how much do you spend on...

[Kurby]

food?

the closer we get to arrival the more freaked out i get about the cost of this trip.

we planned on the dddp but WOW that's a lot of food and a heck of a lot of money.

so i'm not thinking of ditching the meal plan all together and buying groceries, making breakfast in the room, bringing a lunch and snacks and most days counter service for dinner.

there are a few special breakfasts that we'd like to do and on those days we'll "splurge".

we are a family of 3 - and trying to figure all this out.

how much do you spend on food both in the restaurants and groceries?

what do you take to the park for lunch if you bring it? what can you take?

this is our first trip home since buying into dvc so it's all very new and confusing

please help me.

thanks

 

[Chuck S]

On a recent 9 night trip for two adults, we spent about $600 for food, We ate 11 TS meals, but not a TS dinner, always Breakfast or lunch, 4 counter service meals. For most breakfasts, we had cereal, toast, fruit & coffee in the room, and did buy some ham, cheese, bread & small mayo for the evenings we didn't get counter service, we purchased these off-site at Publix. About $120 less than the standard DDP would have cost us. Now, we rarely had desserts, usually appetizers and entree at lunch.

It really depends upon your families dining habits, and whether you enjoy larger meals. It also depends on if you like a TS Dinner, rather than lunch, as to whether a dining plan will save you any $$.

We did not carry any food, only a bottle of water each, into the parks.

You might look over some of the menus, and add up what you'd normally order to see if the DDP will be a savings.

 

[Kurby]

we did do the menu thing and figured all the table services we wanted to do it would be cheaper to do the dddp but now we're considering changing the first 6 days at pop to a 4 day disney cruise - way more then the cost of the hotel but if we save money on the ddp it might work out

we only picked all ts becasue we wanted to enjoy everything but enjoying everything now doesn't mean spending a fortune

even if we don't to the cruise i think we need to rething the dddp vs shipping and eating our own food for at least 2 meals.

 

[5forDiz]

On our last trip we didn't do DDP. We made coffee in morning, purchased milk, english muffins, cereal, bagels and on some days picked up a hot breakfast sandwich. We had ice cream & desserts/snacks back at our villa after returning from parks in evening - our kids really enjoyed this as they tend to stay up later & it was great to have it all at hand. Occasionally had dessert with table service meals but not always depending on how we felt. Did not do any lunches at villa since we were always at a park at that time.

While we saved a bit of money over DDP but honestly, we did not feel it was as much as we'd thought it'd be ( maybe around $100-150 if I recall We are a family of 5 myself,DH, DS20, DD17,DD11.

TS we did for dinner: 1900 Park Faire Buffet Character Dinner, ESPN Club, Spoodles, Crystal Palace Buffet Character Dinner, House of Blues - DTD, and Wolfgang Puck Express - DTD Marketplace and Pepper Market at Coronado Springs ( although I'm calling WPE & PM table service venues technically though they are classified counter service because you get on line and order your meal however a server then brings out your order to your table and its on dishes & utensils not served with paper&plastic ware.)

Lunch we skipped some days if we ate late breakfast, all other lunches were CS at a park or resort.

As far as our family is concerned this is kind of a tough call for us - we can save a bit OP but we do like the fact that with DDP our older kids have flexibility to do their meals if they split up from us without having to carry much cash on them. And when we do DDP we know what we the cost is and we squirrel away that money before our trip so it's kind of like we paid off the dining in advance.

 

[Anal Annie]

We stay in studios so we do not do any "real" cooking. We eat breakfast in 9 times out of 10...maybe 1 character breakfast in a weeks time. Breakfasts are usually cereal, doughnuts or pastries, oatmeal or toasted bagels. We pack our own snacks for the parks (cheese or peanut butter crackers...granola bars...fruit snacks etc.) We almost always eat a CS lunch and several CS dinners in a week. We probably only do 2 or 3 TS dinners in a week. I would say we probably average $28 for a CS meal. We are a family of 3 (DS11). We had the DDE card last year (now called TIW or something) so we used it as much as we could. If we eat TS at say Boma or Jiko we're looking at approx. $100-120 depending on our bar tab.

Based on this pattern...7 days of breakfasts in the villa and say 4 days with both CS lunch and dinner ($56 / day) and 3 days with a CS lunch & TS dinners ($128 / day): approx. $608 for a full week. At $39 per person per day the DDP would cost us $819 since DS is over 10 yo.

 

[CarolA]

I am single and eat a lot like Annie and family. I don't need/want a TS meal every day.

(I travel a lot on business so eating out's not a 'biggie' and no matter how much you "walk" at Disney with the DDP it's generally more calories in then out LOL!)

We are going for four days for the Half Marathon this weekend. One TS meal.... that's it! Breakfast in the room. (Cereal and milk) He doesn't do snacks. (Probably why he's so thin LOL!) I pack my own healthy snacks and limit myself to ONE Mickey Bar. Dinner's usually TS or off site. (Friday will be offsite for example and I want to go to Quoba one day another offsite!)

