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

[stayhomemom77]

After our first Disney trip, the DH and I decided to simply snack around the world the next time. We have yet to actually do it! I insist we actually accomplish it on our next trip. FOR REAL this time!!

In all honesty...this might be too much food...even for the four of us. But I selected all the things we might reasonably be interested in trying. Better to over budget than to under budget.

Epcot $108.79

Snacking Round World
France Bakery Croissant Jambon
Bisque Homard
soda
choc croissants (2)
Liberty Inn chicken nuggets (for the fussy kids)
Sommerfest pretzel
Spice Road Table Tingis Sampler

Yorkshire Fish and Chips Fish and Chips
Treat Carts Mickey Ice Cream (4)
Kringla Bakeri pb and j's (again for the kids)
Joy of Tea Lucky Combo
Karamel Kuche assorted tasties

 

[Sacha_L]

Love this, thanks for sharing . I've added another table service thanks to you guys

 

[stayhomemom77]

Love this, thanks for sharing . I've added another table service thanks to you guys

Awesome! So happy we could help!

 

[stayhomemom77]

A couple more options for HS and Epcot, since I can't seem to leave things alone.

Hollywood Studios
Mama Melrose
DH flatbread
DH soda
Me flatbread
DD flatbread
DS kids meal

Backlot Express
DH soda
DH bacon cheeseburger
Me chicken nuggets
DD kids meal
DS kids meal

Epcot (with a bit of snack round the world and one TS dinner)
Kringla Norwegian Club
Kringla kids meals
Joy of Tea Stand Lucky Combo
Sommerfest pretzel
Karamel Kuche caramel corn

Via Napoli
all to share Large pepperoni
DH soda
Treat cart mickey bars

 

[SunnieRN]

Reading this, I was sad to see the foods that are no more. This is great and your examples were wonderful!!

 

[sharonabe]

Reading this, I was sad to see the foods that are no more. This is great and your examples were wonderful!!

Unfortunately, it's now so out of date, I wonder if it's still doable. Prices have gone up so much. The first time we did this, we were using Rachel Ray's old $40 a day template, and believe it or not, it wasn't that hard. I can't imagine trying to do $40 anymore and eating so that it's still enjoyable and not restrictive. It may be time to peruse the menus again and see what can be done.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Well, I'm game to try. I just signed up for the 5K in January at the Disney World Marathon and both my kiddies now are Disney adults. I'd love to see if we could eat for $175 a day (which is right in the middle of the $40 to $50 a day budget per person) for our park days. I'll get into this and report back!

I do have ONE caveat...

I WILL do some sharing if I feel it's beneficial and if it fits in the budget as DS is a VERY fussy eater and would only order pizza and chicken fingers.

Otherwise...

We always eat breakfast in the room and we usually do a TS and a QS and a snack each per park (we don't park hop, so that's per day) and most of the time we get ice water or we'll get one or two sodas and share.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Right! I've got an Animal Kingdom day done. DS is such a finicky eater, I was SURE we were going to have to eat two QS meals in this park but I had him look over the menu at Yak and Yeti and he actually found something to order.

My goal was to feed the four of us one TS meal, one QS meal and one snack each for $175 and we came in a little under budget for Animal Kingdom. Prices include taxes (and an 18% tip for the TS meal) and I chose the most expensive of the possible options that DH might order, so we might even be able to do this for a little cheaper!

I forgot how much fun this is!! Historically, we have always had our Mickey ice creams at Animal Kingdom, but I have been meaning to break with tradition for the last two trips in order that we might try certain other snacks unique to this park, so I am going to do another possible menu with some different choices. Who knows? I might even be able to get the budget a little lower.

ANIMAL KINGDOM $162.68

Yak&Yeti $92.07
Korean Beef $24.89
Chicken tikka masala $28.62
Kobe burger $24.89
Wonton Soup and a side of chicken fried rice $13.67

Pizzafari $53.61
Baked Pasta Bolognese $12.77
Chicken Caesar $11.49
Pepperoni Pizza $11.17
Pepperoni Pizza $11.17
2 med sodas to share $7.01

Snacks $17.00
Mickey sandwich $4.25
Mickey bar $4.25
Mickey sandwich $4.25
Mickey bar $4.25

 

[stayhomemom77]

I did some rough calculations...

If you wanted to keep your price point at $40 a day with a snack, a TS meal and a QS meal you could spend (before taxes and tip) $17.99 on your TS meal, $11.99 on your QS meal and $4.50 on your snack. This would mean ice water only in terms of drinks most likely and I'm not even sure you can still get any TS entrees for $17.99. I'm going to take a look.

