Family of 5 - 3 week vacation

[frankiecakes]

Ok so we are going on a trip from October 18 - November 10. We are driving instead of flying this time, so our true vacation time is October 19 - November 9.
I am traveling with my husband and 3 children - DS6, DD4, DD2 and on the last week, I paid to fly my parents in to spend time with us.

Last year we went incredibly overboard with spending money - I mean I was practically was throwing my money in the air for cast members to grab. We were only there for a week to boot. So this year we decided to spend the money on length of stay instead of souvenirs and special experiences (except we will be hitting HNSSHP and the Christmas party once each: ). Therefore I am trying to budget. I will have $3,000 USD to spend on the whole trip: Gas (we live in ohio and drive the 14 hours in one distance overnight), souvenirs, any additional lodging and food (I am thinking I will have $1,800 left for food), and somehow I am going to have to find money for parking. Here is a breakdown on what is already paid and what we will be responsible to pay in that time period:

Oct 19-21: Daytona Beach - staying with my Uncle - pay for 1 meal each day
October 21-25: Halloween Disney Cruise - all paid including server tips
October 25-26: Disney Springs area hotel - reserved 1 room but still have to pay, all meals
Oct 26-Nov 03: AoA - Ariel room - disney food plan (1 QS and 1 TS each day) paid in full
Nov 04-09: AoA Lion King room (my parents will be with us - not paying for their food) - I paid the room in full, but will have to pay for all meals. I think we will have $56.00 a day per person for food the last week after gas, souvenir allowance, and lodging. We will probably only eat two meals a day and eat in room for other.

Is $56.00/day for food realistic in the disney parks? We were hoping to maybe get some snacks and such during the Halloween and Christmas party. Does our food plan cover special events snacks?

Should I intend to save a little more? Also, can I pay for all food on disney world property with gift cards?

I have also toyed with the idea of upgrading one of our tickets to a membership when we were there. I decided not to do it last year, and have since regretted it, because we would have saved money on our trip by doing so. Definitely not spending as much this year though. Thoughts on that?

 

[scottmel]

Yes for sure you can pay for anything with giftcards. I think 56 a day per person is fine for food? I feel the meals are HUGE and many times I order a kids meal or my DD and I share an adult meal....I don't think upgrading to an annual pass is the answer. I believe it takes 3 trips to break even depending on length of stay and if you park hop etc. normally. You can try the BOUNCE BACK offer for your next visit….even if you cancel you have the option to return earlier with a discounted room

 

[verleniahall]

56 per person is NOT enough for food - you need to be budgeting at least 100 per person per day for food - snacks, drinks, quick serivce, table serivce, etc... - its not cheap

 

[wendow]

Our fam of 6 typically spends $120-150 per day on food depending on whether we all get kid's meals, more snacks, stop at Starbucks, etc. I think if you aren't doing a TS on those days, then $56 is plenty!

Like another poster mentioned, I will frequently order a kid's meal. It's plenty of food for me considering I'd rather snack while at WDW so I like to eat lighter meals and have room for snacks. We also will many times have our younger two kids share one adult meal and drink water vs. each getting a kid's meal with soda.

 

[sk!mom]

If you do not have TS plans those days and you have $56 per child too, then I think it’s plenty. My children at 2, 4, and 6 could not eat $56 worth of food and snacks.

However, I hate penny pinching on trips so I’d save more if possible as a cushion.

 

[WVMomof3]

56 per person is NOT enough for food - you need to be budgeting at least 100 per person per day for food - snacks, drinks, quick serivce, table serivce, etc... - its not cheap

I always wonder what in the world people who spend $100/person/day are eating! Oh my goodness, I can not imagine. And 3 of them are under 6. Are you saying $500/day for them or are you saying$200/day? But we don't order any drinks, water only, so I know that can add up. Also only usually eat 2 meals a day because I would rather get a snack than over eat at a 3rd meal. Usually just a granola bar or something simple that we brought for breakfast. Last time for 6 days for 2 adults and 2 older teenagers we were at less than $35/person/day. And that included 3 sit down meals (and a beer or or 2) the rest were counter service. So it highly depends on how you eat. Are you saying $56/day for the adults only or $56/day for each of the 5 of you? Either way, I would think that is plenty and/or overboard possibly.

