If I only had $50 a day to spend on food at Disney…Updated** 3 TS per day for $50!

Hmmm, my turn... For upcoming trip. Let's see how well I can do. My trip gives me a couple advantages -- staying concierge level. So won't spend money on breakfast, and also have the opportunity for some more light food through the day.

So spending $50 per day on just lunch and dinner, with perhaps some snacking.

Day 1, arrival:
Sunshine Seasons:
Oak-grilled Rotisserie Chicken - with black beans and yellow rice $10.19
Add beverage to this meal, taking it up to $13 total
Snack-- Boulangerie: Chocolate Eclair $3.75
Dinner: Kouzzina (have ADR)
Slow-cooked Lamb Shank - served with Oven-baked Gigantes Beans and Pepper Sauce $26.99
Drink water, skip dessert.

Total for the day, without tax, about $44 (I don't feel like pulling out a calculator). With tax, about $47

Day 2 -- MK morning. EMH morning, so probably will need a morning snack purchased at the park.
Sleep Hollow snacks : Waffle
with powdered sugar or cinnamon $4.59
Lunch, Columbia Harbor House -- Lobster Roll - served with potato chips $9.99, with beverage takes us up to about $13
Dinner, have ADR at Flying Fish-- (Yes, doing signature dining within the $50 per day) -- Oak-grilled Maine Coast Day Boat Sea Scallops - celery root, wild and cultivated mushrooms, Vermont mascarpone, and Pecornio Toscana-laced risotto di Carnarolli -laced risotto di carnaroli $34.00. Drink water, skip dessert.

I'm *slightly* over for the day -- At $52 before tax, about $55 after tax. If I skipped the waffle snack, I'd be under for the day. But I'm trying to keep this realistic.

Day 3 -- DHS. Doing the Fantasmic dining package at Brown Derby. So already over on that day. Won't break it down.

Day 4-- Epcot. ADR at Tutto Italia.
Lunch -- hmm -- Yorkshire County Fish House: Fish & Chips - 2 strips of fish served with chips $8.19. Get a bottled water with it, at $10.50.
Dinner at Tutto: Spaghetti - with beef and veal meatballs and pomodoro sauce $23. Drink tap water.
Total for the day -- only $33.50 before tax. About $36 after tax. Guess this makes up for the Fantasmic dining package at Brown Derby night.
Day 5-- Morning at MK. We'll do a TS lunch at Plaza. Plaza Club - smoked ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise layered on toasted multi-grain bread $11.49.
When doing TS meals, I prefer tap water. When doing CS, I usually get a soft drink. But at the Plaza, I'll go nuts and get Ice Cream Floats (Made with Vanilla Ice Cream) Coke Classic, Diet Coke, Sprite or Root Beer $4.69
So $16 before tax for lunch.
Dinner at EPCOT-- ADR at Restaurant Marakesh: Shish Kebab - grilled tenderloin of beef with rosemary roasted potatoes and vegetable medley $28.99. Drink water.
So $45 before tax for the day. About $48 after tax for the day.
Day 6 is departure day, lunch only. Nothing booked yet. Obviously, it should be under $50.

So over 5 full days, I have 6 TS restaurants, including 2 signature restaurants. I have 1 day that will be over $50, since I'm doing the prix fixe fantasmic package. But even if that day is $70-80... My daily average is still around $50. If I was doing a dining plan, I'd be 3 credits over.
 
I'm glad to see this thread. Every time WDW is mentioned in front of my extended family, I hear about how expensive it is. Especially for food. And it always irritates me because I know what we spend on food. We have done the Ddp, but at this point, it just doesn't make any sense for us. We have APs and use TIW.
And here's the argument I always use: We ate at WDW for under $150 for the four of us for most meals (which included 18% gratuity). We ate at Longhorn Steak House at home, and it cost us $170. On top of the $20 difference in price, we still had to tip. We didn't go insane or anything at Longhorn. We shared 1 appetizer and 1 dessert.
Disney food doesn't look so bad after that. :upsidedow
 
A vegetarian menu?

