Meal costs estimates

[christi2705]

I'm trying to decide between using the $500 gc offer (1887.00) to pay for food or do the 35% off and get the DP (2333.00).

We are staying for 5 days and are a family of 4...2 adults, 5 year old, almost 3 year old.

It is reasonable (before tax) to figure on $5 kids meals and $10 adult meals for counter service style restaurants? If we ate every meal (besides our character meals) this way then it would be about $400 (11 meals + tax)

We planned 4 Character meals that come to $188 (after tax and tip).

Snacks I was trying to go with about $20/day (we plan to bring a few snacks with us as well)

It would add up to 688 if I estimated the counter service meals ok. Which would still put me below the DP option.

Does this sound about right? I'm sure that we'll have some leeway to since the kids may share meals sometimes and we may eat breakfast in our room some days.

 

[siskaren]

I think $10 is a bit low for most adult meals, especially when you add in the drink. Check here for menus and prices for a better idea.

 

[christi2705]

Thanks for the link. We don't usually get drinks b/c we mainly drink water, but I'm sure that dh will get a coke occasionally. I'll be sure to add that on though.

 

[TaraPA]

I've never seen a kids meal for $5 in all of WDW - more like $7-$9. Our family of 4 spends $20 on snakcs in 1 sitting - everything really adds up! I'm trying to think of one snack item under $4 & can't, even small things like churros, ice cream, pretzels, etc. I love your idea of comparing but I think you're figuring a little too low on WDW food & snack prices!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I've never seen a kids meal for $5 in all of WDW - more like $7-$9.

Kid's counter service meals? I thought $5 sounds about right. $7-$9 sounds more like table service, and the OP has already calculated their character meal dining in full.

 

[christi2705]

I've never seen a kids meal for $5 in all of WDW - more like $7-$9. Our family of 4 spends $20 on snakcs in 1 sitting - everything really adds up! I'm trying to think of one snack item under $4 & can't, even small things like churros, ice cream, pretzels, etc. I love your idea of comparing but I think you're figuring a little too low on WDW food & snack prices!

I was looking through the menus listed and it looked like most kids meals were 4.99. Maybe they weren't updated?

I was only planning on 1 snack/day for us then I'd supplement with snacks that we bring. So the $20 sounds right.

I have noticed that most of the adult dinner are closer to $15 so I'm going to adjust that.

 

[TaraPA]

You know I'm probably remembering the Picabu (Dolphin) prices - we ate there a lot & kids meals were $5.75 at minimum, with no drink included. There are some CS places as well that you could order "sides" as meals for your kids if they're light eaters - I know at Yak & Yeti you can get a "side" of 2 egg rolls for $3.29 or a serving (pretty large) of chicken fried rice for $3.99. At Pizzafari they have breadsticks for $3.99.

 

[AirGoofy]

I'm trying to decide between using the $500 gc offer (1887.00) to pay for food or do the 35% off and get the DP (2333.00). We are staying for 5 days and are a family of 4...2 adults, 5 year old, almost 3 year old.

Does you $688 number include drinks and taxes? We are a family of 4 and staying 4 nights, and the DP costs us $432. I do not like the DP as I would rather have the freedom of choosing any restaurant; however, have not been able to find a cheaper method than the DP. (Maybe the TIW is but I am not an AP holder.)

 

[dancin Disney style]

I'm trying to decide between using the $500 gc offer (1887.00) to pay for food or do the 35% off and get the DP (2333.00).

We are staying for 5 days and are a family of 4...2 adults, 5 year old, almost 3 year old.

It is reasonable (before tax) to figure on $5 kids meals and $10 adult meals for counter service style restaurants? If we ate every meal (besides our character meals) this way then it would be about $400 (11 meals + tax)

We planned 4 Character meals that come to $188 (after tax and tip).

Snacks I was trying to go with about $20/day (we plan to bring a few snacks with us as well)

It would add up to 688 if I estimated the counter service meals ok. Which would still put me below the DP option.

Does this sound about right? I'm sure that we'll have some leeway to since the kids may share meals sometimes and we may eat breakfast in our room some days.

I think you are pretty close in your estimate, maybe add another $75 or so. Looks to me like you are better off with the gift card option.

When figuring out the cost of the 35% off and adding DDP did you add in the tipping which is extra...that would amount to approx $100?

 

[2Tiggies]

Kid's counter service meals? I thought $5 sounds about right. $7-$9 sounds more like table service, and the OP has already calculated their character meal dining in full.

That's how I read it. Only a select few non Disney owned CS locations have kids CS for $6-7.50. The rest are all $4.99 plus tax.

 

[christi2705]

Does you $688 number include drinks and taxes? We are a family of 4 and staying 4 nights, and the DP costs us $432. I do not like the DP as I would rather have the freedom of choosing any restaurant; however, have not been able to find a cheaper method than the DP. (Maybe the TIW is but I am not an AP holder.)