 

[WVMomof3]

Our fam of 6 typically spends $120-150 per day on food depending on whether we all get kid's meals, more snacks, stop at Starbucks, etc. I think if you aren't doing a TS on those days, then $56 is plenty!

Like another poster mentioned, I will frequently order a kid's meal. It's plenty of food for me considering I'd rather snack while at WDW so I like to eat lighter meals and have room for snacks. We also will many times have our younger two kids share one adult meal and drink water vs. each getting a kid's meal with soda.

This is me! lol Kid's meals and snacks!

 

[wendow]

This is me! lol Kid's meals and snacks!

YES!!! I hate feeling really full anyways but definitely not at WDW when going on rides and such. Plus I want to have a small taste of everything and if I eat full meals, I feel

 

[frankiecakes]

I always wonder what in the world people who spend $100/person/day are eating! Oh my goodness, I can not imagine. And 3 of them are under 6. Are you saying $500/day for them or are you saying$200/day? But we don't order any drinks, water only, so I know that can add up. Also only usually eat 2 meals a day because I would rather get a snack than over eat at a 3rd meal. Usually just a granola bar or something simple that we brought for breakfast. Last time for 6 days for 2 adults and 2 older teenagers we were at less than $35/person/day. And that included 3 sit down meals (and a beer or or 2) the rest were counter service. So it highly depends on how you eat. Are you saying $56/day for the adults only or $56/day for each of the 5 of you? Either way, I would think that is plenty and/or overboard possibly.

Yes, I was including all three children in the $56.00/person/day soooo $280.00 for everyone per day. While I highly doubt that my 2 year old will eat much, and often she has gotten away with eating for free depending on what restaurant we are at. I wanted to make sure she was accounted for. We don't like waiting in lines just for food, so we rarely ever get snacks onsite (with the exception of the special events parties).

If we have to, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!!! It is only for a few days, after all.

Last year we reserved table service/character dining for all three meals and I ended up canceling at least one a day because the meals were huge!

 

[Sleepy425]

I have four kids, and hate wasting money when they sometimes end up not eating the meal they swore they were starving for. I have taken to making 6-8 sunbutter and jelly sandwiches a few mornings each trip and storing them in a tupperware container so they aren't crushed. The kids munch on those whenever they want (mostly in line), and then we supplement with sharing meals or just getting snacks on the days we bring sandwiches. This way they can still get the treats they want, and I don't feel like I'm just dumping money into trash cans buying them meals.
It really takes very little time to make them in the morning, and they aren't that heavy to carry around (we have a backpack cooler we use).

 

[WVMomof3]

Yes, I was including all three children in the $56.00/person/day soooo $280.00 for everyone per day. While I highly doubt that my 2 year old will eat much, and often she has gotten away with eating for free depending on what restaurant we are at. I wanted to make sure she was accounted for. We don't like waiting in lines just for food, so we rarely ever get snacks onsite (with the exception of the special events parties).

If we have to, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!!! It is only for a few days, after all.

Last year we reserved table service/character dining for all three meals and I ended up canceling at least one a day because the meals were huge!

I could never sit and eat 2 table service a day and I can’t even imagine even thinking about scheduling 3 in a day! I am way too antsy for that. I am at Disney for the rides and the shows and only eat to survive. Lol. It takes maybe 5 minutes to stand in line for a snack vs 2 hours for a character meal. But I know everyone is different on that. I like to get my snack and keep walking, my DH likes to sit. I’m like my ice cream is on a stick, it is portable! Lol Though my kids are older so I know it was different when they were younger. I think your $56 is plenty. Have fun!

 

[kbender295]

Have you thought about doing the QS dining plan?

 

[kathy884]

It's the Disney table service that is the budget buster for sure and for those who do that daily I would guess that that is where the larger numbers are coming from (not hard to get there if you are doing this daily). For quick service, modest offsite meals, and grocery items I budget $50 pp per day. If I am doing any table service I make that a separate budget item.