Light breakfast at Riverside-
make your own yogurt $4.29 (not good if you are a vegan)

Lunch in Epcot at Marrakesh-
Vegetable Couscous, $14.99
dessert-Marrakesh Delight $5.99
OR- individual pizza at Via Napoli $16

Dinner at Sunshine Seasons-
Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad $7.89

Snack at Kringla-
Rice Cream $2.29

Using the most expensive option at Marrakesh, this comes to about $35.47 without tax or tip - not necessarily vegan choices, I know.
I'm not a vegetarian but, these are choices I would make and how I eat...light breakfast, if any (probably just have coffee) a good lunch at a Table service, light dinner at counter service and I threw the dessert in but, after eating 3 times, I don't think I'd have room for it- maybe just a coffee. If I have one big meal for the day I'm done!

I'm sure there are some other great choices using 3 TS/day...I just picked what sounded pleasing, to me!
 

so I'll try 3 TS with vegetarian choices

Breakfast-
The Wave at the Contemporary
**Our All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Breakfast Buffet - A perfect option if you want a hearty yet speedy meal before enjoying the parks! MAY include: sweet potato pancakes, multi-grain waffles, fresh fruit, pastries, cheesy grits, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, steel cut oatmeal and more$18.49

Lunch-
Rainforest Cafe
Passport to Paradise Pasta $14.49

Dinner-
DTD/Raglan Road
Portobello Beauty $14

Total for 3 TS $46.98 without t&t so...I would be over the budget
 
Very interesting thread. I've enjoyed reading all the scenarios. I've always told people that it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to eat well at Disney. This gives me the proof I need!:thumbsup2 Thank you!:goodvibes
 
A long time in coming Aubriee, but my MK day has Be Our Guest for dinner...so, does that make up for the wait?

MK $49.77
Breakfast at Kona Café Two Eggs Your Way
Lunch at Cosmic Ray's Veggie Burger with apple slices
Dinner at Be Our Guest Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops

I would actually :lovestruc this meal plan...


Working on more!! :thumbsup2
 
so....I'm reading family of 4,$200 per day? 50 each...hmmm....I like it! upcoming trip we're on free DDP, but otherwise,yeah we could do these numbers pretty easily.....
 
I think what I do differently is eat a bowl of cereal in the hotel room before I leave..... that leaves 2 meals plus one snack per day....
 
Okay, this is Animal Kingdom with a Signature Dinner entree!! It would be ice water with all meals (but that's how I like it anyway), and I'm having ice cream for lunch (but I could have done a pastry for breakfast and had a regular lunch) but I know this would be enough food for me and would really feel like an indulgent vacation!

AK $48.01
Breakfast at Pizzafari Spinach and Goat Cheese Frittata
Lunch at Dino Bites Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
Dinner at Artist's Point Crispy Buttermilk Dipped Airline Chicken

YUMMO! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! :p
 
I think what I do differently is eat a bowl of cereal in the hotel room before I leave..... that leaves 2 meals plus one snack per day....

Yes...we do that too! I think I posted some scenarios with that in mind and I plan to do a few more that way coming up.

DD will soon be 10 so I'm also going to have to think about what she will be willing to eat at these places because she'll no longer qualify for the kid's meals. We may end up sharing quite a bit. Hmmm, maybe I should do a family plan with $175 a day. Since DS is still a Disney kid, he doesn't need $50 a day! :rotfl2:
 
Okay, so assuming that breakfast is consumed in the hotel room and the cost of those groceries doesn't come out of the $50 for the day, a day at DHS might look like this:

DHS $49.00
Snack Writer's Stop Carrot Cake Cookie
Lunch at 50's PT Café Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken
Dinner at Mama Melrose Spaghetti or Penne Pasta
 
And finally....

Epcot $49.78
Breakfast in the room
Lunch at Biergarten Lunch Buffet
Dinner at Rose and Crown Fish and Chips
 
I'm resurrecting this thread because I think it's kind of brilliant. I loved some of the ideas others have posted.

I did a 4 park plan that reflects how I eat when I'm solo in the World. I tend to graze throughout the day on snacks or small plates rather than do sit down meals. I'm not generally a breakfast person, so I've assumed coffee and/or light breakfast in room before the park.

