I agree that the costs are rising, my DH swears that he can 'trend' the receipts of our last several trips and see a 3-4% increase a year; that is pretty signifigant!
I agree that the cost is too high for what you get, but at the same time, if we are in DL, we are happy. The certain places we eat and the snacks are part of the memories and traditions. When it comes to budgeting these trips, every family has to decide what matters most to them. Some people need a great pool at the hotel, some need a shuttle, while our priority is to enter the park when it opens and leave when it closes!! This makes it necessary to consume our meals in the park, so we have just adjusted the needs of our family.
We eat fresh fruit and milk or yogurt for breakfast at the hotel. When we return at night, we try to eat some fresh veggies or a salad. These are healthy items that keep everyone full and also re-fuel energy levels.
I always hit COSTCO before we go, and stock up on snacks. I pack Ziplock bags with snacks, (granola bars, raisins, fruit leathers, gum) for each day we will be in the park, before we leave home. Then we just grab one and toss it into the backpack when we leave the hotel. We snack on these items during the day, and when it is meal time, no one (except for my oldest DS, but he has hollow leg syndrome!!!) is 'starving,' so we split meals. We do not like to ride the rides with overly full stomachs, so it is pretty easy to order small portions and split them.
The big thing for us is the drinks. We freeze water bottles the night before, put two in the bottom pocket of our backpack with two cool ones and a couple cans of soda. The frozen ones keep the other drinks cold for the first part of the day, and by the end of the day, they are melted and ready to drink. We NEVER pay for drinks in the park, unless it is Christmas time and we need an eggnog and peppermint mocha fix!!
DBF and I will share a meal when we feel like it, Rancho has GREAT enchiladas and if you get them with a dessert and chips it will feed 25 people with no problem. We love RFC but I am a member of MyPoints and I earn gift cards from them quite often!! We are also a member of the RFC members club, so we get a free appetizer and at least $25 off our meal from the gift card AND we share there as well so it's more affordable. You just have to be savvy about it and it's not that bad. 
That's a bit much for me!! LOL I got a pretty big bag at Target for two bucks that should work nicely. 
was trying to cut Back on food every time I would mention food he would say we will get something when we leave, then we wouldn't!!
I was buying extra souvenirs with the extra dollars. Or I would go buy food while he was in the Tortilla Factory or on Space Mountain. 
