How much do you budget for food for 2 Adults and 2 teenage boys for a week at WDW

[popy]

With the eats and treats prices are ridiculously expensive.
taking all the fun out of fun food. Go to Walmart stock up on moon pies, cup cakes, honey buns, chips and candy bars, beef sticks, anything to carry and eat, that will get big boys by.
Get a filler cup drink all you want, if you buy food from Disney you are going to get stung.

 

[lfcfan]

I am perhaps in the minority here, but here goes...

We are 2 adults traveling in May with our almost 20 year old son, who is also a full meal eater over sweets and treats, especially since recently developing an interest in weight training, etc. We go on vacation to enjoy an escape from the real world, and that includes getting away from meal prep, groceries, cleaning up after meals, etc. as much as possible. We will have a generous food budget (probably around 300/day for 3 of us, but I don't think we will hit that every day) and will look for ways to enjoy the food, eat some relatively healthy stuff so we feel well enough to keep up, and keep my son satisfied. This may include one sit down meal per day where my husband and I might get apps and share an entree (for budget and calorie concerns) while my son gets his steak, and also includes looking for counter service menus with more satisfying options than just fried foods.

Breakfast is an opportunity for supplementing in the room with whole fruit and peanut butter, protein bars/trail mix--these are all things my son loves, so that is easy--won't work if your sons don't enjoy! That will hold him over until we maybe grab him a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks or something mid-morning--he will want to eat frequently. My husband and I could get coffee and split a sandwich, knowing we will splurge on a meal later.

We are sometimes planning our sit down meal at brunch or lunch, which can be a more affordable option. So my son will feast on a protein filled $20 entree at 1pm, and then maybe an afternoon snack or treat (ice cream), and then a decent counter service dinner.

My point is, for us, we will have minimal food in the room. It will focus on easy, non messy, healthy food for energy. We will choose restaurants, including quick service meals, wisely based largely on our son's preferences, and we will splurge on things we love, like special ice cream sundaes, etc. When we eat sit down meals, we will choose the more "reasonably" priced ones (grand floridian cafe, for example, over signature).

My experience is that no one really wants to eat meals in the room. No one wants the usual snacks and things we can have at home. If something is special and we want to splurge, we will. Having a few basics like whole fruit and protein bars is definitely good for when someone is starving, which is rare. or to just hold over until the mid-morning food stop. You will have access to the quick service at Poly and GF, both which have healthy, reasonably priced options. You can even grab a kids meal for an extra meal boost for the boys (like a side dish for their meals), which we might do, as it comes with fruit, milk, etc.

This is just my experience, and not at all a criticism of those that like to load up the room, eat on a tighter budget, etc. Just for us, this trip comes rarely, and we really enjoy the escape from reality. So, we splurge, but we splurge in a controlled fashion.

I can see this being an example of our day...

$25 quick service at hotel for coffee, quick breakfast foods
$25 mid morning snack at starbucks or similar for 3
1:30pm Grand Floridian cafe brunch/lunch, 3 entrees, tip $80
4:30pm ice cream for 3 $25 (my husband and I could easily share)
8:00 counter service like ABC commissary $50

That is $205 and a pretty full day of eating.

People are right not to waste money on bottled water, or even soda, etc. That is a budget killer.

Good luck whatever you decide, and I hope it works great for you and your sons. Enjoy!!

 

[jacksmom]

I would check out menus and pricing on line before you go, prices have increased lately. Some examples people have given seem very low! Better to be prepared than shocked when you arrive.

 

[jessg]

I am perhaps in the minority here, but here goes...

We are 2 adults traveling in May with our almost 20 year old son, who is also a full meal eater over sweets and treats, especially since recently developing an interest in weight training, etc. We go on vacation to enjoy an escape from the real world, and that includes getting away from meal prep, groceries, cleaning up after meals, etc. as much as possible. We will have a generous food budget (probably around 300/day for 3 of us, but I don't think we will hit that every day) and will look for ways to enjoy the food, eat some relatively healthy stuff so we feel well enough to keep up, and keep my son satisfied. This may include one sit down meal per day where my husband and I might get apps and share an entree (for budget and calorie concerns) while my son gets his steak, and also includes looking for counter service menus with more satisfying options than just fried foods.

