How would you eat at Disney for about $25 a day.

[Jenny Sanders]

I think $25. a day would be difficult personally. Shoot, an alcoholic beverage at WDW is like $15.

 

[pumba]

breakfast at the resort..usually 9.00..I like eggs, sausage, home fries, and a biscuit...the protein keeps me going..for lunch..I know I can do either a ceasar salad with chicken for ten bucks, and for dinner...most resorts have good meals now...I do like Cosmic Rays half chicken, mashed taters, and a seasonal veggie for 11.00...I would have to get my refillable mug at the resort...cause I like my coffee in the morning and also sodas or iced tea with meals...that being said..I enjoy the splurge that we do at Disney...some over the top meals and some that are just perfect for what we like...good post by the way
Because I am a diabetic, I do keep lance crackers peanut butter with me ..so that would be the snack if I needed it when in the parks...

 

[dminnie]

This was fun pretending to plan a trip! I could eat this and be very satisfied. We usually eat breakfast in the room anyways. Usually drink water anyways too. (I think I'd miss having a couple sit down meals though).
Breakfast of bagels, nuts, cheese and apples in room: $1.50 -2.00 per day
2 other meals and a dessert/snack every day.

Epcot: Chicken Schwarma platter in Morrocco $14, baklava $3.25, Sunshine Seasons roasted beet/goat cheese salad, $9 Total: $26.25
MK: BOG lunch quinoa salad $10.50, chocolate croissant at Gaston's tavern $3.29, CHH grilled salmon $12.50 Total: $26.29
HS: Fairfax salad $8.50, Toy Story cheese pizza $9.19, mickey ice cream bar $4 Total: $21.69
AK: Flame Tree BBQ 1/2 chicken $11...then head to DTD for decadent drinking chocolate at Ghiradelli $5 and Earl of Sandwich $6.50 Total: $22.50

Total for 4 days: $104.70 plus tax

 

[POTCfan]

Here's how I would do it:

Breakfast: Crystal Palace = $24.99
Lunch: Don't leave Crystal Palace
Dinner: Don't leave Crystal Palace

(just kidding)

 

[seetheworld]

Here's how I would do it:

Breakfast: Crystal Palace = $24.99
Lunch: Don't leave Crystal Palace
Dinner: Don't leave Crystal Palace

(just kidding)

You made my night. I'm LOL SO hard!!! Awesome thinking !!!

 

[goofy4prez]

I think it could be done pretty easily actually.
Bagel or protein bar or similar brought from home for breakfast. $1-$2
Lunch - Waffle Sandwich @ Sleepy Hollow $7.50
Dinner- hotdog at Friar's Nook $7.50
That leaves $8 for snacks.
Drink water.

If I was to eat like that at Disney, the ducks & birds flying around Flame Tree BBQ would have some serious competition with me fighting for scraps that are thrown or fallen to the ground.

 

[marchingstar]

I'm into this thread as a thought experiment--it's neat to see that someone could get by, and even find some great foods, for under 25$ a day. But I'm definitely in the 'I couldn't do it' camp. I think it's partly because airfare from my hometown is pricey, so we always stay for about 2 weeks. I could maybe see getting through a weekend at WDW with these dining plans (and that might even be preferable, since your park time is proportionally lower), but I can't imagine eating this way for days on end. But I really do appreciate seeing so many great QS meal options--I'm looking forward to working some of them in to my 1TS/day (or so) plans!

 

[SouthJersey]

If I was to eat like that at Disney, the ducks & birds flying around Flame Tree BBQ would have some serious competition with me fighting for scraps that are thrown or fallen to the ground.

Seriously! My girlfriend is like 5'0 106 and she'd starve to death with a bagel for breakfast and hotdog for dinner. I eat 6-10 meals a day depending on training style for the gym. I simply couldn't stay under $25 a person. I usually buy one item at least that's not covered by a snack credit and then alcohol, I don't even want to add up what I spend on alcohol PP lol

I would split larger items to try more and have one item's cost cover two people. Large turkey legs, waffle, huge MK ice cream parlor, etc. Refillable mug and bottles for water.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We couldn't do it. We get the dining plan and still probably spend $25 or more per day OOP between breakfast and alcoholic drinks.

