How much money???

[charity]

This will be my first Disney trip in 15 years, and also my hubby and DS3 first!
We are staying off site in a Time share. (time share stay is a gift from in-laws)
But what I really need to know is just how much things are going to cost us at Disney. Will food be our main cost? I made most of our ADR's at lunch time so we will have our big meal in the middle of the day. I think this is a good idea, I hope!! Are the snacks and drinks very expensive?
Thanks for any help

 

[FayeW]

Cost wise, the lunch time is usually cheaper for sit down meals.

Check out www.allearsnet.com, you can find all of the menus and prices there, and it will give you a good idea of how much money you are likely to need.

For offsite dinners, if you don't feel like cooking or ordering in, we always go at least once to Cici's Pizza (dirt cheap pizza buffet, but they also have salads and at least one pasta dish). We always go to Golden Corral for their buffet as well (very good, fresh, and lots of variety).

Where are you staying?

Faye

 

[charity]

We will be at the Sheraton Vistana Resort, May 4th. I hope it's nice!

 

[DawnMarie]

Most timeshares have full kitchens. So for breakfast and dinner you can eat at the resort. Even if you don't want to cook, grab quick fix items. Breakfast ie.. fruit, bagels, cereal, frozen beakfast sandwiches etc.
Dinner ie...rotisserie chicken, deli meat for sandwiches, veggie platters etc..

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Food and souvenirs are your main costs.

For our family of 5 we usually spend $25 - 35 on a food court breakfast, around $50 for lunch and $50 - $125 for dinner depending on where we eat - counter service vs. sit down restaurant. We usually bring our own bottles of water in with us and will buy a few towards the end of the day or refill ours.

Snacks/drinks - we probably spend around $10 - 15.

You could easily cut all of our costs in half as you only have one child and she's little.

As far as souvenirs go, it all depends on what the kid's want. Most items are usually around $10 - $15 dollars for the light ups/spinning things but sometimes they want a stuffed animal or tee-shirt and those are more.

 

[tink1978]

For me and my son, food and souvenirs are the biggest expense. We tend to bring take along foods (pop tarts, granola bars, etc) for breakfast, when we eat at a counter service restaurant, we share meals (the portions are large enough and when we get separate meals, we never finish them). One parent and child could share a cheeseburger, sandwich, fries, etc. Our big expense are the table service dinners that we have during the trip (usually 2-3). We may spend $40-$50 dollars on each meal. With two adults and a child, probably $60-$70 or more.

 

[amytheobald]

The Vistana is awesome, we've stayed there...it is really nice. They have pizza hut right there onsite at the vistana and we didn't find the prices to be too inflated. The Orlando Ale House is close by, and is a sports bar type atmosphere with reasonable priced good food. Doing lunches at Disney is a great idea to save cost. Vistana has full kitchens, so go to the store and pick up stuff for breakfasts.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You also have to figure in the (current) price of $10.00 per day for parking at the parks, unless you have an AP, since you are staying off-property.

 

[fAnnF]

We're going in March and staying at a Timeshare(a Christmas gift from BF) We budget the most for food and then gas and suvies. We'll do breakfast at the timeshare cereal or such. Lunch and Dinner at the parks except for 2 days we travel to baseball games.

Having TS for Lunch is a great way to save some they are cheaper then dinner. 2 adults we budget $50 for a TS lunch and $20 for a CS meal.

 

[charity]

This has been a great help! I have stressed tooooo much over this trip, I just want it to be great for my son!
Thanks