How much should it cost for food?

[minnieandmickeymouse]

I was wondering how much I should save for food. It will be just me and my 6 year old daughter. We will have 8 days there.
We will only be eating at counter sevice resturants, One meal at chef mickey's. So how much do you think it will be, include snacks too??

 

[BRIANSMOM]

Go to allears.net and look at the menus for the parks you will attend. I just did this yesterday. We have several going with me and my son and 1 that has never been so I looked so I could tell her about how much things are.

I budgeted for me and my son at least $40.00 a day for 2 meals at counter service and snacks (ice cream).

Since your daughter is young, you should be able to share meals with her. They do have childrens meals, like PB&J, hot dogs, corn dog nuggets, they come with drinks and fries. These run about $3.49.

We went the first time when my son was 6 and we did alot of the character meals. After the first couple of days, I got smart and realized that we could share the counter service meals and that worked out great.

Look at the menus to get a good idea and then you will know where you want to eat before you get there.
have Fun

 

[crisi]

Completely unsolicited advice....

Eight days of counter service food can get old real fast unless you do some research and find out where to get something other than burgers and chicken fingers. The allearsnet menus can be invaluable in clueing you in on where to get something else. Its easy, especially traveling with kids, to be hungry "now" and end up in front of the same burger over and over again.

 

[beansmom]

last night I was calculating for dd (15) and me for 5 days and came up to $425--that includes several sit downs. I think with a small one, you could do on $40 a day easily if you do mostly counter. I had Jikos and other sit downs.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Originally posted by minnieandmickeymouse
I was wondering how much I should save for food. It will be just me and my 6 year old daughter. We will have 8 days there.
We will only be eating at counter sevice resturants, One meal at chef mickey's. So how much do you think it will be, include snacks too??

I also want to say, although you didn't ask that 8 days of nothing but counterservice will get old really quick. DH and I did it on our trip 6 years ago and we were only in Disney for 5 days. We spent one day at Universal, but I'm telling you, by that 5th day I was tired of burgers, fries, chicken tenders, etc. How about allow yourself a sit down meal a day just for relaxtion and for something different.

Visit here: MENUS
for an idea on what you'll be spending.

Hope I've helped,

Denise

 

[bobcat]

You can still do counter service and have variety, you just have to know where to go. Looking at the menues will help with that. My kids favorite counter service is Tusker House and Pecos Bills. Also kids meals at the sit down restaurants aren't that much more expensive. Sometimes it is worth being waited on!

$40 / day sounds reasonable.

 

[kmb34me]

I am budgeting $500 for 5 days for 5 people. Now im wondering if this will be enough. our hotel room will have kitchenet in it, and we are renting a car so we are planning on getting some food at a supermarket. but now im second guessing my estimit.

Kristen

 

[mareed]

Assuming we're eating breakfast in our condo, and not including the grocery cost, we use an estimate of $30/day for adults and $20/day for children in our situation.

My 2 DS are 5 and 8, so they order from kids meals, and occasionally eat a peanut butter sandwich that we bring if we're eating where they won't like the food. This usually includes a sit-down meal for lunch (when it's cheaper than dinner), and counter service for dinner, as well as an occasional ice-cream or other snack. My DH and I also sometimes will share meals where the portions are large, or we'll share a meal but also order an appetizer or dessert. We're probably not what you'd consider really heavy eaters.

kmb34me, I think $20/day per person is too low, even if you're exclusively doing counter service. I agree with other comments that a break from counter service is good. We used our sit-down lunch on most days also as our mid-day break because we stay at the parks from open to close most days.

 

[hercamore]

Don't totally elminiate table service. DD and I split a fried chicken dinner at Primtime Cafe in MGM and it's enuf for both of us. Aobout $12 pretax and tip.

we usually just ice water.


Sometimes its really nice to sit down in an a/c restaurant for awhile during the summer for a nice break.


herc.

 

[disneychrista]

Counter Service will run about $10 per person per meal. Kids meal $6.
Sit Down will run $15 - $20 per person per meal Kids meal $10.
Buffets/Character Meal $20 - $25 pe person per meal. Kids Meal $15.