Breakfast is an opportunity for supplementing in the room with whole fruit and peanut butter, protein bars/trail mix--these are all things my son loves, so that is easy--won't work if your sons don't enjoy! That will hold him over until we maybe grab him a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks or something mid-morning--he will want to eat frequently. My husband and I could get coffee and split a sandwich, knowing we will splurge on a meal later.

We are sometimes planning our sit down meal at brunch or lunch, which can be a more affordable option. So my son will feast on a protein filled $20 entree at 1pm, and then maybe an afternoon snack or treat (ice cream), and then a decent counter service dinner.

My point is, for us, we will have minimal food in the room. It will focus on easy, non messy, healthy food for energy. We will choose restaurants, including quick service meals, wisely based largely on our son's preferences, and we will splurge on things we love, like special ice cream sundaes, etc. When we eat sit down meals, we will choose the more "reasonably" priced ones (grand floridian cafe, for example, over signature).

My experience is that no one really wants to eat meals in the room. No one wants the usual snacks and things we can have at home. If something is special and we want to splurge, we will. Having a few basics like whole fruit and protein bars is definitely good for when someone is starving, which is rare. or to just hold over until the mid-morning food stop. You will have access to the quick service at Poly and GF, both which have healthy, reasonably priced options. You can even grab a kids meal for an extra meal boost for the boys (like a side dish for their meals), which we might do, as it comes with fruit, milk, etc.

This is just my experience, and not at all a criticism of those that like to load up the room, eat on a tighter budget, etc. Just for us, this trip comes rarely, and we really enjoy the escape from reality. So, we splurge, but we splurge in a controlled fashion.

I can see this being an example of our day...

$25 quick service at hotel for coffee, quick breakfast foods
$25 mid morning snack at starbucks or similar for 3
1:30pm Grand Floridian cafe brunch/lunch, 3 entrees, tip $80
4:30pm ice cream for 3 $25 (my husband and I could easily share)
8:00 counter service like ABC commissary $50

That is $205 and a pretty full day of eating.

People are right not to waste money on bottled water, or even soda, etc. That is a budget killer.

Good luck whatever you decide, and I hope it works great for you and your sons. Enjoy!!

I don't know. Starbucks alone just for me and my husband a coffee and croissant each is $20 and that's off disney property. Seems like you are under calculating a bit. When we went in 2019 me and my husband and 2 small children spent approx 50$ on QS breakfast at our hotels.

 

[lfcfan]

I don't know. Starbucks alone just for me and my husband a coffee and croissant each is $20 and that's off disney property. Seems like you are under calculating a bit. When we went in 2019 me and my husband and 2 small children spent approx 50$ on QS breakfast at our hotels.

You are right, I am sure...can easily bump that up 10-15 bucks, but a couple of clarifications. My son doesn't drink coffee, and essentially only drinks water. So coffee would be for 2, and, husband and I might share an iced coffee after having coffee in the room, etc. And, I think the 2 $25 morning estimates is essentially your $50 breakfast. We will probably just do it in smaller doses. There is no doubt the budget I laid out involves being careful and sharing, and/or ordering cheaper items. I am happy to do this most meals, and then splurge when I want to, but I realize that doesn't work for everyone. It does also require commitment from everyone so one doesn't feel like they have to sort of monitor everyone's spending. My husband and son are happy to have me "provide" the food, so I will likely place mobile orders that are able to feed everyone. I know what they like, and they don't really care, as long as more food is coming in a few hours. We will talk about ordering at sit down meals, and I will tell them, we have an expensive meal coming up tomorrow (say a signature), so let's try to not blow the budget here.