 

[OceanStateKelly]

I was thinking 100.00 - 150.000 for 2 a day for food, but I'm on vacation... I would never be able to do 25.00 a day.. I need iced coffee a couple of times a day or I'll have withdrawals.. in Disney that would be like 10.00

 

[Nanajo1]

Refilling water bottles is a great idea. There are single serving powder drinks that help with the taste. Fill you bottle add the mix and shake. We don't need to do so many character meals now so that helps. Kids like CS for lunch because it is quick and they are on their way.

 

[kbelle8995]

I'd go through half of that at the sunshine seasons. I spend more than that. But most meals hover around $10 with some higher.

 

[Hawkeyegirls]

I also think it would be very easy to do, we like to do character meals so I wouldn't be able to with those. But if we didn't do those, one counter service meal easily fed 2 adults and my 3 year old when we had a snack. Or by bringing if your own snacks/food. Not the most fun, agreed, but if your on a budget no need to get out of hand with food, Id rather be able to go!

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I couldn't do it! If we were on that tight of a food budget, I'd be staying in a timeshare and making my own breakfast and dinner there. I'd probably plan $15 for a nice lunch per person and pack snacks in my bag.

I'm with PPs, budget high for food so you can relax when you order. I always budget that we'll get two desserts and two sodas even though sometimes my husband drinks water and we don't eat two desserts. although, we probably reallocate the savings quite quickly to buy another ice cream cookie sandwich.

ETA: I could probably do it if I planned ahead, but my soldier husband would be STARVING!

 

[ReneeA]

I'm taking this challenge since I know that my DD12 & I could totally do it. I'm not counting my boys - DH and DS13 would revolt about 6 hours into our vacation. We always bring protein bars, fruit,and snacks to eat in our room for breakfasts, as well as bring a case of water along with powdered drink mixes. Even when we aren't on a budget, this is our routine simply because none of us are big breakfast eaters, and we are in a big hurry to get to rope drop every morning!

Sample day:
Apples and protein bars in the room, along with coffee and water. Bring a half frozen water bottle with us to the park.

Lunch:
Spicy chicken waffle from Sleepy Hallow $7.49

Snack: dole whip float $5

Dinner: anchors aweigh sandwich with chips and free ice water $9.49

Snack: soft serve ice cream from Auntie Gravities $3.49

Total $25.47, $27.00 after taxes.

I feel like it would be just as easy in the other parks, as large savory "snacks" have been popping up frequently lately everywhere at WDW. Apparently, I don't eat much on a daily basis, because what I outlined above is more than I eat in an average day at home. I also have a physical job that I run the halls for a solid 12 hours, so the extra walking at Disney isn't extremely different than a really busy work day for me.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

This is totally doable, but is obviously too much of a paradigm shift for many, lol. In fact, most of my wdw vacations are done on less than $25 a day, but my situation is far different from most. I stay with my parents who live in Kissimmee.

We almost always eat breakfast at home. We always bring our own snacks into the parks, which are ample and range from hummus to rice krispy treats to jerky. We bring our own refillable water bottles that have been frozen the night before, so that most of the day we have cold water to drink. (We also wrap a washcloth around the bottle and put it in a ziploc so that we have something cool and wet to wipe our faces with on hot days.) Some days we also pack sandwiches and have no out of pocket expenses.

There are some nice places for picnics in the parks. Even if we do eat a meal it's usually QS. Then we have plenty of snacky things back at the house if we're still hungry when we get home.

We do splurge, though. And every vacation is different based on the budgets of the several families involved. I'd rather see my parents and visit the world once or twice a year on a smaller budget than only go every two or three years because I only wanted to eat at TS. Food is nice, but I'll take more happy memories of being with my family over any signature restaurant.