 

[parith1114]

This thread is AWESOME!!! I have budgeted $50 a day for our girls trip at the end of this week, and now I'm confident we'll stay in budget. We don't have many TS meals planned, and I'm figuring on two snacks a day. Also, my girls sometimes split meals and we are bringing bagels for breakfast. I might just try to get another TS in there...

 

[sharonabe]

This thread is AWESOME!!! I have budgeted $50 a day for our girls trip at the end of this week, and now I'm confident we'll stay in budget. We don't have many TS meals planned, and I'm figuring on two snacks a day. Also, my girls sometimes split meals and we are bringing bagels for breakfast. I might just try to get another TS in there...

I've found that drinking water is the key. At more than $3 a pop, for my family of 4, that's $25 (tax). Multiply that by 2 meals/day and we "save' $50 just by drinking water, which we really prefer anyway. I do have one DS who would drink a soda at EVERY meal if I let him, but I don't. That $50 of sugar water pays for one of us to eat ALL day.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I haven't done this yet, but I'm thinking we get one large soda without ice (at QS places) and four ice waters and then drink our water up right away and pour the soda over the ice in our water cups and then it's the best of both worlds. Personally, I'd rather have the water alone, but DH and the kids might get tired of it all the time.

 

[sharonabe]

Okay, I did a 4-day plan that's just for me. I'll try a family one later. Breakfast in the room, drinking water. I don't have snacks, because I rarely eat them even at Disney. I do have mostly TS, because there's so much I want to try. AK is the one exception because I want to go to Harambe. Tax and tip ARE included in the totals. So here it is:

AK $30.35
Harambe Beef & Pork Sausage, African Milk Tart
Flame Tree Turkey Sandwich and Onion Rings

HS $63
Brown Derby Cobb Salad entree, Mini desserts
Mama Melrose Saltimbocca

EP $69.36
9 Dragons lunch Xialongbau, Dumplings in Chili Sauce
Hacienda Fish Tacos, Flan

MK $45.46
LTT lunch Colony Salad, Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake
Plaza Grilled Reuben

Total $208.17
Avg $52.04/day

So I'm a tad over my $50, but I'm eating really well!!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Okay...it's tougher, but still possible to find entrees under $20 and more specifically at the $18 limit recommended for $40 a day.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Not an exhaustive list, but here are some pre tax and pre tip entrees that would work on a budget:

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Yak and Yeti (lunch or dinner)
Mandarin Chicken Salad $15.99
Seared Tuna Salad $16.99
Vegetable Lo Mein $17.99
Crispy Honey Chicken $18.99
Sweet and Sour Chicken or Pork $18.99
Chicken Lo Mein $18.99
Korean Beef $19.99
Kobe Beef Burger $19.99

Rainforest Cafe (lunch or dinner)
Chicken Tenders (appie) $10.99
Chicken Salad sandwich $14.99
Natural Burger $14.99
Rainforest Burger $15.99
Turkey Wrap $15.99
Chicken Sandwich $16.49
BBQ bacon cheeseburger $16.99
China Island Chicken Salad $16.99
Chicken Ceasar Salad $17.99
Volcanic Cobb Salad $17.99
Beastly Burger $18.99
Rasta Pasta $19.99

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Sci Fi (lunch or dinner)
Popcorn Chicken (appie) $9.50
Smoked Turkey $14.00
Southwest Veggie Burger $14.00
Veggie Shepherd's Pie $15.00
rueben $15.00
Grilled chicken salad $15.50
salmon BLT $15.50
Grilled salmon salad $16.50
grilled chicken BLT $16.50
build your own burger $17.50
Sci Fi Angus Burger $19.00
Sci Fi Seasonal Specialty Burger $19.00

50's PT (lunch or dinner)
Mushroom Flatbread $14.00
Chicken Ceasar $15.00
Margharita Flatbread $15.00
Mama Melrose Rosemary Chicken Flatbread $16.00
Salmon Ceasar $17.00
Carne D'Italia Flatbread $17.00
Traditional Meatloaf $18.00
penne alla vodka $18.00
Veggie Lasagna $19.00
chicken campanelle $19.99
Penne alla vodka with chicken $20.00
spaghetti or penna pasta with meat $20.00

EPCOT

Rose and Crown (lunch)
Veggie Cottage Pie $17.00
Bangers and Mash $19.00
Welsh Pub Burger $19.00
Shepherd's Pie $20.00
Chicken masala curry $20.00

Via Napoli (lunch or dinner)
Ind. Margherita $18.00
Pollo Insalata $18.00
Ind. Capricciossa $19.00

