I just fell out of my chair!

[JandD75]

This partially depends on what type of site you get. The "Full" sites have a nice area for a tent. "Premium" have concrete and mostly hard ground.

The rest depends on how comfortable you are sleeping on the ground. Many/most seem to use air mattresses. I think they take up less room than cots and are more comfortable.

j

Exactly the info I was looking for! Thanks!!!

 

[PEC]

I like the Dining Plan but the reality of the situation is unless you have children 9 or under you do better OOP. At campsite, with older children I would definitely cook several meals at the campsite (heck we are even considering bringing some hot dogs and roating them at the sing along one night). If there are a some park meals you really want to do then pick one or two of them.

 

[BayouDiz66]

I would have to say that the Dining Plan isn't worth it to me and my family. We always camp and make it a point to bring several frozen meals with us from home that just need defrosting and a quick warm up. We sometimes travel with another couple and they do the same and we share. So, bringing chilli, pulled pork, red beans and rice or spaghetti and meatballs is very worth it to us. We save a lot on those meals and feel like we can splurge on a couple of others. We travel with our dog, so we are kind of forced to come back to the camper in the middle of the day. So having lunch at "home" is a saver as well and we cook breakfast most mornings. I'm on vacation and don't want to do a lot of kitchen prep but we really do enjoy those home cooked meals some nights. It's good to take a break from the hot dogs and hamburgers in the parks and sit down to a nice plate of spaghetti etc. Bring it frozen from home, defrost, heat it up. Couldn't be easier. Oh, and enjoy!

 

[BigAlsGal]

That's about $125 per person per day. Food, all access to parks, and campsite. Am I the only one who thinks that sounds ok?

 

[JETS70]

We were fortunate to get to stay at the Fort 3 times over the course of a year. This was possible thru the purchase of season passes and having the ability to prepare meals at our campsite and also eat off site. Disney food is overpriced and honestly "just ok". I will say that some of our best on site meals were right there at Trails End. We have been visiting Disney for 15 years consistently and have more and more eaten off site. Exit Disney property out Hotel Plaza Boulevard to Apopka Vineland Dr. There are several excellent places to eat that are family friendly and very cost effective. That Ale House (steak, chicken, fish), Chevy's (Mexican), Giordano's (the BEST pizza around), Smashing Tomatoes (buffet), Fuddruckers (dress your own hamburgers) and many more. All within a 10 to 15 drive from Downtown Disney.

 

[blackears]

We are headed down next June. I'll be w/ a bunch of late risers, so I'm hoping to eat just a snack or two and one meal per day in the parks, if that. We're there for 9 days, so we hope to save quite a bit by having our food w/ us, and hopefully can carry in snack bars w/ us.

 

[Hans Olo]

We just booked for June 8-18. This will be our first time to Disney ever and we are beyond excited
It will be me, DH, DD 5, DS 4, DS 7, DS 9, my mom and my MIL. It's pricey but since this is our first it is worth every penny.

 

[ambercharleen]

It is costly to do these vacations. Growing up we went to Disneyland every five years. My family didn't have a lot of money and so for those five years in between my parents would save for the next trip. You kno back when a family of four could go on 3500.
As an adult I have been to Disneyland two times. Once when my husband and I were first married and once with our oldest child.
We have always cut every cost we could. Stayed off site, only ate one meal in park. The rest of it was sandwiches. We saved every penny possible for the parks.
However we are currently planning for our first Disneyworld trip with all three of our children. It will be our daughters very first Disney Vacation ever. We love camping and are probably going to end up staying that way because it is what we enjoy doing as a family.
My husband and I stayed up many a night talking about the meal plan. Whether or not to eat at camp or in park. We got all the menus, crunched numbers and although eating at camp would be cheaper we decided that for once in our lives we were going to splurge and get the plan. After crunching the numbers with and without plan for in park eating we found that the plan was the better way to go for us. We plan on only have breakfast at camp.
Yes, these trips are expensive but for our family we have made saving a family affair. I think our children will appreciate it so much more because they have been a part of the planning and the saving.

 

[RustManFan]

We would never do the dining plan either.....too much food and too much money. I love Trails's End but once for breakfast and once fore dinner is enough!

We eat fairly light since the heat of Florida discourages any big meals anyway...