 

[5forDiz]

I'm intrigued Carol ! What / where is Quoba ?

TIA

~ Laura

 

[LIFERBABE]

I suggest maintaining your flexibility this trip and plan on a combination of dining out and meals in
Take whatever you budget for food and spend 30% on groceries and allot the rest for dining out/tips. Then eat at will no restrictions no limitations order what you want when you want and pay oop
I don't enjoy the all or nothing approach to dining. If it's more convenient to eat in I want to have good food available. If we are out or want to visit a favorite we do that
With kids and packed restaurants dining put can take just as long as dining in
Plus the kid menus are really limited and mine grew tired of them and the new chicken nuggets by day 2
Our Ddp will cost 1k a week for 4 now that both boys are over 9
For example, I can spend 300 bucks on a great grocery order and still have plenty left for TS, snacks, mugs, tips etc without even thinking about it
Add in available discounts or TIW for additional savings
If the dining was worth it I would have no problem paying it but WDW is in cost cutting mode and the menus have really suffered

 

[La2kw]

I'm intrigued Carol ! What / where is Quoba ?

TIA

~ Laura

I'm not Carol, but I think it may be Qdoba, which is a Mexican counter service place similar to Chipotle. It's very good, and there is one located down the street from Goodings.

 

[mtmbyck]

I don't think you metioned where you are staying and how old your kids are. Actually, having the leisure to leave the parks and go back to the room for lunch or dinner is a treat for us. You can only serve your child so many counter service kids meals (my kids are fussy so it's mac ad cheese, pizza or chicken fingers all of the time)

We love doing a quick breakfast in the room on park mornings. On resort mornings, it's a great time to hang out in our Pj's an extra hour, make a pot of coffee, bacon and eggs, fresh fruit ......the works.

You can actually buy the round PB and J sandwiches in boxes of 12 in the states. We freeze them and bring them down to the pool or to the parks as lunch or snacks for the kids - they love them. They actually serve them at some Disney restaurants.

Most of our dinners will be out at CS or TS meals. I think I have 6 booked total for our 9 night stay - some are lunches. Almost 1 a day.

Dinners in the room will be pasta, chicken casserole, tacos, and haven't decided on the rest (we have a 2 bedroom so full kitchen).

We have done the DDP - it's a wonderful treat but we ate more that week than I would ever normally eat and we were uncomfortable about that. Plus you have that 18% gratuity (on a $900 dining plan that adds up!!).

 

[Kurby]

dd will be 3.5 when we go

 

[Pennyguy23]

We will have been here 10 days come Friday and we will probably have spent 700 to 1000$

 

[jamstew]

We'll have a group of 8 for seven nights in May (5 adults, 3 children under 10), and my food budget is $1800, which amounts to $225 per person. That includes groceries for 5 breakfasts in the villa, miscellaneous drinks & snacks for the villa, four TS meals, all the CS meals, and snacks in the parks.

 

[CarolA]

I'm not Carol, but I think it may be Qdoba, which is a Mexican counter service place similar to Chipotle. It's very good, and there is one located down the street from Goodings.

That's it. I really like the "Mexican Gumbo"

http://www.qdoba.com/default.aspx

Food is good, quick and resonably priced. Better then Disney fast food Mexican IMHO LOL!

 

[Coach81]

My wife and I did not do the plan for our last February trip to try and "save" money. She came home and added up all the meal costs and we broke even or actually spent MORE going out of pocket. This included a few "cheap meals" in the room - was a one bedroom in OKW which was great btw-. But to answer your question, we spent for a family of four right around - $750.00 - $800.00 or so on just meals without the dining plan last February.

In a month and a half we'll be back on the dining plan with my mom and stepfather, we have a few character dinners planned, which is where you really save some money with the plan. BTW we will be using the DDP not the deluxe.. we feel that that one is too much planning and too much emphasis on food.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[momtoleasawav]

I don't do the dining plan when I bring my kids to disney ( 3 kids, 13, 11, 6) we tend to eat meals in the room and we actually rented a locker at some parks to store our cooler with our lunch. we had a few ts dinners and we paid cash, probably about 100.00 each. if we didn't have the kitchen in the room we would probably use the dining plan.
my husband and I are going by ourselves in september and we will definately do the dining plan. I like to eat at nice restaurants when we are alone, we won't do any buffets and eat at some pricey restaurants

 

[crisi]

We don't do the dining plan - its too much food and we don't save money. We've had luck with the Tables in Wonderland card - but that is because for the past few trips there have been more than just the four of us, because we order a bottle of wine with dinner (or other drinks), and because we dine out signature usually twice per trip.

All this adds up to "we spend way more than you want to."

We do eat breakfast in the room. I find Disney breakfasts to be difficult to deal with - expensive for what you get, the good stuff is really high in sugar (Cinnamon Rolls from the Boardwalk Bakery or Main Street Bakery) and I can't eat anyway (gluten intolerant), and the amount of time it takes is time I don't want to give.

