Ok, people... Give it to me straight.

[Ihave3daughters]

Good morning...

OK, don't hold anything back. I'm ready. I can handle the truth.

How much should I budget a day to eat while I, my wife, and 3 daughters (8, 11, 13) are at WDW? Our resort has yet to be determined. I need to look at every angle in my trip preparation. I'm thinking about $140.00 a day, but my wife says that's not enough. I'm also still exploring the Dining plan options.

My kids don't eat much and could split meals from time to time.

And forgive my ignorance, but what is an ADR?

Thank you so much for any advice. I'll try not to blow a blood vessel as I read the responses...

-Eric

 

[vickalamode]

If you are thinking about budgeting $140 a day, it would only be $30 more for you to get the dining plan per day, especially if your wife thinks that $140 a day isn't enough.

If your kids don't eat much and split meals, then maybe the dining plan isn't for you if you plan on going to regular restaurants, or not eating out at all. But remember that every time you go to a character meal, which is almost ALWAYS a buffet, you have to pay full price for everyone in the party who eats anything at all, anyways, if they are above 3 years old, so basically whatever works for your family. I forget who it was but in the budget board there was someone who only budgeted $10 a day for a family of 6 but I think they grocery shopped and stuff.

 

[Lovin' Disney]

Hi! Are you doing character dining? They are nearly $30/adult, $15-20 per child per meal. If you get the dining plan, you could do a character breakfast or dinner every day if you wanted to and it wouldn't seem as bad because the meal would already be paid for. I'm sure your girls would love that and if this was a once in a lifetime trip, the memories would be great for them. I don't like to walk around with tons of cash on me and having the meals already paid for works out well with our family. Plus appetizers, desserts, and drinks are included as well with the dining plan. These things are seperate when you order them at Disney...they're not like the extra value meals at McDonald's. It definitely adds up after awhile.

However, if you think you will be just eating at counter service (fast food type) restaurants, then don't get the dining plan and budget about $10 per person per meal. It all just depends on the type of experience you want to have when you're at Disney.

Oh yeah, an ADR is Advance Dining Reservation, which you need to make if you're doing any table service (sit-down) restaurants. If you don't have a reservation and you want to eat at a nice restaurant or do a character dining, you may end up waiting a LONG time or not even get in at all. Good luck with your trip planning!!! If you need any help, just PM me.

 

[Jrabbit910]

Good morning...

OK, don't hold anything back. I'm ready. I can handle the truth.

How much should I budget a day to eat while I, my wife, and 3 daughters (8, 11, 13) are at WDW? Our resort has yet to be determined. I need to look at every angle in my trip preparation. I'm thinking about $140.00 a day, but my wife says that's not enough. I'm also still exploring the Dining plan options.

My kids don't eat much and could split meals from time to time.

And forgive my ignorance, but what is an ADR?

Thank you so much for any advice. I'll try not to blow a blood vessel as I read the responses...

-Eric

Hi Eric,
first: ADR means advance dining reservations... (making your reservations ahead of time; if your going at a busy time and you def want to eat at a certain restaruant, make them because you wont get in)

as for your $140.00 a day; for 5 people that comes out to $28... I wish I can tell you thats great but in my honest opinion it doesnt work... you looking at almost $10.00 per meal for each person (b;l,d). WDW can be quite expensive on certain meals. If you think this isnt bad then thats great but I think you should think about what restaurants you would like to eat at first and then check out the menu's and pricing... by that time if things fit into your budget then GREAT, but i would think adding the food plan like the poster above said for just $30 per day more might work out better...
No matter what you have to do whats best for your budget and your family.

 

[Princess Stitch]

Well $140 is less than $30 per person per day. You could probably do that, but you wouldn't be able to do any buffets or table service restaurants without blowing the budget. I agree that if you think you might be spending a little bit more a day, for $171 a day you can get the dining plan and not have to worry about who's eating what and what you're ordering on the menu. Your kids may not mind spliting a meal, but will they want to share the dessert? or always want to eat and drink the same thing? And what about snacks? I find that it's the extras that add up really quickly!

