How much for 6 days for food?

Cepbush106

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
75
I've budgeted $1200 for 6 days of food... what do you think? We're staying at Bonnet Creek offsite which offered a full kitchen so most days we'll probably eat breakfast there, it will probably be 50/50 for lunch, and 50/50 for dinner (I want to do one good character lunch/dinner). I'm guessing we'll spend $200 on groceries as soon as we get there so that will leave 1k. I don't want to stress about money as we're looking over a menu.
 
Yes, how many people and what ages? We need more info to really help you. Also, I highly suggest looking at the menus of the places you want to eat and ensure you make an advanced dining reservation (ADR), otherwise you may get shut-out. Do not plan on walking up and getting a table.

There are lots and lots of choices, both TS and CS, and lots of DISers here to help you pick the best of the best!
 
oops sorry that would be good information. It will be me and my husband, and our 3 boys ages 5, 3, and 18 months.

We're looking over menus now but its so overwhelming! We really try not to be super scheduled because kids can be so unpredictable, but I know to get into restaurants that we'll want we'll have to make reservations. We're normally pretty on the fly people so this scheduling is starting to stress me out.
 

Well, I highly recommend planning your itinerary - start with which days you'll be at which parks, and then plan some meals. Your kids are really young, so planning lots of sit down meals may not work best for you and that is ok. But, if you know which day you'll be at MK for example, maybe you'd want to make an early ADR for Crystal Palace to start off the day with the fun character breakfast or at maybe lunch. If you plan for lunch, then you could eat before you leave the park and head back to your room for your afternoon break.

Another fun breakfast is at Tusker House in AK. I think your kids would really enjoy meeting Donald, Goofy, Daisy and Mickey. Haven't been to the Hollywood and Vine buffet at HS, but that would probably be a hit with your kids, too. Or, Chef Mickey's at CR.

In general, with young kids, I really like buffets because there is no waiting -- you arrive, get your table then hit the buffet.

And, finally, to answer your original question, I think you'll totally be fine with $1,000 to $1,200 for your six day trip. Your kids are so young. My girls ate like birds at those ages...portions are pretty large, one child could probably share with you or DH or even split a child's meal with their sibling. I really don't think you need to stress or worry about anything in the food dept, there are lots of great choices.

Please be gentle with yourself. Parenting three small children is very difficult on its own. Taking them to DW is magical but also a lot of work. Have a solid plan and above all, the number one thing you can do to ensure great days for your family is to arrive well before the parks open and be there in plenty of time for rope drop. You can accomplish so much in those first couple of hours. Collect FPs as you go, take an afternoon break, and return at night and use the FPs you collected during the day. You will not regret being there at opening. It makes all the difference in the world!
 
you character meal will run around $100 for lunch or dinner or about $80 for breakfast since the youngest won't be paying. At CS for 2 adult meals and drinks and 2 kids meals and drinks we spent about $35-40 in May which I believe should be more then enough for the 5 of you since that's what we had with my 4 yo triplets. We did about $200 of groceries for Bonnet Creek and it was enough to feed us all week long. have you thought of being part of the Pay it forward Bonnet creek, check it out http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2663580 maybe your dates will be available and the box is full of goodies and spices and so on that you won't need to buy which is often the most expensive. I believe one of the boxes will have a crock pot by the end of the summer. Only had dinner out twice and lunch out once during our week at Bonneet Creek... we were Disney out as it was our second week there and only went a very little amount of time everyday therefor spent more time at the BC and cooked more there LOL

TS most kids meals are about $9 which includes drinks, app, entre and desert. For adults it really depends on what you are getting but I would say probably around $15 without desert.

I think you will be fine with that amount of money plus you will notice that the kids and even yourself will eat les because of the heat. Bring a frozen bottle of water to the park in the morning and that gets you a cold drink for a while!
 
I think the amount you are budgeting should be fine. I agree that a character buffet might be the best way to go if that is something you are wanting to do with the kiddos. Last time we were there we did the character bkst at Cape May @ BC (Minnie, Pluto, Chip & Dale), character bkfst at Hollywood & Vine @ HS (Little Einsteins, Jo Jo & Goliath). There are also character meals at Chef Mickeys @ Contemporary, Crystal Palace @ MK, Tusker House @ AK and of course several princess meals. TS meals are nice, but pricing can vary depending on where you are eating. Some of those meals are quite big for kids and I agree that they might be able to share.
 
i agree with taking the time to do some planning. we've gone really cheap and had breakfast we brought in (stuff kept in the hotel room not purchased at the resort), then ate a hot dog from caseys kind of thing for lunch and shared something for dinner type trips and then other trips we've done lots of sit down meals including signature venues so it can really vary. when my kids were little, my daughter wasn't much of one for eating off a regular kids menu (she's 21 now) but back in the day she was by her own preferences close to being a vegetarian so we packed a lunch for her just like we would if she were going to school. saved a lot of trouble and money. if you have a full kitchen at your hotel and you want to save some money here and there pack lunches once in a while during your trip or pack a bag with drinks to cut down on spending there. i find the drinks can really add up when you're not really thinking about it.
 
There's alot of good CS meals that you could probably get three meals and split them with the 5 of you.

In MK-Cosmic Ray's has huge portions
Peco's Bills-big burgers/fries and taco salad is huge

AK-Flametree BBQ-huge chicken/rib platters
Pizzafari-pizza with sides of salads-

Epcot-
Sushine seasons has huge portions
We like the france bakery for their ham and cheese croissants-huge and only around $4. And of course a dessert after :goodvibes

I would plan a character bfast around DHS day not many great CS there- maybe Cape May bfast with Goofy, Donald etc.
 












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