And we will pack in snacks - same logic. I really don't want to stop my day and go searching for something for the kids to eat because they have a sudden case of "I'm hungry" - being able to pull a granola bar out of the bag is usually a better option.

 

[DeeCee735]

On a recent 9 night trip for two adults, we spent about $600 for food, We ate 11 TS meals, but not a TS dinner, always Breakfast or lunch, 4 counter service meals. For most breakfasts, we had cereal, toast, fruit & coffee in the room, and did buy some ham, cheese, bread & small mayo for the evenings we didn't get counter service, we purchased these off-site at Publix. About $120 less than the standard DDP would have cost us. Now, we rarely had desserts, usually appetizers and entree at lunch.

It really depends upon your families dining habits, and whether you enjoy larger meals. It also depends on if you like a TS Dinner, rather than lunch, as to whether a dining plan will save you any $$.

We did not carry any food, only a bottle of water each, into the parks.

You might look over some of the menus, and add up what you'd normally order to see if the DDP will be a savings.

Wow! $600 for 9 days.....I should take a lesson from you. We spend a fortune on food. This trip we'll stop at the store and get some morning items.....fruit, cheese, english muffins, coffee, and maybe an evening snack item like nacho's and cheese and salsa, plus a case of water. I don't want to spend more than $80 on groceries. There's 5 of us for 6 days, all adults.

But as far as restaurants go, we spend alot of money. I want to sit down for dinner every night (it's really the best time spent together for the family, since the kids are 19 now and aren't really with us all day), so that'll cost.....a couple of appetizers for the table, soda's and maybe a couple of drinks for DH and myself, entree's and maybe a couple of desserts to share. Then no one really watches what their spending in the snack kiosks or on Beaches & Cream Ice Cream/BW Sweet Shoppe stuff, etc. And, then the kids are out late, so there's usually something in ESPN at the end of the day for them.

So....even on DDP $1000.00 (which I'm going for this coming trip - Next Week! ) and even with the DDE/TIW 20% off card, I think we'll drop $1600 on food at least. (I'm including a very expensive evening at Yachtsman Steakhouse (not using 2 TS credits on DDP for this, using the 20%, for a celebratory dinner with a special order cake).

And yikes That's alot!

 

[bub]

This all depends on what and where you like to eat while on vacation.

Our last trip was for 7 days with 2 adults and 2 hungry teens. We had a one-bedroom and a car. We spent under $200 at Publix and bought most of our food for the week: cereal, eggs, waffles for breakfast; sandwich stuff for lunch; frozen pizza, Rotisserie chicken and some other stuff for dinner, plus snacks, drinks including beer and wine (for the adults) and fruit.

We were there in August and it was very hot and crowded. Eating breakfast in the room enabled us to hit the parks at opening. Most days we came back mid-day for lunch, rest, and the pool. It's nice to really relax in your room and not be in line for food. Dinners we ate either before returning to the parks, or in some cases late after returning.

We had one dinner out (we love Boma) and one breakfast (1900 Park Faire). We ate several counter service meals (either lunch or dinner) in Epcot. One day we had counter service at Yak and Yeti at 10:30 a.m. - the kids were hungry for fried rice! So, while we plan most of our meals in, we don't stop touring just for meals - we try to be flexible.

We've always eaten lots in the room, even when we used to get a studio. We buy fun, easy to prepare food, and the kids have certain things they expect to have on vacation. And, I think we feel better eating stuff we're used to, rather than having every meal out.

Our total estimate for food and beverages for the week was around $500. With four paying adult prices, it would have been $1092 plus tips for the dining plan.

 

[spiceycat]

decide where you want to eat - go to Allears to get the prices - then add around 10 to 18% tip.

those are your costs for eating out.

for your meals - first what do you have a 1-bedroom where you can actually cook - or studio - where you can cook but it takes more effort?

if a studio how are you coming - driving then just a week or two before you leave - when you make dinner make more (twice as much) - freeze it and take it with you. - flying this is not possible unless.

don't know about shipping food that is cooked and frozen.

otherwise make a grocery list - but take things with you that you don't need to buy again - garlic, cooking oil, seasoning - that are expensive. just remember to take them when you leave.

be sure to include luncheon meats, fruits and vegetables (florida has some wonder fruits and vegetables).

you can do hamburgers, steaks, etc - but you need to get one of the grills at your DVC and that requires charcoal and matches - you can get them from DVC but they are expensive. they do let you have the equipment you need - just bring them back.

here definitely do more than you need - the freezer in the studio is tiny - but can take a little bit.

sorry can't help with lunch - allergic to the sun - so need to leave the parks by 10am definitely by 11am - or I can get sick. Now if the day is clouded or rainy can stay - but only then. so have lunch in my dvc resort - also can't go back until the sun is setting - so again have dinner in my room/villa.