How much to budget for food in the parks?

[BabyEars]

I need help from the experts. We will be at DHS, AK, and MK for one day each. We will be eating breakfast at the hotel each morning. Most likely we will eat one full quick service meal and then a couple of snacks at DHS and AK. At MK we will be there much longer and plan on eating at the Liberty Tree for Lunch and then another quick service meal as well as a couple of snacks. We are a family of four which includes a 9 and 12 year old. How much should I budget for eating at each park?

PS. Nothing fancy...just a decent meal.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

There are menus, with prices, at allears.net. They have every QS and TS place listed. Just check them out, see what you think your group might order, and add it up.

Don't forget tax (someone told me 6.5%) and tip if you are doing TS.

 

[Captain Nick]

This may help you plan.
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

My advice would be to take your planned food budget and double it. With all the running around you do at the parks you burn off energy rather quickly and generally have to eat more than you normally would. Also, don't be afraid to pack up a backpack with plenty of snacks and drinks.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

My advice would be to take your planned food budget and double it.

LOL - So true! Double all the budgets! You're at WDW and stuff is expensive!

 

[Tinkerbell10403]

Are you booked on a package? If so I would suggest looking into the Quick Service dining plan, based on your current plans for meals. The dining plan really is a good way to budget ahead of time for food, as eating even quick service meals at WDW can become pricey after factoring in your whole family, and how many times you plan to eat out....and the occasional snacks. Just a suggestion...happy planning!!

 

[jdads2]

On our first trip I was told how expensive WDW food was, it CAN be but doesn't have to. It's not going to be as cheap as home but we're not cooking either. That being said, I found that most of the QS meals were as expensive as McDonald's. Those we ate at Pecos Bill and The Launching Pad were very close, if not cheaper than a fast food stop at home. The food was much better and more plentiful as well. We found that almost all QS meals were cheaper than going to our local county fair. The fruits and veggies around the world were pretty good as well.

I would agree to check out allears.net and you'll be able to calculate right down to the penny if you wish.

 

[KellyNY]

On our first trip I was told how expensive WDW food was, it CAN be but doesn't have to. It's not going to be as cheap as home but we're not cooking either. That being said, I found that most of the QS meals were as expensive as McDonald's. Those we ate at Pecos Bill and The Launching Pad were very close, if not cheaper than a fast food stop at home. The food was much better and more plentiful as well. We found that almost all QS meals were cheaper than going to our local county fair. The fruits and veggies around the world were pretty good as well.

I would agree to check out allears.net and you'll be able to calculate right down to the penny if you wish.

Food is not that expencive at all. I took my DD and her friend to Six Flags 2 weeks ago, you will not believe how expencive it was to eat there and not many options at all.
We spend at Disney like $20 a person a day for QS meals, we split portions and eat less but often, we just do not like walk around being too full to move. We do 1 or 2 sit down meals per trip so it is additional $40 per person, per meal at places we eat anyway, you can do cheaper.
You also need to figure out what you will drink in a park, water is pricy and it may take a lot of you money. We just refill our bottles at drinkable fountains, some people get free ice or bring water with them.

 

[babybaja2]

We eat breakfast at hotel, saves $$ and it lets food have a chance to settle in tummys before riding spinning loops! (DH has a delicate tummy!) Also, DH and DS wear demin shorts with cargo pockets, perfect for holding a few granola bars/small snacks for added energy at low cost for a pick-me-up.

We also found a water bottle holder that clips to your bag/belt lop, and just refill it during the day, by sharing it, it doesn't last long enough to get warm, and we take the little crystal-lite flavors (which also fit in those cargo pocket).. much cheaper and better for tummy than sodas all day.

We rarely eat a "real meal" for lunch, there is so much to see and do, we just don't want to waste time (30 mins in line, 30 mins eating..) plus that gives us more budget to spend on a nicer dinner... usually, while the kids and I hold our place in the line for a ride, DH runs and gets a turkey leg to share, or a couple of ears of corn.. just depending on what's close by.. so mainly we just kinda snack during the day..

also, for each day I have a envelope with that days cash in it, once it is gone, that's it.. it really helps us stick to our budget..

 

[mountdew1]

For a quick service meal, I would usually plan on about 8-9 bucks for a burger w/fries. Depending on where you go, you may be able to split that meal between the 2 kids, or you can get kids meals for about 5-6. As PP's have said, there are menu postings at most of the major WDW info sites. WDWInfo, AllEars, etc. They may not be completely current, but should give you a good idea as to the pricings.

 

[wisblue]

We may be cheap, or we may be smart, but we just don't spend that much on food at WDW.

For starters, we have always gotten by on cereal, milk, juice, and muffins for breakfast. Now that we're staying in DVC units that have a fridge, we can buy a box or two of cereal we all like, a half gallon of milk, a carton of OJ and a box of mini muffins and we're set there for several days. We might also get some bread and peanut butter for quick snacks.

