How do you budget for food?

[three_kids_mom]

We are going on our first trip to DL in October. I got reservations and know ticket prices...but what about food? I just got done looking at a bunch of pages in the food thread (I think i gained 5 pounds just looking at it), but was wondering how much you typically spend on food at DL.

We will be there two day with 2 adults and 3 kids (9-7-3). Hopefully we can sneak in a few snacks (granola bars, water, etc), but will be looking to eat there. Just wondering how much that will set up back. (We are just looking for casual kid friendly food (burgers, etc). Also, is there a place to check the rates for character meals? I am thinking maybe we do Goofy's kitchen for brunch before we leave on the last day.

Thanks.

 

[dlawallace]

go to allears.net

they have full menus for all restaraunts and snack/vendor locations including prices!

It's a little bit od trouble, but at least you have a very accurate estimate for what your food will cost.

hint:we bring a 24 pack of water bottles and crystal light packets to save money as well since the drinks at most food places are almost $3 each!

 

[awtigger]

We usually have a bagpack and I have little snacks in it for my DD, like crackers or pretzels. You can buy mickey shaped pretzels in the park for 99cents a bag (it is a good size for a kid so it would last a while). It just depends on where you eat. For just myself and DD it usally cost around $15 with food and drinks.

 

[ballarinamom]

If you have AAA, you get a discount at Goofy's Kitchen. You can also prepurchase vouchers for GK from AAA, Disney, Getawaytoday, and a few others I can;t quite remember. Tax and Tip are included in the voucher plus some tpye of discount.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

For me, DH and 2 daughters (ages 7 and 2), we usually spend about $60-$70 per day. We eat breakfast at our hotel in the morning and bring little snacks for the girls (crackers and fruit snacks usually), and the occasional Uncrustable. We also bring bottled water and bottled juice for the girls.

We usually have one meal where we purchase soda. We all stick to about one treat per day. This is eating at counter service restaurants or Carnation Cafe. We also have an AP so we get 10% off. There are several places (such as Pizza Port or Rancho Del Zocalo) that we can share meals at. Usually one day we eat at Cafe Orleans, so that makes it more expensive.

 

[wendithepooh]

We budget $120 a day for food. Our cast is me, DH, DS15, and DD 13 and 8. What I do is put $120 a day in an envelope x however many days we go. I take whatever is left over the first day and put in the next days envelope. Say we used $100 so we had $20 left over, put that in next days and now we have $140 for the next day. And you continue doing this every day. We hardly ever spend a full days worth of money, but it's there if we want it. Usually, we always have enough money left over that we use the excess for a character breakfast. We never feel deprived because we have the money if we want it. Sometimes we don't eat dinner, we just eat ice cream - hey, we are on vacation right? I have found it is an awesome help. You aren't going over budget wise and you don't carry extra money with you and no credit card bills either.HTH and I hope it wasn't confusing.

 

[bumbershoot]

The first time you go, it's HARD to gauge what you'll spend. We thought we'd spend far more, but it turns out my little family doesn't get all that ravenous while at DLR in the heat (or in the cold, it seems), and eating hasn't been a big priority. That is slowly starting to change as DS gets older, and as hubby finds out how he does need regular, smaller, meals to keep an even keel. I could still probably just drink water and my iced latte, with perhaps one meal of veggie gumbo or a kid's meal at Plaza Inn (penne with marinara) with a side salad, and be good for the day, but my guys do need to eat more and more often.

So until this recent change, we'd been budgeting a mere $100 per day for food AND souvenirs. The souvenir purchases are decreasing (b/c DS has everything already, LOL) but the food costs are increasing.

And what I do for that is I try to keep the money aside as we save, then put it into checking before we go to DLR, and buying giftcards. We don't tend to buy things from the carts...we don't drink soda and the only frozen treat from a cart hubby and son can have is the frozen banana, so the carts aren't needed. I bring that up b/c there are still mobile carts that don't take the disney giftcards (or any cards)...if we did buy from those, we'd need to have some dollars for the carts that don't take cards. But the disney giftcards are easy, simple, and each receipt has the balance (most CMs circle it, or at least draw your attention to it).

The giftcards don't expire, can be used at DLR or WDW, and even at disneyshopping.com and the brick and mortar disney stores. So they are VERY convenient for us.

As for how to figure out what you'll eat...take a look at the things you might want (knowing that menus and prices can change), budget enough for everyone to have a proper meal each time you have a mealtime, and that way if everyone does eat their own meals you'll have enough, but if people tend to share, or be too full for much, etc, you'll have a surplus.

Future trips will be easier, once you know your family's basic in-park eating habits.

 

[teatime]

120.00 a day for food and snacks.... if the kids want toys etc. it comes from there banks. 6 days in the parks, 1 day getting there ( not until very late) and early departure ( 10:00 am) so I bank on around 700.00 for the 6 days, and 50 for the days we come and go. ( mcdonalds or what ever at the airports )

I have already purchased a few gift cards to places like mimi's ( for breakfasts or dinner) and milli's for breakfasts or dinners )

They have good food and very low cost !
Also got rainforest gift card for the meal we will have there.

 

[teatime]

Also remember, Milli's has kids eat for 99 cents monday thru Friday with an adult paid entree`
that really adds up if you have more then one child and both you and the hubby have a meal and there pretty darn reasonable in price !!
right now they have 2 for 20.00 specials.... get a appetizer and 2 entree's for only 20.00 . thats an awesome price

 

[Ed J]

Based on a 3 day or longer stay, we budget $40 per person per day.

 

[TheParsec]

Based on a 3 day or longer stay, we budget $40 per person per day.

Same Here, we budget $40 Per Person Per Day also. We always have leftover money for other things.

 

[LuLusApple]

We budget 35-40$ a day per person. Don't always use it but it's there. We eat breakfast mostly in the hotel, and for sure we bring our own water. This $ has worked out well our last 3 trips. Now of course if we do a character meal or Blue Bayou it's a bit more $ LOL

 

[teatime]

same here, 40.00 a day per member... we do have extra's some days, then we put it on souvenirs. we are doing Cafe Orleans 2 times on this trip, not sure there is going to be any cash left LOL

 

[Sherwin]

We budget 35-40$ a day per person. Don't always use it but it's there. We eat breakfast mostly in the hotel, and for sure we bring our own water. This $ has worked out well our last 3 trips. Now of course if we do a character meal or Blue Bayou it's a bit more $ LOL

I agree.

If your hotel has breakfast (which most Good neighbor ones do), then fill up in the mornings before you leave, bring water, and there's a 7-11 on the corner of Harbor and Katella, so if you pass that, get some snacks and whatnot to bring in. There are also other smaller marts on Harbor that sell snacks.

We also bought sandwich materials at Vons and brought some sandwiches into the parks. Bringing food in isn't a big deal-- the CMs almost always let you in with food, as long as its not in a glass container.

 

[lb2000]

I brought (but you can buy at the grocery) a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter, plus microwavable mac n cheese, cereal, etc. and lots of snacks. That helped cut down on food costs in the parks.