I am not crazy about this, but the current food prices at DW now are forcing me to take this approach. I have talked to my son and husband about it, and made it clear that if we are not careful, we can easily spend 3-4k on food on our trip, and that is not okay with me, whether we can afford it or not. They need to be on board with eating under somewhat of a budget, or we should probably go somewhere else. They are happy to go along with this plan. Again, though, I am not saying this is ideal for everyone, but we will be pretty comfortable doing it. I would never be able to do this if we were traveling with other people, etc., but for the 3 of us, we can do it, enjoy our food, and not feel deprived.

I also believe we will be eating at more quick service locations than usual this trip. Every time I look at the sit down menus, the same entree goes up $3. That $29 chicken parm at Trattoria Al Forno just might push me to a quick service at Epcot instead. Still expensive, but a $16 entree with no tipping is much more doable. Again, had to explain this to the fam, and they don't really care. After 10 trips, they still can't name a restaurant that is a must do for them. They just go with the flow, so I am lucky in that regard. (except my son must have school bread--who knew??)

 

[TwoMisfits]

You are right, I am sure...can easily bump that up 10-15 bucks, but a couple of clarifications. My son doesn't drink coffee, and essentially only drinks water. So coffee would be for 2, and, husband and I might share an iced coffee after having coffee in the room, etc. And, I think the 2 $25 morning estimates is essentially your $50 breakfast. We will probably just do it in smaller doses. There is no doubt the budget I laid out involves being careful and sharing, and/or ordering cheaper items. I am happy to do this most meals, and then splurge when I want to, but I realize that doesn't work for everyone. It does also require commitment from everyone so one doesn't feel like they have to sort of monitor everyone's spending. My husband and son are happy to have me "provide" the food, so I will likely place mobile orders that are able to feed everyone. I know what they like, and they don't really care, as long as more food is coming in a few hours. We will talk about ordering at sit down meals, and I will tell them, we have an expensive meal coming up tomorrow (say a signature), so let's try to not blow the budget here.

I am not crazy about this, but the current food prices at DW now are forcing me to take this approach. I have talked to my son and husband about it, and made it clear that if we are not careful, we can easily spend 3-4k on food on our trip, and that is not okay with me, whether we can afford it or not. They need to be on board with eating under somewhat of a budget, or we should probably go somewhere else. They are happy to go along with this plan. Again, though, I am not saying this is ideal for everyone, but we will be pretty comfortable doing it. I would never be able to do this if we were traveling with other people, etc., but for the 3 of us, we can do it, enjoy our food, and not feel deprived.

I also believe we will be eating at more quick service locations than usual this trip. Every time I look at the sit down menus, the same entree goes up $3. That $29 chicken parm at Trattoria Al Forno just might push me to a quick service at Epcot instead. Still expensive, but a $16 entree with no tipping is much more doable. Again, had to explain this to the fam, and they don't really care. After 10 trips, they still can't name a restaurant that is a must do for them. They just go with the flow, so I am lucky in that regard. (except my son must have school bread--who knew??)

My kids (which now include college age) are very used to me giving a price at a sit down restaurant and telling them to stay under it. It means they have free range to order and I have free ability to not go broke. My kids have jointly decided to share when they wanted a pricey dish and to have the 2nd person get an app or cheap entree, since they knew I wouldn't say no if they stuck to the price rules.

I set the price by looking at the menu and giving them about 75% of the options by price.

 

[Dsny4fun]

I budget $150 per person, per day. Some days we come in under, some days over but it kind of averages out in the end. We usually do 2 TS meals per day but very few snacks and of course some cocktails here and there

 

[lfcfan]

My kids (which now include college age) are very used to me giving a price at a sit down restaurant and telling them to stay under it. It means they have free range to order and I have free ability to not go broke. My kids have jointly decided to share when they wanted a pricey dish and to have the 2nd person get an app or cheap entree, since they knew I wouldn't say no if they stuck to the price rules.

I set the price by looking at the menu and giving them about 75% of the options by price.