 

[LizinSTL]

Good morning...

OK, don't hold anything back. I'm ready. I can handle the truth.

How much should I budget a day to eat while I, my wife, and 3 daughters (8, 11, 13) are at WDW? Our resort has yet to be determined. I need to look at every angle in my trip preparation. I'm thinking about $140.00 a day, but my wife says that's not enough. I'm also still exploring the Dining plan options.

My kids don't eat much and could split meals from time to time.

And forgive my ignorance, but what is an ADR?

Thank you so much for any advice. I'll try not to blow a blood vessel as I read the responses...

-Eric

It depends on how y'all eat. Will you be wanting a sit down meal per day? More than one per day? or will one for the whole time you are there be enough? Will you have a car and be willing to drive off-site to eat? or are you flying in, doing the Magical express and will be dependant on disney transportation for the duration of your trip?

You need to figure that you can share some CS meals- breakfasts are big and, with refillable mugs @ $12/each, you can get by with feeding your family of 5 for about $15-20 for a hot food court meal each day or a box of donuts will cost you $3-4. Lunches can be big too- a couple double cheeseburgers at Pecos Bills may feed your whole family if you aren't opposed to sharing food. - that'll be about $20 plus drinks (ice water is free). You could share dinner too, if you are so inclined.... you can find menu prices on this site or allearsnet.com --- dining
You could probably come in under $100/day if you guys have refillable mugs for your resort food court and plan to eat a couple meals a day there- that would be basically all CS and sharing a great deal of your meals.

But as you can imagine, eating that way for more than a few days can get pretty old. Agreeing on meals to share, at least in my family, can cause some bickering!

If you are like our family and you enjoy a sit down meal at least once a day on vacation, then the DDP may be the way to go. It entitles you to a Table service meal, a CS meal and a snack for each person for each night of your trip. Chef Mickey's for dinner would cost you guys $155.56....the daily cost of the dining plan would cost you $ 166.95. As you can see, even a character buffet would make the DDP worth it in terms of cost. (maybe not if you do only breakfasts but certainly one or two wouldn't doom the plan!)

If you have access to a car and are willing to drive off-site then it's really up to you- you can certainly save $$ and eat anywhere in the area for less than at Disney!

 

[Ihave3daughters]

Great information- Thank you so much!

Yeah, we're flying in, and will be dependent on the Disney transportation. And, knowing my wife, we'll need to have at least one sit-down meal a day. So maybe I do need to look into that dining plan.

Is that something I need to buy and pay for with my resort fee? Or can I make the reservation, pay for it, and then get the dining plan later?

Thanks again- My blood pressure is improving by the minute...

-Eric

 

[disneymom2twins]

the Disney Dining plan (DDP) is added to your tickets. It would be called Magic Your Way plus dining. Everything is attached to your room key and will be used as if you use a credit card. Everybody in your party will be given a table service (TS), counter service or quick service (CS or QS) and a snack per day. You do not have to use one per day (ex. you can have two CS meals one day, and three TS meals one day), but are alotted one per night you are there.

You will definitely need an ADR for the TS meals you want. If you look at the sticky threads, you can find the menus. You can also try allears.net for menus too. There is also a sticky thread on what is considered a snack. As a GENERAL RULE, but not official, anything that is $4 can be purchased as a snack credit. French fries, soda, ice cream, popcorn, things like that.

If you look at the disney website, you can see which restaurants accept which type of credits. Some dinner shows will actually use two TS meals per person.

My personal suggestions - Crystal Palace in MK is great for breakfast (characters are Pooh and friends), Le Cellier in EPCOT and Kona at Poly are great steakhouses. Whispering Canyon Cafe is a very interacting family style meal.

I hope I didn't confuse you. Good luck!!