Nine Dragons (Lunch)
sweet/sour pork $15.68
canton pepper beef $15.98
kung pao chicken $15.98
nine dragons fried rice $15.98
roast duck salad $15.98
veg and tofu stirfry $15.98
Honey Chicken $16.98
nine dragons lo mein $17.98
Lunch box-canton beef $18.98
lunch box-mongolian chicken $18.98
peppery shrimp and noodles $19.98
kung pao shrimp $19.98

MAGIC KINGDOM

Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch)
Vegetarian Proclamation $14.00
Liberty Boys Sandwich $15.00
Colony Salad $16.00
Angus Burger $16.00
Fish and Chips $18.00
Pilgrim's Feast $19.00
Pot Roast $20.00


Plaza (Lunch or dinner)
veggie sandwich $14.00
turkey sandwich $15.00
Tuna Salad Sandwich $15.00
Rueben $15.00
plaza club $15.00
veggie burger $16.00
Cheesesteak Sandwich $17.00
chicken Strawberry salad $17.00
grilled chicken $17.00
Cheeseburger $18.00
brisket onion burger $19.00

 

[sharonabe]

I have a family plan that works for MY family. My parameters are a little different from stayathomemom77. Breakfast in the room, trying to stay within an average of $50pp/pd, sharing where it makes sense to share, no snacks are listed except for a Sleepy Hollow nutella waffle. My boys would probably get a popcorn or ice cream a couple times, DH would want a Dole Whip somewhere in there, but I think there's wiggle room in the total for all of it. Again, tax and tip are included and we drink water.

AK $208.96
Tusker House Breakfast
Flame Tree Sampler Platter x 2, Fries x 2, Roasted Chicken Mixed Green Salad

HS $142.37
Sci-Fi Smoked Turkey Sand, Reuben x 2, Shepherd's Pie, Sci-Fi Salad, PB Choc Cake
Catalina Eddies Chicken Pesto Flatbread x 3, Pepperoni Pizza

EP $293.22
Biergarten Lunch
La Hacienda Paridilla for two x 2

MK $91.68
Columbia Harbor Shrimp platter, Nugget platter, Anchors Aweigh, Chili x 2
Casey's Corner Ft. Long BBQ Hot dog meal, hot dog meal, corn dog meal x 2
Sleepy Hollow Nutella Waffle

Total $736.23=$184.05/day=$46 pp/pd
So we still have $4 pp/pd for the snacks we want. Notice we even have TWO buffet meals and one of them is a character meal! Considering the DDP would cost us right at $360 MORE (have to add the tip amount to the DDP), I think we're eating plenty, eating what we want, and not skimping anywhere.

 

[goofy4prez]

$50 per day would be impossible for me to do. I don't eat chicken nuggets, processed cold cut meats, frozen pizza, donuts, French fries, hot dogs and overall fast food. I'm content spending $100 per day.

 

[1983DisneyFanatic]

Thank you so much for doing this! I have only ever done the dining plan and I was thinking about doing the math to see if we should pay oop instead. This thread has done a lot of the work for me.

 

[stayhomemom77]

So, I'm one of those people who loves to order appetizers as her entree at TS places and get kid's meals at the QS places. In order to appeal to those that don't eat this way, my first AK day didn't have these aspects...but this following be a more legit eating style for my family. As usual, I chose the most expensive entree that DH would be likely to choose and in some cases the kids might also choose a kid's QS meal because it comes with fruit/veg and a drink...and combos like that appeal to them. In that event, we'd likely buy an extra side or a couple more snacks to ensure that all tummies are adequately filled.

ANIMAL KINGDOM $151.62

Yak&Yeti $87.08
DH: Korean Beef
To share: egg rolls or dessert
Me: firecracker shrimp (appie)
DD: kobe burger
DS: soup, fried rice

Pizzafari $45.53
DH: Baked Pasta Bolognese, med soda
Me: Kid's cheese pizza
DD: Pepperoni Pizza
DS: Pepperoni Pizza
**We would buy garlic knots if the kiddies chose the kid sized meals and still save a few bucks!

Snacks $19.02
mickey pretzel (sharing)
2 ice cream cookie sandwiches (sharing)
popcorn (sharing)

 

[stayhomemom77]

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS $139.67

Sci Fi $74.70
DH Burger
Me grilled chicken BLT
DD burger
DS popcorn chicken appie
**In all honesty, I would likely split the burger with DD to save room for all the delicious snacks planned for later in the day.

Backlot $47.33
DH chicken and waffle
Me kid chicken and waffle
DD kid uncrustables
DS kid chicken and waffle
2 Star Wars cupcakes to share

Snacks to share $17.64
Starring Rolls-cinnamon roll
Starring Rolls-butterfinger cupcake
treat cart-popcorn
sweet spells-carrot cake cookie (I may not share this one... )