How much do you budget per day for food if paying OOP?

[Ava]

Pretty self-explanatory... for those of you who do not do DDP, how much do you budget for food per day?

We will be staying onsite & eating all meals onsite, however I don't think the DDP will work for us for a few reasons. So I'm trying to figure out how much to bring to pay for our food.

Our party is 2 adults & a 2-year-old (who will mostly share from our plates). Staying for 5 full days + 2 half days (our travel days). I am figuring...

17 meals (3 per full day + 1 on each travel day)

3 TS @ ~$70/meal = $210
14 CS @ ~$25/meal = $350
Total = $560

Do you think $600 is enough? Are my estimates high, or too low, or pretty good? I haven't been to WDW in 5 years and didn't really keep track of how much we spent on food last time.

 

[elaine and the boys]

I think your numbers may be a bit conservative for your table service meals, considering you need to include a tip....and your meal prices quickly rise if you include appetizers, desserts, alcoholic beverages.

Perhaps you could take a look at the menus of the restaurants that interest you. Prices are listed, so you could make a close estimate.

You can find links to dining menus on the DIS homepage or on Allearsnet.

 

[Darcy03231]

I plan $10/pp per meal for counter service and $45/pp per meal for table service.

 

[Darcy03231]

I posted too quick!

When I took my niece we were on the DDP. I found just for the two of us our TS meals ran between $80-$100.

 

[Mom2micayla]

I think your TS meal allowance might be a bit low, but it does depend on which ones you're eating. Some (like LTT, Sci Fi, etc) are fairly cheap so those might work.

I also notice you're not including any $$ for snacks. You're going to want to factor those in too.

 

[hoffmann2828]

I agree with the previous posters....

I think your TS meals are low (especially if you are going to EPCOT TS, etc.), I would budget more like $50 per person. But, that is an area I like to splurge on. Especially if you are only doing 3 for the entire week! Have a drink!

I think you are right on the money with the CS! We went last year right before my DD turned 3. So she wasn't on our meal plan at all. We just got creative with our meals - like adding a fruit bowl for our dessert, so she could have fruit as her "side". Sometimes we added an extra item here or there to supplement (like adding a chili, so I could have the chili as my side, and then DD could have some fries, etc.) I know you aren't on the meal plan, but most CS have "combo" meals, so you have to use your imagination when it comes to adding in a kid without really budgeting for them.


I think you definitely need to budget for more SNACKS!!! Even if you don't have a child that will say "MOMMY!!! POPCORN!!!" and have a meltdown, you may have that with DH! My DH is the worst with snacks. He never walked past a food cart he didn't like!!! LOL In the case of snacks (and drinks!!!) I would add at LEAST $10 bucks a day, if not $20. I guess it depends on whether you would rather have a Diet Coke for $3, or get a free ice water from a CS place.

Jenny

 

[Ava]

Thanks for the input, all.

I'm planning on buffets for our TS meals so hopefully can keep the cost down if we do breakfast or lunch. My partner doesn't drink alcohol & I am fine w/ not drinking at WDW, so don't need to budget for that.

How could I forget the snacks! Do you think $10/day is enough for snacks? We will be bringing some snacks from home as well.

Do you think $700 is a better estimate?

This is so complicated, lol.

 

[Ava]

I think you definitely need to budget for more SNACKS!!! Even if you don't have a child that will say "MOMMY!!! POPCORN!!!" and have a meltdown, you may have that with DH! My DH is the worst with snacks. He never walked past a food cart he didn't like!!! LOL In the case of snacks (and drinks!!!) I would add at LEAST $10 bucks a day, if not $20. I guess it depends on whether you would rather have a Diet Coke for $3, or get a free ice water from a CS place.

LOL, definitely give me the free ice water! Although my partner does have a Coke habit, hahaha.

After running these numbers I am thinking I might as well just pay for the DDP! But I do NOT want to deal with explaining it to my parents & MIL, convincing them to go for it, making all the ADRs, etc. I can see my dad now - what do you mean a turkey leg doesn't count as a snack!?

It was bad enough getting them to agree on dates, I finally just TOLD them this is when we're going, you can come on those dates or not.

 

[bigbabyblues]

The last time we paid OOP for all meals was a few years ago, and our budget was $150 or so per day. That was a family of 4, but the kiddos were 4 and 2.

The last couple trips, our TS breakfasts have been about $75, and dinners were all around $100 at the lowest, not always including tip. CS meals vary because we share a lot of the time.

 

[Vijoge]

what do you mean a turkey leg doesn't count as a snack!?

Whaaat? Turkey legs are no longer a snack?

 

[Ava]

Whaaat? Turkey legs are no longer a snack?

Are you being serious or funny? Haha, I have no idea if they actually count as a snack or not, I just used that as an example because my dad loves turkey legs!

 

[Tiger926]

Turkey legs absolutely do not count as a snack credit.

I agree that your TS meals may be a tad low for 2 adults, and a 1 kid meal, plus tax and tip. But, if you went to cheaper places such as: The Plaza, Tonys or Mama Melrose, you could certainly make that total, or, share big portions like at Tony's or Mama.