When we plan Disney Trips. I plan on lunch being $10, dinner $15 and at least one snack at $5 per person per day. All meals at counter/quick service meals. So as you can see you need about $30 per person MINIMUM per day. For a family of 3 (like Mine) I plan $100 per day just to be safe. I much rather have money left over then not have enough. For two, one adult, assumed one child under 10 I would plan on at least $50 per day.

I agree with what the others have said about going to allearsnet.com and checking out the menu's, they can be very helpfull tools in planning what/where you want to eat.

 

[minnieandmickeymouse]

Thanks everyone for your help. I have gone on allears several times, and now have a feel for what meals will cost. When I said all we would be eating at counter sevice, was just so you would know that I wouldn't be going to any place REALLY $$$, I'm sure we will be going to other places to eat.
I had been planing on $100 a day for us, but that is MUCH more than I think we will need.
Does $65 sound good for the 2 of us?

I think we are going to have a hard time finding food she likes, she is SOOOO picky. She doesn't like PB&J, or hamburgers, or cheeseburgers, if she did, I would just split the adult meals with her. Both of us are very light eaters.

 

[kmb34me]

>>>>kmb34me, I think $20/day per person is too low, even if you're exclusively doing counter service. I agree with other comments that a break from counter service is good. We used our sit-down lunch on most days also as our mid-day break because we stay at the parks from open to close most days.>>>

well its accually 4 people our youngest dd is only 1, her and dd#1 could probably share a meal, or me and her. but since you put it that way I will have to up the budget a little

Kristen

 

[jann1033]

we are not real fans of counter service but thought the meal vouchers were great...plenty to split and end up with a good sit down meal for 2 for not much more than a counter meal.for 2 at regular prices. the q/c also worked well but not as well for us since we aren't big burger fans. also the ak vouchers were a great deal...we got a nice kids pizza big enough for 2 to split plus a kid's drink and another drink and snack for about $6. we got a dessert pizza with it and split between 2 adults for our food for the day at ak ( except for a mandatory visit to tusker house for cinnamon roll in the am!)

 

[Taja]

I plan $40 per day for just myself, and usually have money left over toward my next trip! So $65 per day probably would be fine for the two of you.

Most days I eat fairly lightly, but I try for a full meal about every second or third day (usually can eat only half of it, which is quite annoying!).

What kind of food does your DD like? You may need to consider a small soft-sided cooler (the 6-can size works pretty well, and they also have insulated lunch bags that might be easier to carry) if there is nothing on the menus she likes. I'm a picky eater, but even I can survive for a week or so at WDW!

Many of the WDW full-service restaurants accommodate special diets with 24 to 48 hour notice. If you want to eat a restaurant that doesn't have food she likes, call the restaurant directly before you leave home and talk to the chef or manager. That way you'll know what is or isn't possible!


__________________
Taja

 

[CrazySun27]

HI, this is my family first trip to WDW, me and my DH, DS-5, DD-7, DD-9 ..we plan on eating breakfast at our condo, we are staying at the Sheration Vistana, which has a fully equipped kitchen. I plan on bringing a small cooler with water bottles, chips, cookies, and sandwiches for lunch. To cut the cost down, we plan to only eat one sit down dinner per day. And if we are just not in the mood for a sandwich we will buy lunch. My DD's eat like little baby birds, they usually share a kids meal. My DS eats like a grown up. So, I, planning on $ 65-75.00 a day for food for the 5 of us.
Does this seems realistic??

 

[Taja]

As BRIANSMOM suggests, go to allears.net and check the menus for pricing. Typically, counter service/food court meals will be about $4 to $6 for a childrens meal, and about $8 to $11 for an adult meal. If splitting a meal, you'll need to add an extra drink (most seem to be $2.50) or ask for an extra cup for your baby birds.

Full-service and character meals at moderate restaurants are around $12 to $18 for a childrens meal and $25 to $35 for an adult meal (including tax and gratuity). Prices can be much higher at some of the full-service restaurants.

Based on three adult appetites, you're probably okay for counter service, but would need to supplement for full-service meals. And keep in mind that when eating at a buffet, although your two youngest have "baby bird" appetites, each will be charged for a childrens meal.


__________________
Taja