 

[PoohsFan1]

Hi there,

I had to ask my husband your question since he budgeted our Disney trip. First of all, we don't do the dining plan, it seems like it is a great deal and all, but for our family it is not. Now back to your question. For our family which me, DH, DD6, and DD3 he had budgeted $150.00 a day for meals. He was saying that with your family of 5 it would be closer to the $200.00 mark for a moderate dining experience. His breakdown would be $40-50 for breakfast (sit-down), $50 lunch and that is going cheap, and then $100 or so for dinner. As for the character meals, just a little FYI--the dinners are more expensive then the breakfasts. For dinner it is around $30 for an adult and $13 for kids 3-9, the CRT is the more expensive one $40 adult and $25 child. Whereas the breakfasts are $19 adults and $11 child with CRT being the more expensive one. Do make your ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations), even if you are going at a slow time of year, because if there is a certain time you want to eat, it will be a lot easier to get that time when you make them ahead of time rather than when you just show up on a whim. Good luck and have a blast planning....to me it is the best part (besides being there).

 

[kindakrazy2]

I also wanted to point out that if you are going to do any of the buffets your older 2 children will be counted as adults as they are 10 or older. Only your 8 year old counts as a child for dining. Have fun!

 

[vickalamode]

Great information- Thank you so much!

Yeah, we're flying in, and will be dependent on the Disney transportation. And, knowing my wife, we'll need to have at least one sit-down meal a day. So maybe I do need to look into that dining plan.

Is that something I need to buy and pay for with my resort fee? Or can I make the reservation, pay for it, and then get the dining plan later?

Thanks again- My blood pressure is improving by the minute...

-Eric

You need to book a Magic Your Way plus Dining package. You will need to book your hotel, dining, and park tickets all at the same time. You can make your reservations for restaurants any time but do it as soon as you know where you want to eat and hopefully know that at least 2 months in advance. I'm going next week which is one of the busier seasons of the year and booked most of my ADRs about 2 months ago and the only one I had trouble getting was le cellier but luckily I kept calling and someone had cancelled.

But yeah, you need to book your hotel, tickets, and dining plan all at the same time to get the dining plan. You can't buy just the dining plan.

 

[LizinSTL]

Great information- Thank you so much!

Yeah, we're flying in, and will be dependent on the Disney transportation. And, knowing my wife, we'll need to have at least one sit-down meal a day. So maybe I do need to look into that dining plan.

Is that something I need to buy and pay for with my resort fee? Or can I make the reservation, pay for it, and then get the dining plan later?

Thanks again- My blood pressure is improving by the minute...

-Eric

Both??!!! LOL

You can book room only now- pick your resort and start making your dining reservations. Then closer to your trip, you can change your reservation to a package- the problem is - if your resort is "sold out" you may have to change. The best idea, IMO, is to book a Magic your way package now- But do it for your entire trip and only book one day tickets for everyone in your party- don't add the dining plan yet. Go ahead and make your dining reservations but when they ask if you have the DDP, just say- I haven't decided yet.... Then about a month before your trip, call back- add the dining plan, increase your park tickets to what you need and you'll then owe the balance at that time (or within 2 weeks I think). I prefer to just pay it up at the 45 day mark but some people are resistant to that!

The exception to this is if you are planning to visit THIS fall (September) book NOW with the dining plan because they are offering free dining but only if you book in the next couple weeks. Dates/resorts are limited, but some are still available. That sort of makes the decision a no-brainer though! LOL

 

[Princess Stitch]

But yeah, you need to book your hotel, tickets, and dining plan all at the same time to get the dining plan. You can't buy just the dining plan.

Not true. You can book just the magic your way package and then add the dining plan on later. You do need to do it AT LEAST 5 days before your trip though.

 

[LizinSTL]

Not true. You can book just the magic your way package and then add the dining plan on later. You do need to do it AT LEAST 5 days before your trip though.

I'd do it a couple weeks just to be sure but make sure you'd already booked a magic your way package vs room only- it makes it MUCH easier to add the DDP. There have been some reports of people having problems adding the plan and if you give yourself a week cushion- it allows for computer problems, timing issues, etc if you make sure you add it a couple weeks before you plan to arrive, JMO.

As I said in a PP, if you want to save $$ upfront- book a MYW- room, 1 day tickets NO DDP at first- then a few weeks before, add the DDP- you can even add the days to your tickets at check in if you want. I liked having everything paid for before we got there but some folks like to keep their $$ until they use it!