 

[tundra1]

Great Question! We will be in the same boat next year, and I was trying to figure out my budget for QS vs. paying out of pocket for meals. I think if we go easy on the character lunches and order grocery delivery so we can eat some of our meals in the room or pack lunch items, we should be okay, but it is really hard to figure out a food budget. Epcot's Food and Wine will be going on, so that may be a good reason to get a QS plan, but it is hard to know how much those items generally cost if you are paying out of pocket.

 

[tcufrog]

I'm not one to carry lunch with me when traveling but I have found that my kids prefer eating breakfast at "home" (the hotel room) in their pjs instead eating somewhere else in a hotel. It's also much easier to get them ready if one can be sitting and eating while I'm wrangling another one or getting ready myself. For me it's not about penny-pinching; it's about happy kids and my sanity. My DH didn't agree with me until we did a 4 week UK road trip and stayed in apartments along the way. Now he totally gets it and is all about stopping at a grocery store and picking up cereal, yogurt and pastries for breakfast instead of eating out.

 

[Darcy03231]

I think $56/pp per day for food/snacks is plenty, especially if you're only eating counter service meals.

Do you have a credit card or some extra money just in case of an emergency? Three weeks is a lot of time to be gone and not have emergency cash. We've had several things go wrong on vacation (a trip to the ER, car repairs, etc.).

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I'm not one to carry lunch with me when traveling but I have found that my kids prefer eating breakfast at "home" (the hotel room) in their pjs instead eating somewhere else in a hotel. It's also much easier to get them ready if one can be sitting and eating while I'm wrangling another one or getting ready myself. For me it's not about penny-pinching; it's about happy kids and my sanity. My DH didn't agree with me until we did a 4 week UK road trip and stayed in apartments along the way. Now he totally gets it and is all about stopping at a grocery store and picking up cereal, yogurt and pastries for breakfast instead of eating out.

I"m signing on to this 100%. When I was kid back in the olden days - we traveled alot and to nice places too. We were raised on eating bfast in the room and I've raised my kids the same.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I think you have enough money budgeted--you should eat fine, maybe have a couple splurges in that amount.

I'm another fan of eating in the room. Cereal bars, granola bars, bagels--simple stuff. Both cheaper and easier than eating out every day. I don't bring in lunch typically, but I do bring a few substantial snacks--peanut butter crackers, trail mix, stuff like that. These aren't meant to replace Mickey Bars and funnel cake so much as to stave off the hungries while we're waiting in line. I find that even teens can get cranky, so I at least have something to throw at them until we can make it to the Dole Whip stand.

 

[frankiecakes]

Have you thought about doing the QS dining plan?

The first week I am on a cruise. I have a QS/TS dining plan for the second week. The third week I bought a hotel stay and my parents tickets. Since they are on my family package for that week, I would have to pay their meals, too, which is why we didn’t do another dining plan.

And for those of you asking, I definitely have more money than this, I just set a budget for the trip.

 

[MrsPete]

October 21-25: Halloween Disney Cruise - all paid including server tips

This probably won't be a popular thought on this board, but I've cruised Disney ... and I've cruised other lines ... and I can't justify the cost of Disney again. We've enjoyed the other lines just as much, and often the cost is about 60% of Disney's cost. If you're looking at spending less, consider another cruise line, followed by the Disney stay.

October 25-26: Disney Springs area hotel - reserved 1 room but still have to pay, all meals ... I paid the room in full, but will have to pay for all meals.

I don't understand. You say you have the meal plan ... AND you say you have to pay for meals.

Definitely not spending as much this year though. Thoughts on that?

Spending at Disney is kinda like raising kids. Beyond certain necessaries, you can spend a little or you can spend a lot ... and the result isn't all that different.

I'm not one to carry lunch with me when traveling but I have found that my kids prefer eating breakfast at "home" (the hotel room) in their pjs instead eating somewhere else in a hotel.

We much prefer a hotel that provides breakfast. It's so easy to have that meal "on automatic".