Good luck, and happy eating, Tiger

 

[eliza61]

We generally spend about 150-200 dollars a day for a family of 4. We eat a little different though. We enjoy big breakfastes so rarely will we stop for a big lunch. Also we don't do rope drops so we have a good breakfast around 8:30' ish go to the parks and maybe have a snack around noon or 1 (have you seen the size of those toll house cookie ice cream sandwiches, the cookies are the size of saucers) and then have a good dinner.

It's hard for me to tell you though as we rarely eat on site anymore (foods not that great in our opinion) but we do go for the fantasmic dinner package just to get the fantasmic pass and we do like the rainforest cafe.

Go to allears.net and check out the menus. they all have prices and you can get a better idea.

 

[Taja]

I tend to budget $50 per day per adult, but we don't do TS meals every day. Typically, we do a TS dinner every second or third day (we usually stay 10 to 12 nights), and we may have one or two TS breakfasts during the course of our WDW visit. All of us have different eating habits, so we find TS meals tend to bog us down--both time and food! *LOL*

We usually do a grocery stop for breakfast items (mostly me--need to have a bit of protein, fruit and carbs every morning) and in-room snacks (everyone else). That's about $30 to $40 total from the overall food budget, depending on who is travelling, and saves us at least that much compared to WDW pricing.

We're pretty dependent on counter service and the little market kiosks throughout the parks for most of our meals. I tend to eat about six times a day--very small portions. A piece of fruit, a croissant, a Mickey bar--hey! It's vacation! *LOL* I just feel better when I eat smaller quantities more frequently over a longer period of time. On the other hand, my travel buddies tend to eat larger quantities once or twice a day, with a snack or two thrown in for good measure. It's what works for them. Which makes TS meals a bit challenging, to say the least!

Whether you use the DDP or pay OOP, be sure to make your ADRs for your TS venues.

 

[Ava]

I tend to budget $50 per day per adult, but we don't do TS meals every day. Typically, we do a TS dinner every second or third day (we usually stay 10 to 12 nights), and we may have one or two TS breakfasts during the course of our WDW visit. All of us have different eating habits, so we find TS meals tend to bog us down--both time and food! *LOL*

This is my plan too. We're staying 6 nights; I want to do 1 TS character breakfast (unless DD is terrified of the characters, then we'll nix that), and 1 or 2 TS lunches or dinners. It's our first trip with a toddler, so I'd rather be able to be a little more flexible instead of having to stick to ADR times every day. I'm thinking of doing dinner at a resort on our arrival day - I really want to try Boma - so then we'll just do one TS in a park, probably lunch at Epcot. I can't imagine going to WDW and not eating at least one meal in WS!

 

[Tinkerbell58]

DD and I returned last week from WDW. In order to save money, we did our TS at lunch. For both of us, I spent a total of approx. $50 for each TS meal. We ate at LeCellier, 50's Prime Time, Mama Melrose, Boma breakfast buffet, and Liberty Tree Tavern. We even had dessert at a few of them (no appetizers or alcoholic drinks.) Eating a TS at lunch is less expensive than dinner.

 

[crazed'boutmaryP]

Just returned and for 7 WDW days for our family of 5 (one counts as child still) we kept our dining costs at about 750.00 plus 120.00 for water, soda, snacks and in room breakfast. We ate all of our breakfast in the room while getting ready. We did have a kitchen, but I have done this before without a kitchen. We ate 1 TS most days as a late lunch which worked out great as it gave us a break, kept us out of the sun and food is less expensive. CS for dinner and plenty of snacks. I had 960.00 in Visa rewards to pay for dining and souvenirs, still have 60 left.

I think your budget will work if you do not do appetizers, desserts or alcohol at every TS and do some late lunches. We also usually share a dessert and appetizer as the portions for food are large. I think the Dining plan would be way to much food for us, plus also don't like being tied to ADR's every day.

Good luck

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

You're a bit on the low side. I always try to overestimate a bit but WDW is expensive. You are in a resort and the meals are very overpriced. Add in a few extra snacks and you may as well do the DDP.

As much as I cringe when I pay for the DDP for our family upfront, it really is such a relief not to have to worry about it for the rest of the trip. Everyone can order what they want to eat, drink and for dessert and we don't have to worry about how much it costs. We always come out ahead.

I know if we weren't on DDP we wouldnt be getting dessert at every meal and we would split a few TS meals but honestly the stress of seeing the check at every meal would outweigh the savings for me. The one shock at the start of the trip is enough for me.

 

[terri01p]

 

[TiffanyK]

I get a little obsessive when I plan our Disney food budget. I actually check out the menus on allears and then "order" what I think we will want and add up the costs. I get a very accurate food budget that way and my dh appreciates knowing how much it's going to be.

The last couple times we've gone, I've written our CS orders on note cards and kept them with the daily plans. When we get to the CS restaurant I just read our order off the card. So much easier to order for a family of 6 like this and the CMs appreciate it too.