 

[The Uh-Oa!]

So I'm going to be the odd duck and say...I don't mind bringing food into the parks.

Now, is it my absolute first choice? Heavens, no! We are total foodies, and if given the option we LOVE doing the Dining Plan! But last year we decided to do an extra trip (we had done a trip about a year before, and a trip to DLR earlier in the year), after we had already spent most of our vacation funds. We decided that we were willing to stay with my parents in their RV (which, while a lovely Class C RV, is still pretty cramped with 5 people) at FW, and take in most of our food after a big shop at Target on the first night. We took in (for two adults and one child) various meats and cheeses and crackers, yogurt, hummus and carrots, granola bars, trail mix and the like. I wasn't originally super excited about it, BUT I would rather do that and get an extra trip to WDW than not go at all.

After doing it....we actually really enjoyed it! We found some great spaces to picnic (the new eating/rest area near Rapunzel's tower/bathrooms!) and didn't have to wait in food lines or find seats in crowded eating areas (especially nice with our stroller). We could eat on the go pretty easily and felt like we got more time for attractions. We did budget for a few meals that were really important to us (50s PT, Hoop Dee Doo, Chefs de France and Trail's End breakfast) and kept a separate alcohol budget, but for the first time...we actually stuck to our budget!

Granted, I think this is only really possible if you have a fridge in your room, and is most ideal if you have at least a kitchenette or full kitchen. So if you get a good deal at a value resort with a FDP, then by all means do that. But after this last trip, now having done it, I actually really would recommend bringing in food.

 

[MsHook]

We do $30 a day each. No alcohol. We tend to stay away from the stuff due to coming from the UK and not being used to the heat so adding alcohol to the mix is not a good idea, ha ha. And we stick to CS.

Breakfast eaten at the hotel. Just cereal & coffee. And we bring bottled water in that we fill up at fountains.

MK:
Lunch @ Cosmic Rays - rotisserie chicken $11
Dinner @Pinocchios Village Haus - flatbread pizza $10
Popcorn $3.50
Mickey ice cream bar $4
TOTAL: $28.50

At this point in our lives, we consider ourselves lucky enough to have come to Disney several times over the last few years so we'll happily budget. One day we'll have money for TS but until then, its simple for us to get by on this budget.

Good luck with your budget!

 

[TwoMisfits]

In AK - Breakfast - Ancient Grain Hot Cereal ($4 + tax) Pizzafari
Lunch - Honey Chicken ($10 + tax) Yak and Yeti Local
Dinner - Roasted Chicken Salad or Slow-cooked Chicken Curry ($9.50 + tax) - Tamu Tamu
With tax, I should be around $25-$26. Only thing missing from my day would be a cup of coffee (since I have water with meals.

I could do all the parks to show it's possible to have 3 good and tasty meals without starving (or eating all side salads, junk food, kids meals, etc), but I will say it's getting a lot harder to do.

 

[sharonabe]

I wanted to see if you could add in a TS or two. The $25 was pretty much impossible, BUT if you up it to $30, here's a sample of what you could do. Tips are included in my totals.

AK
Breakfast wrap at Kusafari
Quesadillas at Rainforest
Roasted Chick Salad at Tamu Tamu
Total $31.04

HS
Muffin or Bagel, Apple at Starring Roles
Cobb Salad at Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge
Reuben at Sci Fi
Total $32.19 (AND TWO TS meals)

EP
Bac, Egg Croissant at Sunshine Seasons
Cheese Soup w/pretzel bread at Le Cellier
Nachos at La Cantina
Total $30.21

MK
Nutella Waffle at Sleepy Hollow
Veggie Sandwich at The Plaza
Fish Tacos at Captain Cooks over at the Poly
Total $31.72

This would be plenty of food for me, but I would miss having a snack or two somewhere in there since this doesn't leave any room for dessert or snacks.