How much do you all spend eating out each day?

[allboyz]

There will be 5 of us going to Disney and I'm trying to plan how much we should have for food. Did you all just set a dollar amount that you wanted to spend and then planned around that? Its just with the airfare, car rental and tickets we are already going to be out of so much. Plus I'm sure the kids will want some little souveneirs and stuff. So I'm worried about how much we will need for food to have a decent time. We will be there 5 days. I don't want us to eat out at expensive restuarants every day but I do want us to get a few meals in. I would like one character meal. Then we will probably get a some food over the counter in the park. Anyway, just wondering how you all figured out your budget. Thanks in advance.

 

[JCOLD]

There will be 5 of us going to Disney and I'm trying to plan how much we should have for food. Did you all just set a dollar amount that you wanted to spend and then planned around that? Its just with the airfare, car rental and tickets we are already going to be out of so much. Plus I'm sure the kids will want some little souveneirs and stuff. So I'm worried about how much we will need for food to have a decent time. We will be there 5 days. I don't want us to eat out at expensive restuarants every day but I do want us to get a few meals in. I would like one character meal. Then we will probably get a some food over the counter in the park. Anyway, just wondering how you all figured out your budget. Thanks in advance.

I budgeted $100/day for two adults, 16 yr. old daughter and 12 yr old son. We did not do any full service meals (counter and snacks only), shared at times, and had no problems sticking to our budget without scrimping at all (and we're not bird-like eaters).

We just put $100 in an envelope for each day and if there was any left over it went into an overflow envelope. We used that money for a special night out at Raglan Road. Dividing up the money like this really helped us be aware of what and how we were spending.

 

[allboyz]

That was the budget I was thinking about too. I was too embarrassed to put it down because I was thinking everyone would think it would be impossible to do with 3 kids. I do want us to do one character meal. I'm thinking about the Chef Mickey one that someone wrote about in the other thread. Other than that I think we would do okay with counter meals and something at one of the Shades of Green restaurants. Anyway, thanks so much for the info. I think I will try the envelope idea too. It sounds like a great way to keep track of spending because the money can go so fast if you are not paying attention.

 

[zippehsmom]

I just looked at my spread sheet from our trip last July, and we spend $1,650.00 on food & snacks for 2 weeks. We had 2 adults, 4 kids (aged 13,9,5 &2). I did use the DDE card. That comes to an average of $114 per day.

We brought some breakfast foods from home and purchased bottled water and soda at the store.

Here are some of the places we ate:

Crystal Palace/ breakfast
PSB/ breakfast
CRT/breakfast
Beaches and Cream
ESPN Club
Whispering Canyon/ lunch
Liberty Tree Tavern/ dinner
House of Blues
Magaritaville
Hard Rock Cafe
Nine Dragons/ Dinner
Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre
Plaza Restaurant/ dinner

and numerous counter service locations.

I think you should be fine with a budget of $100 per day.

 

[frayedend]

I'd like to see Rachel Ray do Disney on $40 a day

 

[allboyz]

Thanks for the reply. Good to know that we should be okay with a budget of a $100. What is a DDE card?

 

[Cruz Family]

Have you considered the dining plan? It would cost more then 100 a day, I think it is something like $35 for adults and $11 for children (I think it is children 10 and under). I know for us it is a great deal we spent last vacation over $1000 for 4 of us in 7 days. Next time with the plan we will spend about $1000 but this time for 10 night and more table service meals. I know everybody is different but I found it a nice break from the parks and I know the great table service resturants we went to (California Grill, 50's PT Cafe, RFC, Kona, Le Cellier, etc.) was a great added experience for my children. They talk more about where and what we ate then the rides and shows. Best of luck with what ever you do, Melissa

 

[mtdevine615]

The DDE = Disney Dining Experience card. It is only available to Florida residents, Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members. It is a good deal because it gives you 20% off meals and alcohol at most restaurants.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I spent $700 over the course of ten days, which was after I opted not to do the dining plan. But I did, on most days, do two TS meals, and that $700 includes the Party for the Senses I went to.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

I'd like to see Rachel Ray do Disney on $40 a day

Me too

 

[allboyz]

Don't you have to stay in a disney owned hotel to get the dining plan? We are staying at the Shades of Green and they do not offer a plan.

 

[amylevan]

An easy way to work out a budget is to go to http://allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm#pi and check out the menus/prices. Take a guess and where & what your family will eat and start adding it up. If you come out more than what you want, factor in more counter service and fewer sit down meals.

And to save money, eat your sit down meals at lunch time.

 

[1of6]

I was thinking that we could do under $100 a day for most days. We are not getting the dining plan and I am planning to do mostly cs meals. We do have a character breakfast schedualed and a Fantasmic dinner package but that is it.
We are bringing snacks (we will still buy some there) and plan on breakfast in the room most days. We will also do a couple of lunches in the room (dd2 will need some down time.)
We leave Feb.1 so I will let you know if it is possible. By the way there are 6 of us. DH, me, DS9, DD7, DS4, DDwill be 2 this Sun.

 

[*Flower*]

Don't you have to stay in a disney owned hotel to get the dining plan? We are staying at the Shades of Green and they do not offer a plan.

If you're active duty military, check out your local rec center or mwr for tickets at military rates. Another alternative is to check out the prices on tickets from Shades of Green. Here's a link to their ticket spreadsheet: http://www.shadesofgreen.org/PriceList2005.htm

It's probably not totally up to date considering the price increase on tickets at the beginning of the year- but it should give you an idea. And, if this is a 'once every couple of years' type of trip, you might want to consider the 'Stars & Stripes' passes. They're like the old Disney 'Length of Stay' passes. They do expire at the end of your visit- but they're less expensive.

Also- we do a LOT of meal sharing! We'll each order an appetizer (soup/salad) and split the entree. Other than the Character meal- if you're planning any sit-down meals, lunch is less expensive than dinner. However- we just returned from 16 nights at Disney, and found ourselves doing sit-downs for salad, soup and dessert (we shared dessert). That way we didn't feel uncomfortable, and got to enjoy a relaxing meal. (I should say that we did share both counter service meals and sit down meals. It's usually A LOT of food IMHO.)

We go down to WDW a lot, and stay at Shades most of the time. Let me know or PM me if I can help!

 

[snowwite]

We used to get by on less than 100/day unless we did a char meal or dinner show when kids were younger and we were all on the same diet. Now that I have a 13 yr old DS (with a hollow leg he fills w/food...) and a vegetarian ultra fussy DD, my darlin southern fried DH plus low fat,low sugar me it is a lot tougher to keep it under 150/day.One thig that helps is bringing snacks like granola bars and rice krispie treats w/us.We also tend to have a very light breakfast like a bagel and juice and then eat brunch at the latest sitting we can get at Spoodles,Crystal palace,chef mickeys or similar place.Then we might have a dolewhip or hot pretzel for lunch and a big dinner.Other days we have big breakfast,latest lunch time at someplace in Epcot(my fave Teppanaki) and split subs or pizza for dinner if we are even hungry later.
We definitely get creative and dont eat traditional meals at traditional times but that is part of the fun of vacation.It is not like real life.When else does a 40 yr old get to have this much fun