Just back - Food spending

[disneysteve]

Prior to joining the DIS, I used to add up what our trips cost in total but never seperated out the food costs. After reading so many posts about how much everyone budgeted per person per day, I decided to track our spending last year just out of curiousity. As I've posted before, our spending was way less than many other people. In November '03, we were 3 adults and DD-8. Our total food spending for the week including all meals, snacks and beverages averaged $16.92/person/day.

We recently returned from our latest trip - 10/29-11/7 (including travel days - we drove). I finally got around to adding up all the receipts. While there, we were definitely less focused on what we were spending at meal time. We also brought in fewer outside snacks than we had previously. DD is now 9 and ate more on her own so we didn't do quite as much sharing of meals as last year. So I expected the food spending to be more than last year, and it was.

Once again, this figure includes all meals, snacks and beverages during our trip (including travel days). For 2 adults (Me and DW) and 1 DD-9, we averaged $19.32/person/day.

This is still well below what a lot of people report. What accounts for the savings? I think there are 2 main things. 1) We eat all breakfasts in our condo. 2) We mostly drink tap water with only an occasional Coke that the 3 of us share (maybe one a day).

Here's a quick breakdown of where we ate. The first place is lunch. The second is dinner.

10/30 - Wendy's; Wolfgang Puck Express
10/31 - Backlot Express; Boma
11/1 - Sunshine Food Fair; Flippers Pizza
11/2 - Crystal Palace; Cooked in condo
11/3 - Beaches and Cream; Premium Outlets food court
11/4 - Electric Umbrella; Concessions at Fantasmic
11/5 - Pizzafari; Cosmic Ray's
11/6 - Waffle House; Denny's
11/7 - Sbarro's

So it is possible to go to WDW and not spend a small fortune on food. Trust me - we never went hungry and we had some very good and enjoyable meals. We did save some money at Boma because we dined with a CM who paid with his discount so we didn't pay full price. But otherwise, we paid normal prices.

 

[sweet maxine]

Sounds like you do a great job with your food budget!

I'm planning on cooking at least twice while we're staying in our condo during Christmas week. I thought it would be nice to come back for a short rest and enjoy a quiet meal away from all the hustle and bustle. I'm also planning on using meal vouchers for our one splurge at the Rainforest Cafe. Other than that I'll use my Restaurant.com certificate at Baskerville's and visit the buffet at Cici's. I think their buffet is a great value for $3.99 per person. My teenagers could really do some damage there!

I also am planning to have breakfast treats in the condo, and also take a few snacks with us. We'll have to have a treat in the parks a few times, but I'll keep some goodies in the condo for when we come back in the evenings.

I hope I can keep our food costs down on this trip, but I know there will be some unexpected expenses in there somewhere!

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by sweet maxine
I also am planning to have breakfast treats in the condo, and also take a few snacks with us. We'll have to have a treat in the parks a few times, but I'll keep some goodies in the condo for when we come back in the evenings.

This is exactly what we do. Breakfast was OJ, cereal and milk. We carried in snacks like granola bars, pop-tarts, some candy. And in the condo we had that stuff plus cookies, yogurt and a few other assorted treats.

 

[sweet maxine]

My group is getting up to 9 in number, so I'm going to have to really do some more brainstorming for this trip! I was so lucky to get the condo rental so cheap, and now I don't want to ruin my budget with the cost of eating at restaurants. I don't think the kids really notice the difference, or at least I hope that they don't when it comes to where we eat. I think that throwing in a few treats and a splurge or two will make for an enjoyable trip.

I think in the long run it's the whole thing about all of us just being together and having fun that counts. My kids are so excited to even get to take this trip at Christmas and have a friend go with them for part of it. Another family is joining us for part of the trip as well, and they're all excited to be going too! We did a trip to WDW in June this past summer and spent most of our budget staying in a cabin at FW (though on an AP discount). We cooked quite a bit in our cabin, and had cheese dip and other snacks at night after returning from the parks. My kids never once told me that they missed out on having dinner at "such and such" place, or that they felt shortchanged in any way. Having learned my lesson about staying offsite for far less money (especially from your advice disneysteve) I feel that our trips will be far better budget-wise.

I'm just the kind of person that can't rationalize eating out in a restaurant that charges as much for one dinner as I would spend on groceries for a week! We're having our "treat" at the Rainforest Cafe, and I'm hoping that everyone has a good time there. I think we all appreciate things like that when they are truly special and something to look forward to.

 

[disneysteve]

sweet maxine - I think you've got a great outlook on what really matters, and I'm sure your kids will get that too.

As for your "treat" meal, if you are all excited about Rainforest, than go for it. But let me suggest an alternative to consider. Rainforest is a national chain and there is nothing unique or special about the Disney locations (other than location). Why not do something unique to Disney World? Depending on the make-up of your group, consider something like Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge or one of the many great buffets on property - Boma, 1900 Park Faire, etc. Don't get me wrong - we love Rainforest and have eaten there quite a few times, but if I was only doing one special meal I think I'd pick something more unique. Just something to think about.