We also get most of the rest of our meals from counter service and share meals whenever possible. My wife and 3 adult daughters are all relatively light (and picky) eaters so 3 or 4 of us can easily get by on 2 or 3 items. Heaven knows I'm not wasting away. If you have small kids, there is no reason for each of them to get the large hot dogs with sinful portions of fries. As an example, we might go to Pizza Planet and get 2 individual pizzas, including one with the salad, and that's enough for 3 of us.

We may get one or two table service meals a trip, but we stick to places that are moderately priced like ESPN Club, 50's, SciFi., Rainforest Cafe etc. One of my favorites is the Earl of Sandwich at DD. There I can get a delicious roast beef sandwich that is bigger than I can finish for $6. My daughters each got a turkey and cheese sandwich from the kids menu for $4, and they couldn't finish those.

On our recent trip of 6 days and 5 nights, the three of us (me and my DD 24 and 19) spent a total of about $350 on food (including drinks and snacks). Our general attitude is that we're going to WDW to have fun, not to eat, and we don't feel like spending the time and money to have too many full service meals. Plus, who wants to be stuffed when you're doing a lot of walking and going on rides.

Now, if you're travelling with ravenous teenage boys, or adults who can't make it through a day without an "adult beverage" or 2 (or 3 or 4), your food budget is going to have to be a lot larger.

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this over to our restaurant board for you.

 

[MHSweb79]

As for spending money on water, DON'T! You can get a cup of filtered ice water free at any CS place with a soda fountain, so you could bring a refillable water bottle and just fill it up with free ice water every time you get a meal. (You don't have to order a meal to get the water, but there may be a line and I don't find it worth it to wait unless I'm getting food too.)
Our family actually is less hungry at WDW because the heat and humidity kills our appetite. So meal sharing is quite possible and can save you some $$ too.

 

[cglaura]

I agree, alot of the cs meals are huge enough to share.

This thread will give you an idea of portion sizes (food pic thread)

This one is the standard double cheeseburger/fries combo. My mom and I split this and still didn't finish the fries.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26925645&postcount=54

Also, you can get just a burger, or just fries. It usually is not up on the menu board, you can ask for it, I think the just buger is about $2 less than the combo (I *think*).

The links from previous posters to the menus are helpful. As you will see, the cs places have alot more to offer than just junk food....chicken wraps, caesar salads, grilled chicken, ribs, etc. Here is the nice chicken/rib combo platter at Cosmic Rays:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26950988&postcount=105

Heck, sometimes we have a mid late lunch around 3pm, then popcorn for dinner around 7pm. Vacations

 

[MissMet]

For our 12 day trip I added up what I'd probably order at my TS = $260 (not including tip, since I have a TIW card, 20% off).

Then I figured $12 for CS (a little high, but I'll be enjoying F&WF) & $5 for snacks, so I came up with, roughly $452 for myself to eat at WDW for 12 days... eating VERY good.

Hope that helped.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

When we went we budgeted $130 per day for food and tips. We are a family of 4, kids were 5 and 3 at the time. We were bang on. It cost us the same as the dining plan would have, and we had about $70 left over at the end of our trip. We ate at 7 table service restaurants, and did CS for the rest. I also packed breakfast bars, bagels, peanut butter and cereal for the room to eat for a quick breakfast.

 

[BabyEars]

We eat breakfast at hotel, saves $$ and it lets food have a chance to settle in tummys before riding spinning loops! (DH has a delicate tummy!) Also, DH and DS wear demin shorts with cargo pockets, perfect for holding a few granola bars/small snacks for added energy at low cost for a pick-me-up.

We also found a water bottle holder that clips to your bag/belt lop, and just refill it during the day, by sharing it, it doesn't last long enough to get warm, and we take the little crystal-lite flavors (which also fit in those cargo pocket).. much cheaper and better for tummy than sodas all day.

We rarely eat a "real meal" for lunch, there is so much to see and do, we just don't want to waste time (30 mins in line, 30 mins eating..) plus that gives us more budget to spend on a nicer dinner... usually, while the kids and I hold our place in the line for a ride, DH runs and gets a turkey leg to share, or a couple of ears of corn.. just depending on what's close by.. so mainly we just kinda snack during the day..

also, for each day I have a envelope with that days cash in it, once it is gone, that's it.. it really helps us stick to our budget..

You sound just like us when it comes to a theme park. We aren't big eaters as the rides and shows hold more interest for us. We usually snack throughout the day and then have one good meal.

I didn't think about bringing snacks. We have a stroller this time so some trail mix, apples, and a couple of granola bars would be perfect. Refillable water bottles are also a great idea as the stroller has two cup holders.

I found another envelope planner. We are going on a 7 night cruise after our three days in Disney. We have an envelope planned for every day and every event. Once it's gone...we're done. No worries about running over budget that way.