I love how you put this. It sounds very rational and smart vs control freaky when I try to explain it. I am going to "borrow" this method.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I decided on how much we wanted to spend on food and bought giftcards Disney and Landry's.
We did one sit down meal a day and it was budgeted for $40 each, 1 QS meal at $20 and $40 extra for snacks.
We always ate brakefast on the way and we are big water drinkers so we relifiled our first water bottle we bought in the day with free water cups
We ate brakefast twice at McDonald's and the other days it wa muffins and stuff I ordered from walmart.

 

[disneyseniors]

I will have two teenage boys, my husband, and myself in a studio at Poly in the next few weeks. We arrive 10 AM Saturday and leave 10 AM Saturday. How much would you budget for food? No kitchen for this DVC stay, so I am struggling to think of what to order besides water to be delivered. If we were to eat 100% of our meals on property, how much would you budget?

Also, what would you order for the room?

TIA.

I don't know the exact amount, but whatever it is, I would double it, LOL>
We went on a trip with my daughter, husband, and 2 teenage boys. Those boys would eat a whole big breakfast and be hungry half an hour later. We had free dining then, and used a lot of our credits to help feed the boys. It's amazing what teen boys can eat.It wasn't a normal breakfast either. They had eggs, meat, potatoes, biscuits and pancakes. Then 1/2 hour later they ate again, starving! These were regular sized boys too. Good luck

 

[jessg]

You are right, I am sure...can easily bump that up 10-15 bucks, but a couple of clarifications. My son doesn't drink coffee, and essentially only drinks water. So coffee would be for 2, and, husband and I might share an iced coffee after having coffee in the room, etc. And, I think the 2 $25 morning estimates is essentially your $50 breakfast. We will probably just do it in smaller doses. There is no doubt the budget I laid out involves being careful and sharing, and/or ordering cheaper items. I am happy to do this most meals, and then splurge when I want to, but I realize that doesn't work for everyone. It does also require commitment from everyone so one doesn't feel like they have to sort of monitor everyone's spending. My husband and son are happy to have me "provide" the food, so I will likely place mobile orders that are able to feed everyone. I know what they like, and they don't really care, as long as more food is coming in a few hours. We will talk about ordering at sit down meals, and I will tell them, we have an expensive meal coming up tomorrow (say a signature), so let's try to not blow the budget here.

I am not crazy about this, but the current food prices at DW now are forcing me to take this approach. I have talked to my son and husband about it, and made it clear that if we are not careful, we can easily spend 3-4k on food on our trip, and that is not okay with me, whether we can afford it or not. They need to be on board with eating under somewhat of a budget, or we should probably go somewhere else. They are happy to go along with this plan. Again, though, I am not saying this is ideal for everyone, but we will be pretty comfortable doing it. I would never be able to do this if we were traveling with other people, etc., but for the 3 of us, we can do it, enjoy our food, and not feel deprived.

I also believe we will be eating at more quick service locations than usual this trip. Every time I look at the sit down menus, the same entree goes up $3. That $29 chicken parm at Trattoria Al Forno just might push me to a quick service at Epcot instead. Still expensive, but a $16 entree with no tipping is much more doable. Again, had to explain this to the fam, and they don't really care. After 10 trips, they still can't name a restaurant that is a must do for them. They just go with the flow, so I am lucky in that regard. (except my son must have school bread--who knew??)

We don't really do sit downstairs much either. We usually have a car so we almost always do offsite for dinner and Carry lunch in or have the occasion QS lunch. This trip we are going for longer than usual so we will be staying offsit and have a kitchen. We will have breakfast at our place then most days Carry in sandwiches/wraps for lunch and lots of snacks then just purchase a QS lunch maybe a few times and maybe a snack every couple of days also.

 

[kymom99]

I know the OP already had her trip, and I hope they had a great time!

I would add a styrofoam cooler to my order. Fill that sucker with ice and stretch your fridge space. We bought one in California when our room fridge was the smallest mini fridge I had ever seen. We put all our drinks in there and used the fridge for other stuff.

