help with my budget plan!

[annabelle]

I'm trying to get together a budget for our trip.
We're a family of 5 (2 adults, 9 yo, 4yo and 19 mo) going to stay with extended family at a timeshare this June 18-25.

So far this is what I've got:
AIR: $450
CAR RENTAL: $165
GAS: $75 (?)
TICKETS: $500 (2 days)
CONDO: $100

We do plan on taking a daytrip to Clearwater so that's why I budgeted more for gas, otherwise, we're only going to be 4 miles from Disney at the condo.
Also, not sure how much to budget for food? We plan on doing simple breakfasts at the condo and will even be able to do sandwhiches for lunch there too on our "rest and swim days". We'll have 2 full days at the parks (still eating breakfasts in)... and a full day playing around Clearwater.
I know food prices are high around WDW... so how much roughly should we budget for food for a family of 5? The baby doesn't eat much... and our 9 yo and 4 yo sometimes split the big kids meals at restaurants... but can eat their own McDonald's portions of Happy Meals.

Am I missing another category here? How much is parking?
Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Parking will be $8/day and you can change parks and just show them your parking voucher without having to pay a second time in the same day.

Budgeting food for other people can be hard to do. You may not be a big eater or like to do sitdown meals with small children while I like a big lunch and do sitdown lunches everyday. So, to help you out, I think it's better to take a look at the AllEarsNet.com - Menus From Around the World webpages. Not only will you get an idea of the price of food at WDW, you'll also get an idea of what is offered. My family of 4 (2 adults, DD14 & DS12) budgets $125/day for food but keep in mind that we're also doing breakfast at WDW and I'm feeding teenagers. You can do it for much less.

Don't forget to budget for souvenirs, film & film developing, and anything you may forget to pack - like sunscreen or hats.

 

[powellrj]

If you stay away from Goodings, your groceries shouldn't be much more than you would spend at home. Ours are only more because we tend to buy more snack and single serve items than we do at home. Also if you eat your off park days around Orlando, you can get lots of coupon deals from the little booklets you see every place or the Entertainment books and if you eat at the chains, most are about the same price as you would find at home. I agree with checking the menus for the parks ahead of time to see what you would spend on those days. Have a great time!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

If you don't want to eat in the parks, don't want to cook and don't want fast food there are two Golden Corrals in the area. One is on 192 near Entry Point Blvd/Sherberth Road. The other is on that road that runs in front of the Crossroads but its on the other side of I-4. The handy thing about Golden Corral is that you can do take out instead of paying for everyone to do the buffet. The price last week for that (at the 192 location) was $3.99 per pound. At home if we don't feel like cooking we'll sometimes go up to Golden Corral and get meaty items and add on frozen veggies when we get home.

GC offers all beef, chicken, and fish prepared in various styles. Potatos, rice and various vegetables, mac n cheese, spaghetti, salad bar, pizzas and all kinds of baked goods. The quality is quite good.