Leaving tomorrow, have a few questions

[patsal]

Mostly just for reality checks!

Travel Party is myself and DD (sweet 16 present) and her best friend (sweet 16 present as well as her mom. So 4 of us.

Is $100 per family per day a fair budget for food--thinking one CS for lunch and 1 TS for dinner?

Do I need reservations for TS or do you think I can just wing it? Margaritaville and Mythos are my only must do places. Since the kids are older we do not need structured meal times and we can be very flexible.

We are staying at The Royal Pacific, is there a place to grab coffee and maybe a muffin quickly in the morning?

What is the cost for locker rental?--with so many wet rides I may want a change of clothes!

Thanks!

 

[Jessica527]

I think that $100 would be just right
If you think:

1 CS meal typically is 9-13$ per person. = $26 on high end
1 TS meal (say Hard Rock) = ($3 drink (soda)x2) + $10 App + ($18 Entree x 2) = $52

So $26+52 = $78 + you might want dessert/snack/drinks throughout the day


Hope this helps!

 

[damo]

Mostly just for reality checks!

Travel Party is myself and DD (sweet 16 present) and her best friend (sweet 16 present as well as her mom. So 4 of us.

Is $100 per family per day a fair budget for food--thinking one CS for lunch and 1 TS for dinner?

Do I need reservations for TS or do you think I can just wing it? Margaritaville and Mythos are my only must do places. Since the kids are older we do not need structured meal times and we can be very flexible.

We are staying at The Royal Pacific, is there a place to grab coffee and maybe a muffin quickly in the morning?

What is the cost for locker rental?--with so many wet rides I may want a change of clothes!

Thanks!

You can do $100/day. You'll just have to be careful.

You can grab coffee and a muffin in the Orchid Court area down on the main lobby level in the morning.

Locker rental is about $10/day and available at the front of both parks.

 

[Bluer101]

Is $100 per family per day a fair budget for food--thinking one CS for lunch and 1 TS for dinner?

We are a family of 3, we allow $150 per day. We do this because we may want some snacks in the park also. We normally don't go through all of it, but its better to budget higher just in case.

Do I need reservations for TS or do you think I can just wing it? Margaritaville and Mythos are my only must do places. Since the kids are older we do not need structured meal times and we can be very flexible.

We have always winged it. There are lots of food options between the parks, City Walk, and the hotels.

We are staying at The Royal Pacific, is there a place to grab coffee and maybe a muffin quickly in the morning?

You can make coffee in your room with the Keurig machine. They also have the Orchid lounge down in the lobby which serves coffee, muffins, bagels, cereals, etc.

What is the cost for locker rental?--with so many wet rides I may want a change of clothes!

I do not know how much the rentals are. The one thing we do is plan one morning to put on our wet clothes and go to IOA for a few and ride the water rides a lot, then return to the hotel to shower and change. Thats one of the best things of being onsite.

 

[kusnu84]

Locker rental was about $10.00, with $5.00 back when you return the key. My recollection is that you should keep your receipt if you are park hopping because then, when you go to the next park, you only have to pay the $5.00 key deposit to get the next locker

 

[patsal]

Thanks so much, looks like I am all set! Tomorrow 7:30 US/IOA here we come!

 

[IdesOmarch]

Yes 100 a day for the 2 of you, no for the 4. Yes there is a breakfast buffet thing in the bar section in the morning in the RP (unless its changed recently). It is kind of expensive, but so is everything else there. And no I don't think you need to plan, I think you can be flexible with plans, and yes you are on the right track in saying Mythos is a must do, definitely.

 

[Tink2Day]

Pat, TS meals are pricey at theme parks (just look at the WDW menus).
But you get plenty of food to share. Two of us shared a chicken salad wrap and fries from Thunder Falls Terrace and were full after we ate, I think it cost around $10 or so and it was one of the best things we ate during our trip to WDW/IOA.

Three Broomsticks has the feast for $50 serves 4 and is plenty of food.

We aren't big eaters (some of the Disney Dining reports make me gain 10 lbs just reading them, would be sick if I tried to eat all that) but we like to try some of the foods at the parks, we're just selective and too into doing the things at the parks you can't find elsewhere.
The unique drinks in WWOHP are pricey, but you aren't going to drink tons of them because they're rich.
I always figure if I want to go on a trip and have gourmet meals I can do that somewhere closer to home and cheaper, like all the restaurants in Las Vegas or a special trip just for that.
We were having so much fun that we didn't think about eating.
(oh there is also the 'meal deals' at Universal but not sure how those work). Maybe one of those who writes and goes there all the time can help...

I just know what it is to be on a budget after spending thousands to get there and pay for all the rest so know it can be done. Have a spectacular time!!!!

(ps you said $100 per family per day? That's $50 a person and IMHO that is PLENTY to eat nice meals, like Mythos is $25-36 per person per their listing so it works out okay! If you're counting the 4 of you as a family some snacking, sharing may be required.)

 

[macraven]

save your coffee cup when at orchid court.
you get free refills on the day you buy a cup of coffee.


one favorite place of mine is boulangeries in the studio side.
it is close to the entrance of the park.

sandwiches with potatoe salad and beverage will cost less than $10.

if you have the AAA card, show it in the parks.
you will receive 10% discount on food and merch.

 

[patsal]

Oh thanks for the heads up on remembering the AAA card...I almost forgot it!