My husband has food allergies. When we vacation he often buys hard boiled eggs from a store deli area. A little salt and pepper and he is happy for a bit. You could also buy ham salad, tuna salad, etc. pre made from the deli. Easy to eat on bread or crackers. Even convenience type foods from the grocery should be way cheaper than Disney food.

You could also make nachos with a microwave. Buy chips, some kind of prepared meat and shredded cheese. Add some salsa. Pretty tasty.

 

[Pastalady]

We are not big eaters. I cannot eat restaurant portions for more than one meal. Typical day is:
- Free breakfast in hotel (buffet with eggs, etc).
- We will bring a snack in for the kiddo (likely a gluten free snack as we know we can find but might not when the hangry sets in).
- We will eat a later lunch. Counter service most likely. Kid is vegan and gluten free. She is 13 but still maybe eats 1/2 a kids portion. So maybe 40 bucks. She will eat a side from me and maybe get a side salad.
- Afternoon treat/snack like popcorn and some fruit or veggies. 15
- Dinner: she will eat an entree and DH and I most likely will be full from lunch. We will probably get dessert. So again, maybe 50?
I am guessing we will average 100/day for all 3 of us.

 

[Elephantay]

We have water delivered ( last few times from Staples) and although we may grab ice water at the parks we find we go through it quickly. We always get refillable mugs and find we get good use out of them, mostly for caffeine in the am and Powerade when we are at the pool.
We like to have one TS meal per day to relax, get out of the heat, and talk to each other. We usually try to do this midday, often choosing buffets or other filling meals and timing them so we only need a CS meal later. We always have oatmeal, nutritious bars, and fruit in the room which helps a lot.
This was all pre-Covid, but for two adults and two teen boys, we figure on $60-75 pp per day. Every trip we go through our dining and park plans and it doesnt work out for us to get the DDP. We do have DVC discounts and sometimes, again pricing things out ahead of time, have gotten TIW.

 

[StitchBuddy]

We haven’t done this in a long time. But, we use to bring breakfast foods and the things needed for nice sandwiches. We always took a break mid day. So, we ate in the room for either lunch or dinner. And then headed back to the park after we rested.

 

[reddog21]

We budget a lot for food probably $200+ per day for 2 adults 2 teenage boys. We don’t limit ourselves to 1 table or 1 qs per day. We kind of feel it out as we go some days are 2 qs some are 2 table service.

 

[holden]

2 teen boys? $1,000,000 a day

 

[Trinity524]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I budgeted $3000 (including tips), and put the $$ on giftcards. I came home with $600. For us the answer was $2400 for 7 nights, or $86 dollars a day pp, including tips. This also includes 4 refillable mugs that I shouldn't have bought because we really didn't use them. Thank you so much for your input!

 

[snikki]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I budgeted $3000 (including tips), and put the $$ on giftcards. I came home with $600. For us the answer was $2400 for 7 nights, or $86 dollars a day pp, including tips. This also includes 4 refillable mugs that I shouldn't have bought because we really didn't use them. Thank you so much for your input!

That sounds about right IMO. I would have said about $100 per person per day.

Can you let us know where you ate? TS, QS? Did you share meals? Did you place a grocery order?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Lots of good advice on here for in room snacks. I have teen girls who also eat a lot/mostly snack/graze a lot, and we usually just do a quick bfast in the room if we can for longer trips. Most times we don't stay a full week but we try to do yogurts, oatmeal (make them in the coffeemaker), bananas, protein bars, chips/salsa, beer (for us), pretzels, etc. We drive so we bring stuff with us but we don't bring a ton since we're on vacation and while I like having snacks for late at night or midday, I also want to enjoy eating out and trying new foods since that's a focus of a lot of our trips.

We usually budget about $100pp/day and we usually stay inside of that as we haven't been doing any table service meals on our last few trips. If we do have a TS meal every day, I would bump that up to $125-150pp/day. We are not big eaters, we'll sometimes share meals and we do have occasional adult bevs. We're big snackers and like our booshie coffee breaks.