TOTAL: 35.30

MK Day
Main St Bakery: Cinn Roll, Strawberry Smoothie 8.18
Columbia Harbour: Anchors Aweigh, soup 13.61
Pinnochio Village: Penne Pasta, salad 11.91
Aloha Isle: Dole Whip 3.40
TOTAL: 37.10

EPCOT Day
Sunshine Seasons: Oatmeal, Mixed Berry Yogurt 5.84
Yakitori House: Terriyaki Beef 10.64
La Cantina: Nachos, Mexican soda 14.32
Karmel Kuche: Large Caramel Popcorn 6.34
TOTAL: 37.14

 

[siskaren]

Allow me to give you another example of what you can get on just CS for the same price (or at least close) as the QSDP.

Note that I am not drinking sodas or getting desserts at every meal, but I am having breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack EVERY day.

And actually, the thing to point out is that the QSDP only gives you 2 meals per night of your stay, not 3, not to mention the fact that it's per night and not per day, so you'd have to pay for some meals out of pocket.

 

[boufa]

And actually, the thing to point out is that the QSDP only gives you 2 meals per night of your stay, not 3, not to mention the fact that it's per night and not per day, so you'd have to pay for some meals out of pocket.

Sometimes.... We are arriving late the first day and leaving early the last day. We have 8 nights but 7 days. Kids share a couple of meals, sprinkle in an oop character meal, and Bam! 3 meals a day. Maybe drop a snack credit on a breakfast item one day.

As always, squeezing every last penny out of the meal plan is too much work. You cannot calculate the convenience factor. I did the math on the QS meal plan for me and my family (prior to free dining being offered and making it a no brainer in my situation). I used the menus on the Dis and split my days in half. I picked the most expensive thing I could find on the menu and then the cheapest thing. Made those my 2 meals and added it all up for the number of days I will be there. You could plan each meal, but in the end there is no way to say how hungry you will be on any given day.

I came up with it being within a dollar or 2 on any given day some times a loss and sometimes a savings... BUT now I don't have to push the kids to share when they might want different items. I don't have to even think about how much money I added to my trip every time I said yes to popcorn or ice cream. If I don't maximize and really push on the dining plan, I figure for my family over 7 days I might end up losing $20 - 30 total worse cases ( but likely less or possibly even save some money). That's cheaper than therapy. That's cheaper than the divorce lawyer when my wife has had enough of "Mr. Cheap making all of us split an ice cream cone".

Of course then there is the food and wine use of the snack credits... we will be banking all (or most) of our credits to use at F&W. Then since the prices are so much higher, you definitely get your money's worth out of it.

 

[havoc315]

I came up with it being within a dollar or 2 on any given day some times a loss and sometimes a savings... BUT now I don't have to push the kids to share when they might want different items. I don't have to even think about how much money I added to my trip every time I said yes to popcorn or ice cream. If I don't maximize and really push on the dining plan, I figure for my family over 7 days I might end up losing $20 - 30 total worse cases ( but likely less or possibly even save some money). That's cheaper than therapy. That's cheaper than the divorce lawyer when my wife has had enough of "Mr. Cheap making all of us split an ice cream cone".

Of course then there is the food and wine use of the snack credits... we will be banking all (or most) of our credits to use at F&W. Then since the prices are so much higher, you definitely get your money's worth out of it.

Remember, in 2012, they are cutting those snack credits in half. So you may again find you are saying no to the kids about their snack request. Or, if you use a snack for breakfast, you will find you have none for the day.