I also like to drink, so I've included alcohol in my plans, but generally don't drink non-alcoholic drinks except for tap water. So, this plan isn't for everyone, but was a very interesting thought exercise for me.

Animal Kingdom - $38.03
Bradley Falls - Summer Rolls
Dino Diner - Frozen Raspberry Rum Lemonade
Pizzafari - Breadsticks
Mr. Kamals - Samosa
Restaurantosaurus - Wildberry Mango Rum Lemonade
Yak & Yeti (CS) - Chicken Fried Rice
**honestly for this day, I'd probably skip breadsticks and samosa and put that money plus overage into evening snack/drink at a resort or another park - I just don't spend that much time in AK usually**

DHS - $43.21 + tip ($48.21ish including tips)
Tune In Lounge - Amy's Iceburg Lettuce Wedge and Dad's Electric Lemonade
Herbie's - Chili Cheese Nachos
Brown Derby Lounge -Shelby Mayer Martini
Fairfax Fare - Mac and Cheese Gourmet Hot Dog with Chips

EPCOT - $48.12
La Cava de Tequila - Specialty Margarita and Chips/Queso
Joy of Tea - Pork Egg Rolls
Kabuki Cafe - Temari Sushi
Les Vins de Chefs - Grey Goose Slushy
Boulangerie Patisserie - Croissant Jambon Fromage
Kringla Bakery - School Bread

Magic Kingdom - $29.86
Sleepy Hollow - Ham and Swiss Waffle Sandwich
Peco Bill's - French Fries [Liberal Application of Toppings from Bar]
Cheshire Cafe - Gourmet Cake Cup
Gaston's Tavern - LeFou's Brew
Columbia Harbour House - Clam Chowder
Sleepy Hollow Ice Cream Sandwich
***Plenty left-over for a nightcap at resort bar***

I included the things I've put on my **must try next time** list such as: School Bread, Grey Goose Slushy, Ice Cream Sandwich, Waffle Sandwich, and LeFou's Brew. All things I've somehow never had before at the World.
 
I'm planning a Christmas trip for this year with 4 days at Disney...one day per park. I thought it would be fun to make a dummy meal plan, just for kicks!

The cast of characters are as follows:

DH-big eater on vacation
Me-small eater on vacation
DD11-small eater in general
DS9-picky eater but with a growing appetite, only non-Disney adult in our party

I'm going to set myself a budget of (an average of) $150 a day which gives me $600 total. DD and I will likely end up sharing when possible. We also will likely eat off of the kids menu at counter service places sometimes. I'll budget a soda for DH with each meal, DD and I will each have water.

So excited to do this!! :cool1::banana::yay::woohoo:
 
:rotfl2: Well, I came waaaay under! :lmao:

But what's wrong with that?

We'd be doing the cereal thing in the hotel room for breakfast and then lunch, snacks and dinner OOP.

Here are my dining plans...I just chose the most expensive meal option for DH and the likeliest scenario otherwise. Also, this time we WILL be snacking around the world at Epcot. I INSIST!!

Grand total for the 4 days...$397.86!! :yay::yay::yay:

So... Animal Kingdom $98.59

Yak and Yeti CS
DH Beef Lo Mein
DH soda
Me egg roll
Me fried rice
DD kids meal
DS kids meal

Beaches and Cream
DH burger
DH soda
Me hot dog meal
Kids to share hot dog meal
sharing sundae
sharing sundae
 
Magic Kingdom $100.82

Pinocchio's Village Haus
DH Italian Sandwich
DH soda
Me Mediterranean salad
DD kids meal
DS kids meal


Plaza
DH sandwich
DH soda
DH Brownie Sundae
DD and I share burger meal
sharing Brownie Sundae
DS kids meal
 
Hollywood Studios $89.65

Starring Rolls
DH and I to share sandwich and chips
DH soda
Sharing cupcake
DD kids meal
DS kids meal

Snacks
to share popcorn
to share carrot cake cookie

Sci Fi
DH and DS to share burger
DH and DS to share shake
DD and I to share burger
DD and I to share shake
 












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