It didn't include adult drinks b/c we usually have water. I've since recalculated:

-$5 kids meals
-$15/adult for dinner and $10 for lunch
-Most of our mornings eating breakfast in our room (oatmeal, pop tarts, cereal)
-3 character meals ($205 with tax and tip included)
-$5 snack per person a day (supplement with snacks from home the rest of the day)
$5 in drinks a day for dh

Comes to $670

I'm actually coming really close to even between the 30% off with dining plan and the $500 gift card option. I thought I was way less with the gift card. But then I realized that dh had put ydd as 3 not 2 which added almost $300 to the DDP option.

So I added $50 (about what it would cost for my 2 yr old to have a kids meal and snack every day if she didn't want to share) to the DDP option.

And now there is less than $50 difference in the 2. I haven't decided which one to do yet!

 

[AirGoofy]

And now there is less than $50 difference in the 2. I haven't decided which one to do yet!

If you've got it to $50, then I would go w/o dining plan. There may be restaurants on your list (like Rainforest Cafe or T-Rex) that are not on the Dining Plan. Plus, it is just one less thing to keep up with on your vacation. Good luck.

 

[Mr_G3]

I did the same sort of calculation before we booked. We are a family of 4 (2 adults, 1 child who counts as an adult on the plan, and one "real" child). We did the QSDP last year, for $100 per day for all of us. We found our actual cost for just lunch and dinner every day would be slightly more than $100; buying anything else each day put us over, so the QSDP was good for us. Sure, we could have planned to share meals, skipped all desserts, or always order the lowest-priced items and probably come out slightly ahead, but having everything pre-paid removed any worries we might have had. It's nice to have one week each year when pinching pennies is not part of the routine! Based on our experience from last year, we decided to do QSDP again this year. For a trip of 5 nights, the gift card would be break even, but we are staying 6 nights (7 days), so we felt we'd spend more $600 in food, snacks, and drinks over 7 days.

I'm not sure about DDP. Obviously, your table service meals will be more than our CS meals were. You will only have 4 snack credits per day (vs. 8 per day on QSDP). We used a good number of our snack credits on water or other drinks while in the parks, which other wise would have been at least $20 per day OOP. Granted, we don't normally eat desserts at every meal, but some of those were saved and converted to breakfast items (many of the desserts come in sealed containers, so they can go in a backpack). Our breakfasts were cereal, yogurt, granola, etc. - things we brought with us.

Like the poster above me, I'd go with the meal plan instead of the card if the difference is only $50 or so. The convenience and not having to be so tied to a budget while on vacation was well worth it for us.

 

[Mr_G3]

Oops! I see the poster above me actually says go without the plan and take the card offer. Your stay is shorter than ours will be, so the card does look like the better offer, but not by much. I still think I'd take the convenience of the plan. For me, it would be one less thing to worry about. Either way, have a great trip!

 

[MurphyJoe]

Disney Dining Plan Restaurant Analysis
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/2009/DisneyDiningRanking2009.htm

I haven't seen this site mentioned in this thread, but I'd suggest checking it out. They calculated out the average cost per adult at every restaurant participating in the Dining Plan. Even if you're not on the plan, it's a quick way to see price rankings. Latest update was last May, however.

 

[Mr_G3]

Thanks for sharing this link, MurphyJoe. I wish I'd known about this resource sooner. I guess it would be fair to say our stay at CSR and meals in the Pepper Market significantly enhanced the value of our QSDP.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

We thought about this for a while too- we are getting the $500 gift card and at first planned to use it on food- However we have since decided to buy the dining plan before we leave (going with the ddp- must purchase 72 hours before leaving for your vacation) and then using the $500 gift card on tips, gifts, and little splurges we normally would never allow ourselves (or our kids)

For us- we are staying 5 nights with 2 adults and 2 kids( 4yo and 1.5yo) so our ddp cost will be around $475

 

[skier_pete]

Disney Dining Plan Restaurant Analysis
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/2009/DisneyDiningRanking2009.htm

I haven't seen this site mentioned in this thread, but I'd suggest checking it out. They calculated out the average cost per adult at every restaurant participating in the Dining Plan. Even if you're not on the plan, it's a quick way to see price rankings. Latest update was last May, however.

Wow...that's too anal for even me...but a useful spreadsheet to look at.

I am pro DDP, we have saved a considerable amount of money by using it, the last two trips we got about a 25 % savings on our food versus OOP. (Not to mention we had free dining, too.) The main reason I like it is that once you get there, you are no longer thinking about the prices on the menus, you just pick what you want and don't worry about it.

However, I do see why people choose not to do it. Reasons NOT to get the DDP:
1) You don't want to go to many TS restaurants or don't like being tied down to ADRs.
2) Family are not big eaters. You don't like desserts, and prefer either nothing else with your entree or appetizers instead.

 

[christi2705]

Well we ended up with no dining plan because we got an awesome rate (for more days) at Windsor Hills