Help...so overhealmed

[kyemom]

Hello everyone. I have planned my families first ever Disney vacation. We will be going June 25-July 1. I booked a character meal one night and a dinner show that is not inside of the park. We are driving, so I was planning on bringing breakfast stuff, drinks, and snacks along with us. I figure we will eat dinner in the park and maybe lunch some times. I did not buy the disney dining plan, because my Dad is going to meet us for a few days and do Sea World, etc. I thought it was a lot of money for days that we would not be in the park...Now I am really worried about food cost, options, and reservations. Can you all help me?

 

[GoodFairies]

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

This should help you with your food cost and options, as well as telling you locations for better planning.

Will you be onsite?

I see you have reserved a character meal already; do you plan to eat at other table service meals for lunch and dinner? If so, you should try to reserve these in advance also (407-WDW-DINE).

 

[vascubaguy]

It's rather difficult to say as it totally depends on the eating habits of your family. Food at WDW can get very expensive, especially if you eat out many meals.

One suggestion I have would be to have breakfast, a mid-day snack and then have a big late lunch (or early dinner). Then later in the evening you could finish off with another snack to get you thru the night.

Also, there are some other "budget" places you could eat at that are not in the parks. We don't drive, so we will usually head over to Downtown Disney some nights to eat at Earl of Sandwich, where all the sandwiches are under $5! And there are plenty of restaurants within a few minutes drive of WDW.

I'm not sure if that helps any, but I'm sure others will chime in with their budgeting tips. Also, there is a budget board where there are lots of folks who gladly share tips on saving money!

Oh, btw, welcome to the DIS!

 

[kyemom]

Yes, we will be staying onsite..We are very excited. I figure we will have one table meal per day...probably an early dinner. I am thinking it may be cheaper and easier to go to restaurants off of property... We have 6 nights and only 2 nights booked with reservations!

 

[kyemom]

Or do you think I should just go back and by the dining plan?

 

[dischick4778]

If you know which parks you'll be visiting it would be best to decide the type of food / atmosphere you think your family will like. For example, we love to eat at Prime Time 50s cafe and Mama Melrose's in MGM. So for the day we're going to MGM we try to get ressies for one of those two. To save money we usually buy bagels and cereal so that we can have breakfast in our room. If you have a nice size refrigerator you can bring cold cuts as well and do lunch in the room too. Good luck with your dining plan and be sure to book early!

 

[HM]

I agree with you that the dining plan doesn't sound efficient for your group. As a family, we only eat a couple of sit-down restaurant meals during a trip. We do mostly counter service and often split entrees (huge portions) which saves money.
Many counter service places have nice entrees to choose from so you don't have to have burgers and fries at meals.....it could be rotisseree chicken or chicken ceasar salad or such. Do look at the menus that someone above gave a link to to do more planning.
Also, eating offsite does save money...but often you need to eat early if you don't want a long wait for a table.